This Day in Baseball History: February 10th, 1982

Age 32 seems to be that magic number.

On February 10, 1982:

The New York Mets sign George Foster to a 5-year, $10M deal.

The 1970’s weren’t exactly a great decade for the Mets, and at the turn of the next decade, they knew they needed to rebuild. Joan Payson, the Mets owner, died in 1975 and left the team to her husband, who then relegated the responsibilities to his three daughters. Unfortunately, his daughters did not share their mother’s enthusiasm for the team and sport. Five years later, the Payson family sold the team to Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon. The new owners needed to show their fanbase they were dedicated, and one of the first moves they made was to bring in George Foster.

Foster had been a key cog in the Big Red Machine of the 70’s, and he had entered the free-agent market. His best season came in 1977 when he hit 52 HR with 149 RBI after a season in which he hit 29 HR with 121 RBI. He followed that up with another great season, hitting 40 HR and driving in 120. Over the next three seasons, Foster had some injury issues, but he remained a productive player when healthy. When his time for free-agency came up in 1982, he took advantage.

The Mets signed Foster to a monster contract, but as usual, that long-term contract ended up as an albatross. Although most contracts of the sort fail due to injuries, Foster was actually healthier as a Met than as a Red (playing 146+ in each of the first three seasons). Foster’s problem was that his production fell off the face of the Earth. After having OPS+ of 130+ in each of the past seven seasons (5 over 150), Foster only hit 13 HR and his OPS+ dropped to 90 in 151 games. The next season wasn’t a whole lot better. He hit 28 HR in 157 games, but his OPS+ was only 95. He would rebound the next two seasons, but in 1986, he just couldn’t deliver. The team benched him, and when that happened, he claimed the Mets were racist. The Mets immediately released the unhappy Foster. Who was Foster’s replacement? Kevin Mitchell (which seems to disprove Foster, but the Mets could have brought in Mitchell just to prove Foster wrong; then again, Mitchell was pretty good in 1986). The Mets went on to win the World Series in 1986.

Now, let that be a lesson to you. Oh hell, no one listens to these things. Bring on the next huge contract. Ryan Howard!

This Day in Baseball History: February 9th, 2000

This is basically how the 2000's went for The Kid.

On February 9, 2000:

The Seattle Mariners trade Ken Griffey Jr. to the Cincinnati Reds for Brett Tomko, Mike Cameron, Antonio Pérez, and Jake Meyer.


Known as the "Kid", Ken Griffey Jr. was a fan-favorite, to say the least, in Seattle. Starting in 1989 at the age of 19, Griffey became a star, playing spectacular defense while blasting huge offensive numbers. He was widely considered the best player in the majors, and some wondered if he was the best player of all-time. However, everything was not happy in Seattle.

Griffey had a strong desire to play closer to his family, who lived in Florida, and when he was approached about an 8-year/$148M deal, he rejected it. GM Pat Gillick continued to try to work on negotiating a contract, but Griffey wanted out. Making things more difficult, Griffey was a 10-and-5 player (10 years in the majors and the last 5 with one team), which gave him no-trade rights. Griffey told the Mariners he would approve a trade to four teams: the New York Mets, the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros, and the Cincinnati Reds.

During and following the 1999 season, Gillick tried to find a trade partner, but the market was lacking. In the off-season, there was more of a market. The Mets were the first major trading partner, and they offered young Octavio Dotel, Roger Cedeno, and Armando Benitez. Griffey, however, exercised his 10-and-5 rights, but no one is exactly sure why. One reason is that he may have realized he wanted to go to Cincinnati (where his father was coaching), and another is that he may have felt the Mets were giving up too much. Adding to the former theory, Griffey came out and said he would only go to the Reds. Seattle management, fearing an unhappy Griffey, told Gillick to get what he could for Griffey. The Reds originally refused to take part in trade negotiations because they didn't want to break up the key parts of a 96 win team (Pokey Reese, Sean Casey, and Scott Williamson were major parts of rumors), but knowing they could get Griffey without giving them up, they re-entered negotiations.

An interesting twist is that the Mariners demanded Pérez and Tomko because they were supposed to be the main part of a trade for Jim Edmonds, who would then be the center fielder, but the addition of Cameron made that potentially unnecessary.

