Happy Anniversary Nolan Ryan!!!

On this day in 1989 Nolan Ryan recorded the 5,000th strikeout of his professional baseball career.

During a game in Arlington Stadium in front of 42,000+ fans, Nolan Ryan became the first player to ever eclipse the 5,000 strikeout mark.  And to do this in front of his home fans in the state he grew up in was especially monumental!!

In the top of the 5th inning with his team trailing 1-0, Ryan struck out All-star Rickey Henderson to capture #5,000!

Amazingly Ryan struck out 13 batters in this game.  And although his team lost 2-0, this was Ryan’s night.  Oh, and he was 42 years old at the time and still dominant as ever!!

Happy Anniversary Nolan Ryan!!!

Happy Birthday Paul Molitor!!!

Paul Molitor turns 53 years old today.

Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004, Paul Molitor had a brilliant 21-year career.  Never getting the opportunity to showcase his talents in front of a consistently large crowd, Molitor spent most of his career as an unheralded superstar.

With 3,316 career hits and a lifetime batting average of .306 Paul Molitor is one of the greatest hitters of the last 40 years.  For a player that was not classified as a ‘power hitter’ Molitor quietly bashed 234 home runs.  And while also never being classified as a ‘speedster’, Paul also accumulated 504 stolen bases.  This multi-dimensional player was a 7-time All-star, and he won 4 Silver Slugger awards as well.  Molitor finished in the Top 20 for the MVP award 9 times over the course of his career where his highest finish was coming in at 2nd place in 1993.

For his birthday, I would like to give Molitor one season in front of sold out crowds.  One season with some national attention paid to him.  It doesn’t matter if it’s New York or Los Angeles or Chicago or St. Louis, but Paul Molitor and the incredible career he had deserves quite a bit more attention than he got while playing for Milwaukee, Toronto, and Minnesota.

Happy Birthday Mr. Molitor!!

Happy Birthday Carl Yastzemski!!

‘Yaz’ turns 70 years old today!!

Best known as ‘Yaz’, Carl Yastrzemski personified what being a consistent leader was all about.  ‘Yaz’ spent every minute of his 23-season long career in a Boston Red Sox jersey.

Along with the droves of fans he established during his career, ‘Yaz’ put up some amazing numbers too.

The stats : 3,419 hits, 452 home runs, 1,844 RBI, 1,816 runs scored, 168 stolen bases, and a career batting average of .285.  In Yaz’s 23-year career, he finished in the Top 20 for the MVP award 12 times, while earning the award in 1967 with his .326/44/121 performance.

For his birthday, I would like to give ‘Yaz’ a Game 7.  Anyone that devotes 23 years of their life to one franchise and city deserves to feel the glory of bringing home a championship.  ‘Yaz’ played in 2 World Series contests, both of which ended up in losses in Game 7.  I would like to see him get one more shot to help Boston capture a title.  Would if be in 1967 versus the St. Louis Cardinals or in 1975 versus the Cincinnati Reds?  Hmmm…  tough decision there!!

Happy Birthday ‘Yaz’

The Marlins Need To Keep Chipping Away…

As we get closer to the end of the 2009 baseball season, we should begin to find out who the contenders and pretenders are.

Currently, the Florida Marlins are 6.5 games behind the division leading Phillies.  With 41 games left to play they still have a chance to threaten the Phillies for the top spot in the division but they have to maintain their winning ways and hope the Phillies falter. 

In the race for the National League Wild Card, ‘The Fish’ are 4 games out of the top spot and are looking up at the Rockies and Giants.  This is another race that will go down to the wire and my fingers are crossed that the Marlins remain competitive enough over the last six weeks of the season to challenge for that spot too.

If the last few weeks are any indication as to what the Marlins can do, they should be right in the middle of both races.

Here is a quick summary of they have fared over the last few weeks:

Astros – lost series 2-1

Rockies – won series 2-1

Astros - won series 3-1

Phillies – won series 3-0

Keep Cipping Away Boys!!!  Go Fish!!!

Andre Dawson 1994 Donruss

 Andre Dawson 1994 Donruss

 Seeing Andre Dawsos in a Boston Red Sox uniform reminds me that ‘Hawk’s’ career was coming to a close.  And although he had 2 productive seasons in Boston before coming to the Florida Marlins, I prefer to let my memory linger back to Andre’s glory days from the Expos and Cubs.

Yet, I find this 1994 Donruss base card to be almost perfect.  Seriously.  An absolutely clear picture of Andre taking a mighty cut at a pitch.  A low-key design that allows for the player’s image to be the feature of the card.  A small company logo and a nice, stylish font used for the player’s name add a touch of class.  And the perfect amount of Red seen on the card to highlight the Red Sox logo as well as Andre’s uniform.

