A baseball Thanksgiving tribute
by biggentleben on Nov 27, 2008 12:00 PM EST
21 comments
I love the game. My great grandma made me a baseball fan when I was three years old and when she was overcome by Alzheimer's later in life, she always knew who I was because we talked baseball. I played the game until circumstances wouldnt' allow, and now I coach and teach it in the summer and play in a league in the spring. It is a beautiful game, and we should all be thankful that we have a sport like baseball that can look so simple, yet humble even the greatest of athletes from other sports.
What I'd really like to do is to do a "best of" post for games/players that you've seen live either at the park or on TV, major, minor, little league, doesn't matter....add in categories if you'd like!
Best game pitched: Greg Maddux...the absolute master...6/10/02 at the Metrodome...gave up 5 in the first inning, but battled back and simply dominated the Twins the rest of the way while he was in, allowing the Braves to come back and tie the score....
Most amazing home run hit: Bo Jackson batting practice at the Metrodome...if you know where the banners are for Hrbek, Oliva, Puckett, et all in centerfield now, you'll know that landing a home run half way up the bleachers behind there is a mammoth blast...kicker of it all was that the ball never really had any arch....so who knows without bleachers how far that ball may have traveled
Most amazing defensive play: Once again, Bo Jackson....I can't recall the game, I just remember watching replays over and over of Bo grabbing the ball barehanded at the wall in front of a 400+ foot sign, wheeling around and without any windup or hop or anything, throwing a perfect strike, no hops, to home plate to Bob Boone who held onto the ball in shock as the runner ran right to him, thinking there was no way that anyone could throw him out from that deep (I believe it was against the Angels, but I may be wrong)....
Best baserunning: Cristian Guzman at his peak...he seemed to tap each base just on the corner as he flew around the bases....he wasn't the fastest guy on the basepaths, but he racked up a ton of triples because he took the shortest, most efficient path...
Best basestealer: Rickey Henderson, and it's not even close...best team at it would be the Cardinals of the 80s, but Rickey just turned base stealing into a science, knowing when a twitch in the hip of a certain pitcher meant he was going to first or if that twitch meant he was going home....
Most fun player to watch: As a pitcher, Maddux was my idol and I used to record every game he pitched on TV, but this has to go to Kirby Puckett....I met the man after his eyesight ended his career, and he was just as cordial to fans as he was on the field....he'd sign for hours before (and sometimes during) games, and he had a huge smile on his face all the time....best of all, he hustled out and gave 100% of what he had on every play...nowhere near the most gifted player I've seen, but easily the one who got the most out of his gifts...
Last, best baseball game ever watched: 1991 World Series game 7....the 1995 win was special for me as well as a lifelong Braves fan, but to watch the local Twins battle my Braves in such an epic series was awesome, but we had a family gathering the day of game 7, and all of us were gathered around the TV watching smoltz and morris in their brilliance....the twins fans in the room jumped and cheered when they won, but there was no trash talking or anything as it was such an awesome series that everyone in the room was happy, regardless of the outcome....
Any Thanksgiving baseball contributions from others?
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Hmm...
I saw Clemens strike out 10 in 7 shutout innings as a Yank in Yankee Stadium – probably best pitching performance I have seen.
Most amazing HR was probably a George Brett inside the park HR that he hit towards the end of his career with the Royals.
For me, the most amazing player I have watched was probably Josh Hamilton in the first half of this season. Saw about 5 Rangers games before the break and I think he homered in four of them.
The best baseball game I ever attended was a college regional finale when Brady Toops hit a grand slam to win the regional. Here’s a quick recap from a website about Toops:
“June 6th, 2004. The day everyone else became aware of him. What happened will forever be remembered and is still talked about. It made him a household name among the "bandwagon” fans; Top of the 9th, bases loaded, 2 outs. I was in the stands, shaking, my hands had become cupped over my mouth and into them I was whispering “hit slammer Brady, hit a slammer” and then…..“Brady stands in from the left side, Banick’s going to work from the stretch with the bases loaded. The pitch is coming, swing and a fly ball to left field, hit pretty well, going back is Napolation, THAT BALLS GONE! THAT’S A GRAND SLAM HOME RUN! BRADY TOOPS JUST HIT A GRAND SLAM HOME RUN! And the Razorbacks have taken the lead………”
Can’t think of anything off the top of my head that fulfills the others. I know I saw some Ozzie towards the end of his career but right now there isn’t one play that is jumping out at me…
by Dfarth on Nov 27, 2008 12:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
awesome
Best pitching: Bud Smith’s no hitter.
