In the National League, electing a few first basemen to the team will be a tough task. On the one hand, there are many great players like Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, and Ryan Zimmerman, but there are also situations where the 1B might not be especially good, but they’re the best player on a team that will only get one all-star like Wil Myers, Eric Thames, Brandon Belt, or Anthony Rizzo. Granted, with the way Buster Posey’s hitting, Belt won’t need to be the San Francisco Giants’ only all-star, but it is a tough choice to narrow it down to merely a handful of first basemen.
A simple case can be made for each player listed, but they’ll probably only have a few. Taking into account the aspect of the designated hitter, there will probably be two first basemen and two just flat-out good hitters in each lineup. To save us some tears over missed players, let’s assume that all four spots will be filled by first basemen and make our list from there. PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT The Arizona Diamondbacks’ star has a lot to offer and is an easy choice for the starting spot, for his bat has been absolutely unstoppable this season. Batting .323, he’s acquired 65 RBIs, 18 home runs, and an unbelievable 13 steals! Goldy’s been showing off and he needs to be a part of the NL lineup for it. ERIC THAMES Batting a mere .241, all-star hopes do not look good for the Milwaukee Brewers’ first baseman. You could argue that his 20 homers are really something to write home about, but 11 of those blasts were in the first month! Unless a teammate like Travis Shaw or Orlando Arcia misses the cut, I wouldn’t expect Thames to be in Miami, this Mid-Summer Classic. JOEY VOTTO The Cincinnati Reds’ Vottomatic has had a possibly Hall of Fame career and his 2017 season has reflected that, so far. He’s clearly been the best Reds player as he has acquired a .303 batting average, 55 RBIs, and a whopping, fifth in all of baseball, 21 home runs! #19 definitely deserves a spot on the NL team, this July. BRANDON BELT The Giants’ first baseman might have had a shot at the all-star game if it weren’t for the team’s unbelievable catcher, but his stats simply don’t add up to a couple days in Miami, Florida. The lefty has batted a terrible .228, with only 35 RBIs, and 14 home runs. I’m fairly sure Eddie Gaedel might’ve had better numbers, so let’s just keep Belt in San Fran, next month. RYAN ZIMMERMAN In his 266 at-bats, this year, this Washington National has assured us that Bryce Harper won’t be the only Nat heading to the 88th Annual ASG. With 61 RBIs, he’s fourth in baseball, with a batting average of .338, he’s third in baseball, and with 19 home runs, he’s got a shot at the Home Run Derby! There’s no reason why Ryan Zimmerman shouldn’t be in this year’s National League lineup. ANTHONY RIZZO Sure, the Chicago Cubs’ first baseman has been playing well in the last month or so, but we can’t just disregard those two months at the beginning of the season. Batting .326 in the month of June doesn’t justify batting .218 in April and .192 in May, and neither does his 18 homers (six of which were hit in the last month), nor does his 50 RBIs (20 of which were in the last month). Say what you will, but one month of skill is not enough to put a player on the all-star team. WIL MYERS Okay, Myers has struggled a bit this year, but let’s face it: the San Diego Padres need an all-star. Things aren’t pretty for Myers, as he is batting just .262, with 15 homers, and 40 RBIs, but, let me rephrase: the Padres are desperate for even just one all-star. You could argue that Hunter Renfroe could make it, but he’s not doing an better than Myers, and he’s competing with Harper, Cody Bellinger, Scott Schebler, Jay Bruce, and Marcell Ozuna, so it’s safe to say that Myers will make the NL team because, again, let’s try this one more time: San Diego really, really needs an all-star. There’s a plethora of applicants for the position of first baseman in the National League lineup, but there can only be a few who actually make the team. Goldschmidt, Votto, and Zimmerman are by far the best at the job in their respective league, but there’s always a chance for maybe one more in the lineup. The other twelve first basemen in the NL, even if they weren’t listed, still have a shot. Jesse A. Cook “NL First Base Is Close To Call” June 29, 2017
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Heartbreak has befallen both the fans of New England sports and the foes of it, but what are the five best moments that unfortunately still came to no avail? After careful consideration, one from each of the Boston teams was found, except two for the Patriots, totaling to five moments.
