Tag Archives: MLB

Sports news

See ya later, A-Rod

A rod

Oh, how I wanted to root for Alex Rodriguez.

Back when Barry Bonds was chasing down Henry Aaron’s career home run record, my hope was that if Bonds got the record then A-Rod would come along to snatch it away from Bonds.

I’ve always thought of Hammerin’ Hank to be the “real home run king” as it is, given that he pounded out those 755 homers without the aid of performance-enhancing drugs.

http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/94136/love-him-or-hate-him-alex-rodriguez-will-be-missed

Bonds was dirty. A cheater. He’d been suspected of using drugs to make him bigger and stronger. He didn’t deserve to be called Home Run King Barry.

A-Rod would assume the role. Then he became tainted. He tested positive for drug use. Major League Baseball suspended him for the 2014 season.

Now he’s a cheater, too.

Today, Rodriguez announced he would play his final game for the New York Yankees this coming Friday, after which he’ll become something called an “adviser” to the team.

As a one-time baseball fanatic who used to love watching Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Stan Musial, I am left feeling nothing at all about A-Rod’s departure from the Grand Old Game.

He’s a Yankee interloper. He came to the Yanks some years ago after stints with the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. He sought to become the “leader” of baseball’s premier franchise, except that it had a field leader by the name of Derek Jeter.

Sure, he put up some impressive stats for the Yankees. But, wouldn’t you know it, he had help in the form of PEDs.

Now he’s about to be gone from the game.

Alex Rodriguez let me down … and I won’t miss him in the least.

What’s more, Henry Aaron is still the home run king.

local news, Sports news

Amarillo inches closer to a bigger league

baseball

It’s not big-league baseball.

But what the Amarillo City Council has endorsed has taken the city closer to a bigger league-brand of hardball.

The council today voted 4-0 to proceed with the pursuit of a Class AA baseball franchise that would play in the yet-to-be-built ballpark in the city’s downtown district.

http://www.newschannel10.com/story/31882848/aa-baseball-vote-passes-lgc-to-move-forward

Will it be the San Antonio Missions, a franchise that would vacate the Alamo City as it seeks to welcome a AAA franchise?

Possibly.

The council has decided to accept the more expensive price tag attached to the multipurpose event venue, which city voters endorsed with a citywide referendum this past November. The MPEV price tag was listed at $32 million on the ballot measure, but the price has increased to more than $40 million as the AA franchise became part of the community discussion.

The council’s decision instructs the Local Government Corporation to proceed with the design and construction of the ballpark. City Councilman Randy Burkett said construction won’t begin until the city has a signed contract with a franchise.

I happen to be quite pleased with this development.

The city has been jerked around by the owners of the independent franchise that is still playing its home games at the Potter County Memorial Stadium. This season, though, the Amarillo Thunderheads are going to play half of their “home” games in Grand Prairie.

That’s some commitment to Amarillo, yes? Well, no.

The AA franchise being considered most actively is affiliated with the San Diego Padres of the National League. The Padres could bring some serious professionalism to the baseball climate here.

I am gratified that the council has decided to move forward with seeking to lure a serious baseball franchise to this city.

There remains much work to do and many commitments to be collected. The LGC has been handed a huge task.

My hope is that the organization is up to the challenge that’s been delivered.

local news, Sports news

Who’s on first in the Texas League?

baseball-pic

Left hand, meet the right hand. Right, say “hey” to left.

Someone — and it’s difficult to discern who — isn’t talking entirely straight regarding a possible baseball franchise move from one city to another in Texas.

A consultant who works with the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League apparently has told downtown Amarillo officials that the Missions might like to consider moving to Amarillo once the city build its downtown ball park.

Oh, but wait! Tom Kayser, president of the Texas League, said the Missions aren’t moving anywhere. Kayser said Rich Neumann, the consultant working with Brailsford & Dunlavey, isn’t speaking for the team or the league or anyone else he can think of.

The third principal here is Melissa Dailey, head of Downtown Amarillo Inc., who told the Amarillo Local Government Corporation of the Missions’ possible move. I don’t recall her saying anything was set in stone, or that any other pledges had been made.

Yes, it’s a bit confusing.

Something is amiss. Someone might have spoken out of turn down yonder in San Antonio without telling the league president of the intention.

It’s been reported that San Antonio wants to upgrade to a AAA farm club; the Missions are a AA team affiliated with the San Diego Padres of the National League. Amarillo’s baseball fortunes currently are tied to an independent organization that in the next season will play half of its own homes in Grand Prairie. So, with that, Amarillo is looking to upgrade as well, to a AA team with a Major League Baseball affiliation.

So, let’s get all this straight. OK?

Many of us in Amarillo want to see some movement in the right direction as it involves the city’s baseball future.

First things first. How about we determine with absolute certainty whether the discussions we’ve been told have occurred with the San Antonio Missions are the real thing — or are they just a diversion?

 

 

Sports news

Rose in the Hall of Fame? No way

pete_rose_webstory

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is a man after my own heart.

