This is pretty cool. As many know, Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn is the head baseball coach at San Diego State University. Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is one of the many who has played under Gwynn at SDSU. The latest crop of Aztecs players participated in a Halloween scrimmage over the weekend in which each player got to play in their costumes in front of a good sized crowd of fans. In the story link below, which includes pictures, Gwynn talks about rewarding his players for their hard work with the day of fun, and players talk about some of their respective costumes.
This Pete Rose fan swung by The Art Of Music in Las Vegas and had the Cincinnati Reds Hall Of Famer sign a baseball for him. The young man asked Pete to sign the ball “Pay It Forward” as the fan is part of the random acts of kindness movement. Pete happily obliges but makes a small error in spelling the word “Forward” as you will see at the end of the clip. For the record the word “Forward” is listed as “basic” on this 6th grade spelling list. The autograph signing made a great memory for this fan, produced a nice conversation piece for his home or office, and provided the YouTube watching public with a humorous clip. Enjoy. Oh and for the record Pete, don’t feel bad, there’s a good chance I would have misspelled it too 🙂
Life Magazine photographer Ralph Morse took pictures of New York Yankees Hall Of Famer Babe Ruth for Life Magazine back in the late 1940’s during the final public appearances by Ruth prior to his death. In the story link below, you can view Morse’s pictures and the now 93 year old photographer recalls the side of the baseball legend that was captured by his lens. The photo’s are pretty cool as is the history behind them.
In 1949 Mickey Mantle was just another minor leaguer making his professional debut with the Class D Independence Yankees. The future Hall Of Famer batted .313 in 89 games that season. Jack Brownlee was six years old that season when he had Mantle sign his Independence Yankees program. In the story link below which includes a video, you can see the autograph and here Brownlee tell the story of obtaining it in the small Kansas town.
There is an empty seat this season in the Progressive Field press box. When Cleveland Indians Hall Of Famer Bob Feller died in December of 2010 it marked the end of an era. Feller was one of the most involved retired players from any organization, attending Indians games up until the midway point of the 2010 season. During the many years following his playing days, Feller occupied a seat in the Indians press box where he became friendly with most of the Indians working press. This year Feller’s seat remains empty in tribute to Feller. In the story link below the writers who became friends with Feller share their memories of the legend and talk about how the press box is not quite the same without him. It’s a great read.
Cincinnati Reds Hall Of Famer Joe Morgan led the crowd at Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in the World’s Largest Chicken Dance. Enjoy the video and the post chicken dance interview with Morgan.
Negro League legend and Baseball Hall Of Famer Pete Hill may or may not have been born in Culpeper County Virginia. After much debate as to whether or not Hill had been born in the county, the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors voted to fund half the cost of a plaque to honor Hill at their Culpeper Community Sports Complex. The story link below talks about the interesting debate about where Hill actually was born and how historians clashed with board members during the meeting to decide if the city would help fund the project.
From 1888-1901 Hall Of Famer Billy Hamilton stole 100 bases four times during his career. Over a century later a Cincinnati Reds prospect of the same name is looking for his 100th stolen base in the minors. Billy Hamilton entered Wednesday night five stolen bases away from becoming the first minor leaguer since Esix Snead to steal 100 bases in a season. In the story the Dayton Dragons shortstop talks about his quest for 100 stolen bases, missing his Mississippi home town, and having former big league speedburner Delino Deshields as his manager and mentor.