I don't know why, but I had a good feeling all day today. I kept thinking of the Knute Rockne speech that I put on facebook: "Today is the day we're gonna win." It was our biggest game since 1993. And I believed.
I wanted Bob Stoops after Charlie Weis was fired. He could have been a king, but he decided to stay in Oklahoma. When he turned down the job, I wanted Brian Kelly. I feared that if we didn't hire him, he'd go to Michigan and be great (they probably would have hired him a year later). It's working out pretty well for us. Kelly outcoached Stoops tonight. Oklahoma started the game playing a fast-paced no huddle offense. They were getting good yardage against us whenever they went with that. Whenever they slowed it down, we had the advantage. Why slow it down, Bob? You may have lost tonight, Bob, but least almost one out of every two of your players will graduate.
As for Kelly, I wanted him fired. Not for Navy and Tulsa in 2010. Not for South Florida, Michigan, and USC in 2011. When we unveiled the uniforms for the Miami game back in August, I posted on facebook that I wanted him and Jack Swarbrick fired. I wasn't joking. I still hate those uniforms with ever fiber of my being, but I can live with truly awful uniforms for one game a year if Kelly wins like this.
Then there's Manti Te'o. I remember finding out on signing day during my first year as a teacher that he was coming to Notre Dame. I gave all my kids high fives when I found out. I've always liked him as a person, but he didn't live up to the hype in his first three years. He was really good, but not great. This year he's been more than great. He's the best player in college football. He might not win the Heisman Trophy, but he should. More important than being a great football player is that he's a great human being. He is my favorite player on the team (which is saying something considering Louis Nix is on the team) and my favorite player of all time. He has five more games as a college football player and he deserves to win them all. Whatever happens for the rest of the season, nothing will change how I feel about him. I just hope he doesn't end up on the Patriots, Dolphins, Raiders, or Cowboys next year.
My students know that I love sports. They've also figured out that I dress by mood (just like George Costanza). One of my students that isn't a baseball fan figured out that the Giants won Game 7 of the NLCS by the way I was dressed the following day. She told me she would go easy on me for the rest of the week. I also have to start reading the Hunger Games because I made a deal with her that I would start reading the books if she started watching Notre Dame football. She can thank me later. I told one of my students that I could live with the Giants winning the World Series if Notre Dame won the National Championship in football. That's saying something because they're my second least favorite professional sports team. I don't know if I would say the same thing about the Lakers (I guess I would have to make that deal, but I would be really really conflicted about it). I also told my students that we'd have a party if Notre Dame won the National Championship. I think this was after the Michigan State game. I didn't think it was a realistic possibility at the time, but it might be now. I'll gladly live up to that if it happens.
Tonight was our biggest win since Florida State in 1993. We were cheated out of the National Championship that year, but I hope Brian Kelly teaches the team a lesson about what happened the following week. There really is no excuse for not being 11-0 headed into the Los Angeles Coliseum the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Tonight was an amazing night. Keep winning. Go Irish! Beat Panthers!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
My Worst Travel Experience Ever
My final Notre Dame football game of the regular season was this past Saturday against BYU. In honor of Mitt Romney, Manti Te'o, and our game against BYU, I watched this South Park episode. It's an underrated episode and really summarizes my feelings about Mormons: they believe some wacky things, but they're really good people. I'm really glad that I'm not a Mormon (if you don't already know why, you'll see soon), but I'm glad that Mormons exist and I wish there were more of them.
Anyway, I left on Friday night. The plan was to fly from LaGuardia to O'Hare to South Bend. My flight was leaving from terminal 2 (I think) at LaGuardia. When I got through security, some of the gates had a weather map of the United States. It looked like great weather throughout the country except for the big storms over the Northeast and the Great Lakes areas of the country. Awesome. My 6:00 flight had already been delayed until 7:15. I thought I'd relax and enjoy an age-appropriate beverage. As some of you know, like George Costanza dresses by mood, I like to drink by mood. So I always like to drink a Guinness on a Friday night before a Notre Dame football game. The only problem was there was no bar in the terminal. Where was I? Saudi Arabia? Unlike O'Hare, you can't walk from terminal to terminal at LaGuardia. So I just had to wait. My flight was still scheduled to get to O'Hare in time to make my connection. It turns out that I didn't get on the plane until 7:30 and it didn't take off until about 8:45. By the time I got to O'Hare, it was too late to catch my flight to South Bend.
I got to know O'Hare really well. I can now say that I like Midway a lot better. Sure, it always takes a long time to get through security there and I was once pepper sprayed going through security (a slight exaggeration), but Midway has a significant advantage: Guinness. For some reason, all of O'Hare Airport has decided that it won't serve Guinness. I was hoping to have my Friday night Guinness at O'Hare once I was unable to get one at LaGuardia. It turns out that by the time I got there, all of the bars were closed. But on the way back, I hoped to enjoy a victory Guinness. I walked all over the place and couldn't find a bar that served Guinness.
So that's my rant about O'Hare. I had to figure out how to get to South Bend. United was going to put me on a flight that got there at 12:33. I wanted a little more pre-game time on campus, so I decided to take the Coach USA bus at 5:15. I found the best place I could to lie down and sleep until then. It was weird sleeping overnight in an airport. It was pretty uncomfortable, but I got a few hours of sleep. I got some really solid sleep on the bus and woke up when the bus was about five minutes away from campus. By then I was ready to go.
I met Jon at his room in my former home, St. Ed's. I definitely thought I had spent my last night there, but it was good to be there again. Staying there for the weekend really made me miss being at Notre Dame. I love seeing the golden dome and saying a prayer at the Grotto. I wish I could do it more often.
We did some tailgating with one of Jon's friends and his family and then headed into the stadium. Jon got me in the student section. He graduates from law school next year. So I'll have to enjoy next season, which will be the last year I can watch games from the student section.
Notre Dame had a pretty crappy first half and trailed 14-7 at halftime. The band performed songs from the greatest movie of all time, Back to the Future. Unfortunately, the crowd was dead. The second half was very solid. Our defense was great. The crowd got very loud after George Atkinson scored a touchdown to give us a 17-14 lead. After Danny Spond's interception to seal the game, Manti Te'o got on the field on offense for the kneel down. It wasn't pretty, but we survived. That's all that matters when you're undefeated and ranked number 5.
