May 1- St. Louis Cardinals

Growing up, I never had an issue with the St. Louis Cardinals. They had won the 1982 World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers a few months before I was born, and I honestly don’t recall watching the 1985 World Series when they lost to the Kansas City Royals. My only experience I can really remember from the 1980s was when they lost to the Minnesota Twins in the 1987 World Series in seven games. It would be the last real season of greatness for Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog as the 1990s would usher in the Joe Torre era of Cardinals baseball. The extent of my knowledge of the Cardinals at the time relied heavily upon the Topps baseball cards I collected and the occasional games I’d catch on TV whenever they played the Atlanta Braves or Chicago Cubs. To be honest, the only reason I ever cared about catching any bit of the game was for the same reason any kid growing up in the 80s and 90s would, to watch Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith do his tumbling act as he took to the field. If I had the patience to actually watch the game back then I always made sure to catch the at-bats for Smith, Vince Coleman and Willie McGee, as they were my favorite players from those squads. Yes, those mediocre years for the Cardinals were some of my favorite to watch.

I have a much more vivid memory of the first day when I started hating the Cardinals; April 1, 1996, the first day of the Tony LaRussa era. As a die-hard Oakland Athletics fan for a solid 26 years of my life, there are very few moments of absolute anguish in my baseball fandom, but LaRussa jumping ship from the bay to take the helm for the Cards is definitely in my Top-five. I was 13-years-old at the time and I was finally starting to get a grasp on all of the historical numbers within Major League Baseball. The one that shot out at me the hardest back then was the number nine; as in nine World Series championships won by both the A’s and Cardinals. The New York Yankees were, and still are virtually uncatchable; however, being number two on the list was a nice little token to keep in one’s pocket. 1996 was an especially scary year for A’s fans on account of the Cardinals coming within one game of playing in the World Series that year. Luckily for us, the Braves owned the 1990s in the National League, and took down the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series in seven games. I should also point out that it really sucked to see Dennis Eckersley follow LaRussa to St. Louis as well.

In 1997 the world kind of righted itself out as the Cardinals fell back in the standings to a level of mediocrity that I recalled from my earlier years. All was going well until the trade deadline on July 31^st; the last day I would ever see Mark McGwire in an A’s uniform. My favorite player was gone; and he of course broke the single-season home run record in his first full season in 1998. As happy I was for his accomplishment I couldn’t help but think of how much more fitting it would have been to see him do it in the green and gold.

2006 was a great year to be an A’s fan. Years of hard work and sacrifice finally paid off as the A’s got out of the American League Division Series in a 3-0 sweep of the Twins, the team that had shattered our hopes in the same series during our magical 2002 “Moneyball” run. The Cardinals had progressed as well into the NLCS and we had a seemingly easy battle ahead of us in the American league Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers, but alas, our date with destiny failed to be. The Tigers smoked the A’s in four games and proceeded to get thwarted four games to one in the World Series against the Cardinals. The World Series tie was broken. The A’s were now the third best team in MLB history. 2011 made matters worse as the Cardinals once again held the crown high after winning and epic seven-game series against the Texas Rangers.

I had the highest of hopes going into the 2012 season as the A’s representative in the MLB Fan Cave, but I also had some stiff competition from the Cardinals rep Kyle Thompson. During the Top-30 audition process in Arizona I got a feel for him and went back to Oregon not being overtly impressed by him, but I had a strong feeling that he would make his way to New York with me. My intuition was sharp as this became a reality. I don’t dwell too much on our interaction in this post, but I assure that it will come up farther down the road. All I can tell you is that if all Cardinals were like Kyle, any justification I have for hating Cardinals fans would be legitimate.

On April 13, 2012 the Cardinals celebrated their home opener against the Chicago Cubs and it became the only day that I would ever wear Cardinals gear in the Fan Cave. It became quickly known by everyone inside and outside of the Fan Cave that I had an array of gear from every team. Even though I was there to represent the A’s I always felt it was more of my duty to represent baseball for all of the fans who did not have a representative. I care about the game too much to be a one dimensional fan. So, knowing that I had a few family friends in attendance at Busch Stadium that day, all of which had signs of support for me in the Fan Cave if they ever got on TV, I wore my Bob Gibson player-T and a Cardinals hat to show my support. Everyone was cool with this; everyone except Kyle. One of the deals I had made with the other eight Cave Dwellers was that I would never wear any gear for their team if any players or representatives came into the Fan Cave. I knew that this was their day and I did not want to spoil their fun in any way. Since this was an Opening Day occasion and we weren’t exactly celebrating anything in the Fan Cave that day, I didn’t see a big deal in what I was doing. My reasons were justified and I didn’t exactly do anything to shift the attention to myself, especially considering that the cameras were NOT rolling that day. But to Kyle, I had invaded his turf. This would be the first time that he and I had a bit of a spat. I just shrugged it off and told him to relax, something he apparently didn’t want to hear. As confrontational as I can be I didn’t want this situation to make anyone look bad so I just let it slide. Besides, the games were starting. It’s not like I had time to go back to the apartment and change. I suppose I could have just walked around shirtless, showing off my tattoos, but I’m pretty sure that would have been taken as attention-getting as well. So, I did the only thing I could do… watch the game.

I didn’t know much of what the Cardinals had planned for the day as there was a slight drizzle falling upon the crowd which had postponed the ceremonies for a bit. Then, in a little white golf cart, out came Stan Musial. I’ve never had much of a problem with teams bringing out players from their past for such an occasion, but this is one of the few times I remember feeling uncomfortable. Musial’s health was visibly fading fast, and it really didn’t look like he wanted to be there; however, he put on a smile and went out to the pitchers mound to greet the sold out crowd in typical Stan the Man fashion. He was 91-years-old, but he could still light up the room from his presence alone. One of the greatest to ever play the game, he owned that day, even in the short period of time he was there to congratulate the team on winning the World Series the previous year. In an instant it was over. Musial was carted off the field the same way he came in, but all of use knew that this was probably going to be one of the last times we’d ever see him. On January 19 of this year Musial passed away at the age of 92 at his home in Laude, Missouri. The last hero from the Golden Era of baseball was gone.

I had wanted to pick up a vintage Cardinals cap for years, but my angst toward the team had always stepped in the way. To make matters worse, my opinion of Kyle had spilled over into my social media content and I really wanted nothing to do with the Cardinals. It would take months before I could even bring myself to watching or talking about the team publicly, and the thing that made everything click was my trip to St. Louis on September 8 as the Cardinals took on the Brewers. I had kept to myself for most of the game, not really wanting to interact with anyone, and trying to avoid a confrontation. To my amazement small groups of people spotted me sitting in the centerfield bleachers and came over to introduce themselves to me. Everyone I chatted with recognized me from my time in the Fan Cave and every one of them asked why I wasn’t there anymore. In so few words I did my best to explain that it was a “business decision” and that Kyle was one of the roots of that move. Of all the people I talked to, not a single one liked Kyle. They all felt he was making Cardinals fans look “psychotic” and “uneducated.” I just sat and listened with a cracked smile on my face. I was so happy that I was not the only one who saw this. Needless to say, my illusions of the Cardinals and their fans changed for the better that night. I had a blast. The mascot became one of my biggest fans after I took a picture with him and I was regaled by stories from the Musial days by a few of the older couples strewn about the crowd. I also got a phone number from a Cardinals fan who was on vacation from LSU, but nothing happened. I think the one thing I took away from my trip to Busch Stadium was an education of how my emotions had gotten the better of me for years. I still hate the team, from a sports competition perspective, but I have a greater respect for the people who help the fan base thrive. For that, I finally broke down and picked up some classic Cardinals caps.

