Came across this recently. Intriguing enough to check out some more later.
2016
(Actually, DG, we picked the same on this one)
(2 votes, average: 9.50 out of 10)
Loading... Fred Pfeffer (1860)
Oscar Stanage (1883)
Joe Fitzgerald (1897)
Charlie Root (1899)
Sammy Baugh (1914)
Hank Sauer (1917)
Pete Reiser (1919)
Vic Voltaggio (1941)
Cito Gaston (1944)
Kurt Russell (1951)
Tim Lollar (1956)
Frank Wren (1958)
Danny Ainge (1959)
John Smiley (1965)
Dan Masteller (1968)
Bill Mueller (1971)
Raul Chavez (1973)
Scott Downs (1976)
Robb Quinlan (1977)
Joe Fitzgerald had a long association with the Minnesota/Washington franchise, serving as bullpen catcher from 1945-1947, coach from 1948-1956, and scout from 1957 until he passed away in 1967.
Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh was an infielder in the minors for St. Louis in 1938, batting .200 in the American Association and the International League.
Vic Voltaggio was an American League umpire from 1997-1996.
Actor Kurt Russell spent three years in the low minors (1971-1973), batting .292 in 356 at-bats.
Frank Wren has been the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves.
NBA star Danny Ainge was a third baseman for Toronto from 1979-1981.
We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR's sister.
I've made some pretty boneheaded parenting moves over the last month.
First: I left the baby sleeping on the bed while I went downstairs to get breakfast for the other kids. She seemed completely out. Of course she woke up a short time later, and didn't make a sound until she fell onto the floor. I think she probably had a mild concussion, given the way she was acting for the first half hour or so after the fall. I had a thing scheduled at work and I made plans to take her to the doctor after I got back from it, but she was back to her old self by the time I got home. Still, it was kind of horrifying.
Second: It took me more than a month to really respond to Aquinas' complaints of bullying before I took action. And it seems like that action was much needed, and has gone a long way towards correcting the problem (thank goodness for the fact that they're first graders, and still open to being good kids instead of blaming the one who told on them). My fear of ruffling feathers was too strong and my kid paid the price.
Third: And yet, in communicating about this issue, I may have inadvertently sent some signals that didn't exactly endear us or my kid to the teacher. I'm not quite sure why we can accurately observe that one kid is faster or stronger than a different one, but we can't observe that one is smarter than another? (I didn't straight up say anything like that, but I fear some unintended implications were taken (look, the class isn't particularly rigorous, and there is some classic "things are going too slow for him" stuff going on (I don't say this to brag about Aquinas, only to observe that this class is moving really slow. Halfway through the year and he's still doing math work that he did at this point in Kindergarten.)(also, he's absolutely going to keep getting 90% on everything you teach, no matter the difficulty, let's not act like 100% is needed to move on...))).
Fourth: Here's the biggie... I forgot my kid. I usually pick up Aquinas from school. If I can't, I arrange for him to take the bus to daycare. Well, I had a hearing out of town and... I forgot. So he walked to my office, per usual, only I wasn't there and the door was locked. So he started walking to the daycare, which is about a mile out of town. On the way there someone - a stranger to him (and us, but not other relatives) - stopped and offered a ride. He happily accepted because, as he put it, "he was tired of walking." The stranger brought him right to daycare (and apparently has done the same for other kids), so in a way it's a "no harm, no foul" situation. Except that my kid accepted a ride from a stranger. So... big time foul.
Anyway, I'm working at this parent thing. This morning I built a huge pillow barrier around the baby as she slept on the bed, and still went up and checked on her just about every other minute, and caught her just as she was waking up 6 minutes into me leaving her there... And I remembered to have Aquinas take the bus when I was gone on Tuesday. And I bribed him, so he got 100% on his spelling test last week. Maybe by the time they leave home I'll feel like I'm on the right track.
Your booty is in trouble
Date: Thursday, October 8.
Batting stars: Tom Brunansky was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in one. Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a home run. Tim Laudner was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
Pitching stars: Bert Blyleven pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts. Juan Berenguer retired all five men he faced, striking out four of them.
Opposition stars: Lou Whitaker was 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and a stolen base. Chet Lemon was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer. Jack Morris pitched an eight-inning complete game, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
The game: Matt Nokes led off the second with a single and Blyleven then left a pitch up to Lemon, who gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead. The Twins came right back in the bottom of the second. Gary Gaetti doubled with one out and scored on a two-out double by Brunansky. Greg Gagne walked and Laudner followed with a two-run double to give the Twins a 3-2 advantage. It stayed 3-2 until the fourth, when Randy Bush hit a one-out single and stole second and third. Walks to Brunansky and Gagne followed. Laudner struck out, but Dan Gladden delivered a two-run single to put the Twins up 5-2. Hrbek hit a one-out homer in the fifth to make it 6-2. Meanwhile, Blyleven was in control, facing only one batter over the minimum from innings three through seven. In the eighth, however, he left a pitch up to Whitaker, who hit a home run to cut the lead to 6-3. Darrell Evans followed with a single, chasing Blyleven from the game and bringing in Berenguer. He struck out Kirk Gibson and got Alan Trammell to hit into a force out to end the eighth, then struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the victory.
