Virgil Trucks

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/virgil-fire-trucks-dies-threw-two-no-hitters-in-one-season-detroit-tigers-032513

I am sure you have heard that Virgil Trucks has passed away.  I am very sad to hear this, but I am glad that he lived such a long and productive life.

I did correspond with him a little, and I did write a review of his book back in early 2010.  Here is the link:

http://kentuckybaseball.blogspot.com/2010/04/book-throwing-heat-life-and-times-of.html

Rocky Cherry- Cubs and Orioles

Rocky Cherry played for the Cubs and Orioles between 2007 and 2008.  He signed a Camden Yards postcard for me recently, adding a fun note.

Wild Pitches

Not to deviate too far off the topic of baseball but.....

Have you read this weeks "Point After" column in Sports Illustrated yet?  Even when they don't talk about baseball, I love reading it.

Steve Rushin has one of the wittiest ones yet with his "Morality Players."  Go pick up this weeks issue (there is an interesting article on Stanford's Mark Appel that will justify a baseball fans purchase of SI this week).

Anyway, Rushin has some of the best lines ever in this article about being a moral sports fan.  He asks if NASCAR fans are unintentionally supporting the gun lobby (as an upcoming race is sponsored by the NRA).

He describes the phrase "student-athlete" as Orwellian (well done Mr. Rushin!).

Steve is getting a great point across in his article (in the same way Seth MacFarlane gets a point across in any episode of Family Guy).  You really MUST read the entire article.  If you aren't crying with laughter by the end of it, you aren't alive.

Allow me to quote my favorite line from the article, "And we tell the angel on our shoulder to lighten up, to give us a break, that it's O.K. to eat a chicken taco at a baseball game without knowing whether the poultry in question was farm-raised, hand-fed or homeschooled."

A+

Terry Collins

 I sent a note to Mets manager Terry Collins this year at Spring Training.  He obviously has a lot on his plate this year, but I still got a nice form letter from him!  I thought that was pretty cool!

Minor League FOOTBALL in Kentucky

If you are like me, you are going crazy waiting for the minor league baseball season to begin!  Make sure you check the Kentucky teams web sites (linked on the right side of this blog).  Most are scheduling fan fests and other fan events linked to the start of the season.

Until then, don't forget that Kentucky has THREE CIFL football teams playing!  Actually, the regular season goes through April, so there is plenty of time to catch a game or two in Owensboro, Louisville, and Pikeville.

I have started a blog myself devoted to the Owensboro Rage.  Check it out- owensbororage.blogspot.com.

Just like many of the indy league baseball teams, these are scrappy talented players with a lot to prove.  The owners investing in these teams have a LOT to lose and little to gain.  They truly appreciate your support.

Favorite Minor League Parks

Benjamin Hill at milb.com does a great and fun job of reviewing minor league parks.  I always read his postings.

Recently, he posted about his favorite parks.  Check out his reviews here:

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130227&content_id=42079540&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb

Oddly, I have only been to two parks that he mentions (Durham Bulls Athletic Park and Modern Woodmen Park).  I totally agree with him that these are two of the best.  You cannot beat the view at Modern Woodmen at all.

Like Ben, I find it hard to rank the parks I go to.  Plus, I always have a great time just being at a minor league ballgame!

Off the top of my head, I would say that my best game day experiences have been in Florence Kentucky, Indianapolis Indiana, Sevierville Tennessee, Lake County Ohio, Mahoning Valley Ohio, Pawtucket Rhode Island, Omaha Nebraska, New Britain Connecticut and Charleston West Virginia.  I know I am leaving some great places out.  I also know that I might come up with an entirely different list if you asked me to name my favorites tomorrow.

Wild Pitches

We are just a month or so away from the start of the season!  I don't know about you, but I always get excited this time of the year, thinking about road trips to various parks!

I was talking to a friend the other day.  He is getting close to retirement age, and he is thinking about trying to visit all of the major league parks.

