Hey now you’re an All Star, get your game on, go play……

Posted on July 13, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Today the 2012 All Star break comes to an end as the Red Sox are right up the road from me in Tampa to begin the second half of Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary season.

The “Trop”.

As they begin the second half of this historic campaign, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the Ghosts of Red Sox All Stars Past.

The very first Red Sox player to wear a Red Sox uniform in an All Star game was , drum roll please……

Ferrell was the starting catcher on the 1933 American League squad and he batted eighth in a line up that had a couple of guys named Ruth and Gehrig in the third and fourth spots. Coach Eddie Collins was also a member of the team.

The 1933 American League All Stars won that first game, 4-2.

Ferrell went 0-3 with a sacrifice bunt in the inaugural All Star event. When was the last time you saw a sacrifice bunt in an All Star game?

Joe Cronin made nine American League All Star teams as a player and in 1983 he was named the honorary captain of the American League squad. 

The first Red Sox player to drive in a run in an All Star game was Joe Cronin. He was the starting shortstop of the 1935 team and he did it without getting a base hit. He hit a sacrifice fly to center field to give the AL a 3-0 lead in a game they won 4-1.

The first Red Sox player to get a base hit in an All Star game was none other than, Jimmie Foxx. It came in the 1936 game at Braves Field in Boston when he pinched hit for Mike Higgins in the sixth inning of the game.

Foxx made six All Star teams while playing for the Red Sox, starting the game in 1938 and ’40’.

In an ironic twist, the man who slugged 534 career home runs, notched the Red Sox first ever All Star hit with an infield single to shortstop.

The first home run hit by a Red Sox player in an All Star game came in 1941. That year may ring a bell with you, some guy hit .406 that year and I’ve heard that it’s the last time a player hit .400 in a season. Well, that very same dude cracked the Red Sox first All Star homer and in that very same year.

 Ted’s last All Star home run came in Washington in 1956 off of Warren Spahn.

And I don’t think it will come as any surprise that he did it in pretty dramatic fashion. You see it was the bottom of the ninth inning at the Tigers home in Briggs Stadium. The American League came to bat trailing 5-3. Ted was the clean up hitter that day with some guy named DiMaggio batting in front of him. Now I understand that he had a pretty decent season in 1941 as well, but I digress. Ken Keltner, led off the ninth with a pinch hit single and he was followed by another single by Yankee second baseman Joe Gordon. This brought up Washington Senators third sacker Cecil Travis who walked. The bases were jammed and Joe D strolled to the plate. He hit a ground ball to short which got Travis forced at second but scored Keltner. It was now 5-4, men on first and third and Ted Williams stepped in.

The pitcher was Chicago Cubs right hander Claude Passeau. He delivered a pitch to Williams who proceeded to hit one of the longest home runs anyone had ever seen at Briggs Stadium, hitting the roof top right field facade and giving the AL a 7-5 win.

Ted Williams, played in 18 All Star games and hit four All Star home runs, more than any other Red Sox player.

Some other Red Sox All Star items worthy of note:

The record for most hits in an All Star game is four. Three people have done it and two of them are Red Sox. Ted Williams had two singles and two home runs in the 1946 All Star game at Fenway Park in a 12-0 AL win. Carl Yastrzemski had three singles and a double in a 5-4, 12 inning loss in the 1970 game.

 Yaz was voted the 1970 All Star game MVP, the first Red Sox player to garner the honor and the first player to be named MVP in a loss. He made the All Star team 18 times as a player and in 1989 he was named honorary captain of the squad for his 19th All Star showing.

The All Star game MVP Award was instituted in 1962, two years after Ted Williams retired. Since that time, there have been four Red Sox players who have won the award. The first was the aforementioned Yaz. The second was Roger Clemens in 1986.

Roger Clemens started the 1986 All Star game in the Astrodome in Houston. He pitched three innings facing nine batters and getting them all out. He struck out two, left the game leading 2-0 and was the winning pitcher in a 3-2 win. He was the game MVP.

In 1999 Pedro dazzled the nation with a blistering performance at the Fenway Park All Star game.

 

Pedro started the game, pitched two innings, faced six batters and struck out five of them on his way to the All Star MVP Award.

The fourth, and last, Red Sox player to win the All Star MVP award was right fielder JD Drew.

 

JD Drew went 2-4 in the 2008 All Star game, including a game tying two run homer in the seventh inning. The AL won the game in 15 innings at Yankee Stadium (the real one).  

David Ortiz was the only Red Sox representative in Tuesday nights All Star game. He went 1-2 in an 8-0 shellacking by the National League. Tonight he leads his team into the second half of what has been a shaky season thus far. Let the games begin…..Again…..I think!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, the first day of the rest of the year.

 

 

 

Posted in Fenway Park Baseball | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Clicking my heels and hitting the road…..