Once the trade had been completed in principle, the Reds had to work out an extension, and they were given a 72-hour window. Most felt like Griffey could become the first $200M dollar player, but he took $116M over 9 seasons, much lower than expectations and even what Seattle had offered (I guess it isn't always about the money?). Griffey officially became a Red.

As for Griffey and the Reds, the trade didn't exactly work out as planned. At the time, this seemed to be a great deal for the Reds. Tomko was nothing special, and although Cameron seemed to be a decent player, he was no Griffey. The Reds were just coming off a 96-win season, and they seemed primed to take the NL Central. After a solid 2000 campaign, he was never the same. He didn't play in 130 games in any season until 2007, and 3 of those were under 100 games. He finished the contract by being traded to the Chicago White Sox and being only fairly productive. The Reds never made the playoffs and were above .500 only once.

As for the rest of the players, Tomko pitched two seasons in Seattle, but he rarely started or was any good. Cameron had four pretty good seasons in Seattle, but he was never great except for 2001 (and that's stretching "great"). Pérez never played for Seattle, but he was part of the trade that brought Randy Winn from Tampa Bay in 2002. Meyer was a decent minor-league reliever, but he never made it to the big leagues and was out of baseball by 2005. Overall, the trade really worked out for no one, but Seattle wasn't financially burdened by Griffey and had a few great seasons in the post-Griffey era (most notably the 4 seasons immediately after his departure, including the amazing 116-win 2001 team).

On a more personal note, I remember that off-season. My brother's favorite player was Griffey, and because we are both avid Braves fans, we desperately wanted him in Atlanta. Having both of our favorite players, both probable future Hall of Famers, was almost too much to wish for. We watched the rumors, but he didn't come. My brother was furious. I guess it ended up a good thing, however. How about the All-Star injured outfield of Griffey and Chipper Jones?

As for this off-season and the Braves, it definitely reminds me of the Jake Peavy situation. We wait to hear all the rumors, desperately hoping the Braves get Peavy. Ultimately, it doesn't happen, and we're pretty "peav"ed. In the end, it could still work out that it was a good thing the Braves didn't get him. Here's to historical perspective!

This Day in Baseball History: February 8th, 1962

Baseball knows nothing about monopolies.

On February 8th, 1962:

The Federal Trade Commission accuses the Topps Company, Inc. of having a monopoly on baseball cards.


The Topps Company was originally a tobacco company, but after World War I disrupted its trade of tobacco with the Middle East (mainly Turkey), it decided to go a different route. That route was chewing gum.

In 1950, the Topps Company decided to start using trading cards to help the sales of its Bazooka Bubble Gum, but the "Hopalong Cassidy" cards were only marginally successful. The following year, Topps decided to use baseball cards instead to package with their gum, and it became an instant success. Sold in two sets (Red Backs and Blue Backs), the cards were mainly used to play a card game with baseball-like rule, and they were blank on the back with a picture on the front. The next year, Topps increased the size of the card and began adding statistical and biographical information to the backs of the card.

This wasn't the first time a company had done this. Baseball card production began before 1900, and it was packaged with bubble gum and tobacco shortly after. However, during WWI and the Great Depression, the market for baseball cards (as well as for a lot of other products) shrank to almost non-existent levels, but after WWII, production picked back up -- the modern baseball card era had begun. Bowman Gum and a few other companies began the process before Topps, but Topps would soon outdistance its competition, bringing the companies into serious competition.

Bowman Gum sued Topps for trademark infringement. Players signed contracts individually to allow companies to reproduce their images, and Bowman said Topps was illegally reproducing images to which they already owned the rights. In the end, Topps bought Bowman, and the issue ended. Topps became the dominant baseball card producer as they now owned the major competition, and the Federal Trade Commission didn't like it.

Topps began signing players to exclusive contracts, which obviously limits the competition, but Fleer had come out with a new series of cards based on retired players, such as Ted Williams. They, then, supported the FTC's campaign in 1962 to end Topps' monopoly. Originally, the arbitrator ruled against Topps, but the Commission reversed course in 1965 and allowed Topps to continue running as before stating that other companies could sell baseball cards with other small products, instead.

The Aluminum Bat

No difference between the two. Absolutely none.

Of course, the major leagues only use wooden bats, but what about their counterparts -- the aluminum bats? When were they made? Who made them? Well, gather around and let me tell you a story ...

