Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 21

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Bill Klem (1874)
Clarence Mitchell (1891)
Roy Spencer (1900)
Charles O. Finley (1918)
Stubby Greer (1920)
Ryne Duren (1929)
Sparky Anderson (1934)
Steve Barber (1938)
Tom Griffin (1948)
Gerry Davis (1953)
John Halama (1972)
J. J. Putz (1977)
Kelly Johnson (1982)
Brian Duensing (1983)
Casey Kotchman (1983)
Chris Bassitt (1989)

Bill Klem was a National League umpire from 1905-1941.  He was the first umpire to indicate his calls with arm signals, and was also the first umpire to wear an inside chest protector.  He umpired in eighteen World Series and also umpired the first all-star game.

Charles O. Finley was the owner of the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics from 1960-81.

Stubby Greer played in the minors from 1940-1958 with a career batting average of .330.  He never played in the major leagues.

Sparky Anderson was born in Bridgewater, South Dakota.

Gerry Davis was a major league umpire from 1982-2021.

J. J. Putz was drafted by Minnesota in the seventeenth round in 1998, but did not sign.

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Cup of Coffee

February 21, 2025: Moving Target

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Sorry, more packaging complaints.

We don't have the fancy glass stuff, but we do utilize plastic food storage containers you can find at your local grocery store. Naturally, you have to recycle and replace some now and then, but they keep changing the shape of everything so nothing goes together in the cupboard. I suppose that encourages you to give them more of your money, but it's a pain.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 21

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Jouett Meekin (1867)
Dummy Taylor (1875)
John Titus (1876)
Tom Yawkey (1903)
Mark Scott (1915)
Joe Foy (1943)
Jack Billingham (1943)
Tom Shopay (1945)
Charley Walters (1947)
Rick Lysander (1953)
Alan Trammell (1958)
Franklin Gutierrez (1983)
Sam Hilliard (1994)
The birthday list (2009)

Tom Yawkey was the owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1933 until his death in 1978.

Mark Scott was the host of “Home Run Derby”.

Sam Hilliard was drafted by the Twins in the 31st round in 2014 but did not sign.

We've been doing this for sixteen years.  Wow.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 20

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Sam Rice (1890)
John Wesley Donaldson (1891)
Muddy Ruel (1896)
Pete Monahan (1902)
Tommy Henrich (1913)
Frankie Gustine (1920)
Jim Wilson (1922)
Roy Face (1928)
Shigeo Nagashima (1936)
Clyde Wright (1941)
Bill Gullickson (1959)
Shane Spencer (1972)
Livan Hernandez (1975)
Ryan Langerhans (1980)
Justin Verlander (1983)
Jose Morales (1983)
Brian McCann (1984)
Buck Farmer (1991)
Johnny Field (1992)
Jurickson Profar (1993)

John Wesley Donaldson pitched in the Negro Leagues and averaged nearly twenty strikeouts per game for the All Nations team in the 1910s.  He pitched three consecutive no-hitters in 1913.

Pete Monahan played in the minors from 1921-1940, batting .301 and collecting 2,462 hits, but never played in the major leagues.

Third baseman Shigeo Nagashima played for the Yomiuri Giants from 1958-1974 and is considered by some to be the greatest player in the history of Japanese baseball.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to CarterHayes' daughter.

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Cup of Coffee

February 19, 2025: Muffled

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My boss gave me a nice scarf for the Holidays. I just started wearing it recently and am surprised of the difference it makes. There's only one scarf I've worn with any regularity before this, and that was one a dear friend knitted me in high school, which I wore all the time back then. The currently relapse has kept things a little cozier in these cold times.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.