Most Amazing HR: Cliff Floyd when he was on the Marlins hit a moonshot that I could have sworn would’ve left Shea had the skyline not been there.
Best defensive play: Endy Chavez in Game 7 I believe it was in the NLCS
Best Baserunning: Every time Carlos Beltran takes a step
Best basestealer: Henderson on the Yanks
Most amazing player: Dae-Sung Koo, who hit a double off the wall against Randy Johnson, and then advanced from second to home on a bunt. The best part of it all was it was his first MLB at-bat and he was an old crappy lefty reliever.
by METSMETSMETS on Nov 27, 2008 1:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
I was at the Koo game.
A) The ball landed behind the CF because he was so ridiculously shallow – it did not hit off the wall.
B) Koo was clearly out at home and the ump blatantly blew the call.
by Daniel Plainview on Nov 27, 2008 2:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Game 4, 2001 WS
This was the game where Tino Martinez hit a homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, and Derek Jeter hit the walkoff homer in the 10th. I was in the left field bleachers with 3 of my friends. It was just a surreal experience.
I almost didn’t make it in, as I had a friends’ keychain (I was dogsitting) that had a laser pointer, and in the post-terrorist attack mindset, the security guards assumed I was up to something. I had to be questioned by the NYPD in some dungeon area beneath the CF batters’ eye, I was about 10 yards away from Challenger the bald eagle as his handler was prepping him for his flyover during the national anthem.
Throughout the game, the vibe out in the bleachers was just crazy. It was pretty freakin cold, and people were getting extremely drunk and belligerent to deal with the weather. A couple of guys to the side of us got forcibly pulled out by the police for smoking a joint.
By the 9th inning, some of the crowd had started to file out, so some ticket scalpers came and sat in the empty seats next to me. They were some crazy guys. When Tino hit his HR, the entire stadium erupted, and the scalper next to me basically did a full on tackle of me into the bleacher row ahead of us while screaming in my face ARIZONA’S GOING DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When Jeter hit his HR, I couldn’t even see the ball go over the fence from our angle. I just remember seeing the entire 1st base line section going bananas all in unison. Naturally, I got full body tackled again, but this time the guy managed to take out almost our entire row.
There’s no way I’ll ever see a sporting event that can top that one, and even though they Yanks lost that series, that will definitely be one of the days that I’ll remember most vividly for the rest of my life.
I was also at game 6 of the 2004 ALCS (the Schilling bloody sock game), but as a Yankees fan that only leaves me with memories of misery.
by jibs on Nov 27, 2008 3:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
uh
best pitching – Kerry Wood’s one-hit, 20 K game.
best homer – Carlos Beltran’s walk off opening day 2004.
best defensive play – Any reel of Bo Jackson.
Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.
by doublestix on Nov 27, 2008 4:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
bo
isn’t it amazing to think of what that man could have done if he had concentrated solely on either sport? heck, he was still employable as a 4th OF/DH type for years AFTER his hip injury that ended his football career…
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
by biggentleben on Nov 27, 2008 7:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Saw
A-Rod’s 500th
Pedro’s 200th
Remember: baseball guys... baseball...
by Metty5 on Nov 27, 2008 8:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Most Amazing HR:
I have two:
Jason Giambi’s walk-off off of Mike Stanton in his MVP season
Miguel Tejada’s walk-off homer after Billy Koch blew the save, giving up back-to-back homers to a young Mike Cuddyer and someone else.
Best defensive play:
Anything Eric Chavez has ever done at third base. It’s a shame the guy is always hurt.
Best Baserunning:
Videos of Rickey…I was too young to remember clearly.
Best basestealer:
Rickey
Most amazing player:
The Big Three, Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada in the early 2000s.
"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball
by flipgatey3 on Nov 27, 2008 10:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the post:)
Best Game: A’s-Royals not sure what year. It was when the A’s had their record 21 game win streak several years back. A’s went up 11-0 then the Royals came all the way back to tie it. Scott Hatteberg hit a walk-off HR in the bottom of the 9th. Oakland Coliseum was electric.
Best D Play: I know there’s a ton more out there, but this was just one I saw personally. Opening day 2004 Angels at Rangers, standing room only. Somebody was on 2b for the halos when there was a base hit to RF. Vlad comes up and fires an absolute linea chest high to the catcher. Runner wisely rounding 3b and heading back. There was no play at the plate, but it was the best throw I ever saw in person. Worth my $10 ticket just to see that one throw.
