Mr. White Sox, Minnie Minoso, Finally in Baseball's Hall of Fame

From the July 24, 2022, SB Nation "Mr. White Sox is finally in the Hall of Fame" by Chrystal  O'Keefe.

Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox player Minnie Minoso.

Wonder how many of last years Injured Reserve Sox will make it to the Hall?

Baseball's Been Very Good to Mr. Sox.  --Cooter

Mark Buehrle Got Us All Drenched-- Part 1

I remember July 23, 2009,very well.  We were out with our friends Kevin and Kelly in our boat that day and cruising the Chain O' Lakes here in northeastern Illinois.  And, it was a perfect day in the morning and part way through the afternoon, but we had warnings of a major storm hitting the area around mid-afternoon.

We were all the way up in the upper lakes and we decided to stop at one more place called Chopper's on Channel Lake in Antioch before heading home before the storm hit.  We were going to have just a drink and be on our way.  

The White Sox game was on and I was kind of watching it until I saw a stat that here in the 7th inning, the Sox pitcher, Mark Buehrle,  had not given up a hit.  Even better than that, no Tampa Bay batter had reached base.  In other words, A PERFECT GAME!!  

Well, a perfect game is just something I had to see, especially since the one I was at back in 1983 where the Tiger pitcher, Milt Wilcox,  had a perfect game until Jerry Hairston pinch hit a single with two outs in the 9th to blow my chance of being in attendance at a perfect game.  (To see their pictures and read about this game, go to my Down Da Road I Go blog.  By the way, even though I am a Sox fan, I was pulling all the way for Wilcox.)

Well, we would just have to stay and watch.   Storm or no storm.

Tomorrow.  --Cooter

By the way, congratulations to Mr. White Sox, Minnie Minoso, who was indcted into baseball's Hall of Fame today.  It's about time.

Black History: Jack Roosevelt Robinson... You Might Know Him Better As...

But you probably know him better as Jackie Robinsson.

JACK ROOSEVELT "JACKIE" ROBINSON (1919-1972)

The first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era when he made his 1947 debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and ended some sixty years of baseball segregation.

Robinson went on to have an extraordinary baseball career and in 1962 was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

He not only battled racism in sports, but also he was an officer in the highly segregated U.S. Army during World War II.  I'll write about his WW II career in my Tattooed on Your Soul:  World War II blog.

Al Spalding-- Part 2 Baseball Hall of Fame and Dem Stats

He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939 by the Veterans Committee.

And here are some unbelievable stats for him:

He played with the Boston Red Stockings from 1871 to 1875 and with the Chicago White Stockings (Cubs)in 1876 and 1877.  In 7 years, his pitching stats (Record and ERA):

1871---      19-10    3.36
1872 ---     38-8      1.85
1873---      41-14    2.99

1874---      52-16    1.92
1875---      54-5      1.59
1876---      47-12    1.75

1877---         1-0      3.27

Overall      252-65    2.13

*******************************

BATTING:

1871          .271
1872          .354
1873          . 328

1874          .329
1875          .312
1876          .312
1877          .256

Pretty Impressive Stats.  --Cooter

Death of Baseball's Willie McCovey in 2018-- Part 2

In his MLB debut, Willie McCovey only went 4-for-4 with two triples, two RBIs and three runs scored in a 7-2 win against the Phillies (who were no doubt saying, "Who was that guy?").  This started a stretch where the Giants won ten of twelve games.

McCovey batted .354 with 13 homers, 38 RBIs, five triples and nine doubles on his way to winning NL Rookie of the Year.

Said Hall of Famer Hank Aaron:  "You knew right away he wasn't an ordinary ballplayer.  he was so strong, and he had the gift of knowing the strike zone.  There's no telling how many home runs he would have hit if those knees weren't bothering him all the time and if he had played in a park other than Candlestick."

McCovey had attended games at the new AT&T Park as recently as the final game of the season.

I Sure Remember Him.  --Cooter

Death of Baseball's Willie McCovey in 2018-- Part 1: "Stretch"

WILLIE McCOVEY  1938-2018

From the November 1, 2018, Chicago Tribune  "A sweet swinging Hall of Famer" AP.

Willie McCovey was called "Stretch" for his 6-foot-4 height and those long arms.  he died October 31 at age 80.

He played first base and left field during his career with the San Francisco Giants and was a career .270 hitter with 521 home runs and 1,555 RBIs in 22 major league seasons, 19 of them with the Giants.  He also played for the Padres and Athletics.

His major-league debut came at age 21 on July 30, 1959, after tearing up the Pacific Coast League that year.  He played alongside that other "Willie", Hall of Famer, and that would be Willie Mays into the 1972 season when Mays was traded to the Mets in May of that year.

I well remember his playing days.  He was always a threat to my Cubs.

Stargell, Mays and Marichal.   Wow.

World War I and Major League Baseball-- Military and War Plant Workers

From Baseball Reference.

World War I shut down the minor leagues of baseball one by one and caused Major League Baseball to shorten its 1918 season, ending it at Labor Day, Monday, September 2nd.

Notable players who missed playing time because of military service in World War I included Hall of Famers Grover Cleveland Alexander, Red Faber, Jud Wilson and Harry Heilmann.  A number of players also worked in wartime-related industries as War Plant Workers, particularly in steel mills and shipyards, and also missed playing time as a result.

War Plant Workers worked in industries supporting the war effort and were thus ineligible for the draft.

--Cooter

MLB says "No" to "Shoeless Joe"

From the September 2, 2015, Chicago Tribune."Says it's no: MLB denies Jackson."