The first regulations about the wooden bat were made in 1859, but the first bat in the model we know today was created in 1884 by Louisville Slugger (yeah! We're more than just the Kentucky Derby, bourbon, and tobacco, although most people like us more for those). The aluminum bat wouldn't come around for a couple more decades.

In 1924, William Shroyer received the patent for the metal bat, but it wasn't very good. Therefore, the aluminum bat wouldn't really arrive until 1970 when Worth created the first aluminum bat for sale. Soon after, Worth created the first one-piece aluminum bat, and aluminum bats began to be used in Little League games in 1971 and in NCAA games in 1974. By 1975, aluminum bat sales had out-distanced its opponent. Easton came along later in the decade with a much better grade aluminum bat, and with the added quality, the aluminum bat took off.

The arrival of the aluminum bat was actually brought on by none other than the aeronautics industry. During World War II, airplane companies began experimenting with the light-weight aluminum alloys, and as a result, they made significant breakthroughs that made the modern bat possible.

The next improvements to the metal bat wouldn't be added until 1993 when Worth and Easton added Titanium to the mix as the major component, and two years later, Easton and Louisville Slugger made the bats stronger and lighter.

Today, metal bats are made of a mixture of scandium and aluminum or are double-walled, but they are currently under tremendous scrutiny. On one hand, you have to buy less of them because they are more durable than wooden bats, and they don't splinter the way a wooden bat might (which has recently caused problems in regard to maple bats). On the other hand, they increase the speed at which the ball reverberates off the bat, and sometimes, they rebound so fast that they injure defenders who can't react fast enough, especially pitchers. As I said, they aren't used in the MLB or its minor league affiliates, but they are still used in the NCAA, high school, and youth leagues.

How do I feel about them? Well, I tend to be fairly traditionalist (then again, I do like the Wild Card, Interleague Play, and the DH) in regard to baseball, so I don't really like them. I'd rather kids use wooden bats (quick story -- I played Little League with this kid who we could all swear was a 14-year old playing in our 10-12 league. He was huge and extremely good. Whenever he got up to the plate, the third baseman automatically backed up into the outfield. We were terrified that he would kill us. I also swear he tried to take out my knee caps after I dared to foul off a pitch of his), even though aluminum bats are lighter. When you get to high school, I think the kids are old enough and have good enough reflexes to use aluminum bats, but once they get to college, I think they should switch back to aluminum bats.

Is this logical to switch? Maybe not, but little kids aren't likely to break bats as often and they won't play on as many teams. High schoolers start showing more dedication, playing more games, and play for more teams, so I think aluminum bats become more appropriate. When they get to college age, however, I think they've gotten too big and muscular to use them. Also, it may help scouts judge talent better if they use wooden bats.

Feel free to disagree. I'd like to hear some ideas on the issue. It still rages on and may continue for a long time.

Hall of Fame: Mickey Cochrane (1947)

He never wanted any of it, but he took it all on anyway.

 Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG *OPS+  TB   SH
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+
 1925 22 PHA AL 134  420   69  139  21  5   6   55   7  4  44  19  .331  .397  .448  108  188   8
 1926 23 PHA AL 120  370   50  101   8  9   8   47   5  2  56  15  .273  .369  .408   98  151  26
 1927 24 PHA AL 126  432   80  146  20  6  12   80   9  6  50   7  .338  .409  .495  128  214  23
 1928 25 PHA AL 131  468   92  137  26 12  10   57   7  7  76  25  .293  .395  .464  122  217  21
 1929 26 PHA AL 135  514  113  170  37  8   7   95   7  6  69   8  .331  .412  .475  124  244  21
 1930 27 PHA AL 130  487  110  174  42  5  10   85   5  0  55  18  .357  .424  .526  135  256  18
 1931 28 PHA AL 122  459   87  160  31  6  17   89   2  3  56  21  .349  .423  .553  149  254   3
 1932 29 PHA AL 139  518  118  152  35  4  23  112   0  1 100  22  .293  .412  .510  133  264   3
 1933 30 PHA AL 130  429  104  138  30  4  15   60   8  6 106  22  .322  .459  .515  157  221   4
 1934 31 DET AL 129  437   74  140  32  1   2   76   8  4  78  26  .320  .428  .412  117  180   5
 1935 32 DET AL 115  411   93  131  33  3   5   47   5  5  96  15  .319  .452  .450  137  185  11
 1936 33 DET AL  44  126   24   34   8  0   2   17   1  1  46  15  .270  .465  .381  111   48   6
 1937 34 DET AL  27   98   27   30  10  1   2   12   0  1  25   4  .306  .452  .490  135   48   2
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+
13 Seasons         5169      1652     64      832     46     217  .320  .419  .478  128      151
              1482      1041      333    119       64    857                            2470