Posted on July 12, 2012 by fenwaypark100

On Friday July 20, 2012, I head north for a whirlwind couple of weeks and I hope to see some of you along the way. I will be accompanied by this:

First stop: Cooperstown New York, July 22, 2012.

David, Kerry and I will signing our book at Augers Bookstore at 11 AM on Sunday, just a few doors down from this place. Stop by on your way to the induction ceremony.

On Tuesday night, July 24th, I will be in Marshfield Massachusetts with these two guys, Joe Malone (center) and Steve Sweeney (right) and we’ll be talking about Fenway, the Red Sox and baseball on their radio show on 95.9 WATD FM, in Marshfield Mass. That will be at 6:00 PM.

Then on Friday night July 27th, the Whitman Wellness Center, will play host to a night about Fenway Park with festivities beginning at 6:30 PM.

They are located at 7 Marble Street in Whitman Mass.

The following day, Saturday July 28, 2012 at 1 PM, there will be a Fenway Feastival at Curtis Liquors in South Weymouth Mass.

Mr. Rick Curtis, owner of Curtis Liquors and promoter extraordinaire.

You will not want to miss this one, Joe Ligotti, The Guy from Boston will be broadcasting his radio show live from the store,

This gentleman will be there with his cigars,

That’s right, El Tiante, the legend…..

And he will be joined by none other than,

 

Sox lefty Bill Lee, who’ll be there with his own label,

Spaceman Red!

I will be there with David or Kerry and hopefully both. A great chance to get Images of Fenway autographed by the authors and a couple of Red Sox greats! And check out the link, you might just win something as well.

http://blog.curtisliquors.com/contests-giveaways-events-news-and-more/

The following Saturday, August 4th, the three amigos, hit the road and at 10 AM we will be at the Westborough Mall at Tatnuck Booksellers.

http://www.tatnuck.com/events.php

We will be there until noon and then we will head east to the Barnes and Noble store in the Derby Shops in Hingham Mass.

 Store Image

We will be there signing books from 4-6 PM, so all of you folks on the south shore come on by.

The Hanson Public Library is located at 132 Maquan St in Hanson Mass.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hanson-Public-Library/331132558292

Last and certainly not least, on the night of August 7, 2012, we will be at the Hanson Public Library at 6:30 PM to have a little talk about the writing of the book and of course Fenway Park and the Red Sox. You will be able to purchase the books there that evening.

What was it Dorothy said, “there’s no place like home”. I have lived in Venice Florida since one week after the ball rolled through Bill Buckner’s legs. I love this beautiful little town where I raised my kids. It was the poet who said “home is where the heart is” and with all the love I hold for this beautiful Gulf Coast Community…..

Photo Pete Wirzburger

 next week I return to my heart……..

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, July 11, 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Fenway Park Baseball, Fenway Park Other | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Of Fenway Park All Star Games and Heroes…..

Posted on July 11, 2012 by fenwaypark100

It was the bottom of the eighth inning of the 1946 All Star game. There were two outs and two men on when Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams strolled to the plate. The 34, 906 fans who had crammed Fenway Park on this Tuesday afternoon were raucous as they welcomed one of their own to the plate. It had been a great day for the American League, for Red Sox fans and for Ted Williams.

 Pictured posing together on the top step of the dugout are the eight members of the Boston Red Sox who made the 1946 American League All Star team: left to right, “Boo” Ferriss, Rudy York, Bobby Doerr, Hal Wagner, Johnny Pesky, Ted Williams, Mickey Harris and Dom DiMaggio. Ted Williams, left field, Dom DiMaggio, centerfield, Bobby Doerr, second base and Johnny Pesky, shortstop  were all starters on the 1946 American League squad.

On the mound was Pittsburgh Pirate hurler Rip Sewall who was known for his eephus pitch. The “eephus” was a pitch tossed very slow and in a high looping fashion.

Rip Sewall displays “eephus” grip. 

He threw it on the first pitch to Ted who swung and missed and with the count one ball and two strikes, Sewall threw it again. This time Williams deposited it into the Red Sox bullpen giving the American League a 12-0 lead in what turned out to be the final score. It was before they voted a game MVP, but had they done so at the time, it would have gone to Williams who was 4-4 with two home runs and five RBI.

In 1961, Fenway Park hosted her second All Star game. In was in the midst of a four-year stretch (1959-62) when there were two games played each year. The Red Sox had three men in uniform that day, pitchers Mike Fornieles and Don Schwall and manager Mike Higgins who had been named a coach by All Star manager Paul Richards.

However, Schwall was the only player to see action in the Fenway Park game. He pitched the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and allowed the National League’s only run of the game when Eddie Mathews, who had walked, scored on a two out single by St. Louis Cardinal first baseman Bill White. The game was tied 1-1 and when the rains came in the top of the tenth, it ended that way, the first All Star game to end in a tie.

