Why We Love This Crazy Game Called Baseball

By: C.G. Morelli

It occurred to me a while back while watching an inter-league game between the Mets and Mariners (of all teams) that I really love this game. No, I mean I REALLY love this game. To those of you who are forced to listen to the incessant ravings of my maniacal, baseball-saturated brain matter wax poetic about the savage ballet that is the suicide squeeze (sorry, honey), this is no real surprise. In fact, I was quite aware of my addiction long before this random yet unforgettable game, when a chubby but loveable youngster named Felix Hernandez pitched his way to…wait a minute…this box score can’t be correct. Did Felix freakin’ Hernandez really hit a grand slam?

And that, my friends, is exactly how I realized why I love this game so much. It’s for the simple fact that on any night, in any ball park, whether there’s a match up between division rivals or division doormats, you could see something you’d never dreamed would have happened.

Of course, King Felix’s little dinger was not the most classic example of one of these amazing instances. It served as little more than a reminder. But perhaps if I set the stage I can help you relish in a few of baseball’s more magical moments.

Yes, then you’ll see where I’m coming from.

“The Catch”

The time:  September 24, 1954

The place:  Polo Grounds (Brooklyn, NY)

The situation:  Game One of the World Series between the Giants and Indians

With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning, Vic Wertz of the Indians sent a drive to the deepest part of center field.  Giants centerfielder, Willie Mays, turned and sprinted all the way back to the fence to make an amazing over-the-shoulder catch.  Some say the ball traveled almost 450 feet before landing in his glove, but Mays wasn’t finished.  He whirled around in mid-stride and fired a bullet to second base to prevent a run from scoring.  Mays had single-handedly stopped the Indians from taking the lead.  The Giants went on to win the game in extra innings and they eventually swept the Indians to win the series.

“The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”

The time:  October 3, 1951

The place:  Polo Grounds (Brooklyn, NY)

The situation:  Playoff series to determine the pennant between the Giants and Dodgers

In just over a month, the Giants caught the Dodgers in the standings despite once trailing by 13 ½ games.  The Giants’ late push caused the two teams to finish in a tie.  To decide which team would move on to face the Yankees in the World Series, the league held a three-game playoff series. 

With the series tied a game a piece, the Dodgers built a 4-1 lead in game three that they carried into the bottom of the ninth.  It looked like the series was over.  But the Giants fought back, scoring a run and putting two more runners on base.  Then, Bobby Thomson stepped to the plate and smashed a dramatic three-run homer over the left field fence to win the game and the series.  He would forever be known for firing “the shot heard ‘round the world.”

“The Called Shot”

The time:  October 1, 1932

The place:  Wrigley Field (Chicago, IL)

The situation:  Game Three of the World Series between the Yankees and Cubs

After winning the first two games of the series in New York, Babe Ruth led his Yankees into Chicago.  He angered Chicago fans by promising that his team would sweep the series from the Cubs.  When Ruth took the field in game three, he was greeted by flying vegetables tossed at him from the stands.  Ruth responded by clobbering two homeruns in the game, one of which goes down in baseball legend.

It is said that Ruth stepped to the plate and pointed to a spot beyond the right field fence.  Then he took a mighty swing and hammered the next pitch out of the park to the exact spot where he had pointed.  The Yankees would go on to sweep the Cubs in the series, but it was Ruth’s famous “called shot” that would become one of the most storied events in baseball history.

“True Grit”

The time:  October 15, 1988

The place:  Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles, CA)

The situation:  Game One of the World Series between the Dodgers and the A’s

Kirk Gibson only had one at-bat in the 1988 World Series, but he made it count.  He was nursing multiple leg injuries and many of his teammates told reporters that the slugger could barely walk.  Dodger fans were sad to hear that he would probably not play at all in the series. 

But, in the very first game, with his team down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth and with Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley on the mound, Gibson limped out of the dugout to the surprise of everyone.  He told Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda, that there was one more swing left in him. 

Barely able to hold himself upright at the plate, Gibson drilled a game-winning two-run homer into the right field bleachers.  He limped around the bases amid the wild celebration of nearly 56,000 fans.  Inspired by the slugger’s incredible feat, the Dodgers went on to win the World Series over the A’s in just five games.

Every time I think of baseball, it is with the images of these crucial moments swirling through my mind. They are what define the game for me and allow me to appreciate baseball’s past, present, and future. They are what help me to never forget why I love the game so much.

So, now it’s your turn. What moments help you remember why you love baseball?

Poosh 'Em Up, Tony

By:  C.G. Morelli

The date was May 24, 1936. The New York Yankees had just made a trip to Philadelphia to take on Connie Mack’s Athletics. Fans flocked to the Baker Bowl to get a glimpse of the Bronx Bombers and their illustrious lineup. After all, they were once again favorites to win the AL pennant. And who could argue? With the likes of Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Red Rolfe anchoring the offense, the Bombers looked unstoppable.

They were their usual unstoppable selves on this day as well, dropping a 25-2 hurting on the A’s in front of their home crowd. But it wasn’t Gehrig, DiMaggio, or Rolfe that did most of the damage. It was, instead, a stringy second baseman who’d quietly become a main stay in the New York lineup since the days of Murderer’s Row. This man was Tony Lazzeri, the first player of Italian descent to really make a serious name for himself in the bigs.

