The 'Founder of Baseball?' Maybe Not
PLUS: NEW BOOK TAKES LOVING LOOK AT THE ORIGINAL COMISKEY PARK
Reader Reacts
“The Yankees are off to a bad start scheduling. They always start Saturday games at 1 pm except when Fox has the game. This past Saturday April 6, they played Toronto at 7 pm when they could've had more people there playing at 1 pm. They then had to reschedule their Miami game to 6 pm instead of 2 pm Monday when they realized people's eyes could be permanently damaged looking up at pop-ups during a near full eclipse.”
— Brian Greenberg, Long Island, NY
Pregame Pepper
Did You Know . . .
The Astros have Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia and Jose Urquidy — five star starters — on the Injured List at the same time . . .
After failing his bid to return to the Giants during spring training, 37-year-old Pablo Sandoval is still trying to prove big-league worthy by signing with the Staten Island FerryHawks of the independent Atlantic League . . .
The Minnesota Twins now have two players with the same name: a relief pitcher and a jack-of-all-trades both named Diego Castillo . . .
Cleveland’s AL Central hopes hit rock bottom with the loss of ace pitcher Shane Bieber, gone for the next year-and-a-half after Tommy John elbow surgery . . .
Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga will miss the rest of 2024 because of surgery to repair a torn UCL . . .
Loved the reaction of the MLB Network staff caught on-air during the East Coast earthquake last Friday.
Leading Off
Abner Doubleday is Remembered Wrongly
By Paul Semendinger, Ed.D.
I am always working on my next book project. I have so many ideas for books that if I have 100 more years to write, I won't get to them all, but the one I am working on now will be an absolute winner. I am writing about the Battle of Gettysburg and looking at the battle in a way no one has ever before.
I love digging into history. I, obviously, write a lot about baseball history. I share an article or two here in the IBWAA Newsletter each month and many of those articles are history based. I also enjoy digging into other history, such as the history of the Civil War, and the Battle of Gettysburg in particular.
There is an interesting connection to the sport of baseball standing on the battlefield (in statue form) of Gettysburg even today. What's remarkable is that the person highlighted with the statue isn't remembered by most for his contributions to the Union victory over the three days' battle, yet he is one of the most famous names in baseball lore. In short, this hero is remembered by many for what he did not do and he has been largely overlooked, even forgotten, for what he did do.
Imagine doing something great and being remembered for something you did not do...
I'll provide a very brief overview of the battle and the role this person played in it.
The Battle of Gettysburg took place over three days, July 1, 2, and 3, 1863. There was a Union General, for now I'll just call him General A, that played an important role on each of the three days in helping to secure the Union victory.
On July 1, General A was forced into command of the Union First Corps when General John Reynolds, who was commanding that corps, was shot and killed. General A immediately took over and held the advancing Confederate army in check for about six hours buying the rest of the Union army enough time to reach the battlefield and secure the high ground behind him. It was this high ground that was instrumental in the Union victory. It can be argued that if General A didn't hold the line for as long as he did, that the battle would have been a rout, the Confederates would have won, and history would have been forever changed.
On July 2, now on the high ground, this General A (and his troops, of course) helped stem a Confederate advance on the Union's right, actions, again, that helped prevent the southern army from taking the high ground, and, again, possibly winning the battle... and maybe the war.
On July 3, Confederate General Robert E. Lee took a bold action and sent an enormous army of troops to attack, en masse, the Union center. This was the last chance attempt by the southern army to break the Union lines at Gettysburg. This massive attack is known today as Pickett's Charge. General A saw the advance and ordered troops forward to flank this charge, an action that others were given credit for, even though he was the General who ordered the flanking movement. Again, this troop movement helped repel a confederate advance. Pickett's Charge ultimately failed and the Union Army ended up winning the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg.
While there is a statue to General A on the battlefield, when people remember the battle, he is often overlooked or forgotten. People remember names like Robert E. Lee, George Gordon Meade, Winfield Scott Hancock, James Longstreet, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain when they talk about the Battle of Gettysburg. Many books have been written with them as the stars, even a Hollywood movie, but our dear General A doesn't receive the same recognition.
