45. Dusty's Unforgettable Home Run

Before Dodger Kirk Gibson beat the Athletics in Game One of the 1988 World Series, Dusty Rhodes was the only man in baseball history to grab a bat, pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth inning or later of a World Series game, and clout a game-winning home run. The day after Gibson's blast against Oakland reliever Dennis Eckersley, Rhodes could tell Gibson what to expect for the rest of his life.

"They will never, ever let him forget that," said Rhodes, the former Giants outfielder, then age sixty-one and working a tugboat in New York harbor. "Never in a hundred years. Never, ever, ever. No matter how many times he strikes out, all they'll remember is that home run."

Rhodes's unforgettable home run came in Game One of the 1954 World Series. In the eighth inning, Willie Mays had made his astonishing over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz's 460-foot blast to center field. In the bottom of the tenth, New York and Cleveland were still tied 2-2, with Giants on first and second, and one out.

Rhodes was sitting on the bench, steaming at manager Leo Durocher. "I was still kind of mad at the time," drawled Rhodes, Alabama accent intact despite thirty-five years in New York. "Last game of the season in Philadelphia, Leo said, 'The starting lineup tonight is the starting lineup in the World Series.' I played that night.

"So next day is an off-day, and we're working out at the Polo Grounds. I'm hitting in the cage, with all the newsmen around. They said, 'Starting lineup come here for pictures.' I said, 'I'll be with you in a minute.' They said, 'Stay where you are, you ain't playing.' Next day during the game, I was still fuming."

In the tenth inning ... Durocher told him to pinch-hit for Monte Irvin against Indians righty Bob Lemon.

"My intention was to take the first pitch," said Rhodes. "But he hung me a curve. It looked like a balloon up there. So I took a swing and the wind caught it."

It plopped into the short right-field stands at the Polo Grounds and into baseball history. "I can still see Dave Pope jumping for it out there," said Rhodes. "Wertz hit one 460 feet, and Mays caught it. I hit one 250 feet, and I'm a hero for forty years. I turned around and looked at Bob Lemon, and he'd thrown his glove into the stands. It went further than my home run did."

The home run carried Rhodes deep into baseball lore. "I still get three or four letters a week from people looking for me to sign, and they include, 'Congratulations on your home run'," said Rhodes. "I heard Howard Cosell report once it was the cheapest home run ever. I'll tell you one thing: my home run stayed in the air longer than his television show stayed on the air."

Rhodes proceeded to tilt the series from the bench. In Game Two he tied the game with a pinch single, then stayed in the lineup and homered in his next at-bat. In Game Three he pinch-hit and singled with the bases loaded.

"Once in a while when you're down in the dumps, you think about it and it picks you up," said Rhodes.

Baseball Legends and Lore, David Cataneo

Copyright 1991 by David Cataneo

Published by Galahad Books (New York), 1995

IMAGE: Rhodes (right) celebrates Game One win with Willie Mays in clubhouse.

The New York Giants won the 1954 World Series four games to none.--Ed.

44. Sam Crawford: My Teammate, Ty Cobb

Cobb ... was terrific, no doubt about it. After all, he stole almost 900 bases and had a batting average of of .367 over 24 years in the Big Leagues. You can't knock that. I remember one year I hit .378 -- in 1911, it was -- and I didn't come anywhere close to leading the league: Joe Jackson hit .408 and Cobb hit .420. I mean, that's mighty rugged competition!

 

I played in the same outfield with Cobb for 13 years, from 1905 through 1917. I was usually in right, Cobb in center, and Davy Jones and then Bobby Veach in left. Davy Jones, he was the best lead-off man in the league .... The lineup usually was Davy Jones, Donie Bush, Cobb, and Crawford, although sometimes I batted third and Cobb fourth. That Donie Bush was a superb shortstop, absolutely superb. I think he still holds a lot of records for assists and putouts.

They always talk about Cobb playing dirty, trying to spike guys and all. Cobb never tried to spike anybody. The base line belongs to the runner. If the infielders get in the way, that's their lookout. Infielders are supposed to watch out and take care of themselves. In those days, if they got in the way and got nicked they'd never say anything. They'd just take a chew of tobacco out of their mouth, slap it on the spike wound, wrap a handkerchief around it, and go right on playing. Never thought any more about it.

