“On the seventh day He rested”…..

Posted on May 27, 2012 by fenwaypark100

And Jim Rice and John Havlicek played golf.

Red Sox Hall of Famer Jim Rice and Celtics Hall of Famer John Havlicek get ready to tee it up.

Some tid bits about “Hondo”.

  • In 1962, he was a first round draft pick out of Ohio State of the Boston Celtics and a seventh round pick of the Cleveland Browns.
  • His college teammates included Jerry Lucas, Bobby Knight and Larry Siegfried who would become a Celtic teammate as well.
  • Celtic announcer Johnny Most dubbed him “the Bouncing Buckeye from Ohio State”.
  • When he retired he was the Celtics all time leading scorer and the sixth highest scorer in NBA history.
  • The Celtics won eight championships while Havlicek wore the Celtic green.
  • He was named to 13 consecutive NBA All Star teams.
  • Eleven times he was named to either the first or second All NBA team.
  • He was named to the All NBA first or second defensive team on eight occasions.
  • In 1996 he was named one of the top 50 players in the history of the NBA. 
  • His number 17 hangs from the Gahhden rafters.

Oh and at Fenway Park today the Red Sox will try once again to get over the .500 mark. They do so as a result of last nights walk off bomb by pinch-hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia!

“Salty” watches his majestic shot fly through the Fenway night.

And it was a bomb carrying about 10 rows over the Red Sox bullpen scoring Daniel Nava ahead of him who had walked leading off the ninth. Now I don’t mean to be a wet blanket and I do not consider myself one of those gloom and doomers who always sees the negative aspects of the Fenway team. In fact my glass is always half full, however, did anyone else notice that as the Red Sox dugout emptied last night to welcome home “Salty” the home run hero, Bobby V was obviously among the crowd ready to give the big guy the big hug. “Salty” brushed right by him. It could mean absolutely nothing, it could simply be the fact that he had just had his shirt torn off his back by his “Papi”

Or it could mean something. Oh my God, it might mean that I am turning into one of those nattering nabobs of negativism! Yikes, I must stop.

Maybe, just maybe, Friday’s “purpose” pitch will be the turning point, after all yesterday was the first walk off win of 2012. Hmmmmm…..

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, May 27, 2012, getting over .500 day?

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The Red Sox/Rays Plunking Wars……

Posted on May 26, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Boy do I love the dance! Franklin Morales hit Luke Scott last night, nailed him in the leg after missing three other times. I admire his persistence. What I like about the Rays/Red Sox rivalry is that there appears to me some of these guys that just do not like each other.

Morales plunked Scott last night in the ninth inning with two out and nobody on.

It’s pretty clear that Mr. Maddon does not think too highly of Mr. Valentine. He all but called him an idiot after last nights game and then added “you can quote me on that”. “It’s not us” he said and he urged all to watch the video to see who was the most “incensed” and we would know; clearly a shot at Bobby V. He urged all to seek their answers in the Red Sox clubhouse for what he termed , a “weak, ridiculous, absurd, idiotic, cowardly effort”.  

Rays manager Joe Maddon

Mr. Valentine went ethereal after the game with a far more “spiritual” look at the matter, “Maybe it was the Ghost of Fenway Past remembering that he bad-mouthed all our fans and stadium’’, he said in an obvious reference to Scott’s disparaging remarks about Fenway Park and the Fenway Faithful. Scott all but called Fenway a dump and then added some loving remarks about the Faithful referring to them as “ruthless and vulgar”.

Bobby V’s boys, once again failed to get over the .500 mark falling to the Rays 7-4.

The Rays and Red Sox “Plunking Wars” date back to the days of Gerald Williams, the Devil Rays and Pedro Martinez.

Way back in the summer of 2000, Pedro plunked Gerald Williams in the first inning on his way to a 1-hitter in which he struck out 13 Devil Rays at “The Trop”.

Coco Crisp took offense to a pitch thrown by James Shields back in the ’08’ season and went to the mound to discuss the matter. Both dugouts decided to join in the discussion which resulted in both Shields and Crisp receiving the night off.

Shields “retaliated” for Crisp’s hard slides into second base the previous game. I wonder if Mr. Maddon (who was managing then) thought that particular effort, “ridiculous and cowardly.”