I had a late flight home on Sunday. It was nice to not have to rush out on Sunday morning. I went to the 10:00 mass at the basilica and received communion from a great man/priest/professor, Father Bill Miscamble. I've said that he should be president of the university (although Father Jenkins has redeemed himself lately). The last class I attended in my last semester was his Australian history class. He ended my final class at Notre Dame by saying, "My friends, get the hell out of here."
For the first time in a long time, I don't have a trip planned. Next month, I'll probably be going to the Barclays Center for three basketball games in two nights. I definitely want to go back to Notre Dame in the winter for a basketball game. I haven't been to a basketball game since the Joyce Center was renovated, so I'd like to see it. I might have another basketball trip before baseball season starts again, but we'll see.
Now we're on to our biggest game since Florida State in 1993. If we beat Oklahoma, we are a serious contender for a National Championship. Go Irish!
Anyway, I left on Friday night. The plan was to fly from LaGuardia to O'Hare to South Bend. My flight was leaving from terminal 2 (I think) at LaGuardia. When I got through security, some of the gates had a weather map of the United States. It looked like great weather throughout the country except for the big storms over the Northeast and the Great Lakes areas of the country. Awesome. My 6:00 flight had already been delayed until 7:15. I thought I'd relax and enjoy an age-appropriate beverage. As some of you know, like George Costanza dresses by mood, I like to drink by mood. So I always like to drink a Guinness on a Friday night before a Notre Dame football game. The only problem was there was no bar in the terminal. Where was I? Saudi Arabia? Unlike O'Hare, you can't walk from terminal to terminal at LaGuardia. So I just had to wait. My flight was still scheduled to get to O'Hare in time to make my connection. It turns out that I didn't get on the plane until 7:30 and it didn't take off until about 8:45. By the time I got to O'Hare, it was too late to catch my flight to South Bend.
I got to know O'Hare really well. I can now say that I like Midway a lot better. Sure, it always takes a long time to get through security there and I was once pepper sprayed going through security (a slight exaggeration), but Midway has a significant advantage: Guinness. For some reason, all of O'Hare Airport has decided that it won't serve Guinness. I was hoping to have my Friday night Guinness at O'Hare once I was unable to get one at LaGuardia. It turns out that by the time I got there, all of the bars were closed. But on the way back, I hoped to enjoy a victory Guinness. I walked all over the place and couldn't find a bar that served Guinness.
So that's my rant about O'Hare. I had to figure out how to get to South Bend. United was going to put me on a flight that got there at 12:33. I wanted a little more pre-game time on campus, so I decided to take the Coach USA bus at 5:15. I found the best place I could to lie down and sleep until then. It was weird sleeping overnight in an airport. It was pretty uncomfortable, but I got a few hours of sleep. I got some really solid sleep on the bus and woke up when the bus was about five minutes away from campus. By then I was ready to go.
I met Jon at his room in my former home, St. Ed's. I definitely thought I had spent my last night there, but it was good to be there again. Staying there for the weekend really made me miss being at Notre Dame. I love seeing the golden dome and saying a prayer at the Grotto. I wish I could do it more often.
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| A beautiful sight. |
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| Yep, I wore my Tommy Rees jersey. He's 2-0 as a starter this year and 3-0 in relief. |
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| Yep, that's a DeLorean |
For the first time in a long time, I don't have a trip planned. Next month, I'll probably be going to the Barclays Center for three basketball games in two nights. I definitely want to go back to Notre Dame in the winter for a basketball game. I haven't been to a basketball game since the Joyce Center was renovated, so I'd like to see it. I might have another basketball trip before baseball season starts again, but we'll see.
Now we're on to our biggest game since Florida State in 1993. If we beat Oklahoma, we are a serious contender for a National Championship. Go Irish!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
My Homework Assignment from John, Part 3
Let's finish this off. These are players from the post-Cold War era, which I have defined as 1988-present. Unlike the first two parts, I've actually seen these players.
9. Jose Canseco (1985-2001). He unintentionally saved baseball from steroids. I read his book in one day as I was traveling from Notre Dame to Chicago and then home for either spring break or Easter in 2005 (I later gave that book to Vinny and never got it back). I think he deserves Hall of Fame consideration for Juiced. I'm not joking. He was the only player who was honest at the steroid hearing in Congress on St. Patrick's Day in 2005.
8 and 7. Torii Hunter (1997-present) and Matt Kemp (2006-present). Torii Hunter's son is going to Notre Dame to play football next year. Matt Kemp has become a Notre Dame fan because of this (he was at the Stanford game and seemed very excited about it on twitter). Also, Torii Hunter was the most enjoyable player to watch in the field in his day. Matt Kemp's 2011 season was the best season I've ever seen from a Dodgers hitter. Kemp should have been the MVP, but some guy using steroids won instead. He's got all the talent in the world.
6. Roy Halladay (1998-present). I love good pitching. I hated the Phillies for beating the Dodgers in 2008 and 2009. When they traded for Halladay, I found myself rooting for them. He's pitched a perfect game and one of two playoff no-hitters. If not for Frank McCourt, the Dodgers might have traded for Halladay. Let's just move on.
5. Mariano Rivera (1995-present). I've already covered him in the blog. He's the best player I've ever seen. I hope he's back next year.
4. Ken Griffey, Jr. (1989-2010). I believe Griffey was just a supremely talented athlete who has the misfortune of being lumped in with all the dirtbags that sullied the game with their cheating. With 630 home runs, he should be fourth all time behind Aaron, Ruth, and Mays. He was a great outfielder. I'd rank him as the second best player I've ever seen behind Rivera. I put him ahead of Rivera on this list because I want to believe I saw one of the game's all time great hitters and that he wasn't a product of steroids. Here's evidence to believe that he was clean (besides that fact that he never got suddenly ginormous like so many others): he had a clear decline after the age of 29. At age 30, he hit 40 home runs. Still a lot, but not what he was doing from 23-29. After age 30, he only hit more than 30 once. Take a look at his career numbers. He was the best player in the game from 23-29 and then he went downhill. An athlete should be at his best from 23-29 and then decline after that. I think I'm right about Griffey.
