Monthly Archives: November 2015

WGOM Half-Baked Hall

Half-Baked Hall: 1939 Results

10 Comments

Lou Gehrig

When philosopher writes about someone, they get voted in unanimously. I love this plaque.

Rogers Hornsby

Two unanimous players on one ballot! Rogers wasn't as well-liked, but when you're the best second baseman ever, nobody cares.

Goose Goslin

Sam Rice hasn't gotten any Twins franchise love, but Goose sure didn't have to wait around. With 90% of the vote, he coasts in on his first ballot.

Mickey Cochrane

I love this picture. Great find hungryjoe. Mickey Cochrane garners 84% of the vote, and the Hall hates catchers just a little less.

Remaining On The Ballot (20 Players)

Frankie Frisch debuts as well as one can without getting elected (unless you're Billy Hamilton). Otherwise, not a whole lot of movement, with several players still stuck in the 60th percentile. Joe "Strikeouts Are Fascist" Sewell makes the biggest jump, gaining 25 percentage points. Firpo Marberry's support is dwindling fast.

Frankie Frisch: 74%
Stan Coveleski: 68% +1
Red Faber: 68% -4
Bill Terry: 68% +1
Zack Wheat: 63% +2
Joe Sewell: 58% +25
Sam Rice: 53% +3
Urban Shocker: 42% -8
Max Carey: 37% +4
Hack Wilson: 37% -2
Pie Traynor: 32%
Earl Combs: 26% -2
Wally Schang: 26% +4
Waite Hoyt: 21%
Firpo Marberry: 21% -12
Kiki Cuyler: 16%
Burleigh Grimes: 16% -17
Tony Lazzeri: 16%
Heinie Manush: 11%
George Uhle: 11% -6

Falling Off The Ballot (9 players)

Jim Bottomley was one of those guys I thought was amazing when I was a kid, almost certainly because he was in the Hall. I was baffled to see how pedestrian he seems when looking at his b-ref page. It seems most of you felt the same way.

Travis Jackson: 21% +10
Eppa Rixey: 21% -12
Jim Bottomley: 16%
Jimmy Dykes: 11%
Jesse Haines: 11%
Red Lucas: 5%
Chick Hafey: 0%
Rube Wallberg: 0%
Earl Whitehill: 0%

Graphs

Ballots

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Forty-two

BALTIMORE 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Monday, May 31 (Game 2 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks, driving in one.  Jerry Kindall was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Rich Rollins was 1-for-4 with a run.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry struck out three in two perfect innings of relief.  Mel Nelson struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Dick Hall retired all seven men he faced, striking out three.  Bob Johnson was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.  Dick Brown was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.

The game:  Oliva's RBI double put the Twins up 1-0 in the first.  The Orioles responded with four in the second, getting two-run homers from Johnson and Brown of Twins' starter Dick Stigman.  The Twins came back to tie it with three in the fifth; they loaded the bases with one out, scored one on an infield grounder, and got two more on a Kindall double.  There matters stood until the bottom of the ninth, when Sam Bowens hit a walkoff homer off Johnny Klippstein to give Baltimore the victory.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Don Mincher was 0-for-3.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4.  Stigman pitched only two innings; he struck out three, but gave up four runs on three hits and a walk.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 27-15 but kept them in first place, a half game ahead of Chicago.

Notes:  Bob Allison and Earl Battey were held out of this game.  Allison was replaced by Don Mincher, who made his only appearance in the outfield of the season and one of only three in his career.  Battey was replaced by third catcher John Sevcik, making one of only three starts for the season.  Oddly, he had not played above Class A before being called up to the Twins.  He would play eleven games for Minnesota in 1965, the only major league time of his career.  The starting pitcher for Baltimore was Jim Palmer, in his rookie year and making his third big league start.  He lasted 4.2 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 16

Mike McGeary (1850)
Joe Quest (1852)
Paul Foytack (1930)
Frank Bolling (1931)
Harry Chiti (1932)
Minnie Mendoza (1933)
Don Hahn (1948)
Herb Washington (1951)
Glenn Burke (1952)
Curt Wardle (1960)
Dwight Gooden (1964)
Chris Haney (1968)
Pete Rose (1969)
Julio Lugo (1975)

Sprinter Herb Washington played for Oakland for two seasons as a pinch-runner.  He appeared in 105 games but did not play in the field and did not bat.  He stole 31 bases in 48 attempts and scored 33 runs.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 16 →

WGOM Videos

Weird Al Yankovic & The Roots – Beer Barrel Polka

Video 65 Comments

I know that I listen to plenty of "novelty" music, and do so with some regularity. That's because it's not a novelty to me. I think well done music that is funny, or just plain entertaining, is a pure joy. Long story short, I don't have a specific plan for this week, I'm just hoping to put a few smiles on faces, and maybe garner a laugh or two along the way as well.