I love this idea, but I asked him about seeing some of the minor league parks.

He has not been to PNC in Pittsburgh at all, but hopes to get there this year.  I told him that that park is probably my all time favorite.  Then I told him that my second favorite (majors or minors) would be Victory Field in Indianapolis.  I encouraged him to make sure he gets to Indianapolis for his pilgrimage too, even though it belongs to a AAA team.

There are so many ways to rank and judge a park though.  I know some people like the very modern parks, and some like the more traditional feel.  Some people think that there are only 29 parks in the US and 1 in Canada.

Sure, I hope to visit all of the MLB parks at some point in my lifetime (I am about halfway there), but I am even more proud of the fact that I have visited about 70 minor league parks.

What do you think? 

Buy seats from old Bush Stadium in Indianapolis!!!!

Hey!  Check out this link!  You can buy seats from the former home of the Indianapolis Indians!

I like what this group is doing, AND they are selling a great item for as low as $45!!!!

Here is a link for ya:

http://www.peopleup.org/

Wild Pitches

Yeah, it has been slow around here.  Sorry for the infrequent posts.

I have read a few baseball books over the last month or two, but I really didn't care for them, so I won't be putting up reviews.  Its been one of those months.....

At least the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues are about to get going!  Whew!

I try to avoid rehashing stuff from other blogs or sites, but I thought this was pretty interesting.  Here is an article about the way Topps baseball cards is handing references to Pete Rose these days.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/topps-erases-pete-rose-name-baseball-cards-171826880--mlb.html

Erasmo Ramirez- 2003-2005 Rangers, 2007 A's and Marlins

Erasmo Ramirez sent me a very nice note recently answering some questions!

He let me know that he was a big San Francisco Giants fan growing up.  Will Clark was his favorite player.  He says that his friends in SoCal gave him some flak about that, but he didn't mind.

He still follows his former teams, especially the Rangers and he has friends still in their front office.

I asked Erasmo specifically about the stadium situation during his time in Nashville.  He says it was, "HORRIBLE!"

He says that there was no clubhouse, and they had to shuttle to the stadium from the Titans stadium every game!

He says that his favorite book is "The Godfather" and his favorite baseball book is Dorfman's "The Mental Game of Baseball."

Wild Pitches

Hey, check out this article from West Virginia's Bridgeport News!  It looks like there is some serious talk of a Frontier League team setting up shop in the area!  If you are in the central or eastern part of Kentucky, this might be a nice weekend trip to think about!  I am glad to see the Frontier League coming back to some of their earlier territories!

http://www.exponent-telegram.com/bridgeportnews/news/article_a93a45d4-6833-11e2-bcb8-001a4bcf887a.html#.UQf8bGdq-EY.gmail

Also, a new independent league is taking shape for the 2014 season.  There is some talk of a northern Kentucky team in this league!

Keep up to date on their developments here:

http://indybaseballleague.com/

Wild Pitches

A couple of people sent me emails about a technical issue or two on this site.  Thanks for letting me know!  I think thats corrected......

The Reds Caravan is going on right now!  Check that out!  There is a stop in Lexington on Sunday....

I found a cool article I thought I should link to about the NYPL.  I love this league and I used to catch Scrappers games a lot when I lived near Cleveland.  The parks are smaller, and the towns in the league are pretty friendly.

The Williamsport Crosscutters are offering free tickets to local hockey fans who bought tickets to see a team that folded.  Check out the article form the sun gazette, they do a great job of covering the story.

http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/588377/Cutters-offer-exchange-for-Outlaws-ticket.html?nav=5017

Thumbs up to the Crosscutters for taking care of sports fans in Williamsport!

Sid Roberson 1995 Brewers

Sid Roberson spent about 5 years in professional baseball, making it to the majors in 1995 with the Brewers.

He recently answered a few questions for me!

Sid tells me that he follows the Cardinals these days, and that he doesn't follow his old team, the Brewers.

