Some interesting baseball facts
 

One of the reasons baseball is far and away my favorite sport are the interesting stories that've occured over the years. One of my personal favorites involves a pitcher the Toronto Blue Jays had back in the 80's and 90's named Dave Stieb. Now, some of you probably know that Johnny Vander Meer is the only pitcher in baseball history to have pitched no-hitters in back to back starts, in 1938. However, Mr Stieb came agonizing close to the same feat late in the 1988 season. Believe it or not, in back to back starts, he lost no-hitters with 2 outs in the ninth inning!:shocked: Both of the hits he gave up were real cheapies too! Amazing! Then the next year he lost a Perfect Game with 2 outs in the ninth inning to the Yankees. Talk about a hard luck guy! Finally in 1990, he finally achieved no-hit fame when he blanked the Indians on September 2. Also, 1990 and 1991 were very unusual years in that there were 7 no-hitters in each season. Now these days, I'm beginning to wonder if there will ever be another one, with it being over 2 years since the last no-hitter, Randy Johnson's Perfect Game Against the Braves in 2004. I've been lucky enough to have witnessed 2 no-hitters in person, Scott Erickson's for the Twins on 4-27-94, and Eric Milton's for the Twins on 9-11-99. For those of you that love baseball, there is nothing like witnessing something llike that. The tension in the late innings is unreal! I have both ticket stubs and scorecards I kept from those games framed and hanging on my wall at home. If any of y ou haev an interesting baseball story to share, or something that you saw at a game, please feel free to share! Baseball, what a game!

wow. i'd be so pissed at the infield if i were him.

Well heres what happened. I know I need a life! the first game, September 23 1988, was at Cleveland and Julio Franco hit a ground ball to the second baseman that looked like a sure out. Then at the last second, it took a crazy hop over the second basemans head. in the second game, September 30, 1988 at Toronto against Baltimore, Jim Traber hit a flare bloop just over the first basemans head and right on the foul line! UGH I remember that.

what are the chances????!!!!! well, i'm glad if anyone ****ed it up for him, it was cleveland. :laugh: they **** everything else up, y'know ... :lol:

Did you ever see a game in that old ****hole they played in, Municipal Stadium?

:laugh: yep, i went many a time. it was awesome because bleacher seats were $6!! of course, it was way too huge - it held ... gawd, i don't even remember. almost 80,000? i had my 8th birthday there, and my parents went to the final 3 games there. when my brother and i were really little, we sat in the upper deck and cheered "go penguins!!!!!!" i have no idea why. lots of good memories for me, despite the fact that it was an ugly, useless structure! :laugh: have you been? and have you been to jacob's field? it's not all that new now, i guess ... almost 12 years old? 13? wow.

My Mets have never had a no-hitter or perfect game. But, we had one of the greatest sports bloppers to ever happen help us win the 1986 Series. Routine ground ball went right through Bill Buckner's legs. Poor guy, that's all most people will probably remember him for.

As a Red Sox fan I sure do!:mad: But that's all over now since we won finally in 2004. They guy was seriously a great player though!:nod:

People just assume he misplayed the ball, but if you watch a slow-mo, you can see the ball takes a hop on him.

I'm always a Red Sox fan, actually, anyone but the Yankees.

so, i've always been intrigued by mets and yankees fans, and how the two groups are basically mutually exclusive. is it a geographical thing or something?

I've somehow managed to see three no-hitters.

Sandy Koufax (Dodgers)
Clyde Wright (Angels)
Nolan Ryan (Angels)

wow, sandy and nolan. i actually have a NR rookie card around here somewhere, mint condition.

Same thing happend to Whitey Ford in the 60's. Lost 2 consecutive no hitters on bloop singles over 1st. He says its the only thing that pisses him off about his career. :shrug:

I've never seen a no hitter in person (beside my sister haha), but I did see David Cone's on TV. If that counts. :laugh:

I saw Derek Lowe's no hitter a few years ago at Fenway. It was awesome.

Steve, That is F***in cool! A couple questions. Was Sandy's his Perfect Game against the Cubs, and Was Nolan's the one he had against the Twins in 1974?