On this particular day Lazzeri would cement his name in the record books by driving in an AL record 11 runs in the game. How does one go about knocking in 11 runs in a single game? Well, if you’re Tony Lazzeri you rip two grand slams into the left field bleachers. Then you follow up with another solo shot, and finally cap off the night with a two-run triple off the top of the wall.

Not bad for a guy who only weighed 170 pounds soaking wet and who battled epilepsy throughout his career.

Lazzeri, known to many in his Italian American community as “Poosh ‘Em Up,” grew up in the same San Francisco neighborhood that produced a certain Yankee Clipper. In fact, many say it was Lazzeri who paved the way for players like Joe D to take center stage.

Like DiMaggio, Lazzeri began his professional career in the Pacific Coast League. He played for the Salt Lake City Bees, and boy did he run the competition ragged. In his 1925 campaign in the PCL, Poosh ‘Em Up clocked 60 homers and knocked in 222 runs. Yes, I said 222 runs. It goes without saying that this was Tony’s final season in the minors.

He made his debut in the Bronx on April 13, 1926. He was just 23 years old, but he had stepped onto the team that would forever be known as Murderer’s Row. He was a rookie standing on stage with guys like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Not only did he hold his own on the same field as these legends, but he quickly became the team’s spark plug. He made that lineup tick.

From 1925-1937, Lazzeri batted over .300 five times and knocked in more than 100 runs seven times. He helped lead the Yanks to American League pennants six times during this span, and then went on to win the World Series on five of those occasions. That’s a ring for every finger, people.

Lazzeri retired in 1939 after brief and somewhat meaningless stints with the Dodgers and Giants. He suffered an untimely death in 1945 after incurring serious injuries from a fall caused by an epileptic seizure. He was just 42 years old.

One of the greatest two baggers of all time was basically overlooked for the next 50 years until he was finally elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s committee in 1991. His .292 career average, 986 runs, 178 home runs, 1,192 RBI, and 148 stolen bases are not flashy statistics by any stretch of the imagination. But Lazzeri’s ability to battle a potentially debilitating disease (thankfully he never had a seizure on the field) and still be a leader and an integral part on a team as storied as Murderer’s Row can not and should not be taken lightly.

The Foxx Who Found His Way

By: C.G. Morelli

Jimmie-

Would you be interested in becoming a professional ball player? If you are, contact me.

Signed,

Frank Baker

It was fitting the Hall of Fame career of slugging first baseman Jimmie Foxx began with this hastily scribbled message on the back of a penny postcard from one home run legend to another in the making.

He was only 16 years old at the time, but the young track star and baseball phenom had at least one notable fan keeping a particularly critical eye on him from the stands at Foxx’s Maryland high school games.

The eye belonged to one Home Run Baker, a former Philly A’s slugger turned Eastern League manager. He knew the young Foxx had the athleticism, the build, and just the right amount of stupidity to make a splash in the bigs. And, boy, could that kid hit the ball a country mile.

Baker quickly received a reply to his postcard and Foxx began, in 1924, a short-lived minor league career under his tutelage. I say short-lived because it lasted just 76 games. That’s all it took for the Foxx to hit .296, mash 10 homers, and draw a lot of interest from teams in the bigs.

Both the Yanks and the A’s became heavy suitors for Foxx after that ’24 campaign. Naturally, Baker steered his young project in the direction of his own mentor, Connie Mack, in Philadelphia.

Foxx spent the tail end of the ’24 season sitting inches from Mack on the bench and learning what the Tall Tactician referred to as the “finer points” of the game. After that, Foxx bounced around the A’s system for the next few years and by1929, at the much more prominent age of 21, “Double X” was finally unveiled as Mack’s everyday first baseman.

The wait would prove to be more than worth it.

The next few years were a blur of statistical achievements for Foxx. From ’29-’31, he and slugger Al Simmons combined for 192 home runs in leading Philly to three straight World Series. He won two MVP awards in consecutive years by smashing 58 homers and driving in 169 runs in ’32, and by earning the Triple Crown in ’33 with 48 taters, 163 RBI, and a .358 batting average. He would hit more than 35 homers and drive in more than 125 runs in each of the next seven seasons with the A’s and Red Sox, and would pick up an unprecedented third MVP award in 1938.

When all was said and done and the sun began to set on a 20 Major League year career, Jimmie Foxx had sent 534 baseballs into the cheap seats (that was 2^nd to only the great Babe Ruth at the time) and maintained a .325 batting average. He was a unanimous selection into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951, just six years after his official retirement.

But all the numbers and accolades and serious home run power aside, Jimmie was just a regular Joe. He was a guy you might see down at the end of the bar after a game sipping a beer, munching on stale peanuts, and mulling over a second match of darts. He was a farmer’s boy from rural Maryland who could probably 3-in-1 a tractor faster than he could round the bases. He was a fresh-faced 16-year-old with a penny postcard from his idol in hand and a slack-jawed, half-amazed look on his face.

And then he was a Hall of Famer.