October 18, 2010

Scraps

You may have seen Daniel Nava looking at an index card while playing left field this season. Author and Rounder Records founder Bill Nowlin asked him about it:
Yeah, that was just a little thing that we have, just something that RJ [first-base coach Ron Johnson] would help us ... that would help us to know where to play guys and stuff like that. That's all it was. I would just look at it and make sure I was positioned right. It just makes life simpler so he doesn't have to constantly wave me - this place, this place ... the index card is about outfield stuff, for outfield positioning. I'm sure that guys like Mike Cameron don't need it. They haven't mentioned anything, like this is what we do for all rookies, so I don't know, but it's something that I definitely took and tried to use as best I can, because I knew that would help me.
Example
September 12, 1990 in Baseball History: Yankees starter Steve Adkins did not allow a hit in his debut, but he walked eight Rangers, including five in a row, before being relieved after 1.1 innings (1.1-0-3-8-1, 50). Adkins's major league career would be over in less than a month. That game reminded me of Kevin Mmahat's start for the Yankees against the Red Sox at Fenway on September 25 of the previous year: 1.2-4-5-5-0, 60. Mmahat's next appearance would be the last of his career (four games, 7.2 innings).
Example
The Sporting News, in an August 6, 1942 editorial, supports segregation in the major leagues, stating that members of each race "prefer to draw their talents from their own ranks and both groups know their crowd psychology and do not care to run the risk of damaging their own game".
Example
In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that American professional athletes used to think of Toronto as a backwater. But no more! Now it is
a road trip just about every pro athlete looks forward to. Some say the city has a cool, international vibe that increasingly stands out. ...

[plus] the plentitude of cheap concert tickets ... convenience of the must-be-19 drinking law ... relatively libertine gentlemen's clubs ... the tentacles of the tabloids and gossip Web sites rarely extend this far into the frozen north* ...

Knicks rookie Toney Douglas: "It's something different – it's another country."
* - If Toronto is "far into the frozen north", what the hell is Seattle?
Example
On September 22, Jose Lopez of the Mariners hit three home runs - 30% of his season total of 10. SABR member David Vincent - the man Jayson Stark calls "the Sultan of Swat Stats" -- shared a list of players who hit fewer than six home runs in a season, but had three in one game.
Four HR In Season With 3 In One Game
Guy Hecker August 15, 1886 (#s 2-3-4)
Darnell Coles July 5, 1994 (#s 2-3-4)
Bobby Estalella September 4, 1997 (#s 1-2-3)

Five HR In Season With 3 In One Game
Jack Manning October 9, 1884 (#s 3-4-5)
Tom McCreery July 12, 1897 (#s 1-2-3)
Clyde McCullough July 26, 1942 (#s 3-4-5)
Bill Glynn July 5, 1954 (#s 2-3-4)
Roman Mejias May 4, 1958 (#s 1-2-3)
Freddie Patek June 20, 1980 (#s 2-3-4)
Patek's game was a 20-2 win for the Angels at Fenway.

6 comments:

laura k said...

The igloo is getting cold! I'd better harness the sled dogs and buy some whale blubber for the fire.

Pokerwolf said...

If Toronto is "far into the frozen north", what the hell is Seattle?

A wet, dreary place to hang out most of the year. Perhaps the Mariners don't play well because they lack the proper amount of Vitamin D.

allan said...

FUCK YEAH
TEXAS TEARIN' SHIT UP AT THE TOILET IN THE 9TH. 5 RUNS -- 7-0 -- AND STILL ONLY 1 OUT.

Rob said...

What a game! I'm pissed because media and fans are assuming the Yankees will quite simply buy Cliff Lee this offseason and will not face any competition from any teams. Seeing how he's pitched against the Red Sox and how he's pitched lately, how does Boston not make a run at him?

John Henry bought a soccer team, for fuck's sake. Surely he could buy a baseball player, right?

...Right?

MacLeodCartoons said...

Redsock - time to get "the tentacles of [this] gossip web site" active in the fair city of Toronto!

johngoldfine said...

As long as it doesn't get any more high tech or wired than a nice old-fashioned 3x5 index card, I like it.