We all know that pitchers hit batters and sometimes they do it for the purpose of delivering a message. The “accepted” version is to stay away from the batters head, and not to injure. Let’s take a look at the 2012 version of the Rays/Red Sox Plunking Wars.

The Rays and Red Sox opened Fenway’s 100th season on April 14th. David Price was on the mound for the Rays and he was the first to hit a batter. It was Red Sox catcher Kelly Shoppach, leading off the third inning with the Rays leading 1-0. Conclusion, not on purpose, no pitcher wants to put the lead off man on especially on the road and with only a 1-0 lead. It is clear that Price did not have his best stuff as the Sox shelled him winning the game 12-2.

David Price

The next three games at Fenway passed without a batter being hit as the Red Sox won games two and three of the series 13-5 and 6-4. The Rays took the Patriots Day Game salvaging one win in the series, a 1-0 gem.

On Wednesday May 16th, the venue switched to The Trop. Clay Buchholz was on the mound for the Sox and in the second inning Carlos Pena led off with a single for the Rays. The next batter Luke Scott was hit by a pitch putting men on first and second with nobody out. Conclusion, not on purpose, no pitcher is going to plunk someone on purpose in that game situation! The Rays ended up scoring a run that inning on a Buchholz balk in a game they won 2-1. Later in the game last night’s Red Sox “culprit” Franklin Morales hit Will Rhymes. It was the eighth inning, one out and a man on third with the Rays holding a 2-1 lead. Again, no purposeful intent here, too crucial a part of a close game.

Now the following night is where things start to get interesting. Before the game Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez made a pre game remark about hitting a home run and this appears to be the point from which all this “absurd, idiotic, ridiculous” nonsense has spun.

Adrian Gonzalez

Even the veritable “Rem Dawg” hinted at such last night. But let’s take a look at the situation. AGone was hit in the first inning of that game by Rays rookie southpaw Matt Moore however it seems highly unlikely that it was deliberate and here’s why. There were men on first and second and only one out. Not the time or situation when “purpose” pitchers are thrown.

Dubront

In the third inning Red Sox starter Felix Doubront hit Luke Scott. The Red Sox were ahead 3-0 and the Rays had a man on first with two outs; not as crucial a situation as the previous plunks but again a most unlikely scenario for a deliberate one. Later in the game Vincent Padilla hit Rob Thompson but there was a man on second, one out and it brought the tying run to the plate, a no-brainer, not on purpose!

So this brings us to last night! Dustin Pedroia stepped in, in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Red Sox were battling back from an abysmal performance by Jon Lester and had once trailed 7-1. They had narrowed the lead to 7-4 and there was a man on second. “Pedey” was plunked which brought the tying run to the plate in the person of David Ortiz. Once again an obvious no-brainer, not on purpose! 

Luke Scott was plunked in the ninth inning last night. There were two outs, nobody on base and the Sox were trailing 7-4. There was a “purpose” to that pitch and there is a reason Luke Scott was the receiver of the purpose pitch. The question now becomes what was the purpose? 

There is not doubt in this observers mind that the order came from Bobby V. His comments after the game say it all without saying anything. Was the purpose to ignite his team? Or perhaps ignite the fans. Or maybe to endear himself to the Fenway Faithful, there are those who will contend he is quite capable of those type of theatrics. 

All that remains to be seen, however, todays act unfolds on a FOX nationally televised game. Do you think that was lost on the former ESPN baseball commentator?

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, May 26, 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Programs, get cha programs heah”…..

Posted on May 25, 2012 by fenwaypark100

A happy Friday to you all. Tonight the Sox will try once again to get above the .500 mark for the first time this season. They are playing well and even Bobby Valentine is earning praise from the warm and fuzzy Boston media. For not only has he held his team together with scotch tape and glue as player after player falls by the wayside, the Sox have won 10 out of their last 13.

First Edition of the Red Sox 2012 program.

As they begin a stint which will have them at Fenway for 13 of their next 16 games I thought I would take a trip down memory lane. So jump on board.

I am a memorabilia collector and some of my favorite items are Red Sox programs. I especially like them if they are scored for, to me, that brings the game to life.

The 1968 program is a particular favorite for it proclaims the glory of the 1967 American League Champs.

The fact that this cover is written on would blemish it for most collectors, but not me, it would have me scrambling to figure out which game this person may have seen. And that is a whole other story in itself.

This 1951 program marked the 50th anniversary of the American League.

