It does not take very much to make somebody realize just what an impact Boston Red Sox Ted Williams had on the world of professional baseball. As a matter of fact, you would have to have been living under a rock for quite some time if you have never heard the name of this famous player. As far as contributions to baseball go, there is plenty that the world of baseball fans can thank Boston Red Sox Ted Williams for.
When talking of such a famous player, it is almost too difficult to figure out just where to begin. Boston Red Sox Ted Williams was famous for being voted in as a American League Baseball Most Valuable Player more than once. In addition to that, he enjoyed the honor of being one of the celebrated players to be inducted into the prestigious Baseball Hall of Fame back in 1966. Then, once you add to this all of the wonderful statistics and achievements under his belt and it should be quite easy to see just why Boston Red Sox Ted Williams is such a valuable piece of baseball history.
Just as many other players in the major leagues, Boston Red Sox Ted Williams got his start by playing baseball in the minor leagues. Stepping up to the plate for teams such as the Minneapolis Millers and the San Diego Padres, Ted Williams had his fair share of practice to get to his famous position with the Boston Red Sox. In 1939, he got his chance to move into the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox. Ted Williams wasted no time at all before he began breaking records with his batting average.
In 1941 Williams had one of the greatest individual seasons for any ballplayer in history. At age twenty-three he hit .406, the last ballplayer to reach that magic figure, won his first home run crown, and won the All-Star Game with the most dramatic hit of his career, a ninth-inning two-out homer in Briggs Stadium.
Today, you can ask just about any one of the thousands and thousands of Boston Red Sox fans about Ted Williams and all of his incredible contributions to the world of baseball and they are sure to give you quite an earful. From one of the most passionate fan bases in the world of major league baseball, it is not hard to see just why Ted Williams is such a cherished player whose name is sure to go down in history.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Boston Red Sox-Fenway Park
For many Boston tourists, Fenway Park holds a top position on their "Must See while in Boston" list. Home of the Boston Red Sox, Fenway is both the smallest of any major league baseball facility and the oldest still in use. It's also one of the last to use hand-operated score boards.
That's part of what makes Fenway so special. Most of the seats are close to ground level . . . and speaking of ground, the Red Sox play on real grass, not artificial turf. If you're used to watching baseball games from the huge stadiums in other cities, you'll be amazed by how close you are to the players and the action on the field. You can hear the crack of the bat against the ball - and who knows, you might even catch one!
Here are a few things you should know to get the most out of your visit to this famous Boston destination:
- Consider staying in one of the nearby hotels in Boston's Fenway neighborhood. Hotel Commonwealth, Hotel Buckminster, the Eliot Hotel (actually in Back Bay), and Howard Johnson Fenway Park are all within 5-8 minutes walk of the ball park. Not only will you enjoy the short walk to the park, but if you celebrate in any of the nearby bars and nightspots after the game, you'll appreciate the equally short walk back.
- While you're in Fenway Park, be sure to check out the Green Monster. This famous 37 foot left field wall compensates for the unusually short left field - and its quirks have caught many players from out of town teams by surprise, much to the delight of Red Sox Nation, as local fans are called. If you want a quintessential Fenway experience, try to get seats in the section on top of the Green Monster that was added in 2003.
- If you plan to attend a game, be sure to get your tickets as soon as you know the dates when you'll be in Boston. They sell out quickly. Current seating capacity for day games is 35,692 and for night games its 36,108. Back in the 1930s, Fenway used to pack in almost 47,000 spectators but changes in the city's fire codes in the 1940s dramatically reduced seating by almost one third. On the other hand, the Sox became so unpopular at points during their long losing streak with the Yankees that at couple of points in the 1960s, they played to crowds of less than 500.
- If you can't get tickets for the game that you want to attend, don't despair: Fenway sells a limited number of Game-Day tickets. Sales start 2 hours before the game, and you can line up 5 hours ahead of time. Of course, you may not want to spent that many hours of your visit to Boston waiting in line for tickets that you might not get.
- If you still don't have a ticket, you can pursue 3 more reasonably good options: 1) join others without tickets and watch the game on a big screen at one of the popular Boston bars near Fenway, 2) go on one of the Fenway Park tours given when the Red Sox aren't playing, and/or 3) extend your visit to Boston long enough to get tickets for another day.
