By Hal McCoy
UNSOLICITED OBSERVATNS from The Man Cave and 100 degrees, 105 when I light up a Monte Cristo White Label Churchill.
—RUN, DON’T WALK: It was 1963 in the Florida Instructional League. Long-time iconic coach George Kissell was coaching third base for the St. Louis Cardinals.
“This young kid I’d never seen before ran past me and said, ‘I’m going to be in the Hall of Fame,’” said Kissell.
“How can you say that?” said Kissell.
“Because I’m going to get 200 hits for 10 years in a row,” said the kid.
And Pete Rose was half right. . .correct about the hits (More than 200 hits 10 times) but no Hall of Fame.
During Rose’s first minor league season in Macon, GA., his manager, Dave Bristol said, “A scout clocked Pete at 4.1 seconds running to first base on a walk. That’s faster than most guys run.”
A Cleveland scout told Bristol, “I clocked him at 4.3 seconds on a walk.” Said Bristol, “He must have been tired that day.”
—QUOTE: From Pete Rose: “Once you accept defeat, it becomes easy to lose. If defeat comes, face it and take it, but don’t accept it.”
—A TELLING TALE: Former fellow beat writer Brad Schmaltz, who taught me the intracacies of blackjack, pointed out this telling statistic:
As of Wednesday , the Kansas City Royals had three players with more than 90 RBI, Vinnie Pacquantino (97), Bobby Witt Jr. (95), Salvatore Perez (94.
The Cincinnati Reds’ leader is Spencer Steer with 83. Next most? Elly De La Cruz with 59.
For the Reds, that’s like splitting 10s or not splitting Aces or Eights.
—QUOTE: From former manager (Pirates, A’s, White Sox) Chuck Tannger: “The best feeling in the world is to win a baseball game. The second best feeling is to lose a baseball game.”
—SIBLING RIVALRY?: Another gem from Jeff Singleton, our unpaid correspondent.
When Reds closer Alexis Diaz gave up that walk-off home run Sunday in Pittsburgh to Yasmani Grandal for a 4-3 loss, it not only infuriated Reds’ fans, it set a dubious record.
Also on Sunday, Diaz’s brother, New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz, gave up a walk-off home run to San Diego’s Jackson Merrill for a 3-2 loss.
The record? Alexis and Edwin became the first brothers to give up walk-off home runs on the same day.
Can you call that brotherly love?
—QUOTE: From Mariano Rivera, baseball’s all-time best closer: “I don’t feel invincible because I’m human.” (That may bring comfort to the Diaz brothers, but most hitters would agree that on the mound Rivera’s cutter made him inhuman.)
—STICK IT TO ME: In high school at Akron East and in college at Kent State, I played first base and my teammate at both places was shortstop Gene ‘Stick’ Michael. He later played in the majors and managed the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs.
During his Hall of Fame induction speech, pitcher Greg Maddux said, “My first game in the majors with the Cubs, 20 minutes before the game my first manager, Gene Michael, thought I was the batboy,”
That’s OK, Greg. There was a game in which I missed one of Michael’s throws and after the inning he asked me, “Do you wear that first baseman’s mitt for any apparent reason?”
He attended my Hall of Fame induction and got me again by saying, “I never thought I’d ever see you in Cooperstown.”
His nickname was ‘Stick,’ not because of his bat, because he was so skinny. In his freshman year at Kent State he played both baseball and basketball and probably was a better basketball player.
His defense was so good at shortstop he played 10 years in the majors despite a .229 career batting average and 15 home runs.
—THE BLEACHER SCRIBES: When the Cincinnati Reds trained at Tampa’s Al Lopez Field, there was a set of rickety splinter-infested blachers down the left field line.
Because of small attendance, the bleachers were seldom occupied by fans. So the four beat writers eschewed the press box and commandeered the bleachers to cover the games.
Why? Well, we took off our shirts to work on our tans — Earl Lawson (Cincinnati Post), Bob Hertzel (Cincinnati Enquirer), Paul Meyer (Dayton Journal Herald) and me. Oh, what a sight we were.
Only this week, while readinng Rick Vaughn’s book, ‘Tampa Spring Training Tales,’ did I discover that those bleachers were installed in 1957 ‘For Coloreds Only.’ Blacks were not permitted in the main grandstand.
—THE SPEED GRUNT: Ever wonder why pitchers Sonny Gray and Max Scherzer let out audible grunts when they release their pitches. Nolan Ryan did it, too, as does Cincinnati’s Fernando Cruz.
They all believe the extra oomph increases velocity, the way pro tennis players do on their serves.
It is true? A study at Hardin Simmons University in 2021 said that a grunt on release increases velocity by 2.72 miles per hour.
How long before some pitcher releases a blood-curdling scream when he fires a fastball?
—CUBS TURN GRIZZLYs: When Governor Billy Hilbert worked the microphone at Hara Arena for Dayton Gems games, if he saw fans leaving early, he would shout into his microphone, “Never leave a hockey game.”
The same holds true for baseball, God love it. Ask the Pittsburgh Pirates. They led the Chicago Cubs, 10-3, after six innings. The Cubs scored 11 unanswered runs in the seventh, eighth and nine and won, 14-10.
One of the victims was Aroldis Chapman — one inning, three runs, three hits and a walk.
—PLAYLIST NUMBER 86: And on and on and on and on. . .aren’t those lyrics to a song?
Swayin’ To The Music (Johnny Rivers), Lookin’ For Love (Johnnie Lee), Love’s Theme (Love Unlimited Orchestra), Our House (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), Fight Song (Rachel Platten).
If You Leave Me Now (Chicago), Goodbye Time (Blake Shelton). Delta Dawn (Helen Reddy), Reach Out, I’ll Be There (The Four Tops), For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield), Signs (Five Man Eletrical Band),