[Posted early on Wednesday]
Baseball Quiz: 1) Two players have hit 3 or more home runs in a game, lifetime, six times. Both played in the National League (one played in the A.L. as well). One is NOT a member of the 500 home run club. The other is, but he is not Bonds, Ruth, Aaron or Mays. 2) Three players have hit home runs from both sides of the plate in a game, 10 times, lifetime. One should be easy. If you get the other two, treat yourself to a premium. Answers below.
Harmon Killebrew
The pride of Payette, Idaho, Baseball Hall of Famer Harmon Clayton Killebrew, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 74 after his battle with esophageal cancer. Just last week he issued a statement explaining that he knew the fight was over and he was entering hospice care to die in peace. At his side in his Scottsdale, Ariz., home was his wife, Nita, and their family.
I was born in 1958 and my first baseball memory was the 1965 World Series, Killebrew’s Minnesota Twins vs. the Dodgers. By 1966-67, I was an avid fan and like all kids of my generation was feverishly collecting baseball cards. By 1971, when you got Killebrew’s you just stared at the back of it in astonishment…all those 40-home run seasons…8 of ‘em, tied for second all time. Eventually he’d retire with 573…1,584 RBI…nine 100-RBI seasons…an MVP trophy and perennial All-Star, when the Mid-Summer Classic itself was truly must-see television.
No player during the decade of the 1960s hit more home runs than Killer…393…and his 1,013 RBI were second over that period.
Killebrew, who was born in Idaho on June 29, 1936, earned his nickname “Killer” because of the way he would crush his homers, some of the most titanic blasts in history. His forearms were massive and the few times the Twins were on in my area, “Game of the Week” when they weren’t playing the Yankees in those days before cable, you couldn’t wait to watch him hit.
You also knew he was a good man, and Mr. Minneapolis. Twins president Dave St. Peter said on Tuesday:
“No individual has ever meant more to the Minnesota Twins organization and millions of fans across Twins territory than Harmon Killebrew….he demonstrated each and every day as a Hall of Fame-quality husband, father, friend, teammate and man.”
Killebrew was such a good guy that he didn’t want anyone to print he didn’t smoke or drink because he didn’t want to offend his friends who did. Once asked what his hobbies were, Killebrew replied, “Well, I like to wash dishes, I guess.”
Killer never cared about his batting average and ended up a career .256 hitter (though he had a .376 on-base percentage). Once he realized he could drive the ball out of any park, and as far as anyone who played the game, that was his sole mission.
According to “Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia” from the editors of Total Baseball:
“There’s no question about where Killebrew got his strength. His grandfather was reputed to have been the strongest man in the Union Army during the Civil War. [Ed. How freakin’ cool is that?!] His father was a collegiate fullback and professional wrestler.”
While growing up in Idaho on the family farm, Harmon helped with the chores, “which included carrying 10-gallon pails of milk. ‘That will put muscles on you even if you don’t try,’ Killebrew once said.
“At Payette High School, Killebrew starred in baseball, basketball, and football. He enrolled at the College of Idaho in Caldwell, but was then offered a scholarship at the University of Oregon. Killebrew had planned on accepting that offer until he batted .847 [Ed. you’re reading that right] for the local semipro baseball team of the Idaho-Oregon Border League.
“United States Senator Herman Welker, also a resident of Payette, tipped off Clark Griffith, owner of the Washington Senators, about this strong kid back home. Griffith dispatched a scout named Ossie Bluege to Payette, and after Killebrew hit four homers and three triples and collected four other hits in four semipro games, Bluege wired back to Griffith, ‘The sky’s the limit.’”
The Senators offered Killebrew a three-year deal worth $30,000 in salary and bonuses, but Harmon had promised a Boston Red Sox scout that he had played golf with he would give the BoSox a chance to match it, only they couldn’t.
The year was 1954 and Killebrew would spend much of his time in the minor leagues and by 1958, after hitting .194 in 31 at-bats for the big league Senators, many in the organization were ready to write him off. But not Clark Griffith. He ordered Eddie Yost traded to make room for Killer at third and then told Manager Cookie Lavagetto to play the boy. All Harmon did in 1959 was hit 42 home runs and his career was off and slugging. In one 17-game stretch, he had five two-homer games.
So we bid a fond farewell to one of the greats of the game. I’m jealous of Minnesotans who got to watch him day in and day out. He will be missed. But among baseball fans, he will never be forgotten.