Also, do you know how tough it is to find a quality video of Weird Al doing a live performance? Probably the most entertaining concert I've ever been to, and I can't find anything to do it justice. So we get this instead.

4 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 104 votes, average: 7.75 out of 10 (4 votes, average: 7.75 out of 10)
You must be a WGOM Citizen to rate WGOM Videos.Loading...
The Nation Has An Appetite

Pumpkin Waffles

52 Comments

As I always say, when all else fails . . . make waffles. Actually, I never say that. But these are tasty enough to make a bad day tolerable and a good day better.

1 7/8 cups (8 oz.) all-purpose flour
2 cups (8 oz.) white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (4 oz.) packed light brown sugar
3 3/8 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 15-oz. can solid-pack pumpkin
9 tablespoons (4.5 oz) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
vegetable oil spray for waffle iron
maple syrup

Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron.

In a medium bowl, combine flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs until blended. Then whisk in milk, buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until smooth. (Note: my batter had a few lumps, and this did not seem to be a problem.)

waffle batter

Spray a light coat of vegetable oil onto waffle iron (mine is nonstick, so I did't need much). Using a ladle, pour batter onto waffle iron. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions. I can never manage to fill the waffle iron the right amount to get full-sized waffles without also ending up with batter spilling out the sides, but perhaps you’re more skilled than I am or own a better waffle iron.

fully baked

When waffles are lightly browned, transfer them to a cooling rack positioned over a cookie sheet in the oven. This is an important step; it allows them to become crisp. You want to give them about 5 minutes in the oven, though longer is fine too if you want to make all the waffles first and then serve them.

Continue making the rest of the waffles. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

NOTES: Recipe source here. I basically multiplied the ingredients by 1.5 and ended up with 20 waffles. Check out that link if you want to end up with a less ridiculous quantity. I just freeze what we don’t eat. To reheat frozen waffles, defrost in the microwave and finish in the toaster.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Forty-one

4 Comments

MINNESOTA 6, BALTIMORE 0 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Monday, May 31 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Sandy Valdespino was 3-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, scoring twice and driving in one.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and one walk with two strikeouts.

Opposition star:  Don Larsen pitched three innings of relief, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

The game:  Oliva singled in a run in the first inning to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Versalles hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 3-0.  Valdespino singled in a run in the fifth, Hall homered in the sixth, and Oliva had an RBI double in the seventh.  The Orioles did not get a man past first base in the entire game.

Of note:  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-4 with a walk, dropping his average to .194.  Hall was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eighth.

Record:  The win was the Twins' fourth in a row and kept them in first place, a half game ahead of Chicago.

Notes:  Valdespino, in his rookie season, had been on the roster all year, but this was the first time he was used as anything other than a pinch-hitter.  He started in left field to give Bob Allison a rest.  Also rested were Harmon Killebrew and Earl Battey, replaced by Don Mincher and Jerry Zimmerman, respectively.  The Baltimore starter was Robin Roberts, in the next-to-last season of his Hall of Fame career.  Larsen, who of course pitched a no-hit game in the World Series, was in his last full season in the major leagues.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 15

Tom Loftus (1856)
Pat Ragan (1883)
Mickey Livingston (1914)
Gus Bell (1928)
Big Brother A (1951)
Randy Niemann (1955)
Pedro Borbon (1967)

Tom Loftus managed Cincinnati, Chicago, and Washington around the turn of the (twentieth) century.

Big Brother A is one of the two people--Dad A being the other--from whom I got a love of baseball and a love of the Twins.  I don't know how it's possible that I have a brother who's sixty-four years old, but happy birthday, Big Brother.

We also wish a happy birthday to spookymilk’s brother.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 15 →