That's part of what makes Fenway so special. Most of the seats are close to ground level . . . and speaking of ground, the Red Sox play on real grass, not artificial turf. If you're used to watching baseball games from the huge stadiums in other cities, you'll be amazed by how close you are to the players and the action on the field. You can hear the crack of the bat against the ball - and who knows, you might even catch one!
Here are a few things you should know to get the most out of your visit to this famous Boston destination:
- Consider staying in one of the nearby hotels in Boston's Fenway neighborhood. Hotel Commonwealth, Hotel Buckminster, the Eliot Hotel (actually in Back Bay), and Howard Johnson Fenway Park are all within 5-8 minutes walk of the ball park. Not only will you enjoy the short walk to the park, but if you celebrate in any of the nearby bars and nightspots after the game, you'll appreciate the equally short walk back.
- While you're in Fenway Park, be sure to check out the Green Monster. This famous 37 foot left field wall compensates for the unusually short left field - and its quirks have caught many players from out of town teams by surprise, much to the delight of Red Sox Nation, as local fans are called. If you want a quintessential Fenway experience, try to get seats in the section on top of the Green Monster that was added in 2003.
- If you plan to attend a game, be sure to get your tickets as soon as you know the dates when you'll be in Boston. They sell out quickly. Current seating capacity for day games is 35,692 and for night games its 36,108. Back in the 1930s, Fenway used to pack in almost 47,000 spectators but changes in the city's fire codes in the 1940s dramatically reduced seating by almost one third. On the other hand, the Sox became so unpopular at points during their long losing streak with the Yankees that at couple of points in the 1960s, they played to crowds of less than 500.
- If you can't get tickets for the game that you want to attend, don't despair: Fenway sells a limited number of Game-Day tickets. Sales start 2 hours before the game, and you can line up 5 hours ahead of time. Of course, you may not want to spent that many hours of your visit to Boston waiting in line for tickets that you might not get.
- If you still don't have a ticket, you can pursue 3 more reasonably good options: 1) join others without tickets and watch the game on a big screen at one of the popular Boston bars near Fenway, 2) go on one of the Fenway Park tours given when the Red Sox aren't playing, and/or 3) extend your visit to Boston long enough to get tickets for another day.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Remembering Babe Ruth
One cannot talk about baseball history without remembering "The Great Bambino" Babe Ruth.His iconic status has made him a benchmark for all baseball players. Here is a short Babe Ruth Biography.
He was born on February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland as George Herman Ruth, Jr.His chilhood was hard; His mom died while he was young and his dad signed him into an orphanage. A pastor helped and guided him with his athletic ability and he broke into the major leagues in 1914 and played for the Boston Red Sox. After a great performance as a pitcher for the Red Sox, he then transferred to the New York Yankees in 1919 where he switched positions to a full time right fielder. It was during this time that he became one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history.
Babe is basically touted as the man who changed baseball from a game dominated by speed and low scores to a game that had power and high scores. His prowess and charismatic personality boosted him to fame, especially when he became the first man to hit 60 home runs in one season in 1927. This record was broken later on in 1961 by Roger Maris.
The left handed Ruth is has the tenth highest lifetime batting average with an average of.342, with a 1.164 career on base plus slugging average and.690 career slugging percentage to this day remain Major League baseball records. In his lifetime he led the league twelve times in home runs during a season and slugging and OPS percentages thirteen times each as well as runs scored eight times.
He is also ranked number one on the list of 100 Greatest Baseball Players as ranked by The Sporting News in 1998. Not only this, but Babe is also ranked as the most recognized athlete, an accolade he shares with Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer. This ranking takes into account 800 famous athletes whether dead or living that have made an impact on the sports they participated in.
But the iconic status of the man does not end there. In a 1999 survey by ESPN, 97% of Americans 12 years old and over identified closely with Ali and Ruth. This in turn also makes him the third greatest US athlete of the 20th century behind Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.
The baseball great is survived to this day by his lone daughter Julia Ruth Stevens, 93 who lives in New Hampshire. Julia to this day vows to keep the name her father and also to tell stories of the baseball great to anyone who will listen. In her own words, he was not only a great baseball player but also a great father, and the world should not forget who he was and what he has done for the sport of baseball.