This cap in particular is one of two I really wanted to have in my collection. I picked it up from a Web site called MickeysPlace.com, a shop based out of Cooperstown, New York who specializes in classic memorabilia. Most of the old school hats in my collection have come from here and I have no means of stopping shopping with them anytime soon. This was the third period of Cardinals hat to feature any kind of a logo on the front of the cap since 1893. The first two eras I have yet to find for sale, but I’m not one to let that stop me. This cap was used from 1940-1955; first as their home and alternate road cap in 1940 until it took over as their game cap from 1941-1950. In 1951-1952 the Cardinals used it as their home only cap as they had introduced the same cap with a navy blue bill as their road cap for those two seasons. Then, in 1953-1955, the Cardinals went back to the red billed cap for home and away games until switching to the navy blue billed cap for all of their games starting in 1956. Even though Musial missed only one year of wearing this cap (1940) throughout its existence I couldn’t think of anyone better to pay tribute to.

.331/475/1951- This will probably go down as one of the longest marks I’ve written on any of my caps. Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, the fifth of Lukasz and Mary (Lancos) Musiał's six children (four girls and two boys). His mother was of Czech descent and his father was a Polish immigrant who chose the name Stanisław Franciszek for his first son, though his father always referred to Musial using the Polish nickname Stasiu, pronounced "Stashu." Musial frequently played baseball with his brother Ed and other friends during his childhood, and considered Lefty Grove of the Philadelphia Athletics his favorite ballplayer. Musial also had the benefit of learning about baseball from his neighbor Joe Barbao, a former minor league pitcher. When he enrolled in school, his name was formally changed to Stanley Frank Musial.
At age 15 Musial joined the Donora Zincs, a semi-professional team managed by Barbao.  In his Zincs debut he pitched six innings and struck out 13 batters, all of them adults. Musial also played one season on the newly revived Donora High School baseball team, where one of his teammates was Buddy Griffey, father of MLB player Ken Griffey, Sr. and grandfather to Ken Griffey, Jr. Baseball statistician Bill James described the younger Griffey, in comparison to Musial, as "the second-best left-handed hitting, left-handed throwing outfielder ever born in Donora, Pennsylvania, on November 21."

Musial had received a scholarship offer to play basketball from the University of Pennsylvania, but opted to sign with the Cardinals as a free agent. Musial's father initially resisted the idea of his son pursuing a baseball career, but reluctantly gave his consent after lobbying by both Musial and his mother. Musial also credited his school librarian Helen Kloz for pointing out that baseball was his dream and advising him to pursue it professionally. In what was then a common practice, the Cardinals did not file the contract with the baseball commissioner's office until June 1938. This preserved Musial's amateur eligibility, and he was still able to participate in high school sports, leading Donora High School's basketball team to a playoff appearance. He then reported to the Cardinals' Class D affiliate in West Virginia, the Williamson Red Birds.

Musial’s minor league days had its ups and downs. He married Lillian Labash on May 25, 1940 and the couple’s first child followed in August. His playing days took a turn for the worst shortly after as he suffered a shoulder injury that same month while playing in the outfield. For a while Musial considered leaving baseball entirely, complaining that he could not afford to support himself and his wife on the $16 a week pay. His then manager and lifetime friend Dickie Kerr talked him out of it, and even took the Musials into his own home to relieve the financial burden. To repay the debt Musial bought Kerr a $20,000 home in Houston in 1958. In 113 games in 1940 he hit .311, while compiling an 18–5 pitching record that included 176 strikeouts and 145 walks.

Musial was assigned to the Class AA Columbus Red Birds to begin 1941, though manager, Burt Shotton, and Musial himself quickly realized that the previous year's injury had considerably weakened his arm. He was reassigned to the Class C Springfield Cardinals as a full-time outfielder, and he later credited manager, Ollie Vanek, for displaying confidence in his hitting ability. During 87 games with Springfield Musial hit a league-leading .379, before being promoted to the Rochester Red Wings of the International League. He was noted for his unique batting stance, a crouch in which his back was seemingly square to the pitcher. This stance was later described by pitcher, Ted Lyons, as "a kid peeking around the corner to see if the cops were coming". According to a 1950 description by author Tom Meany, "The bent knees and the crouch give him the appearance of a coiled spring, although most pitchers think of him as a coiled rattlesnake." Musial continued to play well in Rochester—in one three-game stretch, he had 11 hits. He was called up to the Cardinals for the last two weeks of the 1941 season. Musial made his MLB debut on September 17, 1941 and played in the final 12 games of the season. In the 47 at-bats he received he made every one of them count, going .417 with 20 hits, a home run, seven RBI and scoring eight runs. Musial would never see a game in the Minor Leagues again throughout his playing career.

Everything I’ve ever know about Musial has come from watching old game footage from the likes of Ken Burns Baseball and the amazing stories I’ve heard over the years from older fans who witnessed him play when they were kids. It kind of bums me out when I do these longer posts on the legends of the game and I have no personal account of seeing them play. Most of their stories I have to piece together from encyclopedias and stat sheets, but what’s most impressive about Musial is how much you can derive from his playing years simply by looking at the numbers. In 1942 there was a Rookie of the Year award, but not on the grand scale like it is today. Sports writers in each league awarded one up-and-coming star per league (like today) and that was about it. There wasn’t any kind of a formal award until 1947. But, what I can tell you about 1942 is that had there been such an award, Musial would have won it easily. In his first full season in the Majors Musial finished in 12^th place for the NL MVP. Four of his teammates finished ahead of him and only one of them had a better batting average than he did: Enos Slaughter at .318. Musial’s .315 average was something to boast about. Very few had seen such consistency out of someone so young and very few thought it would last. Boy were they wrong. 1942 was also an interesting year because it would be marked as the ONLY full season that Musial would play in which he didn’t make the All-Star roster. That’s right; Musial made 20 consecutive All-Star appearances with the exception of 1945 which I’ll get to in a moment.

In 1943 Musial proved his worth by winning the first of seven batting titles he’d attain throughout his career. He hit .357 and lead the league in: triples (20), doubles (48) and hits (200). That season he won his first of three NL MVP awards, beating out his teammate Walker Cooper that year who had finished one spot ahead of him in voting the previous year. Musial would go on to win the NL MVP award two more times in 1946 and 1948, each time leading the league in average, triples, doubles, hits, runs and RBI once in 1948 with 131. 1945 was the only year from 1942-1958 where Musial was not on the NL MVP list due to the fact that he had been drafted into the US Navy to fight for his country in World War II. His military career would last 15 months. He never saw combat during his time as he was assigned to rebuild ship in Pearl Harbor.

In his return to baseball in 1946 Musial received his moniker during a game at Ebbets Field. During the Cardinals June 23rd game against the Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Bob Broeg heard Dodger fans chanting whenever Musial came to bat, but could not understand the words. Later that day over dinner, Broeg asked Cardinals traveling secretary Leo Ward if he had understood what the Dodger fans had been chanting. Ward said, "Every time Stan came up they chanted, 'Here comes the man!'" "'That man,' you mean", Broeg said. "No, the man", replied Ward. Broeg mentioned this story in his Post-Dispatch column, and Musial was thereafter known as Stan "The Man".

