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    • IMScotty wrote:

      Here is a little post I made about being at the Bucky Dent HR game...

      I was at the Bucky Dent wildcard game. Everyone talks about Dent's improbable home run, but what I remember most was the last at bat of the game. If only Captain Carl Yaztremski could get another at-bat, I was sure the Red Sox could still win this. And it happened. A walk and a single in the bottom of the 9th brought Yaz to the plate. His intensity and determination was palpable. We all cheered. We all felt it. This was the magic moment. Every fan was on their feet. And then Yaz popped up. The cameras followed the Yankee players as they stormed the field, our field, and mobbed Yankee pitcher Goose Gossage. But I never took my eyes off of Yaz. I was close enough to see the disappointment wash over his face the moment he took that swing. Whatever the Red Sox fans were feeling, Yaz was feeling it a hundred times over. I will never forgot that moment. Yaz was my boyhood hero, I felt so bad for him. Yaz played for the Sox for another five years, but he never made to another post-season game.
      That is awesome that you were at that game, with such a great view, even if it didn't turn out the way we would have wanted.

      Always loved Yaz #8. Still remember watching 1975 World Series, which was great until 9th inning of Game 7
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Yup, I was 19 that year. Slept on 'Yawkey Way' the night before, along with a few hundred other people, to be there when the ticket office opened in the morning. I went to Yaz's last game too.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Astros blow out White Sox for the third time to advance to the ALCS for the 5th straight year!

      It appears the only thing that prevented the sweep was the umpires in game 3 trying to please their bosses in NY by extending the series. Great to see Tony LaRussa go home.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Well, I've been so disgusted at the 'lock out', that I have been purposefully ignoring any Baseball news. But to day I hear that the season is back on. Something to look forward to in April.

      The season comes with a number of rule changes that I am just catching up on, but the one that jumps out at me is some of the weird Covid rules have been retired, but the 'Universal DH' rule is now permanent. Having grown up in an American League city, I always looked forward to the occasional game I would watch played under National League rules. It seemed a purer and I think a more strategically interesting game to watch with 'double switches' and such. But I guess with today's short attention spans, 'Hits Sell' so the DH is here top stay.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • What I hated was those trying to sell it as the owners against the players. In reality it is the players against the fans. MLB owners are wealthy from sources outside baseball, and while they do not want to loose money, they really just end up passing the rising players salaries off to the fans. :rolleyes:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Here is a little post I made about being at the Bucky Dent HR game...

      I was at the Bucky Dent wildcard game. Everyone talks about Dent's improbable home run, but what I remember most was the last at bat of the game. If only Captain Carl Yaztremski could get another at-bat, I was sure the Red Sox could still win this. And it happened. A walk and a single in the bottom of the 9th brought Yaz to the plate. His intensity and determination was palpable. We all cheered. We all felt it. This was the magic moment. Every fan was on their feet. And then Yaz popped up. The cameras followed the Yankee players as they stormed the field, our field, and mobbed Yankee pitcher Goose Gossage. But I never took my eyes off of Yaz. I was close enough to see the disappointment wash over his face the moment he took that swing. Whatever the Red Sox fans were feeling, Yaz was feeling it a hundred times over. I will never forgot that moment. Yaz was my boyhood hero, I felt so bad for him. Yaz played for the Sox for another five years, but he never made to another post-season game.
      44 years later we still remember Bucky F'ing Dent. I was on vacation when this game was played and I remember exactly where I watched it. Well...instead of the excitement of the occasional game 163 we now get more watered down playoff games.

      From The Athletic:


      How will MLB's expanded playoffs work?

      Some details emerging on how the expanded playoffs will work:
      • No more Game 163 tiebreakers. All playoff spots will be determined through NFL-type tiebreaker formulas.
      • No re-seeding for the LDS. No. 1 seed plays winner of No. 4 vs. No. 5 Wild Card Series. No. 2 seed plays No. 3 vs. No. 6 winner.
      Those tiebreaker games have to go away to make sure the Wild Card Series can start two days after the end of the regular season. That's especially true in this postseason, which has to fit into a tighter window so World Series dates don't have to be moved.
      2,000 miler
    • I always thought occasionally adding a one game do-or-die tie-breaking Wild Card game to the Playoff mix was great fun. Especially this year when the Red Sox beat the Yankees! I will miss it.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:




      The season comes with a number of rule changes that I am just catching up on, but the one that jumps out at me is some of the weird Covid rules have been retired, but the 'Universal DH' rule is now permanent.
      They snuck the "ghost runner" back in when nobody was looking. So of all the major sports only basketball gets overtime right. I like the "juvenile" reaction.