Interestingly, General A also accompanied President Abraham Lincoln when, months later, he came to Gettysburg at the dedication of the cemetery there and delivered his famous Gettysburg Address. Most people don't know that General A was at Gettysburg with President Lincoln.
As noted at the start of this article, General A is remembered. But he is remembered for something he did not do.
General A, you see, was Abner Doubleday.
Baseball legend has Mr. Doubleday as the man who invented baseball, something it is pretty well established that he did not do. He is remembered for that. The baseball field in Cooperstown, New York in the shadows of the Baseball Hall of Fame in even named in his honor — Doubleday Field.
Abner Doubleday never invented baseball, but as a general, he did play a significant role in the Union winning the Battle of Gettysburg.
Abner Doubleday is remembered; he is just remembered for the wrong thing...
Dr. Paul Semendinger is a retired school principal, a college professor, an educational consultant, and a public speaker, in addition to being an author. Paul has written From Compton to the Bronx (with Roy White), The Least Among Them, Scattering the Ashes, and Impossible is an Illusion. Paul's latest book, 365.2: Going the Distance is motivational and is one that will help inspire readers to set goals and find ways to reach them. (The Gettysburg book is coming...) Paul also runs the Yankees site Start Spreading the News. You can follow Paul on Twitter @DrPaulRSem. If you'd like to contact Paul to discuss his books, have him speak, or just to say hello, he can be reached at drpaulsemauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
New Book Captures Magnificent Memories Of Old Comiskey
By Dan Schlossberg
With talk of a new ballpark on Chicago’s South Side, it’s high time to remember what was lost when Speedway Wrecking demolished the original Comiskey Park in 1991.
Author Ken Smoller, a rabid White Sox fan now based in Massachusetts, does just that in a well-illustrated new book called Last Comiskey, published by Eckhartz Press.
That ballpark was home of the Sox from 1910-1990, when it was replaced by “the new Comiskey,” later called U.S. Cellular Field and most recently Guaranteed Rate Park (not Guaranteed Win Park, unfortunately for ChiSox fans).
The book features a foreword by former White Sox shortstop and manager Ozzie Guillén, who was on the field for the last season of the celebrated ballpark.
Once nicknamed the “Baseball Palace of the World,” old Comiskey was the baseball home of Frank Thomas, Carlton Fisk, Robin Ventura, Jack McDowell, and even Sammy Sosa — players who helped the club emerge as a surprise contender in its final season.
“During the historic final season of Comiskey Park, my goal was to capture the ballpark from every angleto preserve my childhood memories,” the first-time author explained. “This book provides an opportunity to share these photographs with White Sox and baseball fans, many of whom never got the chance to see the Baseball Palace of the World before it was gone.
This book is a companion piece to the same-named 2023 documentary Last Comiskey by Matt Flesch. Tom Shaer, longtime Chicago sportscaster and Emmy Award winner, served as Senior Editorial Consultant on the Last Comiskey book.
“When the history of the game is written, Comiskey Park is really important,” Guillén wrote in his foreword. “We may have taken that history for granted while we were playing there. At the end of the day, you think back about how many great memories took place at Comiskey Park.”
The project initially started as a diversion for Flesch, a first-time filmmaker, during the Covid-19 pandemic. As the producer, writer and director of the film, he created a documentary that captured all the key moments from Comiskey’s final season, including the surprising pennant chase by the young underdog team, which included closer Bobby Thigpen, whose 57 saves were then an American League mark.
The film features interviews with many of the 1990 players as well as media, vendors, security guards, executives, long-time organist Nancy Faust, and lifelong fans.
It includes home movies, stories, and photographs from fans.
One of those contributors was Smoller, a photo journalist photographer who founded the sports travel website Stadium Vagabond and has photographed more than 2,350 stadiums in 48 states and 24 countries
He took thousands of never-before-published images during Comiskey’s final season and its last decade. Most of these photographs have never been seen by the public and, instead, were in boxes of 35mm film negatives for decades.