Don Schwall was voted the American League Rookie of the Year in 1961. He struck out the side in the fifth inning of the 1961 All Star game at Fenway Park, including Stan Musial (L) to end the inning with the tying run on second base.

 The last All Star game played at Fenway Park was 1999 and it was an event for the ages.

D

Pedro Martinez started and won the game and the MVP Award as he pitched two innings and struck out five of the six batters he faced including Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in a row. He was the first American League pitcher in All Star history to start and win a game in his own home park.

The magic of baseball, the allure of Fenway Park, and the aura of heroes were all unveiled in one scintillating moment when before the game Ted Williams was the last player introduced on the All Century team.

Ted was enveloped by All Stars from both leagues, each one reduced to a little boy who just wanted to get close to a genuine American hero!

Ted Williams and fans.

Among them, Joe Torre.

The spontaneity of this moment lives today as one of the greatest moments in baseball history. For in one of its greatest showcases, nearly a century of baseball converged in the center of the diamond of baseballs oldest cathedral, in a tribute to one of its greatest players by none other than……Its greatest players…..It gets no better than that!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElUdqzUbssg

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, July 11, 2012.

Posted in Fenway Park Baseball | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

An Open Letter to Davd Ortiz…..

Posted on July 9, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Dear David,

Let me begin by way of an introduction. My name is Raymond Sinibaldi and I am a, soon to be retiring (I hope), school teacher in Manatee County Florida. I have been a baseball/Red Sox fan since 1959 (a few years before you were born) and when I attended my first game at Fenway Park, Ted Williams was playing left field.

Did you know that in 1959 Ted played the entire year with a pinched nerve in his neck? Did you know that he only hit .254 that year with 10 home runs and 43 RBI? Did you know that in 19 years his 162 game average was .344 with 37 home runs and 130 RBI? Did you know that  in 1959 he was the highest paid athlete in all of sports making $125,000 a year? Did you know that following that 1959 season the Red Sox sent him his contract to play for $125,000 for 1960? Did you know that Ted refused to sign it because he didn’t feel he earned it in 1959? Did you know that he sent it back saying he would only sign it if they gave him the maximum pay cut allowed, 25 %? Did you know that he gave himself a pay cut of $31,250 from a salary of $125,000? Well, if you didn’t, now you do!

I tell you this because I think it is important and I think you’re important.

David you are the last player remaining from the wonderful experience of the 2004 baseball season. You have always seemed to grasp and understand what that meant to millions and millions of Red Sox fans. You have displayed an inherent sense that this was far more important than simply a baseball team, that the Red Sox are a part of the culture of a large population of folks known as New Englanders.

What you did, personally, during that season, especially the playoffs, ranks among the most spectacular clutch performances the Fenway Faithful of any generation has ever witnessed. You have secured a place in Fenway Park and Red Sox history reserved for a very limited few. I will forevermore be grateful to you and that “band of idiots” who brought boundless joy which echoed across four generations.

However David, I must be honest and tell you that your comments of late about being “humiliated” and “disrespected” by the Red Sox organization have me scratching my head. I mean really David? You do understand that this organization has paid you $84,000,000 for your efforts theses past 10 baseball seasons, and to most folks who follow and root for you and the Red Sox that is more money than they will make in a lifetime, maybe several lifetimes? You do understand that averages out to $46,000.00 per paycheck every two weeks during the season the past 10 years? You do understand that breaks down to $16,646.85 each time you have come to the plate in a Red Sox uniform? And $57,534.25 for each game the Red Sox have played since you joined them and in 173 of them you didn’t even play? And $77,419.35 for each run you have batted in? And $245,614.03 for each home run you hit? You do understand that to most people, that would indicate a whole lot of respect? You do understand that the wonderful game you play is a humongous business right? A business which generates billions and billions of dollars! You do understand that you are 36 years old and that usually means, despite your outstanding year thus far, that your most productive years are behind you?

Now David I want you to understand that I work with high school baseball kids in Florida. I know the amount of time, energy and effort it takes for them to perform at what is the “entry-level” to the next level. Therefore I know and understand that there is more, way more that goes into reaching, then maintaining the level of skill required for you to get and stay where you are. I recognize and understand the amount of work, away from the field and the games that goes into your success. Knowing that, I personally do not subscribe to the line of thinking that breaks down your salary by each game, at bat, home run or RBI. But maybe YOU should give it some thought. You should give it some thought because that is the way a whole lot of teachers and postal workers, and secretaries and K’Mart shoppers, and bankers, and bus drivers and construction workers and hell even doctors and lawyers and engineers and some CEO’s look at it! Not to even mention folks out of and displaced from work.

