By Hal McCoy
UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave wandering aimlessly in the backyard, wondering where baseball went. I’m not a fan of the All-Star game.
—ATLANTA’S TWO MURPHYS: Isn’t it bad enough that one Murphy who played for the Atlanta Braves is snubbed. Dale Murphy should have been inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame long ago but still dangles in limbo.
Now it is Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy, a Centerville High School/Wright State University product. So far this year he has 16 home runs and most need tape measures.
On Friday night against St. Louis, he hit a home run 437 feet. Later in the game, perhaps not satisfied with his distance, he hit one 440 feet, two of the longest home run ever hit in Busch Stadium.
For an encore, he hit another home run Saturday, a mere 372-footer — if it was a fish, he’d throw it back. But it turned a 4-3 Atlanta deficit into a 5-4 lead in a game the Braves won, 7-6.
He is only hitting .231, but his OPS (on base plus slugging) is .824. Uh, that’s good, I’m told.
Sean was originally drafted in the third round by the Oakland A’s and I love the nicknames of the minor league teams on which he played: Vermont Lake Monsters, Stockton Ports, Midland RockHounds, Nashville Sounds and Las Vegas Aviators. He hit the first home run ever hit in Las Vegas Ball Park.
Unfortunately for Dale and Sean, they seem to be victims of Murphy’s Law.
—CUBS CODY-FIED: What is it about MLB players that get them high-wired when they play games against their former teams?
Cody Bellinger played for the Chicago Cubs last year, but the Cubs traded him to the New York Yankees for pitcher Cody Poteet.
It was a Cody for a Cody but who is Cody Poteet? The Cubs didn’t even keep him. They sold him to the Baltimore Orioles just before this season began.
Anyway, Bellinger faced the Cubs for the first time Friday night and smashed three home runs. And right fielder Kyle Tucker robbed him of a fourth.
Bellinger is the first player in MLB histroy to hit three home runs in the first game played against a former team.
—A TEXAS OUTLIER: It was only two years ago that the Texas Rangers won the World Series. Right now, they can be found wallowing in the middle of the American League West standings.
What is it they say about winning baseball teams? Pitching and defense prevails, right? Well the Rangers lead MLB in earned run average and have made the fewest errors.
And they are a game below .500 at the All-Star break. Since 1913, the advent of the ERA, only 10 teams have led the majors in both ERA and defense and all 10 finished far above .500. Five of them won more than 100 games.
I guess things always aren’t that big in Texas.
—AN EASY PAY DAY: It has been calculated that each time Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper steps into the batter’s box, the Phillies pay him $63,000.
There was a game early this month when the Phillies played the Cincinnati Reds in Citizens Bank Park. In four at bats, Harper struck out four times.
That means the Phillies paid him $252,000 that day to strike out four times. My Aunt Opal could have done that and taken half the pay.
—ROCKY MOUNTAIN LOW: What does a Denver sports writer do when he has to write about the Colorado Rockpiles?
Denver sports columnist Woody Paige, always an acerbic fellow, has it down pat.
“A guy I met last night told me if the Rockies were playing outside his window, he’d lower all his shades.”
“I’m not supposed to write negative things about the Rockies, according to some people. OK, the Rockies just scored six runs in four innings. As an aside, the Diamondbacks have scored 10.”
“For nine years, I tried to get a major league team for Denver. I’ll keep trying.”
—CAPED CRUSADERS: As I’ve mentioned a few times, my great friend Mark Epstein has authored a fantastic book, ‘Cape Dreams,’ a chronicle of a year with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League.
Just because I had nothing better to do, I checked the standings and Brewster lead the East Division at 14-9.
But the five-team West Division is hilarious — the last place team is only 1 1/2 games out of first place. But the hilarious part is that all five teams are below .500.
The Falmouth Commodores (11-12) and Hyannis Harbor Hawks (10-11) are tied for first. The Wareham Gatemen (11-13) and Cotuit Kettleers (10-12) are tied for third and fourth, a half-game out of first place. And the Bourne Braves (9-13) are last, but onloy 1 1/2 games out of first place.
