Some Easter Observations

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave hoping none of your Easter eggs turn out to be goose eggs.

—TRY IT AT 15: A big deal is being made that the Pittsburgh Pirates called up 19-year-old teen-ager Konnor Griffin.

And they mentioned players like Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout and Ken Griffey Jr. as teen-agers who debuted in the majors at 19.

Big deal, huh? Joe Nuxhall made his MLB debut when he was 15 in 1944. Never mind that it was only one game, two-thirds of an inning, and that he didn’t make it back to the majors until 1952, when he was 23.

He pitched in the majors when he was 15.

“Two weeks before I pitched in the majors, I was pitching against seventh, eighth and ninth graders, kids 13 and 14 years old,” said Nuxhall. “All of a sudden I look up and there’s Stan Musial in the batter’s box.”

Nuxy will forever hold the record for youngest player to appear in an MLB game. MLB established rules that say U.S. citizen must be 18 to sign a professional contract and an international player must be 17.

Under those rules, a few players who were 17 when they made their MLB debuts would have had to wait another year — Bob Feller, Joey Jay, Larry Dierker and Claude Osteen, among a few others.

—HITTING 100: Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley whizzed a few 100 miles an hour pitches past Kansas Royals hitters last week.

Why point that out when it seems every MLB staff has a pitcher dialing up 100 mph four-seamers?

Not in Minnesota. He was the first Twins starter to do it since Pitch Tracker was introduced in 2008. So who knows how long before then a Twins pitcher hit 100.

—NEVER SAW THIS: It is said, correctly, that if one watches baseball every day they will see something at least once a week they’ve never seen before.

While covering baseball for the past 53 years I saw something in Friday’s Reds-Rangers game I’d never seen before.

While facing the Reds’ Brady Singer, Texas shortstop Corey Seager saw seven pitches and fouled off every one. How can that be? Well, he foul-tipped the seventh pitch into the catcher’s mitt for a strikeout.

—BAUER BALL: Trevor Bauer, seemingly blackballed by all MLB teams, just keeps trying.

After some personal issues surfaced, the Los Angeles Dodgers released him during the 2023 season and no team would touch him.

He pitched the last two season in Mexico and Japan, but now is giving it a go in the USofA. The Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, signed him to a one-year contract.

Bauer, who won the National League Cy Young Award with the Cincinnati Reds during the Covid-shortened 2020 season, will pitch Opening Day for the Ducks on April 21.

His mission: Show MLB teams he can still pitch and help that team win games. He just doesn’t seem to get it that MLB doesn’t want him.

—MONEY FOR NOTHING: It seems as if everybody that follows baseball knows that every July 1, former player Bobby Bonilla finds a check for $1,193,248.20 tucked in his mailbox.

It is from the New York Mets, even though Bonilla hasn’t played for them since 2003. Bonilla receives that money as part of a deferred contract and that same check will keep coming until 2035.

What isn’t commonly known is that Bonilla also recevies $500,000 check every July 1 from the Baltimore Orioles, also part of a deferred contract. That check keeps comng until 2028.

He will be 72 years old when the Mets pay up and the $1.2 million checks quit coming.

If there is a Baseball Agents Hall of Fame, Bonilla’s genius agent, Dennis Gilbert, should be the first inductee for negotiating those deals. He was far ahead of the times because deferred contracts are rampant these days.

—NO SURPRISE HERE: It was May 1, 1991, and 44-year-old Nolan Ryan was scheduled to pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays. Before the game he told manager Bobby Valentine, “My back hurts, my heel hurts, I’ve been pounding Advil all day. I don’t feel good, I feel old today. Watch me closely.”

Yeah, sure. This was Nolan Ryan pitching. So what did he do? He pitched his seventh no-hitter.

The last batter he faced was Roberto Alomar. Amazingly, 20 years earlier when Roberto was 4-years-old, his father, Sandy Alomar, was Ryan’s teammate with the California Angels.

Young Roberto was in the clubhouse then and Ryan crouched down and taught him a pitch.