David, in closing I want to say that you seem like a really good guy. You are obviously loved and respected by many and you are generous with your time, energy and efforts for the less fortunate both in Boston and in your native Dominican. I admire and commend you for those efforts.  I also do not begrudge you one penny of any contract you sign or will sign for I do subscribe to the theory that the folks who sign your pay checks are making more than you or they wouldn’t be paying you. I believe whole heartedly in the capitalist system and I believe you should maximize your economic potential. However, I urge you to stop saying things about being “humiliated” and “disrespected”. Those are dire terms and should not be used to describe your situation, for though it may be personally frustrating and unpleasant, I don’t believe it is dire. They make you sound silly and out of touch.

What ere may come, you have earned and will always hold a special place in the heart of this particular baseball fan who loves the Red Sox and I thank you for that and wish you nothing but the very best in your future both in baseball and whatever is next for you! Enjoy the All Star game, you have earned it and I wish you continued success the rest of this rather trying Red Sox season, but just think about what I said.

                                                                                           Sincerely,

                                                                                            Ray

Posted in Fenway Park Baseball, Fenway Park Other | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Torch is Passed…..

Posted on July 7, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Last night, July 6, 2012 at Fenway Park, a torch was passed! It is a significant event when a tradition is carried on and passed to another generation of Americans. And in this case it is very specific Americans. My Americans.

My eldest offspring, who lives in Florida, took her two boys to Fenway last night for the first game of this Sox/Yankees series. Jake, the oldest, has been there before but as a little, little scruffer, it was Brady’s first visit, his lobstah’s too.

The trip to Fenway culminated a week that saw them drive from Florida and take in a bit of America along the way, as Mom recreated a drive she made a few times as a kid.

“Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River”

Joining the Union cause at Gettysburg.

The week included:

Trips to the beach.

Just hanging out with the cousins.

And of course poolside at Auntie Nancy’s, the site of decades of so many joyous moments.

Last year my oldest granddaughter made her inaugural visit to Fenway and now three of the five grandkids have made the trip.

The other two will get there soon, as they have not quite yet come of age.

In this digital, electronic age, I was able to share part of the evening right from my chair on Florida’s Gulf Coast, as text messages and photos kept me abreast of the activities from the third base grandstands. The evening brought a wide smile through the glistening of a tear.

It is bittersweet for as I watch this unfold I long for just one more ball game with the leader of the band. Just one more; and in the inescapable reality that the bottom of my hour-glass is filling, all too rapidly I might add, I still see all that could be, if only. And in my approaching winter each “if only” brings a longing for the sweet breath of Spring, more Summer in the sun and glorious, golden Falls.

Yet there is a true joy in seeing and knowing that what you wanted to pass on as important, is passed on as important. Even in the triviality of a game, a team, an event, a place! It’s not about baseball really, it’s about relationships, it’s always about relationships. And Fenway has been the stage where literally hundreds of millions of relationships have been born, lived, been shared and died.

Last night two more were born and somewhere in the whisper of the Fenway breeze or perhaps in the roar of the crowd, the leader is smiling and I am remembering…….

remembering the sweet, sweet breath of Spring…………………..If only.

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, July 7, 2012.

Posted in Fenway Park Baseball | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Big Papi hits a Milestone….

Posted on July 6, 2012 by fenwaypark100

On Wednesday night, July 4, 2012, in Oakland, David Ortiz became the 49th man in baseball history to hit the 400-home run mark. It came in the fourth inning of a 3-2 loss to the A’s who completed a sweep of the Red Sox. “Big Papi” became the eighth player who, at one time or another wore a Red Sox uniform, on his way to the 400-home run plateau. He hit his first 38 home runs in the uniform of the Minnesota Twins and his milestone dinger was his 342nd in a Red Sox uniform. That is good enough for fifth on the all time Red Sox home run list.

The other seven and in order of appearance.

Babe Ruth hit the first 49 of his 714 home runs with the Red Sox. He led the league with 11 home runs in 1918 and again with 29 in 1919, that was his first home run record. He hit 658 home runs with the Yankees and his last six with the Boston Braves in his last season of 1935. His 400th home run came on September 2, 1927 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia and was number 44 on his way to his historic 60 home run season. A total of 49 of Babe’s dingers were hit at Fenway, 6.8% of them. Oh, and while I’m here, this is a good place to enter this trivia question; Who is the first player to hit 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 career home runs? Hint…It’s the same guy!

Next on the list is Jimmie Foxx, “the Beast” himself.

A familiar scene, Jimmie Foxx crossing home plate at Fenway Park following a home run.

Old “Double X” clubbed career home runs number 303 through 524 while wearing a Red Sox uniform from 1936 through the 1942 season. He led the league with 35 home runs in 1939 following a year in which he hit 50 of them on his way to the 1938 American League MVP Award. Foxx was the second player in baseball history to hit 500 career home runs, reaching the mark while playing for the Red Sox. It came in the first game of a doubleheader and was also at Shibe Park in Philadelphia on September 24, 1940. His 400th came in Cleveland in 1938 off of Hall of Fame pitcher Bon Feller. A total of 139 of his 534 homers were hit at Fenway Park.

