My Extra Inning: This fall there will be a television series that follows up on Ken Burn’s fabulous 9 inning series on Baseball. I am sure that I will watch it, but my baseball honey moon is over.

 

Unfortunately, my passion for baseball has either died or gone into neutral. For several years in the 1970’s, I think that I watched parts of every Yankee game. Shortly after that, the fire inside of my belly died. While I enjoy having friends tell me that they went around the country visiting ball parks or spent a few weeks watching baseball in pre-season, I can no longer walk the walk. 

 

I think that I can sum up the reasons for my changing emotional attachment quickly:

 

1. Steroids: The use of steroids has completely distorted one of baseball’s greatest legacies: comparing the performance of one player against the past or future. It is fun to put Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth against there predecessors or their successors. With the wide use of steroids, home run statistics are meaningless. The same hit today means a home run. Before steroids, it was a long out.

2. The lack of team loyalty: In my youth your heroes played for the same team most of their careers. I really believed that Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra loved the Yankees and hated the Boston Red Sox and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Today, every team experiences about a 40% turnover. Should you cheer or boo a favorite player now that he is playing for the opposition. Of course, I recognize that it is a two way street. The owners and the players are both involved in this merry go wheel. As a fanatic Texas Longhorn football fan, I would go limp if each season half of the Oklahoma Sooner team was composed of players who the previous year played for my beloved longhorns.

3. The designated hitter rule: Frankly I cannot stand it because it completely changes the way managers must strategize. In the old days, a manager needed to think hard about taking out a pitcher who was having a great day when the team needed a timely hit. Today, you can have your cake and eat it to. The problem with the designated hitter is the same as the 400 pound defensive guard. Specifically, designated players are encouraged to distort their bodies to perform a specific task. You cannot recognize whether the player is part of the human family or a new race.

4. Money has completely distorted the relationship between the player and his hometown. In the pre-television era, players sold automobiles or worked in the dry goods store in the off season. They really played for the love of the game. Hank Greenberg ate at the homes of his Jewish fans in Detroit. Today the tie in financially and socially between the player and the community is pretty tiny

5. Lastly, the incredible boondoggles associated with new stadiums make me cringe. The most recent New York Yankee stadium received hundreds of millions from the city and state of New York. However, ticket prices are obnoxious and way beyond the average person’s financial capabilities. A crummy seat in right field costs around $250 for a so-so game. Buying hotdogs, cokes and French fries is more expensive than the down payment on a home.

 

Main Part:

 

I recently reviewed a list of the “30” greatest moments in Major League Baseball history, as selected by a special panel of media members, baseball executives and baseball historians. Baseball, more than any other sport, encourages a continuum of comparisons of the present versus the past. That is achievements of the moment are soon evaluated in the context their historical precedence. After reviewing this list of the thirty greatest moments, I discussed with some of my friends additional baseball feats. It is in the context of an appreciative fan, an ex bench warmer, I submit both the original list and my additions. Please feel free to add your ideas.

 

Original List

 

1905—Christy Methewson throws three complete-game shutouts as the New York Giants beat the Philadelphia A’s in the World Series four games to one.

 

1920-The Boston Red Sox sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees on January 3rd.

 

1925-Branch Rickey of the St. Louis Cardinals developed concept of the farm system. In 1925 he initiated 6 farm teams, and ultimately expanded it to over 30 teams. He kept some 600 hundred potential players within the Cardinal system, turning the team into a powerhouse. 

 

1934—Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants strikes out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession during the first and second innings of the All-Star Game at New York’s Polo Grounds on July 10.

 

1938-Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds pitches the only consecutive no-hitters in major league history against the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers.

 

1939-Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees retires from baseball with his “luckiest man” farewell speech on July 4.

 

1941-Joe Dimaggio of the New York Yankees sets a major league record with a 56-game hitting streak from May 15 through July 17.

 

1941-Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox finishes with a .406 batting average, the last player to hit better than .400 in a season.

 

1947-Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15 becoming the first black player in Major League Baseball history.

 

1951-Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hits the “Shot Heard Around the World” on October 3 to defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-4.

 

1954-Willie Mays makes “The Catch” in deep center field during Game 1 of the World Series at New York’s Polo Grounds on September 29. The over-the-shoulder catch against Cleveland’s Vic Wertz preserves a 2-2 tie. The Giants win the game with three runs in the 10th inning and go on to sweep the Indians.

 

1956-Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in the World Series history in game 5 at Yankee Stadium on October 8. New York wins the series in seven games over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

 

1960-Bill Mazeroski leads of the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series on October 13 with a home run, giving the Pittsburg Pirates a 10-9 win over the New York Yankees and the championship.

 

1961-Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hits 61 home runs to break Babe Ruth’s single season record of 60. His 61st homer comes in the season finale on October 1 off Boston’s Tracy Stallard as the Yankees win 1-0.

 

1961- After 60 seasons, baseball expanded from 16 teams to twenty teams: Two expansion teams in the American League were the Washington Senators and Los Angeles Angels and Two expansion teams in the National League were the New York Mets and the Houston Colts.

 

1971-Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

1972- Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburg Pirates doubles against the New York Mets for his 3,000-career hit in the final game of the season on September 30. Clemente was killed in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve while traveling to aid earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

 

1975-Carlton Fisk leads off the bottom of the 12th inning with a home run off the left field foul pole at Fenway Park in Game 6 of the World Series on October 21. It gives the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds and forces a decisive seventh game.

 

1977-Reggie Jackson of the Yankees hits three home runs in three consecutive at-bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the World Series on October 18. The 8-4 win clichés the series for New York.

