After taking a yearlong hiatus from baseball last May, the Seattle Mariners’ outfielder, Ichiro Suzuki, returned for the opening series of the Major league Baseball regular season at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan against the Oakland Athletics.
In the style of Derek Jeter and David Wright, “#RESPECT” tags are circulating Twitter with Ichiro’s number in the word, reading “#RE51PECT” where the “1” melds with the “P.” With five at-bats over the two games in Tokyo against Oakland, the legendary Mariners’ outfielder, walked once to ensure a .167 on-base percentage for his final season, 2019. Ichiro’s career is benchmark in baseball history, signifying that the sport has truly become worldwide. Ichiro has set a precedent for foreign athletes to make their way in American sports’ leagues. He acquired 3,089 hits in his Major League career, though debuting at the 27 years of age, which is old for most rookies. He acquired 2,542 of his hits for Seattle. Including his two games this season, he played 19 seasons in the Major Leagues, 14 of them in Seattle, three years for the New York Yankees, and three years for the Miami Marlins. Apart from his 19 seasons in America, he played nine seasons in Japan in the Nippon Baseball League. He spent his entire Japanese career with the Orix Blue Wave, based out of the Kyocera-Dome in Osaka. He acquired 1,278 hits for the Blue Wave. Combined with his Major League stats, Ichiro’s career hit total comes to 4,367, 111 hits more than the Cincinnati Reds’ utility star, Pete Rose, who acquired the recognized most hits in Major League Baseball history at 4,256. Tied with Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero for the 126th best W.A.R. (Wins Above Replacement) in baseball history at 59.4, Ichiro is a ten-time all-star, a ten-time Gold Glove Award winner, and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He has finished in the top-25 for voting for the Most Valuable Player nine times, winning the award in his rookie season, 2001, when he easily won the Rookie of the Year Award. In his first M.L.B. game, Ichiro and the Mariners took home a 5-4 victory over the Athletics. In his final M.L.B. game, Ichiro and the Mariners took home a 5-4 victory over the Athletics. He left the field at the Tokyo Dome during the eighth inning of yesterday’s game to a blisteringly loud crowd full of nothing but cheers. Jesse A. Cook “Ichiro Returns To Japan, Retires” March 22, 2019
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On a six-game win streak the Oakland Athletics pose the biggest threat to the Boston Red Sox in the American League. Oakland began as an afterthought in the AL West with Houston and Seattle barrelling over the rest of the division, but around the All-Star Break they jumped forward into the picture and they made two big moves at and after the deadline that put them ahead of the curve. A’s general manager, David Frost, said, “We’ve been looking for starters, so we were lucky that Mike (Fiers) was available to us.” A partner to Sean Manaea in the starting rotation easily sets Oakland above Seattle who has little depth at the starter role. Fiers is 1-1 since the All-Star Break with a 1.91 Earned Run Average including a win over Boston. The Mariner’s ace, James Paxton, who is 1-2 since the All-Star Break (including a loss to the Angels where he never finished the first inning) with a 3.80 ERA. The Mariners have also fallen greatly, not only from being second in the West, but from being a Wild Card team. Sean Manaea has faced the Red Sox twice this year and defeated them on both occasions, the first of which was a no-hitter. He also has the ninth best ERA in the AL for the season at 3.38. In addition to that his 1.01 Average of Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched is fifth in the AL and eighth in all of baseball. However, every pitcher with the exception of Brett Anderson and Manaea in the Oakland rotation and every pitcher in the Athletics’ bullpen but Ryan Buchter is a right-handed pitcher which puts Oakland at a disadvantage: Boston hits only one home run every 24 at-bats versus right-handers, but they hit one home run every thirty-five at-bats versus southpaws. Boston also strikes out once every five at-bats versus righties and once every four at-bats versus left-handers. The Sox also hit .273 with an .812 OPS versus righties, while batting a mere .257 with a .737 OPS versus lefties. That being said, even without Mike Fiers and Jeurys Familia, Oakland is 4-2 against Boston, three of those victories being over the first three pitchers in the Red Sox’ rotation (1. Chris Sale, 2. David Price, and 3. Rick Porcello). Unfortunately for Oakland, Boston recently traded prospect Jalen Beeks to the Tampa Bay Rays for now 5-4 Nathan Eovaldi, who threw six no-hit innings in a combined one-hit shutout over the A’s in their only meeting this season on May 30. If the season ended today, the A’s would have to win the Wild Card Game over the New York Yankees, who are 6-8 since the All-Star Break. The Yankees hit one home run every 23 at-bats, they strikeout once every four at-bats, hit .251, and have a .761 OPS versus righties, while hitting one home run every 18 at-bats, they strikeout once every four at-bats, hit .261, and have an .836 OPS versus lefties. That being said, who knows if Aaron Judge or Gary Sanchez, two of their best home run hitters, will be back by the Wild Card Game? Also, Luis Severino has by far the best ERA on the team, and that’s 3.08! That’s not too exciting for the Bronx when they have a losing record in the second half. With these facts in mind, it looks pretty clear that Oakland would move on to play Boston in the ALDS. How do