Ted Williams was the fourth player in major league history to hit 500 career home runs. His 500th came in Cleveland on June 17th of his final year in 1960.

Next on the list is “Teddy Ballgame”. The all time Red Sox home run leader slugged all of his 521 career home runs in a Red Sox uniform. His home run in his last career at bat at Fenway Park is a legendary tale for the ages. A gray September day, a little more than 10,000 of the Fenway Faithful on hand, a ball launched into the Red Sox bullpen, the quick run around the bases, the home plate hand shake with Jim Pagliaroni,

and then………

 he disappeared into the dugout and on to the pages of history, of legend, of folklore. There was no tip of the cap and John Updike told us why, “gods do not answer letters”.

Ted hit 248 of his homers at Fenway Park, including numbers 300 and 400 which came off of Kansas City A’s pitcher Tom Gorman on July 17, 1956. The two-time Triple Crown winner led the American League in home runs four times. His 521 homers have him tied for 18th on the all time list with Frank Thomas and Willie McCovey.

The next Fenway Park legend on this list is none other than Carl Michael Yastrzemski.

“The Captain” hit 452 career home runs, all with the Red Sox.

Yaz is second on the all-time Red Sox home run list and 35th on baseball’s all-time home run list. He led the league but once in home runs, with 44 in his Triple Crown MVP season of 1967. However he was the first Red Sox player to have back to back 40 home run seasons when he hit 40 in 1969 and ’70’. A total of 237 of his dingers came at Fenway including number 400 which came off of Oakland A’s pitcher Mike Morgan on July 24, 1979.

The next two, you may have forgotten but they both had quick two-year stops in Boston. One on his way to the Hall of Fame and the other on his way to immortality of a different kind.

First the Hall of Famer.

Andre “the Hawk” Dawson was the Red Sox DH in 1993 and ’94, hitting 29 of his 438 career homers in a Red Sox uniform.

When Dawson arrived in Boston for the 1993 season, he had 399 career homers. On April 15th, just nine games into the season, he launched a Jose Mesa pitch into the left field screen in the second inning to tie the game and write his name in history. He hit but 15 of his career homers at Fenway Park but among them was his milestone 400th circuit clout.

The guy who followed Dawson in the Red Sox DH position was Jose Canseco. Known more for his steroid whistle blowing than his 462 career home runs, Canseco hit 52 of his home runs in a Red Sox uniform.

Last on the list is Manny Ramirez.

When Manny arrived in Boston he had 236 home runs under his belt in the uniform of the Cleveland Indians. In the next eight years with Boston he clubbed 274 more including his milestone 400th and 500th career dingers. Both of them came on the road however with 400 coming in Seattle and 500 in Baltimore. His 555 career home runs has him sitting at number 14 on the all-time list.

In the interest of full disclosure, it must be said that Canseco is a self-proclaimed steroid user and Manny has twice tested positive so their numbers must be looked at through the prism of performance enhancing drugs.

And as much as it pains me to say this, David Ortiz has admitted that in 2003 he too tested positive. His claim is that he unwittingly took supplements which caused the positive test, and I so want to take him at his word…So I will.

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, July 6, 2012.

 

Posted in Fenway Park Baseball | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy 4th…..The Namesakes…..

Posted on July 4, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Uncle Sam, happy birthday to you!

Today the United States celebrates its 236th birthday. Wow, that’s a lot of candles. Now I don’t want to be a stick in the mud, nor do I want to diminish the accomplishments of those 56 guys who autographed that spectacular document, however the real birthday of this great nation is June 21st! What? Yup, it’s true.

 In fact it’s June 21, 1788, for that was the day that the great state of New Hampshire ratified the Constitution of the United States making it the law of the land and creating the entity of the United States. But that’s OK, I don’t always celebrate my birthday when it really occurred, in fact sometimes I don’t think I was really born until a November night 36 years after I got here but that’s another story for another time.

And that brings me to the Red Sox! And here’s how. Fenway Park is an iconic temple of, not only Boston but New England. And the Red Sox are truly a team of New England and there were four states worth of New Englanders who attached their names to the Declaration of Independence sent to King George.

They were, from Massachusetts: John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine and Elbridge Gerry. From New Hampshire came Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple and Matthew Thornton while Rhode Islanders Stephen Hopkins and William Ellery stated their intentions by signing their names. The Connecticut quartet of  Samuel Huntington, Roger Sherman, William Williams and Oliver Wolcott rounded out the New England autographs on one of the worlds most famous documents.

Now as I chronicled these names I got to thinking how are these guys connected to the Red Sox and Fenway Park. Here’s what I found out.

The Red Sox had two namesakes of the Adams cousins who signed the Declaration, who wore their uniform.

Photo of Bob Adams

 

Bob Adams pitched 5 2/3 innings for the Sox in 1925.