I love this Fenway Park program from 1951 because I love all those logos. The Athletics were still at their first stop and Philadelphia, the Browns were still two years removed from moving from St. Louis to Baltimore and the original Senators (Nationals) still had a decade left in the Nations Capital. These are the original eight teams which formed the American League in 1901.

 This relic has the special attraction of an autographed front. Who of us who lived it can forget Ned Martin’s call, “looped towards shortstop, Petrocelli’s back he’s got it the RED SOX WIN….There’s pandamonium on the field, listen! 

The 2012 edition of the Boston Red Sox marks the 53rd rendition of the Fenway Park inhabitants I have followed. With all the joy, elation, success and glory that the teams of the past decade have brought me, the 1967 will always be my all time favorite Red Sox team. And that’s also another story for another day!

This 1959 program was sold at Fenway Park, the year I made my first trip to see the Sox with Dad.

The specifics of that first game have left me, however my first breathtaking view of that field will be with me always!

1961 marked the appearance of Carl Michael Yastrzemski who replaced Ted Williams in left field.

Yaz would say many times that replacing Ted brought more pressure than anything he experienced in his entire career.

My first yearbook came in 1961 and featured that up and coming star by the name of Yastrzemski.

The yearbook is another piece of memorabilia which I am partial to, but once again another story for another time. Lord do I love this!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, May 25, 2012.

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Now Batting for the Red Sox, Pitchers Who Could Hit Home Runs…..

Posted on May 24, 2012 by fenwaypark100

The thing I miss the most in following the Red Sox is the fact that the pitchers no longer hit. You would think that I would be used to it by now, after all the DH has been with us since 1973. That was 39 baseball seasons ago. I must reluctantly admit that it appears the DH is here to stay.

I was six years old when I made my first trip to Fenway Park in 1959 and among my first baseball memories are those involving pitchers who hit home runs. I always held an affinity for the guys who toiled on the hill and could help themselves out by taking one out of the house once in a while. The first guy I remember being one of those was Jerry Casale. A rookie in 1959 Casale had a solid year on the mound going 13-8, however even more important than that, to me, was the fact that he hit three home runs! he appeared in only 62 games for the Red Sox in three years, but I still have my 1959 Jerry Casale baseball card and a memory of a shot into the left center field screen at Fenway.

The Red Sox have had some pretty good hitting pitchers throughout the years. In fact, they have one now, Josh Beckett has hit a couple of dingers in his limited plate appearances in inter-league play.

I went on a Red Sox pitcher home run quest to find that there are in fact four Red Sox pitchers who have had multiple home run games.

“Babe” hit .308 with the Red Sox and walloped 49 of his 714 home runs in a Red Sox uniform, led the league in homers twice but never had a two homer game as a Red Sox pitcher.

The Red Sox best home run hitting pitchers were Wes Ferrell and Earl Wilson.

Wes’ brother Rick was his battery mate at Fenway Park from 1934 through 1937.

Wes Ferrell hit 17 home runs while pitching for the Red Sox and eight of them came in four, two homer games. On August 22, 1934 at Fenway Park he hit his second homer of the game in the bottom of the 10th inning giving his team and himself the win. That win ran his record to 12-2. He added two homer games in 1935 and 1936 as well, and in his 15 year career with six teams he hit 38 career homers, more than any other pitcher in history.

Wes Ferrell hit .308 for the Red Sox with 17 home runs and 82 RBI in four seasons. He also was 62-40 on the mound.

Earl Wilson pitched for the Red Sox from 1959 to 1966. He was the first black man the Red Sox signed to a contract and he could flat-out hit. A converted catcher, Wilson was often used as a pinch-hitter. He supplanted Jerry Casale as my favorite pitcher who could swat home runs.

Earl Wilson hit 17 of his 35 career homers while playing for the Red Sox.

On August 16, 1965 at Fenway Park Wilson had his only two homer game, both coming off of White Sox pitcher Joel Horlen and both were solo shots. One in the third inning tied the game and one in the sixth put the Sox ahead.

Wilson is one of only three pitchers in baseball history to homer in a game in which he threw a no-hitter.

Earl’s most famous home run however came on June 26, 1962 at Fenway Park. It came in the third inning off of Angels pitcher Bo Belinsky and it gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. Little did Earl or the 14,002 patrons present know that they were witnessing history as Wilson became the first black American to hurl a no-hitter in American League history.