 

1985-Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds singles off San Diego’s Eric Show in the bottom of the first inning for his 4,192 career hit on September 11, passing Ty Cobb as Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader.

 

1988-Kirk Gibson’s pitch-hit home run off Oakland’s Dennis Eckerly with two outs in the bottom of the ninth gives the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 win in Game 1 of the World Series on October 15. The Dodgers go on to beat the A’s in five games.

 

1991-Oakland’s Rickey Henderson steals third base against the Yankees on May 1 for his 939th career stolen base, breaking Lou Brock’s record.

 

1991- Nolan Ryan pitches his seventh career no-hitter on May 1, extending his own record, as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0.

 

1993-Toronto’s Joe Carter hits a series-clinching three-run homer off Philadelphia’s Mitch Williams in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6 of the World Series on October 23. The Blue Jays win 8-6 to clinch their second straight title.

 

1995-Baltimore’s Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 2,131st consecutive game on September 6 breaking Lou Gehrig’s record.

 

1998-The Cardinals’ Mark McGwire and the Cubs’ Sammy Sosa race to break Roger Maris’s single season home run record. McGwire hits his 62nd homer on September 8 and finishes with 70. Sosa ends with 66.

 

2001-Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hits his 71st home run on October 5, breaking Mark McGuire’s single season record. Bonds finishes with 73 homers.

 

2001-After two game-winning home runs by the New York Yankees in Games 4 and 5, an RBI single by Arizona’s Luis Gonzalez in the bottom of the ninth inning gives the Diamondbacks a victory in Game 7 on November 4 for their first World Series championship.

 

1001-Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners-the first Japanese-born position player in Major League Baseball-earns the 2001 Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards, as well as being the leading vote-getter for the 2001 All-Star Game.

 

2004: Boston Red Sox win First World Series since 1917

 

Doc’s Addendum

 

1893—The National League composed of 10 teams is formed. 

 

1903—The Boston Red Sox of the American League defeat the Pittsburg Pirates of the National League in the first World Series 5-3. This game indicated the parity between the upstart American League and their older rivals, the National League.

 

1904-Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox pitched twenty-four and one-third innings of scoreless baseball in a row. During his career, Cy Young won 511 games, over 30 games in 5 years, and over 20 games in 15 years.

 

1915—Ty Cobb wins his ninth successive batting title. Over his career, he won the batting title 12 times, and retired with the highest lifetime batting average of .368.

 

1915—Judge Kenesaw Landis upheld the Reserve clause, allowing teams to control the career of a player. That is, a player could not offer his talents to the highest bidder. Instead, he remained the property of a given team. Supporters of the reserve clause felt that outlawing the reserve clause would have created chaos and instability for organized baseball.

 

1919- Eight members of the Chicago White Sox including the great Shoeless Joe Jackson accepted bribes to throw the World Series to the underdog Cincinnati Reds. 

 

1920-The end of the deadball era resulted from the bean ball death of Ray Chapman. After Chapman’s death, baseball instituted changes that led to a livelier ball and more scoring. Henceforth, the umpire must replace discolored or nicked balls with new white ones. Also, the spitball was banned. 

 

1921-The first baseball game was broadcast by station WTAW. The broadcasting of this game between the Pittsburg Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies introduced the media into baseball. The compensation to teams by radio and television has enabled sports to develop significant revenues.

 

1922-Supreme Court Ruled that Baseball was exempt from anti-trust laws. This allowed the National and American Leagues to bar effectively new leagues from competing for their talented players.

 

1924-Roger Hornsby of the St. Louis Cardinals batted .424, the highest average in modern baseball. Only one player, Ted Williams, has hit over .400 since his feat.

 

1927-Babe Ruth on September 30 hit his 60th home run. This record was not broken until 1961. Ruth’s sixty home runs was for many years the most famous baseball record.

 

1935-On May 24, Cincinnati used lights to play a game at night. The adoption of night baseball has meaningfully increased attendance. Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, was the last stadium to incorporate lights.

 

1951-Self proclaimed hustler Bill Veeck, the owner of the St. Louis Browns, introduced on a broad scale public relation ploys to increase attendance. He instituted “Grandstand Day” where the fans voted yes or no on a series of baseball strategies. He sent a midget Eddie Gaedel (3 foot seven inches) to bat. During his career, Veeck introduced bat day, fireworks at baseball games, exploding scoreboards, and players’ names on the backs of uniforms.

 

1951-Connie Mack retires after 60 years in baseball, and 50 years as manager of the Philadelphia A’s. He held the record for a manager for most wins 3776 and most losses 4025.

 

1957-Brooklyn Dodgers move to Los Angeles and the New York Giants move to San Francisco. These decisions permanently ended fans belief that baseball was just “the American pastime.” Instead, the public and politicians recognized that professional sports were major businesses requiring significant revenues. 

 

1963-Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals retires with 1815 hits at home and 1815 hits on the road. Over 21 years, Stan Musial averaged 172 hits, scored 92 times, 92 RBI, and 34 hone runs.

 

1968—Denny McClain of the Detroit Tigers had a record of 31-6, the last thirty game winner.

 

1975-The Reserve Clause was overturned. In a compromise, after six years, a player could seek the highest compensation.

 

1980-Tom Seaver of the New York Mets strikes out a record of 10 consecutive players. In 1992 Seaver received the highest percentage of votes, 98.8%, of any player to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

 

1988-Orel Hershiser pitched 59 scoreless innings. His completed his major league record against the San Diego Padres on September 29.

 

1989-Pete Rose “Charlie Hustle” was banned for life from baseball for gambling both as a player and manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

 

1991-Jim Abbott who had only one hand had a record of 18-11. Over his ten-year record, 1989-1999, he compiled an 87-108 record.