‘Seasons’ sounds awesome. And my favorite baseball card memory is the 1980 Dale Murphy.
Had just changed schools. Home life was as starched as ‘Dill’ Harris. A new friend — youngest of 6 boys — invited me into to the funnest loudest house in the new neighborhood. In stark contrast to all the sweaty rough and tumble chaos that occupied most of our days, he was a ‘buy the box’ collector. The day it came out. A jesuit. When none of us could rub two nickels together. And definitely not the 6th kid in the line.
We chewed a lot of gum ripping through the packs looking for Dale Murphy. An annual pageant.
Steve Carlton in 1972 better be in Seasons. Pretty please. That is the year I fell head over heels for baseball. As Lefty's 15-game win streak piled up, my fellow lefty uncle took me to every home start by this new sensation on my terrible hometown team. My uncle always got us tickets along the first base line, so I could see the game from a lefthander's advantages. I was there the night the streak ended. Lefty and Phil Niekro pitched all 11 innings. Pinch-hitter Mike Lum won the game for the Braves. The streak was over. I was 9 years old. My parents' marriage was a year away from exploding, just about the time Secretariat had the other most magical season in my lifetime. (I know, different sport, but those 2 seasons defined Greatness for me.)
It won't make "Seasons", but the 1966 Detroit Tigers season was a very strange one. Manager Chuck Dressen, who had had a heart attack the year before, had another one on May 16. Third base coach Bob Swift replaced him, only to be hospitalized at the All-Star break and ultimately be diagnosed with lung cancer. Neither would manage again; Dressen died on August 10 and Swift on October 17. Frank Skaff finished off the season and was replaced by Mayo Smith the next year. Skaff, interestingly, remained on the Tigers payroll for the rest of his life, serving mainly as a scout, though he was on Billy Martin's staff when he managed the Tigers in the early 70s. He died while on a scouting trip in 1988. Neither Dressen, who was 71 when he died, nor Swift, just 51, was particularly old when they succumbed.
As a Tribe fan, the Tigers rivalry is always fun. That said, a close friend of mine from Detroit area always said - the throw Willie Horton made on Lou Brock (2nd to home) in the '68 WS - proved God was a baseball fan! He (god) struck the ball mid-flight and it zoomed into Home Plate, throwing out Brock. After reviewing the film on you tube (again) ... maybe it was true! The throw starts out like one of those High Arching throws but about mid-flight .... turns into a bullet, bears down and zeroes in and they catch (Freehan) Brock at home !
Not a "Seasons" topic but, possibly a "Moments" topic!
Looking forward to listening to "The Ballad of Marco Scutaro". A very favorite moment in my 75 years of baseball fandom was sitting in the rain with my wife and watching Marco embrace it as the Giants clinched the pennant against the Cards in game 7 of the NLCS in 2012/
I’d bet a good amount of money that there are a whole lot of people who both 1) criticized WBC Team USA’s lack of joy, and 2) criticized Lindsay Jacobellis in 2006 for her very joyful snowboarding method grab, which cause a fall and cost her the gold medal. Sports criticism, like life, drips with hypocrisy.
I’m guessing it is Nick Offerman doing the narration in the middle of the song. As a Giants fan, I love this song! Marco Scutaro was an unlikely hero. Getting up off the dirt after taking a Holliday cheap shot and becoming MVP of the series was awe-inspiring and magical.
My favorite card is one of the first I ever owned — a 1970 Topps Curt Flood. The card shows a picture of the smiling Curt with the bill of his cap turned up. The cap is clearly red, but no logo is visible. The card has Curt playing for the Phillies. Of course, that was the year he refused to play for the Phillies after being traded by St. Louis, challenging the reserve clause and effectively ending his career. A piece of history I keep in a small frame on the shelf with my collection of baseball-related books.
I was going to suggest the same two seasons, even though I was too young to experience it the way I would have if I'd been older. My feelings for 1976 and 1981 are based mostly on what I read and videos I've seen. As a baseball-playing, 14-year-old in 1985, Dwight Gooden's 24-4, 1.53 ERA season was all me and my teammates talked about that summer. Three years later, it was Jose Canseco's 40/40 year.
