R.I.P. Don Zimmer.

Noted Major League Baseball figure Don Zimmer passed away on June 04, 2014, at the age of 83. 

Zimmer was a player for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and for other teams including the New York Mets, manager of the Boston Red Sox, and bench coach for the New York Yankees during their run of four championships in five seasons... and that's hardly all, folks! 

 

Oh, yes... and, during his Yankee stint,  a memorable confrontation with Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez.  We all gasped and held our breath at the sight of that!  Thankfully, he was okay!

 

 

Don Zimmer was beloved by baseball fans everywhere, and for more reasons than I can count! 

 

He will be missed. 

R.I.P. Ralph Kiner

Baseball Hall of Famer and iconic New York Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner died on February 06, 2013 at the age of 91. 

 Kiner took his place among the baseball greats in Cooperstown as a result of a stellar career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians, between 1946 and 1955.

But, in New York, he was beloved as a long-time broadcaster for the New York Mets – both on WOR TV Channel 9 and the various radio stations that carried Mets games.  He began broadcasting when the Mets began playing, in 1962, as part of the legendary team of Bob Murphy, Lindsay Nelson, and Ralph Kiner – seen below from left to right, with the great Shea Stadium scoreboard in the background.

Kiner’s WOR TV post-game show, Kiner’s Korner, is permanently etched in the memories of anyone who saw it.  Using the still-new technology of “Videotape Replay” (described literally as such by a superimposed graphic), Kiner would recap the events with two stars of the game in a seated and relaxed atmosphere that is almost inconceivable in today’s world of “Three Questions on the Sideline”, or microphones shoved at players in a locker room. 
 

I really enjoyed Kiner’s Korner, which followed every Mets home game on WOR television starting in 1964, often more so than many of those frustrating early Mets games themselves!   
 

Amazingly, Kiner continued to participate in occasional Mets radio broadcasts into the 2013 season!  And it was always a treat to discover he was part of a game that I’d tune into while in the car! 

Ralph Kiner in 2011

Rest In Peace, Ralph Kiner.  You will always be beloved in New York! 

CY-o-nara!

Days like this make me glad I’m not a Mets fan, and cause me to feel sorry for those who are!

The Mets have traded R.A. Dickey, the best pitcher in New York baseball this year – and the 2012 National League Cy Young Award winner to the Toronto Blue Jays!

I was a big fan of R.A. Dickey, and really enjoyed the fact that he pitched for New York. Though I won’t go so far to begin rooting for the Jays over the Yankees, I wish nothing but the best to R.A. Dickey… just not when he faces the Yanks!

Congratulations to R.A. Dickey: 2012 National League Cy Young Winner!

Congratulations to R.A. Dickey: 2012 National League Cy Young Winner!


R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets has won the 2012 National League Cy Young Award – and I couldn’t think of a better choice!


Please click on THIS LINK for all the reasons why!


And, one more reason… In a world of sometimes unpleasant sports figures, R.A. Dickey is, by all accounts, a really great guy!


So, congratulations to R.A. Dickey… and to David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays, who won the American League Cy Young (even though he often beats the Yankees)!

Yay!  Yay!  R.A.! 

R.A. Dickey!

With the Yankees winning the 2012 American League East, you’d think they would have had the best pitcher in New York baseball… but they don’t! 

That honor goes to R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets, who finished with a record of 20-6!

Given that the Mets overall were 74-88, that would give Dickey (all by his lonesome) 28 percent (!) of the team’s total wins! 

And consider what a feat it is to BE 20-6 on a team with a losing record… They’re probably not scoring a ton of runs for you, so you’ve gotta be EXTRA good! 

So thank you, R.A. Dickey, for being such a standout in the competitive arena of New York baseball! 

 

You “Met” Your Life! …Or, “The Day We Met Met Life Stadium!”

The last time Esther and I went to a New York Jets football game, they played in a facility with the curious name of “Giants Stadium”. 

As best my research could determine, the stadium appears to have been named after the outsized antagonists of this classic Irwin Allen Sci-Fi TV series…

…OR, it could have been named after the reigning Super Bowl Champions!  Who can ever really tell for sure? 

Nevertheless, yesterday (September 09, 2012), the New York Jets beat the Buffalo Bills 48–28, on our first trip to the new football facility called “Met Life Stadium”!  …Possibly and incongruously named for Baseball’s New York Mets in some arcane connection with the classic Milton Bradley board game?    



...OR, maybe some big insurance company!  Again, can one ever really be certain?  

"MetLi" Stadium?  Where's the rest?

Scoring 48 points, quarterback Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense piled it on… and so did the Sun! 

Our seats, in the third level between the 40 and 50 yard lines, were in direct exposure to the Sun for the entire game.  There was nary a cloud in the sky to block the searing and penetrating rays.  (Why even Wayne Hunter could have offered better protection than did Mother Nature!  …Private Joke for Jets fans, sorry!)  When an occasional cloud DID appear, it was greeted with as many cheers as were Mark Sanchez and Darrelle Revis! 