There are two other Red Sox pitcher who have had two homer games. One was Jack Wilson who on June 16, 1940 joined Red Sox Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx and Joe Cronin who also homered in a 14-5 Sox romp over the White Sox.

Jack Wilson hit three career home runs, two came in one game.

The last Red Sox pitcher to hit two homers in one game was Sonny Siebert and it came on September 2, 1971, two years before the DH was born. Just under 20,000 filed into Fenway Park that September eve and they saw Siebert have one of the finest nights of his career.

 

Siebert pitched five years with the Red Sox and went 57-41 while hitting eight of his 12 career home runs.

Siebert was responsible for all three runs that night against the Orioles. His two dingers accounted for all three Red Sox runs and he went out and hurled a 3-0 three hitter for his 15th win of the season.

The DH is here to stay and as much as I miss Red Sox pitchers who could swat home runs, I miss even more that pitcher strolling to home plate for a late inning at bat and receiving that warm ovation for the job he’s doing on the mound.

Wait a minute, I forgot, starting pitchers don’t pitch in the late innings anymore! Yuck!

Oh, and the Sox hit .500 again yesterday beating the Orioles. That’s 10 out of the last 13 and tonight at home they could go over the even mark!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, May 24, 2012.

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“The only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn”…..Earl Warren

Posted on May 23, 2012 by fenwaypark100

It has been said that the only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn. The Red Sox fell to the O’s last night 4-1, failing to get above the .500 mark. And as I awoke this morning I wondered how long it has been since the occupants of Fenway Park had been this deep (43 games) into the season without having been above the .500 mark. We must harken all the way back to 1987 to find a Red Sox team that was under .500 this late in the season.

The 1987 Red Sox finished 78-84 in fifth place (out of seven) in the AL East, one year after coming within one strike of winning the World Series.

That team spent exactly one day above the .500 mark and that was after Bob Stanley shutout the Kansas City Royals 1-0 on the 15th game of the season putting his team at the 8-7 mark. At this juncture in the 87 season, they were 18-25 and were 10 1/2 games out of first place.

“Oil Can” Boyd led the 1985 staff with a 15-13 mark.

The 1985 team was five games under .500 (19-24) after 43 games of their season in which they finished right at the even mark, 81-81 and in fifth place in the AL East.

The 1983 season was the last for Red Sox captain and Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski.

The 1983 rendition of the Red Sox were the first team since 1966 to not finish above .500 yet at this juncture they were actually 25-18 and were in first place by a game. That team hovered around .500 throughout the summer before falling below the mark in mid-August and stumbled to the finish line finishing 78-84, in sixth place, 20 games behind Baltimore.

Now comes the scary part. The last Red Sox team to be 43 games into a season and NEVER above the .500 mark was the, gulp, 1966 team!

That Fenway Park rendition dropped the first five games of the season, went 3-10 for the month of April and was 17-26 forty-three games into their season. They were 10-21 for the month of June and started July an abysmal 27-47. They crawled out of the abyss a bit in July going 18-14 and actually went 45-43 from July 1st until the end of the season. The hope of 1967 was born in July, August and September of 1966. None the less, 1966 ended with the Sox in ninth place at 72-90, 26 games out of first place and a half game ahead of the cellar dwelling Yankees.

Red Sox rookie first baseman George Scott hit 27 home runs and knocked in 90 in 1966, making the all-star team and finishing third in the race for American League Rookie of the Year. 

Conversely, let’s take a look at the Red Sox Fenway Park pennant winning teams to see where they were at the 43 game spot in the season. The best of them all was the 1946 team who after 43 games were 34-9 and seven games ahead in first place. The 2007 team was the only other club to notch 30 wins in the first 43 games going 30-13, they had the biggest lead, 10 1/2 games up in the standings.

The 1946 team lost to the Cardinals in seven games in the World Series.

The 2007 team swept the Rockies in the 07 World Series.

The pennant winning team with the worst record after 43 games was the 1967 squad who were but a game above .500 at 22-21. They were in fourth place and they were four and a half games out of first. Of the 10 pennants that Red Sox have won since Fenway’s birth in 1912, six of them were in first place after 43 games, they were the 1918, ’46’, ’75’, ’86’, ’04’, and ’07’ clubs. The 1912, ’15’ and ’16’ teams were all three games behind and the aforementioned 1967 team was four and a half out.