 

Terry Adams was 2-0 in 27 innings of relief with the 2004 World Champion Red Sox.

A couple of namesakes of this man played for the Sox as well. 

Garry Hancock was a backup outfielder from 1978-1982. 

Josh Hancock pitched three games for the Sox in 2002.

None of the New Hampshire or Rhode Island signees have any connection to the Red Sox. However a pair of the Connecticut signees do.

Bob Wolcott pitched in four games for the Red Sox in 1999, a total of 6 2/3 innings.

Now the New Englander who signed the Declaration with the closest connection to the Red Sox is this gentleman and when you see his name you understand why?

There are no less than 10 guys named Williams who have worn a Red Sox uniform and that begins all the way back in 1902 when they were not even called the Red Sox.

Photo of Dave Williams

Dave Williams pitched three games for the Boston Americans in 1902.

 

 

 

Photo of Rip Williams

 

Rip Williams caught and played 95 games at first base for the 1911 Red Sox, the year before they moved into Fenway Park.

 

 

Denny Williams was a back up outfielder in some of the Red Sox darkest days of 1924 ’25’ and ’28’. He actually hit .365 in 25 games in 1924.

Ken Williams ended a 14 year career in the Red Sox outfield in 1928 and ’29’. He hit .313 in 207 games in two years.

Edwin Dibrell “Dib” Williams also closed out his career, of six years, in Boston. In 1935 he played first, second, third and shortstop in 75 games in a Red Sox uniform.

Dick Williams playing career ended with the Red Sox in 1963 and ’64’. His impact in Boston came when he piloted the Red Sox to the American League pennant in 1967. Williams was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.

Stan Williams became the fourth Williams to close his career in Boston when he pitched 4 1/3 innings in three games in 1972.

Dana Williams’ career consisted of five at bats in three games in 1989. He doubled for his only major league hit.

Randy Williams was the last Williams to play for the Red Sox. He pitched 8 1/3 inning in seven games last season. Today the southpaw is pitching in Japan.

Last and certainly not least, in fact, last and most definitely most is none other than Theodore Samuel Williams.

There is no player named Williams, there is no player named anything, there is no player named anyone who has had a greater impact on New England than Ted Williams.

Long live his fame,

Long live his glory,

And long may his story be told!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, July 4, 2012.

 

Posted in Fenway Park Baseball, Fenway Park Other | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Now These Cycles I Like, No Needles Involved…..

Posted on July 2, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill hit for the cycle for the second time in days last week sending pundits everywhere scurrying. Now for you casual observers of baseball, the cycle is when a player gets a single, double, triple and home run all in the same game. Not an easy thing to do, especially that triple.

This particular pundit scurried to the Red Sox record book to check out Red Sox players who have hit for the cycle, especially at Fenway Park. What I found was quite interesting. First, ponder this, the next time you make your way to see a Red Sox game, you are just as likely to see a Red Sox no-hitter as you are to see a Red Sox batter hit for the cycle, for each has happened 20 times.

Red Sox outfielder Buck Freeman was their first player to hit for the cycle way back in 1903 when he also led the nascent American League in home runs and RBI while leading the Sox to the World Championship in the first World Series ever played.

A little over a month later, Patsy Dougherty (do you think he was Irish ?) became the second player in Red Sox history to hit for the cycle. he led the team in hitting in ought three with a .331 average.

It would not happen again to a Red Sox player until 1912, Fenway’s Park first year, and it would not happen by a Red Sox player at Fenway Park until 1944. Imagine that, it took 32 years before a Red Sox player performed this feat at Fenway! And it happened seven times on the road before that took place.

Tris Speaker did it in 1912 at St. Louis.

Roy Carlyle’s career consisted of only 174 games played (138 of them with the Red Sox) but in one of those games in 1925, he hit for the cycle at Commiskey Park against the White Sox.

Julius “Moose” Solters did the trick in as a rookie in 1934 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

Player/manager and Hall of Famer Joe Cronin hit for the cycle in 1940, also at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

Center fielder Leon Culberson did it out of the leadoff spot in Cleveland on July 3, 1943.

Bobby Doerr was Fenway’s first cycle hitter and he accomplished the feat in the second game of a doubleheader on May 17, 1944 against the St. Louis Browns. He has singled, doubled and tripled when he came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning and hit a two run homer. It brought the Sox closer but they lost the game 12-8.

Six weeks after Doerr’s cycle at Fenway Park, left fielder Bob Johnson became the second Red Sox player to do it at Fenway. It was the sixth of July and the Tigers were in town and oddly enough Bobby Doerr almost did it again in the same game, going four for four with two singles , a double and a triple. The Red Sox won 13-3.

Ted Williams

The Splendid Splinter himself accomplished his one and only cycle in July of 1946, at home against the St. Louis Browns. It led the Sox to a 7-4 win and a double-header sweep.

