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Saturday, April 4, 2015

Baseball Season is Back!

My souvenir signed baseball from Joe Torre

Baseball Season begins here on the Review This! blog with a collection of baseball stories, crafts and treats.

It's Springtime, which may bring those April Showers for the May Flowers, but baseball fans believe that the true first sign of Spring is the beginning of baseball season! For all the baseball fans out there, let's check out some fun baseball stories, DIY crafts and tasty treats.

Craft a Fingerprint Baseball

Michelle of Crafty Morning has created an interesting baseball craft that would be perfect for an arts & crafts project to do with your children, or a fun seasonal craft to do with a Scout Troop.

All you need is paper, paint and fingers!

Check out the easy step-by-step directions here.

A Famous Baseball Sportscaster

Vin Scully

Major League Baseball Teams each have an announcer who regularly broadcasts games for their home radio or TV network. There have been many well-known baseball sportscasters over the years, but none who have been with a team as long as Vin Scully. Known as the Bard of Baseball, Vin Scully has been the Voice of the Dodgers through six decades. At the end of the 2016 baseball season, at age 88, Vin retired after 67 years as the broadcaster for the Dodgers, first in Brooklyn and then in Los Angeles.

Here is his story written by HubPages author Ellen Brundige, which she calls the Vin Scully Fanpage.

Baseball Cupcakes

Yummy Baseball Cupcakes

Randi of Duke & Duchesses created a fun dessert that would make a great 'treat time' for after a Little League game or for a baseball-themed birthday party.

Randi's Baseball Cupcakes were done by baking a pan of cupcakes, frosting them in white frosting, then using Skittles to form the laces, placing them side by side on the frosting.

Baseball Flip Flops Flower Tutorial

Baseball Flower Flip Flops

For the baseball mom or any fan, create a cute pair of flip flops with a flower design made from baseballs.

All you need is a pair of flip flops (new or old), 2 baseballs (anyone with kids seems to have a bunch of old ones around, or you can buy some new ones), an X-Acto knife and glue. The 'how-to' instructions are in a YouTube video on the crafty post by KidPep, a website for Crafts, DIY and More.

The technique used for the baseball flip flops can also be used for a Baseball Hair Bow with the video on the KidPep website.

I'm 'Crazy About Baseball'

Your writer, Wednesday Elf, has been a baseball fan since childhood and has shared many favorite baseball memories in “Crazy About Baseball”.

Opening Day of Baseball

Opening Day of the 2020 Major League Baseball Season begins on March 26th ~ the earliest Opening Day in history. Us baseball fans now get to enjoy 26 weeks of baseball with the 30 teams in the MLB.

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Baseball Facts & Favorite Moments Review

Baseball, baseball bat and glove with baseball quote

Image Source: Pixabay

Hello once again from the Baseball Contributor here on Review This! It's Springtime, which means the thoughts of baseball fans everywhere turn to the start of the new MLB season.

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE baseball. It consumes my time from Opening Day to the last moment of the final game of the World Series every year. During the season, the first thing I do every morning is check the baseball listings on TV ~ then plan my day around the times the game(s) are broadcast. I am a died-in-the-wool FANatic, and proud of it.

In the winter I 'pine' for baseball season and spend my free time reading baseball books and watching baseball movies.

My very favorite quote is by Bill Veeck:

There are only two seasons – winter and BASEBALL

Therefore, as we enjoy Opening Day and all the baseball games this year, I'll share some baseball moments and a few baseball facts to get you in the mood for the Major League Baseball season and any Minor League games you might be fortunate enough to be able to attend.

Baseball Honors Number 42 on Jackie Robinson Day

Jackie Robinson (Wikimedia)

April 15th is known as 'Jackie Robinson Day' throughout baseball, celebrating the life of Jackie Robinson and the retiring of his number 42. April 15, 1947 was the date of his MLB debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In 1997, the 50 year anniversary of Robinson's debut, his No. 42 was retired across all of Major League Baseball. Only one player at the time was wearing that number (Mariano Rivera) and he was 'grandfathered' in and was the only active player allowed to wear No. 42 until his retirement in 2015. Since then, no other active player will ever again be assigned number 42. Instead, on April 15 each year, all players and teams throughout baseball wear number 42 on their uniform honoring Jackie's major contribution to baseball, which was that of breaking the color barrier. In addition to the honor, celebrations are planned at many stadiums.

