Monday, October 11, 2010

Baseball as seen from Minnesota

The Twins may be out but the fresh air from Minnesota can still be felt. Read these takes from the New York Times on baseball the way it should be.

Lovely in Twin Cities, With Usual Fall: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/sports/baseball/08vecsey.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=minnesota%20george%20vecsey&st=cse

Keillor, Twins Fan, Knows Not To Fret
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/sports/baseball/10twins.html?scp=2&sq=garrison%20keillor&st=cse

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Birmingham Ballpark Lives to See 100 (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By RAY GLIER
Published: August 16, 2010

The social and cultural history of Rickwood Field, which will be 100 years old on Wednesday, is as significant as the baseball played there. Fans have been passing through the entrance turnstiles at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., since opening day on Aug. 18, 1910

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/sports/baseball/17field.html?ref=sports

Also look for the accompanying slide show.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Roadtrips to America’s Baseball Landmarks

To some baseball is more than a game, and to these folks of importance can be shrines.

Chris Epting is one of those persons. In Roadside Baseball, he has chronicled the locations of America’s baseball landmarks – some 500 in all.

They range from some of the obvious ones like the site of th old Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field and Yankee Stadium to Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.

But there are many more – some quite obscure, but all interesting.

In this Journey into Baseball we speak with Chris Epting about his journeys and what he found.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=477

The House That Built Ruth

A Catholic school in Baltimore that traces its roots to Yankees slugger Babe Ruth recently closed, the victim of declining enrollment and tough economic times.

Ruth spent the better part of 12 years at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys until 1914, when he left at age 19 to sign with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. After he joined the Yankees in 1920, he took the St. Mary’s band to major league ballparks to raise money to replace the main school building destroyed in a fire.

St. Mary’s closed in 1950, and for 48 years it has been the site of the all-boys Cardinal Gibbons School. During the Spring, the Archdiocese of Baltimore said that Gibbons and 12 other schools would close in June because of falling enrollment, rising costs and financial problems exacerbated by the recession.

The school board has resisted the decision. There were protests. There was even a radio campaign to try to save the school and the adjacent field where the Babe played as a youth..

We speak with Michael L. Gibbons, the executive director of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore about what happened and what a historical loss that the demise the school and its field would mean locally and to baseball fans worldwide.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=475

All Things Wiffle Ball

It’s old school and new school. It’ s unique and ubiquitous. It’ s yellow and white. It’ s red, white, and blue. It’s one of America s favorite brands: a classic for nearly 60 years and still a fad-proof fan favorite. The Wiffle Ball remains the great equalizer, befuddling batters of all ages. It curves, zips, and zooms with a mind of its own, turning anyone into a major league pitcher. It stands alone with its eight slots of perforated perfection, distinguished by its asymmetry and unpredictability. With millions of Wiffle bats and balls sold each year, its following is unparalleled with a devotion bordering on obsession. Just ask comedian Drew Carey s manager, Rick Messina, creator of Strawberry Field, one of the country s premier Wiffle venues. Turning his neighbor s adjoining house into a press box and locker room with stadium seats and lights, Mussina set the gold standard for the backyard Wiffle field.

In Wiffle Ball, author Michael Hermann, president of Wicked Cow Entertainment, and The Wiffle Ball Inc.’ s, brand managers, gives readers an inside look at this palatial Wiffle get-up and at the best Wiffle fields around, as well as the down-and-dirty on how in 1953 a down-on-his luck shoe polish salesman and his 13-year-old son concocted the first Wiffle Ball from spare perfume packaging, turning a plastic orb into an American icon.

In this Conversation on the Road we speak with Michael Hermann.

He explores with us The Science of Wiffle, and why a Wiffle Ball, well, wiffles.

He shows us all the how to s: how to build the best field; how to throw the best sinker ball; and how to best tape up a Wiffle Bat, and more.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=473

Saturday, April 17, 2010

When the Brooklyn Dodgers Played in New Jersey

BY ERIC MODEL
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
JOURNEYS INTO NEW JERSEY

Before Los Angeles, there was Jersey City's Roosevelt Stadium

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/professional/when-the-dodgers-and-jackie-robinson-made-history-in-new-jersey

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Podcast: Baseball Americana

Baseball, the sport that helped reunify the country in the years after the Civil War, is still considered the National Pastime. The Library of Congress houses the world’s largest baseball collection, documenting the history of the game and providing a unique look at America since the late 1700s. Now Baseball Americana (Smithsonian Books, 2010) presents the best of the best from that treasure trove. From baseball’s biggest stars to street urchins, from its most newsworthy stories to sandlot and Little League games, the book examines baseball’s hardscrabble origins, rich cultural heritage, and uniquely American character.

The more than 350 illustrations—many never before published—featured first-generation, vintage photographic and chromolithographic baseball cards; photographs of famous players and ballparks; and newspaper clippings, cartoons, New Deal photographs, and baseball advertisements.

We speak with co-author Harry Katz about the book and how it came to be.

Katz is the former curator in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress and a lifelong Red Sox fan. He curated the Library’s website devoted to historical baseball cards as well as multiple graphic art exhibitions.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=440

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Montreal Expos, Forgotten by Many, Are Reuniting in Cooperstown (NY Times)

From The New York Times:

By TYLER KEPNER
Published: January 7, 2010

This week’s election of Andre Dawson to the Hall of Fame is further evidence of the continuing influence of Canada’s first major league team.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/sports/baseball/08expos.html?scp=1&sq=montreal%20expos&st=cse