On May 13, 1947, Bobby Doerr hit for the cycle a second time leading a 19-6 drubbing of the White Sox at Fenway Park. He is the only player in Red Sox history to accomplish this feat twice.

It would be 15 years before another Sox player hit for the cycle, Lu Clinton did it in Kansas City in 1962. He tripled in the second, doubled in the fourth, singled in the ninth and homered in the tenth as the Red Sox battled back from a 9-2 deficit and won the game 11-10 in 15 innings.

In May of 1965, the Tigers were in town and Carl Yastrzemski added his name to the Red Sox cycle list. He did it by cranking out a home run in the first inning, another in the second, a triple in the sixth, a single in the eighth and a double in the bottom of the tenth. The Sox came up short in this game, 12-8 surrendering four to Detroit in the top of the tenth.

Fourteen more years would pass before Bob Watson hit for the cycle in Baltimore  on September 15, 1979. He finished it off with a two run homer in the ninth inning of a 10-2 win.

A rash of cycles followed in the 1980s and all of them at Fenway Park.

 

Freddy Lynn was first on May 13, 1980 against the Twins. He went four for five with four RBI leading the Sox to a come from behind 10-5 win.

 

Dwight Evans added his name to the list four years later in a most dramatic fashion, a three run walk off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning against Seattle.

 

Catcher Rich Gedman hit for his cycle a little over a year later in September of 1985, going four for five with seven RBI to lead a 13-1 pounding of the Blue Jays.

 

Three Septembers later left fielder Mike Greenwell joined the club in a game against the Orioles. His was a four for four effort in a 4-3 win. He went homer, double, triple and singled in the bottom of the eighth to finish the task.

Third baseman Scott Cooper became the 18th Red Sox player to hit for the cycle on April 12, 1994 in Kansas City against the Royals. He went five for six with five RBI in a 22-11 win.

The last Red Sox player to hit for the cycle was shortstop John Valentin. His came on June 6, 1996 and it came against the White Sox at Fenway Park. The shortstop went four for four in a 7-4 win and he accomplished his cycle in just six innings. A homer in the first, a triple in the third, a single in the fourth and a double in the sixth and he was done.

Two years earlier, Valentin had etched his name in baseball immortality when he snagged a line drive off the bat of Seattle’s DH Marc Newfield, stepped on second for out number two and then tagged Kevin Mitchell who was running on the play completing the rarest of defensive feats, an unassisted triple play.

It has been 16 years and 26 days since a Red Sox player has hit for the cycle, the longest drought between cycles in Red Sox history. The previous longest stretch was from Doerr’s cycle on May 13, 1947 to Clinton’s on July 13, 1962.

One has occurred on an average of every five and a half years, so they are overdue by over 10 years. Hmmmm, maybe this year, whose your pick? I’m going with Pedroia!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, July 2, 2012,. 

 

Posted in Fenway Park Baseball | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

And on the seventh day He rested…..

Posted on July 1, 2012 by fenwaypark100

And Frank Malzone played golf.

Frank Malzone has been a part of the Red Sox organization since 1955.

Some tidbits about “Malzie”.

  • As a rookie in 1957, he hit .293 with 15 home runs and 103 RBI and finished second in the Rookie of the Year balloting to Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek.
  • Also in ’57’ he won the first ever Gold Glove Award for a third baseman and that was the only year they selected one player from both leagues.
  • He also won the American League Gold Glove Award in 1958 and ’59’.
  •  Frank was the first player in major league history, at his position, to lead the league in: games played, putouts, errors, assists, double plays and fielding percentage.

  • He made the American League All Star team six times.
  • He scored the winning run in the 1958 All Star Game, a 4-3 AL win.
  • In the second All Star Game of 1959, he homered off of Don Drysdale of the Dodgers.
  • He is in the Red Sox all time top 20 lists in Games, At-Bats, Runs, Hits, Doubles, Home Runs and RBI.
  • At 82 years young, he still serves the Red Sox as a player developement consultant.
  • On a personal note, he was one of my dad’s favorites, I’m not sure but I think that Italian surname may have had something to do with it.

 And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, July 1, 2012.

Posted in Fenway Park Other | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Seventy-Five games in…..Do you believe in magic?

Posted on June 29, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Going into last nights game in Seattle, the Red Sox were 40-35 six and a half games behind the Yankees in third place. Not bad really when you think about all they have endured this year. I mean really, no Ellsbury, no Crawford, no Youkilis! Pedroia has been battling a thumb injury and has underproduced, as has Adrian Gonzalez.

David Ortiz is hitting .309 with 21 homers and 53 RBI.

Papi has been rejuvenated and is once again one of the leagues best hitters and guys named Middlebrooks, Ross, Saltalamacchia, (love that name), Podsednik, Nava and Aviles, have emerged.