Jackie's 'legacy' lives on through 'Jackie Robinson Day' each April 15. Number 42 was special.

The Shift – in Baseball

Normal baseball positioning

I've been watching baseball games all my life, yet there are still terms I haven't heard and/or don't know what they mean. Most baseball terms have been coined over the years by sports writers and announcers as they reported the action on the field or the results of the game.

Baseball has its own ever-changing language, so its not surprising that even long-term baseball fans still have to look things up in order to understand what the broadcaster said.

The term 'shift' has been part of baseball terminology for many years, yet I can't recall it being used as often as it has in most recent years of baseball. “The Shift is on”, the sportscaster tells us. All of a sudden it seemed to me as if it was happening in every game I watch. Finally I got out my trusty Baseball Dictionary and looked it up!

The 'Shift' means “to change fielding position;' to move defensive players from their traditional positions in the field to defend against a particular batters' way of hitting, or to be in a better position for a double play.”

All individual players move left or right to step into the path of the ball for fielding, But the shift in most recent years seems to involve half the players on the field moving to another position all at the same time before the batter even hits. I've begun paying closer attention to this move now that I know what they are talking about. My baseball education continues.....

Update: As of the beginning of the 2023 Major League Baseball season, the rules have changed and The Shift is no longer allowed.

Doubled Off First Base

I watch a lot of baseball, following the games and players and listening to the announcer's descriptions of the action on a regular basis.

Derek Jeter at Bat (Wikimedia)

On a Saturday afternoon in August 2014 I was watching the Red Sox-Yankees game being played at Fenway Park. Derek Jeter was on first base and took off for 2nd base when Jacoby Ellbury hit the ball into the outfield. Unfortunately, the ball was caught and Derek was too far off base to get back safely.

The announcer stated that Jeter had been 'Doubled-Off'. I basically knew what it meant, but even though I've heard the term often, I never really thought about the definition. Suddenly quite curious, I got out my Baseball Dictionary to look up the exact meaning.

To be 'doubled-off' means 'caught off base and put out before tagging up after the batter has flied out, resulting in a Double Play!'

This 'doubled-off' double play was a most unusual happening for Derek Jeter. Not to worry, his two-run double in the third inning sparked a 4-run inning, and the New York Yankees won the game 6-4.

Minor League Memories

Rochester Redwings Frontier Stadium Minor League Baseball

Rochester Redwings Frontier Stadium (c) Personal Photo

My family are fans of the Rochester Redwings, the top Triple A minor league baseball team for the Minnesota Twins located in Rochester, NY, and we go to their games often. A long ball was hit one night directly toward where my family was sitting. Everyone is jumping up & down hollering "I've got it, I've got it", except my mother who remained sitting down. Like a 'heat-seeking' missile, that ball headed straight for my mom and hit her right over the heart. She wasn't badly injured, but had a huge bruise for weeks. My brother really wanted to have the baseball, but mom wouldn't give it to him, saying she had the badge of honor proving she'd caught it.

Source: Pixabay

For more baseball facts and memories, check out my

Baseball Moments and Memories blog

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Saturday, March 16, 2019

Review of Spring Training in Baseball

Baseball, baseball glove and bat lying on grass

Source: Pixabay

Spring Training is a period of training and exhibition play beginning in late February and lasting up to Opening Day of Major League Baseball.

For about four weeks, experienced players and rookies alike train and play at small parks in Arizona or Florida, getting ready for the beginning of the baseball season. It is a unique baseball experience for fans, giving them up-close access to favorite players and a chance to see blossoming prospects who could go on to be the next big star.

For me, the Baseball Contributor here on Review This and a huge baseball fan, Spring Training is a sign that the long, cold winter is nearing an end and warm weather and the joys of baseball season are about to begin. I believe in the quote:

Collage of baseball and crossed bats with a winter scene depicting favorite baseball quote

Spring Training

Baseball Spring Training Postcard

by tjssportsmania

Spring Training is nearly as old as baseball itself, although it was not the big business it is today with designated parks just for Spring Training games and winter excursion packages to games in Arizona and Florida for snow-weary fans.

