Baseball and Some Stories
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2017 11:28 am
Sniper with a Bat-
Richie Ashburn fouled a ball off. It hit a woman in the stands and broke her nose.
As the woman was being carted away on a stretcher, Ashburn hit another foul ball. The foul ball struck the woman again on the knee, breaking another bone.
The woman was not an ex-wife
Has-Been-
In his first Major League at bat, Hoyt Wilhelm hit a home run. For 21 years, Wilhelm, with a great knuckler, became both one of the best starters and one of the best relievers in baseball.
So good, he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Over those 21 years, Wilhelm piled up 493 at bats.
He never homered again.
Not PED, Pud-
A lot of you have probably never heard od Pud Galvin. Even though an argument could be made that next to Cy Young, 'Ol Pud could have been the best pitcher in baseball history. Pud, short for his nickname' Pudding', won 300 games and finished second to Cy in innings pitched and complete games.
Pud had help. He mixed a concoction together that included testosterone from monkeys. This was 1889.
PED Pudding?
Charlie Hustle and The Mick-
Mickey Mantle and Pete Rose were on opposite sides of the spectrum in their outlooks on baseball. Mantle the laid back super-hero, Rose the 'I earn everything I get' ballplayer.
The first time Mantle noticed Rose was after Pete had drawn a base on balls and sprinted down to first base.
The Mick said, Look at Charlie Hustle."
The nickname stuck.
Both players were switch hitters.
Mantle with mighty swings. Rose, the ultimate contact hitter.
In 1956, Mantle won baseball's Triple Crown. The most one sided Triple Crown in history.
Mantle also led the league in Runs and finished 10th in Stolen Bases.
Imagine THAT on your fantasy team!
For 12 years, Mantle was the only switch hitter to win a batting title.
Until Rose won his batting title in 1968.
When reporters asked Mantle about Rose winning the batting Championship, Mickey's reply was all The Mick.
"If I'd a had to hit all those singles, I would have worn a dress!"
If Pete Browning were a Glove and his train were the Ball, he'd miss his ride-
You've probably never heard of Pete Browning. Browning played before the 1900's.
In short, Browning could not field.
Wooden Indian statues were the rage of the day and Browning's Manager wished that there was an Indian Statue in the outfield to replace Browning. He surmised that on the slim chance the ball would strike the statue, it had a good chance of caroming towards the infield.
Not a lot of balls were hit to the outfield in those days, so the worst of fielders were 'hidden' there.
One of Browning's teammates said that Browning could catch a pitched ball with his bat a lot better than he could catch a batted ball with his glove.
This probably seemed true.
Browning led the league in errors in 1886 and 1887.
His lifetime batting average was .341
This may have been enough to already make Browning a player to be recognized.
But, it's not even the beginning.
You see, Browning had this thing about his feet. He liked them firmly planted on the ground at all times.
Great for the normal person. Not so, for a ball player.
Browning refused to make sliding catches (as if he could catch the ball anyway), but even more infuriating to his teammates was his refusal to slide.
His teammates would call him 'Ballerina' because of his tippy toe style in trying to reach second base on wild pitches and attempted force outs.
Browning was a known drinker and teammates thought that this may have added to his sliding problem.
Browning's Line? "I can't hit the ball till I've hit the bottle!"
As if that weren't enough, Browning also went deaf.
Probably better explaining a balance issue and his defiance of not sliding.
There is still more to Pete Browning.
Browning was instrumental for a Major League team's nickname. He was one of the first free agents in baseball history.
Going from the American Association to the National League, he was one of the biggest free agents of his day.
For the amount of free agents signed, including Browning, other teams thought of Pittsburgh as 'Pirates'.
The name stuck.
And still, there is another reason to remember Pete Browning.
Browning collected baseball bats. He would never trade, sell, throw away, or let anybody else use his bats.
However, if he caught a player looking longingly at one of his bats, he had the reputation of making a gift of the bat.
Browning was born and raised in Louisville.
He was called,,,you got it...the Louisville Slugger'.
A couple of years later, the bat company rolled out their first bat.
Pete Browning added to his collection by being the first to purchase a bat from the Company.
A few years later in paying homage to his nickname and capitalizing on his fame, the LOUISVILLE SLUGGER was named and Pete was immortalized.