In 1959 Musial lost a bit of his step, which he later contributed to “improper physical conditioning.” It would be one of three years in which he would not be in the running for the NL MVP as he hit a career-worst .255 that season. That’s really funny to think about considering that most currently player would kill to have that as their best average in a season. But what do you expect from a guy who hit .331 lifetime? Musial was so displeased by his performance that he took a $20,000 pay cut to prove that he could do better and enlisted the help of Walter Eberhardt, the director of physical education at St. Louis University. In 1960 he finished 16^th for the NL MVP, hitting .275 on the season, but failed to make the list in 1961 despite hitting .288. In 1962 he finished in 10^th despite hitting .330 with 19 home runs and 82 RBI. It’s kind of incredible that he finished so low if you ever take a chance to look at the who finished ahead of him.

Musial's last game, on September 29, 1963, was preceded by an hour-long retirement ceremony. Speakers at the event included baseball commissioner Ford Frick, Cardinals broadcaster Harry Caray, and Cardinals owner Gussie Busch, who announced that Musial's uniform number "6" would be retired by the team. During the game, Musial recorded a single in the fourth inning, and then hit a single to right field that scored teammate Curt Flood in the sixth. Cardinals’ manager Johnny Keane brought in Gary Kolb as a pinch-runner for Musial, bringing his major league career to an end. Just as he had recorded two base hits in his major league debut, Musial finished his last game with two hits, as well. Musial would finish with the all time National League record and second to only Ty Cobb on the all time Major League list. Musial's last hit in his career was hit past the Cincinnati Reds second baseman at the time, Pete Rose, who would later break Cobb's record to become the all time hit king.

Musial ended his playing career with 3,630 hits, a .311 average, 475 home runs and 1,951 RBI. He as inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. He is, and will forever be the face of the organization.

One thing that I learned about Musial during my time in St. Louis, and then again a few weeks ago in Tampa was that he was quite the accomplished harmonica player which included his rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". Through the 1990s, he frequently played the harmonica at public gatherings, such as the annual Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony and various charity events.  He performed on the television show Hee Haw and in 1994 and recorded 18 songs that were sold in tandem with a harmonica-playing instruction booklet.

In 2010 the Cardinals launched a campaign to build support for awarding Musial the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his lifetime of achievement and service. The campaign realized its goal, and on February 15, 2011, Musial was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama who called him "an icon untarnished, a beloved pillar of the community, a gentleman you'd want your kids to emulate."

I never got to see him again when he made his last public appearance before Game four of the 2012 NLCS, but from what I heard, it wasn’t much different than when I saw him on TV in the Fan Cave for Opening Day. It was hard enough seeing someone who had touched so many lives in such a weakened state, but that unfortunately is the sad reality of life. At some point we’ll all get to that state, but it’s how we adapt to it is what truly tests our character. Musial was a great guy through-and-through, and I have felt so awful for the years of anger I had toward the fans who adored him. I still have my beef with the team, but all for the sake of smack talk now. The Cardinals fans I got to know over the last year have truly been great and they should all be happy to have a three-time World Series champion, and all around good guy like Musial to call their own.

I shuffled through a lot of quotes about Musial and his career and I only found one that I really think summed up his life and his career perfectly. In Musial's 3,026 major league appearances, he was never ejected from a game. Speaking about his quiet reputation within the sport's history, sportscaster Bob Costas said, "He didn't hit a homer in his last at-bat; he hit a single. He didn't hit in 56 straight games. He married his high school sweetheart and stayed married to her. ... All Musial represents is more than two decades of sustained excellence and complete decency as a human being."

April 26- Chicago Cubs

It had been a little over a year since I last saw Edwin Jackson; April 10, 2012 to be exact. We had met during his visit to the MLB Fan Cave along with Ross Detwiler and Gio Gonzalez as a member of the Washington Nationals. For a full recap on that day’s events I highly suggest reading my posts from April 17 and March 13. From first introduction I learned quickly that Edwin and I are a lot alike; big kids in grown-up bodies. I had the privilege of giving the three a grand tour of the Fan Cave as I was all decked out in Nationals gear. The first stop we made was the RC-car track which Gio and Edwin tore up for a solid five minutes. We then moved on to the skee-ball machine and pool table before ending the tour in front of the stage which had guitars and a drum set affixed. I could see in Edwin’s eyes that he wanted to jump up on stage and knock some beats out as the production guys tried to go over the script with him and Gio. After the two shot their introduction scenes Edwin broke loose and jumped up on stage with sticks in hand.

He crushed it. Honestly, I never wanted anything more in that moment than to know how to play the guitar so I could jam on stage with him; however, Ricardo Marquez did know how. I walked over to him and casually asked him if he was going to play. He told me he wanted to, but was too afraid to. At which I then told him, “If I could play, I would. Now get your fucking ass up on the stage.” This was a common occurrence between the two of us in that I had to motivate him to do certain things from time-to-time. What can I say? I know when people have potential and don’t like to see them piss it away due to fear. Fear gets you nowhere in life. Anyway, Ricardo finally got up on stage, picked up a guitar and rocked out with Edwin. There was another little thing that Ricardo had set up for fellow Cave Dweller, and Atlanta Braves fan, Shaun Kippins (@Skippins) in which anytime anyone said “Skips on the dance floor” he would have to do the robot dance like the random character did on “The Chappelle Show.” This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oXgjQnPfec

So, sure enough, Skips got involved as well and I just sat back and took photos. It was random, off the cuff stuff like this that I felt made the Fan Cave an enjoyable place, but not everyone shared my vision.

I knew Edwin had a Twitter account and have been following him since that day, but I hardly ever saw him on. I wouldn’t be until the end of December that we would talk to one another again, and I have Gio Gonzalez’s Instagram account to thank for that. Gio had started his Instagram account somewhere between October and November and so I figured why not follow him. What I wasn’t expecting was a follow immediately back. I posted a few photos that I took of him from my time on the road and one of him and Edwin playing with the RC-car track. Not too long after that Edwin’s user name popped up and he started following me as well. The only just thing to do after that was follow him back and post the photo I had of him on the drums. Our dialogue rekindled from that moment.

It was the offseason , and the last thing I wanted to talk about was baseball. We caught up as best we could, mostly through the photos we were taking and posting. When Edwin got signed to a multi-year contract with the Chicago Cubs over the winter I congratulated him, but nothing really more than that. Most compliments I prefer to give in person so they mean more, but sometimes you have to make due with what you have in front of you.

My girlfriend, Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie) and I had been for me to get back see her in Florida since February, the time when she came to visit me in Eugene, Oregon. One of the things we wanted to do together was catch as many baseball games as possible. We all ready had our trip to Tampa set up to watch my Oakland Athletics play, but we didn’t have anything in Miami ready to go. I checked out the schedules and saw that the Nationals were playing the final game of their series with the Miami Marlins on the day that I was flying in. After looking a bit closer I then noticed that the Cubs were playing two games against the Marlins on the nights leading up to my original departure date back to Oregon. At the time I didn’t know who would be pitching, but I figured that if we got to any of the games early enough we could catch Edwin during batting practice. What I wasn’t expecting was that Edwin was slated to start on the night that Angie and I had tickets for the Florida Panthers final home game of the NHL season against my favorite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. I had never been to a NHL game in my life so we opted for that. Edwin went on to have a decent outing in which the Cubs won 4-3. I felt a little bad for not being there, but at the same time I have seen Edwin pitch in the past. Angie and I, along with 10 of her friends, had tickets to last night’s game, so the two of us went to Marlins Park early to try and spot Edwin during BP as originally planned. It too a little while for him to come out, but I spotted him going out to left field during the last 15 minutes of their session. Angie suggested that we go over to the section of the park to try and see him, so we did. I made sure to wait until everything was done, but within five minutes I broke two cardinal sins in my own personal ballpark etiquette.

