Baseball Jesus

Wikipedia site on Baseball Players entrance music

2007-08-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

Right here.

Here are some of my favorites:

Cliff Floyd, Chicago Cubs: "Theme from Sanford and Son" ("The Streetbeater" by Quincy Jones) [35]
Julio Franco, Atlanta Braves: "People Get Ready... Jesus Is Coming", Crystal Lewis; "God is in Control", Twila Paris
Mike Myers, New York Yankees: Theme from "Halloween"
Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians: "Backdoor Man", The Doors [114]

I think that Grady Sizemore is officially on the Gaydar.

Pepsi Fan of the Game

2007-04-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

oh, here comes a pizza!

"Oh we're live? I didn't know that."

2007-04-24T01:23:00.000-07:00

"We're gonna do this @#$%ing thing over cuz I just #$%&ed it up."

"Put that in your @#$%ing pipe and smoke it."

2007-04-24T01:09:00.000-07:00

Did you consider Brett for Miller with the bases loaded in the 7th?"

funny

2007-04-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

Drat

2007-04-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

We got beat at our own game: Behold The Church of Baseball. Time to quit.

Mlb.com Gets Freaky

2007-04-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

A composite of facial features of Dontrelle Willis, Carlos Beltran, Ichiro Suzuki and Brandon Webb

Three Detroit Tigers appear in video promoting Catholicism

2007-03-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

via detnews.com

Three members of the Detroit Tigers are featured in a new high-definition video entitled "The Champions of Faith: Baseball Edition."
Manager Jim Leyland and players Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez and Sean Casey talk about their Catholic faith and its effect on their lives and careers in the video. Leyland's brother is a priest.

Leyland is my man.

2007-03-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

March 14, Detroit News:

"We didn't do very well today," Leyland said after the Tigers had partaken in a rancid game the Dodgers won, 4-3.

"We won't tolerate that, I can assure you. I won't tolerate nonchalant players. I don't give a (bleep) who they are."

Left unanswered was who specifically the manager thought might have been dogging it.

The easy answer: most of his team, which also was the case when Leyland exploded last April following a game of patty-cake against the Indians.

YUM!

2007-03-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

David Wells goes on a "tasty" safari.
via boston.com

Good Choice

2007-02-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

Here's to making the right choice.

My Hero

2007-02-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

"I'm playing untill I'm 100. You guys get used to me."

2007-02-16T15:11:00.000-08:00

Via npr.org and the billionaire
My dad took me to see Eddie Feiner quite a few times growing up. He was cool.

Calling for Christ

2007-02-16T09:42:00.000-08:00

via mlb.com

Bartlett co-founded a professional umpire ministry about four years ago named "Calling for Christ" with Triple-A umpire Rob Drake.

Through this ministry, a retreat is held each year for umpires in Falls Creek, Okla., in early December, where they study the Bible, go fishing and have an opportunity to hang out with fellow umpires away from the field.

"Umpiring is a very tough profession. Guys fall into a lot of things on the road and we just want to be able to provide people with an opportunity to hear God's word," Barrett said. "Also, we want [umpires] who are Christians to feel like they can come into this job and keep their faith and be open about it. Ultimately, we just want to encourage each other as umpires and as believers."

The Rockies Pitch Religion

2007-02-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

via the nation

In Colorado, there stands a holy shrine called Coors Field. On this site, named for the holiest of beers, a team plays that has been chosen by Jesus Christ himself to play .500 baseball in the National League West.

Simultaneously Sinner and Saint

2007-02-16T08:57:00.000-08:00

Little Max Carey had every intention of being a Lutheran minister, but he ended up as a thief. The finest defensive center fielder in the National League during his prime, "Scoops" led his circuit in stolen bases ten times and retired as the most prolific base swiper in league history.

Links

2007-02-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

UPI: Serving Christ Through Baseball

http://www.baseballchapel.org/Images/GarretAndersonTestimonyFront.jpg
THE ALL-JESUS TEAM (via the play testimony page a Baseball Chapel)
FELIPE ALOU - Manager
GARRET ANDERSON - Outfield
CARLOS BELTRAN - Outfield
TODD JONES - Pitcher
GARY KNOTTS - Pitcher
SCOTT LINEBRINK - Pitcher
MIKE MAROTH - Pitcher
MIKE MATHENY - Catcher
TROT NIXON - Outfield
RUSS ORTIZ - Pitcher
JAKE PEAVY - Pitcher
NATE ROBERTSON - Pitcher
JASON SCHMIDT - Pitcher
BRIAN SHOUSE - Pitcher
MIKE SWEENEY - First Base

Hank and The Imitation of Christ

2007-02-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

The quote from Hank Aaron about Jackie Robinson got me wondering. I stumbled upon this at People of the Book: A Blog about Book Publishing from a Catholic Perspective.