He was born on February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland as George Herman Ruth, Jr.His chilhood was hard; His mom died while he was young and his dad signed him into an orphanage. A pastor helped and guided him with his athletic ability and he broke into the major leagues in 1914 and played for the Boston Red Sox. After a great performance as a pitcher for the Red Sox, he then transferred to the New York Yankees in 1919 where he switched positions to a full time right fielder. It was during this time that he became one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history.
Babe is basically touted as the man who changed baseball from a game dominated by speed and low scores to a game that had power and high scores. His prowess and charismatic personality boosted him to fame, especially when he became the first man to hit 60 home runs in one season in 1927. This record was broken later on in 1961 by Roger Maris.
The left handed Ruth is has the tenth highest lifetime batting average with an average of.342, with a 1.164 career on base plus slugging average and.690 career slugging percentage to this day remain Major League baseball records. In his lifetime he led the league twelve times in home runs during a season and slugging and OPS percentages thirteen times each as well as runs scored eight times.
He is also ranked number one on the list of 100 Greatest Baseball Players as ranked by The Sporting News in 1998. Not only this, but Babe is also ranked as the most recognized athlete, an accolade he shares with Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer. This ranking takes into account 800 famous athletes whether dead or living that have made an impact on the sports they participated in.
But the iconic status of the man does not end there. In a 1999 survey by ESPN, 97% of Americans 12 years old and over identified closely with Ali and Ruth. This in turn also makes him the third greatest US athlete of the 20th century behind Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.
The baseball great is survived to this day by his lone daughter Julia Ruth Stevens, 93 who lives in New Hampshire. Julia to this day vows to keep the name her father and also to tell stories of the baseball great to anyone who will listen. In her own words, he was not only a great baseball player but also a great father, and the world should not forget who he was and what he has done for the sport of baseball.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Dillon Gee
In a season full of key injuries and negative financial news, the Mets have found one bright spot.... Dillon Gee.
This rookie is pitching like an ace.
Gee outpitched Jair Jurrjens to remain unbeaten this season, and Jose Reyes hit a bases-loaded triple, leading New York past the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Saturday night.
"I was really impressed because it was a game that we needed some zeros," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He's proved that he can pitch at this level and have success. All he does is give you quality outings."
The Mets took advantage of an error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez to score five times in the seventh inning.
New York's bullpen kept a lead with Pedro Beato and Tim Byrdak combining for two perfect innings to close end it.
"Better than the last few I watched," Collins said.
The Mets set an unwanted major league record Friday night: Their last six home losses have all come in games in which they led in the seventh inning. The bullpen had a 10.57 ERA over the previous 12 games.
Gee (6-0) won his fourth straight start, needing only 85 pitches to get through seven innings before he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Showing smarts and poise again, he allowed four hits and walked two while finishing with a pair of strikeouts.
"He was definitely on top of his game. He was basically doing anything he wanted tonight," Braves slugger Chipper Jones said. "Fastball in and out. Changeup, bottom dropping out of the changeup. Cutter, which is something we were seeing for the first time. Just really, really kept us off balance."
Gee became the first rookie in club history to win his first six decisions in a season as a starter. Jon Matlack, the 1972 NL Rookie of the Year, opened 6-0 with one win out of the bullpen.
"I think the confidence factor is really good right now," Gee said. "I'm glad to be helping the team. I don't read too much into it. I'm pitching to contact, changing speeds."
New York has won all eight of Gee's starts this season, making him the only pitcher who has made at least five starts without his team losing any of them.
This rookie is pitching like an ace.
Gee outpitched Jair Jurrjens to remain unbeaten this season, and Jose Reyes hit a bases-loaded triple, leading New York past the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Saturday night.
"I was really impressed because it was a game that we needed some zeros," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He's proved that he can pitch at this level and have success. All he does is give you quality outings."
The Mets took advantage of an error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez to score five times in the seventh inning.
New York's bullpen kept a lead with Pedro Beato and Tim Byrdak combining for two perfect innings to close end it.
"Better than the last few I watched," Collins said.
The Mets set an unwanted major league record Friday night: Their last six home losses have all come in games in which they led in the seventh inning. The bullpen had a 10.57 ERA over the previous 12 games.
Gee (6-0) won his fourth straight start, needing only 85 pitches to get through seven innings before he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Showing smarts and poise again, he allowed four hits and walked two while finishing with a pair of strikeouts.
