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Post by rizzuto on Feb 28, 2023 20:09:39 GMT -5
Vidalia onions are a treat. My uncle used to buy them when we'd go fishing, and we ate them on sandwiches and even on the side of other dishes, like eating pickles or peppers. Mmm, I'll take Vidalias any way I can get them. Great raw on a burger or sandwich, caramelized on a flatbread with goat cheese or a tart with brie, or as you say as a side; I can eat them with scrambled eggs or mushed in with a rice dish, anything. So sweet and smooth. I believe they have their own appelation controlee-like rules about what you can call a Vidalia. One of life's little grace notes. And that clip with Simmons and Shantz is priceless! How in the world did you even think to look for it? Can't watch it all tonight, but I will for sure tomorrow. There is a part II of that interview on YouTube as well. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 28, 2023 20:33:34 GMT -5
Mmm, I'll take Vidalias any way I can get them. Great raw on a burger or sandwich, caramelized on a flatbread with goat cheese or a tart with brie, or as you say as a side; I can eat them with scrambled eggs or mushed in with a rice dish, anything. So sweet and smooth. I believe they have their own appelation controlee-like rules about what you can call a Vidalia. One of life's little grace notes. And that clip with Simmons and Shantz is priceless! How in the world did you even think to look for it? Can't watch it all tonight, but I will for sure tomorrow. There is a part II of that interview on YouTube as well. Okay, I'll check it out for sure. I couldn't resist and had to watch the one you posted. They said Shantz was 88 years old, which means the interview was from 2013 or 2014. Amazing how much he still looked like his baseball card! That clip was especially meaningful to me since I got to meet both of those men, albeit probably 35 years apart, and seeing that rekindled some fond memories. Both of them as gracious and interesting as I recollected them. Thank you Rizz! |
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Post by BillyBones on Mar 1, 2023 12:53:23 GMT -5
On May 6, 1949, Bobby Shantz of the Philadelphia Athletics appeared in only his second game on the mound. The young hurler pitched nine hitless relief innings until the 13th inning when he allowed a run. Wally Moses helped the rookie during their half of the inning by hitting a two run game winning home run... Bobby Shantz was an amazing athlete. He was listed as only 5'6" but he was a top-ranked gymnast, a competitive swimmer, a high school all-star football player, a high average bowler and a scratch golfer. Even though Gold Gloves weren't awarded until his age 31 season, he still won eight of them. He was a key contributor as a spot starter and reliever for the great Yankee teams of 1957-1960. He threw pretty much every pitch there was from any angle you could dream up. Magnificently coordinated. I am pretty sure he is the last living player to play under Connie Mack; he turned 97 last year. He was a regular at the Philadelphia A's Historical Society meetings that my father was active in for many years. I got to meet him on two different occasions and he was just the most self-effacing, kindly person you could imagine. He honestly looked more like 5'4" than 5'6", but then again he was pushing 70 when I saw him. It was hard to get him to give a talk because he just did not like getting up in front of a group of people, even adoring people who would have applauded if he had read the phone book. He was a local guy from the Philly area and ran a restaurant in the suburbs for many years after he retired from baseball. He lived (and maybe still does) in Ambler PA and was a neighbor of the recently-deceased Curt Simmons. He is one of those almost forgotten MVPs, although since he won it over 70 years ago I guess it's understandable. Wally Moses was a fine player who was a Phillies coach when I was a kid. He also used to attend the A's Historical Society meetings, although I never got a chance to meet him. Unlike Shantz, he was a polished public speaker and a man of refined culture. I did however get to meet his daughter when I was working in Saudi Arabia in the early 90s. She was with the Voice of America and had come to Riyadh to do a feature on the hostilities between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This was the era of the scud missiles, if you recall. I didn't get much of a chance to speak with her, what with a war going on and everything, but we had a nice brief chat about the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society and the fact that our fathers had met each other. Wally Moses was from Vidalia GA, home of the best onions I've ever had. What a treat to read about Bobby Shantz. I have a special place in my heart for the post war Philadelpha A's. I'm not exactly sure why, but mostly due to their iconic manager, and their ineptness in playing the game of baseball well. I know their numbers do not reflect much acclaim, but I liked Eddie Joost, Elmer Valo, Barney McCosky, and Ferris Fain in particular. Shantz did not have much pitching help, but he was one of those pitchers who gave his team a chance very nearly every start. If I had a chance to see a game at Shibe, I went on days Shantz pitched most of the time. Portocorero (sp) would sometimes be OK to watch. Joe Coleman maybe. I don't remmber too many of the other pitchers on those teams. Brother Billy Shantz deserves a mention if only for being among the few batteries made up of brothers. I'm sure there were others but the only other ones I can recall from that era were the brothers in St Louis. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 1, 2023 14:01:44 GMT -5
Bobby Shantz was an amazing athlete. He was listed as only 5'6" but he was a top-ranked gymnast, a competitive swimmer, a high school all-star football player, a high average bowler and a scratch golfer. Even though Gold Gloves weren't awarded until his age 31 season, he still won eight of them. He was a key contributor as a spot starter and reliever for the great Yankee teams of 1957-1960. He threw pretty much every pitch there was from any angle you could dream up. Magnificently coordinated. I am pretty sure he is the last living player to play under Connie Mack; he turned 97 last year. He was a regular at the Philadelphia A's Historical Society meetings that my father was active in for many years. I got to meet him on two different occasions and he was just the most self-effacing, kindly person you could imagine. He honestly looked more like 5'4" than 5'6", but then again he was pushing 70 when I saw him. It was hard to get him to give a talk because he just did not like getting up in front of a group of people, even adoring people who would have applauded if he had read the phone book. He was a local guy from the Philly area and ran a restaurant in the suburbs for many years after he retired from baseball. He lived (and maybe still does) in Ambler PA and was a neighbor of the recently-deceased Curt Simmons. He is one of those almost forgotten MVPs, although since he won it over 70 years ago I guess it's understandable. Wally Moses was a fine player who was a Phillies coach when I was a kid. He also used to attend the A's Historical Society meetings, although I never got a chance to meet him. Unlike Shantz, he was a polished public speaker and a man of refined culture. I did however get to meet his daughter when I was working in Saudi Arabia in the early 90s. She was with the Voice of America and had come to Riyadh to do a feature on the hostilities between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This was the era of the scud missiles, if you recall. I didn't get much of a chance to speak with her, what with a war going on and everything, but we had a nice brief chat about the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society and the fact that our fathers had met each other. Wally Moses was from Vidalia GA, home of the best onions I've ever had. What a treat to read about Bobby Shantz. I have a special place in my heart for the post war Philadelpha A's. I'm not exactly sure why, but mostly due to their iconic manager, and their ineptness in playing the game of baseball well. I know their numbers do not reflect much acclaim, but I liked Eddie Joost, Elmer Valo, Barney McCosky, and Ferris Fain in particular. Shantz did not have much pitching help, but he was one of those pitchers who gave his team a chance very nearly every start. If I had a chance to see a game at Shibe, I went on days Shantz pitched most of the time. Portocorero (sp) would sometimes be OK to watch. Joe Coleman maybe. I don't remmber too many of the other pitchers on those teams. Brother Billy Shantz deserves a mention if only for being among the few batteries made up of brothers. I'm sure there were others but the only other ones I can recall from that era were the brothers in St Louis. Billy Bones -- it's so nice to see you posting on here. You go back further than anyone on this board, and that's Solid Gold to me. You must remember Hank Majeski and Elmer Valo and Dave Philley and Gus Zernial and Pete Suder from those teams. In the late 1940s the A's set the record for most DPs turned in a season with 217, and there was even a local poet who did a "Joost to Suder to Fain" poem along the lines of Tinker to Evers to Chance. Although not as famous. Yes, Bobby Shantz was the best pitcher on those A's teams -- Alex Kellner was another who lasted long enough for me to see play. Carl Scheib was a World War II teenage pitcher for them who hung around a long time. You mentioned Joe Coleman, whose son Joe Jr. had a bit more success than the old man pitching for the Tigers and Senators in the 60s and 70s. His son Casey also pitched in the majors briefly about ten years ago, making them one of the few three-generation MLB families. That pitcher