3. Derek Jeter (1995-present). Another great player that was clean. He won the World Series five times and played the game the right way. He's been great in the clutch. I respect greatness and Jeter has been great. I'd rank him as the third best player I've ever seen (you could come up with some guys that you think should be ahead of him, but they were probably on steroids). I hope Jeter comes back as soon as possible. These last few days gave us a glimpse into the future of the Yankees with no Jeter and Rivera. I don't want that day to come.
2. Clayton Kershaw (2008-present). He's my boy. I'm a sucker for left-handed pitchers. He's the best one I've ever seen for the Dodgers. He's going to be the Dodgers' second best pitcher ever. If he could keep this up for a long time, he'd be better than Koufax as a regular season pitcher. He hasn't been quite as good as Koufax at his best, but Koufax only did it for six years. But it's going to be almost impossible for Kershaw to pass Koufax because of what Koufax did in the World Series. But he's been a joy to watch. Kershaw and Kemp made what could have been an absolutely miserable season for the Dodgers in 2011 into a fun season. His 2011 was the best season I've seen from a Dodgers pitcher. He won the Cy Young last year and I contend that he deserves it again this year, but he probably won't win it. He's only 24 so I would expect that there will be more Cy Youngs in his future. Hopefully his first World Series championship isn't that far off. He's got a good chance to pass the number 1 guy on my last by the time he's done.
1. Orel Hershiser (1983-2000). If I agreed with the standard accepted end of the Cold War, I would have put Hershiser number 2 on Part 2 behind Sandy Koufax. He's number 1 because of 1988. He was the hero of that season for the Dodgers. He holds the record for consecutive scoreless innings. That's a really cool record to have. Of all the great pitchers that baseball has had, Hershiser's 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988 is the best such streak ever. He dominated the Mets in the NLCS and the A's in the World Series. I don't remember watching any of those games, but the fact that the Dodgers won the World Series that year is my first sports memory. (I can very clearly identify 1988 as the first year I remember. The 1988 presidential election is my first political memory. Again, I don't remember details. I just remember that it happened and George Bush won. Sadly, I have no memory of Reagan as president.) I went to my first baseball game ever in 1989 and he was the starter for the Dodgers. After 1989, he was never a dominant pitcher again, but he was still a good postseason pitcher for the Indians and Mets (he only pitched 5 and a third innings for the Mets in the playoffs, but he didn't give up a run). For being the Dodgers' best player in their best season of my lifetime, he gets the nod as my favorite player I've ever seen.
I actually enjoyed writing these a lot. I picked 22 players and had at least one at every position except for catcher (edit: read the comment I wrote, I'm an idiot). So let me add Roy Campanella and Mike Sciosia as honorable mentions. That gets us to 24. I'll add Don Drysdale as an extra arm that we could put in the bullpen and our 25th player and we have the All-Jim Team. Thanks for the idea, John.
9. Jose Canseco (1985-2001). He unintentionally saved baseball from steroids. I read his book in one day as I was traveling from Notre Dame to Chicago and then home for either spring break or Easter in 2005 (I later gave that book to Vinny and never got it back). I think he deserves Hall of Fame consideration for Juiced. I'm not joking. He was the only player who was honest at the steroid hearing in Congress on St. Patrick's Day in 2005.
8 and 7. Torii Hunter (1997-present) and Matt Kemp (2006-present). Torii Hunter's son is going to Notre Dame to play football next year. Matt Kemp has become a Notre Dame fan because of this (he was at the Stanford game and seemed very excited about it on twitter). Also, Torii Hunter was the most enjoyable player to watch in the field in his day. Matt Kemp's 2011 season was the best season I've ever seen from a Dodgers hitter. Kemp should have been the MVP, but some guy using steroids won instead. He's got all the talent in the world.
6. Roy Halladay (1998-present). I love good pitching. I hated the Phillies for beating the Dodgers in 2008 and 2009. When they traded for Halladay, I found myself rooting for them. He's pitched a perfect game and one of two playoff no-hitters. If not for Frank McCourt, the Dodgers might have traded for Halladay. Let's just move on.
5. Mariano Rivera (1995-present). I've already covered him in the blog. He's the best player I've ever seen. I hope he's back next year.
4. Ken Griffey, Jr. (1989-2010). I believe Griffey was just a supremely talented athlete who has the misfortune of being lumped in with all the dirtbags that sullied the game with their cheating. With 630 home runs, he should be fourth all time behind Aaron, Ruth, and Mays. He was a great outfielder. I'd rank him as the second best player I've ever seen behind Rivera. I put him ahead of Rivera on this list because I want to believe I saw one of the game's all time great hitters and that he wasn't a product of steroids. Here's evidence to believe that he was clean (besides that fact that he never got suddenly ginormous like so many others): he had a clear decline after the age of 29. At age 30, he hit 40 home runs. Still a lot, but not what he was doing from 23-29. After age 30, he only hit more than 30 once. Take a look at his career numbers. He was the best player in the game from 23-29 and then he went downhill. An athlete should be at his best from 23-29 and then decline after that. I think I'm right about Griffey.
3. Derek Jeter (1995-present). Another great player that was clean. He won the World Series five times and played the game the right way. He's been great in the clutch. I respect greatness and Jeter has been great. I'd rank him as the third best player I've ever seen (you could come up with some guys that you think should be ahead of him, but they were probably on steroids). I hope Jeter comes back as soon as possible. These last few days gave us a glimpse into the future of the Yankees with no Jeter and Rivera. I don't want that day to come.