In bygone days, training games were held locally to save money, training indoors in inclement weather. Later, teams began training in the south, but there were no organized training leagues until after 1910. Today it is as much a marketable enterprise as the regular baseball season with two distinct leagues, one in Florida and one in Arizona.

Cactus League in Arizona

Source: Pixabay

The Cactus League holds spring training in the desert for teams from both leagues (American and National). These teams are generally located around Phoenix and include:

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Arizona Diamondbacks
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals

Grapefruit League in Florida

Scene of a Florida beach with palm trees

Source: Pixabay

The Grapefruit League holds spring training in various parts of Florida, both the Gulf coast and the Atlantic coast. This league includes the following teams:

Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Houston Astros
Miami Marlins
Minnesota Twins
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals

Following is a famous quote by Roger Hornsby, the well-known second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915-1919), that definitely says how I feel when there is no baseball.

Summary

Will you be attending any Spring Training games this year, or have you done so in the past? Leave me a comment telling me where you went and what team you got to see.

Mary Beth Granger at the St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training site in Jupiter, Florida

*Blog Note: Mary Beth Granger, our own MbgPhoto here on Review This, travels with her husband to Jupiter, Florida each February to attend their beloved St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training games.

For the rest of us, join me in welcoming the beginning of the Major League Baseball season and the fact that this represents an end to winter and the return of the 'Boys of Summer'.

For More Baseball Reviews, Check Out ReviewThisReviews: Baseball

Lets Play Ball!

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Saturday, July 11, 2015

Baseball's All-Star Game

Review of a Mid-Summer Classic

*Updated on 6/25/2021

Welcome to July baseball from Wednesday Elf, known as the 'baseball fan contributor' here on Review This! It's time for a mid-season story about baseball's All-Star Game.

The All-Star Game

Stadium Seating - Source: FreeImages

The Mid-Summer classic known as the All-Star game has occurred (nearly) every July since 1933. (No official MLB All-Star Game was held in 1945 due to World War II and was cancelled again in 2020 due to a worldwide panendemic.)

In 2020, we again had a cancellation of this 'Summer Classic'. The All-Star game was to be held at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles. Instead, they will host the All-Star game in 2022.

Coors Field in Denver

Now, the 2021 All-Star Game will be held July 13th in Denver at Coors Field ~ home of the Colorado Rockies.

Facts About the All-Star Game

Illustration of crossed baseball bats and baseball on a baseball diamond

The All-Star game is held on either the second or third Tuesday in July to mark a symbolic halfway-point in the Major League Baseball season. Known as the 'All-Star Break', no regular-season games are scheduled on the day before or for two days after the Tuesday All-Star Game. A number of festivities are held the day before the All-Star game, including the 'Home Run Derby', a contest between MLB's top home runner hitters, which began in 1985.

2015 was the 30 Year Anniversary of the 'Home Run Derby' (1985-2015)

The participants (players) in this annual mid-summer event are chosen by the fans in both the National League and the American League. Until 1947, the team selections were chosen only by the managers, but since then the fans get to select the starting lineup. The pitchers are still selected by the managers. Ballots used to be given out at ballparks throughout baseball for voting on players for the game. That year (2015) was the first year that all voting is done entirely on the internet.

All-Star Game Venue

The ballparks chosen for each year's All-Star game alternate between the National and the American League, with venues selected for a variety of reasons by a MLB selection committee. The choices may be made to commemorate a particular historical occasion, the opening of a new ballpark, or a significant year. For instance, the game was held in Yankee Stadium (home of the New York Yankees) in 2008 as it was the final year for that stadium prior to the new Yankee Stadium opening in 2009.

The Midsummer Classic Baseball book cover

Available on Amazon

While waiting for the next All-Star Game in 2021, us baseball fans can catch up on past All-Star games with this great baseball reference book The Midsummer Classic. It's a fun book for baseball fans who love reading and compiling statistics. The book has facts and play-by-play game data of every All-Star game through the year 2000. (published in 2001). A comprehensive resource for fans, researchers and baseball historians.

Wednesday Elf , the baseball fan, has more stories about baseball be found at:

Baseball Moments and Memories Blogspot

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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

April Baseball

Source: Pixabay

Baseball fans love the month of April. It's a magical time which includes Opening Day of a brand new baseball season with all its promise of a successful winning season and the possibility of making and breaking records.

