OK, heading for London here in a couple of hours for the release of WHY WE LOVE BASEBALL in the UK, so wanted to give you some updates about that and various other tidbits.
The Plaque series is GREAT!!!!! Not at all because of the plaques but because of the strange asides on each character. 20 mini essays published 2-3 times per week: more please.
The review of HOF plaques hasn't been my favorite Posnanski project, but I still find it interesting. Like others have commented, I look forward to getting to those plaques Joe loves.
What kind of person subscribes to JoeBlogs and doesn’t enjoy the Revisiting Greatness series? This is great value! And it’s exactly the kind of stuff you can’t get from just looking at baseball reference pages.
Joe: You had no choice but to start at your least favorite. I think most of us would read about your favorite ______________. (You fill in the blank.) (Or least favorite _______.) Most commenters know that the large majority of us think: You do you. You can’t make this large of a group 100% happy every day.
Long time reader and PosCast listener all the way from London. Sadly I can't make it Friday but will be at the game on Sunday and looking out for you! Enjoy your trip to our fine city!
Joe, i wouldn't ask ANYbody to say ANYthing nice about John Elway- or the Dodgers, Yankees, Cowboys, Rams or Celtics... a girl has to have her principles...
But.....The Celtics historical big rivalry was with the Lakers, an L.A. team. Their most decorated player, Bill Russell, went to McClymonds High School in Oakland and won back to back NCAA championships at USF. It might fit into your Dodger/Rams loathing to occasionally root for the Celtics and put the Lakers as your main basketball dislike? Remember the Lakers have LeBron who took away a Warriors NBA title not too long ago (albeit for Cleveland). Can't really find fault with the rest of your list.
although i root for the Warriors, I distanced myself from them when the Carlissimo/Sprewel dustup happened; around that time, i was living in LA and onto the scene came one Kobe Bean Bryant- i started rooting for the Lakers; i've come back to support the Warriors as well since Steph & Klay et al, but the Lakers have a piece of my heart as well, making me conflicted when the Dubs play the Lakes...
Understood. In the spirit of full disclosure, a) I root for the Warriors to win and for LeBron, Steph and Klay to play well. b) I root for the Celtics in part because 1) my Mom had a crush on John Havlicek, 2) I had a man crush on Bill Russell 3) the Celtics used to have a University of Oregon player named Jim "Jungle Jim" Loscutoff, a 6'5" small forward who was known for his defense and as an enforcer or hatchet man. He played on seven NBA championship teams. The Celtics wanted to retire his number but he asked that they not retire his number but instead retire his name. There is a Celtics banner mixed in with the retired numbers that simply says "Loscy". His number, 18, was later retired in honor of Dave Cowens.
although i freely acknowledge that Bill Russell was one of the greatest to ever lace 'em up (and hella handsome in a very manly way as well), i would never root for the Celtics, under ANY circumstance! (i WILL root for Pats if they're playing the Lambs or Cowgirls, and WILL root for the Red Sox if they're playing Dodgers or Yanks)
Maybe this question has been asked? But is there an endgame to the plaque project? Specifically, given your connections to the Hall of Fame… Is this the first step in you and or maybe a group rewriting the plaques?
That’s what I was thinking. Or if that’s not the endgame, we could suggest it. Or maybe Joe just writes a book with a few pages about each Hall of Famer. Or maybe we have a contest to see who can come up with the best one sentence summary of each player.
Like Mickey Mantle. Larger than life powerhitter with breathtaking athletic ability before suffering numerous leg injuries, he was the centerpiece of the greatest dynasty in baseball history and maybe the most idolized player ever.
What always amazed me about Mickey Mantle was his size. He hit a ton of home runs and as has been said before, may have been the player that caused the term "tape measure home run" to come into existence. Take a look at MANTLE HITS 565-FOOT HOME RUN WRITTEN BY: NICK ANAPOLIS which you can find at the HOF Website in the section "our stories". Brings to mind Paul Bunyanesque sluggers like McGwire and the like. Mickey Mantle's official stats from Baseball Reference? 5'11" 195 pounds.
Have fun in London! I went last year and it was a phenomenal experience. The stadium was beautiful and looked like a baseball stadium, not a retrofitted “football” stadium. You’re going to love it!