1. I never yell at players.

I’ve touched on this issue a few times in past posts, but I’m one of those few people that goes to games to watch the game. I’ll take a few pictures of the action and my friends, but I rarely ever engage with the players unless they initiate it. A few days prior I had hit Edwin up and let him know I was going to be there, but I still felt incredibly weird when I shouted his name as things were wrapping up. But sure enough, he spotted me and came jogging over for a handshake and a hug. Not to be a complete jerk I made sure to introduce him to Angie before we caught up. We mostly talked about beard growth and how the last year has treated us, but he was all smiles, as was I.

2. I never ask players for photos.

What’s most interesting about meeting in the Fan Cave is that we never took a group shot when the Nationals came to visit. I always thought this was weird and asked him if he wouldn’t mind a photo. As the words left my mouth I was cursing myself on the inside for breaking this rule; even more so when I popped “The Shark,” with the wrong hand and failed to turn my cap around so that you can clearly see that I’m wearing a Cubs hat. I suppose I’m being too hard on myself, and he would tell me to not worry about it. I think that is one of the biggest things I respect about the guy; he gets it. When we met in the Fan Cave, he had fun. When we saw each other on the field, he had fun. And anytime we’ve chatted he genuinely means what he says; something I truly respect, as do a lot of other fans and players throughout the league.

I bought this hat a few days before I left Oregon for Florida and had it delivered to Angie’s house so I would have it for the game. It’s one that I’ve been holding off on buying for the last year or so as it is one of the few Cubs hats I didn’t all ready won. In fact, very few people outside of the Cubs fan base know it exists. The Cubbies only wore it for one season in 1957. There isn’t much of a difference between it and the classic Cubs hat the team has worn for decades, except of course for the white piping going up-and-down the panel seams. The fact that the team only used it for the one season kept things a bit limited as far as what I could write about, but I’m pretty sure you’ll all agree with where I went with it.

#14-’57: Ernie “Mr. Cub” Banks signed with Chicago as a free agent back in 1953 and made his Major League debut that same season on September 10 for the last 10 games of the regular season. For 19 years Banks donned the Cubbie pinstripes and went down in history as one of the greatest-hitting shortstops in MLB history hitting .274.512/1636 for his career. What very few people remember is that he only played shortstop from 1953-1961 and played first base predominantly throughout the rest of his career which ended at the end of the 1971 season. 1954 was his first full season which saw the budding prospect finishing the season number two on the National League Rookie of the Year campaign after going .275/19/79 on the year. St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Wally Moon took home the award that season; a season which also found Hank Aaron finishing in fourth place on the list. In ’54 Banks also finished in 16^th place for the NL MVP award, the first four consecutive years in which he would be a nominee: third in 1955, 28^th in 1956 and sixth in 1957. It’s kind of funny when you look at Banks’ numbers in comparison to his finish for the NL MVP as he more-than-likely should have won in 1955 after hitting 44 home runs and 114 RBI on the year; however, Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famers Roy Campanella and Duke Snyder felt the exact opposite as they finished one-two respectively.

1957 was an especially bad year for the Cubs as the team went 62-92 on the year under then skipper Bob Scheffing, a reign of losing seasons the team would see under the manager from 1956-1959. The only other notable player on the team that season was first baseman Dale Long, whose only claim to fame was during his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates when he became the first player in MLB history to hit a home run in eight consecutive games in 1956. For Banks, even though he had four solid full seasons under his belt, including ’57, this would be his final season finishing as a runner-up.

In 1958 and 1959 Banks became the first ever shortstop to win the NL MVP in back-to-back seasons, let alone the fifth person in MLB history (first in the NL), to pull of the feat. In ’58 he went .313/47/129 and in ’59 he went .304/45/143; he led the league in games played and RBI those two seasons. In 1960 Banks would win his one, and only Gold Glove award for his career and be named to 11 All-Star games throughout his career. Like any player who got played with the Cubs after 1908, he never won a World Series ring, as he stayed loyal to Chicago was never moved, nor did he sign with anyone else. He was elected to the National Baseball in 1977 and is one of six players to have their jersey retired by the Cubs.

March 31- Houston Colt .45s

Tonight the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros are kicking off the 2013 Major League Baseball season as the Astros make their debut in the American League. The last two years have been an interesting prelude, to say the least, when the decision to move the Astros into the AL was made roughly two days after I completed my MLB tattoo outline. Since that day I’ve received numerous questions asking how I was going to cope with that decision or whether or not I was going to skin graft the Astros tattoo to the other side. First off, skin graft!? Are you stupid? The cost of that alone would be ridiculous. But even more important, I also had the Milwaukee Brewers tattoo added to the AL side for the main reasons that their greatest success came with the AL in 1982 and I never quite accepted the relocation in the first place. I’ve always been a bit of purist when it comes to teams, especially when it comes to keeping original team names as they were intended when they first entered the league. Unfortunately over time, my thoughts have always been superseded by the owners and governing bodies of MLB. For example: the Washington Senators moving twice and becoming the Minnesota Twins and Rangers before I was born, the Montreal Expos becoming the Washington Nationals and the Seattle Pilots becoming the Brewers. Finally, there’s the team/hat, the Houston Colt .45s.

This season the Astros are trying to avoid becoming the second team to lose at least 106 games in at least three consecutive seasons, a mark established by the expansion 1962-1965 New York Mets. What’s most interesting about this stat is that the Colt .45s became an expansion team in the National League the same year as the Mets. Also, the Colt .45s name only lasted from 1962-1964, the same time frame as the first three 106+ loss seasons of the streak. This hat was one of the first few that I picked up when I started actively collecting New Era caps. I have always thought that this is one of the coolest hats released; it’s simple, much like most of the classic hats that have survived for more than 40 years in the league. What has become most important to me with this team, let alone the hat, is that it baseball fans don’t lose sight off this as a mark in history of MLB. When I was in the MLB Fan Cave last year I only asked for one thing during my time, a Colt .45s jersey. I was told that wouldn’t be a problem, just as long as I never wore it inside the Fan Cave because of the gun blazing across the chest. I complied, but I never got the jersey. The one thing I always found incredibly funny amount the conditions behind getting the jersey was that I had the gun from the jersey tattooed on my body…

Like I said, I’m a purist. I captured every era of Colt .45s/Astros baseball within one tattoo because the things matter to me.

When I marked up this cap there were only two names that made the most sense, and no, they’re not Joe Morgan or Nellie Fox. Morgan was originally draft by Houston and went on to have a Hall of Fame career. Fox ended his Hall of Fame career with Houston, but neither of them made a great impact on the team. These two guys were essential to the team.

#32- Jim Umbricht made his MLB debut on September 26, 1959 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1959 and 1961 Umbricht only pitched in one game per season; however, in 1960 he started three games and came out of the bullpen for 14 others. Umbricht unfortunately didn’t make the playoff roster during the 1960 season; however, he played in enough games to help the Pirates win the NL pennant and earn a World Series ring. His numbers with the Pirates weren’t much to sniff at: 1-2 with 5.12 ERA and 30 strikeouts, and he found himself of the expansion draft list for the upcoming 1962 season. With the 35^th pick the Colt .45s took Umbricht.

