Hammerin' Hank

I'm reading a little book right now about Hank Aaron.  It's actually just a commercial product of Sports Illustrated.  They compiled all the articles written about Aaron for the mag over the years into a book they could sell.  It's titled The Hammer:  The Best of Hank Aaron from the Pages of Sports Illustrated.  

Actually, it's pretty good.  Throughout the book so far, I've been repeatedly amazed at Aaron---really wish I could've seen him play.

I'm sure this is all old news to many baseball buffs, but it's been great for me to learn more about Mr. Wrists, a true bad ball hitter who stymied most pitchers with an astute guessing game at what pitch he was going to get.  A person who looked overtly casual in manner, but was really an intense studier of the game, with an unmatched focus on detail.

There are some great quotes from contemporaries as the book follows his young days on up through the home run record chase and beyond (the last article was published in 1994).  It's good to read pieces that were written at the time events were happening--gives a real feel for what folks thought of Aaron at various stops in his career-before they knew the history he'd be making.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this story of summer in the midst of the blustery winds of a Michigan winter.

Who's Your Non-Tiger?

What players do you like to watch from other teams?  It could just be that you like their game, and enjoy seeing them play.  Maybe you wish they were a Tiger, even if it's only because you can't stand facing them, or because they've got a reputation as a "Tiger killer."  Maybe it's a fun personality that has you hooked.

Here are a couple of my favorite non-Tigers, and I'd like to hear yours.

I love to see Vladimir Guerrero play.  He's a bad ball hitter, and it's a lot fun to see him golf one off his shoe tops. He must really get under a pitcher's skin.

Jose Reyes is fun because he's hyper, and he drives pitchers crazy on the base paths.  His speed is something to behold.

I'm looking forward to watching young Carlos Gomez of the Twins' development.  He's fast, covers a lot of ground in the outfield--quite a sparkplug.

Roy Halladay is one of my most feared pitchers.  I don't like it when we face him.  Thankfully he's not an AL central foe.

I am always in awe of Albert Pujols.  I couldn't believe it when I read that the NL MVP was "wide open" this year.  I thought he was a lock.

One Free Agent Who Won't Be Signed

I've been following Juan Encarnacion's injury situation on and off since it happened.  If  you're not familiar, at the end of August 2007, he was hit in the eye socket by a foul ball that was hit by a teammate while he was standing in the on deck circle.  It was a truly horrific injury, essentially crushing the eye socket into little pieces.  Fortunately, his eyeball did not rupture.  You can look it up on YouTube, but I didn't put a link  here because I didn't want to be sensationalistic or macabre.  Anyway, Juan's eyesight and baseball career were in immediate jeopardy, and he's had several surgeries.  I noticed him listed among unsigned free agents, so I went digging.

Per the St. Louis Post Dispatch on November 10, 2008, Juan had gone through the motions of filing for free agency as a formality, but is not expected to play again.  Juan's "vision has not returned to a point where he can drive a car.  He was, at one point, described by a doctor as legally blind in the left eye.  His vision was classified a  year ago as 20/400 in  his left eye."

The article goes on to say that he has not been in much communication with the Cards, although GM John Mozeliak talked with him.  Sounds like Juan was in a bad place a couple months ago, still has much recovery ahead, and wasn't taking visits or calls, even from teammates.

Sorry to be the bearer of such woesome tidings, but thought you might be interested in our former Tiger and one-time World Series opponent.  I won't be trite and send him get well wishes--actually maybe I will.  Sounds like he could use a corny Hallmark card right about now--to let  him know "we're thinking of  him at this difficult time."

Just This Side of Glory

I have a real soft spot in my heart for career minor league types.  To get a cup of coffee in the majors once in a while, tasting the bigs, but never quite making it, languishing in the minors year after year as young upstarts pass you by, seems a cruel fate.

The Tigers have a couple of those guys--Timo Perez (just re-signed to a minor league deal, with the slap-in-the-face incentive of making somewhere around $4- or 500,000 if he stays in the majors all year--what a low blow), and Mike Hessman.

Hessman's got the true "country strong" power as Rod Allen would say.  He hits moon shots out of the park.  Trouble is, that's about all he's got.

Perez has shown flashes of goodness up with the Tigers, but gets just a few call-ups, and those are fading fast with all the young outfielders down on the farm.   See Ian over at BYB's piece today for Timo's 2007 numbers with the Tigers, and other good stuff.  I agree it seems odd to retain him at this point, but I have to say, I'm glad about it.

I'm sure it's offensive to them to have me feeling sorry for them, and wanting to protect them.  Maybe they feel sorry for me--someone who is obsessed with watching others do what I never could.  I mean, at least they're playing ball.  They could be working at a wastewater treatment plant or risking their lives in a coal mine every day for a pittance.   Not that I'm saying they couldn't be doing anything decent if they didn't play ball, I just mean there are a lot worse things than the minor leagues.  I kind of love minor league games, and wish I lived in a town with a minor league team.  They're inexpensive, filled with all kinds of hokey promotions for kids, and you get to see a lot of young talent.  But coming from a lifer's perspective, when you compare it to the bigs, it might get a wee bit frustrating to come that close and never quite get there.