you were thinking of was Arnie Portocarrero, who I recall pitching for Baltimore at the end of his career. And thanks for mentioning Billy Shantz, Bobby's younger brother who died 30 years ago. Billy played exactly one inning for the Yankees in 1960, re-uniting with Bobby very briefly. Mort and Walker Cooper were the Cardinals' brother battery. A few years later the Dodgers had Larry and Norm Sherry who you may recall. Are you from Philly? Which part? My father lived in North Penn (Swampoodle) right behind Shibe Park when he was young, then moved with the family in the 1930s to Ontario Street in Tioga (Connie Mack lived one block away on the 2100 block) before my grandparents moved to West Mount Airy in the 1940s where Mr. Mack was again close by on Cliveden Avenue. If those names mean anything to you. It's hard to imagine now how easily accessible Connie Mack was to the average fan, sitting on a park bench across from the stadium taking in the sun, dropping in at a local bar, giving talks to the kids at St. Colomba's where my father went to school. It was a very different world. Do you remember when Jimmy Dykes replaced Connie Mack as manager in 1951? Stepping down at a youthful 89 years old! Dykes later had a sports talk show in the 1960s and I used to call him all the time. He was very nice but gruff and would let you know if you said something stupid (which I often did.) Hard to believe that there is someone like Bobby Shantz still living who played for Connie Mack, who was born in 1862! A lot of us who care about baseball history hope you will drop in more often. It's great to hear your memories. |
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Post by inger on Mar 1, 2023 14:42:51 GMT -5
Bobby Shantz was an amazing athlete. He was listed as only 5'6" but he was a top-ranked gymnast, a competitive swimmer, a high school all-star football player, a high average bowler and a scratch golfer. Even though Gold Gloves weren't awarded until his age 31 season, he still won eight of them. He was a key contributor as a spot starter and reliever for the great Yankee teams of 1957-1960. He threw pretty much every pitch there was from any angle you could dream up. Magnificently coordinated. I am pretty sure he is the last living player to play under Connie Mack; he turned 97 last year. He was a regular at the Philadelphia A's Historical Society meetings that my father was active in for many years. I got to meet him on two different occasions and he was just the most self-effacing, kindly person you could imagine. He honestly looked more like 5'4" than 5'6", but then again he was pushing 70 when I saw him. It was hard to get him to give a talk because he just did not like getting up in front of a group of people, even adoring people who would have applauded if he had read the phone book. He was a local guy from the Philly area and ran a restaurant in the suburbs for many years after he retired from baseball. He lived (and maybe still does) in Ambler PA and was a neighbor of the recently-deceased Curt Simmons. He is one of those almost forgotten MVPs, although since he won it over 70 years ago I guess it's understandable. Wally Moses was a fine player who was a Phillies coach when I was a kid. He also used to attend the A's Historical Society meetings, although I never got a chance to meet him. Unlike Shantz, he was a polished public speaker and a man of refined culture. I did however get to meet his daughter when I was working in Saudi Arabia in the early 90s. She was with the Voice of America and had come to Riyadh to do a feature on the hostilities between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This was the era of the scud missiles, if you recall. I didn't get much of a chance to speak with her, what with a war going on and everything, but we had a nice brief chat about the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society and the fact that our fathers had met each other. Wally Moses was from Vidalia GA, home of the best onions I've ever had. What a treat to read about Bobby Shantz. I have a special place in my heart for the post war Philadelpha A's. I'm not exactly sure why, but mostly due to their iconic manager, and their ineptness in playing the game of baseball well. I know their numbers do not reflect much acclaim, but I liked Eddie Joost, Elmer Valo, Barney McCosky, and Ferris Fain in particular. Shantz did not have much pitching help, but he was one of those pitchers who gave his team a chance very nearly every start. If I had a chance to see a game at Shibe, I went on days Shantz pitched most of the time. Portocorero (sp) would sometimes be OK to watch. Joe Coleman maybe. I don't remmber too many of the other pitchers on those teams. Brother Billy Shantz deserves a mention if only for being among the few batteries made up of brothers. I'm sure there were others but the only other ones I can recall from that era were the brothers in St Louis. Any day that Billy Bones honors us with his presence here is a treasure. Thanks for expressing your memories, Billy Bones. I hope you can find time to stop by frequently as the season progresses… Three of those fellows you mentioned, Fain, Joost, and Valo drew my interest years ago because of they’re unusual abilities to draw walks… it must have been frustrating for some of the opposing pitchers when those guys could keep their bats on their shoulders and reach base, especially the low-average Joost… |