Umbricht made 34 appearances out of the bullpen in 1962 and finished the season as one of the most dominant players on the team. He went 4-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 55 strikeouts. Not too bad for a guy who never got much playing time for the first few years of his career. At the beginning of spring training for the 1963 season, Umbricht noticed a small black mole in his right leg, near the thigh while on a golf outing with Richards. Umbricht ignored the mole at first, but it grew at a rapid pace. Richards and team trainer Jim Ewell told Umbricht to have it checked out by a doctor back in Houston. A three-inch section of the mole was removed for testing and a doctor confirmed it was a "black mole" tumor that had spread to his groin area. A lifelong clean-cut bachelor, Umbricht had developed a reputation as a cheerful person who only cared about others' well-being. Ewell, the team trainer said, Umbricht "had the most wonderful attitude of anyone you'll ever meet". As a result, Umbricht's cancer diagnosis shocked baseball and made national headlines. On March 7, Umbricht underwent a six-hour operation using perfusion to remove the tumor from his right leg. The perfusion technique was radical at the time, and began to be used as a surgical procedure not long before Umbricht's surgery. After a month-long hospital stay, Umbricht and his doctors told the media that he beat the cancer, crediting "early detection and good physical condition," further stating that he "should have five or six good years left" in his baseball career. Umbricht, however, learned that the doctors were unsure if the cancer surgery was a success, or even if it had been completely removed from his body. Even if it was, his chance of survival was slim at best. Upon hearing the news, Umbricht decided to keep it a secret outside his immediate family. That season Umbricht made 35 appearances and started three of those games. He went 4-3 with a 2.61 ERA and 48 strikeouts and a .961 WHIP. For a guy who had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor, find out that the operation wasn’t a 100 percent success and then go back to playing baseball is beyond an incredible accomplishment. But sadly, September 29, 1963 would turn out to be Umbricht’s final game.

In the last month of the season Umbricht's cancer had started to spread throughout his body and he needed to be sedated at times because of the pain. In November, Umbricht learned that the cancer spread to his chest area and was incurable. He was released from his contract on December 16 due to his deteriorating health. The National League allowed the Colts to sign Umbricht to a scout contract given the circumstances, with the proviso that it would become a player contract if he rejoined the active roster. By the time 1964 came around Umbricht’s health was progressively getting worse. He didn’t make the trip to Cocoa Beach to meet with the team for Spring Training as he was in-and-out of the hospital. On March 16^th Umbricht checked into the hospital for the last time with the hopes that a third operation would be the last needed. During his final hospital stay, the Colts' management, his family and the hospital staff agreed not to release any further details about his illness, though word had leaked that he was dying. He remained optimistic that he would beat the illness until his final days, stating that "everything will be ok" in an interview with United Press International sports Editor Milton Richman. Umbricht succumbed to the disease on April 8, 1964 in the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Umbricht's death came on the eve of the Colts' 1964 season.

The team wore black patched on their sleeves for the 1964 season and the newly renamed Astros retired his number in 1965. He was 33-years-old when he passed.

#49- Lawrence Edward Dierker was signed as a free agent by the Colt .45s in 1964 and made his MLB debut on September 22 of that same year. He pitched in three games going 0-1 with a 2.00 ERA and five strikeouts in the final year in the history of Colt .45s name. From 1965-1976 Dierker played for the Astros making two All-Star Game appearances in 1969 and 1971 and finished 23^rd in the NL MVP vote going 20-13 with a 2.33 ERA, 232 strikeouts and 305.1 innings pitched; all career bests, yet for some reason he wasn’t even considered for the NL Cy Young award. The rest of Dierker’s playing career was welcomed with modest success. His final year came in 1977 with the St. Louis Cardinals, but his Colt .45s/Astros run ended with a record of 139-123, an ERA of 3.28 and 1493 strikeouts.

From 1979 to 1996 Dierker switched up to a broadcasting position as the color commentator for the Astros’ radio and television broadcasts until he took over as the Astros manager in 1997. From 1997-2001 Dierker managed the team to a NL Central division title in every season except 2000 when they finished in fourth place. Dierker won the NL Manager of the Year award in 1998 and he finished his career with a record of 435-348. In 1999, Dierker had a close brush with death during a game against the San Diego Padres. The Houston manager had been plagued by severe headaches for several days. During the game, Dierker had a seizure that rendered him unconscious. He required emergency brain surgery for a cavernous angioma and after four weeks of recovery, returned to the helm of the Astros and guided the team through the duration of the season. The Astros won 97 games and a third consecutive National League Central Division title.

Dierker returned to the broadcast booth from 2004-2005 and up until March 23 of this year he worked with the Astros front office serving as the community outreach executive. Dierker’s number was retired by the Astros on May 19, 2002. This season will be only the third year since his rookie year in 1964 that Dierker won’t be a part of the team.

If you need an idea of how bad things may potentially be in Houston this season, just think about that last stat. It’s a damn shame. In my opinion, he’s more iconic of a figure in the history of the Astros than Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Jose Cruz and Mike Scott.

March 28- Philadelphia Phillies

I don’t watch a terrible amount of television these days; however, there are a small handful of shows that I couldn’t live without: “The League,” “South Park,” “Justified” and most important “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” If you’re reading this article and you’ve never seen “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” seriously stop reading this right now and go watch all seven seasons immediately. I’m dead serious! You’re not only missing out on one of the most creative and clever shows on television, but you’re also missing out on an essential component of my dynamic.

Believe it or not I’ve seen every episode at least five times; the first through third seasons I’ve plowed through at least 20 times each.  With the exception of “The Simpsons” and maybe the short-lived “Ben Stiller Show,” never has a television program had such a profound impact on my day-to-day life. For example, the last three years of my life were spent schlepping beers and shots at a public house in Eugene, Oregon called Max’s Tavern. The really interesting things about Max’s is that

1.”The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening modeled Moe’s Tavern after Max’s as it was his old drinking hole in college, much like myself.

2. Kaitlin Olson, the actress who plays Sweet Dee Reynolds on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” also used to drink at Max’s when she went to school at the University of Oregon.

3. I just graduated from the University of Oregon and I drink at Max’s when I’m not working.

Ok, maybe that last part wasn’t interesting at all, but the first two definitely are. Almost every night behind the bar, for me at least, was like channeling Mac, Dennis and Charlie. I didn’t put up with anybody’s crap, I cleaned up after people a lot and I flirted with anything that had boobs. As for the Frank and Sweet Dee traits, I’m a pretty decent businessman and I suppose I do have some bird-like qualities. I mean, my school’s mascot is a duck. But like in the spirit of “It’s Always Sunny…,” I never really know when to shut my mouth.

For those of you who have followed me for the past year, I congratulate you. I know at times I tend to just fire some pretty out there opinions on major issues, but with that I’m also not one to flip-flop. I stand by my word. I also never stab people in the back, which I suppose is the one quality I don’t share with the gang. But, like the gang, we’re all baseball fans.

