April 18, 2024: Lost & Found

I misplaced my wallet last summer. I was pretty sure it was somewhere around the house, but I wasn't able to find it. I could (mostly) pay for stuff with my phone and I was monitoring my accounts for any weird charges, so everything was mostly fine. After a week and a half or so, I gave up and replaced all the cards and IDs and moved on with my life.

On Monday, I received a hand written card from a grocery store in an area I'm occasionally in, but not often, saying someone had turned my wallet into them. I stopped by there yesterday and they indeed had my old wallet in pristine condition with all inventory accounted for. The person working there when I stopped by didn't know anything about it but I am very curious how it ended up there ten months after the fact.

Happy Birthday–April 17

Alexander Cartwright (1820)
Cap Anson (1852)
Tom Needham (1879)
Jake Daubert (1884)
Buzz Arlett (1912)
Solly Hemus (1923)
Tsutomu Wakamatsu (1947)
Denny Walling (1954)
Craig Worthington (1965)
Marquis Grissom (1967)
Gary Bennett (1972)
Ryan Raburn (1981)
Jed Lowrie (1984)
Deolis Guerra (1989)

Alexander Cartwright was instrumental in developing the rules for the game of baseball.

Buzz Arlett was a star in the low minors from 1934-1941, and probably would have been for several more years had World War II not intervened.  He had a career average of .319 with a slugging average of .480, but never played above Class C.

Tsutomu Wakamatsu was a star in Japan from 1971-1989, making the all-star team eleven times.  His career average of .319 is second to Leron Lee on the all-time list of players with at least four thousand at-bats.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 17

2024 Game Log 16 – Twins at Orioles

Twins a not nice 6-9 headed into the second game against the Orioles in Baltimore. Baltimore is definitely one of those teams hard to root against. Were terrible for many years but slowly built a team and organization that looks like it could be a force for a couple of years.

Grayson Rodriguez up the Orioles and he's one of those young guys a team can really build around. Tall, a fastball that hits upper 90's with a nice slider to keep hitters honest. Only 24 years old too. Over a strikeout per inning so Twins may have a hard time not adding to their league leading strikeout totals. Chris Paddock on for the Twins and he's done ok this year. Hopefully we can go further than the 5th inning this outing.

Freealonzo's "Take it to the Credit Union" surefire winner: Buxton HR/SO total=3

First Pitch at 5:35p

April 16, 2024: The Awakening

I've been a big fan of Hanif Abdurriqib for a long time. For some reason, he's been a fan of the Wolves by choice for years. I hope we all have a great ride.

Happy Birthday–April 16

Dutch Leonard (1892)
Paul Waner (1903)
Babe Phelps (1908)
Pete Hughes (1915)
Pete Suder (1916)
Joe Bauman (1922)
Rich Rollins (1938)
Bernie Allen (1939)
Garry Roggenburk (1940)
Jim Lonborg (1942)
Bob Montgomery (1944)
Bruce Bochy (1955)
Curt Young (1960)
Fernando Vina (1969)
Antonio Alfonseca (1972)
Kelly Dransfeldt (1975)
Nolan Arenado (1991)

Pete Hughes was a star in the low minors from 1937-1952. His incomplete career numbers are a .350 average and a .637 slugging percentage, but for some reason he never played above Class B.

Joe Bauman hit 72 home runs for Roswell in the Longhorn League in 1954.

Kelly Dransfeldt was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 1993, but did not sign.

Rich Rollins, Bernie Allen, and Garry Roggenburk all played for the Twins at the same time. I wonder how unusual it is for a team to have three players who share the same birthday. They also all were born or raised in the state of Ohio. Rollins and Allen were also business partners for a while.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 16

Minor Details: Games of April 14

ST. PAUL SAINTS 13, IOWA CUBS 11 IN ST. PAUL

The Saints led 8-0 after three, 9-2 after four, and 12-3 after five, then held on to win.

Multi-hit games:  Diego Castillo was 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and two RBIs.  Chris Williams was 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Tanner Morris was 3-for-5 with a double. Yoyner Fajardo was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.  Yunior Severino was 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, two runs, and five RBIs.

Home runsCastillo (2), Severino (2), Williams (1).

Multi-RBI gamesSeverino, 5; Castillo, 2; Williams, 2; Fajardo, 2.

Stolen bases:  Fajardo (2).

Pitching prowess:  None.

Opposition standout:  Chase Strumpf was 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs, and two RBIs.

Record:  St. Paul is 7-7, in fourth place, 2.5 games behind Omaha.

SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS 8, WICHITA WIND SURGE 7 IN SPRINGFIELD

Wichita led 7-1 after four and a half.  It was still 7-3 after seven, but Springfield scored five in the eighth to win it.  Matt Lloyd hit a three-run homer to give the Cardinals the lead.

Multi-hit games:  None.

Home runs:  Carson McCusker (1), Jeferson Morales (1).

Multi-RBI games:  Morales, 4.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  A. J. Alexy pitched 3.2 innings, giving up one run on one hit and six walks and striking out two.  Regi Grace struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition standout:  Nathan Church was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs.

Record:  Wichita is 1-8, in fifth (last) place, eight games behind Springfield.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 4, DAYTON DRAGONS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Jay Harry hit a three-run homer in the seventh, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Luke Keaschall was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk.

Home runs:  Keaschall (2), Harry (2).

Multi-RBI games:  Harry, 3.

Stolen bases:  Keaschall (5).

Pitching prowess:  C. J. Culpepper pitched four innings, giving up one run on two hits and a walk and striking out three.  Juan Mercedes struck out three in 2.2 innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and a walk.  Jordan Carr pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, walking three and striking out two.

Opposition standout:  Javi Rivera pitched four innings, giving up one run on a hit and a walk and striking out three.

Record:  Dayton is 4-5, in fourth place, two games behind Great Lakes.

CLEARWATER THRESHERS 5, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 3 IN CLEARWATER

TJayy Walton hit a three-run homer in the fifth to give Clearwater a 5-3 lead.

Multi-hit games:  None.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Ben Ethridge pitched two perfect innings.  Aaron Holiday pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition standout:  Braydon Tucker pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out three.

Record:  Fort Myers is 4-5, in fourth place, three games behind Dunedin and Lakeland.

TOMORROW'S TILTS

5:05  St. Paul (Randy Dobnak, 1-1, 3.65) at Indianapolis
6:05  Jupiter at Fort Myers (Ty Langenberg, 0-0, 9.00)
6:40  Cedar Rapids (TBD) at Wisconsin
7:05  Tulsa at Wichita (TBD)

 

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.