2. Clayton Kershaw (2008-present). He's my boy. I'm a sucker for left-handed pitchers. He's the best one I've ever seen for the Dodgers. He's going to be the Dodgers' second best pitcher ever. If he could keep this up for a long time, he'd be better than Koufax as a regular season pitcher. He hasn't been quite as good as Koufax at his best, but Koufax only did it for six years. But it's going to be almost impossible for Kershaw to pass Koufax because of what Koufax did in the World Series. But he's been a joy to watch. Kershaw and Kemp made what could have been an absolutely miserable season for the Dodgers in 2011 into a fun season. His 2011 was the best season I've seen from a Dodgers pitcher. He won the Cy Young last year and I contend that he deserves it again this year, but he probably won't win it. He's only 24 so I would expect that there will be more Cy Youngs in his future. Hopefully his first World Series championship isn't that far off. He's got a good chance to pass the number 1 guy on my last by the time he's done.
1. Orel Hershiser (1983-2000). If I agreed with the standard accepted end of the Cold War, I would have put Hershiser number 2 on Part 2 behind Sandy Koufax. He's number 1 because of 1988. He was the hero of that season for the Dodgers. He holds the record for consecutive scoreless innings. That's a really cool record to have. Of all the great pitchers that baseball has had, Hershiser's 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988 is the best such streak ever. He dominated the Mets in the NLCS and the A's in the World Series. I don't remember watching any of those games, but the fact that the Dodgers won the World Series that year is my first sports memory. (I can very clearly identify 1988 as the first year I remember. The 1988 presidential election is my first political memory. Again, I don't remember details. I just remember that it happened and George Bush won. Sadly, I have no memory of Reagan as president.) I went to my first baseball game ever in 1989 and he was the starter for the Dodgers. After 1989, he was never a dominant pitcher again, but he was still a good postseason pitcher for the Indians and Mets (he only pitched 5 and a third innings for the Mets in the playoffs, but he didn't give up a run). For being the Dodgers' best player in their best season of my lifetime, he gets the nod as my favorite player I've ever seen.
I actually enjoyed writing these a lot. I picked 22 players and had at least one at every position except for catcher (edit: read the comment I wrote, I'm an idiot). So let me add Roy Campanella and Mike Sciosia as honorable mentions. That gets us to 24. I'll add Don Drysdale as an extra arm that we could put in the bullpen and our 25th player and we have the All-Jim Team. Thanks for the idea, John.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
My Homework Assignment from John, Part 2
I tackled my favorite players from before World War II in Part 1. Now we're on to the Cold War. And that brings up an interesting historical question: When did the Cold War end? This actually affects one of my players for this part and the next part. Most historians would say 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the satellite nations breaking away from the Evil Empire. Some might say 1991 with the breakup of the Soviet Union. I was a history major in college and studied this period of history extensively, and I have a different answer: May 1988. On May 31, 1988, Ronald Reagan delivered a speech at Moscow State University about the greatness of the American system. This is one of my favorite quotes: "Freedom is the recognition that no single person, no single authority or government has a monopoly on the truth, but that every individual life is infinitely precious, that every one of us put on this world has been put there for a reason and has something to offer." I once wrote a paper in college where I called this the Cold War Victory Speech. When the President of the United States could say something like this at Moscow State University, the Cold War was over. We won.
I know a lot more about the players from the Cold War than I do about the players who played before World War II. I'm going with nine players for nine innings. So here are my favorite players from 1945-1987:
9. Stan Musial (1941-1944, 1946-1963). He missed a year for the war. I think he's a very underrated player. When he retired, his 475 home runs was sixth all time. His career batting average was .331 and he's fourth all time in hits with 3630. Great, simple nickname: Stan the Man.
8. Gil Hodges (1943, 1947-1963). He played in one game in 1943 and missed the next three years to serve in the military. Gil Hodges was second in the Majors in the 1950s with 310 home runs. He belongs in the Hall of Fame.
7. Johnny Podres (1953-1967, 1969). 4-1, 2.11 ERA in the World Series. He pitched a complete game shutout at Yankee Stadium in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series.
6.Pete Rose. Just kidding. I loathe Pete Rose. He bet on baseball and lied about it. He doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame.
6. Joe Torre (1960-1977). This is entirely because of his career as a manager. I loved the guy. He deserved better than managing a team owned by Frank McCourt in his last season.
5. Duke Snider (1947-1964). He hit the most home runs in the 1950s with 326. He's either the second or third best Dodger of all time. He's the Dodgers' all time home run leader with 389. Snider was very good in his six World Series appearances. In 36 games, he hit 11 home runs and drove in 26 runs.
4. Hank Aaron (1954-1976). He's the all time leader in RBIs with 2297 and the legitimate home run king with 755. There is no greater tragedy in baseball than what Barry Bonds did to forever taint the greatest record in the game. Can we all agree that Hank Aaron is still the record holder?
3. Ted Williams (1939-1942, 1946-1960). I covered Ted Williams in my post about San Diego, so this will be a lot shorter than it could be. I've heard people say that Ted Williams is the greatest hitter ever. He wasn't, but he's somewhere from second to fifth. Let's compare Ruth and Williams. Williams hit .344, Ruth hit .342. Ruth hit 714 home runs, Williams hit 521 (but as I explained, if Williams hadn't missed time because of the wars and if he had played at Yankee Stadium, the gap would be a lot narrower). Williams had an on base percentage of .482, Ruth was .474. Ruth has a big edge in slugging percentage, .690 to .634 (Williams was second all time, but that's a big gap). The big difference is the era in which they played. It's hard to pick the best season for Ted Williams, but you could make a good case for 1941. Williams led the league with 37 home runs. The league average for a team was 83. It was an amazing season, but it wasn't Ruthian. In 1949 (an MVP year and another contender for Williams's best season), he hit 43 home runs and the league average for a team was 107. The other contenders for second best hitter of all time are Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, and Ty Cobb. I'd put Cobb behind the other three because he didn't hit home runs the way they did.
2. Jackie Robinson (1947-1956). Jackie Robinson is right there with Duke Snider for second best Dodger of all time. I like him because he went to UCLA (under the enemy of my enemy is my friend theory). He played baseball, basketball, and football, and ran track. Of course, Robinson is most famous for being the most historically significant baseball player of all time. He broke baseball's color barrier before Harry Truman integrated the military and before Brown v. Board of Education. I feel like I didn't learn about Jackie Robinson in school and I should have (of course, I knew all about him anyway). I teach my kids about him. Another thing that I absolutely love about Jackie Robinson is that he retired when the Dodgers traded him to the Giants.