NUMBER 5: The Boston Bruins 2013 Playoffs “Bergeron! Bergeron! Bergeron!” chanted Bruins radio play-by-play announcer, Dave Goucher, as Patrice Bergeron jumped into the excited arms of his teammates after the incredible 3rd period and Overtime Game 7 comeback over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Everything had looked gloomy with about ten minutes left in regulation, until Bergeron’s Bruins scored 3 goals to tie the game at 4 apiece and sent the B’s onto the next round and eventually onto the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately, this great upset led to no trophy for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane’s Chicago Blackhawks took only six games to take home the title over Boston. NUMBER 4: The Boston Celtics 2002 Eastern Conference Finals Versus the New Jersey Nets, the Celtics made possibly one of the greatest single game comebacks in NBA history: down 84-53 at the end of three quarters, Game 3 hopes looked grim for Celtics fans. Fortunately, Paul Pierce led his team to a 41-16 fourth quarter which ended in a 94-90 Celtics win. This was incredible, although the Nets took Games 4, 5, and 6 to win the series and head to the NBA Finals. NUMBER 3: The Boston Red Sox 1975 World Series Game 6 of the 1975 World Series versus the Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine is what led to the left field pole on the Green Monster at Fenway Park to be called the “Fisk Pole.” The thriller of Game 6 began with future beloved Bruins singer of the national anthems of the United States and Canada, Rene Rancourt belting out the Star Spangled Banner, it got interesting when Red Sox’ outfielder Bernie Carbo tied the game in the eighth inning, and it ended when BoSox’ Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk swung his arms above his head, waving the ball fair, and hit a walk-off home run. The next game, Game 7, ended with Redlegs’ center fielder, Cesar Geronimo jumping in midair after catching the Carl Yastrzemski fly ball that finished the ’75 series. NUMBER 2: The New England Patriots 2015 Super Bowl XLIX When Russell Wilson tossed the ball to Jermaine Kearse, it looked an awful lot like the ball had hit the ground, but in actuality, the Seattle Seahawks receiver had kicked the ball up before taking control of it. Seattle then took the ball from the spot of the lucky grab and drove down to the Patriots’ one yard line where head coach Pete Carroll told his quarterback to pass the ball instead of handing it off to great running back Marshawn Lynch. Fortunately, this has a happy ending for the Foxboro based franchise because with about 20 seconds remaining in that quarter, which happened to be the fourth, young and unknown cornerback Malcolm Butler made the biggest play of his career and intercepted the ball in the end zone to preserve the Pats’ 28-24 lead and win the 49th NFL Super Bowl. NUMBER 1: The New England Patriots 2017 Super Bowl LI Apart from losing the 28-3 lead, the Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback, Matt Ryan, tossed a seemingly impossible throw to future Hall of Famer Julio Jones, but he miraculously caught the projectile over the out of bounds line and slammed his feet into fair territory before falling out of play having gained the dearly needed yardage. Without that highlight reel play, Atlanta would not have made it into field goal range. Once again, to the delight of all of New England, the Patriots’ opponents would befall great misfortune: after several yards lost due to sacks that would push the Falcons out of field goal range, a Matt Bosher punt to the nine yard line, a Julian Edelman catch that seemed to transcend the realm of human ability, a Danny Amendola touchdown, a two-point conversion, an Overtime period, a James White touchdown, and a Tom Brady MVP Award, with a score of 34-28, the Patriots rendered the incredible Jones play redundant and secured the greatest NFL comeback in Super Bowl history. There have been many incredible plays in New England Sports history that tragically or joyfully did not come to ultimate fruition, but these are the obvious top five. Despite the misfortune that might meet the great city of Boston, it is important to keep in mind that they did win at least one championship in each of the Big Four sports in under ten years. Jesse A. Cook “Five Heartbreaking Failures From Great Plays In New England Sports” June 26, 2017 Becoming the first man in team history to accomplish the amazing feat, the Cincinnati Reds’ second baseman, Scooter Gennett, had a four-home run game last night at home in the 13-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals! He came merely one runner shy of becoming the first player in baseball history to hit for the home run cycle! That would be a solo shot, a two-run blast, a three-run dinger, and a grand slam all in one game.