we know Oakland won’t overcome their 4.5 game deficit to the Astros? The defending World Series Champions have a far, far tougher schedule with two against the Colorado Rockies, three in Seattle, three at Fenway Park in Boston, and three against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Those are four tough serieses against four tough competitors. Oakland, on the other hand, has only three even slightly difficult serieses: they have two games at home against the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers, they’re playing three games in Seattle, and their last difficult matchup is at home against the falling Yankees. Houston and Oakland do end up playing one another in two three-game sets to finish the month of August, but they each get three home games from the six game scrum. Since just before the break, Oakland is 3-1 versus Houston. Furthermore, the Astros hit one home run per every 27 batters, strikeout once every four batters, hit .250, and have a .745 OPS versus right-handers, while they hit a home run once every 26 batters, strikeout once every five batters, hit .271, and have an OPS of .791 versus lefties, showing another advantage for the predominantly right-handed Athletics pitching staff. Houston has also struggled since the break going only 8-8 compared to Oakland’s sweet 8-4 second half. The Astros are 2-2 versus Boston, showing that they are not quite as good as the green and gold when it comes to blasting bombs over the Green Monster. The threat from the Central, the Cleveland Indians (who are 2-4 versus Oakland), though they have not played the Red Sox this year, against the other top four teams in the American League (Astros, Yankees, A’s, and Mariners, respectively) are 10-19. The Mariners are 3-4 versus Boston and they’re falling apart. The Yankees are 5-9 versus Boston and the Sox completed a four game sweep of New York Sunday night. The Astros are only .500 versus Boston, Cleveland is projected to do incredibly poorly against them, Seattle is .375 against the Red Sox, New York has a .357 winning percentage (and has been especially terrible) against Boston of late, but the Athletics have .667 winning percentage against them all year (with a no-hitter). This is not to say that Oakland will definitely beat the Red Sox, this is just to say that they have the best chance. Of all 14 other teams in the American League, Oakland is the best suited to take on Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, and Chris Sale. Granted, throughout his career, Cleveland and Houston batters hit Sale better than Oakland, this season Cleveland has hit only one home run every 28 at-bats, strikes out once every five at-bats, with a mere .271 batting average, and a .779 OPS versus lefties. Sale, a lefty, is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, so against him, assuming he starts during the three game series in Boston, the Indians’ stats this year against lefties will most likely falter. Finally, Boston has a rather split rotation as they have three lefties (no matter if it’s the current situation with Sale on the 10-Day Disabled List and Brian Johnson in or the norm with Sale starting and Johnson in the bullpen) and two righties starting. When Sale is healthy that means that Johnson is working out of the pen, however that’s the only time they have a left-handed pitcher ready in relief. Oakland hits one home run every 25 at-bats, they strikeout once every four at-bats, they bat .251, and have a .758 OPS versus right-handers, and they hit one home run every 27 at-bats, they strikeout once every four at-bats, they hit .244, and they have a .737 OPS against left-handers. The A’s hit righties very well and that will most likely force Boston’s southpaw starters to go longer innings if they want to have lefties to spare if and when these two teams end up meeting in a five or seven-game series. It’s important to note that while every team will have 15 more players on their roster come September 1st for the 40-man roster, seven or eight of whom will most likely be pitchers, teams will still have to focus on saving arms from both the left and right sides. The postseason is when most teams decide that if their starter can go seven, eight, or even nine innings (10 if you’re now Hall of Famer Jack Morris), then they will probably have to be out there that long so if the starter the next day can’t make it through the fourth, they’re not using arms running on fumes to try to win that one. While Oakland’s hitting might not seem too outstanding, their pitching, especially against Boston is. Oakland has only allowed 3.67 runs per game against Boston, Houston has allowed 4.75 runs per game against Boston, Cleveland has allowed 5.03 runs per game against the four teams closest to Boston in record (Houston, New York, Oakland, and Seattle, respectively), Seattle has allowed the Red Sox to score 5.43 runs per game, and the Yankees have allowed an incredible 5.79 runs per game to Boston. Out of the five teams in the best position to have a shot at playing Boston in the postseason (Houston, New York, Oakland, Seattle, and Cleveland) the Athletics have by far the best pitching to fend off Boston’s hitting, and as any coach, player, broadcaster, fan, or… writer, will tell you: Great pitching beats great hitting. Jesse A. Cook “Oakland Is Boston’s Biggest Threat” August 7, 2018 Oakland has to decide soon whether they want a World Series ring this year or if they want to rebuild for 2019. Khris Davis, Jed Lowrie, and Blake Treinen are big names that would look great on any roster and will certainly be talked about come July 31. The question is this: is Oakland all in, or are they looking more towards the future?
