Things seen on the World Wide Web.
Here’s an online art exhibition, of illustrations of old-timey baseball players, entitled Stealing Signs: Dead-Ball Era Baseball; Memories from My Last Life, 1927. And here’s an interview with the artist.
Unfortunately, this one is already sold, or I’d suggest it as something for the walls of the Rocketship (unless the walls are completely covered in books by now). There are a few other St. Louis players, though.
A ball from Jeff Bennett nearly takes off Jason Michaels’s vest. Video on Flickr.
As I mentioned in the last entry, I’m at work today, instead of watching Opening Day baseball. The closest I can come is watching baseball-related videos on YouTube, such as this one (which I don’t think I’ve linked
to here before). The serious baseball-related content starts at about 1:50 in. Dave Foley is awesome.
As seen on Uni Watch, for sale this particular item is apparently a Yankee Stadium food vendor shirt from the 1970s. Quite a difference from what was being worn on the field.
Edited later to add: Further evidence turned up that these are actually from the late 1960s.
An auction house recently came across an 1898 National League document headlined “Special Instructions to Players, case ” outlawing players using indecent language while on the field. Not really a big deal — except that the document includes examples. (First spotted on BoingBoing.)
To kick off the World Series, I’ve got a piece up today at the Poetry Foundation’s site about baseball and poetry. Play ball!
In the weeks after Rod Beck died this summer, I kept thinking I’d write a brief obituary, talking about what a fun player he was to watch, about the way his arm dangled, about the way he got guys out for a couple of seasons there at the end despite having almost nothing left, about the period when he lived in–and welcomed strangers to–a trailer behind the minor-league ballpark that was his home stadium. I never got around to it.
Beck was a favorite, and I missed him when he retired. When he died, no one who knew him had anything but good to say about him as a person and a friend, but it seemed to be quietly assumed that his death had been the result of one of the addictions he had fought throughout his career.
Today, Amy K. Nelson has a piece at ESPN that tells the whole story of Beck’s last years, from the perspective of his friends and family. He comes out of it seeming even nicer and more thoughtful than I expected, but that only makes his death–and what his addiction did to his family–even sadder.
RIP, Shooter.
Back around the All-Star break, I learned that Twins relief pitcher Pat Neshek has a blog, in which he reveals that, well, he’s a baseball nerd. As he put it in his pitch to fans to vote him into the last spot on the All-Star squad, if he weren’t playing baseball, he’d be watching and reading and writing about it, like all of us. On top of that, he’s obsessed with baseball cards.
Speaking of baseball cards, I know I’ve pointed out Josh Wilker’s Cardboard Gods blog before, but it’s been particularly good lately and seemed worth noting again. It’s less about baseball per se than about how the way that baseball provides landmarks and highlights that help us to remember, preserve, and even sometimes to understand our lives–and it’s really good.
Finally, a link at Baseball Primer today introduced me to Dirk Hayhurst, a minor-league pitcher who writes the Diary of a Non-Prospect for Baseball America. The column that drew my attention was a thoughtful, well-written piece about signing autographs, but his columns on early-morning bus rides and manning the ball bucket are also well worth your time. Hayhurst has a good eye and a surprisingly nuanced perspective on his profession, and while he’s just a beginning writer, he clearly understands how to tell a story.
I wrote to him to tell him how much I enjoyed his column, and I got the following response:
Levi,
I had no Idea my little story was out there in so many places. Its very
flattering to see because I honestly don’t consider myself a very
talented writer. I have never done it before- no previous experience
etc… I just wanted to capture as many sides of the life of a real
person playing a surreal job. I didn’t loose my humanity when I put this
uniform on, in fact, I’d say it became more real to me. What I used to
think about baseball before I signed is not the same as what I think
about it now. I guess I used to think this job, this high profile title
of pro-athlete would answer all my questions about life. IT just gave me
more. Why are so many of us pro anythings so distant? Why are we so
beloved for such a trivial job? Why do kids want my autograph when their parents make 8 times as much as I do!? Why am I more revered then a Doctor? I don’t know, but I’ll do my best to make the most of, because whether it makes sense of not, I have the opportunity to help- I’m going to take it.Thanks for reading, and feel free to post this on any site you wish.
The indexing at Baseball America is poor, but if you search on Hayhurst’s name, you’ll find quite a few columns. Here’s wishing him luck in pitching and writing.
This site, called Cool Standings, shows the major league baseball
standings — including expected wins, expected losses, and their calculation of each team’s chances to win the division, win the wild card, and make it to the playoffs, period. The Red Sox currently have a 96.5% chance of making the playoffs; the Padres are tops in the NL, with a 90.9% chance.
If you click on each team’s name, you get more stats, including
a graph showing how their playoff chances have risen and fallen during the season. The one for the Yankees is particularly recommended.
Via Uni Watch: this awesome 100-year-old baseball uniform is on display in an exhibit at the Cedar Rapids Kernels’ stadium.