Twenty years later Ryan struck out Roberto Alomar to complete the no-hitter. Wonder if it was the same pitch he taught Alomar when he was four?

—DILL OR SWEET?: Speaking of Nolan Ryan, early in his career he battled blisters, so listen up, Nick Lodolo.

His first stop during his 27-year career was the New York Mets and trainer Gus Mauch suggested that Ryan soak his pitching fingers in pickle brine.

Ryan drowned his fingers in pickle juice while watching TV and sometimes even between innings while pitching.

Did it work? Well, he pitched 5,386 major league innings. Maybe Lodolo should get in touch with Ryan and ask him, “Sweet or dill? Mount Olive or Vlasic?” Personally, I like Bubba’s from Dorothy Lane market. . .but that’s for eating, not finger-dipping.

—SHUSH UP IN COMERICA: If you plan to attend a game in Detroit’s Comerica Park, leave your kazoo, Didgeridoo, vuvuzela, foghorn and cow bell at home.

Those are illegal items to carry into Comerica. They don’t like noise.

—EARLY & LATE: A great and incisive quote from former Reds general manager Murray Cook when he read the last blog about the Reds’ sluggish start: “It’s early now, but it can get late in a hurry.”

—AWOL PARENTS: A friend from my youth, 75 years ago, was a baseball teammate in Little League, PONY League and American Legion.

He recently told me something that I never noticed or maybe I did and forgot it.

“My parents never came to any of our games,” he said. “Not once. And they never asked if we won or lost. Not once.”

I’m certain I saw a tear or two. . .and maybe I was looking in the mirror.

—QUOTE MACHINE: Baseball people say the darndest things:

—FROM Nolan Ryan, ‘The Ryan Express,’ who threw seven no-hitters and struck out 5,714 hitters: “It helps if the hitter thinks you are a little crazy.” (Most hitters thought THEY were crazy for even stepping into the batter’s box.)

—FROM Pete Rose, the Hit King: “I’m just like everybody else, I have two arms, two legs and 4,256 hits.” (Well, as Meat Loaf sang it, ‘Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad.’)

—FROM Bob Uecker, former catcher/broadcaster/humorist: “After my first interview with Johnny Carson ended, I heard him ask Ed McMahon, ‘Did that guy really play baseball?’” (Then Uecker appeared on The Johnny Carson Show a record 62 times and it was Carson who dubbed him ‘Mr. Baseball.’)

—TRIVIA TIME: Stuff that makes baseball so wonderful and so different from any other sport.

—A player stealing second, third and home in one inning has happened 31 times. Ty Cobb did it three times. Pete Rose did it once, but he was playing for the Phillies. Reds to do it were Hans Lobert, Dade Paskert and Greasy Neale.

—Pitcher Joe McGinnity won 246 major league games, mostly with the New York Giants. . .after winning 235 in the minor leagues.

—After hitting zero home runs all season, Scott Podsednik of the Chicago White Sox hit a walk-off home run in Game 2 of the 2005 World Series. Houston pitchere Brad Lidge was thoroughly embarrassed.

—The Cincinnati Reds have had three tandem hitters finish 1-2 in RBI for a season: Deron Johnson (130) and Frank Robinson (113) in 1965, Johnny Bench (146) and Tony Perez (129) in 1970, George Foster (121) and Joe Morgan (111) in 1976.

—PLAYLIST NUMBR 165: As author Chuck Klosterman put it, “I love the way music inside a car makes you feel invisible.”

—Oh Woman, Oh Why (Paul McCartney), After The Love Has Gone (Earth, Wind & Fire), You Can’t Change Love (Raydio), I Want You To Want Me (Cheap Trick), Here I Am (Air Supply), Love Will Turn You Around (Kenny Rogers), I’ll Be Doggone (Marvin Gaye), Catch Us If You Can (Dave Clark Five).

—Go Now (Moody Blues), You Turn Me On (Ian Whitcomb), Don’t Bring Me Down (Electric Light Orchestra), The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby & The Range), Drift Away (Dobie Gray), Come And Get Your Love (Redbone), I Get Weak (Belinda Carlisle). Nightshift (Commodores).