And he wouldve had a perfect game, save for one walk in the 3rd inning.:nod: I'll tell you what I'm incredibly Jealous of. Yankee fans that have seen both David Wells and David Cones perfect games!

It's not really geographical. I live in the Bronx (Skankees territory) and my entire family are die hard Mets fans. I will admit to knowing considerably more Yanks fans than Mets. At one time my family were Yankee fans until Mickey Mantle was rude to my dad, who had typical 8 year old idol worship for him. Two years later, the Mets came to town and the rest is history.

I'll also tell you Yankee fans can be really obnoxious and arrogant. They love to remind us of the 26 World Championships (I like to remind them they have a 40 year head start). I also like to point out that Yankee Stadium was a ghost town in the 80's and all of them scrapped their knees jumping back on the bandwagon. It's not easy to be a Mets fan.

Sorry for such a long post. The Yankees get me up on my soapbox.

Yea, and both the Mets and Yankees have ganged up on my Red Sox over the years.:nod:

Oh, I DO remember one NEAR no-hitter I was at.

Dodgers vs Cubs 1965. The Cubs' Dick Ellsworth had a no hitter going into the eighth inning; the score was 1-0 Cubs. Catcher Jeff Torborg got on via an error and was replace by pinch runner Willie Crawford. 3rd baseman Dick Tracewski walked. Then Ellsworth got the next batter, Darrell Griffith. Al Ferrara came up to pinch hit for relief pitcher Bob Miller. Ferrara hit a line drive down the third base line...the ball hits the foul pole for a 3-run homer...Dodgers win 3-1 on only 1 hit.

Dodgers went on to be World Champions that year...defeating Harmon Killebrew & Tony Oliva's Twins in 7 games.

Actually, I went to an Orioles-Nationals game in Baltimore this year, having been a convert to the Nats from the time they were announced as Washington's team. I went there and specifically cheered for the Nats in Baltimore. The only thing that ever happened with an Orioles fan was after a great play when Miguel Tejada threw a guy out at third base... one Orioles fan turns to me and goes, "make sure you score that 6-5." I was like, "I already had it, 6-5 fielder's choice."

C'mon, just 'cause I'm from the D.C. area doesn't mean I don't know baseball. I cover the Baysox at The Prince George's Sentinel! :lol: Of course, I didn't mind his instruction because he was kinda cute. ;)

And with good reason. ;) :p

Oh, and dont you Mets fans get me started. I wont respond to Yankees fans being rude, as I have seen countless Mets AND Red Sox fans make complete asses of themselves trying to compare their teams to the Yankees. :wavey: ;)

Both of Ken Griffey Jr.'s parents have cancer
 

Father and ex-Reds star has disease in prostate, mother in colon

CINCINNATI - It's a child's worst nightmare: Not one, but two parents facing a medical crisis. That's exactly what Ken Griffey Jr. is facing, after his mother and father were diagnosed with cancer.

The Cincinnati Reds star's agent, Brian Goldberg, confirmed to News 5 that Bertie Griffey is suffering from colon cancer. She will have major surgery in Orlando on Thursday.

Former Reds player Ken Griffey Sr. has been diagnosed with prostate cancer in its early stages, Goldberg said. The cancer might be treatable without surgery, but Griffey Sr. won't know more about his status until next week.

It's unknown whether Junior will stay with the Reds in St. Louis for the team's series finale against the Cardinals on Thursday afternoon.

Awwr thats terrible for Junior and his parents. Hopefully his mother's procedure goes well. And it sounds like Senior might be treatable without anything major. :nod:

Having said all of this, I still hope the Cardinals win. :laugh: :nod:

Cards just won...
 

on a Rolen single in the bottom of the 9th, 2-1 was the final.

I didn't mean to imply that Mets fans were angels. Not by a long shot. I just find that Yankees fans tend to have a superior attitude about who's the greatest team ever, never mind best team in NY.

I've been to Mets/Yankees games at Yankee Stadium with my 9 year old nephew and had stuff thrown at us for daring to wear Mets jerseys. (What adult throws stuff at a child?) Go to Shea wearing Yankee gear and you're more likely to get booed or hear "A-Rod sucks!" as you walk buy.