I'm one of those Yankee fans who's also a big fan of your writing -- not just your baseball stuff, but also your takes on the world outside of baseball, whether it's tennis (especially) or anything! It's great! For some reason your hatred of the Yankees doesn't come across as annoying ... maybe because despite the hatred, you can acknowledge that Jeter's "Mr. November" home run was a great sports moment, and that Aaron Judge is a historically great hitter, and that Rivera was indeed a special talent. Not sure your podcast buddy could do that!
By the way, earlier in that day, Jose Reyes led off for the NY Mets. He beat out a bunt single, and then took himself out of the game - clinching the NL batting title over the Brewers' Ryan Braun, and the first time a Met ever earned that accolade.
Actually, this would be a MUCH better way to ensure parity than a salary cap. No MLB club can be owned by any person, entity, or consortium of entities greater than $1bn in addition to the value of the team. Any team whose ownership exceeds that will pay a wealth tax of 5% to the teams whose ownership is less wealthy, which would have to be spent on payroll. Get it done MLBPA!
I enjoyed the baseball songs! But I remain convinced that the greatest baseball song ever is Jonathan Coulton's "Kenesaw Mountain Landis", the legend of a man Joe himself mentions in this post:
My favorite recent baseball song is probably Too Much Joy's "Curse of the Bobblehead", but I can't find a YouTube or Bandcamp link. Paid streaming services mostly seem to have it, though.
I'm a fan of the recently deceased Nashville troubadour Todd Snider and his song "America's Favorite Pastime" written about Doc Ellis' LSD aided no hitter.
"The Ballad of Marco Scutaro" is the best Baseball song I have ever heard. Thank you.
‘Seasons’ sounds awesome. And my favorite baseball card memory is the 1980 Dale Murphy.
Had just changed schools. Home life was as starched as ‘Dill’ Harris. A new friend — youngest of 6 boys — invited me into to the funnest loudest house in the new neighborhood. In stark contrast to all the sweaty rough and tumble chaos that occupied most of our days, he was a ‘buy the box’ collector. The day it came out. A jesuit. When none of us could rub two nickels together. And definitely not the 6th kid in the line.
We chewed a lot of gum ripping through the packs looking for Dale Murphy. An annual pageant.
Steve Carlton in 1972 better be in Seasons. Pretty please. That is the year I fell head over heels for baseball. As Lefty's 15-game win streak piled up, my fellow lefty uncle took me to every home start by this new sensation on my terrible hometown team. My uncle always got us tickets along the first base line, so I could see the game from a lefthander's advantages. I was there the night the streak ended. Lefty and Phil Niekro pitched all 11 innings. Pinch-hitter Mike Lum won the game for the Braves. The streak was over. I was 9 years old. My parents' marriage was a year away from exploding, just about the time Secretariat had the other most magical season in my lifetime. (I know, different sport, but those 2 seasons defined Greatness for me.)
It won't make "Seasons", but the 1966 Detroit Tigers season was a very strange one. Manager Chuck Dressen, who had had a heart attack the year before, had another one on May 16. Third base coach Bob Swift replaced him, only to be hospitalized at the All-Star break and ultimately be diagnosed with lung cancer. Neither would manage again; Dressen died on August 10 and Swift on October 17. Frank Skaff finished off the season and was replaced by Mayo Smith the next year. Skaff, interestingly, remained on the Tigers payroll for the rest of his life, serving mainly as a scout, though he was on Billy Martin's staff when he managed the Tigers in the early 70s. He died while on a scouting trip in 1988. Neither Dressen, who was 71 when he died, nor Swift, just 51, was particularly old when they succumbed.
As a Tribe fan, the Tigers rivalry is always fun. That said, a close friend of mine from Detroit area always said - the throw Willie Horton made on Lou Brock (2nd to home) in the '68 WS - proved God was a baseball fan! He (god) struck the ball mid-flight and it zoomed into Home Plate, throwing out Brock. After reviewing the film on you tube (again) ... maybe it was true! The throw starts out like one of those High Arching throws but about mid-flight .... turns into a bullet, bears down and zeroes in and they catch (Freehan) Brock at home !
Not a "Seasons" topic but, possibly a "Moments" topic!
