People are supposed to protest the ownership of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.
Joe Tuscano, assistant sports editor for our newspaper, The Observer-Reporter, has written a column about the efforts. Click here to give a read.
Personally, I've managed to avoid paying a cent toward the Pirates ownership this year after attending probably an average of 20 times a season since PNC Park opened in 2001. Fool me six years ...
Congratulations to Frank Thomas (500 home runs) and Craig Biggio (3,000 hits) on reaching their respective milestones yesterday.
I've heard debate today about Biggio's qualifications for the Hall of Fame. Oh, come on! Just because the guy wasn't hitting balls into the ozone with the frequency of McGwire, Sosa and Palmeiro, let's not diminish his accomplishments. He's a very well-respected player who has put in 20 years with the same team, a rarity not only in these nomadic times but in major-league history.
By the way, he has hit 286 home runs so far. He also has scored 1,821 runs, hit 658 doubles (tops among active players) and stolen 413 bases to go along with a respectable .282 lifetime batting average. And he's done all that from switching his position from catcher to second base to center field, then back to second base.
He might not make it on the first ballot, but when all is said and done, Craig Biggio deserves a plaque in Cooperstown.
Trivia question 46 (courtesy of Bruce Brown): Who was the last 20th Century player to appear in 120 games in consecutive seasons for the same manager, but on different teams? Hint: He was an All-Star as a player and as a manager. Answer at bottom right
You cringe when you hear it: "Baseball ... it's so boring." Don't tell that to the people who help set new records each year attending games in the majors and minors. There's something about baseball that keeps folks coming back for more, even if football is harder-hitting, basketball is faster-paced, and you might see a wreck at a NASCAR race. Join me for various observations and history lessons about America's pastime. -- Harry Funk
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The man beyond third base
- Harry Funk
- • Online editor, The Observer-Reporter, Washington, Pa. • Member, Society for American Baseball Research • Guitar & bass player
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2007
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June
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- Protest nears
- The unfortunate Mr. McAndrew
- Nabors' nadir
- Fire
- Irate fans
- The pride of Key West
- Oh, happy day!
- Slumpbusters
- Rating the managers
- The chase
- The Dump
- The Count
- Bonds swap?
- DH
- The Dutch Master
- The unfortunate Mr. Cain
- Round Trip Kip
- The unfortunate Mr. Groom
- A momentary lapse
- The hall of ... whom?
- You're never too old
- Ouch!
- Here we go again
- Let's make a deal
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June
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Trivia answers
- 56. Dallas and Chicago
- 55. On Oct. 1, 1933, Babe Ruth pitched a complete game for the Yankees against the Red Sox. According to Boston Post writer Paul Shannon, "though hit hard at times, and seemingly very tired toward the end, [Ruth] was able to steer his hard-hitting teammates to a 6-5 win in the season's final contest."
- 54. Gaylord Perry, San Francisco Giants, April 27, 1971
- 53. Rolando Arrojo went 14-12 for the Devil Rays in 1998, the team's first season. That represented 22.2 percent of the Rays' total victories.
- 52. Chester "Red" Hoff (1891-1998), who pitched for the New York Highlanders from 1911-13 and St. Louis Browns in 1915
- 51. George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees, 1974
- 50. Barry Lamar Bonds, 2002, age 38, breaking the previous record held by another ex-Pirate, Al Oliver
- 49. Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller and Jerry Willard
- 48. Dean Stone. In the eighth inning of the 1954 All-Star Game, the Washington rookie came in to pitch with two outs and runners on first and third. As Stone wound up, Red Schoendienst raced toward home. Stone threw to the plate to catch Schoendienst stealing. The American League scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to take an 11-9 lead, and Stone got the win in his only All-Star appearance.
- 47. Carlton Fisk, 1972
3 comments:
The planned media blackout of the walkout irritates me more than the stinking Pirates.
I heard on ESPN that FSN wasn't going to show the walkout which irritated me and I'm not even a Pirates fan. Then, when having highlights of the game on Sportscenter, they didn't mention it again. Pirates fans oughta band together and do more stunts like a picketline or all wear red t-shirts as a sign of distress or something.
As a baseball fan, it seems like Pittsburgh should have a contender... just seems like that's a great city for one, not just for football.
Do sometimes owners not really care about their own team and they just have the team to brag to their friends or something?!?
As long as the Pirates' balance sheet is in the black, the fans be damned.
The Pirates' broadcasters mentioned not a word about the protest. I'm sure they were told not to do so. They're usually fairly objective (at least, more so than some announcers in other cities).
I've protested this year by not giving the Pirates a dime ... yet. I have a social obligation at PNC Park later this month. But I'm not paying to park or buying any concessions!!!
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