Stealing Fame

Ricky Henderson is in the Hall of Fame.

You may not like the man Ricky Henderson, but how anyone could not like the "Baseball Incredibleness" that is Ricky Henderson. He's not just first in Stolen Bases, he stole the record and buried it.

To break the record, Ricky even did it in Ricky style. His record breaking stolen base was not second base- it was third base. When everyone in the stadium was wanting it, looking for it and expecting it- he just did it. And what was the first thing he did? He stole the actual base.

There are pretty weird stories out there about Ricky, but as a watcher of a single man disrupting the team sport of Baseball, I have to say:

Thank you Ricky for the memories, the excitement you brought to the game, and the example that although it's better to be a great person, there is a place for people who are just great at what they do.

Yogi Berra Said...

If you come to a fork in the road, take it.

Down But Not Out

Last night I watched the Boston Redsox win the American League Championship Series after trailing 3 games to one. It was a great comeback, and in most cases it would be their biggest comeback but for the Redsox, that distinction came in the 2004 play-offs.
In 2004, the Redsox came back from a 3-0 deficit and it was against, no less, the Yankees. Not just the rival of the Redsox, but the Evil Empire itself. It was like the Forest moon of Endor all over again!

This time is was a measly 3-1 deficit. Highly unlikely, but not thought of impossible. That is what I think is the miracle.

It used to be that once a team got down 2-0 in a series, it was considered over. History does not record a lot of 2-0 survivors, but enough not to dash all hopes. But 3-0 or 3-1? Fans are normally sucking down bullets at that point. But Boston has shown that it does not need to be that way.

And what about the National League Champions, the Colorado Rockies? They swept though their two series 3-0 and 4-0, but theirs is a story of seemingly insurmountable odds. They had to win like 14 of their last 15 games of the regular season just to make it to a one game play-off for the wildcard spot. In that game they were down by two runs in the 13th inning and yet found a way to win. They may have earned themselves a couple of series sweeps since that time, but they are comeback kids nonetheless!

This year’s baseball play-offs are the example that will be used for years as the “never give up” season. The season Writers and Speakers will write and talk about for years. Especially if one of these teams get way out ahead and the other one comes back. As a writer and a speaker, I am watching this storyline with much interest!

“Sorry honey. I have to watch this game, I’m working.”

Runners on the Corners!

Game On

It's not like it's the first time, nor will it be the only time or the last time (I hope), but tonight I get to spend an evening at the ball park with my boys.

I recall all too well the games I attended while a boy. I remember the ballpark, the players, everything. Going to a baseball game was magical, in that we didn't go all the time and it was something I shared with my mom and dad.

In Salt Lake, we have The Bees. They are not Major League and have nothing to do with our team the A's, but they are a AAA team and are the affiliate of the Anaheim Angels. But what do we care, this is baseball. There will be pitches thrown, balls hit, runs scored, and about one million questions asked and hopefully answered and even more hopefully, answered correctly.

Who knows what tonight will bring. We might even have a chance to at a home run or foul ball. Or see a player that becomes a star. Maybe share a memory that lasts a lifetime.

I find myself watching the clock and getting excited as the hour approaches. I might be working myself up too much. It's all good. Baseball is on tonight and the best line-up I will ever see, is the one that will be following me into the stadium.

Play Ball!

Hope Lost?

It happened. My beloved A’s lost the first game of the season. Shut out no less! The opportunity of going undefeated is over. There are however, 161 more games to be played this season. It might be premature to hang up hope already.

One of the reasons I like baseball is the fact that there are so many games, that any team is bound to win a number of them. In fact the difference between the good teams and the bad teams is not all that different, except in extreme cases. A good to great team will win 80-100 games. A very poor team will win 30-50 games. The average team’s victory totals are somewhere between those numbers. That is still a lot of opportunities to enjoy victories.

To start off the season with a win or a loss is irrelevant. To start off with a streak of wins or losses is irrelevant. The season lasts from April until September. Each day is a new game and has no connection to the game or games already played. Anything can happen on any day, on any pitch.

Isn’t life the same? Each day is its own “game”? Yes it’s true consequences do extend past the length of a day and can be really significant, but doesn’t each day live a life of its own? If we started each day having learned the lessons of the days before and yet set out fresh each morning, wouldn’t we also not be able to celebrate the “wins” as they come.

Life is full of victories and of setbacks. Enjoy the victories. Learn from the defeats. Both are fleeting. The trick is to work at it until the victories outnumber the defeats.

Hey batter, batter, batter....swing!

At last the wait is over and it's Baseball Season once more!

Holy Toledo!

Driving home last night, I was saddened to hear about the passing of Bill King, the man behind the mic for the Oakland A's, Raiders and Warriors.

Let me first say, I'm not the most knowlegeable fan of Bill King, in fact, reading about him last night, I learned more than I ever knew. But I am and always have been a Raider and A's fan. Growing up on the East Bay through the 70's, were there any other teams??!

I mostly became familiar with Bill King as he called the A's games on all those afternoon games while working on the windmills on the Altamont Pass and all the nights while fishing for "stripers" on the Delta. "Holy Toledo" will forever be etched in my memories of all those games.

I am no longer in the Bay Area and am outside the normal radio waves of Raider and A's broadcasts but I actually thought of Bill while watching Albert Pujols' game winning homer the other night. The thought of "Holy Toledo" crossed my mind as the ball sailed into the rafters of Minute Maid Stadium and I wondered if Bill King was still at it. I got my answer.

The call of "Touch Down, Raiders!" is another sound bite that will always remind me of Bill King. I moved away from California his final year of Raider Broadcasts, so he IS the voice of the Raiders as far as I'm concerned.

A very nice summary of Mr. King's work can be found at: Mychael Urban's Article

Here's an excerpt:
"King's accounts of Raiders games, including the infamous "Heidi" game against the New York Jets in 1968, the "Sea of Hands" game against Miami in the 1974 AFC playoffs, Dave Casper's "Ghost to the Post" touchdown reception that gave the Raiders a 1977 playoff win at Baltimore, the memorable "Holy Roller" play against the San Diego Chargers in 1978 and "Old Man" Willie Brown's interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl X are regularly replayed and will forever be a part of the game's lore." As they and he should be.

So long Bill. Thanks for your work you did so well.