Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Spring Brings Opening Day of Major League Baseball


Wrigley Field, Chicago
Chicago's Wrigley Field (Image Credit)
The month of March brings the first day of Spring and leads up to the Opening Day of Major League Baseball (4/1/2021). To baseball fans this is what we wait for all winter long. Our feelings for this season are reflected in my favorite baseball quote “There are only two seasons, Winter and Baseball” ~Bill Veeck



As Spring Training comes to an end and the 2021 baseball season begins, we look forward to seeing our favorite players and teams, and reflect back on past favorites. We will miss the ones who have retired (like Mariano Rivera, the marvelous 'closer' on the pitching staff for the Yankees). If you're like me, you find the lives of these men as fascinating and interesting as their baseball careers have been and might wonder what their stories were.



Luckily for us, there are a wealth of baseball books available, written by and about pitchers, position players, managers and sports announcers which put all the excitement of their careers in baseball on printed pages between the covers! I'm reading one right now about 'retired' St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. The book (One Last Strike) focuses on just a small section of Tony's career (specifically his final season of 2011 and the magical comeback of a team that refused to give up). Once you get interested in reading about a specific player, you find all sorts of fun 'tidbits' of information. For instance, I bet you didn't know that Tony La Russa became a vegetarian – and why. 



As a baseball fan I'm looking for reviews of baseball books you have read and recommend for all us 'fans' who want to learn more about these 'Boys of Summer'. If you write a review, leave me a link in the comments and I may feature it in an upcoming post.



The Science of Hitting book cover
Books such as "The Science of Hitting" by Ted Williams. Did you know that in 1935, Lovell Haskins Peirce, a physics professor at San Diego State University, had Ted in his physics class where the professor gave a lesson on the physics of hitting a baseball?  Ted Williams went on to become the last hitter to top a .400 batting average in a season.

The Science of Hitting





Baseball souvenir
(c) Elf - My treasured baseball
signed by Joe Torre




Now that Spring Training has ended, let's get ready to Play Ball. 




Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Sunday, March 2, 2014

I'm the 'Baseball Fan Contributor' on Review This!

A collage of baseball scenes
From the beginning of Spring Training to the last day of the World Series each year, my life is totally wrapped around baseball. I watch whatever game happens to be playing on TV each day, no matter what teams are involved. The first thing I check each morning is the scores and stats of the day before, and the times of the televised games coming up. As you may have guessed, I'm extremely passionate about Baseball. That's probably why Wednesday-Elf is the Baseball Fan Contributor on Review This. 


Grayson Stadium, Minor League Ballpark, Savannah, GA
Grayson Stadium, Minor League Ballpark, Savannah, GA
Besides my 'daily dose' of TV baseball, I have been to games in person in a couple of Major League stadiums, and these days frequently go to our minor league Single-A team games, the Sand Gnats, here in Savannah, Georgia. Many a great major league player has come out of minor league baseball and Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Jackie Robinson once played here at our humble Grayson Stadium, the oldest (1926) working minor league stadium in the United States today.
 
March brings Spring Training each year as teams and players prepare for Opening Day of Major League Baseball beginning most years in early April.  This Baseball Fan is also busy this time of year, getting ready to follow favorite teams throughout the season.  I also spend time featuring baseball stories about this, our favorite sport, on my baseball blog "Baseball Moments and Memories" and reading baseball stories from others.   

For instance, our own Mary Beth (mbgphoto here on Review This) gives us a fun review of hers (and my) favorite team, the St. Louis Cardinals, at Spring Training in Jupiter, Florida where she attends the Cardinals' Spring Training games each season.


Many events take place throughout baseball season, one of the earliest being 'Jackie Robinson Day' on April 15 – the day every ball player on every team wears the number 42 (Jackie's number) to honor him and his contribution to baseball. Greekgeek has written a wonderful tribute to this special player. 

These are just a few of the people and pages I will continue to feature during baseball season as the 'Baseball Fan Contributor.' I invite all baseball fans to join me for the upcoming season... and beyond.


Quick Link:

For a list of all the baseball-related stories currently featured on Review This! ~ click here.
 






Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


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