Then there's a player like Chris Shelton, who hit 9 home runs in the first 13 games of the 2006 season, and has never been heard from again.   Designated for assignment countless times, he's now signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners.  I wonder whether it would have been better for him never to have hit all those homers, than to try for the rest of his career to regain the fleeting greatness.

I guess it's all in a person's own perspective.  Some are happy that they were a part of something and once did something, while others are tortured by what might have been, and the inability to get back to that place.

I think also of Craig Monroe, who had such a magical 2006, hitting so many clutch four baggers.  He hit five home runs in the 2006 post-season, 2 in the ALDS, one the ALCS and 2 in WS, and hit .429 in the ALCS with .786 SLG.  He's really struggled since then, hitting .202 with 8 homers last year in 163 at bats.   He's  now a Pittsburgh Pirate.  Actually, I just saw that he made $3.8 mill last year!  All sympathy is summarily withdrawn.

No, in reality, my heart can't help but go out to those who glimpse greatness just out of reach, or grasp it momentarily as it slips through their hands.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Ferris Wheel

On August 12, 2007, I desired to extend my birthday celebration by going to Comerica for that Sunday's game, even though I had already officially celebrated there for my birthday earlier that week.  So, my husband had to work, but I dragged my rather reluctant son with me over to the ball park.  I'm still working on brain-washing him to love baseball.  There's hope--I didn't start to love it until I was 13.

Anyway, I had lured him there with the promise of carousel and ferris wheel rides, sugary snacks and the like.  The game itself did not interest him much.  So, we sat there in the front row in right field behind Magglio, and watched all of one and a half innings before my son starts campaigning for the ferris wheel.  Now, when I'm at the game, I'm all business--normally.  I keep score, do not leave my seat except in emergency (to haul it to the ladies'), and then only when the opposition is batting.  But I resolved to lighten up for this game, so I told my son that we could go to the carousel after Magglio's at bat (he was leading off the bottom of the second).  Well, I was happy we stayed for it, because he promptly jacked one out of the park to the opposite field (but to the right of us).  Satisfied, I proceeded to escort the happy kid to the ferris wheel.

We got on the thing with a dad and his little guy.  The ride starts going, the dad and I began chatting, and then we hear all kinds of cheering.  Imprisoned in the whirling baseball, we just know we're missing it, big-time.  The cheers keep coming, and then I hear Magglio's walk-up song--Mirala.  So we know they batted around.   Suddenly, a sustained, raucous cheer blasts out of the stadium.   Yeah, it was the day Ordóñez hit two home runs in one inning, and there we were, trapped on the flyball ferris wheel.  We scored a total of eight runs that inning, and I saw only that first one.

I took it all in stride, laughing (to keep from crying) as we walked back to our seats.  Round about every other inning, we had to leave again for snow cones, cool drinks, carousel rides, trips to the Tiger shop--even heat breaks in front of the little cooling fans.   

You know what, though?  It's a great memory and I'll never forget what I was doing the day Magglio swatted two in one inning (democratically, it was one to right and one to left), joining Al Kaline as the only other Tiger to do so in club history.

TigerFest Postscript

A couple things I forgot to mention in yesterday's post on TigerFest:

The field and stands were covered in snow, causing my heart to ache with the cruel reminder of just how far off Opening Day remains.  Ironically though, being in Comerica--that familiar summer home--was somehow a little consoling, too.  Weird huh?

It was fun chatting with fans in line, reminiscing, swapping stories and the like.  Solidarity.

TigerFreeze 2009

Here are a couple snaps from TigerFest yesterday.  To say it was cold does not express the depths of frozen-ness we endured.  We got to the stadium at about 10:20, and had to wait outside the gates in an ever lengthening line for at least 30 minutes.  Inside, they did have sheeting up and portable heaters blowing in some warmth, so those areas were fine.  You did have to walk through various unheated concourses and stairways at times.  Those areas were frigid.  

Lines were very long-about 1.5 to 2 hours.  We only waited in one of the autograph lines.  As you can see, we got Carlos Guillen, and Clete Thomas.   I got in one other autograph line at the end of our time there, but didn't have the heart to put my son through it after learning it would be over 1.5 hours.

My son enjoyed the whiffle ball home run derby--he hit at least 3 "home runs."

If my son hadn't been there, I would've gone to the clinics/panels/interviews with players.  I heard those were good. 

All in all, it was just OK.  The cold diminished the fun, and the lines did also, but both were to be expected.

There wasn't quite as much kid stuff as I thought there would be.  It was just a few things in the concourse behind right field.

Touring the clubhouse was ok.  There wasn't much in it, so it seemed kind of sterile.  I'm not sure if they were letting people in the dugouts this year.  We didn't do that if they were.

Anyone else have stories to share?