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Forgiveness is important. If you don’t forgive others it is hard for others to forgive you. God always forgives our sins. He gives people the chance to repair their image and work on their problems. God says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven.” I didn’t know what this meant at first, and then I realized that it meant that you should forgive others because you will be together in heaven as children of God.
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Malik “Taz” Brown
Honesty is very important. Being honest is about following in God’s footsteps, because it is impossible for god to lie. Lying can get people into trouble with the law. More importantly, it’s a sin. Your honesty level is a reflection of your character. Your character dictates what people think of you and it affects your ability to get jobs and go to college. People can lie so much that even when they are telling the truth nobody knows it.
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I’ve gotten in trouble for lying a lot. I’ve gotten so used to lying that sometimes I don’t even know when I’m doing it. Sometimes I don’t think that when I lie it’s a big deal, but most of the time it ends up being a big deal. Once you get in the habit of lying it’s hard to break. That’s why it would be better not to start lying in the first place.
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Malik “Taz” Brown
I remember a lot of things about the early seventies such as the wild clothes my relatives wore, the motown music albums and eight tracks that filled our component set, and the sound of Ernie Harwell’s voice broadcasting Tiger baseball games on the radio. My family would gather around my grandfather’s radio on our front porch each day as it crackled with the volume maximized “and its a long fly ball by Ron LaFlore”. I never understood why everyone would not only listen to the game but they would actually watch the radio as if it was going to do something.
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Ernie Harwell was born in 1918 making his way onto the radio by 1940 in Atlanta. He first came to Detroit in 1960. The first Tigers opener that he covered was in 1954 as he came to Briggs Stadium as the voice of the Baltimore Orioles. It was the first game in the history of the Baltimore Orioles.
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I think that Mr. Harwell will be remembered mostly for his southern accent and catchy phrases: ”That one is Lonnnng gone”, “He stood there like the house on the side of the road and watched it go by”, “it’s two for the price of one” (double-play), and my favorite “Called out for excessive window shopping”.
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Mr. Harwell will also be remembered for some of the nicknames he dished out, “The Fireman” (John Hiller), “Gibby” (Kirk Gibson), “The corner” (Tiger stadium), and yes “Zoom/Zoom”, (Joel Zumaya).
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Mr. Harwell has won countless awards including awards from the Sports Writers Association, Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, Radio Hall of Fame, and the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Mr. Harwell was truely a part of what makes this game so great.
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Thanks for being part of baseball history and a big part of my baseball life.
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Farewell Mr. Harwell!
2010 Pitching Statistics (Cumulative) as of Aug 1 final
2010 Batting Statistics (Cumulative) as of Aug 1
2010 Batting Statistics vs michigan mustangs aug 1
2010 Batting Statistics vs lake fenton lightning aug 1
2010 Batting Statistics vs michigan mustangs july 31
2010 Batting Statistics vs owosso july 31
2010 Batting Statistics vs dearborn heights diamondbacks July 17
2010 Batting Statistics vs downriver hawks July 17
2010 Batting Statistics vs riverside royals July 16
2010 Batting Statistics vs Saline Hornets June 26
2010 Batting Statistics vs West mi broncos gold June 26
2010 Batting Statistics vs Downriver Hawks June 25
2010 Batting Statistics vs flushing raiders orange June 20
2010 Batting Statistics vs midland dawgs June 20
2010 Batting Statistics vs flushing raiders black June 19
2010 Batting Statistics vs north branch grizzlies June 19
2010 Batting Statistics vs lake fenton lightning June 13
2010 Batting Statistics vs livingston hurricanes June 12
2010 Batting Statistics vs Mid michigan lumberman June 12
2010 Batting Statistics vs flushing raiders June 6
2010 Batting Statistics vs mid michigan bandits June 6
2010 Batting Statistics vs Farmington hills tigers June 5
2010 Batting Statistics vs Waverly Warriors June 5
2010 Batting Statistics vs Haslett 13u June 5
2010 Batting Statistics vs Target Steel Tigers May 23
2010 Batting Statistics vs Saline Hornets May 22
2010 Batting Statistics vs Okemos 13u May 22
2010 Batting Statistics vs Howell Hawks May 15
2010 Batting Statistics vs Oakland Lakes Hurricanes May 15
2010 Batting Statistics vs Lapeer Outlaws May 15
2010 Batting Statistics vs North Branch Grizzlies May 9
2010 Batting Statistics vs South Lyon Pride May 8
2010 Batting Statistics vs Howell Hawks May 8
2010 Batting Statistics vs Rochester Rockies April 30
Baseball rules can be very complicated and are always a lot of FUN to debate. I was recently calculating statistics for my team and noticed that my software asked me if a sacrifice was a bunt or fly ball? I didn’t think that it made a difference. I actually always thought that a sacrifice was not an at bat. Well I was surprised to find out that sacrifice bunts are not at bats while sacrifice flys are always at bats.