Hands down one of the funniest episodes from the show is “World Series Defense.” I’ll try to break it down: Dennis goes to court with the gang due to an insane amount of parking tickets he received while he and the gang were locked in a utility closet at the Oliday Inn (I didn’t spell that wrong) in an attempt to go through the visiting team’s secret tunnel in order watch Game 5 of the World Series after their tickets went missing. Throughout the episode we find out that Sweet Dee will try to fun onto the field when “the Phillies go up by a ton of runs in the bottom of the ninth at which Dennis and Mac will start fighting each other to create a diversion.” Yes, I see everything wrong with the sentence, but it’s all correct information. When Frank realizes he left the tickets back at his and Charlie’s apartment he, Sweet Dee and Mac go to fetch them while Charlie and Dennis go to Citizens Bank Park to scalp tickets… or con somebody out of theirs. Sweet Dee, Frank and Mac get poisoned because Frank forgot the apartment complex is spraying for bed bugs but only after Mac admitted that he’s in love with Chase Utley (like a brother) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU4w9FaSZ5M, Dennis gets hit by a car trying to fake an injury after Charlie pushed him in front and then Charlie got his ass hammered by passionate Phillies fans after Charlie got big leagued by, and took down the Philly Phranetic (spelling is correct). I feel like I’m rambling on much too long on this synopsis, but I guess that’s your fault for having not seen the episode or show… if you haven’t that is. The point is, I love baseball, and I love “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Here’s proof…

I’d say up until this point about 90% of what I wrote was merely a lead-in about my tattoo. What can I say? I can ramble at times. This hat; however, has been around since the start of the 2008 season and has served as the Phillies alternate cap for that time. One thing about this is that it’s actually a modified re-release of the team’s alternate hat from the 1994 season. The only difference is that the 1994 hat had blue panels and a blue bill. You know what? Now that I think about it, in conjunction with last night’s Detroit Tigers post, there were a lot of hats only used for a handful of games in 1994. What upsets me about this realization is that it is next to impossible to find the ’94 alternate Phillies cap. I’ve only known two people to have it: my friend Eric and fellow Cave Dweller Gordon Mack who rubbed it in my face that he had it and I didn’t. I really should have stolen it. Oh well.

As for the numbers, I have to refer to the “It’s Always Sunny…” episode “The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods.”

#11- Actually, this one not so much. Jimmy Rollins is a hell of a ballplayer. He was drafted in the second round of the 1996 amateur draft out of Encinal High School in Alameda, California. A lot of Oakland Athletics fans, including myself, would have loved to have him on the team. It took him a while to get through the Minors, but he made his debut in 2000 and made his rookie campaign in 2001. In his first full year he went .274/14/54 with a League leading 12 triples and a League leading 46 stolen bases. Somehow those numbers weren’t good enough to finish higher than third in the National League Rookie of the Year vote. I suppose that’ll happen when you have to go against Albert Pujols.

Rollins has been a spectacular five-tool player: he’s won four Gold Glove awards at shortstop, one Silver Slugger award in 2007 and has made three All-Star Game appearances. Even though this hat debuted in 2008, it was Rollins’s 2007 that made him a top tier player in MLB. That season Rollins took home his only NL MVP of his career as he went .296/30/94 and led the League with 20 triples and a League leading 139 runs. Oh yah, he did all of this as a leadoff hitter too. Basically he put all of Lenny Dykstra’s 1993 to shame. One other import detail about Rollins is that he a 38-game hit streak that lasted the last 36 games of 2005 and the first two games of 2006.

#26- So now I have to re-establish the episode “The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods.” Frank donated a ton of money to the SPCA and they decided to reward Frank for his service by throwing a reception in Atlantic City. Frank was also able to spring for Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to make an appearance at the party as well. I should point out that the whole reason Frank did this was to flaunt his leather suit and tell the SPCA off; however, Frank hates to pay tolls and decided to take all the back roads from Philly to AC at which Mac caused them to veer off the road as a squirrel ran out into the road. Only Dennis and Charlie decide to go for help at which the two run across a shady truck driver played by Tom Sizemore. Yaaaaahhhh… after he gets them to AC he offers to “tender their services” in the form of “opening him up like a coconut.” Use your imagination. Anyway, Dennis and Charlie make it to the hotel where the party is at and the two take on the roles of Frank (Charlie) and Mac (Dennis). And then this happened… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShjZ_PR3gIw

Dennis sends the photo he took to Mac and he becomes upset. As for Utley, he’s had a pretty solid little career. He was the 15^th overall pick by the Phillies in the 2000 amateur draft out of UCLA and made his MLB debut three years later. As Mac said in the first video, Utley certainly is a power-hitting second baseman, a rare quality. His best years were from 2005-2010 as he finished in the Top-15 for NL MVP voting in all of those years except 2010 and he made the All-Star team every year except for 2005. Funny. He’s a career .288 hitter and has so far tagged 199 home runs and 739 RBI. He’s led the Majors in hit-by-pitch three years in a row from 2007-2009 and is arguably one of the most liked players in Phillies history. This is saying a lot because Phillies fans are ruthless.

One thing I wanted to happen during my time in the Fan Cave was to meet Utley so I could talk to him about what his initial thoughts were on the subject of Mac's man-crush. Very rarely do we ever get insight from a player's mind when they are referenced in pop culture, kind of like the guy who made the Madden video of Green Bay Packers' wide receiver Greg Jennings "putting the team on his back" and scoring a touchdown with a broken leg. Jennings took it lightly and had fun with it. I could only hope Utley would do the same. I even thought having Utley write a letter back to Mac would have been funny. It could go either way: embracing it or being creeped out by it.

#6- Sweet Dee prefers the company of Ryan Howard compared to the rest of the Phillies. Who could blame her? The guys rakes! Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Howard was a fifth round draft pick for the Phillies in the 2001 amateur draft out of Missouri State. This has always boggled me because with the power he possesses what the hell were the other schools thinking? In 2004 he got his September call-up and played 19 games in the Show and hit two home runs in 39 at-bats. In 2005 he played in 88 games and went .288/22/63, which was good enough for the NL Rookie of the Year award. Not too shabby for only half of a season.

Howard proved he was a marquis player the following season as he hit .313 with a League high 58 home runs and a League high 149 RBI which were more than enough to get the votes for the NL MVP. I should point out that he struck out 181 times that season as well, and he still hit .313. Wow! From 2007-2011 Howard made the Top-10 in NL MVP voting and he has made the All-Star team three times in his career. Howard currently sits at 300 home runs and is #134 on the most ever home run list and you can see him all year long plugging Subway sandwiches; which reminds me of how hungry I am.

Obviously all three guys got World Series rings in 2008, at which I think all three can pool some cash together and help Dennis pay for his parking tickets. Something that always confused me why he never brought that up in front of Howard and Utley when considering that they gang will fire off about anything important to them no matter who is in front of them. Kangaroo court!!!

February 20- National League Umpire

After last night’s unfortunate, but necessary research plunge, I was a bit hesitant to have this hat next in the rotation. The one advantage of moving on to the National League umpire cap is that I at least knew the end point of its use on the field. 1995 was the final year, just like its American League comrade, as 1996 ushered in the new era of the giant red “N” with the logo of the NL in the center (a crest with an eagle head and a bat and glove in each talon). So with that, it was back to YouTube and photo archives, funneling through footage from all World Series prior to 1988. Actually, one thing that I should have pointed out in the AL umpire post is that that particular hat was the second edition of the basic white font umpire cap. The first featured the “A” and “L” on separate panels. The one advantage that I have with the NL is that they never changed the look in all of the years they used it.