So what does all this mean? After extensive study I have concluded, not a damn thing! However, the 1978 team was 28-15 after 43 games and they were a game and half ahead in first place. And last year they had righted the ship and were 23-20 and only a game and half behind.

It is said that the only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn. And history tells us that a Red Sox team that has reached the 43 game mark in a season without getting over .500 has never played in a World Series. But I remember a whole lot of people chirping in the fall of 2004 after they went down 3-0 to the Yankees!

Thank God for the rest of the summer. Bring it on!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, May 23, 2012, 43 games in.

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No Toe Tags Here…..

Posted on May 22, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Many years ago when I was coaching little league, a good friend and I were discussing our love for the great game of baseball. We were marveling at the great metaphor for life that is sports and in particular America’s Pastime. I made the comment that baseball developes character and he looked at me and said “no Ray, it exposes character”. That thought has never left me and I have repeated it a thousand times since then as I have watched the character of men, boys and boys on their way to manhood be exposed.

Baseball, on an individual level, is about dedication, committment, work ethic, battling back from adversity and recovering from failure. On a team level, it is about trusting and believing in teammates and coaches. It is about sacrifice and believing in a process and it is about execution. It is about serendipity, karma, winning and losing and it is about never giving up or giving in! It is the most difficult of sports to play and if you doubt that consider that failing 70% of the time with a bat in your hands can lead to the Hall of Fame. It requires the highest degree of mental toughness an athlete can possess, for to perform requires a combination of focus and looseness that is most difficult to attain. Baseball can and has eaten many a good boy and many a good man alive!

Hmmmm, sounds a little like life.

This past weekend, while these guys known as the Boston Red Sox were recovering from the adversity of an abysmal start and getting back to even with a win over the Orioles last night, I was in the company of these guys who play and coach the Venice High School baseball team in Venice Florida.

The Venice Indians stayed loose during a rain delay before their State Championship baseball game, against Brandon High School, Sunday at Digital Domain Park in Port St. Lucie Florida. Using cups, they turned baseball bats into “rifles” and “field glasses”, baseballs into “grenades” as they took on their opponents with an “army exercise” while passing the time waiting to play.

 Their quest was to win two more games to earn the title of Florida State Champions. And as I returned to my routine yesterday, I contemplated just what these “Road Warriors” had accomplished.

To start, they dedicated the season to the memory of a 45 year supporter of their program, who also happened to be a seven time Purple Heart recipient of WW II, Korea and Vietnam.

The Colonel

As any baseball season does, it had its up and downs as this team sought to find their legs and identify themselves. They did so and became a team that would be built around pitching. A half a dozen guys would make mound contributions but the bulk of it was handled by these guys,

“Coop”and Tyson.

Playing a tough schedule against a lot of very good baseball teams, the Venice Indians were prepared for the post season, and this is how that works in Florida prep baseball. The state is divided into “classes” based upon school size and those run from 1A to 8A, Venice is a 7A school, pretty big.

Each team plays in a district which in the case of the Indians had six different schools. At the end of the regular season each team engages in a district playoff round. In Venice’s case they earned the first seed in their district and earned a bye. They played the winner of a lower seeded matchup which they won 2-1 in 11 innings and advanced to the District Championship game. The importance of getting into that game is that the District finalists earned the right to participate in the Regional playoffs. However, to win the District Championship means to play at home. Well, the Indians fell short in that endeavor losing to the Mantee High Hurricanes and thus to make it to the Final Four they would have to do it on the road.

That set into motion the “Redemption Tour” of the Venice Indians who became the “Road Warriors”.

Stop one, a 200 mile bus ride to Florida’s east coast to face Martin County High School, 26-1 and ranked number one in 7A. They were disposed of 3-1 and it was back to the west coast and a rematch with the Hurricanes. This bus ride was but an hour but well worth the trip as Venice came home with a 7-4 win in stop two of their redemption tour. (Manatee had not only taken this years District crown but last years as well)

This set up stop three of the tour, an hour and a half bus ride to take on the Cowboys of Tampa Gaither High School. It was literally the Cowboys versus the Indians. Well last year the Cowboys ended the Indians season 1-0 in the first round of the regionals. This year it was the Indians who won 2-0 and with redemption accomplished it was on to stop four, the State Final Four and another 200 mile bus ride back to Florida’s east coast.