We had a trainer, but all he ever did was give you a rubdown with something we called "Go Fast." He'd take a jar of Vaseline and a bottle of Tabasco sauce -- you know how hot that is -- mix them together, and rub you down with that. Boy, it made you feel like you were on fire! That would really start you sweating. Now they have medical doctors and whirlpool baths and who knows what else.

But Ty was dynamite on the base paths. He really was. Talk about strategy and playing with your head, that was Cobb all the way. It wasn't that he was so fast on his feet, although he was fast enough. There were others who were faster, though, like Clyde Milan, for instance. It was that Cobb was so fast in his thinking. He didn't outhit the opposition and he didn't outrun them. He outthought them!

A lot of times Cobb would be on third base and I'd draw a base on balls, and as I started to go down to first I'd sort of half glance at Cobb, at third. He'd make a slight move that told me he wanted me to keep going -- not to stop at first, but to keep on going to second. Well, I'd trot two-thirds of the way to first and then suddenly, without warning, I'd speed up and go across first as fast as I could and tear out for second. He's on third, see. They're watching him, and suddenly there I go, and they don't know what the devil to do.

If they try to stop me, Cobb'll take off for home. Sometimes they'd catch him, and sometimes they'd catch me, and sometimes they wouldn't get either of us. But most of the time they were too paralyzed to do anything, and I'd wind up at second on a base on balls ....

Cobb was a great ballplayer, no doubt about it. But he sure wasn't easy to get along with. He wasn't a friendly, good-natured guy, like [Honus] Wagner was, or Walter Johnson, or Babe Ruth .... He wrote an autobiography, you know, and he spends a lot of time in there telling how terrible he was treated when he first came up to Detroit, as a rookie, in 1905. About how we weren't fair to him, and how we tried to "get" him.

But you have to look at the other side, too .... Every rookie gets a little hazing, but most of them just take it and laugh. Cobb took it the wrong way. He came up with an antagonistic attitude, which in his mind turned any little razzing into a life-or-death struggle. He always figured everybody was ganging up against him .... Well, who knows, maybe if he hadn't had that persecution complex he never would have been the great ballplayer he was. He was always trying to prove he was the best, on the field and off. And maybe he was, at that.

 

 

The Glory of Their Times, Lawrence S. Ritter

Copyright 1966 by Lawrence S. Ritter

Published by Random House (New York), 1966

 

Image: Sam Crawford

43. Stats: Batting Average (Career)

 Top 100 Career Leaders in Batting Average (as of 2011)

Required: 1,000 games and 1,000 at-bats.

Players still active are listed in italics.

1. Ty Cobb .366 ... 2. Rogers Hornsby .358 ... 3. Joe Jackson .356 ... 4. Pete Browning .349 ... 5. Ed Delahanty .346 ... 6.Tris Speaker .345 ... 7. Ted Williams .344 ... 8. Billy Hamilton .344 ... 9. Dan Brouthers .342 ... 10. Babe Ruth .342 ... 11. Harry Heilmann .342 ... 12. Willie Keeler .341 ... 13. Bill Terry .341 ... 14. George Sisler .340 ... 15. Lou Gehrig .340 ... 16. Jesse Burkett .338 ... 17. Tony Gwynn .337 ... 18. Nap Lajoie .338 ... 19. Riggs Stephenson .336 ... 20. Al Simmons .334 ... 21. John McGraw .334 ... 22. Tip O'Neill .334 ... 23. Paul Waner .333 ... 24. Eddie Collins .333 ... 25. Mike Donlin .333 ... 26. Cap Anson .331 ... 27. Stan Musial .331 ... 28. Sam Thompson .331 ... 29. Heinie Manush .330 ... 30. Albert Pujols .328 ... 31. Wade Boggs .328 ... 32.. Rod Carew .328 ... 33. Honus Wagner .327 ... 34. Ichiro Suzuki .326 ... 35. Bob Fothergill .325 ... 36. Jimmie Foxx .325 ... 37. Earle Combs .325 ... 38. Joe DiMaggio .325 ... 39. Babe Herman .324 ... 40. Hugh Duffy .325 ... 41. Joe Medwick .324 ... 42. Edd Roush .323 ... 43. Todd Helton .323 ... 44. Sam Rice .322 ... 45. Ross Youngs .322 ... 46. Kiki Cuyler .321 ... 47. Charlie Gehringer .320 ... 48. Chuck Klein .320 ... 96. Pie Traynor .320 ... 50. Mickey Cochrane .320