Looking forward to listening to "The Ballad of Marco Scutaro". A very favorite moment in my 75 years of baseball fandom was sitting in the rain with my wife and watching Marco embrace it as the Giants clinched the pennant against the Cards in game 7 of the NLCS in 2012/
KUIPER 😂
I would love that Kristin Bell and Ted Danson signed copy!
Just bought my copy from Joseph-Beth’s 😁😁
I’d bet a good amount of money that there are a whole lot of people who both 1) criticized WBC Team USA’s lack of joy, and 2) criticized Lindsay Jacobellis in 2006 for her very joyful snowboarding method grab, which cause a fall and cost her the gold medal. Sports criticism, like life, drips with hypocrisy.
Who is the other special guest on Matt the Electrician's song?
I’m guessing it is Nick Offerman doing the narration in the middle of the song. As a Giants fan, I love this song! Marco Scutaro was an unlikely hero. Getting up off the dirt after taking a Holliday cheap shot and becoming MVP of the series was awe-inspiring and magical.
yes, it is indeed the great Nick Offerman
Said this last WBC post: Team USA is dour because they’re expected to win but they’re well aware that’s not likely. They’re no Dream Team.
“It’s not like they need the money. They just want it.” A widespread sickness in our society.
My favorite card is one of the first I ever owned — a 1970 Topps Curt Flood. The card shows a picture of the smiling Curt with the bill of his cap turned up. The cap is clearly red, but no logo is visible. The card has Curt playing for the Phillies. Of course, that was the year he refused to play for the Phillies after being traded by St. Louis, challenging the reserve clause and effectively ending his career. A piece of history I keep in a small frame on the shelf with my collection of baseball-related books.
Can’t wait to read your take on Fernandomania and The Bird, maybe the two best seasons ever!
I was going to suggest the same two seasons, even though I was too young to experience it the way I would have if I'd been older. My feelings for 1976 and 1981 are based mostly on what I read and videos I've seen. As a baseball-playing, 14-year-old in 1985, Dwight Gooden's 24-4, 1.53 ERA season was all me and my teammates talked about that summer. Three years later, it was Jose Canseco's 40/40 year.
I'm one of those Yankee fans who's also a big fan of your writing -- not just your baseball stuff, but also your takes on the world outside of baseball, whether it's tennis (especially) or anything! It's great! For some reason your hatred of the Yankees doesn't come across as annoying ... maybe because despite the hatred, you can acknowledge that Jeter's "Mr. November" home run was a great sports moment, and that Aaron Judge is a historically great hitter, and that Rivera was indeed a special talent. Not sure your podcast buddy could do that!
Yes, as a Yankee fan I was hoping someone would write something like this (so that I wouldn't have to).
I suspect that the 2011 season will be in there somewhere.
MLB made a whole video about how it ended:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em_3wxe-i0g
By the way, earlier in that day, Jose Reyes led off for the NY Mets. He beat out a bunt single, and then took himself out of the game - clinching the NL batting title over the Brewers' Ryan Braun, and the first time a Met ever earned that accolade.
"MLB [doesn't] need the Polymarket money. They just want it"
This. This, this, this, THIS.
We're just going to have to impose a wealth cap on the owners.
Actually, this would be a MUCH better way to ensure parity than a salary cap. No MLB club can be owned by any person, entity, or consortium of entities greater than $1bn in addition to the value of the team. Any team whose ownership exceeds that will pay a wealth tax of 5% to the teams whose ownership is less wealthy, which would have to be spent on payroll. Get it done MLBPA!
I enjoyed the baseball songs! But I remain convinced that the greatest baseball song ever is Jonathan Coulton's "Kenesaw Mountain Landis", the legend of a man Joe himself mentions in this post:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DveU_n1HUb0
My favorite recent baseball song is probably Too Much Joy's "Curse of the Bobblehead", but I can't find a YouTube or Bandcamp link. Paid streaming services mostly seem to have it, though.
I'm a fan of the recently deceased Nashville troubadour Todd Snider and his song "America's Favorite Pastime" written about Doc Ellis' LSD aided no hitter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG2SPjcKM4M&t=4s
Underrated Baseball Song:
"Van Lingle Mungo" by Dave Frishberg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKzobTlF8fM