"He was definitely on top of his game. He was basically doing anything he wanted tonight," Braves slugger Chipper Jones said. "Fastball in and out. Changeup, bottom dropping out of the changeup. Cutter, which is something we were seeing for the first time. Just really, really kept us off balance."
Gee became the first rookie in club history to win his first six decisions in a season as a starter. Jon Matlack, the 1972 NL Rookie of the Year, opened 6-0 with one win out of the bullpen.
"I think the confidence factor is really good right now," Gee said. "I'm glad to be helping the team. I don't read too much into it. I'm pitching to contact, changing speeds."
New York has won all eight of Gee's starts this season, making him the only pitcher who has made at least five starts without his team losing any of them.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Shaq retires
Shaq O'Neal, 39, made his retirement official, reiterating what he revealed in a video posted to Twitter two days earlier that his NBA playing days are over. Saying those words where he did brought a full-circle piece of closure to his career, since it all ended at his home in a suburb of Orlando, the city where his pro days began when the Magic made him the No. 1 pick in 1992.
''Never thought this day would come,'' O'Neal said. ''Father Time has finally caught up with Shaquille O'Neal.''
Speculation has been high for weeks that O'Neal's playing days were over, and what was widely expected became real on Wednesday. It took him 10 seconds to announce his plan in a video posted to Twitter, and as few athletes in the world could do, those 10 seconds turned into a three-day story. Tributes have poured in since, and on Friday, O'Neal thanked just about everyone he could remember.
His parents, thanking his father for his disciplinary ways and his mother for sneaking him cake, milk and cookies when that discipline prevented the boy from getting his own. His brothers and sisters. His six children, who got an apology for his schedule demands and a promise that they would keep going to Toys ''R'' Us. His fans worldwide. The NBA and Commissioner David Stern. The camaraderie in the locker room. The six teams he played with.
''And I'm really going to miss the free throws,'' deadpanned O'Neal, a notoriously bad foul-shooter.
A joker, all the way to the end.
He would not have it any other way.
He insisted he will not return, nor will he coach anyone but his three sons. His career ends with 28,596 points, 13,099 rebounds, 15 All-Star selections, four championships and three NBA finals MVP awards.
''Never thought this day would come,'' O'Neal said. ''Father Time has finally caught up with Shaquille O'Neal.''
Speculation has been high for weeks that O'Neal's playing days were over, and what was widely expected became real on Wednesday. It took him 10 seconds to announce his plan in a video posted to Twitter, and as few athletes in the world could do, those 10 seconds turned into a three-day story. Tributes have poured in since, and on Friday, O'Neal thanked just about everyone he could remember.
His parents, thanking his father for his disciplinary ways and his mother for sneaking him cake, milk and cookies when that discipline prevented the boy from getting his own. His brothers and sisters. His six children, who got an apology for his schedule demands and a promise that they would keep going to Toys ''R'' Us. His fans worldwide. The NBA and Commissioner David Stern. The camaraderie in the locker room. The six teams he played with.
''And I'm really going to miss the free throws,'' deadpanned O'Neal, a notoriously bad foul-shooter.
A joker, all the way to the end.
He would not have it any other way.
He insisted he will not return, nor will he coach anyone but his three sons. His career ends with 28,596 points, 13,099 rebounds, 15 All-Star selections, four championships and three NBA finals MVP awards.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Gary Carter
The tumors in Hall of Fame Mets catcher Gary Carter's brain appear to be malignant, according to a statement released Friday night by doctors at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
"Following a thorough examination and assessment of Gary Carter, biopsies were performed this morning from a tumor located in Mr. Carter's brain," the statement read. "The preliminary results are that his tumor appears to be malignant. Once the pathology report is available, which will take several days, we will discuss treatment options with Mr. Carter and his family.
"In the meantime, Mr. Carter is in excellent spirits and good physical condition. He is resting comfortably, surrounded by his family. We hope that his friends and fans will continue to pray for Mr. Carter and his family during this time."
"Following a thorough examination and assessment of Gary Carter, biopsies were performed this morning from a tumor located in Mr. Carter's brain," the statement read. "The preliminary results are that his tumor appears to be malignant. Once the pathology report is available, which will take several days, we will discuss treatment options with Mr. Carter and his family.
"In the meantime, Mr. Carter is in excellent spirits and good physical condition. He is resting comfortably, surrounded by his family. We hope that his friends and fans will continue to pray for Mr. Carter and his family during this time."
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