He has told Pete Rose categorically this: No matter how great you were on the field of play, you do not deserve reinstatement in the game you dominated for so many years.

I totally agree with Manfred.

It’s been speculated that Manfred’s edict might open the door — if only slightly — for Rose to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I hope that isn’t the case, either. Most experts, though, say that Manfred’s decision slams the Hall of Fame door shut — forever.

Look, I am as big a baseball fan as any red-blooded American male. I used to love watching Rose play hardball. He got more out of his fairly limited natural athletic ability than any 10 players who ever donned a uniform. Rose played hard and he played to win.

Even in all-star games. Who can forget when he bowled catcher Ray Fosse over in the 1970 all-star game, injuring Fosse so severely that the Cleveland Indians star never recovered fully?

That said, he also violated one of MLB’s cardinal rules. He bet on the game. The rule book stipulates clearly: violation of the no-betting rule shall result in a lifetime ban from the game.

As others have noted, MLB instituted the rule as a reaction to the 1919 Chicago “Black Sox” betting scandal that has kept Shoeless Joe Jackson — another Hall of Fame-quality player — out of the Cooperstown, N.Y., shrine.

I also am acutely aware that the Hall of Fame is full of assorted scoundrels; they are drunks, racists, womanizers, drug users … you name it, they’ve done it and are still in the Hall of Fame.

The Grand Old Game doesn’t stipulate — in writing — that holding racist views or bar-hopping the night before a big game disqualifies you from having anything to do with the game.

It does with betting.

Pete Rose bet on baseball. As Manfred said, Rose “has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life either by an honest acceptance by him of his wrongdoing … or by a rigorous, self-aware and sustained program of avoidance by him of all the circumstances that led to his permanent eligibility in 1989.”

Sports news

Rose's ban from baseball should stick

Being a hard-ass isn’t really my style, but there’s something about Pete Rose that chaps me royally.

The former great baseball player has been banned from baseball for life because he bet on the game. That’s the rule: You bet on baseball, you face a lifetime ban. It’s in the rule book, which I’m certain Rose knew when he broke the rule.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/23/rob-manfred-pete-rose-all-star-game/

Now we hear that Major League Baseball, which will have its all-star game this summer in Cincinnati, will allow Rose to play some role in the game ceremonies.

I’ll stipulate a few things: First, I know that Rose had a Hall of Fame career. Second, I also know that he’s applied for reinstatement and Hall of Fame eligibility. Third, I also know that the Hall of Fame is full of racists, drunks, womanizers, adulterers and overall reprobates. Fourth, I also know that no one in the Hall of Fame was caught betting on baseball.

Pete Rose deserves reinstatement on one condition. MLB needs to reinstate Shoeless Joe Jackson, who in 1919 was caught betting on baseball in the infamous Black Sox Scandal in which Jackson and other Chicago White Sox players were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. Indeed, the no-betting rule was installed because of Shoeless Joe’s actions.

If Major League Baseball sees fit to reinstate the late, great Joe Jackson, then it ought to follow suit with Pete Rose.

First things first, Commissioner Rob Manfred.

 

Sports news

A-Rod will get no love for passing 'Say Hey'

Alex Rodriguez is just a handful of home runs away from passing a true baseball legend’s career homer mark.

That would be Willie Mays, who finished his storied career with 660 home runs. A-Rod is just a few dingers away from that mark. The Say Hey Kid’s godson, Barry Bonds, cannot figure out why so little attention will be paid to A-Rod when he passes Mays’s mark.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/barry-bonds-on-a-rod-i-cant-wait-until-he-hits-660/ar-AAaUrRh

I think I know why, Barry.

It’s because Rodriguez cheated to get as many home runs as he has hit, just like Bonds did.

A-Rod has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. He served a season-long suspension in 2014. He’s come back to the New York Yankees to resume his climb up the career home run leader board.

Bonds, of course, hit more home runs than anyone else. You’ll have to excuse this bit of petulance, but I still consider Henry Aaron to be the home run king, even though he hit 755 home runs compared to Bonds’s 762. Aaron didn’t cheat the way Bonds did. Thus, he’s still the Home Run King in my book.

As for A-Rod, it’s always been about him. He’s not a good teammate and his fellow Yankees know that about him.

The Yankees are planning no celebration when A-Rod passes Mays.

Why no love for A-Rod, Barry? It’s because he hasn’t earned it.

Sports news

Greed, selfishness? Not with this superstar

I used to watch baseball religiously. I don’t do so much any longer.

Free agency kind of took a lot of the fun out of the game for me. Athletes are getting paid a lot of money to play a game. Many of them behave badly when they get those millions of bucks. They move around from team to team, looking to play for the outfit that offers them the most money.

Many others of them keep it all in perspective.

One player I do enjoy watching is a future Hall of Famer, Albert Pujols. Yes, Pujols looked for a fat contract after playing many years in St. Louis. He’s now a first baseman for the Los Angeles Angels. His best years likely are behind him.