The semi-final matchup pitted the Indians against Atlantic Community High School of Delray Beach. The top of the first inning found the Eagles first five runners getting on base and when the sixth hitter in the line up stepped in Atlantic led 3-0 with runners on second and third and nobody out. The inning ended with the Eagles not scoring again and when Venice came to bat in their half of the first, they were down “only” 3-0. They scored a run to cut it to 3-1 but the Eagles kept a coming! They loaded the bases with one out in the second but did not score and in the bottom of the second frame, the Indians went to work. A couple of Eagle miscues and some timely hitting plated three Indian runs and with five innings to go, it was Venice up 4-3.

“Coop”

The Indians placed the game in the hands of “Coop” and that was a safe place for it to be, as the final score was 4-3 and the Indians were now just one game away from their second State Championship in five years.

The championship game found a sophomore on the mound for the Indians as they took on some more Eagles, this time from Brandon High School just south of Tampa.

“Elmo” was equal to the task, holding the Eagles at bay for four innings to garner the win.

And once again Venice found themselves down early, 1-0 after two! Undaunted they continued to battle and after four found themselves ahead 4-1. In the fifth, the ball was back in the hands of “Coop” who had thrown but 58 pitches the previous day and he snuffed out a rally with the help of a great defensive effort by his shortstop and third baseman, the brothers Guthrie, which ended the threat and virtually the season for Brandon High School.

The final out was a one hopper back to Coop and the celebration was on!

Nick and Tyson

This past weekend in Port St Lucie Florida, I have watched baseball expose the character of a special group of young men. I have watched them battle back from adversity, endure their individual and team tribulations. I have watched each player fill a role and contribute to an effort that will shape them and which they will carry for the rest of their lives.

Coach “K”, head coach Faulkner and the “Sunshine Boys” Coach “Cally” and “Sini”.

Led by a coaching staff whose hearts pump baseball through their veins and whose own character will accept nothing less than the best from each of them, they will move forward better equipped to handle what life will hold, what they do with it will be their’s for the telling!

Thanks men, the Colonel would be proud!

Game photos Dennis Maffezzoli

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, the day that the 2012 Red Sox can eclipse the .500 mark for the first time, May 22, 2012.

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“What Just Happened”?…..

Posted on May 21, 2012 by fenwaypark100

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP…..

What just happened?…..

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!

to be continued…..

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, State Championship Day.

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And on the seventh day He rested…..

Posted on May 20, 2012 by fenwaypark100

And “The Spaceman” and El Tiante played a little golf…..

Bill Lee and Luis Tiant

While this collection of very special young men played for the state of Florida 7A baseball state championship!

After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning yesterday, the Venice Indians rallied behind the bats of Grant Banko and Kevin Guthrie, to take a 4-3 lead after two. They held on for a 4-3 win behind the pitching of junior Cooper Hammond (10-1) and some outstanding clutch defense led by sophomore catcher Mike Rivera and sophomore shortstop Dalton Guthrie.

Their quest…..To be the greatest team on the greatest day…..Today is the greatest day!

And it begins at 4 PM.

http://www.fhsaasports.com/events/33933

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, the greatest day.

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TWO TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on May 19, 2012 by fenwaypark100

Today I am here…..

Digital Domain Park, Port St. Lucie Florida, the spring home of the New York Mets and the site of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s prep baseball championship playoffs.

With these guys…..

The Venice High School baseball team, 22-8, won a trip to Port St. Lucie by defeating Tampa gaither High School 2-0 to take the Regional Championship. They take on Atlantic Community High School at 1 PM today in the 7A State semi-finals.

http://www.fhsaasports.com/events/33933

Their quest, a Florida State Championship!

Meanwhile, these guys…..

 The Red Sox are 18-21, seven and a half games behind the Orioles in last place in the AL East. They are seven games behind the Yankees for the second, single game, one and done Wild Card slot.

Are here…..

 Citizens Park in Philadelphia.

to take on the Phillies.

Their quest, to reach .500!

I hope these guys win this weekend!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, May 19, 2012.

 

 

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“There wasn’t many better guys than Moose…A darn good ballplayer too.” Yogi Berra

Posted on May 18, 2012 by fenwaypark100

“Moose” Skowron passed away on April 27th and as always is the case, when one from our youth shuffles off this mortal coil it invokes memories and reflection.