Speaking of books about summer collegiate baseball leagues, there is another out there called ‘Homestand’ about a season in the Perfect Game Summr Collegiate Baseball League.
The PGSCB is a 16-team league, 15 in New York and one in Canada. Some of the nicknames are wonderful: The Batavia Muckdogs, Jamestown Tarp Skunks, Auburn Doubledays, Buffalo Diesels, Niagara Ironbacks, Mohawk Valley Diamond Dogs and Utica Blue Sox.
—WHAT’S 3-AND-0?: Have I mentioned lately how fascinaated I am with Greg Maddux statistics? A couple of minutes ago, probably.
Maddux faced 20,421 batters during his career and went to 3-and-0 counts only 310 times. And 177 of those were on intentional walks. So it’s really only 133 times.
Maddux probably could throw a ping pong ball through a knothole in a fence from 60 feet, 6 inches.
—HOME, SWEET HOME: Ever wonder why they call it home plate? Me, too. Vin Scully told me why during one of his Los Angeles Dodgers broadcasts.
It’s because back in the embryonic stages of the game they actually used a dinner plate for home plate. At different times home base has been round and it has been square.
Before 1900 it also has been made of wood and cast iron and marble, which led to a lot of splinters and bloody knees when the ol’ boys slid home. . .or as Dizzy Dean liked to say when he was on the radio, “He slud home.”
—A FLIGHTY CIRILLO: A great All-Star story told by baseball writer Tim Kirkjian about former Milwaukee third baseman Jeff Cirillo.
Cirillo made his first All-Star game in 1997, played in Cleveland that year. A day before the game he boarded a plane and a passenger said, “Aren’t you Jeff Cirillo?”
Popping his buttons because somebody recognized him out of uniform, he said, “Why, yes sir, I sure am.”
The passenger said, “Aren’t you playing in the All-Star game In Cleveland tomorrow?”
“Yes, that’s where I am headed right now,” said Cirillo.
“No you’re not,” said the passenger. “This plane is a direct flight to New York.”
—QUOTE MACHINE: Baseball people say the darndest things (comedians and basketball coaches, too):
—From former outfielder Curt Flood, the first player to challenge baseball’s reserve clause: “The funny thing about these baseball uniforms is that you hang them in the closet when you retire and they get smaller and smaller.”
—From comedian Jeff Foxworthy, famous for his ‘You Might Be a Redneck’ jokes: “You might be a redneck if you think the last words to the Star Spangled Banner are ‘Play Ball.’”
—From former college basketball legend/comedian Abe Lemons: “Finish last in your league and they call you an idiot. Finish last in medical school and they call you a doctor.”
—From Pete Rose when he went from Cincinnati to Philadelphia as a free agent: “”I’m really glad I got this opportunity. I hope I can contribute and help make this team better. And I also hope I don’t break my ankle.”
—A DEAD HEAT: Jockey Frank Hayes had never won a horse race when he boarded Sweet Kiss for a race at Belmont Park in 1925.
He won. But he didn’t know it. He suffered a heart attack during the race and died in the saddle. But he didn’t fall off and Sweet Kiss crossed the finish line first.
Hayes was the first and remains the only jockey to win a race posthumously and Sweet Kiss never won another ace. They renamed it Sweet Kiss Of Death.
—QUOTE: From comedian Rodney (“I Get No Respect”) Dangerfield: “Last week I went to the track. They shot off the opening gun and killed my horse.”
—PLAYLIST NUMBER 187: As singer Ray Charles put it, “I was born with music inside me, music was one of my parts, like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart.”
—Amanda (Boston), Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John), Return To Sender (Elvis Presley), My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion), Here Comes The Sun (The Beatles), Losing My Religion (R.E.M.), September (Earth, Wind & Fire), I Want You Back (Jackson Five), Call Me (Blondie).
La Bamba (Ritchie Valens), Like A Prayer (Madonna), What’s Up (4 Non Blondes), Believe (Cher), The Final Countdown (Europe), Sweet Chld O’ Mine (Guns ’N Roses), Old Flame (Alabama), Burning Down The House (Talking Heads), Pour Some Sugar On Me (Def Leppard), It’s In His Kiss (Bette Everett).