Just a little idea. I know a few commenters have wondered what YOU would have on the Hall of Fame plaques. And I am curious what you'd do.
But what about a contest: Brilliant Readers try their hands at writing the plaques. Probably best to have a word limit (maybe 50 or so), and probably a limit to how many each Brilliant Reader can submit. And maybe bonus points for those willing to submit something to the more obscure Hall of Famers.
Winning could be anything big or small. Even just posting your top 3 favorites for each Hall of Famer.
How about we do it without naming the person and see if it is descriptive enough to have everyone know who it is:
Here is my try (admittedly it is pretty obvious who it is): (it is a little over 50 words)
With a swing that seemed crafted by the Gods themselves, he took a run at the magical .400 batting average mark in 1980. Although not a home run hitter, he seemed to save his home runs for the biggest moments, the greatest of which was an upper deck shot in the 1980 ALCS that helped finally slay the evil Yankees.
He's not one of the 270 yet, but here's how I'd write up my favorite player:
For a decade, Pujols turned himself into a ballplayer without weakness. His playoff home runs left crowds in silent awe, and his home runs in July fulfilled promises to children. He was both Man (El Hombre) and the Machine, and may have been the greatest right-handed hitter of all time.
Best known for the home run that ended the 1960 World Series (where he hit .320 with 5 RBIs overall), he was one of the best infielders when it came to defense. Won 8 Gold Gloves and made 10 All Star Games at 2B. Led all NL second basemen in assists 9 times, double plays 8 times (he's the MLB career leader in double plays turned by a second baseman), putouts 5 times and fielding percentage 3 times. It was said that at All Star Games, players on both sides would stop to watch him take infield practice.
Be careful crossing the streets around Trafalgar as it is a double-ring. I have seen more than one visitor almost get hit; of course, looking the right way first helps. And splurge on a Pimm's Cup at the pub!
The Plaque series is GREAT!!!!! Not at all because of the plaques but because of the strange asides on each character. 20 mini essays published 2-3 times per week: more please.
The review of HOF plaques hasn't been my favorite Posnanski project, but I still find it interesting. Like others have commented, I look forward to getting to those plaques Joe loves.
The point about starting with the worst plaques is quite valid.
What kind of person subscribes to JoeBlogs and doesn’t enjoy the Revisiting Greatness series? This is great value! And it’s exactly the kind of stuff you can’t get from just looking at baseball reference pages.
Joe: You had no choice but to start at your least favorite. I think most of us would read about your favorite ______________. (You fill in the blank.) (Or least favorite _______.) Most commenters know that the large majority of us think: You do you. You can’t make this large of a group 100% happy every day.
100 Floors of *Frights!*
Long time reader and PosCast listener all the way from London. Sadly I can't make it Friday but will be at the game on Sunday and looking out for you! Enjoy your trip to our fine city!
Joe, i wouldn't ask ANYbody to say ANYthing nice about John Elway- or the Dodgers, Yankees, Cowboys, Rams or Celtics... a girl has to have her principles...
But.....The Celtics historical big rivalry was with the Lakers, an L.A. team. Their most decorated player, Bill Russell, went to McClymonds High School in Oakland and won back to back NCAA championships at USF. It might fit into your Dodger/Rams loathing to occasionally root for the Celtics and put the Lakers as your main basketball dislike? Remember the Lakers have LeBron who took away a Warriors NBA title not too long ago (albeit for Cleveland). Can't really find fault with the rest of your list.
although i root for the Warriors, I distanced myself from them when the Carlissimo/Sprewel dustup happened; around that time, i was living in LA and onto the scene came one Kobe Bean Bryant- i started rooting for the Lakers; i've come back to support the Warriors as well since Steph & Klay et al, but the Lakers have a piece of my heart as well, making me conflicted when the Dubs play the Lakes...