Bill “Moose” Skowron 1930-2012

 William Joseph Skowron was part of my Fenway story, my baseball story and in ways which today have me smiling. For although “Moose” never played a single game for the Red Sox and on top of that spent the majority of his career with the NY Yankees, he and I are and forever will be connected; connected by the beauty, the joy, the wonder that is baseball!

Skowron made his debut on opening day 1954 at Griffith Stadium in Washington DC.

First let’s take a look at “Moose”, the player. He signed with the Yankees off of the campus of Purdue University where, despite the fact that he threw and batted right-handed, he was a left footed punter on the Boilermakers football team.

Skowron was an All American half back at Purdue.

 He played 14 seasons in the big leagues, nine of them with the Yankees, four with the White Sox, one with the Dodgers and he threw in a couple of whistle stops in Washington and California.

In nine years in New York, the Yankees won seven pennants and the big first baseman was part of five World Champion Yankee squads. Then for good measure, he won another ring with the 1963 World Champion Dodgers. He hit .282 throughout his career with 211 home runs. A six-time all-star, he particularly liked playing in October for in 133 World Series at bats, he hit .293 with eight home runs and 29 RBI. Not bad eh? In today’s game he’s a $10,000,000 a year player.

His favorite team was the 1961 Yankees, and it was that Championship ring he chose to always wear and it his the 1961 season in which my connection to him begins. It was Tuesday May 30, 1961, Memorial Day and I was at Fenway Park for the holiday game between the Red Sox and Yankees. I saw history that day and “Moose” was a big part of it. With New York ahead 4-3, Skowron led off the fourth inning with a rocket line drive into Fenway’s left field screen stretching the lead to 5-3. In the sixth inning, after Yogi Berra homered leading off the frame, “Moose” stepped in and launched another homer. This one deep into the Red Sox bullpen in right center field. That one pretty much put the game out of reach as the New Yorkers won by a 12-3 count.

From left to right, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and “Moose”. On Memorial Day 1961 at Fenway Park, this quartet made history as they hit seven home runs between them with Maris, Mantle and Skowron hitting two each. At the time it was a record for most homers in a game.

It was 30 plus years later when I “reconnected” with “Moose” and that would take place on a little league baseball diamond in Venice Florida. I was coaching a squad and I had a rather cubby little kid on my team who I dubbed “Moose” and I spent the year regaling him with stories about the great Yankee first baseman of the 50s and 60s named “Moose” Skowron. He came to love “Moose” and he also became a pretty good little player as well. I like to think when he learned of Skowron’s passing he thought to himself, “my little league coach named me after him”.

“Moose” signs for one of his many fans. 

In 1997 I had the pleasure of meeting “Moose” Skowron. It was in Cooperstown New York and I had the honor of sharing a “signing” with the Yankee all time great. My compadres David and Kerry were signing copies of our “new” book The Babe in Red Stockings. We were accompanied by the ever gracious grand-daughter of the Babe, Linda Ruth Tossetti. She was kind enough to write the foreword for our tome and we were sharing a great day in a great little town. Also present and signing were Enos “Country” Slaughter and four members of the All American Girls Baseball League.

To be in the presence of “Moose” was to know that his presence and booming voice had the ability to capture a room and this day was no different. I must confess I was a bit taken aback by, shall we say his propensity to think he was always in the clubhouse.This led to, at times, an exchange or two in which his conversation was sprinkled with some “salty” adjectives.

Throughout the event, “Moose” would occasionally yell out to us, “you guys don’t leave without talking to me, I want to tell you something”. I was awash in wonder at what “Moose” Skowron could possibly want with us.

The event finished and he rushed over to us with the exuberance of a boy. “I met Babe” he said “and it was the greatest thrill of my career”. He related how when he was in high school he got to play at an all-star event at Yankee Stadium and as each player was introduced he ran up to home plate and shook the hand of Babe Ruth. It was delightful to listen to this man of 67 years relate a story of his youth with such unbounded passion and joy!

Here was a former major leaguer, a very accomplished major leaguer, with a rather extensive resume including all-star games and World Series success; telling me that meeting Babe Ruth as a high school player was the greatest thrill of his life!

I learned two things that day, one that “Moose” Skowron held the key to life and that was simply to always view the world through the eyes of the little boy within and two, I loved him!

“Moose” Skowron passed away last month, he was 81 years young!

And so it is on this day in Fenway Park history, May 18, 2012. 

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