Well why shouldn't Yankees fans feel superior? Their team has been dominant for years. Look at the '27 Yankees, the teams from 1949 to 1953 that won 5 straight World Series, the '61 Yankees, the '78 Yankees and their amazing comeback, even the current run they had going with 4 WS from '96 to '00, plus the 8 straight division titles. Of course there have been great teams elsewhere for a long time. But nobody has the kind of history, not to mention bragging rights, that the Yankees do.

Here I do agree with you. The Stadium can be hell on anyone wearing anything other than pinstripes. Naturally, thats what makes it the Stadium ;). But a lot of the time, people do get out of control. I mean, they're hard enough on their own team, much less others. :laugh: :nod:. And a kid should not have things thrown at him either. I'm willing to bet that the fan was drunk, however. I remember after the 2003 ALCS, drunken Sox fans getting into it with drunken Yanks fans leaving the Stadium, and it was a madhouse. Unfortunately, it happens all the time.

Ahhhh...Scotty Rolen comes through again. I love that guy. Seriously. I want him on the Yankees now. :nod: :D

Proposed Trade!
- Yankees get: Scott Rolen
- Cardinals get: Alex Rodriguez, cash, a bag of baseballs, some trading cards, chewing gum, seeds, a 'thank you' note, a gift certificate to the Outback Steakhouse, a new pair of cleats for every Cardinal, aaaaand a big red bow to put on A-Rod. ;) :wavey:

I'll agree that they Yankees are the greatest team in baseball. I'm all for feeling superior, just within reason. I'm not saying all Yankee fans have the "bad" superior attitude, but they are the most vocal of them. I'm talking about the fans that wear the obnoxious t-shirts that are marketed. A real fan enjoys the game, and shows respect to other fans and teams. Rivarly is a good thing, but it tends to get taken way too far by a few.

Well its true, Yankees fans may be the most vocal about their superiority. But the crazy tee shirts and stupid sayings are usually directed at Boston, so this is where I dont see why a Mets fan would have a problem with it. ;) :wavey:

I was under the impression that you guys had a little rivalry there too (with Red Sox)? :shrug: Kind of like how even though I'm a big Yankees fan, I hate the Braves, and I love when the Mets smoke them. :D

Actually, here in the Bronx, you'll find some fans wearing shirts directed at the Mets. Things like 2006=choke (Did you know David Wright is now outselling Jeter in shirt sales in NY? I found that really interesting, Jeter being Jeter.)

There is a little rivarly now with the Red Sox, some I guess has to do with the 86 Series and now more so, Pedro. I think it's more Red Sox fans than Mets fans though.

I'm surprised your a Yankee fan, everyone I know that lives in Connecticut is a Red Sox fan.

Well it's time once again...
 

for the ever popular battle for AL East supremacy (Which starts today in about 15 minutes-Should be a great 5 game series):

NY Yankees at Boston Red Sox

And, Washington DC has had major league baseball for a helluva lot longer than Baltimore has had major league baseball.

A good comeback to an Orioles fan is always: "Well, your team used to be the St. Louis Browns." Doesn't get much lower than that! :laugh:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

1-0 Yankees, Bottom of the 4th.
Edit: Nevermind. 1-1. :p

Hey they made the world series once!! Nevermind that it was 1944 and the hight of WW2 when most of the good players were at war....:lol:

12-3. GO*&^*&M F*&^*&ING YANKEES!!!:mad:

Well...
 

the two rivalry series being played this afternoon have been blowouts:

Yankees 12 BoSox 3
Cards 11 Cubs 3

Wonder if the Dodgers will blowout the Giants tonight??

Ok that picture is far and away the most hilarious thing I've ever seen!!:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Nice game this afternoon, eh? :p

5-4 Yanks, top 3! Are you ****in kidding me. Sidney Ponson? I hate you.

Ahem. Did I hear the Yanks swept a doubleheader? Really? Where? I didnt know about this...




;) :lol: :wavey:

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :laugh: