Sports Then and Now

It was summer, in the late 1950s. I was a young kid about to enter the “Sandblasters”, an intermediate baseball league, just a step below Little League.

My old hand-me-down ball glove was feeling it’s age, so I was saving my money for a new one. The fact that all my friends were sporting new gloves may have fueled my motives as well…

Finally the day arrived when I had enough cash to plunk down $8.95 at the Montgomery Wards store and buy my very own mitt. I didn’t care that it was a Hawthorne, Wards’ economy “house brand”.

It had a great new-leather smell and it was a Stan Musial signature model.

After the initial thrill began to wear off, I noticed it was rather stiff and felt awkward in my hand. It had no “pocket”, like my old glove.

A pocket is important in a baseball mitt. It is the very heart of the glove—a vague, but tangible “sweet spot” inside the webbing, where every hit or thrown ball would ideally be captured.

In the mind of a yet unspoiled and innocent lad, the pocket held a certain mystique—a magnetic attraction to any spherical horsehide object in motion.

My older brother told me how I could quickly form a pocket in my new glove: oil the mitt generously with goose grease, place a ball in the web of the glove, then close the glove around the ball and tie it tightly with a rawhide shoelace.

For some yet unknown reason, it was also important to place the bundle under my pillow and sleep on it. Read the rest of this entry →

Injuries have been a big part of the story for Carlos Beltran and the Mets in recent years.

The saga continues. Once again the question arises when it comes to the Mets medical staff and the organization leadership: Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?

Obviously not. With so many players injured during the course of the 2009 season, the way the players were or were not treated medically sparked a very real concern among Mets fans everywhere. Of course it really goes back to the 2008 season with the handling of Ryan Church following his concussions.

I had hoped to put the disaster of 2009 behind me and start writing real positive articles about the team I love. I have been quiet during the off season primarily because pretty much everything has already been said regarding 2009.

I have ripped manager Jerry Manuel and his boss General Manager Omar Miniya to the core, however I had no choice since they have both been retained to start the 2010 campaign. Omar has been overall very good in the offseason. It is his non-moves, especially at the trade deadline, that have frustrated me during his reign. Read the rest of this entry →

Mark McGwire admitted to steroid use, but believes it didn't impact his success.

“The Truth Shall Set Me Free,” so says Mark McGwire after releasing his statement to the press yesterday that he was indeed a steroid user for the better part of the decade. It was McGwire along with Sammy Sosa who revived the sport of Major League Baseball from one of its lowest places in the history of the sport.

McGwire, who never tested positive for any illegal substance during his playing time, stood up before a Select Committee of United States Congressmen and said he would not talk about the past. From that moment on, McGwire has been vilified by the fans, the press, and broadcasters throughout the U.S.

What all of us learned yesterday for the first time was what went on behind the scenes of that committee meeting. According to McGwire, he had every intention of coming clean that day before Congress but his lawyers advised him in order to avoid prosecution he would need to get immunity. His lawyers met with the two key members of the committee, who could not promise immunity, so they all agreed that McGwire who refused to lie about his steroid use could say that he would not speak about the past.

Does that make a difference to anyone? It does to me. The committee knew what McGwire was going to say, and they agreed not to push the issue.

Perhaps, the most amazing part of his revelation was that Mark did not feel that his performance was accelerated by the use of steroids. His claim about taking low doses just to help heal his injuries and himself to “feel normal” comes across as either terribly naive or just plain stupid.

McGwire feels that if he were healthy and never took steroids he still would have managed to hit 70 home runs in one season and 583 overall. Really? Read the rest of this entry →

After spending a fortune on Matt Holliday, will the Cardinals have the money to resign Albert Pujols?

Watching the post-season wraps ups for Major League Baseball this past November, you could have been easily convinced that Albert Pujols was the greatest player to every swing a bat.  If you were convinced, it was not only because everyone and their brother was talking about it as the MVP unveiling drew nearer, but also because even a quick look at Pujols’s numbers leaves people wide eyed.  He’s every smart fantasy player’s automatic number one draft choice and someday the term “highlight” itself will be replaced by “Pujols”.

So why is it that the Cardinals have all but decided to jettison Pujols by giving Matt Holliday his new opus magnum  $120 million contract?

First of all, am I the only one who realizes that Matt Holliday is not another Albert Pujols.  That’s not an insult as we could go decades before we see another AP.  But if the Cardinals are telling Holliday that he is worth this much green, how much will they have to give Pujols , the better player, in order to keep him?

Holliday will be getting roughly $17 million per year over the next seven years, not counting a list of bonuses for things like MVP, Silver Slugger, and playoff wins (exactly the same bonuses as Pujols’s current contract.) Read the rest of this entry →

Andre Dawson finally earned induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his ninth year of eligibility.

After a far longer than deserved wait due to the over-inflation of statistics during baseball’s “Steroid Era”, Andre “The Hawk” Dawson has finally earned his rightful place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Dawson received 77.9% to eclipse the needed 75 percent mark and earn induction in his ninth year on the ballot.

The news was not as joyful for perennial bridesmaid Bert Blyleven or for first-time nominee Roberto Alomar as they both were tantalizingly close to earning induction. Blyleven earned 74.2% of the vote (five  votes short of induction) while Alomar received 73.7% (eight short).

Dawson will join former Chicago Cubs teammate Ryne Sandberg, who made a staunch case for Dawson’s selection during his own Hall of Fame induction in 2005. He also joins former Montreal Expos teammate Gary Carter as prominent former Expos in the Hall of Fame.

During his 21 major league seasons, Dawson hit 438 home runs, drove home 1,591 runs and stole 314 bases. He is one of only three players in major league history (Willie Mays and Barry Bonds are the others) with more than 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases.

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After 22 seasons and 303 wins, Randy Johnson has announced his retirement.

The day before the 2010 class of the Baseball Hall of Fame is announced, flame-throwing lefthander Randy Johnson has announced his retirement from baseball after a career that will unquestionably culminate with a trip to Cooperstown.

While there is no guarantee that a player will be selected for the Hall of Fame when the 2010 voting is announced tomorrow (Wednesday), Johnson will be one of those no-brainer selections that make the Hall of Fame committee happy.

The most dominant pitcher in the game for a significant stretch of his career, Johnson used his 6-foot-10-inch frame to intimidate and dominate hitters for nearly 20 years.

Originally drafted by the Montreal Expos, Johnson was sent to Seattle in a 1989 trade for Mark Langston.

As it turned out, Johnson became the dominant left-hander the Expos thought they were getting with Langston.

Johnson teamed with Ken Griffey Jr. to give the Mariners two of the best players in baseball during the 1990s.

His first standout season came in 1993 when Johnson went 19-8 and finished second in the Cy Young voting. By 1995, Johnson was unquestionably the top lefthander in the American League.
Read the rest of this entry →