Vin Mazzaro…bye bye!
Johnny Mac alerted me to an extraordinary game on Monday night as it was developing; the Cleveland Indians’ dismantling of the Kansas City Royals, 19-1. At issue was the pitching of the Royals’ Vin Mazzaro, who entered the game in the third with the Royals down 3-0. He threw a scoreless inning and then in the fourth began to make history, giving up ten runs in the fourth and another four in the fifth before being removed on a stretcher suffering from shell shock.
He became just the third pitcher since 1947 to allow 14 runs in a game. In 2 1/3 innings, he gave up the 14 on 11 hits and 3 walks. In fact he was the first pitcher since 1900 to allow 14 runs in as few innings as he did! It was the worst pitched game in Kansas City history as well and to make matters worse, Mazzaro was immediately sent down to the minors with a 22.74 ERA over two games.
—Tiger Woods announced Monday night that he still plans to play in next month’s U.S. Open at Congressional, or rather he was “likely” to in describing his condition as “week-to-week” while offering no definitive timetable for his return. He did state it was unlikely he’d play before the Open, June 16-19, which would mean he’d have played nine holes between Augusta and Congressional.
Woods, commenting on his Web site, said doctors determined that he “irritated” injuries to his left knee and Achilles’ tendon during the first round of the Players, but that he “suffered no new damage.” So his doctors have “advised rest, cold-water therapy and soft tissue treatment.” Woods has had four operations on his left knee going back to his days at Stanford.
Reading between the lines, it seems as if his doctors had recommended more rest after Woods reinjured his knee and Achilles at the Masters, rather than give it a go at the Players, but Tiger opted to tee it up. So in a roundabout way perhaps that is how the stories emerged that PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem had pressured Woods to play at the TPC.
–The running world is in mourning over the sudden death of 24-year-old Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru, the 2008 Olympic marathon champion in Beijing and the first Kenyan to win gold in the event. Later, at 23, he became the youngest person to win four major marathons: Chicago in 2009 and in 2010, and London in 2009, in addition to his win in Beijing.
The story of Wanjiru’s death, though, is clouded in controversy. Police in Kenya believe he jumped from the balcony of his home after his wife found him with another woman, thus committing suicide. [Another version has him jumping out the window to stop his wife from leaving the compound, she, in this tale, having found her husband and the girl, at which point the wife locked them in the bedroom and ran off.]
It seems that in December, he was charged with threatening to kill his wife and with illegal possession of an assault rifle. His wife withdrew the attempted-murder charge, saying they had reconciled.
–Dave Cameron of the Wall Street Journal took a look at Toronto’s Jose Bautista, specifically his last 12 months through Sunday. Bautista played 156 games during this period and hit 63 home runs (or two more than Roger Maris in 1961). Albert Pujols is second in baseball the past year with 41. No other player has more than 39.
“Bautista’s dominance comes at a time when offense is at its lowest point since 1992.”
–So the Jorge Posada insubordination issue was supposed to be over, the veteran catcher, you’ll recall, having opted out of Saturday’s Red Sox game because he was slated to bat ninth, which is where he deserved to be given his .165 average.
But on Sunday, Derek Jeter defended Posada’s action, and then on Monday, Yankee management blew up anew because the last thing they want is the Yankee captain, Jeter, acting like what Posada had done wasn’t egregious behavior. [If you saw ESPN’s Bobby Valentine on Sunday night during the Yankees-Red Sox contest, you know what he would have done as manager if Posada had acted the way he did. Bobby would have jacked Jorge up against the wall and it would have gotten bloody.]
So after Jeter had excused his friend’s behavior, the Yankees made Derek get on a conference call with management.
“It’s all good,” said Jeter, who as the New York Times’ Ben Shpigel put it, used a variation of the phrase “we’re on the same page” nine times. But they aren’t. Hardly. Management is peeved at both long-time teammates and friends.
By the way, Yankee fans greeted Posada’s pinch-hitting appearance on Sunday with a standing ovation, thereby showing themselves to be jerks as well (typed the Mets fan and Yankee hater).
–Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News had a piece on the new $340 million parking system adjoining the new Yankee Stadium, which last year operated at 60% capacity for 9,000 parking spaces and this year ran at a 31% pace in April.
At issue is the fact the owner, Bronx Parking Development Inc., is in danger of collapse and is dipping into reserves to meet interest payments on $237 million in tax-exempt bonds the city’s Industrial Development Agency issued.