Scooter led off his day with an RBI single in the bottom of the first which broke the 0-0 tie. Scoring on the play was Billy Hamilton from third. Hamilton, by the way, scored on May 24 to go ahead against the Cleveland Indians in the top of the ninth inning with two outs from first on a Zack Cozart single… I’ll just let that sink in… Now, as great as the speed demon, Hamilton, is, we must return to the topic of the fantastic history the scrawny middle infielder of Cincinnati made last night against the rival Cardinals: the young Gennett, born and raised in Cincinnati, might I add, stepped up again in the bottom of the third against the same pitcher, Adam Wainwright. Around the bases stood Reds’ teammates, Zack Cozart, Joey Votto, and Eugenio Suarez. With one out, Gennett looked to make a large contribution to his team’s 1-0 lead. With the full count, Wainwright dealt suicide to his Cards: Gennett hit a shot over the right field wall for a grand slam. 5-0 Reds was the score, and Gennett had the first of his ten total RBIs. It was now the fourth inning and Gennett had a tough act to follow: not merely repeating his homer of the previous inning, but following Eugenio Suarez’s base loaded-bases clearing triple. Gennett looked in at the new pitcher, John Gant; Gant put Scooter on another full count, but delivered the pitch that would put this game at a double digit lead for Cincy. Gennett swung hard and drove a line drive over the center field wall, which was a long way away; 404 feet. That turned from a 404 foot hit to a 404 error: baseball not found. Gennett, now coasting at 8 RBIs looked forward to the rest of the historic evening. Gant, nervous to face the red-hot Reds’ second baseman, put on his game face to attempt to keep Scooter off of the bases. Gennett stepped up to the plate in the sixth inning with nobody on base and one out with an eager expression. Fittingly standing with a three and one count, otherwise known as a “hitter’s count,” Gennett moved Gant to a gaunt mood with the ensuing 3-1 solo drive to opposite, left field. After Stephen Piscotty finally put his team on the board, hitting a solo homer to left against starter Tim Adleman, John Brebbia took the hill to try to be the man to shut down Gennett and keep him from the history books. Disregarding the fact that the lone Scott Schebler on base would definitely keep him from hitting for the fabled home run cycle, Scooter went up to the plate merely looking for a base hit. Having only hit three bombs all season before the three last night, Gennett had had enough excitement for one night… Or had he? With a count of zero balls and two strikes, Brebbia looked to be leading the young batter away from history. With two away, Brebbia dealt the pitch: “Gennett hits a drive to right! Did he do it? He has!” Scooter hit a line drive over the Great American Ballpark right field wall to complete his four home run night, only becoming the 17th player in baseball history to achieve such a feat. Before last night, the last man to hit four home runs in one game was Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers on May 8, 2012. Now Scooter has joined the names of Mike Schmidt, Willie Mays, and Lou Gehrig. Scooter Gennett made history last night and the Cincinnati Reds have a great shot at the playoffs if players like him can continue to play great. Jesse A. Cook “Scooter Knocks Out 4!” June 7, 2017 At this point, it’s tough to tell who will win the next World Series Championship and whoever wins has quite the task ahead of them. Not only will they have to overcome the best team in the opposite league and 14 others in their own, but they will have to top the Chicago Cubs coming back from being down three games to one and go to the 10th inning in Game 7 to break their 108 year curse. So who will become the 2017 Major League Baseball World Series Champions? It will be the-wait for it…
The Cincinnati Reds. Think about it; they’re outfield has been fantastic, they’re on a roll, and their pitching staff hasn’t been terrible for the first time since 2013. Sure, Jesse Winker struck out on four pitches to end his first game, but he’s had a great minor league career: he had a .296 batting average, 54 home runs, and 279 runs batted in. At this point in baseball, now, a great deal of the ballplayers will be former MiLB opponents. Currently, he’s back in the minors, but soon, the Cincinnati outfield will have the speedster who’s started to hit in center in Billy Hamilton, the power hitter in left in Adam Duvall, and eventually the five-tool player in right in rookie Winker. Hamilton has struggled in the past, but he has improved lately: his on-base percentage is up around .280 and he already has nine steals! The more he gets on base, the more opportunities he’ll have to steal. When Hamilton is hot, the Reds are on fire. Because of his insane playing of late, Cincinnati is just half a game behind the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central division. Duvall is