51. Ken Williams .319 ... 52. Kirby Puckett .318 ... 53. Denny Lyons .318 ... 54. Earl Averill .318 ... 55. Vladimir Guerrero .318 ... 56. Arky Vaughan .318 ... 57. Roberto Clemente ,317 ... 58. Chick Haley .317 ... 59. Joe Kelley .317 ...60. Miguel Cabrera .317 ... 61. Zach Wheat .317 ... 62. Roger Connor .317 ... 63. Lloyd Waner .316 ... 64. Frankie Frisch .316 ... 65. Goose Goslin .316 ... 66. George Van Haltrin .316 ... 67. Matt Holliday .315 ... 68. Bibb Falk .314 ... 69. Cecil Travis .314 ... 70. Hank Greenberg .313 ... 71. Jack Fournier .313 ... 72. Elmer Flick .313 ... 73. Derek Jeter .313 ... 74. Nomar Garciaparra .313 ... 75. Larry Walker .313 ... 76. Bill Dickey .313 ... 77. Dale Mitchell .312 ... 78. Manny Ramirez .312 ... 79. Johnny Mize .312 ... 80. Joe Sewell .312 ... 81. Elmer Smith .312 ... 82. Fred Clarke .312 ... 83. Barney McClosky .312 ... 84. Edgar Martinez .312 ... 85. Hughie Jennings .311 ... 86. Frankie Lindstrom .311 ... 87. Bing Miller .311 ... 88. Jackie Robinson .311 ... 89. Baby Doll Jacobson .311 ... 90. Taffy Wright .311 ... 91.Rip Radcliff .311 ... 92. Ginger Beaumont .311 ... 93. Mike Tiernan .311 ... 94. Luke Appling .310 ... 95. Irish Meusel .310 ... 96. Bobby Veach .310 ... 97. Henry Larkin .310 ... 98. Jim O'Rourke .310 ... 99. Jim Bottomley .310 ... 100. John Stone .310

Currently active players who have BA over .300...

Magglio Ordonez .309 (103)

Robinson Cano .308 (109)

Chipper Jones .304 (135)

Michael Young .304 (139)

Victor Martinez .303 (144)

Alex Rodriguez .302 (165)

Placido Polanco .301 (171)

David Wright .300 (178)

 

IMAGE: Ty Cobb and Joe Jackson

42. Cable TV Fills Baseball's Coffers

Two seismic transactions this winter from baseball's upper-middle-class -- the Los Angeles Angels' 10-year, $240 million contract with slugger Albert Pujols, and the Texas Rangers' $111 million-plus commitment to acquire Japanese pitching star Yu Darvish -- are indications the sport's revenue structure has been forever altered by a massive infusion of money from cable television deals.

New multibillion-dollar contracts from Fox Sports regional networks enabled the Rangers to break the Red Sox's record for money spent on a Japanese import and the Angels to make Pujols baseball's second-highest-paid player, behind the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez.

And with local television rights gaining value in an increasingly competitive media landscape, they are likely just the beginning of a wave of deals that will enrich many franchises but further isolate those at the bottom of the revenue spectrum.

"The local TV money has changed the entire landscape," says Ed Goren, vice chairman of Fox Sports media group. "There are a lot of other teams that can play with the big boys now and write big checks."

The Rangers were the first to hit pay dirt in August 2010. Their deal with Fox Sports Southwest. which includes equity in the network, escalator clauses and profit participation, is for 20 years and valued at $3 billion ....

The Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals could be the next to cash in, with deals that expire or have reopener clauses by 2015.