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 1, 2023 14:54:37 GMT -5
In 1958 Red Schoendienst went to the doctor with pleurisy, whereupon the doctor informed him that he had developed TB and likely had had it for many years. He missed most of the next two seasons, but continued playing until 1963. Looking at Red’s career I question his HOF credentials, but he was one tough SOB… I think Red may have been one of those Lifetime Achievement Award honorees, although he was certainly an excellent player -- 10-time All Star, hit .289/.339 with almost 2,500 hits, a sure-handed second baseman -- for many years he held the record for consecutive chances without an error by a second baseman -- in fact he broke his own record -- and set the all-time fielding percentage season record in 1950, holding that until Ryne Sandberg broke it in 1996. He is eleventh all-time in DPs for a second baseman, and the ten ahead of him all played many more innings. I think the fact that he was A) a very nice guy loved by everybody in the game and B) spent 74 consecutive years in uniform as a player, manager and coach probably sealed the deal. He spent 67 of his 76 MLB seasons with the Cardinals, and while he managed them to pennants in 67-68, he was an overall good rather than great skipper. I remember very well that TB episode. He had been the starting second baseman on two straight Braves pennant-winning teams, so he was quite well-known nationally and this came as a shock in the sports world. Even though at that point I hated the Braves -- they had the nerve to play the Yankees in the previous two World Series -- I felt badly for Schoendienst and sent him a letter wishing him a full recovery and he sent back a nice hand-written note and an autographed picture. The note was obliterated in our flood but the picture survived, and I may impose upon poor Kaybli to post it. In any event, he recovered enough to have back to back .300 seasons as a part-time player at ages 38 and 39. Further to your point about him being a tough hombre -- when he was a kid he was hit in the left eye with a staple shot by his brother. Doctors told him he would lose his sight in that eye and wanted to remove it. Red and his family refused and he diligently exercised it for years, but he always had trouble with it so that he had to rely mostly on his good right eye. A natural righty, he learned to switch hit to compensate for his bad eye and always made sure his good eye was facing the pitcher directly. |
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Post by inger on Mar 1, 2023 15:17:21 GMT -5
September 28, 1938, Hank Greenberg had belted 2 HR to reach 58 on the season. There are 5 games left for him to match or exceed Bath Ruth’s 11-year old record of 60 in a season.
Greenberg is to be stymied by an octet of pitchers with an aggregate ERA of 4.86. At the mid point of the season, Hank had only 22 HR. He’s quite a terror in the second half.
A controversy arose when it was said that pitchers worked around Greenberg because they didn’t want a Jewish man to beat Ruth. To his credit, Greenberg says that he never felt that he wasn’t given a fair chance. I believe he was being honest when he said that. He hadn’t shied away from commenting on anti semetics before.
Greenberg served the longest term of service of any MLB player, sacrificing over 4 years of his life and career to defend his country. After being honorably discharged at age 29 (as was the practice at the time), he re-upped and continued in the military…a true hero! …
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Post by inger on Mar 1, 2023 15:21:47 GMT -5
A quote from Greenberg about what it was like to be Jewish in MLB:
“How the hell could you get up to home plate every day and have some son-of-a-bitch call you a Jew bastard and a kike and a sheenie and get on your ass without feeling the pressure? If the ballplayers weren’t doing it, the fans were. I used to get frustrated as hell. Sometimes I wanted to go into the stands and beat the #### out of them.”…
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Post by inger on Mar 1, 2023 15:23:50 GMT -5
More about old time prejudices:
Prejudice against Italians is reflected in Life Magazine’s May 1, 1939 profile of Joe DiMaggio:
Although he learned Italian first Joe, now 24, speaks English without an accent and is otherwise well adapted to most U.S. mores. Instead of olive oil or smelly bear grease he keeps his hair slick with water. He never reeks of garlic.
