July 13- Arizona Diamondbacks

I picked this cap up in November of 2011, all because an order I had placed with the Lids Web site was met with two egregious errors. About a week prior to my visit to the Lids location at Valley River Center in Eugene, Oregon I had purchased three caps, all of which were delivered to my house. Those three caps: the Lakeland Flying Tigers home cap, the 1994 Detroit Tigers alternate cap and a 1977 San Francisco Giants cap, which I’ll write about soon. Of the three caps only the Flying Tigers arrived without any issue. As for the other two; I had to return the Tigers cap because, even though the tags said it was a 7 3/8, it fit like a 7 ¾. In the case of the Giants cap the tags were marked as a Cooperstown Collection cap; however, they sent me this alternate cap instead. I was less than pleased, especially since I had to re-order the Tigers cap and the Giants cap had no more available in my size. I’m not the kind of collector who likes to go home from a day out empty handed, so rather than just get my money back I elected to pick up a certain Pittsburgh Pirates cap that my friend Leif had been hounding me to get and this Arizona Diamondbacks cap.

I never had any intention of outfitting my collection with white caps; after all, they’re much harder to maintain. But in the case of this cap I really wanted to expand upon my Cooperstown Collection line and get something that no one else really had. So far it’s been a bit of a success as I have yet to see anyone else wear one around Eugene, let alone the ballpark since I picked it up, which makes me a little bit sad. The lack of a presence is ironically fitting to the short lifespan of this cap which was only used for a handful of home game during the inaugural season in 1998. Originally classified as the standard home cap, it was changed to a home alternate when the purple cap was introduced before the start of the season.  During that time, the logo was also reduced in size, though most of the versions that ended up in retail stores (like the one pictured here) still had the large logo. The cap that was used featured the smaller logo and was paired with the pinstripe vest jersey as shown here.

 And during Buck Showalter’s press conference after being named as the Dbacks’ skipper.

The majority of the time when the larger logoed cap was shown it was featured on the heads of prospects from the expansion draft of 1997.

What’s actually interesting about the cap that I have is that it’s not even made up to the specifications of 1998. Well, it’s close, but if you look closely you can see that the purple on the cap I have is quite a bit lighter in shade. Obviously if I cared about it that much I wouldn’t have bought it and marked it up, I’m merely pointing out a small flaw just in case any of you cap collectors are way more of a perfectionist than I am.

When coming up with numbers to mark this cap up with I made a slight error with one of them, but I guess it’s not too detrimental as I highly doubt most non-Dbacks fans would have even caught it. Well, unless you’re a Pirates fan. 

 #5- Born in Danville, Virginia, Tony Womack was a seventh round draft pick by the Pirates out of Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina in the 1991 amateur draft. A base-stealer with a decent average, Womack floated around the minors from 1991-1996; however, he did make his Major League debut in 1993, but only played in 27 games between then and 1996. In 1997 Womack became the everyday second baseman under newly appointed manager Gene Lamont. The move would prove to be a real shot in the arm for both parties as Womack made the only All-Star game appearance of his career as well as finish in ninth place for the Rookie of the Year award and 24^th for the National MVP award after stealing 60 bases (best in the NL), batting .278, hitting six home runs and scored 85 runs. The following season Womack would lead the NL in stolen bases with 58, post four points higher on his average and score the same amount of runs. This is where I made my mistake with the hat. Womack’s final season ended up being with the Pirates and was not a member of the Dbacks until the following season (1999) when he was traded for Paul Weichard and Jason Boyd. During the 1998 season however, there was someone wearing the #5. His name is Andy Stankiewicz.

Stankiewicz was originally a draft pick of the New York Yankees in 1986, but didn’t make his MLB debut until 1992. After that Stankiewicz bounced around to the Houston Astros and Montreal Expos before playing his final year with the Dbacks in 1998. Having all ready worn #5 with the Pirates, Womack donned it for the Dbacks from 1999-2003. During his time in Phoenix he set a personal best by swiping 72 bases in his first season, making it three straight years of leading the NL in stolen bases. That year he also led the league in triples (14) and set career highs in home runs (seven) and runs scored (111). Womack was also moved from second base to right field in 1999 and then moved to the shortstop in 2000 as Jay Bell all ready had the keystone locked up.