Yay, Sanchez!  Yay, Revis!  YAAYY, CLOUDS! 

To make matters worse, a woman in an adjoining seat gave off a noticeable level of body odor – and, being the chivalrous husband that I am, I selflessly switched seats with Esther, providing her with as much cover and distance from the olfactory onslaught as could be.   

Was I watching “Le New Yorque Jettes” or sumpthin’? 

Former Jets and New England Patriots great Curtis Martin was honored by the Jets at halftime, on the occasion of his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Jets legend Joe Namath was a featured speaker – and only now has it dawned on me that I was actually in a stadium at a moment in which Namath was on the field!  …Wow! 

 Jets head coach Rex Ryan has lost so much weight in the off season that he was difficult to spot on the sidelines.  …If not for the fact that he still wears his trademark dark green sweater vest – even in the face of the unyielding sun (…albeit in a smaller size!) 

Highly touted Tim Tebow was a non-factor in the Jets’ offense this game.  With such a big lead built up by Sanchez and his runners and receivers, perhaps Coach Ryan is keeping Tebow’s wildcat a secret for another week!  Look out, Pittsburgh Steelers! 

The new Met Life Stadium is beautiful.  Indeed with this shrine for the Jets and Giants, the new Yankee Stadium, and the new Citi Field for the Mets – not to mention the soon-to-open Barclay’s Center for the Brooklyn Nets – we sports fans in New York are fortunate indeed! 

Finally, if you live on the New York side of the Hudson River and ever wish to travel to Met Life Stadium, (in East Rutherford, NJ) TAKE THE TRAIN! 

NJ Transit offers service from Penn Station (connecting shuttle from Secaucus Junction) that PULLS RIGHT UP TO THE STADIUM!  (Yes, as you see above, it's really THAT CLOSE! Click the Pic to Enlarge!) It is comfortable and easy to use.  I truly hated the ordeal of driving to the old Giants Stadium – and maybe went to fewer games than I wanted to because of that.  Now, with this great convenience, we’ll likely go more often. 

Indeed, the only unfortunate consequence of the day’s events (once I was again able to take-in a deep breath of clean fresh air) is the noticeable sunburn that continues to remind me that it’s there.  But, to see the Jets score 48 points, it was WOTRH IT! 

J-E-T-S!  …JETS! …JETS!  …JETS! 

 

Halfway… er, Home – 2012!

The Captain: Derek Jeter

Two years ago at the All Star Break (in THIS POST), we found the New York Yankees leading the American League Eastern Division  with the best record in Major League Baseball, at 56-32, with a 2.0 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.  The New York Mets were in second place in the National League East at 48-40, 4.0 games behind the Atlanta Braves.  

Two months ago (in THIS POST), the Yankees were 16-13 and 2.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays.   The Mets were in third place at 17-13, 1.5 games behind the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves.  

TODAY, the All Star Break finds the New York Yankees AGAIN leading the American League East, with the best record in Major League Baseball at 52-33, and a 7.0 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles and a 7.5 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. 

The Yankees are doing it despite devastating losses to their pitching staff: The greatest closer in the history of the game Mariano Rivera, aces C.C. Sabathia, and Andy Pettitte, and one-time touted phenom Joba Chamberlain.  And, let’s be honest… Alex Rodriguez is not what he used to be.  Huge props to manager Joe Girardi for overcoming all of this! 

A-Rod

The New York Mets are AGAIN third in the National League East at 46-40 .5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for second, and 4.0 games behind the division-leading Washington Nationals.   

Mets manager Terry Collins has really kept his team in the thick of things, when naysayers (including me) thought they’d be an also-ran by now.  David Wright and (especially) R.A. Dickey have consistently come up big this season!  Huge props are also due Collins for the never-say-die attitude he has brought to his team. 

R.A. Dickey

So, if my comics reading and DVD watching is a bit down this year, it’s because every night of New York Baseball is so much fun to watch! 

Fun for YOU too... eh, Derek?

2012 AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST STANDINGS

TEAM	W	L	GB
NY Yankees	52	33	0.0

Baltimore	45	40	7.0
Tampa Bay	45	41	7.5
Boston	43	43	9.5
Toronto	43	43	9.5

2012 NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST STANDINGS

TEAM	W	L	GB
Washington	49	34	0.0
Atlanta	46	39	4.0
NY Mets	46	40	4.5
Miami	41	44	9.0
Philadelphia	37	50	14.0

Let's hope they're not facing R.A. Dickey!

Batty Baseball Standings!

Here it is, already the end of May 08, 2012, and the METS have a better record than the YANKEES – and are closer to first place! 

Check it out HERE!

And the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals are both in FIRST PLACE?! 

…AND the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox are both in LAST PLACE?! 

When’s the last time THAT happened this far into a season? 

R.I.P. Gary (“The Kid”) Carter.

We at TIAH Blog remember Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and catcher for the 1986 World Champion New York Mets, Gary (“The Kid”) Carter, who died from a malignant brain tumor on February 16, 2012, at the unjustly premature age of 57.