I decided to start my research in 1982, as I recall seeing this hat used by the NL umpires during the 1983 World Series footage I had scoured yesterday. I couldn’t find many videos on the World Series, but I did comb through 15 minutes of San Francisco Giants highlights from ’82. Being a loyal Oakland Athletics fan, I felt dirty every second my eyes glossed over the screen. About 13:46 into the video I got confirmation. 1981 was a little bit more challenging as most of the videos I found only featured World Series pre-game on ABC with a young Al Michaels and an always tenacious Howard Cosell. Once again I had to comb through several videos of highlights from the previous games until I got confirmation. It took about seven videos, but I got it. 1980 only took about two minutes as I came across a video of a controversial triple play call during Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros. Having four umpires in frame during the 20-minute argument made things very easy for me. Last, the 1979 World Series. Like the previous video, it took about two minutes to confirm that all of the umpires were wearing all-navy blue hats as the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates slugged it. My total time spent doing research tonight: roughly 47 minutes. Yay!!!

From 1980-1995 the National League umpires rocked this hat, but this is only the second time I’ve ever worn it. My timing couldn’t have been any better when I decided to go with it today as it has been exactly 359 days since I last wore it. How do I know? Well… a week shy of a year ago I was in Phoenix, Arizona as a member of the Top 30 for the MLB Fan Cave. I had taken about six hats down south with me as a precaution. By that I mean I made sure to cover every possible angle I could depending on what we did and who we were to work with. On the last day (today for the current group) I had my panel interview with the executives in charge of the operation. Basically it was about 13-15 people with very prominent jobs within MLB sitting at tables in front of you and on both sides of you while you sit in a chair in the center of the room. Before I had gone in for my session, I waited outside and relaxed. Not knowing what to expect I just sat on the small set of steps which faced the breakfast lounge. During my wait, a gentleman in a light blue polo shirt came out and stopped mid-track to ask me about my hat. His question, “So what’s the deal with the hat?” I asked him to repeat his question, at which he repeated the same thing. Not knowing who he was, my response to the repeat question was, “No, I need you to clarify your question. Are you asking about the history, why I’m wearing it or some other bit of information?” He then asked why I was wearing it. I told him about my collection of hats and how it wouldn’t be complete unless I also had a few umpire hats in the mix. He seemed impressed by my answer, at which we discussed the Diamond Collection. After about eight minutes of this talk he finally told me that he was in charge of the licensing for the Diamond Collection. I then thought about my previous curtness when trying to break down his first question and how it would later affect me as it turns out he was a member of the panel interview. “Oh drat!” I thought. As it turns out, it didn’t affect me at all. Matt Bourne, the Vice President of Business Public Relations at Major League Baseball, had a pretty good-sized folder in front of him, filled with information dating back to before I was in high school, and he led the interview. The rest of the panel consisted of Tim Brosnan- the Executive Vice President of Business for MLB, and is essentially the next guy in line for spot of Commissioner after Bud Selig retires, Jacqueline Parkes- the Chief Marketing Officer for MLB, Jeff Heckelman- a member of the Public Relations staff and Tyler Hissey- the stooge who runs the Fan Cave Twitter account and Facebook page. There were others, but none of them with as high of a ranking as those five. Anyway, I got through the interview with little to no problems. All of my answers were off the top of my head and honest, which is a principle I abide by unless I really need to mull something over. I left the room, but not until I shook everyone's hand and thanked them for their time. My friend, and Fan Cave Top 30 member Brad Jeffers was waiting outside for his run of the gauntlet as I submerged. I felt pretty good about things. Obviously, the rest is history. I was one of nine people to make it to New York City, I was let go, promised assistance for the future (job wise by Parkes and Heckelman) and have yet to be talked to by any of those people since. So, like the umpires who previously wore this cap, the state of my future career is ultimately in their hands. God damn it.

I couldn’t come up with two better people to pay tribute to, so I’ll just roll into it…

#10- John McSherry was a National League umpire from 1971-1995. Throughout his career, McSherry umped in three All-Star games (1975, 1982 and 1991), eight NLCS (1974, 1978, 1983-85, 1988, 1990 and 1992), two NLDS (1981 and 1995) and two World Series (1977 and 1987). Of all the games he umpired, the most notable had to be as the home plate umpire for Game 6 of the 1977 World Series when Reggie Jackson belted three home runs. The 8-4 Yankees victory earned the "Bronx Bombers" their first World Series championship under owner George Steinbrenner and their first title since 1962. After Jackson's first home run off Burt Hooton, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda came to the mound to make a pitching change. Lasorda asked McSherry who he should summon from the bullpen; McSherry suggested that Lasorda go with right-hander Elías Sosa. Sosa would give up Jackson's second home run in the fifth. McSherry was not a slender man either. At 6’2’’ his weight had ballooned up to close to 400 pounds by the time 1996 rolled around, a note which some say was a contributing factor to his death on April 1, 1996. I still remember this day. It was Opening Day of the ’96 season and McSherry was working home plate for the Cincinnati Reds/Montreal Expos game in Cincy. Seven pitches into the game, McSherry called a timeout, spoke briefly to Reds catcher Eddie Taubensee, and walked slowly towards the Reds' dugout. Moments after signaling for the second base umpire to come in and replace him, McSherry stumbled and collapsed. Resuscitative efforts were begun on McSherry and he was taken to University Hospital in Cincinnati, but he was pronounced dead within the hour. He was 51 years old.

#21- Harry Wendelstedt is arguably one of the best umpires to ever work in the National League, and did so from 1966-1998. During his time he umped in four All-Star games (1968, 1976, 1983 and 1992), three NLDS (1995-1997), seven NLCS (1970, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1988 and 1990) and five World Series (1973, 1980, 1986, 1991 and 1995). Most notably, Wendelstedt was the home plate umpire for five no-hitters, a distinction he shares with Bill Klem. On May 31, 1968, Wendelstedt made a famous call that preserved Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale’s consecutive shutouts and scoreless innings streaks. Giants catcher Dick Dietz came to the plate in the top of the 9th inning with the bases loaded and no outs. On a 2–2 count, Drysdale hit Dietz on the elbow, apparently forcing in a run that would have ended the streaks. However, Wendelstedt ruled that Dietz made no attempt to avoid being struck by the pitch, and called him back. Drysdale retired Dietz on a short fly ball and got out of the inning without yielding a run, earning his fifth (of six) consecutive shutouts. On March 9, 2012 Wendelstedt passed away after a 10-year fight with a brain tumor. Wendelstedt has a son, Hunter, who is still umpiring in the league and wears #21 to honor his father.

February 11- Philadelphia Phillies

This post is in dedication to Edith Houghton, the first female scout in Major League Baseball who worked for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1946-1952. It was pure chance that I threw on my Phillies cap today.

Chew and mullet in tact!

1993 was a year packed with adversity. I was a plucky fourth grader, learning the harsh reality that some teachers truly are witches, the Oakland Athletics finished the season with the worst record in the American League (68-94) and the film Jurassic Park made me believe that velocitraptors were lurking behind every closed door in my house. Needless to say, it was one of my worst years in existence. On the other side of the country things were rockin’ in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Phillies had struck the final blow of my wasted year by fending off my Montreal Expos for the National League Eastern Division title before dropping a 104-win Atlanta Braves squad in the NLCS; paving the way for their first World Series appearance since they lost to the Baltimore Orioles in 1983, the year I was born.