This is hilarious (I couldn’t care less about the fate of the bondholders). I imagine the prospectus for the original bond offering projected something like 75%, or more, capacity.
So what happened? Well, try the fact the company hiked the rate this season to $35 ($48 for valet parking) from $23 and $36, respectively in 2010. $35 is a lot of money and fans are simply parking elsewhere.
–I’ve written of him before, but with Detroit hurler Justin Verlander’s second no-hitter the other week, he tied former Tiger pitcher Virgil Trucks for most no-hitters in a Tigers’ uniform. What’s worth noting again is that, first, Trucks had a very solid career, mostly with the Tigers and White Sox, going 177-135 lifetime. But it was in 1952, with the Tigers going 50-104, and Trucks himself 5-19, that he nonetheless no-hit Washington and the Yankees, both by 1-0 scores.
Incidentally, in Trucks’ May 15 no-no of the Senators, all of 2,215 showed up in Detroit, while the Aug. 25 gem in Yankee Stadium was witnessed by only 13,000 (in keeping with my recent attendance kick). Also, in the Yankees game, Mickey Mantle batted leadoff. [And some Yankee I never heard of, Loren Babe, played third. The guy went 2 for 21 that season.]
*Of course you can find box scores, attendance and all manner of stuff on baseballreference.com. It is the easiest site in the world to get lost in if you’re a fan. It’s also a drug for me. Go ahead, look who’s sponsoring Derek Jeter’s page these days. One of a zillion I’m sponsoring. Why? I get decent traffic off it and with Jeter’s pursuit of 3,000 hits it made sense for me to go for it.
–Jim Crane, who founded a Houston-based logistics company and is also chairman of Crane Capital, a private equity shop, is buying the Houston Astros (pending MLB approval) for $680 million, which would be the second highest sale price of a baseball franchise next to the 2009 purchase of the Cubs by the Ricketts family for $845 million. Crane is buying the ‘Stros from Drayton McLane, who according to the AP acquired the team in Nov. 1992 for $117 million. If this is accurate (and I’m not double-checking the facts), that’s one helluva investment, I think you’d agree. Part of the reason for the high price is the Astros will share in a new regional sports network that includes the Houston Rockets, plus you have a long-term lease on a newer ballpark, Minute Maid.
—Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak.
Game 1…May 15…Chicago…1 for 4…1 RBI
Game 2…May 16…Chicago…2 for 4…1 HR 1 RBI
Game 3…May 17…Chicago…1 for 3
Game 4…May 18…St. Louis…3 for 3…1 RBI
Game 5…May 19…St. Louis…1 for 3
–Granted, the weather has been miserable this spring in much of the country, but I was surprised to see in Tuesday’s USA TODAY that “There have been 26 games [Ed. now 30 after Tuesday’s contests] postponed by rain, snow and cold, five [9] more than during all of last season.” Wow, only 21 last year?! And, “If the inclement weather continues at this rate, there will be 106 postponements – the most in baseball since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks shut down baseball for a week.”
So lots of doubleheaders this summer and virtually zero days off for many teams. The Cubs and Pittsburgh, for example, have already had three games postponed between them.
–Sorry, folks. The only thing I care about regarding the NBA playoffs at this point is I really hope LeBron doesn’t win a title….so go Bulls!!!
But obviously I do have to note Dirk Nowitzki’s outstanding effort in Game One of the Dallas – Oklahoma City series on Tuesday, Dirk draining 48 points on 12 of 15 shooting from the field and 24 of 24 from the free throw line as he led the Mavs to a 121-112 victory. Kevin Durrant had 40 in defeat.
And it was cool that the Cleveland Cavaliers got the No. 1 selection in the upcoming draft (probably selecting Duke guard Kyrie Irving) after losing LeBron. Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert sent his 14-year-old son, Nick, who has medical issues, to the podium and despite the Cavs having just a 2.8 percent chance of landing the top pick, Nick got it done. Great story.
–A federal appeals court ruled that NFL owners can continue with their lockout until at least June 3, when a new hearing is scheduled in St. Louis, though before the same panel that just issued a 2-1 ruling in the owners’ favor. The league and players just held their first meeting since April 20. Doesn’t look good to me. Training camps open in July…first preseason game Aug. 8.
–I see that Lombardi is ending May 22 on Broadway. It was a better than expected run after 244 performances. I saw it and liked it, but ticket sales had dropped off substantially lately and producers moved up the scheduled June 19 closing a full month.