In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is the act of deliberately bunting the ball in a manner that allows a runner on base to advance to another base. The batter is almost always sacrificed (and to a certain degree that is the intent of the hitter) but sometimes reaches base due to an error or fielder’s choice. Sometimes the batter may safely reach base by simply outrunning the throw to first; this is not scored as a sacrifice bunt but rather a single.
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The most common situations in which to sacrifice bunt is when there are fewer than two outs and a runner on first base or runners on first and second base. The runners try to advance as soon as they see the ball bunted. A properly executed sacrifice bunt in this scenario puts the ball up the first base line with a runner on first, or down the third base line with runners at first and second. This avoids an inning-ending double play and results in the runner(s) advancing to second (and third) base, “in scoring position”.
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Here is the MLB rule for statistics on sacrifices.
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A successful sacrifice bunt does not count as an at bat and, unlike a sacrifice fly, does not count during the calculation of on base percentage. However, if the official scorer believes that the batter was attempting to bunt for a base hit, and not solely to advance the runners, he is not credited with a sacrifice bunt and is charged an at bat.
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Play Ball!
Once again baseball shows its uniqueness. Of the four major sports (football, basketball, baseball, and hockey) baseball is the only sport where the coach/manager wears a player uniform. Is it because of tradition, image, or is baseball a little less hip when it comes to coach/manager dress code.
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Traditionally, all of the other major sports have have required their coaches to wear team oriented apparrel or a business suit. The other sports see this as a way to show off their professionalism and boost their image. Not baseball, the managers stroll out to the fields in player uniforms worn poorly and lacking anything that would be considered trendy. Baseball uniforms were first worn by the Knickbocker Baseball Club of New York City in 1949. And yes, the manager wore the uniform too. There have been managers who have worn suits (covered by a team jacket) but they send uniformed coaches to the mound to conduct their business.
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Baseball has an image that is inconsistent with the modern trendiness of our society. Tampa Bay Rays manager, John Maddon, has been instructed by the MLB that he can no longer wear his Rays pullover hoodie to the games. He was trying to rock the Bill Belichick style and now it’s over, just like that. John says, “All I know is that it is a comfortable piece of clothing, the younger fans seemed to really appreciate it”. If the MLB is worried about their image, they should stop letting players wear helmets that look like they have been intentionally burned and buried underground.
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I believe that baseball has no desire to appear hip. It picks and chooses which traditions it keeps and which are discarded. Uniforms are just one of the odd baseball traditions. Here are a few other odd traditions that may need to go by/by: manual scoreboards, throwing out the first pitch, no time clock, no stepping on baselines, warm up pitches, number of timeouts, and the detailed customization of their own bats.
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I love this game and all of its uniqueness. It gives us more to talk about. I am proudly wearing my uniform today as I get ready to coach a game. No suit, no loafers, just a baseball uniform.
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Play Ball!
Derek Jeter is my all-time favorite player to watch. His brand of mental toughness is unique in sports which is what separates him from the rest. He always appears to make the tough play look routine and the easy play look FUN. I always wondered how an 18 year old Michigan boy could go to New York and consistently have so much success given the constant pressure of playing in the Yankee pinstripes.
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His mental approach from an outsiders point of view can be summed up with two words, Habit and Commitment. Practice good habits in everything you do (hitting, fielding, situations,…) and be committed to the success of those habits everyday.
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For example, here are the results of his commitment to good habits over a 14 year career in the MLB:
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At Bats: 8687
Batting avg: .317
On base percentage: .388
Runs scored: 1578
hits: 2755
Doubles: 439
Triples: 58
RBIs: 1070
MLB Championships: 4
All Star appearances: 10
Golden Gloves: 4
Silver Sluggers: 4
Hank Aaron award: 2
All Star MVP
World Series MVP
and many more…
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What’s even more impressive is that his stats are even better in the post season over his career earning him the nicknames Mr. November and Captain Clutch. But his tough-minded mental approach is a foundation for his preparation and he balances things by having FUN.
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“You have got to have fun. Regardless of how you look at it, we are playing a game. It is a business, it is our job, but I do not think you can do well unless you are having fun.”
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Derek Jeter
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Jeter further emphasizes his approach and mindset in his book, The Life you Imagine. In this book he spends a lot of time talking about a mental approach which allows him to work hard to attain the goal while making sure that he keeps in mind how much FUN he’s having. He also attributes his seemingly stress-free demeanor to tough physical and mental preparation while understanding that he must have FUN. Preparation is FUN, Success is FUN, Winning is FUN,… Here is another quote from the book…
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“We just want to win. That is the bottom line. I think a lot of times people may become content with one championship or a little bit of success, but we do not really reflect on what we have done in the past. We focus on the present.”