On the bright side of the MLB season, the San Francisco Giants won 103 games (tied for the most season wins in SF with the 1962 team), but failed to make the playoffs as a result of the Wild Card not being added until 1995. Too bad (sarcastic sad face). Despite the ups and downs of what went on in my life, 1993 proved to be quite the memorable year. And the thing I remember most… is the mullets. If hair growing and styling was somehow factored into the power rankings for MLB teams, the 1993 Phillies would be in the Top 3 along with the 1972-74 Athletics and any team which suited up Oscar Gamble and/or Ross Grimsley.

Having gone on long enough about what I personally remember from 1993, I suppose I should talk about the hat now. The Phillies introduced this cap at the start of the 1992 season and still use it today. In fact, last year was its 20^th birthday. Yay!!! I actually recall being furious when they brought this hat out because I loved the maroon and powder blue uniforms along with the swirl-style “P” logo. Just something about that looked reigned badassery; plus, I was a huge Mike Schmidt fan growing up, and with the new look it meant that it was time to move on from his era (real sad face). Even though 2008 proved to be a solid year for the Phillies as they won their second World Series title, I couldn’t help but reflect on ’93 when making my choices for marking up my hat.

#4- My first memory of Lenny Dykstra came during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series when he was the lead off batter for the New York Mets. BUT, Dykstra never came to the plate during the 10^th inning rally, so he really wasn’t that memorable. Even though he got the ring in ’86, it’s his time with the Phillies that I remember most, especially with every wad of chew he had stuck in his cheek that was printed so diligently on my Topps and Donruss trading cards.

Nails got dealt to the Phillies a little over a third of the way into the 1989 season and played the rest of his career in Philadelphia which came to an end in May of 1996 as a result of injuries. Nails may not have been the greatest player in baseball history, but as Athletics GM Billy Beane said about Dykstra in the book Moneyball, he was, “perfectly designed, emotionally” and had “no concept of failure.” In 1993, this mentality came to light. Dykstra hit .305 for the season and led the League in walks (129), runs (143), at-bats (637), plate appearances (773) and hits (194). He also tagged career highs in home runs (19), stolen bases (37) and RBI (66); not too shabby for a leadoff hitter. Dude, as he was also known, finished in second place for the NL MVP which went to Barry Bonds, his first with the Giants. This is one of the few times where I can honestly say that Dykstra got screwed.

#29- A career .300 hitter, John Kruk was my favorite member of the Phillies throughout the 1990s. One of the more memorable things I remember about Kruk in ’93 was that he humorously portrayed by Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live a number of times. See…

My only issue with his look is that they didn’t make the jheri curl mullet powerful enough. See…

Iconic acting and hairdos aside, Kruk, like Dykstra, was traded to the Phillies about a third of the way into the 1989 season from the San Diego Padres, and hung around Philly until the end of the 1994 season. And like Dykstra, 1993 proved to be quite the landmark year for Kruk. On the season he went .316/14/85 and tagged career highs in walks (111), runs (100) and hits (169). Even more important, Kruk finished 16^th on the NL MVP ballot; which leads me to the conclusion that the voters really hated the Phillies in 1993. Kruk is still one of those guys that I love to go back and watch highlights of. Like Tony Gwynn, the two didn’t look the part of professional athletes, but very few could play the game better than they could.

January 17- Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s pretty fitting that I’d be sitting in a study room in the library at the University of Oregon writing this post with two songs on repeat: “Green Onions” by Booker T & the MGs and “I Love LA” by Randy Newman. Both songs personified the eras in which the three players' numbers I have written on my hat dominated. But first… the hat.

The marketing and creative team that moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles along with the Dodgers are quite possibly some the most intelligent people on the planet. By this I mean, the “LA” on the front of the cap was first introduced in 1958, their first year on the West Coast. And, since their first game, they’ve had the same logo affixed to their cap. That’s it. End of story. Two simple letters personified an entire culture of baseball fans inside and outside of the United States. No matter what race, creed or gender of who wears it on the baseball field, their presence has influenced scores of other fans to fall suit and scoop up the hat for more than just following team; it became a socioeconomical flag for some. Now, having said that, I feel a little bad for one of the numbers choices on my hat, so I’ll be sure to start with the first, which should come as no surprise to any baseball fans.

#32- Sandy Koufax’s career ran from 1955, the last year the Dodgers won a World Series in Brooklyn, through 1966. The first six years of Koufax’s career are truly hard to believe. He had little to no control over any pitch he threw, and his numbers are less than extraordinary. Koufax’s ERA hung at roughly 4.00 as he was used as both a starter and a reliever. Believe it or not, Koufax was sent down in 1957 and struck out 13 batters in his first appearance back in the Majors. This was the way things went. It wasn’t until 1961 that everything seemed to come together. Koufax had spent the winter working on his conditioning and got to Spring Training in the best shape of his life. Long time Dodgers scout Kenny Meyers also made a discovery in Koufax’s windup motion. Koufax was rearing back too far, thus obstructing his vision upon his follow through. In his first start of Spring Training Koufax walked the bases loaded on 12 straight pitches, prompting then catcher Norm Sherry to remind Koufax to take something off the ball for better control. The advice worked. Koufax struck out the side and threw sever consecutive innings of no hit ball. The rest as they say is history. Four no hitters, the breaking of Christy Mathewson’s single-season strikeout record of 267 (269 for Koufax in 1961) three Cy Young Awards (1963,65,66), one MVP (1963), 2396 career strikeouts, a 2.76 career ERA, 165-87 record, four World Series rings and spot in the Hall of Fame.

Koufax’s arm had been giving him problems since 1965, and rather than play through it and have it affect him the rest of his life, he gave it all up at the age of 31. After what he had all ready accomplished in his life, I don’t blame him. Had modern surgery been available, and at the ready like it is today, who knows how things would have turned out?

#55- Orel Hershiser. Now, as I had mentioned before about culture, I felt a little bad about this one shortly after I marked it last year. I had grown up hating and loving Hershiser. Loving him for his dominance, but hating him because of the 1988 World Series against my Oakland Athletics. 1988 was the best season he ever had, winning 23 games with a 2.26 ERA and 178 strikeouts. It would be the only year that he would ever win the National League Cy Young award as well as his one, and only Gold Glove award. The only other time that Hershiser could have contested to be the Cy Young winner came in 1985 when he went 19-3 with a 2.03 ERA and 157 strikeouts. Remarkably, Hershiser finished in third place as there was a young phenom by the name of Dwight Gooden lighting up the league for the New York Mets. In only four of his 18-year service he posted a season ERA under 2.70. He was good, but he wasn’t exactly a superstar by today’s standards.

Hershiser made three All-Star Game appearances (1987-1989) throughout his career and won one Silver Slugger award in 1993. 1995 and 1997 were the only other times when Hershiser came close to winning another World Series ring. In both of those seasons he and the Cleveland Indians made it to the end, but came up short losing to the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins respectively.

#34 was an interesting specimen. Having grown up playing ball in Mexico he was a diamond in the rough when he was brought into the league in 1980. In 1981, his first full season, Valenzuela went 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA and a league-high 180 strikeout to become the first, and only pitcher to win the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in the same season. His dominance and pleasant manner made him a fan favorite amongst the hodgepodge of cultures that resided in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Fernando-Mania, as they called it, took over the game and opened up the pathway for other talented players to cross the border and show off what they had.

From 1981-1986 Valenzuela made six consecutive All-Star Game Appearances, finished in the Top-five for the NL Cy Young three additional times(1982, 1985-1986), won two Silver Slugger awards (1981 and 1983), one Gold Glove award in 1986 and two World Series rings in 1981 and 1988.