1. Sandy Koufax (1955-1966). He's the greatest Dodger of all time and the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time. He only played 12 years and wasn't really anything special for the first half of his career (ages 19-24). Then he went nuts. In his last six years, he was 129-47 with a 2.19 ERA and 1713 strikeouts. In his last four years, he was 97-27 with a 1.86 ERA and 1228 strikeouts. He led the league in ERA in each of his last five years. He pitched four no hitters, including one perfect game. And then there's what he did in the World Series. He edges Mariano Rivera for best postseason pitcher ever. Koufax was in the World Series four times (he was on the Dodgers in 1955, but didn't pitch in the World Series, it would be five if you count 1955) and pitched in eight games. Surprisingly, he was only 4-3. But in 57 innings, he had an ERA of 0.95. He was the World Series MVP of the 1963 and 1965. In 1965, Koufax lost Game 2. Then he pitched a complete game shutout in Game 5 and then again on two days rest in Game 7. It's a shame arthritis cut his career short. If not for that, Koufax probably had at least five more years and 100 more wins.
God Bless America!
I know a lot more about the players from the Cold War than I do about the players who played before World War II. I'm going with nine players for nine innings. So here are my favorite players from 1945-1987:
9. Stan Musial (1941-1944, 1946-1963). He missed a year for the war. I think he's a very underrated player. When he retired, his 475 home runs was sixth all time. His career batting average was .331 and he's fourth all time in hits with 3630. Great, simple nickname: Stan the Man.
8. Gil Hodges (1943, 1947-1963). He played in one game in 1943 and missed the next three years to serve in the military. Gil Hodges was second in the Majors in the 1950s with 310 home runs. He belongs in the Hall of Fame.
7. Johnny Podres (1953-1967, 1969). 4-1, 2.11 ERA in the World Series. He pitched a complete game shutout at Yankee Stadium in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series.
6.
6. Joe Torre (1960-1977). This is entirely because of his career as a manager. I loved the guy. He deserved better than managing a team owned by Frank McCourt in his last season.
5. Duke Snider (1947-1964). He hit the most home runs in the 1950s with 326. He's either the second or third best Dodger of all time. He's the Dodgers' all time home run leader with 389. Snider was very good in his six World Series appearances. In 36 games, he hit 11 home runs and drove in 26 runs.
4. Hank Aaron (1954-1976). He's the all time leader in RBIs with 2297 and the legitimate home run king with 755. There is no greater tragedy in baseball than what Barry Bonds did to forever taint the greatest record in the game. Can we all agree that Hank Aaron is still the record holder?
3. Ted Williams (1939-1942, 1946-1960). I covered Ted Williams in my post about San Diego, so this will be a lot shorter than it could be. I've heard people say that Ted Williams is the greatest hitter ever. He wasn't, but he's somewhere from second to fifth. Let's compare Ruth and Williams. Williams hit .344, Ruth hit .342. Ruth hit 714 home runs, Williams hit 521 (but as I explained, if Williams hadn't missed time because of the wars and if he had played at Yankee Stadium, the gap would be a lot narrower). Williams had an on base percentage of .482, Ruth was .474. Ruth has a big edge in slugging percentage, .690 to .634 (Williams was second all time, but that's a big gap). The big difference is the era in which they played. It's hard to pick the best season for Ted Williams, but you could make a good case for 1941. Williams led the league with 37 home runs. The league average for a team was 83. It was an amazing season, but it wasn't Ruthian. In 1949 (an MVP year and another contender for Williams's best season), he hit 43 home runs and the league average for a team was 107. The other contenders for second best hitter of all time are Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, and Ty Cobb. I'd put Cobb behind the other three because he didn't hit home runs the way they did.
2. Jackie Robinson (1947-1956). Jackie Robinson is right there with Duke Snider for second best Dodger of all time. I like him because he went to UCLA (under the enemy of my enemy is my friend theory). He played baseball, basketball, and football, and ran track. Of course, Robinson is most famous for being the most historically significant baseball player of all time. He broke baseball's color barrier before Harry Truman integrated the military and before Brown v. Board of Education. I feel like I didn't learn about Jackie Robinson in school and I should have (of course, I knew all about him anyway). I teach my kids about him. Another thing that I absolutely love about Jackie Robinson is that he retired when the Dodgers traded him to the Giants.
1. Sandy Koufax (1955-1966). He's the greatest Dodger of all time and the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time. He only played 12 years and wasn't really anything special for the first half of his career (ages 19-24). Then he went nuts. In his last six years, he was 129-47 with a 2.19 ERA and 1713 strikeouts. In his last four years, he was 97-27 with a 1.86 ERA and 1228 strikeouts. He led the league in ERA in each of his last five years. He pitched four no hitters, including one perfect game. And then there's what he did in the World Series. He edges Mariano Rivera for best postseason pitcher ever. Koufax was in the World Series four times (he was on the Dodgers in 1955, but didn't pitch in the World Series, it would be five if you count 1955) and pitched in eight games. Surprisingly, he was only 4-3. But in 57 innings, he had an ERA of 0.95. He was the World Series MVP of the 1963 and 1965. In 1965, Koufax lost Game 2. Then he pitched a complete game shutout in Game 5 and then again on two days rest in Game 7. It's a shame arthritis cut his career short. If not for that, Koufax probably had at least five more years and 100 more wins.
God Bless America!
Monday, October 15, 2012
My Homework Assignment from John, Part 1
John being the teacher that he is gave me a homework assignment the other night. Either he or Vinny asked me who my favorite baseball player ever is. I had a hard time answering it, so John had a solution to this: I had to do a blog post on my favorite baseball players ever, broken down into three eras. First, we have the pre-World War II era, then the Cold War era, and then the modern era.
