The 'I Want To See' Awards...

[DOUGHBOYS]

We all want to see things happen. Yet, know we won't.
As a kid, I wished the Candlestick Park winds would have blown out to left, instead of in. I'm convinced that Willie Mays would have been the home run king before Hank Aaron if this had occurred.
So, I thought to myself, Self! Let's write a post about things we want to see in baseball.

I want to see Rick Ankiel sign a Japanese contract and set home run records there...

I want to see Adam Dunn play for the Yankees. No home runs look more majestic than Dunn's. And they look cool going into tiered seats like right field at Yankee Stadium....

I want to see Mike Trout play everyday, twice on Sunday's...

I want to see Bryce Harper, age 27, fully healthy during a contract year...

I want to see Joey Votto swing more....

I want to see AJ Pierzynski, Yasiel Puig, Brett Lowrie, Carlos Gomez, and Hanley Ramirez all talking on a bench....and the brawl minutes later...

I want to see CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon at McDonalds an hour after they put up zeroes against each other...

I want to see a Yankees-Red Sox game at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing 40 mph to center field.
And no bullpen to slow the game down

I want to see Catchers visits to the mound limited to once every six outs...

I want to hear announcers stop trying to tell us that a first base coach is justifiable, not tradition...

I want to see a base runner have such a rivalry with another team that he'll say "Fuck you" when the first baseman says, "Nice hit" or "How ya doin'"....

I want to hear a player say, "I killed that one!!!" after the game instead of, "I was just looking for a good pitch to hit"

I want to hear Ken Harrelson have the Cleveland guy as a partner, and listen to a White Sox-Indians game...

I want to hear Ron Santo again....

I want to see a collision at home plate....And have the catcher shove the ball in the runners face a la Pudge....

I want a balk to be called and hear a microphoned explanation like referee's in football...

I want to see a all fences be eight feet high, except in older parks....Everybody should see homers being taken away...

I want to see a universal .298/65/16/71/3 when speaking of batters stats on the internet, newspapers, and tv

I want everybody to regard the NFBC as the standard and best in the industry...We already know it...Millions of Yahoo Kids have never heard about it...

I want a flag thrown from the Manager for a pitching change, Green for lefty, red for righty....Why do fans have to wait while a Manager trudges on the field, gab awhile, and trudge off?....
Either that, or have one of those gals who carried a 'round card' to indicate which round it was during a Championship fight to carry a card around the bases, while the pitching change was made....yes, I'm for the gratuitous sex during a pause in the action....

I want umpires to signal ball or strike immediately instead of thinking they're on 'The Voice' and trying to make each call 'their own'...

I want Harold Reynolds to be the local sports guy in poughkipsee, New York...Because I never plan on going there....

I want Mets Management to be as good Mets Broadcasters....

I want to see Closers come in with regularity in the eighth inning...Who says a set-up man has to pitch just the eighth inning?...Who is making these rules anyway?....

I want to see more ball parks by rivers or oceans or next to tall buildings...It's a lot cooler seeing splashes and ricochets...

I want to hear a player say after the game, that he stole a base because he owns himself in a fantasy league...

I want to see Dusty Baker Managing an AARP softball team and telling a just-turned 65 year old, that he'll have to sit the pine for awhile...

I want to see more Naivete in baseball....Once at Toots Shors, restaurant where anybody who was anybody gathered, Jackie Gleason said to Yogi Berra, "Yogi, I want you to meet a friend of mine and well-known author, Ernest Hemingway."
Yogi's reply?
"Hiya Ernie, which paper you write for?"

I want to see good one liners....After winning the batting title over teammate Don Mueller .345 to .342 in 1954, Willie Mays was a guest on 'The Ed Sullivan Show". Sullivan asked him an easy question, "What was it like to beat a teammate for the batting title?" Mays responded that if he hadn't have won it, he'd of rooted for Mueller.
Mays returned to practice for the World Series the next day. Mueller was a little jealous of Mays showing on Sullivan and a little peeved that Mays would catch some balls in right field that Mueller thought were his. He walked by Mays and derisively said, "So Willie, are you the greatest center fielder in baseball?
Mueller smirked as he walked away from Mays. His balloon probably deflated when hearing the response though...
"Greatest right fielder too!..."

[Bronx Yankees]

Great post, Dan. Especially liked the last three. Never heard those Yogi and Mays stories before.

Mike

[DOUGHBOYS]

Great post, Dan. Especially liked the last three. Never heard those Yogi and Mays stories before.

Mike

Thanks Mike. I think I've told this story before, but it still makes me laugh, so one more time won't hurt.

The Yankees had a curfew and 'lights out' time. Some cheated on these times, most adhered to it. It was also common to have two players to a room. This worked out great for Managers. They would match rookies with veterans. High strung players with even keel guys. In other words, usually some thought went into the pairings of players on the road.

A most unusual pairing was that of Yogi Berra and Bobby Brown. Yogi never made it to high school. School held no interest for him. He spent most of his childhood playing ball and working odd jobs.
Brown had the nickname, 'Golden Boy. He was Kennedy-esque.
He attended UCLA and Stanford. While at Stanford, he and another student rescued a Coast Guard pilot from a plane crash for which he received a medal.
While with the Yankees, Brown studied to get his medical degree. Later, he would become President of the American League.

It was a common practice for Brown and Berra to read before lights out. Brown, reading thick manuals and heavy books.
Berra, comic books.
Brown looked at the clock, seeing it was lights out time, he asked Berra if he were done.
"Yep, just finished".
And with that, Brown turned off the light.
After a couple of minutes of darkness, Berra said, "Hey Bobby?"
Brown responded, "Yeah, Yogi?"
"Mine turned out great, how'd yours turn out?"
"Good night, Yogi"

The pairing was a little coincidental as well. Brown and Berra are the last two surviving players from the 1947 World Series winning team.

[Bronx Yankees]

Nice. Never get tired of hearing/reading Berra stories. An American classic.

Mike