Gary Carter was nicknamed “The Kid” for his youthful exuberance for the game of baseball. The photo above says all you need to know about that!

I’ll just let quotes from today’s sports-talk radio say it for me:

“He was a Hall of Famer as a player and as a man!”

“He was a great player and a greater human being!”

As I listened, the quotes continued, on and on, in the same vein. Funny, though… they never became repetitive!

Though he wears a Montreal Expos cap in Cooperstown, we, in New York, will never forget him!

Halfway… er, Home!

At the designated mid-point of the 2010 Major League Baseball season, we find the New York Yankees atop the American League Eastern Division with a record of 56-32 – the best record in Major League Baseball, by the way!

The Tampa Bay Rays are second at 54-34 – 2.0 games back. And arch rival the Boston Red Sox are 51-37 – 5.0 games out.

On the other side of town, the Atlanta Braves lead the National League Eastern Division with a record of 52-36. The New York Mets are second at 48-40 (4.0 games back) and the Philadelphia Phillies are on their heels in third, at 47-40 (4.5 games out).

Not a bad place to be, if you’re a New Yorker like me!

Let’s get the Home Run Derby, All Star Game and the awarding of World Series Home Field Advantage out of the way, and jump into the second half! …Who needs LeBron James!

New York Yankees.56-32
Tampa Bay Rays...54-34 2.0
Boston Red Sox...51-37 5.0

Atlanta Braves.....52-36
New York Mets......48-40 4.0
Philadelphia Phils.47-40 4.5

95 Hundred Wins on the Wall… 95 Hundred Wins…

…If one of those wins should happen to fall (due to recruiting violations, Supreme Court rulings, time stream anomalies, or what have you), 9,499 wins on the wall…

9,499 wins on the wall… Well, you know…

(Enters Hitchcock Mode)

Good Eve-ven-ing!

In this space, I’d promised more detail on the curious confluence of Messrs Alfred Hitchcock, Ray Bradbury, and Carl Barks… however, the best laid plans of directorial, prose fiction, and comic book legends often go astray. For that information, I regret you’ll have to wait a bit longer.

But, while you wait, you can pass the time with this milestone from our national pastime.

(Exits Hitchcock Mode)

Let’s congratulate our NEW YORK YANKEES on their 9,500th win.

In some sort of ironic symmetry – or is it symmetric irony, I keep confusing the two – the victory came at the expense of their Outer-Borough Rivals, the New York Mets.

CC Sabathia bested Johann Santana 4-0, with all the runs provided by a Mark Texiera grand slam. The win also put the Yankees alone atop the American League East.

Just like Hitchcock, Bradbury, and Barks were atop their respective professions. If you’ll forgive this rather awkward method of tying two topics together, I promise you an unusual find that artistically unites these men in a most unexpected fashion… later this week.
Good Eve-ven-ing!

Does It Get Any Better in New York Sports?!

Sunday, September 27, 2009… WHAT A DAY!

The Yankees just clinched the American League Eastern Division – AND the Best Record in Major League Baseball for 2009 (…and all the post-season scheduling advantages associated with that!) by beating the Boston Red Sox 4-2! A three game series SWEEP, I might add!

In Football, the Amazing Jets defeated the Tennessee Titans 24-17 and the Giants shut out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-0!

Both NY Football teams are now 3-0!

Why, even the Mets triumphed over the Florida Marlins 4-0! Not that it helps them much!

And, dash it all, I was at work ALL DAY TODAY… and missed ALL OF IT!

Oh, well…

Fantasy Baseball?

Quick, who played in the 1984 World Series?

How about the 1974 World Series?

Some of our favorite classic Sci-Fi / Fantasy TV shows thought they had the answer!

The 1967 LOST IN SPACE episode “The Haunted Lighthouse” revealed that the 1984 World Series was fought between the New York Mets and (what was then) the California Angels… with the Mets having scored at least 22 runs in one game!

1984, at it was seen from times past – thanks to George Orwell, was considered to be a scary year in which many strange and bizarre things would happen. A memorable World Series between 1967’s doormats of the National and American League would have seemed just another “walk-in-the-1984-(ball)-park” for the citizens of that “future year”.

…And, LIS was only TWO YEARS OFF, as the Mets actually DID compete in the 1986 WS – more about which below.

1974’s KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER episode “U.F.O.” had that year’s World Series going to the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs!

It seems very fitting that (what were at the time) the two “CURSED” teams would one-day meet for the championship of Major League Baseball – especially within the context of Kolchak!

Oddly, KOLCHAK, too, missed it by only ONE year, as the Red Sox went to the 1975 WS against the Cincinnati Reds. But, they lost that one – and lost the 1986 Series to the Mets on one of the All-Time Bad Breaks In Baseball History – continuing their “cursed” status until 2004.

Alas, the Cubs (at .500 at the mid-point of the 2009 MLB Season) remain “cursed” to this day – an unexplained phenomenon that even intrepid reporter and supernatural investigator Carl Kolchak couldn’t crack!

Look-out, Carl! That old "Cubs Curse" is once again stalking your city of Chicago!