Even the San Diego Padres, playing in the 26th-largest market in baseball -- are poised to sign a deal with Fox Sports, pending MLB approval, that will guarantee them $75 million a year for 20 years.

Angels owner Arte Moreno, with the ink barely dry on his ballclub's new television deal, wasted no time signing Pujols and starting pitcher C. J. Wilson to deals totaling $317.5 million, eight years after Moreno paid $183.5 million for the franchise.

The Rangers, in bankruptcy 18 months ago, will have a franchise-record payroll of about $125 million this year, thanks to their Fox Sports Southwest deal.

Meanwhile, up the Santa Ana Freeway from the Angels, the Dodgers' franchise value has skyrocketed because of the team's anticipated TV deal.

Yet there's a fear that the new TV deals could create even greater separation between large- and small-market clubs. The Yankees had an average of 318,000 households watching their games on the YES network last year, according to the Nielsen ratings, while the Kansas City Royals averaged 32,000 households.

"It does have the potential to hurt competitive balance," said Chicago White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.

The Dodgers might soon put the competitive-balance theory to the test with a deal that should dwarf their National League West competition. The Dodgers are expected to be sold by April 30 for the largest amount paid for a North American sports franchise -- at least 11 groups have submitted bids in excess of $1 billion -- largely because of a future TV deal that figures to exceed the franchise purchase price.

"Whatever you're going to pay for the Dodgers, you're going to get 2-1/2 times for those cable rights," Orange County-based agent Scott Boras said. "You can spend $1.5 billion now to get the team, but a month later you're to get $4 billion or $5 billion or more for the regional sports network. If you have the cash to get into this, the cherry on top is the major league team. The regional sports network is the sundae."

Long gone are the days when teams envied the Yankees receiving $50 million a year from Madison Square Garden Network. The Yankees now own about 30% of the YES Network, and the Red Sox own 80% of New England Sports Network -- two lucrative networks that are more valuable than the baseball franchises.

The trouble, MLB executives and club officials say, is trying to determine the actual value of the equity rights owned by teams. The Yankees say their TV rights are worth about $85 million to $90 million a year from YES, while the Red Sox insist their TV rights from NESN are worth less. The less money declared by the two giants, the less that goes into the revenue-sharing pool, which was about $400 million last year, Selig said.

Pittsburgh Pirates President Frank Connelly, former MLB senior vice president and general counsel: "If the significant increase in rights fees is not going into the revenue-sharing system, the system breaks down and these uneven TV deals have the potential to hurt the game."

It's not hard to imagine what direction those numbers will be trending. While there's great value in rights to sporting events, baseball might be king of them all, with a 162-game schedule filling the airwaves for at least three hours a day for six months, excluding pregame and postgame shows, at a time of year when original programming is at a premium.

an excerpt from...
"MLB Teams Cash In With Cable"
Bob Nightingale
USA Today Sports Weekly
February 22-28, 2012

41. Baseball Dictionary (American Baseball Congress - away)

American Baseball Congress

Headquartered in Battle Creek, MI, the ABC was founded in 1935 to support amateur baseball in the U.S. (It now has foreign affiliates.) It's seven divisions are named for major league players.

American Baseball Guild

A players' union organized by Boston attorney Robert Murphy in 1946 which gained some concessions -- including payment of spring training expenses, known as "Murphy money" -- before a failed strike that same year led to its dissolution. 
American League

One of the two current major leagues, the AL was founded in 1901 by former sportswriter Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson and initially consisted of teams in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Washington DC. As it has not been in existence as long as the National League, it is sometimes referred to as the "junior circuit." There are several differences between the two leagues; the best known current difference is the existence of a designated hitter (adopted in 1973) in the AL. The AL presently consists of fourteen teams in three divisions: The East (Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Toronto Blue Jays), the Central (Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins), and the West (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland A's, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers).

American Legion Baseball

Founded in 1926, this American Legion-sponsored program for 15-18 year-olds concludes with an annual eight-team World Series tournament.

antitrust exemption

The 1922 Supreme Court decision that exempted baseball from the antitrust laws -- an exemption not enjoyed by other professional sports. The Curt Flood Act (1998) revoked portions of the exemption pertaining particularly to labor relations.

ant killer

A grounder hit so hard that it would kill insects in its path. First used: Chicago Inter-Ocean, July 7, 1874.

