By Hal McCoy
UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after watching the Cincinnati Reds prove they aren’t ‘mudders’ while losing two straight to the Washington Nationals.
—OH, THOSE SOLO SHOTS: I’m unwrapping my often-used favorite quote from from pitcher Joaquin Andujar who once said, “I’ll say it in one word. . .youneverknow.”
Yes, in baseball younerverknow.
When Sunday’s game between Kansas City and Baltimore began, the Royals had the fewest home runs in MLB this season.
They hit seven in a 13-6 win. . .and they didn’t take batting practice. It was a franchise record.
But that’s not the real story. There were 11 home runs hit in the game. And the first 10 all were solo shots, nobody on base. It would have been a record. They has never been an MLB game where 10 solo home runs were hit and no home runs with a man on base.
Kansas City’s Michael Massey spoiled that. His home run, the 11th of the game, was a two-run blast. Talk about a spoil sport.
—QUOTE: From home run maven Mickey Mantle: “Somebody once asked me if I ever went up to the plate trying to hit a home run and I said, ‘Sure, every time.’”
—THAT’S SOME BULL: One of the iconic baseball movies was ‘Bull Durham,’ a whimsical look at the Triple-A Durham Bulls.
The writer/director of Bull Durham was Ron Shelton, a former minor league player. So he knew what he was doing with some realities in the film.
And he is a poignant critic of MLB and commissioner Rob Manfraud for killing off 40 minor league teams.
“Manfred is baseball’s antichrist and you can quote me on that,” said Shelton. “There’s no love there for the game. Manfred and the greedy owners don’t understand baseball’s social importance and how it connects us.
“How can they pay players $350 million and not have enough money for Bluefield (WV)?” he asked. Shelton once play for Bluefield, one of the teams contracted when Manfraud and the owners did away with the entire Appalachian Rookie League.
And be prepared. Rumors persist that Manfraud and the owners will contract 20 more minor league teams when the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) expires after the 2026 season.
—IT TAKES TIME: So you think superstars are born overnight? Reconsider.
The Detroit Tigers thought Ty Cobb might be a clunker when he hit .238 his rookie year. Then he batted .300 or higher for the next 23 years.
And Stan Musial? He didn’t even make the Opening Day roster in 1941, his rookie year. He was called up late in the season and hit .426 in 12 games. Then he hit .300 or higher for the next 16 seasons.
Speaking of the Detroit Tigers, when Riley Greene hit two home runs in the ninth inning last week, he became the first player in MLB history to hit two homers in the ninth inning.
Wonder how Riley Greene would do against Hunter Greene?
—THE PLUNK PATROL: In our last episode, it was pointed out that Houston’s Craig Biggio was the all-time leader in collecting bruises, 285 hit by pitches.
Loyal reader Robert Wolfe sent the opposite of Biggio. Mark Lemke had 3,564 MLB plate appearances and did not get hit by a pitch one time. . .not once.
So how about home run hitters? Henry Aaron was plunked ony 32 times during his 13,941 plate appearances. Babe Ruth? He was hit 44 times while appearing at the plate 10,628 times.
And we all know the racist feelings of some players when Jackie Robinson integrated MLB. Some pitchers did take aim at him and hit him 72 times during his 5,941 plate appearances.
—QUOTE: From pitcher Randy Johnson: “Every time I step on the field, I want to show the world that I’m the best pitcher they’ll ever see.” (And he wasn’t afraid to put one between the numbers of a hitter’s back. He hit 190 batters during his 4,135 innings.)
—BIG-BONED BENCh: When Reds Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench was a teen-ager in Binger, OK., he was broad-sided in the driver’s door by an inebriated driver traveling the wrong side of the road.
Bench didn’t regain consciousness unti he was in an emergency room and a doctor said to him, “Son, you have the biggest bones I’ve ever seen. Nobody else would have survived that crash.”
We already knew Bench has huge hands and he can hold seven baseballs in one hand.
—QUOTE: From Johnny Bench: “A catcher and his body are like the outlaw and his horse. He’s got to ride that nag until it drops.”
—ANOTHER YOGI-ISM:p Former New York Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry picked up Yogi Berra to take him to the Tampa airport.
On the way, Yogi kept swearing and grumbling under his breath and Guidry asked, “What’s wrong, buddy?”
“Ah, I have to fly all the way to LA to do a damn Affliiction commercial,” said Yogi.
“Affliction? What’s that?” Guidry asked.
“You know? With that damn duck,” said Yogi, meaning, of course, an Aflac commercial.
And Guidry picked Yogi up on his return trip and one of the first things Berra said was “Y’know, Guid, that damn duck doesn’t really talk.”
It was Yogi, as manager of the New York Yankees, who told his players, “Pair up in threes.” And he told writers, “I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.
—A YOGI TRU-ISM: Yogi Berra was credited with many goofy remarks, including when he once said, “I never said all the things I said.”
And everybody laughed when he said, “The future isn’t what it once used to be.” Think about that one. It’s true.
—IMPERTINENT QUESTION: Goofy things I think about during rain delays:
**Is it a requirement that pitchers wear thick gold chains when they pitch?
**Has Elly De La Cruz popped the top three buttons on all his uniform tops?
**Where would the rock-bottom Colorado Rockies finish in the Midwest League?
**Had Ted Turner resurfaced to run the Atlanta Braves when they began the season 0-and-7? Some say when he did own the Braves he listened too much to his wife, Jane Fonda, who knew as much about baseball as she knew about patrtiotism.
**Matt McLain or Jonathan India at second base? Jose Trevino, Austin Winns or Tyler Stephenson at catcher?
**Reds uniform tops. . .white, red or black?
—BAD, BAD BUCKEYES: It looks as if the Ohio State baseball team could use some of the school’s football players, somebody who knows how to win.
The Buckeye Baseballers are 11-33, 3-21 in the Big Ten. As if the record isn’t bad enough, the Buckeyes have been run-ruled nine times — meaning if a team is behind by 10 or more runs after seven innings it is a technical knockout (TKO) and the game ends.
In a recent game, the Buckeyes lost to that team up north, 23-1, run-ruled after seven innings. In a three-game series, Michigan outscored That Team Down South, 47-8.
And they have lost five one-run games.
Unfortunately, if the first Ohio State batter swings and misses the first pitch, the game’s outcome is decided.
—MORE UECKER-ISMS: Before he was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame as a broadcaster, Bob Uecker was asked if he was considered as a player and he said, “After I retired, I was asked to not even visit Cooperstown. But when the World Series is about to begin, my name naturally pops into everybody’s mind. I played for four teams so I guess everybody wanted to take a chance on winning a pennant.”
—PLAYLIST NUMBER 167: These songs are all for ‘You.’
—You Are So Beautiful (Joe Cocker), You Really Got A Hold On Me (Smokey Robinson & The Miraces), You Really Got Me (Van Halen), You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Meat Loaf), You Send Me (Sam Cooke), You Take My Breath Away (Rex Smith), You Give Love A Bad Name (Bon Jovi).
You Are My Sunshine (Johnny Cash), You Wear It Well (Rod Stewart), You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones), You Are The Reason (Calum Scott), You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC), You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon), You Make Me Feel Brand New (The Stylistics).