The goal of the book is to serve as a permanent companion that will provide a physical and tangible reminder of the last days of Comiskey Park. The book blends both Smoller’s photographs along with the content from the Last Comiskey documentary, supplemented by new material to provide greater context.
This book is being released at a potentially auspicious time given current White Sox attempts to replace new Comiskey Park. For many years, White Sox faithful have longed for a ballpark that evoked the same kind of pride as the original Comiskey Park.
With the news of a potential move to the South Loop, Sox fans are dreaming of a new ballpark that is more like Comiskey 1.0 than Comiskey 2.0. This book will help remind everyone of the magic of the Baseball Palace of the World.
Initial feedback about the book has been good, as these comments show:
Last Comiskey is a love letter to an underrated ballpark for an underappreciated legacy baseball franchise. Even better, thanks to Ken Smoller's fantastic photography — taken when he was a mere teenager — the book is a soothing voyage to a less complicated, more colorful era of the national pastime. You don't need to be a White Sox fan to deeply enjoy and appreciate it.
— Ken Davidoff, New York Post
My favorite type of a book is a biography. Not of humans, mind you, but of ballparks. Last Comiskey is a stellar example of a biography of Comiskey Park, lovingly told with great quotes, heartwarming anecdotes and hundreds of beautiful photos. From organist Nancy Faust and Disco Demolition Night to its final game in 1990 and its ultimate razing, the story of this landmark is all here.
— Joe Mock, webmaster of BaseballParks.com and sports-facilities beat writer for USA TODAY Sports
I grew up 20 minutes from Comiskey and went to many Sox games, concerts and even Disco Demolition there while growing up. To be on the team and on the field for the last game there ever was the most memorable day in the major leagues for me. This book brings back so many great memories of that magical last season and wonderful history of the great ballpark.
— Donn Pall, White Sox Pitcher (1988-1993); Lifelong White Sox fan and Evergreen Park, IL native
Last Comiskey is a profound work, professionally and personally stirring memories of a ballpark that was unique in its visuals, scents, quirks, noise, intimacy, and history. We gathered there to have fun and enjoy baseball. I’m grateful to Matt Flesch and Ken Smoller for rekindling such beautiful times.
— Dan Evans, White Sox Executive (1981-2000); Assistant General Manager, Director Player Operations
Last Comiskey is available free of charge on YouTube.
According to Flesch, “My goal was to try and capture the spirit of Comiskey Park –- the way it sounded and the way it felt to be there. Most of the music in the documentary is played by Nancy Faust, who also contributed home video.
“It was such a unique experience to go to a game there, and we wanted to relive it by capturing the sights, the sounds and all of the great stories from players, fans and many others.”
Veteran baseball writer and author Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ attended the 1983 Comiskey Park All-Star Game in which Fred Lynn hit the only grand-slam in All-Star history. He also hates the corporate names the “new” Comiskey has acquired in recent seasons. E.mail Dan via ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: Jarred Kelenic Finally Finds Home
“The Mets are always going to have a place in my heart. They’re the first team that gave me an opportunity to play professionally so I have no hard feelings about that organization.”
— New Braves left-fielder Jarred Kelenic before facing New York earlier this week
After Tuesday’s game, Kelenic was batting 12-for-26 (.462) with three RBIs in Atlanta livery after adjusting his swing during spring training . . .
Younger, faster, and more capable defensively than Eddie Rosario, the player he replaced, Kelenic was traded twice on Dec. 3: to Seattle by the Mets in 2018 and to Atlanta by the Mariners in 2023 . . .
The Mets trade brought them aging second baseman Robinson Cano and top-shelf closer Edwin Diaz . . .
A left-handed hitter, Kelenic has been batting at the bottom of the Braves lineup, where he serves as a second leadoff man in front of Ronald Acuna, Jr.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.
Adam Goodheart's "1861," well worth reading, provides a detailed account of Doubleday's significant role in defending Fort Sumter before it had to be surrendered to the Confederates in what started the Civil War.