"Hammerin' Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron with the Braves 1960

One of the most famous 'broken records' occurred 40 years ago on April 8, 1974, when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's 'unbreakable' home run record by hitting home run number 715. “Hammerin' Hank” would go on to have a career high of 755 home runs (a record broken by Barry Bonds in 2007, as baseball records are wont to do). Carolan Ross (Crosscreations) has included Hank Aaron in her HubPages article about the top ten baseball players Best in Baseball - MLB Heroes - worthy of April Baseball recognition.

Jackie Robinson Day

And the most special moment of April Baseball is celebrated every April 15^th – the day in 1947 that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. On that day, every baseball player on every team honors Jackie by wearing his number 42. Ellen Brundige (mythphile) tells us how this Baseball Player Changed the World.

Back in 1947, the father of Hank Aaron told his son that no black man would ever be allowed to play on a Major League team. Jackie Robinson changed that forever.

April Baseball Moments...

A few other 'April' moments in baseball...

On April 4, 2003, Sammy Sosa became the 18th member of the 500 Home Run Club
On April 22, 2014, Albert Pujols became the very latest member of the 500 Home Run Club, an 'unofficial' honor held by only 26 players in the history of baseball.
On Sunday, April 8, 2012, first baseman Prince Fielder recorded his 1,000th hit while playing for the Detroit Tigers.
On April 29, 1986, Roger Clemens made MLB history by striking out 20 Seattle Mariners in a 3-1 Red Sox win. He would go on to win the Cy Young Award later that year and lead his team to the 1986 World Series.
There have only been 23 'Perfect Games' by pitchers in the entire history of Major League Baseball. Two occurred in April - Charlie Robertson (#5) on 4/20/1922 and Philip Humber (#21) on 4/21/2012 - BOTH for the Chicago White Sox!

April baseball

My favorite time of the year when it all begins again!

Baseball reviews from Baseball Fan Wednesday-Elf.

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Sunday, March 2, 2014

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

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

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.

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Saturday, October 31, 2015

For Love of the Game – a Movie Review

As the baseball season winds down once again, I begin to make plans for my wintertime baseball replacements. I am a died-in-the-wool, I LIVE for This baseball fan who is not happy without a daily dose of baseball in some form or other. This means that during that WINTER season (as per my favorite Bill Veeck quote “There are only two seasons – winter and baseball”) I find books and movies about BASEBALL to fill the time until Spring Training returns once again!

For Love of the Game

I have many favorite (baseball) movies I love to re-watch each winter. One of the top ten on my list is For Love of the Game which stars the actor I consider the best and most believable at playing the part of a baseball player ~ Kevin Costner.

Costner's character in the movie is a Detroit Tigers pitcher named Billy Chapel. Billy has an on-again, off-again girlfriend, Jane (Kelly Preston) who tells him she's leaving him and moving to England just before what is most likely Billy's last professional game. It's the last game of the season against rival team the New York Yankees. Vin Scully (playing himself) announces the game.

This 1999 movie was filmed in the real Yankee Stadium where a 40-year-old pitcher (Billy Chapel) is pitching the final game of his 19-year career. Battling a sore arm and coping with the news that the team has been sold and he will be traded, on top of learning that his long-time girlfriend is leaving to take a job in London, Billy enters the game fighting both physical and emotional limits.

The movie opens with Billy taking the mound to pitch. The loud sounds of the crowd slowly diminish as Billy enters his 'zone' where he blocks out everything to concentrate on pitching, leaving a total silence as he winds up for the pitch. We hear his thoughts as he approaches each batter and each pitch, giving us a glimpse into what a real life professional baseball pitcher goes through.

What makes the movie most interesting is that the entire movie takes place during this one baseball game and the story of everything that led up to this day is reflected in flashbacks. Girlfriend Jane is shown in subsequent scenes as she watches the game on TV at the airport while waiting for her overseas flight. The suspense of the game builds as one out after another is recorded, leading toward the crowning glory moment for a baseball pitcher, a Perfect Game.

Movie Trailer

Kevin Costner as Billy Chapel giving us 'one more day of summer' in the movie For Love of the Game.