Sort of.
Richie Ashburn fouled a ball off. It hit a woman in the stands and broke her nose.
As the woman was being carted away on a stretcher, Ashburn hit another foul ball. The foul ball struck the woman again on the knee, breaking another bone.
The woman was not an ex-wife
Has-Been-
In his first Major League at bat, Hoyt Wilhelm hit a home run. For 21 years, Wilhelm, with a great knuckler, became both one of the best starters and one of the best relievers in baseball.
So good, he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Over those 21 years, Wilhelm piled up 493 at bats.
He never homered again.
Not PED, Pud-
A lot of you have probably never heard od Pud Galvin. Even though an argument could be made that next to Cy Young, 'Ol Pud could have been the best pitcher in baseball history. Pud, short for his nickname' Pudding', won 300 games and finished second to Cy in innings pitched and complete games.
Pud had help. He mixed a concoction together that included testosterone from monkeys. This was 1889.
PED Pudding?
Charlie Hustle and The Mick-
Mickey Mantle and Pete Rose were on opposite sides of the spectrum in their outlooks on baseball. Mantle the laid back super-hero, Rose the 'I earn everything I get' ballplayer.
The first time Mantle noticed Rose was after Pete had drawn a base on balls and sprinted down to first base.
The Mick said, Look at Charlie Hustle."
The nickname stuck.
Both players were switch hitters.
Mantle with mighty swings. Rose, the ultimate contact hitter.
In 1956, Mantle won baseball's Triple Crown. The most one sided Triple Crown in history.
Mantle also led the league in Runs and finished 10th in Stolen Bases.
Imagine THAT on your fantasy team!
For 12 years, Mantle was the only switch hitter to win a batting title.
Until Rose won his batting title in 1968.
When reporters asked Mantle about Rose winning the batting Championship, Mickey's reply was all The Mick.
"If I'd a had to hit all those singles, I would have worn a dress!"
If Pete Browning were a Glove and his train were the Ball, he'd miss his ride-
You've probably never heard of Pete Browning. Browning played before the 1900's.
In short, Browning could not field.
Wooden Indian statues were the rage of the day and Browning's Manager wished that there was an Indian Statue in the outfield to replace Browning. He surmised that on the slim chance the ball would strike the statue, it had a good chance of caroming towards the infield.
Not a lot of balls were hit to the outfield in those days, so the worst of fielders were 'hidden' there.
One of Browning's teammates said that Browning could catch a pitched ball with his bat a lot better than he could catch a batted ball with his glove.
This probably seemed true.
Browning led the league in errors in 1886 and 1887.
His lifetime batting average was .341
This may have been enough to already make Browning a player to be recognized.
But, it's not even the beginning.
You see, Browning had this thing about his feet. He liked them firmly planted on the ground at all times.
Great for the normal person. Not so, for a ball player.
Browning refused to make sliding catches (as if he could catch the ball anyway), but even more infuriating to his teammates was his refusal to slide.
His teammates would call him 'Ballerina' because of his tippy toe style in trying to reach second base on wild pitches and attempted force outs.
Browning was a known drinker and teammates thought that this may have added to his sliding problem.
Browning's Line? "I can't hit the ball till I've hit the bottle!"
As if that weren't enough, Browning also went deaf.
Probably better explaining a balance issue and his defiance of not sliding.
There is still more to Pete Browning.
Browning was instrumental for a Major League team's nickname. He was one of the first free agents in baseball history.
Going from the American Association to the National League, he was one of the biggest free agents of his day.
For the amount of free agents signed, including Browning, other teams thought of Pittsburgh as 'Pirates'.
The name stuck.
And still, there is another reason to remember Pete Browning.
Browning collected baseball bats. He would never trade, sell, throw away, or let anybody else use his bats.
However, if he caught a player looking longingly at one of his bats, he had the reputation of making a gift of the bat.
Browning was born and raised in Louisville.
He was called,,,you got it...the Louisville Slugger'.
A couple of years later, the bat company rolled out their first bat.
Pete Browning added to his collection by being the first to purchase a bat from the Company.
A few years later in paying homage to his nickname and capitalizing on his fame, the LOUISVILLE SLUGGER was named and Pete was immortalized.
Sort of.