He says that his favorite current player is Josh Hamilton, and his favorite former player is Greg Maddox.

I asked him what he thought of playing at AAA New Orleans and he says that he loved it!

Wild Pitches

It is a little slow at the moment on my end.  Not a lot of baseball stuff going on right now....

I DID want to mention that it looks like a new independent league is trying to put things together for the 2013 season.  It looks to be mostly an Ohio league.  Here is a link to their site:

http://indybaseballleague.com/

I also wanted to mention that there will be THREE professional indoor football teams in Kentucky this year!!!  I am especially excited about Owensboro having a team this year.

https://owensbororage.com/en/home

The Owensboro Rage begin play on January 25th at home.  Owensboro is a good market, and I am sure this team will do well.  They are part of the Continental Football League,

http://www.ciflfootball.com/

along with teams in Louisville

http://www.kentuckyxtreme.com/

and Pikeville.

http://www.kentuckydrillers.com/

If you live in Owensboro, Louisville or Pikeville, please get out and get to a few games!  The teams appreciate your support, and its good for the community!

CC Sabathia

How can you not love CC? Great guy all the way around.

 

I was never able to catch him as he came up through the minors, though I saw his old team, the Scrappers, a lot.

 

He did great with the Tribe where he was teammates with another of my all time favorite pitchers, Cliff Lee.

 

Cleveland brought him up, but, like many players, they really could not afford to keep him, so in 08 he was dealt to the Brewers.

 

With the Brewers, he pitched effectively and excessively pitching about every 3 days.

 

The Brewers couldn't afford him either, and he landed in 09 with the Yankees. I do like seeing CC win, and I do cheer for him, though it is generally hard to cheer for pinstripes.

Charles Gipson

Charles Gipson spent 14 years in professional baseball, playing pretty much every infield or outfield position except 1st.

He sent a great note to me recently about his career.

Mr. Gipson tells me that he still follows two of his former teams, the Astros and the Mariners.  His favorite former player is Ken Griffey.

I asked about some of the minor league towns he played in, and he says he enjoyed his time in Durham and Memphis, but Round Rock was the best!

I asked Charles if he ever contributed to a book, and he mentions Mike Cameron's children's book.

Concerning Kentucky, he says that all minor league players love Kentucky because of the bat company in Louisville!  You can get your own bats made!

Daryl Smith- 1990 Kansas City Royals

Daryl Smith played professional baseball for 15 years, making it to the highest level with the Kansas City Royals in 1990!

Daryl let me know recently that he still follows baseball.  His favorite minor league team is the Bay Sox, and his favorite MLB team is the Yankees.  His favorite players include Adam Jones and Bo Jackson!

He also sent some info on some very interesting books he has written and some charities with which he is involved!  Check out the scan!

http://dreamsdoexist.com/

Baseball in Chattanooga by David Jenkins

At first, I was a little iffy on the Arcadia books in general.  They are everywhere!  I love small, local books produced by locals independently.

 

In many ways Arcadia makes that kind of a local book, but they make it on a larger level.  I admire that.  I like the fact that it is easy to find and get my hands on a book about a specific local area.

 

The books pack a wallop.  You can read them in an hour or two, even if you take your time, but they cram a lot of information into a small volume.  Plus, the books have a lot of great photos.

 

Baseball in Chattanooga, for example, is just a great read covering this baseball history rich area of Tennessee.

 

Author David Jenkins does a great job of giving a very easy to understand history of Chattanooga baseball, covering the legendary team owners, managers, and other personalities.  I personally love the stories about the scouting and setting up of Engel Stadium and the newer BellSouth Park (now known as AT & T Field).

 

I also really enjoy the photos of Joe Charboneau, Ron Oester, Trevor Hoffman and others in their Lookouts uniforms!

 

Frontier League president Bill Lee appears in this book too, which is very cool in my opinion!

 

Chattanooga is one of those towns I MUST get to at least once a year.  I love the natural beauty, the history, and the well established minor league baseball team there.

