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Saturday, July 23, 2011

CBS: Induction gives Blyleven chance to thank Koufax

The only one that maybe compared came when Blyleven was with Pittsburgh and threw a two-strike curve in St. Louis one day to catcher Terry Kennedy, who was a lefty, “and he swung at it at the last second, like he was chopping wood,” Blyleven recalls. “Thank goodness it was the last out, because it made everybody laugh, not only on our team, but on their team.

“It was strike three, third out, so I went back to the bench, put a jacket on and looked over at their dugout and they were still laughing at the way he chopped down. I didn’t laugh. I never laughed at a hitter.”

These kind of stories are one of my favorite things about baseball. I don’t even care if they shade the truth a little—a good story is the essence of baseball nostalgia.

Srul Itza Posted: July 23, 2011 at 02:27 AM | 13 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
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1. Coot Veal and Cot Deal make $486 every day Posted: July 23, 2011 at 03:06 AM (#3883703)

a good story is the essence of baseball nostalgia

a hall of fame sentiment

2. Good cripple hitter Posted: July 23, 2011 at 03:13 AM (#3883709)

a good story is the essence of baseball nostalgia.

That may be true, but I'm not sure a 17-7 game between the Yankees and the A's is a good story.

3. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 03:36 AM (#3883720)

That may be true, but I'm not sure a 17-7 game between the Yankees and the A's is a good story.

I guess it depends on whether the Sun rises from or sets on your ocean. That was a game that both Jake Ruppert and I could appreciate.

"During the 1920s New York Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert once described his perfect afternoon at Yankee Stadium. 'It's when the Yankees score eight runs in the first inning,' Ruppert said, 'and then slowly pull away.'"

- Peter Golenbock in Dynasty: The New York Yankees (1975)

4. The John Wetland Memorial Death (CoB) Posted: July 23, 2011 at 03:53 AM (#3883724)

That may be true, but I'm not sure a 17-7 game between the Yankees and the A's is a good story.

Try telling that to Brandon Laird ...

5. AROM Posted: July 23, 2011 at 05:40 AM (#3883749)

Great day for the Yankee offense, but not encouraging for Phil Hughes. Give him 14 runs by the 3rd inning against one of the worst hitting teams in baseball and he can't even qualify for the win. Looks like Wang all over again.

6. Srul Itza At Home Posted: July 23, 2011 at 07:58 AM (#3883766)

Wrong link.

And I can't seem to make it work, so cut and paste.

http://www.cbssports.com/#!/mlb/story/15343259/induction-gives-blyleven-chance-to-thank-koufax

7. TerpNats Posted: July 23, 2011 at 02:27 PM (#3883801)

8. cercopithecus aethiops Posted: July 23, 2011 at 02:35 PM (#3883804)

Not as dumb a move as giving Conlin an award in the first place. The HOF needs to start alternating the Frick and Spink awards instead of giving both every year. They ran out of deserving candidates years ago. Need to wait for some younger writers and broadcasters to earn theirs. Feel free to disagree, but first consider this -- you know it's just a matter of time before we see John Sterling accepting his Frick Award.

9. Dag Nabbit has the talking pillow Posted: July 23, 2011 at 02:52 PM (#3883812)

Feel free to disagree, but first consider this -- you know it's just a matter of time before we see John Sterling accepting his Frick Award.

And Hawk Harrelson. You can put it on the board - yes.

10. cercopithecus aethiops Posted: July 23, 2011 at 03:04 PM (#3883816)

And eventually, perhaps even the Award-Winning Dag Nabbit!

11. TerpNats Posted: July 23, 2011 at 07:19 PM (#3883905)

Not as dumb a move as giving Conlin an award in the first place.

Conlin in his prime was a superb baseball writer. He may have devolved into a crusty Dick Young type, but in his day he was as good as Young was at his peak. (Ask Bill Giles, who well remembers Conlin's regular inveighing about the "gang of six" who drove the Phillies into the ground in the late '80s.)

Oh, and if Sterling ever wins a Ford Frick, I'll never visit the Hall again.

12. cercopithecus aethiops Posted: July 23, 2011 at 07:31 PM (#3883909)

I view Conlin's late-career transgressions as on a par with Pete Rose's -- well-deserving of a lifetime ban. Same goes for Young. And then there's Bill Madden. Really? Bill Madden?

13. The Yankee Clapper Posted: July 23, 2011 at 11:22 PM (#3883974)

I understand that winners of the Ford Frick and J.G. Taylor Spink awards (this year, respectively, Dave Van Horne and Bill Conlin) will not receive their awards on Sunday, but will instead be part of a separate ceremony today Jay Jaffe article, Baseball Prospectus. Dumb move on the Hall's part to shove broadcasters and scribes into the background

The writers & broadcasters brought it on themselves by their vigorous efforts to promote the winners of these awards as Hall of Famers - the "Writers Wing", the "Broadcasters Wing", "Hall of Famer Peter Gammmons", and many more examples that were incorporated into the standard references to the winners. It wasn't intended to be that way, and the Hall eventually pushed back a bit in an attempt to make the difference a little clearer.

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Saturday, July 23, 2011

CBS: Induction gives Blyleven chance to thank Koufax

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