Donruss did a great job on this one!!!

1989 Headline: Walton’s Hit Streak Ends At 30 Games

1989 Headline: Walton’s Hit Streak Ends At 30 Games

I remember this event like it was yesterday.  A rookie taking the sport of baseball and the city of Chicago on a wonderful ride during the 1989 baseball season.

Jerome Walton did not reach the majors with the same media hype and frenzy that others did in 1989, but by the end of the year all agreed that the sky was his limit and that this kid was a future star. 

During that ’89 season, the Cubs won their division and rode a wave of success into the playoffs.  And hod it not been for this hot-hitting rookie who knows if they would have been as successful…

The streak lasted 30 games, which at the time was, and still is, considered to be an outstanding achievement for a rookie.  During that season, Jerome Walton collected 139 hits, had a batting average of .293, stole 24 bases, and scored 64 runs.  These incredible numbers and that wonderful 30-game hit streak led to Walton winning the National League Rookie of  the Year award. 

And although Walton never reached the same amount of individual success again, he still remains a favorite around ‘The Windy City’!!!

Congratulations and Happy Anniversary Jerome Walton!!!

Happy Birthday Craig Counsell!!!

Amazingly, Craig Counsell celebrates his 39th Birthday today.

For all of us Florida Marlins fans, we celebrate Craig today and take a minute to remember and enjoy the memory of the game winning run that he scored in extra innings in Game 7 giving us our first World Series title in 1997.

Happy Birthday Craig!!!

Celebrity First Pitch – ‘The Top Ten’

Since the begining of July, I have brought you 39 different videos in my ‘Celebrity First Pitch’ series.  In that group, you have seen actors, presidents, singers, as well as former and current professional athletes take their shot at the ceremonial first pitch of a baseball game.

I am going to put this series to rest for a little while, but I thought today would be a perfect time to present the ‘Top 10′ to you for your viewing pleasure.

To get to this list, I conducted  a very non-sceintific analysis by reviewing the comments, page hits, and natural searches to wittle this list of 39 hopefuls to the ‘Top 10′.

So here they are – ‘The 30-Year Old Cardboard Celebrity First Pitch Top 10 Videos’!!!!  Enjoy.

10 – Homer Simpson – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/celebrity-first-pitch-homer-simpson/

9 – King Kong Bundy – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/celebrity-first-pitch-king-kong-bundy/

8 – Pau Gasol – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/celebrity-first-pitch-pau-gasol/

7 – Kevin Garnett – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/celebrity-first-pitch-kevin-garnett/

6 – Darth Vader – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/celebrity-first-pitch-darth-vader/

5 – Rey Mysterio Jr. – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/celebrity-first-pitch-rey-mysterio-jr/

4 – Shaquille O’neal – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/celebrity-first-pitch-%e2%80%93-shaquille-oneal/

3 – President George Bush – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/celebrity-first-pitch-president-george-w-bush/

2 – The Kardashian Ladies – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/celebrity-first-pitch-the-kardashian-ladies/

And now, the video that the readers enjoyed more than any other in this series….

1 – Mark Wahlberg – http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/celebrity-first-pitch-mark-wahlberg/

Thank you for making this such a fun series.  I look forward to season 2 of ‘Celebrity First Pitch’ which should debut in the coming months!!!

Results: Fergie Jenkins Book Signing!!!

My signed copy of Fergie’s new autobiography was delivered last night!!!

And just like the first book, this one is a beauty. 

Fergie Jenkin’s life story is a fascinating one, and those thoughts extend well beyond his professional baseball career.  Fergie is my favorite pitcher of all-time, and once you learn more about his personal life from before, during, and after his playing days, you will find it hard to not have more respect for this baseball legend than you did prior to opening his book.

I have a few books liked up ahead of this one that I want to read, but I may have to shuffle them around a bit as now that I have possession of this book, I don’t know if I can put it on the side…

Here are a few pictures of my newest Fergie Jenkins acquisition. 

Too Sweet!!!  A special ‘Thank You’ goes out to the great people at Anderson’s bookstore in Naperville, IL.  And a very special ‘Thank You’ goes out to Fergie Jenkins for making this fan’s day!!!

Look At What I Found – Ron Santo!!!

How did I not know that this book existed?  With all of the reading I have done about the Chicago Cubs and their star players from the 60′s and 70′s, I cannot believe that this one eluded me.

Amazingly I found someone selling this brand new book on Amazon for just $3.99 so I quickly scooped it up.  I have a few more books lined up in front of it to read but I am eager to hear from this Cubs legend.

Written in 1993, I am hopeful that this book is loaded with stories about Santo’s playing days at Wrigley Field alongside Billy, Fergie, Ernie, and the other guys that wore ‘Cubby Blue’.

 

Now I just need to find a way to get this signed…