Old-Time Baseball

I don't know why, but I've gotten into baseball from like a hundred years ago. There is a book that has old-timers just reminiscing about what it was like (I just spelled reminiscing without getting a red squiggly line under it) to play back then. I reread Eight Men Out and rewatched the movie. It was about the Black Sox scandal from 1919. I'm rewatching the Ken Burn Baseball series - at least the old-timey part.

I even used my old Statis-Pro baseball game to replay the 1919 World Series. The Black Sox lost again, this time without even trying to throw the series.

Now that I think about it, what started it off was that I read a book about Ty Cobb. The writer and a bunch of players in the other reminiscing book (The Glory of Their Times) said he wasn't as bad as some people say. He didn't try to spike other players on purpose. He did get into a lot of fights, though. There were a lot more fights in baseball back then anyway. Even with that, he got into more than his fair share. Most agreed he was a lot more likable off the field than on. But he wasn't the racist, spiking jerk others have said.

Its sad about players that have gotten a bad reputation. About twenty years ago a player for the Red Sox let misplayed a ground ball in the World Series. That is what he is famous for now. The fact that he won a batting title and was a great all around hitter doesn't get mentioned much.

There was a great player named Fred Merkle a century ago. He became known as Bonehead Merkle because of a base running mistake in the World Series once.

Another fine player once dropped a fly ball in the World Series. Later in the same inning he made a spectacular fielding play, but that doesn't get remembered. (I forgot his name so I Googled "Dropped fly ball in the World Series" and his name came right up. Fred Snodgrass. Like that is the only thing he did. And its not as if going through life with the name Fred Snodgrass wasn't enough of a burden to carry already.)


Favorite player - Rube Waddell. He was a great pitcher and in the Hall of Fame. He might have been mentally retarded. Opposing players and fans could distract him easily by holding up shiny objects while he pitched. Or holding up puppies would work, too. If a fire engine went by the stadium he would often run after it. If he was pitching at the time, they would have to go hold him back.

They just don't make players like Rube anymore.