So let's start with the pre-World War II era. I do know a lot about the history of baseball, but not surprisingly, this is the era I know the least about. I wasn't alive and neither was my dad. The Dodgers didn't win a World Series until after the war, so there are no Dodgers for me to love, with the possible exception of Zach Wheat (the Dodgers' all-time hit leader).
I came up with four players, all very obvious choices, in reverse order:
4. Grover Cleveland Alexander (1911-1930). First of all, great name. He's one of the top ten pitchers of all time, with 373 wins (tied for third all time) and a 2.56 career ERA. In the 1926 World Series against a Yankee lineup featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, he pitched a complete game in a 10-2 win in Game 6 on October 9. On October 10, he pitched the last two and a third in the Cardinals' Game 7 win by a score of 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. So that's 11 and a third innings in two elimination games in back to back days against a lineup with two of the greatest hitters of all time.
3. Lou Gehrig (1923-1939). I always thought Gehrig was underrated. After his final home run in 1938, his 493 home runs was second all time behind Babe Ruth. In third place was Jimmy Foxx with 429 and in fourth place was Mel Ott with 342. He dominated the game in a way that nobody had until that point with the exception of Babe Ruth. He hit .340 in his career. He's fifth all time in on base percentage at .447. The guy was amazing. Also, the Iron Horse is a great nickname.
2. Walter Johnson (1907-1927). He's the greatest pitcher of all time. 417 wins, 2.17 career ERA, 3509 strikeouts. I haven't really researched it, but I can imagine that his 1913 season was the best ever for a pitcher (36-7, 1.14 ERA). In the 1924 World Series, he pitched 24 innings in three games. He actually lost both of his starts, but two days after pitching a complete game in Game 5, he pitched the last four innings of a 12-inning game without allowing a run in the Senators' Game 7 victory over the Giants. Another great nickname with the Big Train.
1. Babe Ruth (1914-1935). He's the greatest player of all time and it's not even close. I got really mad some years back when people would suggest that Barroid was at all close to Babe Ruth. Even if Barroid had been clean, he still wouldn't be close. In basketball, I would say Bill Russell is the greatest player of all time. A lot of folks would say Michael Jordan. Whoever you think it is, the gap between the two is fairly small (although I would say there's a big gap between 2 and 3). The gap between Babe Ruth and whoever comes next is huge. He's one of two players to ever legitimately hit 60 home runs in a season. He's one of two players to ever legitimately hit 700 home runs in a career. In 1919 (the first season in which Ruth played more than 100 games), he hit 29 home runs. That might not sound special, but the league average for an entire team that season was 28 home runs. The next year, Ruth hit 54 home runs. The only teams with more than that in 1920 were the Phillies (64) and the rest of the Yankees (61). When Ruth hit 60 in 1927, the league average for teams that weren't the Yankees was 51 (Gehrig hit 47 that year). This year, the league average for a team was 164. So when somebody starts hitting 150 home runs in a season, then we can compare him to Babe Ruth. Also, everybody has the image of Babe Ruth as a fat guy (including fictional George Steinbrenner in Seinfeld: "Babe Ruth was nothing more than a fat old man, with little-girl legs. And here's something I just found out recently. He wasn't really a sultan."), but he also had 136 triples in his career. He was a career .342 hitter, he was second all time in on base percentage at .474, second all time in RBIs with 2213, second all time in home runs with 714 (I don't recognize Barroid), and first all time in slugging percentage at .690 (well ahead of Ted Williams, who is second at .634). And if all that wasn't enough, he was a great pitcher early in his career. His career record was 94-46 with an ERA of 2.28. If he hadn't been a good hitter and continued his pitching career, he might have made the Hall of Fame as a pitcher. And his World Series numbers were also amazing: (41 games, 15 home runs, 33 RBIs, .326 batting average, .467 on base percentage, .744 slugging percentage, 3 games as a pitcher, 3-0, 31 innings pitched, 0.87 ERA). And a cool bit of trivia about Babe Ruth: the last uniform he ever wore was a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform (as a coach).
This post is long enough, I'll get to the Cold War era later in the week. But it gave me an idea for another post: Who is the second best baseball player of all time? I think I have two good candidates in this post (Gehrig and Johnson). But if you have any thoughts on that topic, leave a comment.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Another Great Saturday
Notre Dame had another great win and I met my friend John's son.
Brian Kelly's play calling sometimes leaves me scratching my head (like the play calling that led to Stanford's only touchdown when Golson's fumble was recovered in the end zone), but the dude can coach. He's done a great job of recruiting on the defensive side and that's the biggest reason that we're ranked number 5 right now. It took until his third year, but he's got this team headed in the right direction.
Everett Golson wasn't particularly good yesterday, but is touchdown pass to Eifert on third and 18 was a ginormous play. Without that touchdown, we probably lose.
Tommy Rees is probably the perfect backup quarterback. He shouldn't be a starter, but he's got a lot of experience and knows what he's doing out there. He's now helped us win three games in his role as a backup. I'm really happy to see him contribute this year.
The defense continues to be amazing. We haven't allowed a rushing touchdown all season. It was beautiful to see us stuff Stanford on four straight running plays to end the game. It was nice to see another hard-fought game featuring good defense. I wish our offense was better, but it is enjoyable watching football where it's not just touchdown after touchdown. Our pass defense looked like it was going to be very shaky because of the inexperience in the secondary and the way we played against Navy and Purdue, but it's turned out to be very good as well.
I absolutely detest college football's overtime format. Football has kickoffs, punts, and a clock. Why are all of these things taken out of the game in overtime? You have to earn good field position, but now suddenly you get the ball at the other team's 25. After two overtimes, you have to go for two if you score a touchdown. These rules are as stupid as it would be if you started the 10th inning of a baseball game with runners on the corners and you only got two outs or something. Why change a fantastic game so much? Despite its stupidity, college overtime does create excitement.
The call on the review of the last play was correct. The officials had blown the play dead. An official runs in from the side to mark the ball and Te'o let up. But even if they hadn't, there was no conclusive angle to say it was a touchdown. You simply cannot tell if Taylor's elbow touched the ground before he crossed the goal line. You can't see his elbow and the best shot wasn't right down the goal line anyway (making it impossible to tell exactly when the ball crossed the goal line).