To me, For Love of the Game is the perfect title for this baseball movie, as it is exactly how I feel about the game of baseball. My wintertime will be filled with this and my many other baseball movies and my home library of books about baseball until my favorite time of year (Baseball's Opening Day) returns.

Enjoy the off-season and join me again when my favorite phrase resounds in baseball parks around the country ~ “Play Ball”.

For Love of the Game is available on Amazon.

*Kevin Costner has starred in several movies with a baseball-theme, such as Chasing Dreams, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, For Love of the Game and The Upside of Anger. I own most of them!

*Review written by Wednesday Elf (10/31/2015)

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Saturday, August 19, 2017

One Last Strike - Baseball Book Review

One Last Strike by Tony La Russa book cover

Available on Amazon

The Remarkable Story of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals

I was living in St. Louis in 2011 watching my favorite baseball team, the Cardinals, on TV every day. As the season dwindled down, I watched and worried and agonized with the rest of the city with 'fingers crossed' while our team fell further behind, ending up more than 10 games out with less than a month left in the season. As we went through September, the Cardinals came close to catching up, but every one of the last 5 games of the regular season was an elimination game.

In "One Last Strike", Tony La Russa, the third winningest manager in baseball history, takes us through his Cardinals' 2011 season, which was also his last season as a baseball manager. He describes how the team came from ten and a half games back to make the playoffs on the night of the final game of the season and how they went on to win the World Series despite being down to their last strike 'twice' in a comeback like no other! At the beginning of September 2011, not even Tony could have foreseen the magical and memorable ride the Cardinals were about to take.

Manager Tony La Russa and his St. Louis Cardinals Team

You don't need to be a St. Louis Cardinals fan to enjoy this book. Any baseball fan will love the 'behind-the-scenes' look into how a manager makes game by game and inning by inning decisions to bring his team to a win. The Cardinals had to have those 'wins' over and over to first make it to the playoffs, and then to the World Series in this hard-fought 2011 baseball season.

Busch Stadium - Home of the St. Louis Cardinals

In his book "One Last Strike", Tony writes,

“all the cliches we (the Cardinals) used about never giving up on yourself, believing in yourself, bouncing back from adversity – they're all true!”

Tony La Russa describes how he used his 33 years experience managing baseball teams from the Chicago White Sox to the Oakland A's to being the St. Louis Cardinals' longest serving manager to bring the Cardinals to their final game of the World Series .. and win. He gives great credit to team unity and determination.

Tony La Russa, former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team

Tony La Russa (Source: Wikimedia)

Tony La Russa's Rules as a Baseball Manager

La Russa had simple rules as manager.

Don't do something to lose the game when on defense.
Do something to win the game on offense.
Be good enough and tough enough... and keep believing.

In a team meeting prior to the beginning of the 2011 MLB Baseball Playoffs, La Russa tells his players that sports are unpredictable. The best team or player can have an off day. Just come in as prepared as you can be and play the best of your ability.

He summed it up with “Play as if each game is the 7th game of the World Series --- or the last (baseball) game of your life, and play only one game at a time.”

Tony La Russa talks about his book "One Last Strike"

More Baseball Books...

3 Nights in August, baseball book by Buzz Bissinger, Book Cover

Available on Amazon

Additional stories about manager Tony La Russa and his analytical manager mind applied to a game.

Written by Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights, Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager is about a three-game series between the Cardinals and Cubs in 2003. It describes manager Tony La Russa's decisions for each batter and each inning of this 3-game series, based somewhat on computer data, but more importantly his experiences managing nearly 4,000 games.

My 'Salute' to some special St. Louis Cardinals

A Collection of (St. Louis) Cardinals Baseball Players

If I were to create my perfect 'Dream Team' for the St. Louis Cardinals, using players from the past to the present at each position, this is what it would look like.

Your Review This Baseball Contributor and Article Writer, Wednesday Elf, is a Big Baseball Fan!

When I'm not 'watching' baseball... or 'talking' about baseball, I love reading books about baseball. It was great fun to relive the St. Louis Cardinals' magical 2011 season through the eyes (and words) of manager Tony La Russa. What a wild ride he had in his final managerial season!

"One Last Strike" is their story. I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed being part of the St. Louis Cardinals 2011 season while living in the team city!

Article Originally Written © 2014 Wednesday-Elf. Updated for Review This! Blog on 8/31/2023.

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