2 MVP awards (1928, 1934)

2 All-Star Games (1934, 1935)

Gordon Stanley Cochrane was born on April 6, 1903 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts to Scottish immigrants. His nickname "Mickey" comes from the term for an Irishman, "Mick", but no one close to him called him that, instead calling him "Mike" (which is still odd). Cochrane went on to attend Boston University before breaking into the big leagues in 1925. At Boston University, he played basketball and football as well, and it is believed he was better at those than at baseball. Cochrane, however, realized he would make more money playing baseball. He wasn't even a catcher in college, playing shortstop and outfield instead, but he filled in there in the minors because the team lacked a catcher.

In 1925, he broke into the majors with the Philadelphia Athletics, led by Connie Mack. Known for having a bad temper, he was influenced by several players, the main one being Ty Cobb, who played for the A's from 1927-1928, and Lefty Grove, known for tearing up the locker room after a tough loss. Cochrane instantly became one of the best offensive players at his position, and he was a key cog in the amazing teams in Philadelphia that captured three straight pennants and two World Series from 1929-1931. With the coming of the Great Depression, Mack began selling off those key players, and Cochrane was sent to the Detroit Tigers.

His first season there was a great one as he won the MVP Award, and he would later help the Tigers win two pennants. However, the limelight and the increased responsibility of being player, manager, and general manager caused Cochrane to have a meltdown in 1936, and soon after recovering, he was beaned in the head by bump Hadley. The injury nearly killed him, and he was forced to retire. However, Cochrane's greatest achievement may have been how much he helped out the city of Detroit, a city hit hard by the Great Depression. He would be an inspiration to the city, and it is believed the increased pressure this brought on him helped cause his breakdown.

One of the best catchers of all-time, Cochrane could do it all (his 64 career triples lead all Hall of Fame catchers in the 20th century). He would be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1947 with 128 of the 161 votes (79.5%). In honor of what he meant to the Tigers and Detroit, Detroit renamed the street down the third base line of Tiger Stadium, Cochrane Avenue.

This Day in Baseball History: February 5th, 1931

Thick.

On January 5, 1983:

Hack Wilson becomes the National League's highest paid player when he signs his $35,000 contract.


Fresh off one of the most impressive seasons in baseball history, Hack Wilson signed the NL's most lucrative contract. His 1930 season was simply outstanding. He hit .356/.454/.723 for an OPS+ of 178. To top it off, he hit an NL record (at least at the time and for a little over 60 years after) of 56 home runs and drove in a major-league record (still existing and probably never to be broken) 191 runs (it was long believed to be only 190 RBI's until 1999 when someone realized a scoring error). In 1929, he hit .313/.404/.588 after two previous seasons of essentially the same lines. Wilson had four consecutive seasons of 30+ home runs (including 1930), and he seemed on his way to superstardom. That is, until 1931.

After signing his contract before the 1931, Wilson declined and declined fast. He only hit .261/.362/.465 before rebounding slightly the next season with a .297/.366/.538 with 23 HR and 123 RBI after only hitting 13 and 61 the previous year. From 1926-1930, he had played in at least 142 games, but he wouldn't play more than 135 after (and less than 117 in 3 of the last four).

Why did he decline so fast and at such a relatively young age? It seems to have been alcohol. Rumors swirled around that most of the money he earned playing baseball went to the bar and stayed there. Another reason was his unusual build. He was 5'6" and 195 lbs., and although it was muscle to begin with, the alcohol probably added some "water weight". His build probably put too much stress on his body and caused him to decline.

