All about Baseball

 

Professional pitchers have thrown darts at batters for over 150 years. The National Association of Professional Baseball Players lasted from 1871 to 1875. The National League was formed in 1876, while the Junior Circuit, the American League, was established in 1901. The various Negro Leagues played from 1920 until 1951.

Miraculously, while billions of pitches have been fired toward home plate, only one batter has died after being “beaned” - hit in the head by a pitched ball. Tragically, on August 17, 1920, just 12 hours after being hit in the head by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays of the Yankees, Cleveland's Raymond Chapman died.

There had long been concern about the hitters' safety. In 1905, the first crude headgear was invented. It was described as looking like an “...inflatable boxing glove that wrapped around the hitter's head.”

In 1941, the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first team to require helmets for their batters. In 1956, the National League made helmets mandatory, but several players were “grandfathered' from the new rule.

Major League Baseball officially mandated plastic batting helmets in 1971. Bob Montgomery, a catcher who had been “grandfathered,” was the last Major Leaguer to play without a helmet. As a member of the Boston Red Sox, Montgomery made his last appearance on September 9, 1979. Instead of a helmet, he wore a plastic liner inside his cap.

During the 1934 World Series, a star pitcher, Dizzy Dean, joked that a beaning didn't do him any damage. “The doctors took X-rays of my head, “he said, “and found nothing.”

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he made his debut on April 15, 1947, with the Brooklyn Dodgers. That year, he was named the National League Rookie of the Year. In 1949, he was the League's Most Valuable Player, leading all National League batters with an average of .342. For his career, Robinson stole 200 bases and hit .313.

In 1997, Robinson's number 42 as retired. On April 15th of each season, all managers, coaches, and players wear his number in tribute. In 1962, the great Jackie Robinson was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.

After Robinson began playing, there would be no return to the racist days of old. Two other Black men had previously played in the Major Leagues. Moses Fleetwood Walker played for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884. Evidently, William Edward White was the first Black player, having played one game for the Providence Grays in 1879. Sadly, he had to pretend to be white to get into the game.

Babe Ruth would never have dreamed this, but in 2026, baseball has an automated ball-strike challenge. The data proves that umpires are not blind, as many fans have screamed over the years, but it's proof that the men in blue are not perfect. During the first four days of the season, there were 124 challenges, with 67 of them overturned (54%). Evidently, catchers know the strike zone better than the hitters do. Catchers had 64% of their challenges upheld.

Imagine that a mad scientist has sent you back to the year 1876, but there is no way to get back to the present. Therefore, you might as well buy a straw hat and attend some games from the National League's initial season. Pick a team to follow: Boston Red Stockings, Chicago White Stockings, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Mutual of New York (also called the Green Stockings), Philadelphia Athletics, and the St. Louis Brown Stockings.

My wife noticed that many early teams had nicknames referring to their socks. Looking at my feet, she wanted to know if I was the manager of the Dirty Socks or perhaps the Holy Socks. Then she decided I was the owner of the Stinky Socks. Sadly, she has no reverence for baseball's history!

Spitballs and Mudballs

After the 1919 baseball season was completed, a special rule was established. It banned foreign substances from being applied to a baseball. This included such things as paraffin, saliva, and hair tonic, just to name a few. In addition, defacing the ball by scratching it was prohibited. Breaking the new rule led to a 10-day suspension.

Now we move forward to the baseball season of 1934. You are the home plate umpire. On the mound is Burleigh Grimes, who is known for “dusting off” anyone having the audacity to crowd the plate. Moreover, according to legend, Grimes was so aggressive that he allegedly “dusted off” the on-deck hitter waiting in the batter's circle!

Now, let's say one of the greatest hitters of all-time, Lou Gehrig, is coming to the plate. Right in front of you, the pitcher pulls out of his pocket a small bottle containing some kind of grease. While you watch, he generously applies the substance to the ball, thus giving himself an advantage over Gehrig, for “doctored” balls seem to “drop off the table” right before reaching the plate.

Remember, you are the home plate umpire. Furthermore, you have witnessed the pitcher applying the foreign substance. You are probably thinking, “I'd throw the bum out of the game, and he would be suspended.” Actually, you are wrong. In this case, neither you nor your fellow umpires could do anything about it. Grimes would throw his “grease-ball,” and Gehrig would simply have to deal with it.

“Why?” you might ask. When the rule was made, there were still 17 pitchers in the major leagues who were throwing doctored balls. For some reason, those hurlers were “grandfathered,” which meant they could go right on doing their thing for the rest of their careers. 1934 was the final season for Grimes, who was the last of the “grandfathered” pitchers.

Of course, even after Grimes, the last legal grease-baller, some pitchers continued to cheat. The Yankees' Whitey Ford, who pitched in the '50s and '60s, was the ace of the staff. However, near the end of his career, the fastball began losing some steam.