The green and gold showcased two players in DC last week, Lowrie and Treinen, so they’re both on the map for teams definitely in the race for the ultimate trophy in late October. A veteran presence and an allstar middle infielder, such as Lowrie is a good target for better, younger teams. Every playoff team also needs a good closer and Treinen’s stats show that he is one of the best. Treinen has a 1.08 Earned Run Average, a 1.00 average of Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched, and he has 24 saves. He’s fourth in the American League in saves on a team that has only given him 28 save opportunities. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who are on an 11-game win streak could use a complement to seemingly equally fantastic closer Felipe Vazquez to help them come back in the contentious National League Central Division. The Astros, Braves, and Phillies all are in position to make serious postseason runs, but none of them are particularly fortified when it comes to late-game pitching. Boston, New York, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia would be prime locations for Lowrie because they all are rather weak at second base. With Dustin Pedroia hurt, the Red Sox would much rather have their old teammate on their roster to be a constant at second rather than alternating between Brock Holt, Eduardo Nunez, and Tzu Wei Lin. New York’s Gleyber Torres, while currently on the ten-day Disabled List, is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, but Didi Gregorius at shortstop is having a down year and hitting considerably worse than Lowrie (Gregorius is batting .265 with 17 home runs and 55 Runs Batted In, but Lowrie is batting .276 with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs). Hernan Perez in Milwaukee is having a terrible year (.245 batting average, six home runs, and 22 RBIs), so the Brew Crew would welcome Lowrie with open arms. Philadelphia has their own dilemma at second with Cesar Hernandez as he’s batting .270 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs. These trades, if made would point to Oakland looking at the future, because all these teams have prospects to give: Boston has Jay Groome and Tanner Houck (I would have included Jalen Beaks, but he was recently traded to Tampa for Nathan Eovaldi), New York has Justus Sheffield, Albert Abreu, and Chance Adams, Houston has Forrest Whitley and J.B. Bukauskas, Pittsburgh has Mitch Keller and Shane Baz, Atlanta has Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright, Luiz Gohara, Ian Anderson, and Kolby Allard, Milwaukee has Corbin Burnes and Luis Ortiz, and Philadelphia has Sixto Sanchez, Adonis Medina, Jojo Romero, and Franklyn Kilome. Of course, these are all top pitching prospects, so who’s to say any team would be willing to give up part of their future for one championship run? The answer is that I AM TO SAY THAT! Boston has a dilemma at second base, New York could use some higher quality talent, Philly, as well. In addition to that, every team wants depth in their bullpen because Houston doesn’t want Justin Verlander throwing nine innings in Game 1 of the ALDS when they might need him to be full speed for Game 3 or 4, Boston has the same situation with Chris Sale, New York with Luis Severino, Pittsburgh with Ivan Nova, and teams without the strongest starting pitching like Milwaukee, Atlanta, or Philadelphia also want a strong reliever to pick up the slack when their starters can’t make it through the sixth. Also, every team looking for a postseason run, namely New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh needs a great hitter. Khris Davis is having a standup year with 25 home runs, 72 RBIs, and an .854 OPS. He is a fine fielder, as well, so any team who acquires him would be more than equipped to face their foes during National League games or in the World Series against the NL pennant winner. With all this in mind, it’s important to return to the theme displayed in the title, “Is Oakland All In?” The Athletics recently acquired Jeurys Familia from the Mets; Familia is 6-4, he has a 2.62 ERA, and he has 17 saves in 44.2 innings over 42 appearances. At 59-43, the A’s are 1.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros, who are tied for first in the American League West, and they are 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot and six games ahead of the Rays, who are the next competitor for a Wild Card spot. These signs, such as recent trades to fuel their bullpen and their competitiveness in the West, point to a postseason run this year. If Oakland falters and falls apart completely by next week, these trades are no-brainers, but if they hold strong, I expect that Oakland will be a serious contender and a serious problem for their AL West rivals. Being 8-2 in their last ten games and having won four straight, it certainly does not look like the Athletics will die off. Jesse A. Cook “Is Oakland All In?” July 24, 2018 Today is the 20th anniversary of the Seinfeld episode concerning the holiday, Festivus. In following the tradition, this December 23rd, here is my airing of grievances and feats of strength from the major sports:
