Tomorrow starts the 365 day journey that will come to be known as 2017, so to welcome the new year, here’s an article that concerns strictly baseball in years ending with 7:
It was 1887, and the 2 leagues were the National League and the American Association. Atop the National League at 79-45 were the Detroit Wolverines, and atop the American Association at 95-40 were the St. Louis Browns. President Grover Cleveland was serving his first of 2 non-consecutive terms, and he was one of the most baseball-loving presidents in American history. Tip O’Neill of the Browns won the Triple Crown in the AA, while in the NL Sam Thompson of the Wolverines led in batting average and in RBIs and Billy O’Brien of the Washington Nationals led in home runs. By 1897, the AA had disbanded and the top 2 teams in the NL faced off for the Temple Cup, the NL Championship series. The 2 competitors were the 90-40 Baltimore Orioles and the 93-39 Boston Beaneaters. Led by the league leader in home runs, Hugh Duffy, the Beaneaters took the Cup in 5 games. Now we arrive in 1907, so Cubs fans rejoice! At 92-58 and led by star outfielder Ty Cobb, the Detroit Tigers were eager to face the powerful 107-45 Chicago Cubs for the World Series. The Cubs were led by a trio of infielders: Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance. The poem about the 3 may happen to be what put them all in the Hall of Fame, however Baseball’s Sad Lexicon did more to cause anguish to the Cubs’ opponents.: These are the saddest of possible words: “Tinker to Evers to Chance.” Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds, Tinker and Evers and Chance. Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble, Making a Giant hit into a double Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble: “Tinker to Evers to Chance.” The poem describes that if a ball comes anywhere near 1 of these 3 greats, all hopes of getting on base vanished. The smug Tigers thought that they would walk all over Chicago, but the Detroit crowd would be silenced in 5 games. The next year, 1908, would mark the last Cubs World Series victory for 108 until November 2 and 3, 2016. The southside of Chicago would be grinning in 1917, for the 100-54 Chicago White Sox would defeat the 98-56 New York Giants in 6 games. Unfortunately, Chicago would experience not a single World Series title until 2005 when the White Sox won for the first time in 88 years. The next year, in 1918, the Boston Red Sox would win their last World Series until 2004, an 86 year curse. In 1927, the league was dominated by the New York Yankees’ lineup, coined the nickname “Murderer’s Row.” The ‘27 Yanks lineup consisted of 4 future Hall of Famers. Leading off was Hall of Fame center fielder Earle Combs, then shortstop Mark Koenig, followed by Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, in right field (who led the league with 60 home runs, a record that wouldn’t be broken until Roger Maris of the Yankees hit 61 home runs in 1961), and Lou Gehrig, at first base, after them was left fielder Bob Meusel, then Hall of Fame second baseman, Tony Lazzeri, after whom came the third baseman, Joe Dugan, and the catcher, Pat Collins. The 110-44 Bronx Bombers swept the 94-60 Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. The Negro National League, which was in Western America, was won by the 54-28 Chicago American Giants, who swept the 53-41 Birmingham Black Barons. The Eastern Colored League was won by 64-39 Atlantic City Bacharach, who in the first half of the season went by the name of the Giants, then changed to the Bees for the second half. In 1937, American League batting was dominated by the Yankees’ Joe DiMaggio, and the Tigers’ Hank Greenberg. Lefty Gomez of the Yanks won the pitcher’s Triple Crown by leading in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Carl Hubbell led the National League in wins and strikeouts, however Jim Turner beat him in ERA. The 102-52 Yankees beat their crosstown rivals, the 95-57 New York Giants 4 games to 1 for the World Series. In the Negro American League, while the 19-10 Cincinnati Tigers led in winning percentage, the 23-14 Chicago Americans and the 13-8 Kansas City Monarchs were the disputed winners. After some time, the Monarchs were crowned 1937 champions. In the Negro National League, the Homestead Grays took home the title. 1947 would be a revolutionary year for not only sports, but civil rights in the world. That year, for the Brooklyn Dodgers, a young man named Jackie Robinson would take the field at Ebbets Field. Robinson faced a great deal of adversity while playing in the Majors, simply because he was black, but a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates marked a formative moment in his life. In his final year, Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg played for the Pirates, and as a Jewish ballplayer, Greenberg had faced some hatred from fellow ballplayers, as well. Robinson had been knocked to the ground, avoiding a bad throw to first, but when he looked up from the baseline, he saw something he hadn’t seen much of in that year: a helping hand. Hank Greenberg helped him up, something that no one had done for him a long time. The 94-60 Dodgers would later lose the World Series to the 97-57 New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox left fielder, Ted Williams, won the Triple Crown that year, and Robinson won Rookie of the Year. In the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the Grand Rapids Chicks defeated the Muskegon Lassies. In California, the first College World Series was held, and in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the first Little League World Series was held. The New York Cubans beat the Cleveland Buckeyes 4 games to 1 in the Negro League World Series, but Robinson’s playing that year in the MLB would pave the way for baseball to become fully integrated, and the Negro Leagues soon disbanded. The 95-59 Milwaukee Braves beat the 98-56 New York Yankees for the 1957 World Series. 