Best game I ever listened to: Dave Dravecky’s comeback game where he pitched a complete game(?) to beat the Reds after his return from cancer. I couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9, but just absolute chills.
The Giants need to sign Harry Doyle.
by jrose643 on Nov 27, 2008 10:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
i was watching
the game that dravecky broke his arm….still ranks as the most greusome injury i’ve seen as it happened….i’ve seen replays of many other nasty ones, but that one live left an impression….
not to lessen the accomplishment, but dravecky only pitched 8 innings that night…still tremendous…later lost the entire arm….
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
by biggentleben on Nov 27, 2008 11:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Injury...
The worst injury I ever saw live as it happened (even if it was on TV) was the opening Monday Night Football one season back in like ‘93 or that area. Niners and the Raiders were playing and Napolean McCallum received a handoff and went straight up the middle. Ken Norton Jr grabbed him and sort of twisted him around. McCallum ended up tearing up his knee so bad, doctors said that he would have died if the injury had happened ten years earlier. It tore veins, ligaments, everything. Basically, McCallum’s lower leg was under Norton, and the rest of his body was on top of Norton. His knee bent like over 90 degrees forward. Norton was wise enough to know what happened though and didn’t move until the medical staff got out there. Absolutely gruesome. That was the first time I ever heard sports reporters warn that the following clip might not be suitable for all. I’ve looked for it on Youtube in the past, but never found it. Maybe it is up now, I don’t know.
"My mom always taught me it's better to laugh at yourself than to laugh at others. She was so wrong. ;)" -Pedrophile
by Boxkutter on Nov 28, 2008 2:15 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Found it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sf2XbdTiCo
It’s even more gruesome as I remember!
"My mom always taught me it's better to laugh at yourself than to laugh at others. She was so wrong. ;)" -Pedrophile
by Boxkutter on Nov 28, 2008 2:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
injuries
was watching McCallum live as well; that image has never left the back of my mind. Also, I can unfortunately still see the Dravecky pitch in Montreal that broke his arm the next start.
Jason Kendall’s compound ankle fx is also up there on the gruesome scale.
The Giants need to sign Harry Doyle.
by jrose643 on Nov 28, 2008 7:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
the first game back at PNC Park
after 9/11. there was an eerie feeling around the park…..people weren’t really sure whether it was OK to get excited. but at that point in time, a baseball game, at least for me, was the perfect place to be.
by psugator on Nov 28, 2008 12:49 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
yeah
if it were pure sporting events, the first sporting event at the U of Minnesota after 9/11 was a volleyball game that I sang the anthem for….i couldn’t finish the anthem without tearing up, and the announcer was so overcome that there was an unplanned minute of silence after the anthem…i’ve never been both so heartbroken and proud all at the same time….
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
by biggentleben on Nov 28, 2008 1:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
For biggentleben
Sorry this is a bit off-topic.
You mentioned in your intro that you used to tape every Maddux start. Do you still have those tapes? I have been searching everywhere on and off for the past year or so looking for some specific Maddux games on tape or dvd.
If you still have them and would be willing to sell on ebay or something, could you please shoot me an email. I don’t want to clog up the message board. Would really appreciate it. emanes@yahoo.com
by 31Maddux31 on Nov 28, 2008 4:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
sadly
those tapes became concert and sports game recording fodder for my family when i went off to college, so none of them still remain as what i recorded them….and i only had three tapes….i’d just rotate the tapes as i’d watched the most recent start, erase, and record another start….almost all of them were from 92-96, arguably the greatest stretch a control pitcher has ever (and maybe will ever) experience….
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
by biggentleben on Nov 28, 2008 4:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Crap. 92-96 is exactly what i’m looking for. Will have to keep looking. Since we’re posting great games in this thread I will post some Maddux ones that were memorable:
1995 @ STL 9 inning, 2 hit shutout on 88 pitches with 66 strikes. Ridiculous
1997 @NYY 9 innings 3 hit shuout on 84 pitches with 61 strikes. First start in Yankee stadium
by 31Maddux31 on Nov 28, 2008 5:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Best game pitched
As a huge Nolan Ryan fan (my son’s name is Nolan Ryan), I was thrilled when he came back to the AL to pitch for the Rangers so I might see him pitch in person, as I lived near Baltimore. I had some really nice seats and saw him pitch a great game, execpt he came out on the short end of a 1-0 loss. The dominant pitcher for the Orioles that day? Jose Mesa. Yecch.
by journeymen on Nov 28, 2008 10:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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