      From The Athletic:

      <snip>

      The New York Post reported Tuesday that the ghost runner will return to Major League Baseball this season, as The Athletic’s Jayson Stark and Matt Gelb reported was being discussed last week. The reaction has been mixed, to say the least.

      Stark and Gelb make the interesting point that players overwhelmingly like the rule, which puts a runner at second base at the beginning of each extra inning to force action and limit game times. It’s a nice intent, but I’m not sure the rule achieves the goal in a satisfying fashion.

      There’s something so … juvenile about it. It initially strikes me as akin to a running clock or something else to let parents get their Little League kids get home sooner rather than a proper way to decide a Major League Baseball game. But maybe I’m turning into a curmudgeon.
      2,000 miler
    • In America, MLB is going to (maybe) move second base closer to home plate 12 inches to energize the fans and create excitement.

      In Japan, the manager enters the game on a hovercraft.

      Bobby Cox coulda used this when he used to painfully hobble to the mound before he got both knees repalced.

      <snip>

      When it comes to making an entrance, former Major Leaguer Tsuyoshi Shinjo has us all beat.

      Shinijo – also known as "Big Boss" – made his managerial home debut of Japan's Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, by taking flight inside the stadium on a hover craft. Yes, a hover craft.

      Intense music, lighting and sound effects filled the Sapporo Dome as Shinjo levitated into the air and across the field.

      Once he landed, he took off his helmet in a dramatic fashion, stepped off the hover craft and into the spotlight. He removed his jacket and tossed it to the side as the music grew louder.

      Although the Nippon-Ham Fighters lost to the Saitama Seibu Lions, 4-0, Shinjo's thrilling entrance definitely won.

      Shinjo played for the Mets and the Giants between 2001-03 and became the first Japanese-born player to appear in a World Series.

      2,000 miler
    • After not knowing anything about the Savannah Bananas (apparently the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball) I'm getting all kinds of stuff this week. Today from The Athletic...75 year old Boston Red Sox star Bill Lee entered the game beer in hand and struck out the batter. Go Spaceman!

      twitter.com/TheSavBananas/status/1509153481373880321
      2,000 miler

      The post was edited 1 time, last by max.patch ().

    • odd man out wrote:

      IMScotty wrote:

      Boston lost their opening game to the NY Yankees in the 11th inning. I hate those Ghost runners :(
      so how does that work? Is the ghost runner the player who would have batted next in the line up or is a player off the bench, and if so, can that person be the runner the next inning or are they out of the game as another player would be if replaced?
      I believe it is the last batter from the previous inning, unless you want tp replace them in the lineup with a pinch runner.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • What Astro said. The last out the previous inning became the 'ghost runner.' I get it. They are trying to speed up the game. This Red Sox Yankees game went over 4 hours. But still, I think the ghost runner sucks. The Red Sox lost on one 'seeing eye' single.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Kinda makes you wonder if every team is going to sign a "designated pinch runner" like the Athletics did in 1974-75 with Herb Washington.

      I googled him to make sure I had the name right, and thot his wiki page was interesting. Here's the baseball part.

      <snip>

      In 1974, Washington was tapped by Oakland A's owner Charlie Finley to become the team's "designated runner". Finley and Washington worked out a one-year $45,000 contract with a $20,000 signing bonus. The contract had an unusual clause requiring Washington to grow facial hair before the beginning of the season. Washington had difficulty growing a full mustache, so he used an eyebrow pencil to simulate full facial hair.[1]

      Despite having no professional baseball experience, and having last played baseball in high school, Washington was a member of the Athletics 1974 World Series championship team.[5] Finley announced that he would utilize Washington as a "designated runner" and that he did not expect Washington to develop other baseball skills.[2] Washington received coaching on baserunning from Maury Wills.[5] Though Washington's teammates recognized his speed, he received a mixed reception from them because of his unusual background. Reggie Jackson said, "He's a great athlete, but he's not a baseball player."[2] Pitcher Rollie Fingers said that he thought the idea was "a little crazy" but that Washington "could run like crazy".[5] Bert Campaneris said that the team could count on Washington to steal a base when needed.[5]

      Before the 1974 World Series, team captain Sal Bando said that he did not think Washington should be used in the World Series, noting that Washington might not have a second chance to make up for any mistakes committed during the series. Appearing as a pinch-runner for Joe Rudi in game two of the World Series, Washington was picked off first base in a crucial ninth-inning situation by Dodgers reliever Mike Marshall.