 

A tip of my yellow 21 cap goes to David Jenkins and Arcadia Publishing for this one!

Ryan Nye 1997-1998 Phillies

Ryan Nye pitched in a few games for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1997 and 1998.

He sent a quick note recently to let me know that he has no stories relating to playing in Kentucky.

He never contributed to any books on baseball but he does tell me that his favorite book is the Bible.

He says that it was nice to play baseball professionally, but right now he doesn't have any favorite teams or players.

Wild Pitches

Sorry for the lack of posts....  I THINK I have resolved the issue with posting photos, and deleting some of the older ones.  If you are looking at an older post and notice a black spot where a photo should be, drop me a line please!  I may have missed one!

Wild Pitches

Thank you for stopping by my blog! I wanted to take a moment to say that I am dealing with some blog maintenance issues at the moment. It seems I have gone over my allowed storage space for photos! I THINK I can resolve this pretty easily but I am tweaking a few things here and there. I notice that I have accidentally deleted a few photos in some of my older posts, but I do have them saved on disks, so they should be replaced and back up in the next couple few weeks.

I might be a bit slow on posting while I am taking care of this.......

League Stadium- Huntingburg, Indiana

League Stadium in Huntingburg Indiana is currently the home of the Prospect League's Dubois County Bombers!

I wanted to stop and see this park recently for the simple fact that it was an former park in the Frontier league! 

The Dubois County Dragons played here from the late 90s until 2002.  This park seems a bit small by the Frontier League's current standards.

So, it is small, but the place packs a ton of dated charm!  Check out those retro signs!  Also, note the mentions of the "Rockford Peaches"!

The park reminds me a lot of Bosse Field in near by Evansville Indiana.  Both made appearances in the legendary film, "A League of Their Own."

I wasn't able to get inside of the Stadium (I was passing through very early in the morning) but I did find a couple of knot holes that allowed me to get a couple of good photos of the signs.

I am so happy that the Prospect League has a team here!  Huntingburg is a spectacular small town with a very cozy feel.  I hate to over use a cliche, but comparing the place to Mayberry absolutely works.

If you find yourself in Huntingburg for a Bombers game, allow an hour or two to hang out at the local coffee shop, "Cool Beans" and hit the great art, gift, and antique shops.

I will have to make a point to catch the Bombers next season.  This park looks great on a non game day.  I can only imagine how lively it must be when in use!

http://www.dcbombers.com/

Ray Soff 1986-1987 Cardinals

Ray Soff spent 13 years playing in professional baseball, including parts of 1986 and 1987 with the Cardinals!  Those same years Ray also contributed to the AAA Louisville team!

I asked Ray about playing in Louisville for the Redbirds and he said he loved his time in the area- "Some of the nicest people I've ever met".

Sandy Wihtol 1979-1982 Cleveland Indians

Sandy Wihtol spent parts of 3 seasons pitching for the Cleveland Indians.  In 1980 he made 17 appearances for the Tribe, collecting 1 win and no losses.

He sent a note recently about Kentucky!

He said that he greatly enjoyed Kentucky, and he just came back from a trip to Lexington and Louisville!

He says that these days the Giants are his team.

Sandy mentions that the fans in the Midwest and South are awesome!

Casey Barnes- 2012 Washington Wild Things

Casey Barnes has spent most of the last 2 seasons pitching for the Washington Wild Things in the Frontier League!  He was originally drafted by the Phillies and played for a couple of their minor league teams.

Casey signed a photo I took recently, and talked a bit about his young career.

He says he is biased, but he loves playing in Washington for the Wild Things because of the great fan support!

He says that if he had to pick another team's park to play in, it would be one of the parks belonging to the Beach Bums or the Miners.

Concerning affiliated baseball, Casey says that he likes the Phillies because they drafted him.  He says that they were a first class organization.

He says that he feels the Frontier League and NYPL are about the same.