Saying Goodbye To A Dog That Loved Baseball
PLUS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO WILLIE MAYS AND A HERE'S THE PITCH EDITOR
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Injured again: Yankees center-fielder Harrison Bader, playing in his second game after missing the first month with a hamstring strain, was pulled in the top of the ninth Wednesday after he collided with Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a ball hit into short left-center. With the score 2-2 and Myles Straw on second, Oscar Gonzalez blooped a ball into shallow left-center. Kiner-Falefa, in left field for the first time in his pro career, took off in pursuit, while Bader charged from center. Both dove, their arms a few inches too short as the ball fell in for an RBI single and Bader’s head crashed into Kiner-Falefa’s leg and spikes . . .
Former All-Star and Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer has been criticized by a respected teammate in Japan for encouraging fans to do a sword-like movement after every strikeouts he registers — even though he did something similar in the U.S. majors without incident. The Dodgers are paying virtually all of his $22.5 million salary this season . . .
Surprising Pittsburgh’s pitching staff relies heavily on breaking balls, throwing more curveballs, sliders and sweepers than any team since Statcast data became available in 2015 . . .
The biggest reason for the torrid Texas start is its offense, which ranks second in the majors in runs per game and wRC+ despite the loss of shortstop Corey Seager to a strained hamstring on April 11 . . .
Bypassed by big-league teams, former Yankees and Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius, 33, has signed with Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League . . .
Speaking of Philadelphia, Kody Clemens (Roger’s son) pitched the last inning of his team’s 13-1 defeat at Dodger Stadium Tuesday night.
Leading Off
Remembering Max Baseball Blumberg-Zega
By David Blumberg
I’ve struggled with depression for many years. I know I’m not alone, and acknowledging that facthas made it easier for me to speak openly about this over the years. Still, it can be difficult at times.
I was not at my best in 2019, but I was in therapy and suddenly we were discussing how much I wanted to get a dog. Somehow I was able to convince my now-wife that this was a good idea, even though she was skeptical.
When we met Max at the Humane Rescue Alliance in D.C. in March 2019, it felt like fate. There he was, this 7-year-old beagle mix who just wanted a home. You could see in his eyes he wanted to be out of his kennel.
And just like that, we were a family. And when you’re a part of our family, well, baseball is gonna be around you. We’re just like that.
So, yes, I gave our dog the middle name “Baseball.” It’s very silly, I know, but I thought it sounded like referring to “Maximum Baseball,” which I’ve always said is the proper amount of baseball.
When everything went sideways in 2020, Max was there with me in the early-morning hours to watch Korean baseball with me. He loved the big guys who could hit moonshots, as he always lifted his head to watch them bat. I loved that about him, as I did everything.
When the vaccine finally became available to us, we began to plan a trip back to Indiana to see our families. Of course Max came along, and we even got to take him to Bark in the Park for the Indianapolis Indians. I’m not sure he fully knew what was going on, but he enjoyed all the smells.
In the background of all of this, Max had dealt with his fair share of health issues. When we adopted him, he had a mass we quickly had removed that turned out to be skin cancer. Luckily, our vet got all of it and it hadn’t spread.
Then he had a rare white blood cell condition called immune-mediated neutropenia in March 2020. That was a scary time for everyone, but even worse for us because we knew so little about what he was going through. With the help of steroids and antibiotics, he recovered.
But when he had his first seizure in December, we knew something was up. It was difficult knowing it was probably neurological and there was nothing we could do.
Just over two weeks ago, Max had multiple seizures on the same day and we knew it was time to say goodbye. It’s never easy, but it was the right thing to do.
In a way, this is how I’m choosing to grieve. By remembering him as a dog who loved home runs and the smell of hot dogs. By remembering that he sneezed at the mere mention of the Cardinals, something that made me extraordinarily happy.
Getting to share my love of this sport with Max was meaningful. I’ll never forget it.
David Blumberg is a long-suffering Cubs fan. You can find his baseball
opinions on Twitter and other musings on Medium at DGBlog. Follow him
on Twitter @DGBlumberg.