AIRING OF GRIEVANCES PLAYER’S POWER In the NBA, the power of the players to control their owners has been a constant problem. Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George and Chris Paul say they want to leave their franchise team and there’s no debate, they’re right onto listening for new deals! They say they want out and they’re gone. That’s ridiculous, but it looked like it was staying in the NBA until recently. STANTON LEAVES MIAMI Giancarlo Stanton followed in suit with the NBA stars and decided he wanted to leave the city he’s called home for his entire eight-year career. Immediately, he’s dealt to the New York Yankees, which actually leads me to my next grievance which is how a lifetime Pinstripe traded the star of the team he newly owns to the Yanks for next to nothing! Derek Jeter willingly deals the reigning National League MVP from the Miami Marlins to the Bronx for Starlin Castro and a couple of mediocre minor leaguers? Something’s not right, here. FIGHTING IN FOOTBALL From Michael Crabtree and Aqib Talib to A.J. Green and Jalen Ramsey, the fighting in the NFL has gotten out of control. The sport is dangerous enough as it is, and with the ongoing investigations into concussion protocol and CTE, they definitely do not to be scrutinized over how Ndamukong Suh stepped on Aaron Rodgers’ throat. The Cincinnati Bengals are a prime example, for they’ve been recognized as thugs ever since Adam Jones and Vontaze Burfict tried to essentially assassinate Antonio Brown in the 2015-16 AFC Wild Card. NHL LEAVES THE OLYMPICS With great players from around the globe in the NHL, it’s a real shame that this 2018 Olympic Games is the first tournament to not include the NHL athletes. Who doesn’t want to see Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin lead Team Russia against Patrick Kane and Zach Parise for Team USA, or Tuukka Rask and Team Finland against Henrik Lundqvist and Team Sweden, or the many notable faces of Team Canada against whatever sorry country they’re pitted against? The NHL doesn’t want to take two weeks out of their season anymore to showcase their best and brightest stars, but fortunately, we still have the Hockey World Championship in late spring. NBA SUPERTEAMS The Golden State Warriors, the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are prime examples of superteams. These teams are corrupting the NBA because now great players are just getting together and making it ridiculous for other teams to even try! It’s not inconceivable that the only competition in the West is the Warriors, Houston and OKC and it’s only Cleveland and Boston in the East because of these superteams. FOOD AT MARINERS’ GAMES The Seattle Mariners are a fine organization, but their food has gotten a little outlandish. Safeco Field is now serving roasted grasshoppers at Mariners’ games, but however good they may or may not taste, this writer is not on board with munching on insects. HATING TB12 The New England Patriots are often thought of as the Yankees of the NFL because they just keep on winning, but that hate is directed mainly at Tom Brady. People claim that he’s not the greatest quarterback of all time, but the stats do not lie and now people are claiming that he’s not that good when he’s the front runner for MVP. Giving the MVP Award to somebody else is like when the NBA gave the award to Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon or Magic Johnson just so Michael Jordan didn’t get it every single year; greatness gets repetitive and people need to get on board. 31 TEAMS Sure, the Las Vegas Golden Knights is a pretty addition to the NHL, but now the league is in a weird situation. The West now has 16 teams and the East has 15, lopsiding the league so that there’s one more team to contend with in the Western Conference than there is the East. Maybe it’s just an answer to how the Nashville Predators, who made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, were the last seed in the West, but the seventh seed Calgary Flames wouldn’t have made it in the East, so now teams have to do slightly better to make the playoffs. FEATS OF STRENGTH WIN STREAKS The Celtics, Cavs and Rockets all boasted win streaks in the double digits, with the Land at 12 games, Houston at 14 and the Celts at an outstanding, historic 16 games. Granted, all three of these organizations fell under my list of superteams, in the competitive National Basketball Association winning above ten games in a row is no small task. Only a strong team could pull off such a feat. ANGELIC DEALS The Los Angeles Angels are making themselves into a powerful foe for their American League counterparts. Already possessing arguably the greatest baseball player since Babe Ruth in Mike Trout, with the recent acquisition of Shohei Ohtani, Zack Cozart and Ian Kinsler, they’re a daunting danger to the daring demeanor of the distant desert teams in the AL West. The all-star Reds’ shortstop Cozart and the WBC Team USA star Ian Kinsler make a deadly, dastardly duo in the middle infield and Ohtani speaks for himself, something he doesn’t do when addressing