“Aaron kept a copy of The Imitation of Christ in his locker. I picture him in the 50s, 60s and 70s, preparing for a game in Atlanta or New York or Chicago, sitting in the locker room reading the counsels of humility and self-renunciation in this classic of medieval devotion. Hank Aaron was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He hit more home runs than anybody. He terrorized pitchers. (Fellow Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax gave him the nickname “Bad Henry.”) Yet there he was, pondering a book that one commentator says is “especially adapted for souls burdened with care and sorrow and sitting in darkness.”
Why was Hank Aaron drawn to The Imitation of Christ? Perhaps it had something to do with the experience of a poor black boy from Alabama playing baseball in a racist time in America. Aaron endured much bigotry and racial taunting from fans and other players. He heard death threats in 1974 when he was closing in on Babe Ruth’s career home run record. Aaron bore all this ugliness with gentleness and dignity. Perhaps the counsels of Thomas a Kempis helped.
But perhaps The Imitation of Christ is also especially well suited to the game of baseball. The game is designed to humble the exalted. Failure and defeat are built into every inning. The best hitters make outs 7 out of 10 times at bat. Pitchers do well to give up less than four runs a game. The mood of The Imitation of Christ is decidedly toward the darker side of Catholic spirituality. It says little about setting forth to take bold action in the world, but rather advises the reader to expect adversity and to make the most of it. Hank Aaron’s spiritual reading might seem unusual. But maybe not so unusual, in light of the game he played so well.“

And interestingly enough, the blog's author is an avid Tiger's fan. I amy have to put aside the Augsburg Confession and the Council of Trent for a while and commune in the fellowship of baseball. It looks like he's been covering the Baseball Jesus beat for longer than we have.
I particularly like this quote:

And finally, with the Super Bowl safely behind us, it’s time to think about God’s game. Pitchers and catchers report next week.

Jesus and Jackie

2007-02-13T14:26:00.000-08:00

I don’t remember ever hearing this:

“When Branch Rickey first met with Jackie about join the Dodgers, he told him that for three years he would have to turn the other check and silently suffer all the vile things that would come his way. Believe me, it wasn’t Jackie’s nature to do that. He was a fighter, the proudest and most competitive person I’ve ever seen. This was a man who, as a lieutenant in the army, risked a court-martial by refusing to sit in the back of a military bus. But when Rickey read to him from The Life of Christ, Jackie understood the wisdom and the necessity of forbearance.”

-Henry Aaron
an excerpt from American Legends: from the Time 100

Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-11T22:07:00.000-08:00

Love is just a click away

Ouch

2007-02-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

When the new catchers masks came out a few years ago, I thought they looked dumb. I also thought they looked too much like hockey masks.

I bet that Mike Matheny wishes they were available when he first started catching.

I hate to see a guy go out like that. The man wasn't the most physically gifted catcher by any means but he probably was the smartest. Class act. Even though he played for the Cardinals.

Uh oh, The Others

2007-01-26T11:53:00.000-08:00

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t295967-0.html

World Domination

2007-01-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

If it wasn't bad enough already, prepare yourself for a billion more assholes.

The Yankees are apparently working on a deal to take over China. Watch out India, You're next.

Yankees seek working agreement with China baseball
ESPN The Magazine
A contingent of executives from the New York Yankees will fly to China next week with the hope of concluding ongoing negotiations on a working agreement with the China Baseball Association. This could lead to the Yankees dispatching coaches and trainers to work with players in China, and perhaps, in years to come, beginning a baseball academy.

According to a major league executive who has been briefed on the Yankees' intentions, the Yankees -- operating in consultation with Major League Baseball -- have been in negotiations for seven months on this deal. The Yankees' goal is to get their brand into the world's most populated nation, and put themselves in position, down the road, to scout talent, while working with members of the CBA to improve the state of baseball in China.

Good answer

2007-01-24T14:16:00.000-08:00

(via detroittigers.com)

What is the deal with Gary Sheffield wearing number 3? Alan Trammell is an icon to Tigers fans and represents that era of success to so many. What was the organization thinking, and is there a chance to change this?
-- Jeremy C., Erie, Mich.

Actually, Sheffield told the Detroit Free Press at TigerFest that he chose the number out of admiration for Trammell, who was still in his prime when Sheffield made his Major League debut in 1988 as a shortstop. Sheffield's first big-league game, coincidentally, came in Tiger Stadium. Trammell didn't play in that series, though.

baseballtvbaseball

2007-01-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

(via hardball times)

MLB is close to an agreement with DirecTV that would give the satellite television company an exclusive agreement for the league’s Extra Innings baseball package.

I kind of don't like this, because I don't think I'll ever get DirectTV and now I'll never get Extra Innings. That was my inital thought. Then I read this:

...In addition, DirecTV will be carrying a 24-hour baseball network set to start in 2009.

In 2009, I will for sure get DirectTV and watch the hell out of it till the cows come home. It's about damn time there was a 24-hour baseball channel.. Shit yeah. Shit hell yeah. I will kill its ass with my eyes.

--
Check out the ESPN Hot Stove Heaters.

Here's a snooze on selig's predessor.

Portland?