another story for the Redlegs, but with a similar theme: he already has five homers and an almost .290 OBP! Duvall is looking at yet another all-star season, but so are many other Reds! With this amount of star athletes, there is no way that the Reds do not make the postseason. It’s pretty clear that Duvall is going to continue to hit and get on base, and so is Hamilton, so what’s keeping the Cincinnati ballclub from the playoffs? The answer is their starting rotation. None of their pitchers who have started a game have an Earned Run Average below 2.70 and the majority of them lie around 4 and 5. Cincinnati’s Scott Feldman, Brandon Finnegan, Bronson Arroyo, Rookie Davis, Tim Adleman, and Amir Garrett need to step up their playing. Garrett started the year off strong, but has faltered of late: the 3-2 starter only gave up four runs in his first three starts combined, but in his last three, he has given up all of 14 runs! Unless Garrett and his fellow starters can pick up their play by the month of June, the Hunt For Red October will be over before it started. When Winker is called back up to the Big Leagues, after having figured out how to hit better, the Cincinnati offense will have the added boost that they so desperately need to bring them to a sixth World Series banner. Hamilton has been hitting, Duvall has been crushing the ball beyond the fences, as is usual for him, so all the team needs to win, is a powerful Winker and a functioning starting rotation. Once these are taken care of, the Cincinnati Reds will be your 2017 Major League Baseball World Series Champions. Jesse A. Cook May 16, 2017 “The World Series Champions Will Be The- Wait For It...” Yes, yes, the beloved Cincinnati Reds’ second baseman, Brandon Phillips, has been traded to the Atlanta Braves for the two prospects, Andrew McKirahan and Carlos Portuondo. While he will be missed, this is exactly what they needed to do. BP was good, but he’s getting old, his play has decreased, he had a massive contract that the Reds just didn’t want to hold onto, and he’s rather injury prone. The Reds don’t play against Atlanta until Friday, June 2 when Phillips makes his first return to Cincinnati.
His home run numbers have declined over the years and he’s finally down to near single digits. BP may happen to be a small middle infielder, but with age, you grow slower, and if an aging ballplayer can’t hit for power or run fast, he’s close to useless; this was a genius move for the Redlegs. Despite having a 5.93 ERA after 27 innings in the majors back in 2015 with the Atlanta Braves, McKirahan had a 2.20 ERA in the Minor Leagues. 27 innings is 3 games total, that really is not enough to judge a man’s career, but his years of fantastic minor league baseball is certainly enough to judge his potential. McKirahan is young and will most likely turn out to be one of the Reds’ best moves. Carlos Portuondo comes to us from Cuba, and alongside Jesse Winker and Nick Senzel, he’s one of the prospects that will, not to be political, make Cincinnati great again. He had a fairly low ERA with Santiago de Cuba. In the Minor Leagues, Portuondo merely had a 3.63 Earned Run Average. Billy Hamilton, Adam Duvall, Joey Votto, and Zack Cozart have been signs of why Reds' fans should have hope for their offensive game, yet they have been rather scant of the pitching end. With the recent additions to their pitching staff, the Southwestern Ohio team could make it back to a level they have not reached since the days of Barry Larkin. While they did make the postseason a few years ago with a reincarnation of the 1990 team, it looks like they could definitely be just right back where they were very soon: Cincinnati will have an incredibly strong squad. Though the personality of Brandon Phillips, who my uncle won a contest to talk to over the phone and said was a wonderful person, will surely be missed, his declining play and the improving prospects shine a bright light on the future of the Reds. It’s hard to believe that the era of BP and Joey Votto is ending, yet as dedicated sports fans, we often have to deal with such grief. Cope with it how you will, but we’ll end on bright note: with Cincy’s recent trade, we could soon have a team akin to that of the 1990 World Champions with Barry Larkin, Billy Hatcher, and the Nasty Boys (Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton, and Randy Myers) or the Big Red Machine of the 1970s with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, and Tony Perez. Sit back and enjoy the ride, Reds Country, we’ll be back on top soon enough. Jesse A. Cook February 22, 2017 “BP To ATL In GA” The Cincinnati Reds have been near dead last in the National League in the last couple years, but can they change, this year? There have been many terrible teams that turned it all around in one year: the 1991 World Series was between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves, the 2 teams that had finished last in their respective leagues the previous year.