an English-speaking crowd! They barely missed the playoffs last year, so with this rejuvenation, this year will be a wild one. THE COMEBACK Okay, okay, it was last season, but it’s still 2017 and 28-3 is the greatest Super Bowl comeback in history. Without their star tight end, Rob Gronkowski, and only held up by Tom Brady’s cool calm collectiveness, Julian Edelman’s nimble fingers, James White’s clutch speed, LeGarrette Blount’s means of just hurling himself through a defense and Martellus Bennett’s grit, Bill Belichick’s soldiers sauntered into Houston, through screeching Falcons to the first Overtime victory in Super Bowl history. A fifth ring to the GOAT’s hand through the only 21 minutes and 8 seconds of a comeback is no small deed. LIGHTNING STRIKES AGAIN Last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning was the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference and now they’re the best team in the entire league! This year, they have the best powerplay, most goals scored per game, the most points, most wins (and least losses), Nikita Kucherov leads the league in both goals and overall points, Anton Stralman has the best plus-minus, and Andrei Vasilevskiy has the most wins by a goaltender. This isn’t a jump from the absolute worst, but the irrelevant squadron from the 2016-2017 season is now the scariest phenom on the ice for the 2017-18 season. Now that I’ve exhausted my airing of grievances and feats of strength, it’s time to take out the festival pole. 2017 has been a good year for sports and let’s hope for an even better one in 2018, so this December 23rd can really prove to be a Festivus for the rest of us. Jesse A. Cook “Festivus” December 23, 2017 The last 50 years have given us some great Mid-Summer Classics, but what are the best moments? There are many fantastic instances, but to fit in as many as possible, a few have to be combined.
Don’t be alarmed if your favorite moment is missed: plays like Chipper Jones’ last hit won’t be included because incredible players retire every year, and in Chipper’s case, he got aboard on Ian Kinsler letting a ground ball get by him for a “hit.” If you really feel as if a moment that should’ve been here wasn’t, remember that this is only a review of the last 50 All-Star Games, from the 38th in 1967 in Anaheim to last year’s 87th in San Diego. If you still feel left out, feel free to leave a comment about it and there will either be a response in the comments, or, provided there are enough requests, they will be responded to in another article. 5: Torii Hunter robs Barry Bonds 2002 in Milwaukee In the 7-7 tie, the Minnesota Twins’ Torii Hunter was to take part of the blame for the draw. If it were not for his first inning play, robbing the San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds of a solo shot, the game would have ended in a National League victory. Of course, in the 2013 American League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox David Ortiz and bullpen cop, Steve Horgan, made Hunter’s robbing a home run look like a fevered dream. 4: Randy Johnson vs. John Kruk and Larry Walker 1993 and ‘97 in Baltimore and Cleveland These two count as one because both involved the Seattle Mariners’ Big Unit, Randy Johnson, embarrassing a National League left-handed star. In ‘93, the Philadelphia Phillies’ John Kruk took the stand and after Johnson fired one over his head, Kruk’s one hope was to not get killed at Camden Yards that day. The next few pitches, which led to a strikeout, involved spinning, twirling, and, yes, even some dancing as after he thankfully “swung” at strike three he promptly and joyfully tossed his bat and helmet aside with a major grin spread across his face. It was a similar case with the Colorado Rockies’ Larry Walker in ‘97 when Johnson threw one over his head in Cleveland, only Walker took a different stance… literally. Walker, a lefty, took initiative and went to the right handed batter’s box. Walker only spent one pitch with his helmet backwards on the right side of the plate before going back, but thankfully for him, Johnson walked him. 3: Cal Ripken Jr. Homers In Final ASG 2001 in Seattle Under different circumstances, such an occasion as a hit in a player’s final ASG would not be mentioned, but the Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken Jr. went out in pretty historic fashion. The first pitch from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chan Ho Park looked good enough, and Ripken sent it into the left field stands. Ripken’s third inning shot stands above Hunter’s home run robbing grab and Randy Johnson making Kruk and Walker look silly at number 3. 