When thinking about Andruw Jones, Wilson's career could be an interesting parallel. For those who quake at the thought of Jones getting into the Hall if he doesn't rebound, how does Andruw's career compare to Wilson's? Wilson became enshrined in 1979. Wilson has the better average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage, but Andruw oddly has a better OPS+, counting numbers (HR, RBI, R -- you know, the things voters like), and Gold Gloves (okay, the Gold Glove wasn't created until 1957, but how many people think Wilson was a great defender versus those who think Jones was the best at his position for about 10 years?).

Announcers: Phil Rizzuto

Maybe he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he would be an integral part of the Yankee experience for about 70 years.

As a player, Phil Rizzuto was an amazing defensive shortstop who gradually got better with the stick. He won an MVP award in 1950 and played in 5 All-Star Games. Rizzuto's final release from the team is an interesting story and one that affected his broadcasting career. Late in the 1956 season, the Yankees brought him in the office and asked him to look over the roster. They asked him to explain what player or players were expendable, and one after another, the Yankees explained why they needed to keep the player. In the end, Rizzuto realized that it was him that the Yankees found expendable. George Stirnweiss, the Yankees owner, however, warned Rizzuto. If Rizzuto took to the media to complain, it would affect his non-playing career. Rizzuto didn't complain, and he would later say that following Stirnweiss' advice was the best thing he ever did. He was no longer a Yankee on August 25, 1956.

So what about his broadcasting career? Well, it was long (40 years) and interesting. When the Yankees released him, the Cardinals and Dodgers offered him contracts, but Rizzuto wasn't interested in embarassing himself any longer on the field. Late in 1956, Giants announcer Frankie Frisch (where do you think I got the idea for this series?) had a heart attack, and Rizzuto slipped in as a replacement and earned positive reviews. Rizzuto liked the job so much that he sent an audition tape to the Baltimore Orioles, but it was a Yankees sponsor that he impressed. Balatine Beer suggested his name. Yankees General Manager George Weiss felt pressured to bring in Rizzuto, so he fired Jim Woods. He would say that it was the first time he had to fire someone for no reason.

Over the next 40 years, Rizzuto would call radio and television games for the Yankees. However, he wasn't necessarily known for his sparkling and lucid analysis of what was going on in the game. He is infamously known for creating the scoring of "WW" for "Wasn't Watching", and he was known as a "homer", one who cheers for the home team (or the paying team) even though the person is supposed to be unbiased.

Still, Rizzuto was around for some famous moments and conversations. He called Roger Maris' 61st home run, George Brett's "Pine Tar" home run, and Dave Righetti's no-hitter. Known for his malapropisms and exclamations, Rizzuto had an ... interesting ... personality. He often said "Holy Cow!" when something amazing happened, which evidently happened a lot considering it was his catchphrase, and he called people "huckleberry" when they disagreed with him or did something he didn't agree with. Some good quotes:

"Uh-oh, deep to left-center, nobody's gonna get that one! Holy cow, somebody got it!"
"Bouncer to third, they'll never get him! No, why don't I just shut up!"
"All right! Stay fair! No, it won't stay fair. Good thing it didn't stay fair, or I think he would've caught it!"
"They've got so many Latin players we're going to have to get a Latin instructor up here."

He even famously introduced himself as his partner Bill White at the beginning of a few broadcasts. Rizzuto generally tried to keep his broadcasts up-beat, but it didn't end that way.

When Mickey Mantle died in August of 1995, Rizzuto wanted to attend his funeral, but the Yankees refused to allow him to do such. In the middle of the broadcast, Rizzuto left, unable to go on. Soon after, he retired. The Yankees were able to bring him back for another season, and he called Derek Jeter's first home run in 1996.

Hall of Fame: Frankie Frisch (1947)

The Flash.

 Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG *OPS+  TB   SH
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+
 1919 20 NYG NL  54  190   21   43   3  2   2   24  15      4  14  .226  .242  .295   62   56   3
 1920 21 NYG NL 110  440   57  123  10 10   4   77  34 11  20  18  .280  .311  .375   96  165  13
 1921 22 NYG NL 153  618  121  211  31 17   8  100  49 13  42  28  .341  .384  .485  128  300  26
 1922 23 NYG NL 132  514  101  168  16 13   5   51  31 17  47  13  .327  .387  .438  110  225  18
 1923 24 NYG NL 151  641  116  223  32 10  12  111  29 12  46  12  .348  .395  .485  132  311  11
 1924 25 NYG NL 145  603  121  198  33 15   7   69  22  9  56  24  .328  .387  .468  131  282  14
 1925 26 NYG NL 120  502   89  166  26  6  11   48  21 12  32  14  .331  .374  .472  118  237   5
 1926 27 NYG NL 135  545   75  171  29  4   5   44  23     33  16  .314  .353  .409  105  223  11
 1927 28 STL NL 153  617  112  208  31 11  10   78  48     43  10  .337  .387  .472  126  291  26
 1928 29 STL NL 141  547  107  164  29  9  10   86  29     64  17  .300  .374  .441  110  241  19
 1929 30 STL NL 138  527   93  176  40 12   5   74  24     53  12  .334  .397  .484  116  255  17
 1930 31 STL NL 133  540  121  187  46  9  10  114  15     55  16  .346  .407  .520  119  281  16
 1931 32 STL NL 131  518   96  161  24  4   4   82  28     45  13  .311  .368  .396  102  205   5
 1932 33 STL NL 115  486   59  142  26  2   3   60  18     25  13  .292  .327  .372   85  181   2
 1933 34 STL NL 147  585   74  177  32  6   4   66  18     48  16  .303  .358  .398  111  233  10
 1934 35 STL NL 140  550   74  168  30  6   3   75  11     45  10  .305  .359  .398   98  219  10
 1935 36 STL NL 103  354   52  104  16  2   1   55   2     33  16  .294  .356  .359   89  127  14
 1936 37 STL NL  93  303   40   83  10  0   1   26   2     36  10  .274  .353  .317   81   96   8
 1937 38 STL NL  17   32    3    7   2  0   0    4   0      1   0  .219  .242  .281   41    9   1
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+
19 Seasons         9112      2880    138     1244     74     272  .316  .369  .432  111      229
              2311      1532      466    105      419    728                            3937

1 MVP award (1931)
3 All-Star appearances (1933-1935)


Born September 9, 1898, Francis Frisch was born in the Bronx. At Fordham University, Frisch starred in four sports, but he chose baseball for his profession. Unlike most players, Frisch impressed the New York Giants enough to bring him right up to the big leagues in 1919.

John McGraw liked him enough to make him a full-time player in 1920, and Frisch responded. McGraw responded by naming him the team captain and teaching him everything he knew about baserunning and hitting. At this point, Frisch was both a third baseman and second baseman, but he would move primarily to second in 1923. For the next few seasons, Frisch would place in the top of the league in stolen bases, hits, and runs and would help the team win the World Series in 1921 and 1922. The success wasn't enough to keep him New York, however, and he was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1926 season for none other than Rogers Hornsby.

Frisch wouldn't be Hornsby's equal, but the Cardinals made four more World Series trips with Frisch. His best season was 1931 when he hit 10 home runs and 114 RBI's with a .311 batting average while helping the Cardinals win the World Series over Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's. In 1933, Frisch followed others of the era by becoming the player-manager, and a year later, the Cardinals won another World Series. Frisch's hallowed career ended after the 1937 season when his average plummeted to .219 after always being above .274.

After retiring from baseball, Frisch didn't stop being involved. He continued on as the Cardinals' manager, but he never won another World Series. Later, he became the play-by-play announcer for the Giants until 1956 when Phil Rizzuto took over after Frisch had a heart attack. Elected to the Hall of Fame himself in 1947 with 136 of the 161 votes (84.5%), Frisch became a member of the Veterans Committee, and he would become the chairman a few years later. Some of the players elected during his time as chairman, mostly former teammates, are some of the most controversial in Hall history.

Weird note -- there's dispute over his birth year. Some say he was actually born in 1897. I guess the Dominicans aren't the only ones who have lied about ages.

This Day in Baseball History: February 4th, 1971

Can we call Selig, Kuhn Jr.?

On February 4, 1969:

Bowie Kuhn becomes baseball fifth commissioner.


Before becoming commissioner of baseball, Bowie Kuhn earned a law degree from the University of Virginia after earning his undergraduate degree in economics. He went to New York to work for Wilkie Farr & Gallagher because they represented the National League (I'm not sure if they do now or not). As a legal counselor for the National League, he worked several important cases, such as the lawsuit brought by Milwaukee when the Braves decided to move to Atlanta in 1965. Twenty years later, he found himself the benefactor of the owners', and well baseball's, contempt for William Eckert.