Notes: Bush had stolen only ten bases during the season (his career high), but stole two in this game, both during the same at-bat. For his career, he had 33 stolen bases in 62 attempts. He was 10-for-13 in 1987, however...Jack Morris was a workhorse for the Tigers, but it still seems odd to have him pitch a complete game in which he gave up six runs in the playoffs. It must be admitted, though, that he pitched very well after the fourth inning...Reardon had pitched two innings the day before. That, and the fact that Berenguer was pitching well, explains why Berenguer remained in the game in the ninth and got the save...I don't remember for sure, but I suspect it was after this game that Sparky Anderson and some of the Tiger players whined about Berenguer "showing them up" and being "disrespectful" simply because he showed a little emotion on the mound after a strikeout. Tom Kelly, not wanting a controversy, made some conciliatory statements, but it was really just childish pouting on the part of the Tigers.
Record: The Twins led the best-of-seven series 2-0.
Bud Fowler (1847)
Blondie Purcell (1854)
Jerry Denny (1859)
Patsy Donovan (1865)
Jake Flowers (1902)
Buddy Myer (1904)
Lloyd Waner (1906)
Ken O'Dea (1913)
Tom Gorman (1919)
Clint Courtney (1927)
Hobie Landrith (1930)
Don Blasingame (1932)
Rick Reichardt (1943)
Rick Renick (1944)
Charles Hudson (1959)
Fieldin Culbreth (1963)
Abraham Nunez (1976)
Curtis Granderson (1981)
Stephen Drew (1983)
Brandon League (1983)
Mickey Storey (1986)
Bud Fowler was the first African-American to play professional baseball, playing in the minors in 1878 and from 1884-1894.
Tom Gorman was a National League umpire from 1951-1977. His son Brian is currently a major league umpire.
Fieldin Culbreth has been a major league umpire since 1993. His full name is Fieldin Henry Culbreth III.
Mickey Storey was drafted by Minnesota in the 22nd round in 2007, but did not sign.
Pretty sure I saw this band open for somebody in the late aughts. Can't remember who though.
(2 votes, average: 8.50 out of 10)Loading... I always like this part of the year because there are built-in CoC themes.
Date: Wednesday, October 7.
Batting stars: Gary Gaetti was 2-for-3 with two home runs and a walk, scoring three times. Tom Brunansky was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in three. Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Pitching star: Jeff Reardon struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opposition stars: Mike Heath was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Kirk Gibson was 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk, scoring twice. Chet Lemon was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The game: This wasn't supposed to go well for the Twins. Yes, they were at home, and they'd done well there. But the Twins had just lost five straight games, and they were facing Doyle Alexander, who had been almost unbeatable since being traded from Detroit.
Gaetti homered in the second to put the Twins ahead 1-0, but Heath homered in the third to tie it 1-1. Gaetti homered again to lead off the fifth, and this time more was to follow. Randy Bush tripled and Brunansky doubled to make it 3-1 and, with two out, Gladden singled to put the Twins up 4-1. Gibson homered in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2 and the Tigers opened the seventh with three singles, loading the bases with none out. Frank Viola struck out Tom Brookens but gave up a single to Heath, making it 4-3. Lou Whitaker hit into a force out and Bill Madlock grounded out, so the Twins remained in front. In the eighth, however, a walk and a double put men on second and third with none out and sacrifice flies by Dave Bergman and Lemon put the Tigers ahead for the first time at 5-4. The Twins rallied in the eighth. Gladden led off the eight with a single. Greg Gagne popped up a bunt, but Kirby Puckett doubled home the tying run anyway. That led to Mike Henneman replacing Alexander. He gave an intentional walk to Kent Hrbek and an accidental walk to Gaetti, loading the bases. Willie Hernandez came in to pitch and gave up an RBI single to Don Baylor, putting the Twins in front, and a two-run double to Brunansky, giving the Twins an 8-5 lead. Reardon, who had come in with runners second and third in the eighth and gave up the two sacrifice flies, gave up a leadoff single to Johnny Grubb in the ninth. He struck out Matt Nokes but walked Whitaker to bring up the tying run with Madlock and Gibson coming to bat. Reardon struck out both of them to seal the win for the Twins.
Notes: Bush started the game at DH, with Baylor coming in as a pinch-hitter in the eighth...Gaetti hit a home run in each of his first two LCS at-bats...Viola pitched seven innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk with six strikeouts...Alexander pitched 7.1 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and no walks with five strikeouts.
Record: The Twins led the best-of-seven series 1-0.
Arlie "The Freshest Man on Earth" Latham (1860)
Doc Casey (1870)
Ralph Miller (1873)
Fred Lieb (1888)
Rosy Ryan (1898)
Jimmie Crutchfield (1910)
Sid Hartman (1920)
Bob Locker (1938)
Wayne Granger (1944)
Bobby Bonds (1946)
Jim Kern (1949)
Steve Stroughter (1952)
Mickey Hatcher (1955)
Harold Baines (1959)
Mike Pagliarulo (1960)
Kim Batiste (1968)
Robert Fick (1974)
Vladimir Nunez (1975)
Dan Perkins (1975)
Kevin Youkilis (1979)
Ralph Miller was the first major league player to live to be a hundred years old.
Fred Lieb was a sportswriter who covered baseball for seventy years.
Jimmie Crutchfield was a star outfielder in the Negro Leagues.
Sid Hartman is a sportswriter/broadcaster who has been covering sports in Minnesota since the earth cooled.