      Early in the 1975 season, Washington was released. Before the season, the Athletics had acquired Don Hopkins, a pinchrunning specialist who could also play in the outfield.[2] The Athletics had also acquired a second pinchrunning specialist, Matt Alexander, just before Washington's release.

      Washington played in 105 MLB games without batting, pitching, or fielding, playing exclusively as a pinch runner.[6] He had 31 stolen bases in 48 attempts and scored 33 runs during his short career. Washington is one of only seven players to have more game appearances than plate appearances,[7] presumably excluding starting pitchers who played primarily for the American League, and relief pitchers.

      Washington's 1975 Topps baseball card is the only baseball card ever released that uses the "pinch runner" position label.[8]
      2,000 miler
    • max.patch wrote:


      In 1974, Washington was tapped by Oakland A's owner Charlie Finley to become the team's "designated runner". Finley and Washington worked out a one-year $45,000 contract with a $20,000 signing bonus. The contract had an unusual clause requiring Washington to grow facial hair before the beginning of the season. Washington had difficulty growing a full mustache, so he used an eyebrow pencil to simulate full facial hair.[1]
      Finley could be a jerk, but he made things interesting. And they did win 3 straight World Series in 72-74. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I'd bet the analytics people have crunched the numbers to determine if the advantage of a dedicated runner outweighs the loss of a position player. I would assume those metrics are more in the favor of the runner with the ghost runner rule. Not only can that runner win a tie game in the 10th, there should be fewer ultra long games where that last fielder would be needed
    • I realize that the national media slobbers every time the Yankees play the Red Sox, but did ESPN really need to show the same game last night on both ESPN and ESPN2?

      Note to ESPN -- if you want me to watch your broadcast the last thing you want to do is to showcase ARod and have him and Michael Kay talk over the game (ESPN2). I gave em about 30 seconds and flipped to something else. I don't like the format and I don't like him.
      2,000 miler
    • max.patch wrote:

      I realize that the national media slobbers every time the Yankees play the Red Sox, but did ESPN really need to show the same game last night on both ESPN and ESPN2?

      Note to ESPN -- if you want me to watch your broadcast the last thing you want to do is to showcase ARod and have him and Michael Kay talk over the game (ESPN2). I gave em about 30 seconds and flipped to something else. I don't like the format and I don't like him.
      Is that the same format they are using with Payton and Eli on MNF? Agree. Pretty dull.
    • odd man out wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      I realize that the national media slobbers every time the Yankees play the Red Sox, but did ESPN really need to show the same game last night on both ESPN and ESPN2?

      Note to ESPN -- if you want me to watch your broadcast the last thing you want to do is to showcase ARod and have him and Michael Kay talk over the game (ESPN2). I gave em about 30 seconds and flipped to something else. I don't like the format and I don't like him.
      Is that the same format they are using with Payton and Eli on MNF? Agree. Pretty dull.
      Putting aside my disdain for ARod, the format doesn't work for me. They tried it on the NCAA Womens Basketball Championship game with Sue Bird and Diane Taursai. I was looking forward to it -- who better to break down the game that those two? I watched it the first quarter and then switched to the normal broadcast.
      2,000 miler
    • I have an ESPN+ account primarily to follow the Kennesaw State basketball team. I just read that they are now streaming some Savannah Banana games. :) There are 2 games available now for streaming. Looks like I need to delay cancelling my subscription for a bit.

      So I checked out the rules. Some of them are quite "interesting" to say the least.

      Under the video is a brief explanation of the 9 rules.

      thesavannahbananas.com/banana-ball-rules/
      2,000 miler

      The post was edited 1 time, last by max.patch ().