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Derek Jeter
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Derek Sanderson Jeter (Mr. November and Captain Clutch)
Position: Shortstop
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6′ 3″, Weight: 195 lb.
Born: June 26, 1974in Pequannock, NJ
High School: Central (Kalamazoo, MI)
Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1992 amateur draft.
Signed June 27, 1992. (All Transactions)
Debut: May 29, 1995
Team: Yankees 1995-2010
Of the four major sports (football, basketball, hockey, and baseball), Baseball is the most unique. I find that the more I think about baseball, the more I realize that the approach you take to players, field conditions, strategy is much different than the other three majors.
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Here are some distinct differences.
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In basketball, the skills of a center, are very different than the skills of a point guard. In football, the skills required to play running back are very different than the skills required to play defensive end. And in hockey, the skills required to be a defenseman are very different than those of the point. However in all of these sports, a team can score points if their defense does its job. Defense can create offense. These differences lead to lots of types of players being able to play these other sports without grasping the big picture or acquiring all of the skills necessary to play the positions of the game (i.e. You can hide players in positions if they lack common skills). Baseball is unique because all players must play defense (fielding balls and hitting targets with their throws), all players must play offensive (requiring them bat vs a number of pitchers), and all players mentally mentally process signs and strategy received from the coach.
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In terms of field conditions, all baseball fields are different sizes unlike football, basketball, and hockey. Since the dimensions of these other playing surfaces are the same, the strategy taken from game to game, can be practiced precisely on any practice surface. All baseball fields have different dimensions therefore the strategy on a big field may be very different from a small field both offensively and defensively. It is the only sport where before the game, the umpire has to explain things such as out of play areas, interference areas, and what happens if the ball gets wedged under a fence, in a drain, or touched by a fan.
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Strategy for baseball is very underated! As a matter of fact, baseball coaching is underated. While the other sports have deep playbooks filled with audibles, counters, and penalty kill strategies, none of this compares to the amount of thought put into preparing for a baseball game. The casual fan watches, critiques and sometimes complains about the coaches decisions but they really have no idea how much they don’t know about what goes into the decisions baseball coaches have to make. For those fans, I created an abbreviated list of the things that keep FUNcoach up at night.
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When to steal second, when to steal third, when to double steal, when to sacrifice bunt, when to suicide squeeze, when to bunt for a base hit, when to pinch hit, when to pinch run, when to double switch, when to change pitchers, when to hit and run, when to change defense based on batting count, when to change offense based on batting count, when to intentionally walk a batter, when to bring the infielders in, when to bring the outfielders in, when to shift the fielders, who will cover the bunts, when to play five infielders, who to bat in what position, who pitches in what games, which stats matter, when to shut up, who runs the team when I get thrown out for not shutting up, what are the uniform colors, what opinions to actually listen to, what opinions to pretend to listen to, who’s got my back,…
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Play Ball!
This topic seems to come up every year with a variety of different opinions, pro and con. As the season has begun in several warmer states there have already been injuries resulting in pitchers being hospitalized due to being struck by a ball which was hit with a metal bat. At this time, Gunnar Sandberg, a 16-year-old Marin Catholic High School pitcher, lay in a medically induced coma after being hit in the head March 11 by a line drive off a metal bat during a scrimmage against De La Salle High School of Concord. Within 48 hours, doctors had removed a portion of Sandberg’s skull to relieve the pressure on his brain, where he remains today in critical but stable condition at Marin General Hospital. In past years, there have been several pitchers at all levels including college, who have been killed by baseballs hit off of metal bats.
There are experts and metal bat makers that say that there is no data to suggest that there is any significant safety risk when using metal bats. Most little league officials, support a ban on metal bats especially at the older ages. Some high school coaches support a switch to wooden bats but think that the cost associated with wooden bats will make it prohibitive. Wood bats cost less but they break more often and would require replacement more often. North Dakota and New York City have banned the use of metal bats for safety reasons. Other states think that it is just a known/accepted risk in the game so they haven’t banned the metal bats. There are also counties that require youth pitchers to where helmets.
As someone who has watched several games at all levels, I can clearly see a difference in the bounce a ball gets off of a metal bat vs a wood bat. I often pray for college pitchers as they seemingly have the biggest risk. In my eyes, these guys have absolutely no way to protect themselves from these 140 mph plus line drives that are hit up the middle.
It seems that more should be done in this area in terms of research by independent sources. It is apparent that there is a financial component to this conversation. Bat manufacturers and there suppliers have a vested interest in the result of this conversation therefore they need to be left out of the research. It’s hard to take a side on this issue without data to support it. As the summer goes on, this topic will heat up once again. Hopefully no one has to die again before we get to the facts around the issue.
Play Ball!