1957 was a rather confusing time for Americans. Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower was president, however the Soviets had recently launched the space probe, Sputnik. The quiz show, Twenty-One, had a scandal on their hands for giving their favored contestants the answers before the show, and the Nishitetsu Lions had beaten the Yomiuri Giants for the Japan Series. In baseball, there were now rising stars like Luis Aparicio, Henry “Hank” Aaron, and Willie Mays. Now Boston Red Sox fans, prepare to cry, for 1967 was the Impossible Dream season for the 92-70 BoSox. They lost in 7 games to the 102-60 St. Louis Cardinals. In 1967, Lyndon Baines Johnson was president, however Richard M. Nixon was running a successful campaign for the 1968 election, and in other news, the Yomiuri Giants had beaten the Hankyu Braves for the Japan Series and the first NFL Super Bowl was held that year, with the Green Bay Packers as the first Super Bowl Champions. By ‘67, baseball’s seasons had extended from 154 games to the modern 162. It was an incredible, unbelievable season for Boston. They were a ragtag team of essentially nobodies, except for Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Conigliaro, and Jim Lonborg, but they made all the way to the World Series only to come 1 game shy of breaking the Curse of The Great Bambino which they had been struck with in 1919 when they traded Babe Ruth, the Great Bambino, himself, to the New York Yankees for $100,000. In that year, Lonborg won the American League Cy Young Award, and Yastrzemski won the American League MVP Award and he became the last player to win the Triple Crown until Miguel Cabrera in 2012 for the Detroit Tigers. In 1977, the Bronx was burning. They’d just lost the World Series in ‘76 to the Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine, which was not unlike the ‘27 Yankees’ Murderer’s Row. The Big Red Machine’s fielders went at catcher, Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, at first base, Hall of Famer Tony Perez, at second base, Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, at third base, all-time leader in hits at 4,256, Pete Rose, at shortstop, Dave Concepcion, in left field, George Foster, in center field, Cesar Geronimo, and last, but least, in right field, Ken Griffey Sr. The team began to disband the late months of ‘76 and early months ‘77 when Perez was sent to the Montreal Expos. However, now we must get back to the Bronx. Fans were excited about the recent acquisition of Reggie Jackson, who in the middle of the intense season, in an interview proclaimed himself “The Straw That Stirs The Drink.” Of course people were scared out there because of the Son of Sam killings. David Berkowitz was later revealed to be the murderer called, Son of Sam, who would go out at night, find women with long hair, and kill them. In the midst of all this, the 100-62 Yankees were in the American League Championship Series against the 102-60 Kansas City Royals. After beating the Royals 3 games to 2, the Bronx would be in the World Series, yet again, to face the 98-64 Los Angeles Dodgers who had beaten the 101-61 Philadelphia Phillies 3 games to 2 in the National League Championship Series. The Yankees won the Championship 4 games to 2. In 1987, pitcher Nolan Ryan had become one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Wade Boggs, Andre Dawson, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, and Tony Gwynn were quickly becoming the stars, and the Minnesota Twins had beaten the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series title. By 1997, the MLB had the 3 divisions in each league that we have today: East, Central, and West. The Divisional Series and Wild Card teams had been introduced. With World Series MVP, Livan Hernandez, the Wild Card Florida Marlins beat the Cleveland Indians for the first of 2 Marlin World Series wins, the second being in 2003. 104 years before, in 1903, the Boston Red Sox had won the first ever World Series, 89 years before, in 1918, they’d won for the last time until 3 years before, when the self-proclaimed “Idiots” won the 2004 World Series, breaking the 86 year Curse of the Great Bambino. Still led by David “Big Papi” Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, Tim Wakefield, Mike Timlin, and Curt Schilling, Boston had a great shot at the ‘07 title. They had also made the crucial recent acquisitions (and having called up to the Majors from the Minor Leagues) of Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima, Mike Lowell, Coco Crisp, J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Rookie of the Year, Dustin Pedroia. Pretty great team, right? At 96-66, tied with the Cleveland Indians for best record in baseball, the BoSox had no trouble sweeping the 90-73 Colorado Rockies for the World Series win. In this coming spring of 2017, the fourth annual World Baseball Classic will be held. One of the top headlines has been Team Israel; they’ve made it past the qualification round and into the actual tournament for the first time. We don’t what deals will be made next year, nor do we know who will win which award, nor do we know who will the World Series. It should be an exciting year, though, and I, for one, can’t wait. The New York Mets and Cleveland Indians will be the first teams to report to Pitchers’ and Catchers’ Training Camps for Spring Training on February 12, 2017. Baseball has taken a fun ride through the ages, and year 7s have been some of the most exciting. It’s been a great last several decades, and on the final day of 2016, let’s hope for some more. Jesse A. Cook “Baseball Ending In Year 7s: Welcoming 2017” December 31, 2016