2: Pedro Martinez Fans Five And The All-Century Team 1999 in Boston The two great events at historic Fenway Park are combined into one unbelievable moment for this list. The pregame began with Red Sox’ Hall of Famer Ted Williams touring the field that he played on just over 50 years before and shaking the hands of all the all-stars on either team and with the present members of baseball’s “All-Century Team.” It was an incredible sight to see the greatest players in the world congregate around the then greatest living player inside baseball’s greatest ballpark. Sox future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez started the game by doing the seemingly impossible: with the first four batters in the NL lineup being future Hall of Famers (in order) the Cincinnati Reds’ Barry Larkin, the Rockies’ Walker, the Chicago Cubs’ steroid age power hitter, Sammy Sosa, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ steroid age power hitter, Mark McGwire, getting through even a small portion of the lineup without a scratch looked to be a daunting task for Pedro. Pedro amazingly cut down Larkin, caught Walker looking, pushed another K past Sosa, and started off the second by making McGwire look like a Little Leaguer. While the next batter, the Arizona Diamondbacks Matt Williams reached base when the second baseman, the Cleveland Indians’ Roberto Alomar, made an error, Pedro lucked out when Williams was caught stealing second and the next batter, the Houston Astros’ Jeff Bagwell, struck out; an inning-ending double play. 1: Pete Rose Collides With Ray Fosse 1970 in Cincinnati Imagine, if you will, you’re set and ready to receive the throw from the Kansas City Royals’ Amos Otis in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Cincinnati Reds’ Pete Rose barrels around third. You’re the Cleveland Indians’ catcher, and friend of Rose, Ray Fosse, and just as you’re about to put your glove on the ball to get ready to tag Charlie Hustle, he trucks you and steps on home plate as the walk-off, winning run while you topple backwards, doubled-over in pain. The hometown Cincinnati crowd was excited to see their beloved Rose hustle his way to the winning run for the NL over the AL in the 1970 All-Star Game at Riverfront Stadium, but concern quickly arose after seeing Fosse be hurled backwards. Fortunately, he played another nine seasons, so he turned out to be okay, but every baseball fan knows about this historic moment. Rose’s collision with Fosse to win the ‘70 ASG in extra innings is not only the greatest and most famous All-Star Game play from the last 50 years, but perhaps the greatest and most famous All-Star Game play of all-time. There have been many, many incredible plays, events, and moments in MLB ASG history and these are the top five from just the last 50 years; the first 37 All-Star Games aren’t even represented, here. Keeping that fact in mind, if you feel that an important moment was left out, please make yourself heard in the comments! Your feedback will be appreciated. The next Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. Who knows, maybe there will be something from the game twelve days from now to report on net year’s list… Jesse A. Cook “The Five Greatest MLB ASG Moments In The Last 50 Years” July 1, 2017 My dad turns 47 today, so I’ve been pondering for the last month or so, what would be the perfect gift? Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. can attest, baseball is the best way for a father and son to connect. I don’t play anymore, and I live in New England (I thought we’d have a couple inches of snow on the ground by now), so I decided that I should use my talent to buy him a gift I could afford: words; cheap, free however, meaningful words. Happy birthday, Padre:
It was 1990 when they heard the news: Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. would be playing on the same team. The Seattle Mariners had brought Junior to the Majors just the year before, and now the father Griffey would join him on the same ballfield. On September 14, 1990, the two would share a great moment when the dad hit a bomb to left center to put the Mariners above the California Angels 2-0. The incredible moment came in the next at-bat when Junior fired a shot just a few feet over into the left field stands. Back to back home runs in Junior’s second year and his dad’s second to last. The Griffeys will go down as one of the greatest father son pairs in history. Cecil Fielder and his son, Prince, are another historic pair. In the same year as the Griffeys’ back to back bombs, Cecil hit 51 home runs, and 17 years later, in 2007 Prince knocked his 50th out of the park. They’re the only father son pair to each have a 50 homer season. My dad grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and almost every night during the summer, he and his brother would fall asleep to the magical words of the longtime (and still on the air) Reds sportscaster Marty Brennaman. To this day, the Hall of Famer and his son will often take us out with Marty’s signature catchphrase: “And this one belongs to the Reds.” They’ve been doing the games for years just like I have been doing with my dad for our hometown sports teams. “Like father, like son”, has great meaning in the world of sports, and I’m thankful that I can share that with my dad. There are some great father son duos, and I like to think that my dad and I fall into that category. Happy birthday, Padre, and many more. Jesse A. Cook “On The Field, Over The Fence, And In The Booth: Like Father Like Son” January 2, 2017 |
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