He also has maintained his reputation as a thoroughly decent human being.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/albert-pujols–touching-gesture-for-brother-of-dodgers-outfielder-joc-pederson-033106483.html

This link is about Pujols meeting a young man with Down syndrome, something about which Pujols has intimate knowledge: His eldest daughter, Isabella, also has the disease.

This story is heartwarming in the extreme and it illustrates that goodness does reside even inside ballplayers who often are tempted to look the other way when given a chance to demonstrate an act of kindness toward those who follow their athletic exploits.

Well done, Albert.

 

Sports news

Why no 'E' for these goofs?

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MESA, Ariz. — Sitting through a spring training exhibition baseball that gets out of hand early gives you time to let your mind wander.

Today’s game between the Oakland A’s and the Chicago Cubs was a blowout when we decided to leave at the end of the seventh inning. The A’s were leading 15-2 and the Cubs looked as though they wanted the game to be over immediately.

So, where did my mind wander?

I was wondering why a wild pitch or a passed ball — mistakes committed by pitchers and catchers, respectively — aren’t scored as an “error” in the box score.

Baseball is a game of statistics. You can find a stat for anything, any activity, any good deed or misdeed committed on the field.

The Cubs’ right fielder today was dinged for two errors on the same play as he booted the ball twice while trying to pick it up deep in the right-field corner. The A’s hitter was credited with a double, but he ended up on third base as the ball finally got thrown into the infield.

We saw three passed balls today. Yes, the errors were logged in the scorebook as “passed balls,” but not as errors. Why not?

The catcher erred in letting the ball get by him, allowing runners to advance; had the ball gotten past the catcher with no one on base, there wouldn’t be a record of it in the scorebook.

I pose these questions as a way to make pitchers and catchers even more, um, accountable for the mistakes they make on the field. A pitcher goes wild, that’s his mistake; a catcher lets a catchable pitch slip past him, that his error.

They ought to show up — on the record — in the book of baseball records.

 

Sports news

A-Rod set to return; good luck with the circus

Baseball fan that I continue to be — despite the game’s many steroid-induced blemishes and embarrassments — I await the return of a guy I once hoped would become the next all-time home run leader.

Not any longer do I wish that for Alex Rodriguez.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/alex-rodriguezs-handwritten-note-shows-less-is-more/ar-BBhGkSW

The New York Yankees slugger is coming back from a season-long suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. Today he issued a hand-written apology of sorts to baseball fans. As USA Today reported, the lack of a press conference and all the hoopla surrounding it might have been the smartest thing A-Rod has done in years.

One of the things I’m waiting to see is how the Yankees receive A-Rod in the clubhouse.

The Captain, Derek Jeter, has retired. The Yankees were Jeter’s team, even as A-Rod arrived years ago amid considerable fanfare and hype. He was thought to be the next great Yankee slugger — following in the steps of The Babe, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.

Yes, he put up some big numbers. Then came the suspicion about his use of PEDs. After that came the results of a probe, then the suspension and then the confession. Today the apology arrived.

Spring training is about to begin and my sense is that the Yankees aren’t going to welcome A-Rod back with any inflated enthusiasm.

You see, unlike some of the great Yankees of the past — and I have Mantle and Jeter in mind when I say this — A-Rod never has been a great teammate. He’s not the kind of superstar who takes younger players under his wing, mentors them, or befriends the utility infielder just called up from the minor leagues — as The Mick used to do when he was hitting jaw-dropping home run blasts more than 50 years ago.

I, for one, once rooted for A-Rod to break the home run record set by another PED-tainted ballplayer, Barry Bonds. For that matter, I still consider Henry Aaron to be the all-time HR king.

Rodriguez enters this season with 654 home runs. He needs 109 more to pass Bonds. He’s also 39 years of age. Do the math. He isn’t likely to get to 763 home runs.

Too bad for that.

Still, his return will be worth watching. If only I could cheer A-Rod back to the game many of us still love to watch.

 

Uncategorized

Opening Day tradition lives on

There can be nothing in all of American sports quite like Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season.

Daytona 500? Indy 500? Super Bowl? Forget about it.

Opening Day has a place all its own. It usually features a presidential first pitch.

God Bless Opening Day

Some presidents, well, have better arms than others. John F. Kennedy had a pretty good arm. So did Dwight Eisenhower.

But the standard for presidential first pitches still belongs to George W. Bush. Allow me this one caveat, though: He didn’t set the standard on Opening Day. He set it instead on the first game at Yankee Stadium during the 2001 World Series, the one that had been delayed by the events of 9/11.

Baseball fans everywhere remember that night. The president strode the mound wearing a New York Fire Department jacket. The crowd roared.

Then the president took the baseball, rubbed it in his hand and from the top of the mound — not in front of it as some presidents do — he wound up and threw a perfect strike.

The crowd noise that greeted the president’s arrival on the mound? It turned into an absolute din as 56,000-plus fans erupted. The pitch symbolized the perfect tonic for a nation that had been grieving, had become enraged at the dastardly deed done to it and sought relief from the anguish.

President Bush, with a simple pitch from a baseball stadium mound, delivered the goods.

There can be nothing like it anywhere else in the world of sports.

Play ball!