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred decided not to re-open the case of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, meaning that he remains formally banned from baseball and, worst of all, ineligible for inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum in Greenville, S.C., on Tuesday released a letter from Manfred dated July 20, said he agreed with past rulings by baseball commissioners.  He noted that Jackson was eligible for inclusion in the Hall of Fame from 1920 to 1991, but never came up with the necessary votes for induction.

Jackson had a career batting average of .356, third highest in MLB history.  But, he was banned by then baseball commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis along with seven other White Sox players after being accused of fixing the 1919 World Series.

Jackson was not officially banned from Hall of Fame consideration until 1991, when the HoF ruled that anyone on the sport's permanently ineligible list could not be voted into Cooperstown.  This rule is largely there to keep Pete Rose out of it.

Time Has Come to Let Jackson In.  --Cooter

Getting 3,000 MLB Hits a Big Thing-- Part 2

20.  Craig Biggio-- 3,060
19.  Dave Winfield--  3,110  I have a foul bal;l hit by him off Britt Burns.
18.  Tony Gwynn--  3,141
17.  Robin Yount--  3,141
16.  Paul Waner--  3,152

15.  George Brett--  3,154
14.  Cal Ripkin--  3,184
13.  Nap Lajoie--  3,252--  Played before 1901
12.  Eddie Murray--  3,255
11.  Willie Mays--  3,283

10.  Eddie Collins--  3,314
9.  Paul Molitor--  3,319--  Part of that True Blue Brew Crew with Yount.
8.  Carl Yastrzemski--  3,419
7.  Honus Wagner--  3,430--  pre-1901
6.  Derek Jeter--  3,465

5.  Tris Speaker--  3,515
4.  Stan Musial--  3,630
3.  Hank Aaron--  3,771
2.  Ty Cobb--  4,191
1.  Pete Rose--  4,256

What a List.  --Cooter

Getting 3,000 Hits in MLB a Big Deal-- Part 1

From the June 20, 2015 Northwest Herald "A-Rod hits 3,000 in style" by ben Walker AP.

New York Yankee player Alex Rodriguez hit his 3,000th hit, hitting a 95 mph fastball from Detroit ace Justin Verlander for a home run.  This was his 667th career home run and he joins Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as the only players to hit 600+ home runs and have 3,000+ hits.

But what I really liked was the list of the 28 players who have hit 3000+ hits:

28.  Alex Rodriguez, 3000--  only player still active
28.  Roberto Clemente, 3000--  You have to wonder how many more hits he would have had had he not been on that mercy mission that crashed.
27.  Al Kaline, 3,007
26.  Wade Boggs, 3,010
25.  Cap Anson, 3,011-  pre-1901

24.  Rafael Palmeiro, 3,020
23.  Lou Brock, 3,023--  And who did the Cubs get for him?
22.  Rod Carew, 3,053
21.  Ricky Henderson, 3,055--  I was there when he broke Maury Wills' single season stolen base record in Milwaukee.

And, I Know All these Guys.  --Cooter

Ernie Banks' '58 All Star Selection Topps Card-- Part 1

After yesterday's sad news, I got out my Cubs baseball card display book and started looking at the Ernie Banks cards.  Unfortunately, they only go back to this card as the others were way too expensive when I was collecting them back in the 60s and then again in the late 70s-80s.

His cards go back to 1953, I imagine, since that was his rookie year with the Cubs where he played ten games and hit his first two of more than 500 home runs in his career.

The back of his '58 card reads:
Ernie Banks
Shortstop
NL
Chicago Cubs
Sport Magazine '58 All-Star Selection

The text "Ernie has inscribed his name in the record books bu clouting more homers than any other shortstop in history.  And when he comes to bat with the sacks loaded, pitchers shudder.  He blasted 5 out of the park with 3 men on in '56 for another all-time mark.  This year he hit 18 homers in the first seven weeks of the season.

Not bad for a shortstop.  --Cooter

Congratulations to Frank Thomas and Tony La Russa, Baseball's HoF

From the July 28, 2014, Raleigh (NC) News & Observer "Tears, apologies and enshrinement" by John Kekis, AP.

"Frank Thomas choked back tears, Joe Torre apologized for leaving people out of his speech and Tony La Russa said he felt uneasy.

Also inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown were pitchers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, and managers Bobby Cox.

Being a Chicago (especially White Sox) fan, I was extra happy for Thomas, probably the all-time greatest Sox player.  And, Tony La Russa cut his managerial teeth as White Sox skipper in the 80s, taking them to the playoffs in 1983.  And, Greg Maddux was originally a Cub.

Congrats, Guys.  --Cooter

Cubs Home Opener Today-- Part 3: Retired Numbers

Here is a list of Cubs retired numbers...all greats. Amazing how many of these number are from those great late 60s teams.

#10-- Ron Santo

#14 Ernie Banks

#23 Ryne Sandberg (manager of the Phillies who the Cubs are playing today and should have been the Cubs MANAGER!!!!)

#31 Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux.

Love Those Cubs. --Cooter

Deaths: Civil Rights-- The Man-- Manager

JAMES HOOD, 70

Died Jan. 17th.  And I just wrote about him in the Fiftieth Anniversary of 1963 entries last week in this blog.  One of two black students whose attempt to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963 led to Gov. George Wallace's segregationist "stand in the schoolhouse door."

The courage exemplified by this young man was something, leading to greater educational opportunities for blacks.


STAN MUSIAL, 92

Died Jan. 19th.  Hall of Fame slugger for the St. Louis Cardinals.  I've always heard of Stan "The Man" Musial, but his last year playing was 1963 and I didn't get interested in baseball until the following year.


EARL WEAVER, 82

Died Jan. 18th.  Hall of Fame manager who led the Baltimore Orioles to four American League pennants and the 1970 World Series title over 17 years.  As a White Sox fan, I sure hated to have to play this guy.  He'd beat you nine ways to Wednesday.