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North Texas has taken “Mean Green” to a new level. It all started on December 23, 2006 at the Alamodome when Southlake Carroll High School quarterback Riley Dodge, in the high school Texas State Championship, bent over just before snapping the football and puked. The ensuing play would result in the winning touchdown pass from Dodge for Southlake Carroll. On the way back to the bench, just barely after high-fiving his coach, Dodge vomited again. How does Dodge connect to North Texas? Two ways: he later went to North Texas, and earlier this week on Saturday, December 24, 2016, at the Heart of Dallas Bowl, running back Jeffrey Wilson, like a quarterback, hurled something during the game. Before a muffed snap, Wilson, who had scored two touchdowns earlier in the game, became slightly ill and very noticeably relieved his upset stomach before the snap. The quarterback, Alec Morris, was distracted by his teammate’s momentary distress and thusly fumbled the snap! Wilson then blocked for the horror-stricken Morris, as the quarterback regained possession of the football. Think that’s fun? Well, just before the very next play, Wilson vomited once again! He puked more casually this time, as if he was saying “You know, on this next-hold up a sec (pukes)-on this next play you should…” It was very relaxed and all, however he still had another play to run. Morris received the snap, dropped back, and threw a 12 yard pass. It was a screen pass, so without the blocking of none other than the Duke of Puke, Jeffrey Wilson, it most likely would have ended up as a loss of yardage. Down in Denton, Texas, the puke sure isn’t a fluke! The players seem to only have good arms, so I guess vomit must be their good-luck charm. The North Texas Mean Green play pretty well when they expel. With Wilson and Dodge, they only believed when their stomachs were relieved.
Now enough with the rhyming and my impeccable comedic timing, but anyway, unlike Dodge in his high school game, Wilson and the Green lost. The Army Black Knights defeated them 38-31 in overtime. They did do very well on that particular drive, so the question must be asked for those Mean Green fans who wish to win the Heart of Dallas Bowl next time: how much food could a Mean Green chuck if a Mean Green would chuck food? The answer: you’ll be able to tell by how much they win by. At North Texas, they eat, sleep, among other things, and breathe Mean Green. Mean Green runs in their blood and their stomachs. Just let it be known to the world, as a tribute to Jeffrey Wilson and Riley Dodge, that MEAN GREEN PUKE IS NO FLUKE! Jesse A. Cook “Mean Green Puke Is No Fluke” December 19, 2016 Well, that ruins it. The MLB All-Star Game will not affect home field advantage in the World Series, anymore! Like in other sports, the pennant winner with the better regular season record will be awarded home field advantage in the World Series.
Why is “it” ruined? Well, the “it” is the Major League All-Star Game, and here’s why this ruins it: since the game determines which league is awarded home field advantage in the World Series, players actually tried to win the ballgame, making the event entertaining. Now, from here on out, the ASG will be a dreary, boring showing where the scores pile up to 1000 to 1000, like the NBA, NHL, and NFL, and many other major sports. It doesn’t make sense financially for the league. Since the game will be so boring, viewers will go way, way down. What does the sport have to do to make the same income they’d make if the ASG still mattered? They either have to spice up the Home Run Derby, make the game important, somehow, or add another event. Nobody really watches the celebrity softball game, so what event would be added? A pitching game, a fastest base-runner contest, etc.? Who knows? So, if they have to pay for another event, or reconfigure more of the sport to make this work so the ASG is still watchable, why change it at all? The answer is that the team awarded home field advantage often doesn’t have the better record. Who knows how 2004 would have turned out if World Series home field advantage was determined by record and not who won the ASG. The American League won the All-Star Game and the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals to win the Series (for the first time in 86 years, might I add), however St. Louis did have the better record. If the home field advantage was determined by record, then, maybe the BoSox would’ve only ended their curse 3 years later in 2007, when they had the better record than their opponents, the Colorado Rockies, and won the World Series. Also, the American League won the ‘07 All-Star Game, so Boston would’ve had home field advantage no-matter what. There’s some sense to it and there’s also little sense to it, but nevertheless the rules have been amended; the Major League Baseball All-Star Game will no longer affect home field advantage in the World Series. Some people like it and some people don’t, but the 2017 All-Star Game in Miami, Florida at Marlins Park will be the first of many (unless they change it back) midsummer classics not to matter to the rest of the season at all. Jesse A. Cook December 1, 2016 “The MLB ASG; Well That Ruins It” |
AuthorJesse Cook: High school junior. Does play-by-play for the Sharon Varsity Eagles softball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and football teams. Fanatic of the Boston and Cincinnati teams in the Big Four sports. Designs graphics of athletes, politicians, and musicians at Picsart.com. Archives
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