Aparicio double

A walk and a stolen base. A sequence of events that seemed relatively common when shortstop Aparicio came up to bat. First used: New York Times, Sept. 27, 1959.

APBA

Popular baseball board game created in 1931 by J. Richard Seitz that is now available as a computer game. The name is derived from the original American Professional Baseball Association.

appeal

(1) When the catcher or pitcher request that the home plate umpire consult the first-base or third-base umpire to determine whether the batter swung (or "offered") at a pitch, in which case a strike would be registered; (2) when a player for has been subjected to disciplinary action asks to plead his case to the commissioner's office.

appeal play

A play that must be made in conjunction with an appeal, and prior to the delivery of the next pitch. "If a baserunner neglects to touch a base when running, it is the responsibility of the defensive team, not the umpire, to claim the violation. Tio make an appeal play in a dead-ball situation, the pitcher must first put the ball back in play by stepping on the pitching rubber, then stepping off the rubber and throwing the ball to a teammate who tags the base in question. At this point the umpire decides if the runner is safe and out." -- Dickson Baseball Dictionary. The same process takes effect if the defensive team believes a baserunner left a base too early.

appearance

To take part in a baseball game.

appearance clause

A clause in a pitcher's contract that awards him a bonus if he appears in a certain number of games.

arbitration

A procedure in place since 1974, in which a player can request the intervention of an independent labor arbitrator if he and his team cannot reach agreement on a new contract. The arbitrator determines whether that player is being fairly paid and, if not, can set a salary based on comparability to other players. The judgment is binding and final. The player making the request must have less than six years seniority and more than two years (as of 1986). Free agents are ineligible for arbitration.

Arby's RBI Award

An award given every year since 1986 to the hitter in each league with the most RBIs. For each run batted in, $1000 is donated to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America. The award given to the player is called the Hank Aaron Trophy. The prize is coproduced by the Arby's fast-food chain and MLB.

Arizona Fall League

An instructional league that plays during the autumn months.

arm

(1) A player's throwing or pitching ability. (2) A term used for a pitcher, or for a fielder who has the ability to throw long and accurately. First used: New York Sunday Mercury, 1963.

arms

A team's pitching staff.

around the horn

(1) A double play that goes from third base to second to first. (2) Throwing the ball around the infield for practice or show before a game or between innings. According to Casey Stengel, infielders were throwing 'round the horn as early as 1912.

arson squad

A bullpen notorious for routinely allowing the opposition to score. In contrast to a bullpen of "firemen" who can be counted on to put out the other team's offensive "fire."

ash

Baseball bat. Most bats used in the MLB are made of northern white ask (Fraxinus americana), which is found in Pennsylvania, Canada, and New York's Adirondack Mountains. First used: Detroit Advertiser and Tribune, July 17, 1872.

aspirin

A pitch thrown so fast that the ball appears to be smaller than it really is.

assist

A throw from one fielder to another that puts out a batter or baserunner.

Association of Professional Baseball Players of America

Non-profit organization that lends a helping hand to ill, handicapped or impoverished former players.

at-bat

Any time the batter gets a hit, makes an out, or reaches base on an error or fielder's choice. A batter makes a plate appearance but is not credited with an at-bat if he is walked, hit by a pitch, completes a sacrifice, or reaches base on a catcher's interference. First used: New York Sunday Mercury, August 10, 1861.

attack point

A point given for every total base and steal by a team in the Japanese Central League. The final tally is used to determine the victor if the game ends in a tie.

attempt

The act of trying to steal a base.

authority

To swing the bat/hit the ball with power and purpose.

automatic out

A batter who rarely hits or walks. Some pitchers are considered automatic outs.

average

A class of baseball statistics that includes batting average, earned run average and slugging average.

away

(1) Used to describe a game played in another team's ballpark (as opposed to a "home" game). A visiting team is, therefore, the "away" team. (2) A pitch thrown out of the strike zone on the side of the plate opposite where the batter stands.