The Reds are kind of like the Boston Red Sox, they’ve been bad for a few years, but their minor league system has some good prospects who could very possibly take the Reds back to the playoffs. Before we talk about them, however, let’s focus on who’s currently on the team: They’ve got young stars like Billy Hamilton and Adam Duvall who they can rebuild around, but they’d need to get rid of some of their veterans for younger players. Brandon Phillips is a no-brainer, but he won’t go. The Reds have tried every year to rid themselves of him and get some minor leaguers, yet Phillips repeatedly invokes his no-trade clause; the Reds Legs are stuck with him until after the 2018 season. Joey Votto, on the other hand, is a bit of question mark. He’s been good in the last few years, but is he so good that they should keep him and rebuild around him or so good that they should trade him and get good players and prospects for him? Votto’s batted over .300 in the last 2 seasons, and 6 more times in his 10 year career, he hit 29 home runs in each of the last 2 years, and he’s batted in more than 75 runs in each of the last 2 years. These stats make you wonder how he hasn’t made the all-star team since 2013: he was hurt for most of 2014, but in the last couple years, he’s been better in the second-half of the season. If Votto can keep up these stats for the entire year, he, alongside Hamilton, Duvall, and the soon-to-be rookie, Jesse Winker, might be able to take the Reds to their first playoff bout since their Wild Card Game loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013. Zack Cozart is a player for whom Cincinnati may consider a trade. While he may not have peaked yet, he has a great future ahead of him and The Reds would be able to acquire other prospects. He would be a valuable acquisition for a team striving for the championship this year like the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, or Texas Rangers. Cozart’s contract ends after this coming season, so the Reds will definitely want to trade him and get players in return, rather than lose him to free agency and get nothing. This is all assuming that the Reds won’t want to sign him back. Now, they could do what the New York Yankees did with former Reds’ closer Aroldis Chapman, and trade him away during the season then sign him back after the playoffs when he’s a free agent. Getting back on the topic of prospects; there is another hope for Reds Country: Jesse Winker. Playing in Triple-A ball for the Reds’ Kentucky affiliate, the Louisville Bats, Winker batted .303, had 115 hits, and batted in 45 runs. Granted, MiLB is nowhere near being on the same level of playing as MLB, these stats are still quite impressive. Keep in mind, if the RBI and hits seem low, he did only play 106 games at AAA. Winker isn’t their lone ray of hope. As I mentioned before, Hamilton and Duvall are very promising, yet there are more minor leaguers that should be ready, and plenty of young men who are currently on the roster. Other players in the Reds’ minor league system include Nick Senzel, Amir Garrett, Robert Stephenson, and Alfredo Rodriguez. Of these 5, Winker is rated third, by MLB.com, behind (in order) Senzel and Garrett. Senzel played 10 games for the Pioneer League Rookie Ball Billings Mustangs and 58 games for the Midwest League Single A Dayton Dragons. In total, he hit .305, 24 doubles, and he batted in 40 runs. Garrett has a bit more experience; having played professionally since 2012, he pitched very well in 2016 for the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the Triple A Louisville Bats: with a total 2.55 Earned Run Average in 144.2 innings, he only gave up 6 home runs, and a 1.092 WHIP (Walks plus Hits over Innings Pitched). Robert Stephenson has already made the majors; in fact, he started 8 games at the end of the 2016 season for the Reds with a 2-3 record and a 6.08 ERA in 37 innings pitched. It’s not quite clear how close Rodriguez might be to the majors, for he’s playing for the Reds of the Dominican Summer League. Players in that league are usually Hispanic guys who were just recently signed by a big team. Most players don’t exceed the age of 21, which is the age when a good portion of Hispanic guys make the majors. Rodriguez, at 22 years old, is one of those few, though he was only signed last year. The Reds already have on their team promising young players like Anthony DeSclafani, Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, Dilson Herrera, and Eugenio Suarez. These guys, combined with their prospects, the future players they may receive in trades, and the veterans like Joey Votto that they may not trade in order for them to lead the team, could turn the Reds back into the playoff team they were a few years ago, in the late 80s and early 90s, or the Big Red Machine of the 70s. It will take some crafty ownership and general managerial skills, but the hunt for a Reds October may not be too far off from their prey. Jesse A. Cook January 8, 2017 “The Hunt For Red October” 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 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 |
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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