Cleaning Up
Willie Mays, 92 Today, Is Oldest Living Member Of Baseball Hall of Fame
By Dan Schlossberg
Willie Mays, the oldest living Hall of Famer, turns 92 today. I’m celebrating my birthday too and at 75 am old enough to remember watching Willie in his prime.
He could do it all. A true five-tools player, he hit for average, hit for power, fielded his position, threw well, and had blinded speed.
He was so good that he often batted first for the National League All-Stars but fourth for the Giants, for whom he played in New York and San Francisco.
Willie hit his first home run against Warren Spahn, who always blamed himself for Mays making his mark in the major leagues. “If I hadn’t given up that home run,” said Spahn, whose gopher ball enabled Mays to snap an 0-for-12 debut in 1951, “he might not have lasted.”
Manager Leo Durocher, who was with Brooklyn when Jackie Robinson integrated the game in 1947, provided the same strong backbone to the struggling Mays. He said Willie would be his center-fielder even if he never learned to hit big-league pitching.
But Spahn got him started, allowing Mays to embark on a remarkable career that included the 1951 National League Rookie of the Year Award and a spot in the on-deck circle when Bobby Thomson hit “the shot heard ‘round the world,” ending a scintillating pennant race against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
With Mays due to bat next but first base open, the Dodgers decided to pitch to Thomson rather than walk him intentionally.
Mays lasted long enough to hit another memorable home run against the great lefty: it endless a scoreless tie between the Giants and Milwaukee Braves in San Francisco on July 2, 1963. With one out in the bottom of the 16th, Willie hit a solo shot into the stiff wind, ending a duel between Spahn and Juan Marichal, another future Hall of Famer.
The winds of San Francisco — not to mention the deep center field of the Polo Grounds — deprived Mays of many home runs. In retrospect, it’s amazing that he finished with 660, third on the career list at the time he retired.
Willie was also a wizard in center field, with his 1954 back-to-the-plate World Series catch of a titanic Vic Wertz smash is still a highlight-reel favorite.
It is ironic that the World Series MVP trophy is named after him, since Willie’s one flaw was his poor performance in post-season play. On the other hand, he was an absolute stud at All-Star time, allowing him to win two All-Star MVP trophies and compile a slew of records for that game.
Mays and Stan Musial were All-Stars 24 times, trailing only the great Hank Aaron, who made it a record 25 times. It helped that the leagues played two games a year for four seasons to raise money for the players pension fund.
Willie won a batting title, a pair of MVP awards, and a dozen Gold Gloves but oddly never led his league in runs batted in despite reaching triple digits 10 times. He did lead in home runs four times, though.
In 1961, he joined the handful of sluggers who hit four home runs in a game, battering Lew Burdette and several Milwaukee Braves relievers.
He led the National League in slugging and OPS five times each, total bases and triples three times each, and both hits and on-base percentage twice. His lifetime batting average was .301.
Videos of Mays show him wheeling around the bases and making his patented basket catches after losing his cap while racing after the ball. Perhaps his hat was deliberately too big or perhaps it was just a style that could be criticized as flamboyant.
But he deserved to be the biggest part of the Willie, Mickey & The Duke equation.
He was part of a devastating left-right tandem with Willie McCovey, who also reached the Hall of Fame, and part of a trio of hitters that gave opposing pitchers the Willies: Mays, McCovey, and Kirkland.
No Hall of Famer has ever lived to 100, with Bobby Doerr coming the closest. Maybe Willie Mays will be the first, giving him yet another record.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ saw Willie Mays in his prime while covering baseball since 1969. Now on a book tour for Baseball’s Marvelous Misses, Dan is also working on next year’s Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron. E.mail him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
“I would prefer to just throw 300 pitches and stay in the game. I’ll figure it out eventually.”
— Atlanta starter Spencer Strider after struggling but winning in New York
Marcell Ozuna is the only member of the Atlanta Braves to hit a grand-slam this season . . .
Look for the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals to be early participants in the trade market this season . . .
Former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is the author of a new book called From the Front Row . . .
Ken Davidoff, the former New York Post baseball writer, has turned up as baseball historian at PIX 11, the TV home of the Mets.
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.