Life Magazine was hardly a fringe publication! Prejudice was mainstream…
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Post by inger on Mar 1, 2023 16:01:46 GMT -5
In 1958 Red Schoendienst went to the doctor with pleurisy, whereupon the doctor informed him that he had developed TB and likely had had it for many years. He missed most of the next two seasons, but continued playing until 1963. Looking at Red’s career I question his HOF credentials, but he was one tough SOB… I think Red may have been one of those Lifetime Achievement Award honorees, although he was certainly an excellent player -- 10-time All Star, hit .289/.339 with almost 2,500 hits, a sure-handed second baseman -- for many years he held the record for consecutive chances without an error by a second baseman -- in fact he broke his own record -- and set the all-time fielding percentage season record in 1950, holding that until Ryne Sandberg broke it in 1996. He is eleventh all-time in DPs for a second baseman, and the ten ahead of him all played many more innings. I think the fact that he was A) a very nice guy loved by everybody in the game and B) spent 74 consecutive years in uniform as a player, manager and coach probably sealed the deal. He spent 67 of his 76 MLB seasons with the Cardinals, and while he managed them to pennants in 67-68, he was an overall good rather than great skipper. I remember very well that TB episode. He had been the starting second baseman on two straight Braves pennant-winning teams, so he was quite well-known nationally and this came as a shock in the sports world. Even though at that point I hated the Braves -- they had the nerve to play the Yankees in the previous two World Series -- I felt badly for Schoendienst and sent him a letter wishing him a full recovery and he sent back a nice hand-written note and an autographed picture. The note was obliterated in our flood but the picture survived, and I may impose upon poor Kaybli to post it. In any event, he recovered enough to have back to back .300 seasons as a part-time player at ages 38 and 39. Further to your point about him being a tough hombre -- when he was a kid he was hit in the left eye with a staple shot by his brother. Doctors told him he would lose his sight in that eye and wanted to remove it. Red and his family refused and he diligently exercised it for years, but he always had trouble with it so that he had to rely mostly on his good right eye. A natural righty, he learned to switch hit to compensate for his bad eye and always made sure his good eye was facing the pitcher directly. I think when I see a guy like Red, I start to think maybe Donnie should be in. Then I get a little piqued at myself for relaxing my standards to the least common denominator. Yes, looking at the whole of his career is a better way to look at Schoendiest without considering his fielding, his intangibles, his toughness is to short change him. A 94+ OPS wasn’t even know by the electors of the time. And did his glove and leadership more than overcome it? I suspect more than so… Speaking of second basemen, your mention of Red and his double plays has reminded me that I wanted to say more about Mazeroski and his DP’s… I’ll try to get to that today… . |
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Post by kaybli on Mar 1, 2023 17:34:41 GMT -5
Pipp's autographed picture of Red Schoendienst that has stood the test of 63 years!:
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 1, 2023 17:45:51 GMT -5
Thanks for posting it for me Kaybli. I wish the note that came with it survived.
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Post by inger on Mar 1, 2023 20:27:50 GMT -5
Roger Daltry is 79 years old today.
“who was I?
Was I?”…
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Post by inger on Mar 1, 2023 20:42:22 GMT -5
Michael Young is the only Ranger to have more than 2 seasons with more than 200 hits, which he did for 5 consecutive seasons at one point.
At 24.7 WAR, he has the lowest WAR of any player that has a retired uniform number. The next lowest is 34.3 by Johnny Pesky, then 36.5 by Bill Mazeroski…
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Post by chiyankee on Mar 1, 2023 21:10:23 GMT -5
The Mick looks tiny patrolling the original Yankee Stadium CF.
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