This is the first year since 1988 that Notre Dame has beaten Michigan State, Michigan, Miami, and Stanford. That was a pretty good year.
There's a lot of football to be played. Oklahoma and USC will be very tough. Next week, we take on the Mormons. BYU could give us trouble if we're looking ahead, but I think Kelly will have the team focused. And we have the best Mormon, so hopefully it will be another great Saturday. It's been a lot of fun so far, but we're not done yet.
 |
| Manti Te'o deserves seven more wins. |
The good news about not going to the game was that I got to see John, Liz, Vinny, and Tommy. The last time I saw all of them, John and I ended up walking home from Huntington at 2 in the morning. This was a much less eventful evening.
Tommy and I entertained John and Vinny with our discussion about how much we love Adam Richman. Vinny theorized that we both wished we could be Adam Richman. There's some truth in that, but I'd never want to do the spicy challenges. I'd want to enjoy what I'm eating.
We watched the Yankee game. The Yankees made an exciting comeback in the ninth, but lost 6-4 in extra innings. Unfortunately, Derek Jeter's season came to an end with an injury. I hope Jeter and Rivera come back strong. The day is coming when Jeter and Rivera won't be around anymore. I don't want that day to come.
The highlight of the night was meeting John's son, Jack. Jack was born on September 5 so he lives in a world where Notre Dame has never lost a football game. It was the first time that I got to see the baby of one of my friends. I know he's only a little over a month old, but I was surprised by how tiny he was. It was hard to believe that I was once that small. I got to hold Jack for a few minutes. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of me holding him. The first thing I said to Jack when John handed him to me: "Can you say Rajon Rondo?" John and his wife Liz live in Massachusetts and he's cool with Jack being a Celtics fan. It was great to meet the little guy and to see John, Liz, Vinny, and Tommy. It was another great Saturday.
Why I Love Baseball, Part 8
The St. Louis Cardinals.
I'm not a Cardinals fan, but I have to admire them. Busch Stadium is very high on my list of stadiums to get to next season (it's probably the one that I haven't been to yet that I want to get to the most). They have great fans and they're a great franchise. You might not realize it, but the Cardinals are probably the best franchise of the last ten years. During that time, they've made it at least as far as the NLCS five times. They've been to the World Series three times and won two.
What they've done the last two years has been amazing. I was rooting for the Rangers in the World Series last year, but I had to appreciate the way the Cardinals won. Twice in Game 6, they were down to their last strike. They came back to win Game 6 and then they won Game 7. I was rooting for the Nationals in the first round of the playoffs this year, but again, the Cardinals won in amazing fashion. They fell behind 6-0 and I figured the Nationals had it. They clawed their way back to 6-5. It looked like it was all for naught when the Nationals tacked on a run. Twice the Cardinals were one strike away from elimination again, but they fought back to win 9-7.
That's the perfect way to win. There's nothing like a hard fought win. I dream that I'll get to see that from the Dodgers some day.
On the other hand, you have the Nationals. I feel bad for their fans, but it shouldn't be too easy. They might as well have been an expansion team. They moved to Washington in 2005 and had finished in last every year except for two (4th in 2007 and 3rd last year). I was surprised to see that they were 81-81 in 2005, but they were still in last place. This is the first time that they're legitimately good. Now their fans know what the frustration of being a baseball fan can feel like. It's all part of loving the game. They have a young team and should be good for a little while, but winning a World Series won't be easy.
So the Cardinals are back in the NLCS again. I need to root for them now to prevent the Giants from making it to the World Series. Go Cardinals.
I'm not a Cardinals fan, but I have to admire them. Busch Stadium is very high on my list of stadiums to get to next season (it's probably the one that I haven't been to yet that I want to get to the most). They have great fans and they're a great franchise. You might not realize it, but the Cardinals are probably the best franchise of the last ten years. During that time, they've made it at least as far as the NLCS five times. They've been to the World Series three times and won two.
What they've done the last two years has been amazing. I was rooting for the Rangers in the World Series last year, but I had to appreciate the way the Cardinals won. Twice in Game 6, they were down to their last strike. They came back to win Game 6 and then they won Game 7. I was rooting for the Nationals in the first round of the playoffs this year, but again, the Cardinals won in amazing fashion. They fell behind 6-0 and I figured the Nationals had it. They clawed their way back to 6-5. It looked like it was all for naught when the Nationals tacked on a run. Twice the Cardinals were one strike away from elimination again, but they fought back to win 9-7.
That's the perfect way to win. There's nothing like a hard fought win. I dream that I'll get to see that from the Dodgers some day.
On the other hand, you have the Nationals. I feel bad for their fans, but it shouldn't be too easy. They might as well have been an expansion team. They moved to Washington in 2005 and had finished in last every year except for two (4th in 2007 and 3rd last year). I was surprised to see that they were 81-81 in 2005, but they were still in last place. This is the first time that they're legitimately good. Now their fans know what the frustration of being a baseball fan can feel like. It's all part of loving the game. They have a young team and should be good for a little while, but winning a World Series won't be easy.
So the Cardinals are back in the NLCS again. I need to root for them now to prevent the Giants from making it to the World Series. Go Cardinals.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Why I Love Baseball, Parts 6 and 7
Part 6: How hard it is to make the playoffs.
I love playoffs in all sports. But baseball's playoffs are the best because only 10 teams make it. And really it's only 8. I can't really count a team that only plays one playoff game as being in the playoffs. In basketball and hockey, more than half the teams make the playoffs. In 2011, the Pacers won 45% of their games and made the playoffs. And even in the NFL, we had the Seahawks make the playoffs with a 7-9 record. You don't get nonsense like that in baseball.
Because so few teams make the playoffs, the regular season matters. The only sport where it matters more is college football. Sure, any one game doesn't matter all that much when almost every team is going to win at least 60 games and lose at least 60 games. But the Dodgers missed the playoffs by two games this year. I could easily find three random games that they lost in the middle of the season that could have been the difference (the game where the dude on the Padres stole home comes to mind).