Some background on the Eckert situation. He was voted unanimously into the office in 1965. The situation was awry from the beginning. Eckert had not seen a baseball game in approximately 10 years, and he was so obscure that journalists called him the "Unknown Soldier". Eckert was brought into help with baseball's economic problems (Eckert had a business degree from Harvard and was a major consultant in the aviation industry), but he failed. When JFK and MLK were assassinated, he refused to cancel games, drawing public ire. When he refused to really delve himself into economic issues, he pissed the owners off. As 1968 came around, a strike loomed and the owners had zero confidence in Eckert, and they forced him out with three years left on his contract.

Bowie came into office with much more baseball experience, but that didn't make his ride as commissioner any easier. First up was Curt Flood. Flood sent Kuhn a letter demanding the reserve clause be eradicated and he named a free-agent. Kuhn refused, and the Supreme Court followed in Flood v. Kuhn. Next came a Spring Training strike in 1972 that he had to weather. Charles O. Finley was the next to tangle with the commissioner by bringing up a vote to remove Kuhn from the position, but he failed. In 1974, Hank Aaron broke the home-run record, but Kuhn refused to attend the game (see, Selig didn't have to be at Bonds') and made Aaron play the series in Cincinnati (the Braves wanted Aaron to tie and break the record at home, but Kuhn had other ideas), drawing some public frustration. Kuhn went on to suspend George Steinbrenner for two seasons (later shortened to 15 months) for illegal contributions to the Nixon campaign. A few seasons later, Andy Messersmith won his case to become a free-agent, and Kuhn refused to allow the owners to lock-out the players. Baseball began to become what it has become and is.

Kuhn would weather the storm until the owners ousted him in 1984 as a result of Kuhn's quarrels with owners.

Kuhn was heavily criticized throughout his reign, but he did bring in more attendance and more money to baseball, taking it into the "Big Business" category (sound familiar?).

No Excuses. Play Like a Champion, But ...

Anyone else think Vince Vaughn is funnier than Will Ferrell?

So, we had a nice little ice (well, lots of ice -- I hacked my way through what was about 2 inches of ice on my car, breaking my scraper -- then snow that melted and turned into more ice) storm in Kentucky last week. Louisville got pretty hammered, losing a lot of electricity, and other smaller cities, like Murray, got flooded pretty badly to where people needed to be evacuated. Lexington, where I am, got smacked fairly well, too. We didn't lose as much electricity, but as Wednesday wore on, the lights in the ole' apartment began to flicker. As a result, I decided against burning what could have been precious computer battery. The lights continued to flicker every once in awhile through Thursday, and apparently, they went out at some point Friday night because it knocked out my clock and I was almost late for class.

As for the weekend, I headed back to Louisville, and when I go back, I have to hang with old friends I don't get to see much. Therefore, there wasn't much time to get on here.

As for the beginning of this week, the teachers decided that it didn't matter that we missed class. We still needed to do the reading and homework because they weren't pushing the tests back. Isn't it weird how they'll change things around for one missed class, but they refuse to budge if you missed a couple days (by the way, I essentially didn't have class Tuesday, Wednesday, and part of Thursday)? So, I spent the last two days catching up on reading I didn't think I had to do quite yet. Of course, the teachers don't tell you this over email on the snow days. They wait until you come back to class. Then, I couldn't do anything over the weekend with other things going on. You see where this is going.

Anyway, I am back. I'll get a "This Day ..." post up shortly, and one more at least by the end of the night. For future reference, I'm changing the schedule around a little bit as life is throwing some curveballs, some pleasant and some not so much, my way. This is the plan:

Monday-Thursday
"This Day ..." -- hopefully posted around 1 in the morning (note this is now the first thing)
mini-bio -- somewhere around dinner time
other -- at some point later

Friday
"This Day" -- hopefully around 1 in the morning
After that, it's what I can get up depending on how things play out

Saturday
"This Day" -- probably posted around 12 or so
After that, it's what I can get up, but there will probably be more here than say on Friday

Sunday
"This Day" -- probably around 12 or so
Probably nothing after that as this day is premium homework day, but there might be an additional post if I feel I need a break

Sound alright? As usual, if there's something you feel should be covered and talked about, let me know. Also, look for an extra-special interview coming up soon!

Thanks for understanding.