Understood. In the spirit of full disclosure, a) I root for the Warriors to win and for LeBron, Steph and Klay to play well. b) I root for the Celtics in part because 1) my Mom had a crush on John Havlicek, 2) I had a man crush on Bill Russell 3) the Celtics used to have a University of Oregon player named Jim "Jungle Jim" Loscutoff, a 6'5" small forward who was known for his defense and as an enforcer or hatchet man. He played on seven NBA championship teams. The Celtics wanted to retire his number but he asked that they not retire his number but instead retire his name. There is a Celtics banner mixed in with the retired numbers that simply says "Loscy". His number, 18, was later retired in honor of Dave Cowens.
although i freely acknowledge that Bill Russell was one of the greatest to ever lace 'em up (and hella handsome in a very manly way as well), i would never root for the Celtics, under ANY circumstance! (i WILL root for Pats if they're playing the Lambs or Cowgirls, and WILL root for the Red Sox if they're playing Dodgers or Yanks)
Maybe this question has been asked? But is there an endgame to the plaque project? Specifically, given your connections to the Hall of Fame… Is this the first step in you and or maybe a group rewriting the plaques?
That’s what I was thinking. Or if that’s not the endgame, we could suggest it. Or maybe Joe just writes a book with a few pages about each Hall of Famer. Or maybe we have a contest to see who can come up with the best one sentence summary of each player.
Like Mickey Mantle. Larger than life powerhitter with breathtaking athletic ability before suffering numerous leg injuries, he was the centerpiece of the greatest dynasty in baseball history and maybe the most idolized player ever.
What always amazed me about Mickey Mantle was his size. He hit a ton of home runs and as has been said before, may have been the player that caused the term "tape measure home run" to come into existence. Take a look at MANTLE HITS 565-FOOT HOME RUN WRITTEN BY: NICK ANAPOLIS which you can find at the HOF Website in the section "our stories". Brings to mind Paul Bunyanesque sluggers like McGwire and the like. Mickey Mantle's official stats from Baseball Reference? 5'11" 195 pounds.
Have fun in London! I went last year and it was a phenomenal experience. The stadium was beautiful and looked like a baseball stadium, not a retrofitted “football” stadium. You’re going to love it!
Just a little idea. I know a few commenters have wondered what YOU would have on the Hall of Fame plaques. And I am curious what you'd do.
But what about a contest: Brilliant Readers try their hands at writing the plaques. Probably best to have a word limit (maybe 50 or so), and probably a limit to how many each Brilliant Reader can submit. And maybe bonus points for those willing to submit something to the more obscure Hall of Famers.
Winning could be anything big or small. Even just posting your top 3 favorites for each Hall of Famer.
How about we do it without naming the person and see if it is descriptive enough to have everyone know who it is:
Here is my try (admittedly it is pretty obvious who it is): (it is a little over 50 words)
With a swing that seemed crafted by the Gods themselves, he took a run at the magical .400 batting average mark in 1980. Although not a home run hitter, he seemed to save his home runs for the biggest moments, the greatest of which was an upper deck shot in the 1980 ALCS that helped finally slay the evil Yankees.
This is a great idea!
He's not one of the 270 yet, but here's how I'd write up my favorite player:
For a decade, Pujols turned himself into a ballplayer without weakness. His playoff home runs left crowds in silent awe, and his home runs in July fulfilled promises to children. He was both Man (El Hombre) and the Machine, and may have been the greatest right-handed hitter of all time.
MY TURN!
Bill ("Maz", "The Glove") Mazeroski:
Best known for the home run that ended the 1960 World Series (where he hit .320 with 5 RBIs overall), he was one of the best infielders when it came to defense. Won 8 Gold Gloves and made 10 All Star Games at 2B. Led all NL second basemen in assists 9 times, double plays 8 times (he's the MLB career leader in double plays turned by a second baseman), putouts 5 times and fielding percentage 3 times. It was said that at All Star Games, players on both sides would stop to watch him take infield practice.
“Unfortunately he played for another decade”
Ouch!
I had the same idea but instead we try writing the one sentence that best captures the player. But great job on Pujols.
Be careful crossing the streets around Trafalgar as it is a double-ring. I have seen more than one visitor almost get hit; of course, looking the right way first helps. And splurge on a Pimm's Cup at the pub!
Hi Joe. I have a bunch of your books. Would it be okay to bring all of them to get them signed, please?
Every one, Alan. Every one.
Can never have enough David S Pumpkins references!