Besides the fact that it's harder than any sport other than college football (2 teams, soon to be 4) to make the playoffs, you also have to earn it. There's no getting in on tie breakers. If you finish tied with somebody, you have to beat them in a tie breaker game. Obviously this would not be feasible in football, but why not in basketball? If two teams were tied for the last playoff spot, make them play one game to get in.
I'm pretty sad that the regular season is over and the Dodgers didn't make the playoffs, but still, the playoffs are awesome.
Part 7: The return of pitching to baseball.
I hate the steroid era in baseball with every fiber of my being. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and others made a mockery of the numbers that were sacred in baseball. I'll never forgive them for that. The problem hasn't totally been solved. The 2011 NL MVP and 2012 NL home run leader was on steroids. We could have had a batting champion on steroids this year if Melky Cabrera hadn't done the right thing (after doing the wrong thing, of course). But in 2000, the league's ERA was 4.77; this year it was 4.01. Clearly we're moving in the right direction.
The home run is exciting, but when it happens all the time, who cares? The coolest thing that can happen in a baseball game is a no hitter or perfect game. That involves great pitching. There were a lot this year, but they're always riveting. I'd rather watch great pitching any day over a 10-8 game.
Speaking of great pitching, I have some thoughts on the NL Cy Young this year. If there was a pitcher who led the league in ERA (by 0.2, a pretty big margin), WHIP, and on base percentage against and finished second in the league in innings pitched, strikeouts (one behind the leader), batting average against, and slugging percentage against, that guy has a pretty good case for Cy Young, right? I'll even throw in WAR for the stat geeks (I think that's a silly stat. Show me WAR. You can't.) and this pitcher led the league in WAR. He was first or second in all these categories. The other guy who was first or second in each of these categories was R.A. Dickey, Gio Gonzalez, Matt Cain, or Johnny Cueto. All those guys had very good years, but they weren't as good as my guy. Who am I talking about? Clayton Kershaw. But he's not going to win the award because he won last year and the Dodgers didn't help him win enough games this year. If the Dodgers had helped him win three more games, he'd probably win the award easily.
But back to how pitching has returned from the dead. We should never forget who saved baseball from steroids. If I had a Hall of Fame vote, I would never consider voting for anybody who used steroids, with one exception. That's right, Jose Canseco. I don't know if I would or not. And it may not have been intentional, but the man saved baseball. Remember the hearings in Congress on St. Patrick's Day in 2005? It was probably the greatest random sports day of all time (the steroid hearings, the first day of the NCAA basketball tournament, and Shaq vs. the Lakers). And we had a bunch of clowns lying and/or pretending not to speak English. But Jose Canseco told the truth. And he saved baseball. Thank you, Jose.
I love playoffs in all sports. But baseball's playoffs are the best because only 10 teams make it. And really it's only 8. I can't really count a team that only plays one playoff game as being in the playoffs. In basketball and hockey, more than half the teams make the playoffs. In 2011, the Pacers won 45% of their games and made the playoffs. And even in the NFL, we had the Seahawks make the playoffs with a 7-9 record. You don't get nonsense like that in baseball.
Because so few teams make the playoffs, the regular season matters. The only sport where it matters more is college football. Sure, any one game doesn't matter all that much when almost every team is going to win at least 60 games and lose at least 60 games. But the Dodgers missed the playoffs by two games this year. I could easily find three random games that they lost in the middle of the season that could have been the difference (the game where the dude on the Padres stole home comes to mind).
Besides the fact that it's harder than any sport other than college football (2 teams, soon to be 4) to make the playoffs, you also have to earn it. There's no getting in on tie breakers. If you finish tied with somebody, you have to beat them in a tie breaker game. Obviously this would not be feasible in football, but why not in basketball? If two teams were tied for the last playoff spot, make them play one game to get in.
I'm pretty sad that the regular season is over and the Dodgers didn't make the playoffs, but still, the playoffs are awesome.
Part 7: The return of pitching to baseball.
I hate the steroid era in baseball with every fiber of my being. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and others made a mockery of the numbers that were sacred in baseball. I'll never forgive them for that. The problem hasn't totally been solved. The 2011 NL MVP and 2012 NL home run leader was on steroids. We could have had a batting champion on steroids this year if Melky Cabrera hadn't done the right thing (after doing the wrong thing, of course). But in 2000, the league's ERA was 4.77; this year it was 4.01. Clearly we're moving in the right direction.
The home run is exciting, but when it happens all the time, who cares? The coolest thing that can happen in a baseball game is a no hitter or perfect game. That involves great pitching. There were a lot this year, but they're always riveting. I'd rather watch great pitching any day over a 10-8 game.
Speaking of great pitching, I have some thoughts on the NL Cy Young this year. If there was a pitcher who led the league in ERA (by 0.2, a pretty big margin), WHIP, and on base percentage against and finished second in the league in innings pitched, strikeouts (one behind the leader), batting average against, and slugging percentage against, that guy has a pretty good case for Cy Young, right? I'll even throw in WAR for the stat geeks (I think that's a silly stat. Show me WAR. You can't.) and this pitcher led the league in WAR. He was first or second in all these categories. The other guy who was first or second in each of these categories was R.A. Dickey, Gio Gonzalez, Matt Cain, or Johnny Cueto. All those guys had very good years, but they weren't as good as my guy. Who am I talking about? Clayton Kershaw. But he's not going to win the award because he won last year and the Dodgers didn't help him win enough games this year. If the Dodgers had helped him win three more games, he'd probably win the award easily.
But back to how pitching has returned from the dead. We should never forget who saved baseball from steroids. If I had a Hall of Fame vote, I would never consider voting for anybody who used steroids, with one exception. That's right, Jose Canseco. I don't know if I would or not. And it may not have been intentional, but the man saved baseball. Remember the hearings in Congress on St. Patrick's Day in 2005? It was probably the greatest random sports day of all time (the steroid hearings, the first day of the NCAA basketball tournament, and Shaq vs. the Lakers). And we had a bunch of clowns lying and/or pretending not to speak English. But Jose Canseco told the truth. And he saved baseball. Thank you, Jose.
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