Therefore, when he was in a jam, Ford would occasionally throw a spitball or a mudball (saliva and dirt), but he was most successful when delivering a scratched baseball. It has been said that Ford could make a defaced ball do just about anything but whistle Dixie.

After buying a cheap ring, Ford notched grooves around its perimeter. Whenever Ford was in a tough spot, say when men were on second and third, he would rub up the ball, giving it a few scratch marks from the ring. The batter would complain when the ball seemed to drop off a table, but for a long time, the men in blue couldn't figure out how the Yankee ace was committing his evil deed.

Eventually, a clever umpire discovered the ring and ordered Ford to get rid of it. He complied, but the doctored balls continued to dip and doodle.

Elston Howard, the catcher, then filed a few grooves into his shin guard. Whenever Ford gave a special signal, Howard would nonchalantly rub the ball along the shin guard before returning it to the mound. Therefore, Ford's pitches continued to drop off the table.

Gaylord Perry, who played from 1962-1983, used various foreign substances to have an edge over the hitters. According to research, Perry's arsenal included Vaseline, K. Y. Jelly, and hair tonic.  Despite this, he was ejected only once during his career for messing up baseballs.

Who says crime doesn't pay? Burleigh Grimes, Whitey Ford, and Gaylord Perry are all members of baseball's Hall of Fame (Of course, technically, Grimes was not cheating), and I think they should be. Of course, I think Pete Rose belongs there, too, but that is another blog for another time.

Fighting over Girls?

 Fighting over Girls?

During the elementary school years, my buddies and I had little to do with girls. To us boys, they were simply strange creatures who, for the most part, didn't care for the important things in life, such as football, basketball, baseball, and frogs. I remember girls were so strange that during first grade, they were not allowed to wear blue jeans or any other kind of pants to school. That rule was rescinded at the beginning of second grade, but as Beaver Cleaver might have said, girls were still “creeps.”

By the time we entered the seventh grade, after we had left elementary school for junior high, our perspective began to change. Indeed, the more popular and confident boys began “going steady” with some of the more confident females. Of course, the average length of a couple going steady was about two to three weeks, but it was the beginning of a natural attraction. On the other hand, being shy and lacking confidence, I was still scared to death of them.

One weekend, my friend and I planned to go to the local high school basketball game. Since we were junior high kids, my friend's older brother offered to play chauffeur.

A couple of hours before pickup time, my friend telephoned, stating that he now had a date for the game. “That's okay,” I murmured. “I'll just stay home and watch Lawrence Welk with the folks.” That, of course, would have been about as exciting as pulling lint from my belly button. But alas, he also had a date for me, a gal who just happened to be the prettiest and most popular female in our school. Talk about being out of one's league!

Soon, my friend, his date, and his brother arrived. During the ride to the game, my friend, whom I'll call “Sam” to protect the guilty, held hands with his date. When my date was picked up, I nervously rambled on about the Browns. No doubt she was thrilled to be set up with such a great conversationalist!

During the game, I talked more nonsense. On the way home, Sam, ever the lover-boy, kissed his date. On my part, there was a greater chance of my hitch-hiking to the moon than summoning up enough courage to move my lips within two feet of her angelical face.

When we arrived at the home of Sam's date, he walked her to the porch and gave her a goodnight kiss. A few minutes later, we were at my date's house. She got out of the car, waiting for me to do the same. Instead, seemingly cemented to the car seat, I said nothing and did nothing as she politely said, “Thank you for a wonderful night.” Well, it was probably a night she has never forgotten, although I sincerely hope she has.

As I have previously stated, during the junior high years, several of the guys and gals “went steady,” which meant you wore the other person's ring and promised not to date anyone else. Sometimes, however, two guys went after the same young lady. Often, this problem would be solved by a fight. During the school day, word spread that after school, Boy A and Boy B were meeting behind the nearby laundromat. As a large crowd gathered, the two young men began savagely punching each other to determine who was to become the legitimate boyfriend.

Evidently, there was some unwritten law that the girl HAD to accept the winner. Maybe that's how it worked in the caveman days, but in modern times, this seems ridiculous. Did young gals prefer the stronger brutes?

With only one exception, the combatants in these battles were boys. However, one day, immediately after school, two girls went at it on the front lawn of the school. Soon, a huge crowd formed to see the action. Some members of the audience actually were encouraging them to destroy one another.

Unlike the boys, there was little in the way of actual punching. Instead, the ladies scratched and hit each other when they were not ripping the opponent's clothing. Unfortunately for the excited crowd, the fight came to a sudden halt when several teachers came out and escorted the ladies to the office.

Believe it or not, back in those days, the girls often fought over me. They'd slug it out for hours until one reluctantly gave in. In my case, however, the loser had to take me. Maybe that's why they fought almost to the death.