With Roger Clemens on trial for perjury and Mariano Rivera facing a career ending injury, let’s face it. There haven’t been a lot of warm, fuzzy stories going around the baseball diamond. This kind of inspired me to revisit what should have been a warm fuzzy story, but ultimately wasn’t – the single season home run race of 1961. In other words, I watched the movie *61 … again. Directed by Billy Crystal, produced...
A couple of years ago, I got to run the Q&A at a Music Box Theatre’s screening of “We Believe: A Relationship That Lasts a Lifetime” in Chicago, IL. It was pretty exciting to actually lead a conversation about baseball with a large audience in a true baseball town. The following is a review of that film, a version of which appeared on the Music Box Theatre website last year. Directed by John Scheinfeld,...
Since the dawn of the game itself, Baseball and Art have been inextricably linked. Nowhere is this more so than in literature, which often propagates the national pastime as folklore and myth. One of these great neo-“myths” is The Natural, a 1952 baseball novel written by Bernard Malamud. The Natural is the story of Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked by a lover’s gun. The story then picks up with an...
The Minor League season opened across the country with record crowds, pomp, pageantry, fireworks and several noteworthy performances. The following are the top 7 things you missed in affiliated Minor League Baseball last week. 1. Bryce Harper got his first Triple-A hit on Thursday. It was a double in the second for the Syracuse Chiefs. He ultimately went 2 for 4 for the Washington Nationals affiliate, which took the loss to the visiting Rochester...
Before I left for Afghanistan in mid-March, I drove across Florida from my home in Tampa to my parents’ home in Melbourne. Along the way, on Florida State Road 520, just outside of Cocoa, Florida, I saw the remains of what was once the home of the Florida State League’s Cocoa Astros, the spring home of the Houston Astros, and for a season, the spring home of the then-Florida Marlins. Sadly, even at 55...
When the Baker Bowl was first opened, it was praised as the finest baseball palace in America. By the time it was abandoned, it had been a joke. The little known first home of the Philadelphia Phillies (as well as the Philadelphia Eagles) opened in 1887. N. Broad St., W. Huntingdon St., N. 15th St. and W. Lehigh Avenue surrounded it. It was rebuilt in 1895 and recognized as the first cantilevered design in...
Atlantic City historically has been a failure as a professional sports venue. Less than an hour away from Philadelphia, baseball has ironically been its biggest flop. Going back to the early part of the 20th century, successful franchises have consistently failed off the field in the “Las Vegas of the East”. The most glaring sports failure of recent memory was the folding of the Atlantic City Surf. This professional baseball team called Bernie Robbins...
Ten years ago, I was an intern at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. It was easily the most awe-inspiring summer of my life. One of the amazing opportunities I experienced was seeing several Oneonta Tigers games at . Now, I know what you’re thinking. Trish, is this a glorified high school field? In some ways, it sadly is. (That’s not even a shot at the Tigers.) Located an hour from...
The batter hits a frozen rope between second and short. The crowd cautiously begins to clap. After several innings of monotony, a rally has begun. I think for a moment. Should I get excited? It’s “Indy” ball. I think the first baseman tried to sell me insurance last week. A lot of ballparks in Independent Baseball fall into that post-1992 era of stadiums. Campbell’s Field has the same great site lines and amenities that...
Many, many moons ago, I was a young baseball fan growing up on the not-so mean suburban streets of Melbourne, Florida. Times were different back then. It was a time when you had to memorize phone numbers and Cheers ruled nighttime television. But despite the chaos and tumultuous times, there was one video (on VHS, of course) that always helped me though the darkest of days. It’s guiding light and steady beacon of humor...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