–According to a Duke University tax return obtained by USA TODAY, basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski received nearly $4.7 million in compensation in the 2009 calendar year, the latest figure available, broken down as $1,978,000 in base salary, $2,222,500 in bonuses and incentives and $420,100 in deferred comp, plus miscellaneous.
But Rick Pitino led the 2010-11 compensation list with a little more than $7.5 million, though that included a one-time $3.6 million bonus last July for completing a portion of his contract and more than $1.4 million in outside income. As a private school, Duke does not have to reveal Coach K’s comp but USA TODAY got hold of it. I only bring it up in this space because, hey, it’s a lot of money!
1. Virginia
2. South Carolina
3. Vanderbilt
4. Florida
5. Texas
24. UConn…for Jeff B.
–So when I opened my email this morning, Wednesday, there were messages from Wake Forest’s president and athletic director on a probable “Today” show story airing Thursday featuring a former female student who claims she was sexually assaulted by two Wake basketball players in Miami, March 2009, Gary Clark and Jeff Teague; the former having just graduated and the latter now on the Atlanta Hawks.
But here’s the thing. The school judiciary council cleared the players and, more importantly, so did Miami police. Witnesses claim Teague wasn’t even there, while Clark admitted the woman performed oral sex, and, according to Clark’s attorney, “she never ever complained that there was any force.”
The school is vigorously defending its actions to date, saying it has cooperated fully, so I’ll be watching on Thursday to see why this case is suddenly an issue two years later.
What gets me, though, is that the alleged incident took place in the aftermath of Wake’s upset by Cleveland State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the game that cost then coach Dino Gaudio his job. Not exactly a time the team should have been partying. But then that’s what the recent era of underperformance for Wake has been all about. A team of selfish performers more interested in their potential NBA careers than giving their all for the Old Gold and Black.
–I love this tale from the Guardian and the South China Morning Post, dateline Thap Lan National Park, Thailand.
“Working with foreign conservationists, the rangers have been gathering evidence from camera traps over the past two years that suggests this single national park in Thailand may have more tigers than all of China. Thap Lan, with its spectacular forests of saw-bladed palms, is an oasis of biodiversity amid expanding human development. Elephants, clouded leopards, spotted linsang, boar and deer thrive below the canopy, which is filled with the song of myna, lapwings, laughing thrushes and other exotic birds.
“Locals have long insisted that tigers also prowl in this area. Camera traps, triggered by heat and movement, have been left strapped to trees for a month. Some have been destroyed by wild elephants or infested by nesting ants, but the memory cards inside have yielded a trove of images of bears, leopards, itinerant monks, as well as tigers and – worryingly – armed poachers.”
Rangers have confirmed the presence of eight tigers and suspect the entire park, much of which hasn’t been visited with the cameras, has up to 50.
But while I’d love to visit this place, accompanied by an army of 20 guards, can you imagine having to spend one night alone here? It’s the ants that would kill you.
–For you Steve Earle fans, his 14th album, “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive,” has received solid reviews. Meanwhile, Adele is singlehandedly saving the music industry, selling 1.4 million copies of her album “21” in just six weeks, which these days is remarkable. People actually paying for music that an artist created!
Top 3 songs for the week of 5/13/78: #1 “If I Can’t Have You” (Yvonne Elliman) #2 “The Closer I Get To You” (Roberta Flack with Donny Hathaway) #3 “With A Little Luck” (Wings…geezuz, they did so many great tunes…and at the same time some real clunkers, this being one of them)…and…#4 “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” (Johnny Mathis / Deniece Williams) #5 “Night Fever” (Bee Gees…has aged miserably…just dreadful) #6 “You’re The One I Want” (John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John) #7 “Can’t Smile Without You” (Barry Manilow…Barry mailed this one in) #8 “Count On Me” (Jefferson Starship) #9 “Dust In The Wind” (Kansas…speak for yourself) #10 “Imaginary Lover” (Atlanta Rhythm Section…underrated group)
Baseball Quiz Answers: 1) Johnny Mize (St.L., N.Y. – N.L., N.Y. – A.L.) and Sammy Sosa both hit 3 or more home runs six times. 2) Switch-hitting home runs, 10 times. Mickey Mantle, Nick Swisher, and Ken Caminiti (Caminiti being the lone National Leaguer).