Daniel Nava is hitting .315 with two homers and 25 RBI.

Jon Lester and Josh Beckett are a combined 9-12 with ERAs north of 4.50 and I am hard pressed to remember the last time Lester dominated a games. Buchholz is 8-2 but with an ERA at 5.54, the highest on the staff of starters! And Daniel Bard still seeks to rediscover himself toiling in Pawtucket.

Felix Doubront is 8-4 with a 4.54 ERA and looks as if he will be around for awhile.

But guys named Doubront, Morales and Aceves have emerged and Dice K is back. The bull pen, after a horrific start, has emerged as a formidable force and these Red Sox are actually becoming very easy to root for, even the “haters” would have to admit that!

I am always trying to see of we can learn anything from history, so this morning I did a little checking back. I looked at all of the 10 Red Sox teams that have made it to the World Series since Fenway Park was born. I looked at each team after 75 games and here’s what I found out.

The 2007 team was 48-27 (eight games better than todays team) and they were in first place with an 8 1/2 game lead.

That team celebrated wildly in October of that season.

The Magical Mystery Tour of 2004 was actually 42-33, in second place 6 1/2 games out of first!

We all know what happened that October!

The 1986 team was one of three of these squads to be at the 50 win mark this early in the season. They were 50-25 and eight games up in first place!

What more need be said?

The 1975 Fenway Park entity was 42-33 in first place by a game.

Bernie Carbo ties Game 6!

The 1946 team was one of the greatest Red Sox teams of all time. Some will say the greatest. And why not, they won 104 games and after 75 games were 52-23 in first by six and a half games.

 Enos “Country” Slaughter scores the winning run in Game seven of the 1946 World Series for St. Louis. 

The 1918 team was only 43-32 and in first place by a sliver of a half game. The 1918 season was shortened by a month because of World War I.

The immortal 1918 Boston Red Sox World Championship team.

In 1916, the Red Sox were only one game better than today’s squad at 41-34 and they were also in third place. They were a bit closer to the top at 3 1/2 games behind.

The 1916 team beat the Dodgers in the World Series behind the arm of this southpaw.

In 1915, they were 47-28 but were still in second place two games out of first.

That squad beat the Phillies in five games to be crowned 1915 World Champs. And looked pretty spiffy in their “Stag Brand” sweaters.

The first ever Fenway Park team of 1912 won 105 games, more than any other team in Red Sox history and 75 games into their season they were 51-24 and 6 1/2 games ahead of the league.  They did it behind the MVP season of Tris Speaker in centerfield and the incredible 34-5 record of fireballing right hander “Smokey” Joe Wood.

 

Both Speaker (L) and Wood would be traded to Cleveland.

The 1912 team beat the NY Giants in seven games to claim the title of World Champs, although actually eight games were played. Game two at Fenway ended in a 6-6 tie.

The 1912 World Champs and Joe Wood’s little girl.

Now the more astute among you are saying “hey wait a minute, what about 1967”? Of course, but don’t you always save the best for last?

The 1967 “Impossible Dream Cardiac Kids” were, are you ready for this? Exactly where your 2012 version finds itself. They were 40-35, they were in fourth place and they were 4 1/2 games behind!

The “Cardiac Kids” take the field.

Every Red Sox fan knows, or should know, the story of this phenomenal season. They know of Yaz and Lonnie and Tony C. However, like this years team, they had kids, retreads and aging veterans emerge. Kids named Smith and Andrews and Rico and Scott, and Foy; vets named Howard and Adair and Harrelson and Wyatt and Tartabull. And retreads named Siebern and Landis who stopped by to pitch in a bit here and a bit there, each carving out a little niche in the folk-lore of Fenway and the Red Sox.

The 1967 American League Champions, who like their 1946 counterparts, lost the World Series to the Cardinals in seven games. However Red Sox announcer Ken Coleman called this “the Series nobody lost.” A sentiment shared by the Fenway Faithful.

So where does that leave us? Last night the Sox lost 1-0 to Seattle, in Seattle, to drop to 40-36. In 1967, the Sox lost 4-3 to California, in California to drop to 40-36. Hmmmm, can you say serendipity? Both teams lose game number 76, by one run, on the road, on the west coast; I like it and I’ll tell you where it leaves me. It leaves me hopeful, it leaves me buoyed, it leaves me thinking they just may do it.

There is magic in 67, a magic that never ends, never dies, never dissipates. And watching these guys I have started to think, maybe, just maybe.

There is magic in 67, a magic that allows you to simply let go and believe. There is magic in 67, a magic that tells you to keep going, to stay the course, to battle through the pain, the hurts and know that through the rain there is somewhere a rainbow even if you can’t see it right now.

There is a magic in 67…..Daniel Nava believes in it…..

And so do I…..Always have…..Always will.

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, June 29, 2012.

 

 

Posted in Fenway Park Baseball | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment