Pitcher Bob Welch Dies at 57

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Imagine being 21 years old, a rookie pitcher playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and you're in the World Series against the New York Yankees.

That was the situation in which Bob Welch found himself on the night of Wednesday, Oct. 11, 1978, when he came in to close out a 4–3 victory for Los Angeles. Starter Burt Hooton had gone six innings and staked the Dodgers to a one–run lead when he left; then reliever Terry Forster pitched 2⅓ solid innings but left after serving up a single and a walk in the ninth.

In came Welch.

In front of more than 55,000 fans in Dodger Stadium — and millions more watching on TV — Welch nailed down the save. He got Thurman Munson to fly out to right, then won an epic showdown with future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. Jackson had driven in all of the Yankees' runs that night, and he came to the plate with two outs and runners at first and second.

This was at the time, it should be noted, that Jackson was gaining his reputation as "Mister October." A year earlier, he hit three consecutive home runs to lift the Yankees to their World Series–clinching triumph over those same Dodgers and won the series MVP in the process.

He could have evened the game with a well–hit ball, but the young Welch gunned him down. Jackson struck out swinging, and Welch had preserved the victory for the Dodgers.

Los Angeles would lose the next four games — and the Series — to the Yankees.

The Dodgers ended up trading Welch to Oakland following the 1987 season. The A's faced the Dodgers in the World Series in 1988, and Welch pitched in the only game Oakland won. He didn't get the win — another ex–Dodger, Rick Honeycutt, got the win in relief after Mark McGwire hit a one–out home run in the eighth.

A couple of years later, Welch won the Cy Young Award. He won 27 games that year and remains the last pitcher to win 25 games or more in a single season.

Welch died yesterday at the age of 57. At this point, his cause of death remains undisclosed.

The End of Lou Gehrig's Consecutive Games Streak

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Lou Gehrig, baseball's "Iron Horse," played in his final baseball game 75 years ago today.

Appropriately, the game was played in Yankee Stadium, and more than 23,000 people were on hand to see it. It was a Sunday afternoon — no one was playing hookey from work or school — and the Yankees were facing the Washington Senators.

Gehrig was hitless in four at–bats, and his batting average fell to .143. He wasn't the only Yankee who struggled that day. New York had only four hits — all singles.

It wasn't as if the Senators had a future Hall of Famer on the mound that day, either. The starting pitcher for Washington was Joe Krakauskas, a 24–year–old southpaw whose major–league career would be over only a few years later.

But no one knew it was Gehrig's final game. He was such a fixture in the lineup that my guess is no one could imagine a Yankee game without him.

I suppose everyone knew he had been playing poorly in spring training and through the first week of major–league play. It was probably the worst–kept secret of all time, and it was perplexing. But few, if any, thought his career would soon be over. They probably figured he would shake it off at some point.

"I have seen ballplayers 'go' overnight, as Gehrig seems to have done," wrote James Kahn in the New York Sun. "But they were simply washed up as ballplayers. It's something deeper than that in this case, though. I have watched him closely and this is what I have seen: I have seen him time a ball perfectly, swing on it as hard as he can, meet it squarely — and drive a soft, looping fly over the infield. ... He is meeting the ball, time after time, and it isn't going anywhere."

The next day, Monday, May 1, 1939, was an off day for the Yankees. On Tuesday, May 2, Gehrig came up to manager Joe McCarthy just before a game in Detroit and announced that he was benching himself — after playing in 2,130 consecutive games — "for the good of the team."

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McCarthy went along with Gehrig and inserted Babe Dahlgren in his place in the lineup but told Gehrig the job was still his whenever he was ready. When it was announced to the Detroit fans that Gehrig had removed himself from the lineup after playing in more than 2,100 games, they gave him a standing ovation.

(Dahlgren went two for five with a home run and a double as New York crushed Detroit, 22–2.)

Most folks probably thought Gehrig's absence would only be temporary. Friend and teammate Lefty Gomez said, "It took them 15 years to get [him] out of the game. Sometimes I'm out of there in 15 minutes."

Gehrig's wife, Eleanor, observed, "[The public] had marveled for 13 years at his sublime strength; now they were marveling at his stunning weakness."

A month and a half later, on his 36th birthday, Gehrig was diagnosed with the disease that would kill him two years later — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Bill Dickey, Gehrig's best friend and teammate, said, "I knew there was something seriously wrong with him. I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was serious."

On the Fourth of July, an appreciation day was held for Gehrig (who had retired after the diagnosis) at Yankee Stadium. It was on that occasion that he said he was the "luckiest man on the face of the earth."

It came out later that sometimes Gehrig kept the streak going because he made a pinch–hitting appearance or through sheer luck (when an off day happened to coincide with an illness or an injury); other times he played when he probably shouldn't have.

On one occasion, he was hit in the head by a pitch but remained in the game. He was hit in the head on another occasion and was knocked unconscious for five minutes. He left the game but played the next day.

Yet another time, Gehrig was having problems with his back. He singled and was replaced by a pinch runner so he could rest his back.

Moreover, X–rays revealed that he had suffered several fractures during his playing days, but, in his stoic way, he played through the pain.

It probably seemed to most that Gehrig's streak would never be equaled — but Cal Ripken Jr. finally matched Gehrig in September 1995. Ripken played 500 more games before retiring in 1998; his record of 2,632 consecutive games played really might never be matched.

Well, probably not in my lifetime.

Prince Fielder of the Texas Rangers has the closest active streak, and the 29–year–old would need to play every game for the next 13 years to pass Ripken.

George Brett and the Pine Tar Incident

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Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett turned 60 earlier this year.

That's kind of hard for me to wrap my mind around. I remember watching him play ball when I was a kid.

Well, we're all older now.

But I mention Brett's age because when he was exactly half his current age — 30 years ago today — he was involved in perhaps the most notorious incident of his time.

They called it the "pine tar incident" then, and I presume they still do today.

Brett's original major–league team, the Kansas City Royals, was playing the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium on that day. Brett started playing in the major leagues in 1973. A decade later, the Royals and Yankees had met in the American League Championship Series four times, and they had kind of developed an animosity toward each other.

Now, I say that knowing that just about every team in baseball loathes the Yankees. They've won more championships than any other team — by far. The Royals were no different than any other team in baseball, but, since they didn't exist until 1969, they were just a little later to the party than the others.

Anyway, as I was saying, the teams were playing each other on this day in 1983. The Royals trailed by a single run with two outs in the top of the ninth, and Brett came to the plate. Hall of Fame reliever Goose Gossage was on the mound. Gossage delivered the pitch, Brett connected and the ball sailed over the fence. Home run. Two runs scored. Royals led, 5–4.

But when Brett crossed the plate with the apparent go–ahead run, Yankee manager Billy Martin left the New York dugout and walked up to the home plate umpire. Martin said he wanted Brett's bat examined. He had observed what he thought was an excessive amount of pine tar on the bat.

Now, at this point, it is probably useful to explain the relevance of pine tar in baseball. Pine tar is a sticky material that has several applications, one of which is to make a baseball bat easier for a player to grip and helps keep a bat from slipping out of a player's hands when he swings.

According to the rules of major league baseball, players may only apply pine tar from the handle of the bat up 18 inches. Martin believed the pine tar on Brett's bat exceeded the 18–inch restriction.

Actually, players are allowed to use any substance or material to improve the grip as long as it does not exceed 18 inches. If it exceeds 18 inches, the rules call for the bat to be removed from play. If a player made a hit with such a bat, it was termed at the time an "illegally hit ball" — resulting in an out.

So, the home plate umpire and the rest of the umpiring crew gathered at home plate to examine Brett's bat — with Brett and the rest of the Royals watching from their dugout. Apparently unable to make an eyeball assessment, the umpires measured the pine tar on the bat against the width of home plate, which is 17 inches, and they determined that Martin was right.

Brett was ruled out, giving the Yankees the victory.

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Infuriated by the ruling, Brett ran from the dugout and vigorously objected. He had to be restrained by his manager and teammates, but his protest made no difference. The ruling stood.

(Memorably, a commentator on the scene said that Brett was the first player in history to hit a "game–losing home run.")

The Royals challenged the ruling, and American League President Lee MacPhail overruled it, awarding the victory to the Royals. He explained that the "spirit" of the rule had nothing to do with an unfair advantage for one player or team over another. Rather, it was based on economics. Pine tar that is any higher than 18 inches on a bat runs the risk of smearing the ball and rendering it unfit for use in a game. Home teams are required to provide the balls for games, and that would raise the home team's expenses.

MacPhail believed Brett had not violated the spirit of the rule and that the ball had not come in contact with the pine tar. He decided that the game should be resumed with the Royals leading, 5–4, and Brett was not to play. He was ejected for arguing with the umpire.

So the game was resumed nearly a month later on a scheduled off–day for both squads. Brett, his manager and two of his teammates were ejected per MacPhail's decision. There were additional maneuvers by the Yankees, made necessary by various things that had happened since the July 24 encounter (one of the Yankee players who was in the lineup that day was injured and another had been traded) but, in the end, Kansas City reliever Dan Quisenberry retired the side, and the Royals won the game.

And the pine tar incident took its place in baseball's history.

Fenway's Centennial

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I've been to Boston a few times in my life, and I've seen the historic sights that there are to see there, but I've never been to Fenway Park, the home of the Red Sox.

It's long been a fantasy of mine to go there — and to some of the other classic ballparks in America. A friend of mine and I used to talk about going on such a road trip — the way guys often do — and, to a certain extent, I think we were both serious about it.

But, on a more realistic level, I think we both realized it was just a fantasy, nothing more. Certainly nothing that we were ever likely to do.

The prospect became more remote as many of those historic, classic ballparks — Tiger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Comiskey Park — disappeared. (I went to the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis several times when I was younger, but it has been replaced in recent years, and I went to the Astrodome in Houston when I was about 10 years old — but the 'Dome hardly qualifies as a classic ballpark.)

Fenway is the oldest active major league ballpark, and today is the 100th anniversary of its opening.

It's hard to imagine a Red Sox great who never played in Fenway. Babe Ruth pitched there. Tris Speaker roamed its outfield, as did Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski.

After I had graduated from college and went to work on sports copy desks for daily newspapers, Wade Boggs was a regular at third base for the Sox, and Roger Clemens set all kinds of records on the mound.

Talk about a field of dreams.

I, for one, will never forget watching Carlton Fisk wave his game–winning homer into fair territory against Cincinnati in the 1975 World Series.

(Not that the folks who put together the postseason highlight reels would ever let me forget it.)

The "Green Monster" is a fixture in left field, one of many quirks in an old ballpark where, apparently, amenities have always been rather sparse for spectators.

"It's not easy to find in the labyrinth Boston calls a city plan," writes Stephen Cannella in Sports Illustrated. "If you manage to get there by car, it's nearly impossible to park."

And that's just outside the ballpark.

I gather it's always been a kind of Joe–Friday–just–the–facts–ma'am sort of place.

"The Red Sox didn't even hold an opening ceremony ... until May 17," writes Cannella. "The implicit message from the new Fenway to its fans: This is a baseball park. You are here to watch baseball."

They still come to Fenway to watch baseball — which isn't such a bad thing at a time when so many entertainment venues seek to be all things to all people simultaneously — and they'll be celebrating this centennial in Boston all year.

For the rest of 2012, the ballpark and the ball club will have to share the billing.

But today, everyone's attention is, as it should be, on Fenway and its connection to the history of the city and the sport.

There is a game being played at Fenway this afternoon, and it's appropriate that Boston's longtime rivals, the New York Yankees, are in town this weekend.

I have no evidence to support this, but I have to think the scheduling was by design.

Even if it wasn't, even if the opponent had been scheduled completely at random and the Sox were playing the most unexciting, nondescript franchise in the league (and, based on the 2011 standings, I suppose that would be the Twins or the Mariners — or, if the schedule makers wanted to keep it in Boston's division, the Orioles), this would still be a special day in Boston.

But the fact that the foe at Fenway today will be New York makes it that much more special.

Happy birthday, Fenway — and many, many more.

An Unlikely Home Run King

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It was 50 years ago today that Roger Maris broke what may have been the most cherished record in baseball at that time — Babe Ruth's single–season home run record.

I found myself thinking about that a lot this summer — not because I remember the achievement (it happened before my time) but mostly, I guess, because the brutal heat brought back memories of the sweltering summer of 1998, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa waged an epic duel to see who would surpass Maris.

It was the first such duel since that summer of '61, when Maris and his much more popular teammate, Mickey Mantle, tried to be the one who would surpass the Babe. Injury sidelined Mantle for a time, giving Maris the opportunity to challenge the Sultan of Swat by himself.

Of the two, I guess, Mantle was the one who was always the most likely to challenge the Babe's status in the single–season record book. He was always more popular with Yankee fans than Maris, and his numbers always suggested that it was possible that he could challenge that record.

His numbers have held up, too. Even now, more than 40 years after he retired and more than 15 after he died, Mantle is 16th on the all–time home run list.

So perhaps that injury could be seen as something of a fluke, an intervention of some kind — except for the fact that Mantle was plagued with injuries most of his career. That's often the topic of speculation among baseball experts. How great could Mantle have been, they have wondered, if he hadn't been injured so often?

Maris' career numbers, on the other hand, have to be regarded as somewhat ordinary. If you exclude the 1961 season, Maris averaged about 20 home runs a year. I guess the 1960 season — when Maris hit a then–career best 39 home runs — that even greater things might be in store the next year ...

Except that Mantle hit 40 home runs to lead the American League in 1960. I guess the only thing one could conclude from that would be that Maris and Mantle might have been poised for some kind of spirited battle between the two of them in 1961 — but threats to the Babe? Come on.

Until this summer, the summer of 1998 was the second—hottest on record in many places — second only to the legendary summer of 1980 — but a lot of baseball fans may not have noticed unless they went to the games.

And there is no doubt that many did go to games that summer — certainly, they came out to watch the games in St. Louis and Chicago.

In the end, both McGwire and Sosa shattered Maris' mark that had stood for nearly 40 years. And, a few years later, Barry Bonds broke that record as well.

All available evidence suggests, however, that steroids played a key role in those achievements. If not for those performance–enhancing substances, what Maris did 50 years ago today might still be the record — but it wouldn't be carrying that asterisk with it.

Ah, yes, the asterisk.

When folks refer to it on a telephone's keypad, they often call it a "star" — because it kinda looks like one.

I don't usually correct people when they call it a "star" just as I don't correct people when they say "oh" when they really mean "zero" or if they call a hyphen a dash (although I do think it because, well, I spent many years working on newspaper copy desks, and I have been teaching developmental writing at the local community college for more than a year now so I suppose I am conditioned to think of these things even if I don't verbalize them).

But it isn't really a star — and the way it was planned to be used in 1961, it couldn't have made Maris feel like one, either.

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The asterisk concept was intended to permit the Babe's record to remain in the record books even though it had been broken.

I say "concept" because, apparently, it is something of an urban legend that an asterisk was used. What happened was this:

The sports establishment of the time was still very protective of Babe Ruth in 1961, and the commissioner announced midway through the season that, unless someone hit 61 home runs within 154 games, as Ruth had, his mark would remain in the record books for a 154–game season, and the new record would be designated as having been achieved since the 162–game seasons began.

Maris failed to match Ruth's record — let alone surpass it — in 154 games, but, on the last day of the season — 50 years ago today — he hit his 61st home run, igniting a debate that continues in some circles. No asterisk was used, but Ruth's mark remained in the record books as the record for a 154–game season.

Several years after Maris hit 61 homers, baseball's commissioner concluded that a season is a season, however many games are played, and Maris' mark was the only true record. That should have been the end of it.

When Ruth hit 60 home runs back in the Roaring '20s, as I say, major league baseball seasons were 154 games. When Maris played in the 1960s, a season was 162 games. The story was dramatized in a made–for–TV movie on HBO 10 years ago. Billy Crystal, a lifelong New York Yankees fan, directed it and was, by nearly all accounts, faithful to the facts.

But the asterisk was in the title — helping to perpetuate the myth.

I'm sure that wasn't Crystal's intention. But it was effective at reminding people of the mild controversy that was sparked by that pursuit of the record.

I guess it wasn't so mild from Maris' point of view. He received hate mail and death threats. I've heard that he was under so much stress in 1961 that his hair literally began to fall out of his head — and I've also heard that the stress hastened his death at the age of 51 (although I have considerable doubts about that).

He was an unlikely home run king who claimed his crown on this day.

Field of Dreams

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Baseball fans in these parts have been dreaming for a long time.

The local major league baseball team, the Texas Rangers, began its existence as the Washington Senators in 1961. Following the 1971 season, the team relocated to north Texas and has gone under the name of the Texas Rangers since 1972.

It took the Rangers nearly a quarter of century even to get into the postseason — and they only recently tasted victory in the playoffs for the first time — but, although most of the early Rangers teams weren't very impressive, loyal baseball fans still sang the official team song before each home game and after the team's triumphs between 1975 and 1980 ...

... And dreamed of scaling baseball's heights.

Those long–suffering fans are entitled to savor the Rangers' American League championship, writes Richard Justice in the Houston Chronicle. It's been a "long, odd, agonizing trip," he says, "and because it has taken 39 years, because the Texas Rangers have had a view of the bottom of the baseball world for so long, this moment is that much more special."

This morning, the Rangers are closer than they have ever been to proclaiming themselves kings of the baseball world. Believe it or not. And even I have to pinch myself at times to remind myself that — wait for it — the World Series really is coming here.

We already knew that the Super Bowl will be played here next February. They determine those things years ahead of time. But there was no way — until last night — that anyone could have known that the World Series would be played here just a few months before.

America's two greatest professional sports championships will be played here in north Texas within four months of each other. How incredible is that?

As Jon Paul Morosi writes for Fox Sports, the Rangers' series with the New York Yankees was pretty one–sided. With the exception of a single late–game meltdown, the Rangers simply overwhelmed New York.

Surprisingly, it never really was close.

Evan Grant writes, in the Dallas Morning News, that the Rangers need an icon that is worthy of their never–say–die resilience.

"All things locally are now officially possible," writes Randy Galloway in the Fort Worth Star–Telegram, "even logical."

And, after the Rangers disposed of the two best teams in the American League, who's to say they won't be able to toss aside either the Giants or the Phillies like rag dolls in the World Series?

I guess, to a certain extent, the Rangers have a lot of folks in this city dreaming this morning. Even me. And I'm not even that much of a baseball fan anymore. I used to be — and I still pull for the team I have always pulled for, the Los Angeles Dodgers, even though I've never lived less than two time zones from L.A. — but it's been more than 10 years since I attended a game.

Anyway, I stand corrected. I was skeptical about their chances against the Yankees, and they proved me wrong.

As Galloway said, all things now seem possible. Perhaps we'll have a World Series parade in Dallas in early November.

North Texas is an area that is hungry beyond words for a champion. It's been more than a decade (and, pardner, that's a long time by Dallas standards) since a champion in any professional sport was crowned around here — and that was in, of all things, hockey!

The basketball team did play in its championship series a few years ago but fell flat.

And the football team hasn't lived up to local preseason expectations for 15 years.

(That's a lifetime for you and me.)

Now, the Rangers can erase — at least, temporarily — the disappointments and the frustrations that have been shouldered by sports fans in this city for years.

I think it is safe to say that, if this city must wait another 39 years for a World Series to come to Arlington, most of us will not be around to see it.

So, for those of us who live here, this is probably our chance.

But this is their moment.

Both the Giants and the Phillies have had their opportunities to win it all in my memory. But not the Rangers. Never before.

My father always encouraged me to root for the underdog. He grew up in Dallas, but he wasn't a product of years of pulling for the woeful Rangers. He'd been away from the Metroplex for many years before the Rangers came to town.

I don't know if the Rangers will be the favorites or the underdogs in this World Series.

And I've been a National League partisan most of my life.

But I'll pull for the Rangers in this World Series.

Rangers Take National Stage

Tonight is a remarkable night in the history of baseball in north Texas.

Tonight, a league championship series begins in Arlington for the first time ever. I know there were many — myself included — who thought this day would never come.

And I have been to a Rangers game that was played in what was probably as close to a World Series atmosphere as anything anyone in these parts could imagine.

In late April 1989, a co–worker and I got tickets and went to Arlington to see the Rangers play the Boston Red Sox. Nolan Ryan had just signed with the Rangers, and we had calculated, based on the pitching rotations, when Ryan and Roger Clemens were likely to face each other, and we got tickets about 10 days ahead of time.

It was a gamble, of course. Either team could have been rained out once or twice, and that could have altered their pitching rotations. But nothing like that happened, and Ryan and Clemens faced off on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon before what seemed to be a capacity crowd.

The game was a pitchers' duel. As I recall, the Red Sox took a 2–1 lead early in the game, and it remained that way until the bottom of the ninth, when Rafael Palmeiro belted a two–run homer, and the Rangers won, 3–2.

Ryan, who was 42 at the time, pitched into the eighth. I didn't find out until I was in the car on my way home that he had been having back spasms since the second inning. But he kept pitching — and kept shutting out the Red Sox — until the Rangers could scratch out the runs they needed to take the lead.

The 2010 Rangers may need that kind of endurance. They had to go the distance in a best–of–five series with Tampa just to get this far, and, fittingly, the team that has won more World Series than any other, the New York Yankees, stands between the Rangers and their debut in the Fall Classic.

Many of my friends in these parts are adjusting their schedules so they can watch the Rangers in the World Series. A couple of days ago, I heard on a local radio station that folks were already camping out at the Ballpark so they can be assured of getting World Series tickets when they go on sale on Sunday. I hope they can get a refund if the Yankees turn out to be the American League's representatives.

Because one thing is for sure — nothing will be certain about the World Series by this Sunday. Yet there are people who will sleep in pup tents and sleeping bags outside a ballpark for four or five nights just to get tickets for what may be a once–in–a–lifetime event.

That's a tribute to Ryan, who is part–owner and team president now. His journey in baseball has seemed, at times, wildly improbable.

Early in his career, he was a relief pitcher for the Amazin' Mets of 1969. Many observers may have written him off in the 1970s, when he labored for a mostly weak California Angels franchise, but he wound up taking them to the playoffs in his final season with them and putting them on the road to continued baseball success. After that, he returned to his native state and played for the Houston Astros for most of the 1980s, helping them to their first playoff series. He concluded his playing career with five seasons in Texas.

There is great anticipation here — where baseball may belatedly join the other major team sports (football, basketball, hockey) that have played for championships. In a sense, the Rangers already have joined that group (or, at least, they will when the first pitch is thrown in Arlington tonight) in this series that will decide the AL champion.

But I speak of overall championships, and, in baseball, those are only won in the World Series. The Rangers must get past the Yankees before they can play Philadelphia or San Francisco for all the marbles.

In a year when the Cowboys, Stars and Mavericks have all been disappointments locally, the Rangers have been bringing back some of that Texas swagger.

"Bring on the Evil Empire," writes Jeff Wilson in the Fort Worth Star–Telegram.

Well, I hope folks enjoy it while they can because I think that expecting to deprive the Yankees of a World Series appearance in the same year that George Steinbrenner died is asking a bit much of the baseball gods.

The Rangers have been playing ball here in north Texas for nearly 40 years. Who knows when they will see fit to send another league championship series this way?

Joltin' Joe

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Sixty–nine years ago today, Joe DiMaggio hit safely in his 56th consecutive game.

In the long history of baseball, no one else ever hit safely in 50 straight games, let alone 56, and darn few (five others, in fact) hit safely in 40 games in a row or more.

It seems like a record that may stand indefinitely — and it's ironic that this anniversary comes just a couple of days after the death of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. But if it hadn't been for DiMaggio, the record for the longest hitting streak would never belong to the Yankees. No matter how talented they were, no Yankee before or since DiMaggio's day — not Babe Ruth, not Lou Gehrig, not Mickey Mantle or Don Mattingly or Derek Jeter or A–Rod — ever had a streak of 30 straight games or more.

Streaks of that length are pretty rare, and longer streaks are even more uncommon. Only one, in fact — Pete Rose's 44–game hitting streak in 1978 — has occurred in my lifetime.

There have been some other pretty impressive streaks. Paul Molitor of the Milwaukee Brewers, for example, hit safely in 39 straight games in 1987. That year, incidentally, Robin Ventura hit safely in 58 games. But Ventura, who played for four different major league teams in his professional career, wasn't playing professional ball in 1987. He was playing for Oklahoma State University.

DiMaggio's streak has, justifiably, become the stuff of legend in nearly seven decades. One wonders if anyone will ever scale that mountain again.

George Steinbrenner Dies

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I'm not a New York Yankees fan. Never have been.

But, while longtime Yankees fans may disagree with me, it seems to me that the last couple of days have been among the most extraordinary in the long and colorful history of the storied franchise.

First, over the weekend, retired announcer Bob Sheppard, known as the "Voice of the Yankees" and often referred to as the "voice of God," died at the age of 99.

Then, today, George Steinbrenner, who owned the Yankees for more than 35 years, died following a massive heart attack. He was 80.

Ironically, today is the day when major league baseball's all–star game will be played. Other than the World Series — which Steinbrenner's Yankees won last fall — perhaps no other time (other than Opening Day) is as meaningful to baseball fans.

The game isn't being played in New York, but wouldn't it be ideal if it was, today of all days? It seems all but certain that, when the festivities begin tonight, at some point the folks in the ballpark will be asked to observe a moment of silence in Steinbrenner's memory.

Silence. What a concept to be mentioned in connection with a man who may have been the most bombastic sports team owner in memory.

But he did get results — 11 American League pennants and seven world titles. Not bad when you realize that, when Steinbrenner took over the team in 1973, the Yankees hadn't won an American League crown in nearly a decade.

Still, his often–brash personality was fodder for the late–night guys and for those who were eager to make a few bucks on his somewhat salty reputation.

He hired (and fired) former Yankee player Billy Martin to manage the team on several occasions. Martin took the Yankees to a world championship in 1977, but his frequent undoing as their manager may have been his volatile nature.

The Miller Brewing Co. got a lot of mileage out of their relationship in the 1970s and 1980s — and the "Less filling! Tastes great!" debates seemed tailor–made for Steinbrenner and Martin. There were several of them over the years. My favorite was always the ad where Steinbrenner and Martin argue, as they do in the attached clip, and then Steinbrenner says, sternly, "Billy! You're fired!"

And Martin replies, "Oh, no! Not again!"

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Even though Steinbrenner hadn't been particularly active in the Yankees' day–to–day business in recent years, he always seemed like a constant presence.

And, in truth, it may be difficult now to realize that he's gone. Not just because his public appearances were so rare in recent years but also because his sons Hal and Hank have been running things since he mostly stepped aside in 2006. I've heard that the two, especially Hank, have demonstrated qualities that are reminiscent of their father.

So it may seem, in a way, that Steinbrenner isn't really gone. Yep, it may seem that way. For awhile.

But he is gone. And he will gradually recede into Yankee lore, along with the great players who have come and gone.

But there may yet be another opportunity for the Yankees to honor their one–of–a–kind owner.

If the Yankees return to the playoffs this fall — and, given the fact that they currently lead their division (which is significant, even though New York's lead is a mere two games, because, as Tom Verducci observes in Sports Illustrated, teams that lead their divisions at the All–Star break have proceeded to the playoffs nearly three–quarters of the time in the 14 years since the introduction of the wild card into the playoff lineup, and the leader of the AL East has been even more automatic than that), it seems all but certain that they will — I am sure we will hear Yankee coaches and players speak of how they have dedicated the postseason to the Boss' memory.

The crowds at the home games will be worked up into a frenzy. And if the Yankees win what would be the 28th World Series title in their history, it will be an emotional moment for fans and players alike — not to mention Hank and Hal, who would certainly be on hand.

Such drama would clearly be worthy of Steinbrenner. But we will have to wait until October to see if it comes to pass.

In the meantime, tonight's tribute should be worth watching.

An era in American sports truly has ended.

Remembering Billy Martin

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In a way, I guess it is appropriate that the New York Yankees won the World Series this year.

It was on this day in 1989 that Billy Martin, a second baseman for the Yankees from 1950–57 and later a five–time manager of the Yankees, died in a one–vehicle accident near his farm in Fenton, N.Y. And, in the two years ending in a "9" since then, the Yankees have won the World Series.

Martin, who was 61 at the time of his fatal accident, was known to have an addiction to alcohol, and he and the driver of the pickup in which he was riding had been drinking heavily that Christmas Day. It was suggested, by sports journalist Peter Golenbock, that Martin had been the actual driver of the truck, but Martin's widow and his drinking buddy attempted to cover up his complicity. The autopsy concluded that Martin had been a passenger and that he hadn't been wearing his seatbelt.

It is said that, at the time of his death, Martin was preparing for yet another stint as Yankees manager. Supposedly, he had even gone so far as to assemble a coaching staff. But it was not to be.

It would have been wildly entertaining to see Martin back in the dugout, I'm sure.

Martin played big–league baseball from 1950 to 1961 — most of that time (1950–57), he played for the Yankees. He was a teammate of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. During that time, he was a member of four World Series–winning teams.

He was the manager of five teams between 1969 and 1988 (he didn't manage in 1984, 1986 or 1987) — and most of those seasons (1975–78, 1979, 1983, 1985 and 1988), he managed the Yankees. Reggie Jackson was one of his players. He won another World Series (in 1977) in that role.

He was talented, but he was volatile, and his drinking problem only exacerbated the situation. He got into fights as a player. He got thrown out of ball games as a manager. His frequent firings by Yankee owner George Steinbrenner became the subject of jokes in the 1970s and 1980s.

One can only wonder if he had mellowed enough, at the age of 61, to last more than a season as the Yankees' skipper.

I always felt a couple of statements summed up Martin quite nicely:

• A few years before Martin's death, I remember reading "Bill James' Baseball Abstract," and James speculated about what each team's manager might be doing, presumably based on his education or experience or general personality, if baseball did not exist. The answer for Martin was "10 to 20."


• The other was a comment from Martin himself that is chiseled in his grave marker: "I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I was the proudest."

Well, as a wise man once said, "Temper gets you into trouble. Pride keeps you there." Billy Martin was well acquainted with both.

The Bookend Champions

It seems appropriate, in a way, that the first decade of the 21st century should begin and end with the New York Yankees winning the World Series.

With the exception of the 1980s, the Yankees had world champions in every decade of the 20th century since winning their first title in 1923.

Beyond that, I see no special significance in the Yankees' victory. Even though the Phillies were the defending world champions and they won the series opener behind the brilliant pitching of Cliff Lee, you didn't need to be psychic to see the Yankees — the only major league club to win 100 games or more this year — emerging with the trophy.

They've won the championship 27 times, which is nearly three times as many as their nearest competitors, the National League's St. Louis Cardinals.

In hindsight, it seems only appropriate that the Yankees should win the title in their inaugural season in the new Yankee Stadium. They won their first title the year they began playing in the original Yankee Stadium, so why should things be any different with Yankee Stadium 2.0?

As Mike Lupica writes in the New York Daily News, the title seems at home there.

I don't know if, as many are suggesting, this was one of the great Yankee teams of all time. It's hard to make that assertion, when the past is dotted with names like Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio and Mantle. But even if the Yankees did not field a lineup of immortals (and who's to say, at this point, that they did not?), that takes nothing away from what they achieved.

I'm sure there is great pain among Philadelphia baseball fans today. The city waited nearly 60 years to avenge the Whiz Kids' loss to New York in 1950, but the Phillies only got halfway there. Well, at least this time they won a couple of World Series games. The Whiz Kids lost a four–game sweep. Maybe the third time will be the charm for Philly, but if it takes as long for that rematch to materialize as this one did, fans who remember the Whiz Kids and lived to see the rematch will be long gone. For that matter, many of the fans who watched this series but weren't alive in 1950 will be gone as well.

More than most sports, it seems, baseball is a tough sport in which to repeat. The team the Phillies beat in last year's World Series, for example, the Tampa Bay Rays, did not qualify for this year's playoffs. And you don't have to go back too far to find other examples of teams that thought they would be back in the playoffs the next year but wound up slipping from the postseason radar.

Phillies fans should be grateful that their team had the opportunity to defend its title. Even if the Phils fell short of their goal, they enjoyed an opportunity that baseball teams don't get very often.

Unless you're the Yankees.

There's No Crying in Baseball

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New York Yankees fans hoped to be celebrating the franchise's 27th world championship today, but the Philadelphia Phillies won Game 5 last night, and now the teams are returning to New York for Game 6 and, if the Phillies win again on Wednesday night, Game 7.

Tyler Kepner tried to put the best possible face on the situation in the New York Times:

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"Fans would like to believe that players can will themselves to greatness, particularly those infused with that most intangible quality: grit. There is no way to measure grit, but we know it when we see it, or at least we think we do.

"Jimmy Rollins is gritty. So are Jorge Posada and Shane Victorino and Brett Gardner. And so, of course, is Andy Pettitte, the Yankees' first choice to start Game 6 of the World Series on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.

"Sometimes the grittiest players, the ones renowned for playing the right way and coming through at big moments, do not deliver. Derek Jeter came up as the potential tying run in the ninth inning of Game 5 on Monday, with a moonlighting closer, Ryan Madson, teetering on disaster for the Philadelphia Phillies. Madson threw a sinking fastball, and Jeter grounded into a double play."

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It looked pretty good for the Yankees when they had reeled off three straight wins after losing the opener.

And, admittedly, the Phils have their work cut out for them. They still have to win two games in enemy territory. And they'll have to continue this improbable march to the title by overcoming Andy Pettitte Wednesday night.

But Pettitte, although victorious in Game 3, struggled against the Phillies the first time. Now forced to pitch on three days' rest for New York, Pettitte's season "seemed to reach the point of exhaustion Saturday," as Kepner observed. It remains to be seen whether he can summon what is necessary to throttle the Phillies — and Pettitte, who has won 17 of 26 postseason decisions, said his first encounter with the Phillies was an "absolute grind."

If he doesn't stop the Phillies, that will mean a Game 7. New York still will present a formidable obstacle on the mound in C.C. Sabathia, but he, too, will be working on three days' rest. What happens will dictate the terms of the debate that seems likely to be waged during the offseason.

In my experience, anything can happen in a best–of–seven series that reaches the seventh game. At that point, Yankee fans may be second–guessing everything after coming within one win of claiming that championship only to lose the next two games, and the Yankee Stadium crowd may be more subdued for Game 7 than it will be tomorrow night.

By that time, too, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel may be praised for sticking with his pitching rotation in spite of the pressure that comes with some tough setbacks in a short playoff series.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. First thing's first. That means tomorrow night's game.

Whatever happens, both teams are to be commended for a scrappy series. But, win or lose, I would implore their fans to remember ...

There's no crying in baseball.

Revenge Is Sweet After 59 Years

It's still a bit early for fans of the Philadelphia Phillies to be claiming that the Phils have avenged the Whiz Kids' loss to the New York Yankees in the 1950 World Series.

But, between Cliff Lee's heroics on the mound and Chase Utley's heroics at the plate, the Phillies rolled to a 6–1 victory over the Yankees in the World Series opener in New York last night. And that's a good start.

I'm sure it was sweet for the Phillies to celebrate their first world title in nearly 30 years last year. But they beat the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that didn't even exist the last time Philadelphia played in the World Series. Beating the storied Yankees would be a much bigger feather in their caps.

Knowing that they can clinch the championship at home now after the teams play Game 2 at Yankee Stadium tonight, Phillies fans ought to be feeling pretty good today. A Philly win tonight means the Phils can win the title by winning two of their three home games. Even if they lose tonight, a sweep in Philadelphia will accomplish the same goal.

Home field advantage belongs to Philly now. That's the kind of momentum a team gains from winning the World Series opener on the road. A win tonight would be icing on the cake — but it would be hard for the Yankees to ignore that it is also the kind of momentum that is tough to overcome in a seven–game series. Not impossible. Just damn hard.

Joe Posnanski marvels, in a column written for SI.com, at Lee's composure. Lee performed, he writes, "like he had already seen the game and knew how it turned out. He pitched like he was on Tivo."

I have to admit I feel a certain affinity for Lee. He was born in Arkansas, the state where I grew up. His hometown is Benton, where I worked for the local newspaper when Lee was a boy. He attended my alma mater, the University of Arkansas.

I'm happy for him, as I am when anyone from my home state succeeds in his chosen field. I felt the same way when Kris Allen won the "American Idol" competition last spring.

I don't really have a horse in this race. I'm a Dodger fan and, if I had had my way, the Dodgers would be playing the Yankees in the World Series, not the Phillies. But that isn't how it turned out.

Will the Phillies wind up winning the long–awaited rematch? Or will the Yankees rally and break Philadelphia's hearts again? I don't know. But, while I'm sure Phillies fans would prefer a four–game sweep — as payment in kind for the 1950 World Series — I'd rather see it go seven games, no matter which team wins.

That might be tougher for the diehard fans of both teams, but it would be more entertaining for the rest of us.

The Return of the Whiz Kids

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Fifty–nine years is a long time to wait for revenge, but baseball fans in Philadelphia have had to wait that long for a chance to even the score with the New York Yankees.

It was in 1950 that the Phillies, known as the "Whiz Kids," were swept by the Yankees in the World Series. That was the only time the two teams met with the world championship on the line.

They meet again in the Fall Classic starting Wednesday in New York.

The Phillies earned their nickname because of the youth of their squad. The average age of the Phillies was 26. They were the youngest team ever to win the National League pennant.

I don't know how the average age of this year's team compares to the 1950 team. But does it matter? The lesson of the Whiz Kids seems to be that age and experience are not bad things.

Not many of the Whiz Kids are still around, but I presume that the surviving members — pitchers Robin Roberts, Curt Simmons and Bob Miller, catcher Stan Lopata and outfielder Jackie Mayo — will be invited to at least one of the games in Philadelphia.

All are in their 80s, though, and health concerns may prevent some or all of them from being there.

But 59 years is a long time to wait for redemption — and those guys might not get another chance.

The Journey of 1,000 Miles ...

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... begins with a single step.

Well, that's what they say.

For Lou Gehrig, the journey that resulted in his streak of 2,130 consecutive games played began on this day in 1925.

On that day, Gehrig actually replaced the New York Yankees' shortstop, "Pee Wee" Wanninger, but the next day, he was put in at first base in place of Wally Pipp, the regular first baseman who was going through a hitting slump.

(Ironically, Gehrig died almost 16 years to the day after his streak began — on June 2, 1941.)

Today, Pipp's name is rarely mentioned — except whenever a nondescript athlete in any sport is removed from the lineup and his replacement accomplishes something noteworthy.

From that day in 1925 until Gehrig voluntarily removed himself from the lineup in 1939, he was a virtual fixture at first base. His record stood until September 1995, when Baltimore's Cal Ripken Jr. exceeded it, ultimately concluding his career with 2,632 consecutive games played.

I've never been a Yankee fan, but I would have to say that Gehrig is probably my all–time favorite baseball player — not just because of his ballplaying career (although it was certainly illustrious — besides his legendary games played streak, Gehrig had a .340 lifetime batting average, 493 home runs and nearly 2,000 RBIs) but also because of the way he carried himself after being diagnosed with the disease that took his life and today bears his name (informally).

He truly was, as the title of his movie biography suggested, the pride of the Yankees.

'Pay-Rod' Paying the Price

Here in Texas, when Alex Rodriguez signed his mega-million-dollar contract to play for the Texas Rangers, his nickname of "A-Rod" was immediately transformed to "Pay-Rod."

These days, he plays third base for the New York Yankees, but, earlier in his career, he was a shortstop. Shortstops are notorious for being weak hitters — typically — but Rodriguez is 12th on the all-time home run list with 553.

If he hits 47 more, he will join a very exclusive club — only half a dozen major league baseball players have hit as many as 600 home runs in their careers and, unless Rodriguez spends a lot of time on the disabled list (or is otherwise unable to play), he will easily be the youngest to achieve it. Babe Ruth was 36 when he hit his 600th home run; Rodriguez is only 33.

There may be some doubt, however, about his future in major league baseball.

Selena Roberts and David Epstein write in Sports Illustrated that Rodriguez tested positive for two steroids (testosterone and Primobolan) in 2003, when, as a shortstop for the Rangers, he won the American League home run crown and the AL Most Valuable Player award.

Kevin Kaduk writes, in "Big League Stew" for Yahoo!, that, if the report is true, it will be devastating.

I don't know if I would go that far. Some of the recent revelations about steroid use in baseball truly were devastating. I have the feeling that baseball fans are becoming accustomed to it, and some may have suspected that Rodriguez had been guilty of using steroids in the past.

Rodriguez faces no penalty or legal action because "the survey testing that took place in 2003 was intended to be non-disciplinary." It was also intended to be anonymous, so major league baseball is making no comment on the report. In 2003, there was no penalty or punishment for a positive test.

However, at the very least, the allegations will be a distracting cloud that follows Rodriguez through the 2009 season and, in all likelihood, beyond.

There may be some logical explanations about testosterone — it is available by prescription for some uses. Primobolan, however, has no approved prescription use — but it is regarded as a "weak steroid" and is typically used with other steroids.

If such an explanation exists, Rodriguez is not required to disclose it unless he decides to do so on his own. But such an explanation may be regarded with suspicion today. As Pete Gaines points out in Deadspin, Rodriguez flatly denied ever taking steroids in a 2007 interview with Katie Couric.

New York is clearly not the place where a professional athlete wants to play with this kind of controversy swirling around him. Joel Sherman writes, in the New York Post, that the Yankees must regret signing him to a new 10-year, $275 million contract in 2007, with a clause that would pay him an additional $30 million if he breaks Barry Bonds' all-time career home run mark — less than two months after he opted out of the last three years of his old contract.

There is bound to be more reaction from New York. It is a city that takes baseball very seriously. Rodriguez was expected to add to the Yankees' extensive list of World Series championships — but New York hasn't even won an American League pennant since Rodriguez has been on the roster.

An Era Truly Comes to an End

The phrase "the end of an era" frequently seems to be tossed around as casually as any.

But, with the passing yesterday of Billy Werber, one can truly say that an era has come to an end.

Werber was a major league baseball player. His wasn't a household name, but he was the last surviving teammate of the legendary Babe Ruth — who, until I was a teenager, was the undisputed king of home runs. And, even in the 35 years since Ruth's career mark was surpassed by Hank Aaron, only one other baseball player has hit more home runs. And that baseball player's mark will always be regarded with suspicion because of the widespread belief that steroids played a role in achieving it.

Werber was a third baseman who played with Ruth for the New York Yankees, although he wasn't a member of the famous Yankees team of 1927 that is known to history as "Murderers' Row." Werber broke into the majors in 1930, but he only played in four games before being sent back to the minors. He was called up to the majors again in 1933, but, by that time, Ruth had left New York.

Werber also played for the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Athletics, the Cincinnati Reds, and the New York Giants before making his final major league appearance in September 1942.

His name might not be well known, but Werber enjoyed some success in his baseball career. Some of his career marks — his batting average, for example — are unremarkable, but he led the American League in stolen bases three times. As a member of the Reds, he was on two National League pennant winners and one World Series champion. As a result, he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1961.

Also, during his time in Cincinnati, Werber became the first player to bat in a televised baseball game in 1939.

Ironically, in his last years, Werber apparently did not watch baseball on TV, at least in part because he didn't like the long hair and beard worn by Johnny Damon. "I don't like the appearance of a lot of the players," he told an interviewer for MSNBC last year. "The hair's too long. Their beards are too evident. They're a grubby-looking bunch of caterwaulers."

He was 100 years old when he died yesterday, acknowledged as the oldest living baseball player. Now, that title belongs to 99-year-old Tony Malinosky, who played in 35 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937.