Just read the article about inside the park HRs. I’ve been coaching baseball since 2000 at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sk. We are known more for our ten high school hockey teams. We have alumni currently in the NHL like Morgan Reilly, Sean Couturier, and Jaden Schwartz. Also coaches Rod Bind’Amour and John Cooper. I cannot recall having a legit inside the park HR until this season. Between April 30 and May 9, we played 8 games. Two four-game weekends. We had three legit inside the park HRs. Our team can be a bit raw. Hockey players with much ability but limited baseball experience. On May 1, our left handed 1B hit a laser to the RF gap and raced around the bases. However, the other team challenged and he was called out for missing 3B. The same player repeated the feat May 2. This time he touched them all. A week later, on May 9, our 2B, totally new to baseball this year, hit a rocket to RF past the OF and circled the bases. As he was about to hit home, he held up his arms in celebration and, like a WR spiking the ball at the one yard line, he stepped over home plate. From the dugout, I looked the ump in the face and his gaze confirmed the plate was missed. I couldn’t yell ‘touch the plate.’ I feared the catcher would tag him. Just before he entered the dugout I quietly told him to go back and touch the plate. He did. HR counted. Zero ITPHRs in 25 seasons. Then three in 9 days.
I'm a life long Chicagoan but for a few years, I worked quite a bit in NYC. This allowed me the opportunity to see many concerts & sporting events there. Went to the US Open Tennis Tourney a few times, several Knicks & Rangers games & a handful of Mets games. And of course, whenever I could, I would go to Yankee Stadium for a ballgame.
One such night, I settled in to watch the Yanks play the Royals. KC had an outfielder by the name of Bo. That night, Bo knew homers. Three in a row. However, he didn't get the chance to hit #4 because of this hit by a fellow named Deion.
KC@NYY: Sanders legs out inside-the-park home run | 07/17/1990 | MLB.comhttps://share.google/rUWzXaoY2HbIKRP9x
I've gone to many baseball games since that first night at Comiskey as a youngster (5/10/63) but the KC v NYY game was one of the wildest.
Bill Buckner’s May 1990 inside-the-park home run against the Angels was one for the ages. He had returned to the Sox after several seasons in exile after *Game 6*. All was forgiven (by those Sox fans stupid enough to blame him for that loss). He pulled a drive to right in Fenway, Claudell Washington tumbled into the stands, Dante Bichette wasn’t paying attention in CF, and Buckner scored standing up. It was his last MLB home run. RIP Billy Buck.
Shouldn’t the scale include how far away from home plate the ball was as the runner touched the plate?
If I were the pitcher on the Bobby Witt inside the parker I would not have been thrilled with the effort from the right fielder. I mean, everybody has to know how fast Witt is right?
The only inside-the-parker I’ve ever seen in real time as J.T. Realmuto’s dash for the Phillies against the Braves in the 2022 playoffs. Completely took my breath away then — and it still does watching it on YouTube.
Inside the Park homers: the visuals of the patched and off-color plastic were bad, and players' knees were shredded, but if we somehow brought back the artificial turf of the 70s, we'd see more such plays. The fast turf mandated fast outfielders and encouraged flat, line drive swings. Plus, the big bounces could be fun.
Book Q: are you part of the sheep-like crowd who follows the mandate of Big Fan or do you stand your ground, do your own research, and refuse to switch ceiling fans to reverse direction each Winter?
If guessing which park had the most ITPHRs in the 80's, 90's, 00's I'd cast my vote for the Metrodome. Balls that outfielders would lose track of against the backdrop of the roof. Balls that could skip and skid into the gaps. Balls that hit the baggie and right field and take a confounding "bounce". Balls that literally bounced over the head of the outfielder. As a Twins fan, I'm not proud of having called that place "home", but I don't think we'd have won the 1987 World Series (we wouldn't have even won the division) without it and there's no shame in that ;p
I always feel when Joe brings up inside the park HRs that I need to resurface this one from my favorite player in the game that is widely considered one of the most incredible finishes in baseball history. On July 25, 1956, Roberto Clemente achieved a feat that has never been duplicated: a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam.
The Pittsburgh Pirates were trailing the Chicago Cubs 8–5 in the bottom of the ninth inning at Forbes Field. After loading the bases against Cubs pitcher Jim Brosnan, the stage was set... and I'll let this article from SABR tell the story...
Clemente didn’t steal a lot of bases, but was very fast, especially running the bases as he has had the most triples by a player in the past 70 years in a career.
Poscast (p,p,p,p,p,p,p pooooscaaaast) question! - I just want to know why Michael chose the Jackson Browne song For a Dancer to close down episode 2 of season 1 of Man on the Inside. Because it ruined my life that day in the best way, and I've been obsessed with Jackson Browne ever since, doubly so the album For a Dancer resides on, Late for the Sky, which has been spun more by this lifelong music nerd since that date than any other album, and it's not particularly close.
I'm in Iowa, and a NYC visit seems unlikely any time soon, but I'm immediately on a deep dive of info about Empire of Light and Magritte, and am yet again surprised by something I didn't know. Appreciate this early afternoon's ADHD hyper focus!
I'm very into 60s and 70s music of all varieties and just kinda whiffed on Jackson Browne for a long time and thought he was a little too Cali easy breezy for me, if that makes sense. Man on the Inside let me see how sad bastard he was and I've been obsessed ever since haha. Late for the Sky's a top 15, top 20 album all-time for me now.
I have no recollection that we had 4 inside-the-parkers in just 9 days last year. Wow.
I hope to see Konnor Griffin hit a few while he's in Pittsburgh. His swing is tailored to drive the ball to the Notch in center-left, and the wall angles back there can cause some unexpected bounces. Combine that with his elite (albeit not Wittian) speed, and I like his odds.
Question for the PosCast: I've found that when I put together a book I'm never able to get everything into it that I want. There's always something precious that ends up on the cutting room floor. Do each of you have a treasured thought/story/experience that you are just a little sad didn't make it into the final book?
P.S. This question is at least partially inspired by the treasure trove of deleted scenes that are the number one reason to buy DVD copies of all the shows Mike has ever worked on.
The only inside-the-park home run I remember seeing was a WILD game: I went to Pedro's return to Queens as a Phillie in Citi Field's first season, August 23, 2009. I watched him warm up in the bullpen before the game as Mets fans teased him and he laughed through it all.
Oliver Perez couldn't get out of the first inning, almost walking Pedro, the ninth hitter of the top of the first, before being replaced by Nelson Figueroa, who struck out Pedro. With the Mets down 6-0, Angel Pagan led off the bottom of the first with an inside-the-park home run, a ball that got stuck under the outfield wall padding, leading Shane Victorino to assume it was a dead ball while Pagan raced around the bases (high chaos rating?). The Mets almost came back, trailing 9-7 in the ninth with two runners on, and guess what? Unassisted triple play ends the game!
After traveling the world and seeing fans of all types, What is the one fan group you wish you could be a part of? And what is one that you would never want to have anything to do with?
From my youth, I recalled a play where Kirk Gibson hit a long fly (I thought at Fenway; turns out it was to the 440 foot center of Tiger Stadium), and he tried to score on the play and was hot on the heels of Lou Whitaker. Whitaker was tagged out, and the umpire moved into the baseline to call him out, and Gibson trucked the ump, Larry Burnett. I believe Gibson was ruled safe, and that also that there was an error on the play, but probably the most exciting play I'd ever seen live on TV.
Gibson also hit a 523 foot homer over the roof that game, but I had no recollection of that until I found this video.
I hope you saw James Wood's ITP grand slam last night! It needs a chaos rating 😁
Just read the article about inside the park HRs. I’ve been coaching baseball since 2000 at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sk. We are known more for our ten high school hockey teams. We have alumni currently in the NHL like Morgan Reilly, Sean Couturier, and Jaden Schwartz. Also coaches Rod Bind’Amour and John Cooper. I cannot recall having a legit inside the park HR until this season. Between April 30 and May 9, we played 8 games. Two four-game weekends. We had three legit inside the park HRs. Our team can be a bit raw. Hockey players with much ability but limited baseball experience. On May 1, our left handed 1B hit a laser to the RF gap and raced around the bases. However, the other team challenged and he was called out for missing 3B. The same player repeated the feat May 2. This time he touched them all. A week later, on May 9, our 2B, totally new to baseball this year, hit a rocket to RF past the OF and circled the bases. As he was about to hit home, he held up his arms in celebration and, like a WR spiking the ball at the one yard line, he stepped over home plate. From the dugout, I looked the ump in the face and his gaze confirmed the plate was missed. I couldn’t yell ‘touch the plate.’ I feared the catcher would tag him. Just before he entered the dugout I quietly told him to go back and touch the plate. He did. HR counted. Zero ITPHRs in 25 seasons. Then three in 9 days.
I'm a life long Chicagoan but for a few years, I worked quite a bit in NYC. This allowed me the opportunity to see many concerts & sporting events there. Went to the US Open Tennis Tourney a few times, several Knicks & Rangers games & a handful of Mets games. And of course, whenever I could, I would go to Yankee Stadium for a ballgame.
One such night, I settled in to watch the Yanks play the Royals. KC had an outfielder by the name of Bo. That night, Bo knew homers. Three in a row. However, he didn't get the chance to hit #4 because of this hit by a fellow named Deion.
KC@NYY: Sanders legs out inside-the-park home run | 07/17/1990 | MLB.comhttps://share.google/rUWzXaoY2HbIKRP9x
I've gone to many baseball games since that first night at Comiskey as a youngster (5/10/63) but the KC v NYY game was one of the wildest.
Sorry for bad link. Try:
https://www.mlb.com/video/deion-s-inside-the-park-home-run-c31205593?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share
Bill Buckner’s May 1990 inside-the-park home run against the Angels was one for the ages. He had returned to the Sox after several seasons in exile after *Game 6*. All was forgiven (by those Sox fans stupid enough to blame him for that loss). He pulled a drive to right in Fenway, Claudell Washington tumbled into the stands, Dante Bichette wasn’t paying attention in CF, and Buckner scored standing up. It was his last MLB home run. RIP Billy Buck.
What are the dates fot the BIG FAN Australian tour?
Joe, on Goodreads, they only have an author bio for Mike. Just wondering if you only put your name on it to help him sell books. Big pal move.
Shouldn’t the scale include how far away from home plate the ball was as the runner touched the plate?
If I were the pitcher on the Bobby Witt inside the parker I would not have been thrilled with the effort from the right fielder. I mean, everybody has to know how fast Witt is right?
The only inside-the-parker I’ve ever seen in real time as J.T. Realmuto’s dash for the Phillies against the Braves in the 2022 playoffs. Completely took my breath away then — and it still does watching it on YouTube.
Inside the Park homers: the visuals of the patched and off-color plastic were bad, and players' knees were shredded, but if we somehow brought back the artificial turf of the 70s, we'd see more such plays. The fast turf mandated fast outfielders and encouraged flat, line drive swings. Plus, the big bounces could be fun.
Book Q: are you part of the sheep-like crowd who follows the mandate of Big Fan or do you stand your ground, do your own research, and refuse to switch ceiling fans to reverse direction each Winter?
If guessing which park had the most ITPHRs in the 80's, 90's, 00's I'd cast my vote for the Metrodome. Balls that outfielders would lose track of against the backdrop of the roof. Balls that could skip and skid into the gaps. Balls that hit the baggie and right field and take a confounding "bounce". Balls that literally bounced over the head of the outfielder. As a Twins fan, I'm not proud of having called that place "home", but I don't think we'd have won the 1987 World Series (we wouldn't have even won the division) without it and there's no shame in that ;p
I always feel when Joe brings up inside the park HRs that I need to resurface this one from my favorite player in the game that is widely considered one of the most incredible finishes in baseball history. On July 25, 1956, Roberto Clemente achieved a feat that has never been duplicated: a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam.
The Pittsburgh Pirates were trailing the Chicago Cubs 8–5 in the bottom of the ninth inning at Forbes Field. After loading the bases against Cubs pitcher Jim Brosnan, the stage was set... and I'll let this article from SABR tell the story...
https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/july-25-1956-roberto-clemente-hits-an-inside-the-park-walk-off-grand-slam-to-lift-pirates/
I've never seen video and question if it even exists, but it's my quintessential Clemente moment... even if I wasn't born for another 6 years!
Clemente didn’t steal a lot of bases, but was very fast, especially running the bases as he has had the most triples by a player in the past 70 years in a career.
Playing at Forbes Field didn’t hurt.
Poscast (p,p,p,p,p,p,p pooooscaaaast) question! - I just want to know why Michael chose the Jackson Browne song For a Dancer to close down episode 2 of season 1 of Man on the Inside. Because it ruined my life that day in the best way, and I've been obsessed with Jackson Browne ever since, doubly so the album For a Dancer resides on, Late for the Sky, which has been spun more by this lifelong music nerd since that date than any other album, and it's not particularly close.
You should go to MOMA and see Magritte's Empire of Light, which was the inspiration for the Late for the Sky cover.
I'm in Iowa, and a NYC visit seems unlikely any time soon, but I'm immediately on a deep dive of info about Empire of Light and Magritte, and am yet again surprised by something I didn't know. Appreciate this early afternoon's ADHD hyper focus!
Magritte was credited on the back cover of the album, which I also played a million times back in the 70s.
I'm very into 60s and 70s music of all varieties and just kinda whiffed on Jackson Browne for a long time and thought he was a little too Cali easy breezy for me, if that makes sense. Man on the Inside let me see how sad bastard he was and I've been obsessed ever since haha. Late for the Sky's a top 15, top 20 album all-time for me now.
I have no recollection that we had 4 inside-the-parkers in just 9 days last year. Wow.
I hope to see Konnor Griffin hit a few while he's in Pittsburgh. His swing is tailored to drive the ball to the Notch in center-left, and the wall angles back there can cause some unexpected bounces. Combine that with his elite (albeit not Wittian) speed, and I like his odds.
Question for the PosCast: I've found that when I put together a book I'm never able to get everything into it that I want. There's always something precious that ends up on the cutting room floor. Do each of you have a treasured thought/story/experience that you are just a little sad didn't make it into the final book?
P.S. This question is at least partially inspired by the treasure trove of deleted scenes that are the number one reason to buy DVD copies of all the shows Mike has ever worked on.
The only inside-the-park home run I remember seeing was a WILD game: I went to Pedro's return to Queens as a Phillie in Citi Field's first season, August 23, 2009. I watched him warm up in the bullpen before the game as Mets fans teased him and he laughed through it all.
Oliver Perez couldn't get out of the first inning, almost walking Pedro, the ninth hitter of the top of the first, before being replaced by Nelson Figueroa, who struck out Pedro. With the Mets down 6-0, Angel Pagan led off the bottom of the first with an inside-the-park home run, a ball that got stuck under the outfield wall padding, leading Shane Victorino to assume it was a dead ball while Pagan raced around the bases (high chaos rating?). The Mets almost came back, trailing 9-7 in the ninth with two runners on, and guess what? Unassisted triple play ends the game!
And there's more craziness in there. Check out the SABR recap: https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august-23-2009-eric-bruntletts-unassisted-triple-play-ends-strange-phillies-mets-game/
Okay, here's a question for the PosCast:
After traveling the world and seeing fans of all types, What is the one fan group you wish you could be a part of? And what is one that you would never want to have anything to do with?
From my youth, I recalled a play where Kirk Gibson hit a long fly (I thought at Fenway; turns out it was to the 440 foot center of Tiger Stadium), and he tried to score on the play and was hot on the heels of Lou Whitaker. Whitaker was tagged out, and the umpire moved into the baseline to call him out, and Gibson trucked the ump, Larry Burnett. I believe Gibson was ruled safe, and that also that there was an error on the play, but probably the most exciting play I'd ever seen live on TV.
Gibson also hit a 523 foot homer over the roof that game, but I had no recollection of that until I found this video.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2076828449526735