Womack was an important part of the Dbacks' World Championship Team in 2001, especially with two key base hits that both came in the bottom of the ninth inning of deciding games in the playoffs. Womack ended the first-round series with a walk-off single off the Cardinals' Steve Kline. Later, Womack set up Luis Gonzalez' famous game-winning single in Game 7 of the World Series with a game-tying one-out double against the Yankees' Mariano Rivera. Womack owns the Diamondbacks record for most stolen bases in a career (182).

Womack would play until 2006 with the Colorado Rockies (2003), Chicago Cubs (2003 and 2006), Cardinals (2004), Yankees (2005) and Cincinnati Reds (2006).

#26- Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 20^th round of the 1990 amateur draft out of Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Damian Miller was on pace to being a life-long minor league player until he had a breakout season in 1997 was called up to relieve aging All-Star catcher Terry Steinbach for a few games. However, because Miller was used so infrequently and appeared so low on the Twins’ depth chart they had no problem allowing Miller getting thrown into the mix for the 1997 expansion draft, where he was selected in the 47^th round by the Dbacks. Another interesting factoid about Miller is that he was never a member of the Major League Baseball Players Association, as he was a replacement player during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. These players are barred from joining the players' union. Another notable name on this list is former Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox first baseman/outfielder Kevin Millar.

Miller played for the Dbacks from 1998-2002, hitting .269 with 48 home runs and 194 RBI during his tenure. He was also the starting catcher for the Dbacks when they won their only World Series title in 2001 and made only one All-Star Game appearance in 2002 in Milwaukee. Miller was traded to the Cubs at the end of the 2002 season and then traded to the Oakland Athletics during the Winter Meetings in 2003 for Michael Barrett. Miller would only play one year each for both clubs before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004 as a free agent, playing out the rest of his career which ended at the end of the 2007 season. Other teams showed interest in Miller once his Brewers contract expired; however, Miller said he would only play for the Brewers if given an offer.

June 29- Arizona Diamondbacks

The 2012 Major League Baseball season is hands down the craziest, most enjoyable season I have had the privilege of following. While it truly would have been spectacular to be in the stadium of all the no-hitters, perfect games and cycles hit last season, thank God I have the power of MLB.tv to help me get as close to the action as possible without leaving the comfort of my home. I realize that sentence sounded like some cheesy promotion, just bear with me. As awesome as it was to be in the MLB Fan Cave for the first two-and-a-half months of the season to watch a lot of these games, that experience laid the foundation for what ultimately became one of the greatest baseball experiences on my life.

Of all the crazy historical things to occur last season there is one experience that now sits in my top-three “All-Time Greatest MLB Moments” list which started with a handshake back on May 5, 2012. If you read my post from June 26^th you’d know about the visit in the Fan Cave from Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers JJ Putz and Patrick Corbin.

After an hour or so of shooting the breeze both Putz and Corbin said that they would probably be back the next night to hang out and watch the Jon Bones Jones UFC fight against Rashad Evans. Now, one thing I’m a bit confused about is that according to his fight stats Jones fought Evans on April 21^st, soooooo… I don’t know what the hell we watched. All I know is that Jones and his crew had stopped by the Fan Cave about a week prior to promote the fight, which makes me all that more confused.

Anyway, Putz and Corbin lived up to their word and stopped by in the evening after their 3-4 loss to the New York Mets. Not ones to let a rough day get in the way of their fun, Corbin brought friends and relatives from upstate New York with him and Putz did the same with his parents and a life-long friend named “Rooftop.” As the evening progressed with beers in hand, intense pool and skee-ball games and excellent conversation, other members of the Diamondbacks arrived as well including Willie “The Igniter” Bloomquist and Aaron Hill. Most of the night I just chilled out, nursing the same bottle of Bud Light for an hour, chatting it up with Corbin’s brother and Putz. Lindsay Guentzel (the Minnesota Twins fan) had taken the duty of showing everyone around the Fan Cave and taking photos for the executives so the rest of us had to wait until she was finished to go over and talk to Bloomquist and Hill. Around the time the main event was getting underway Hill and a friend of his were on their way out as they had just stopped to poke around. It was at this time I finally had a chance to talk to him as he had apparently been interested in talking to me since he stepped in. I was a bit confused by that at first, but it all made sense when he talked about how he had seen me on the jumbotron at Citi Field before the game as one the episodes of “Player Poll” I had done was being shown. Putz confirmed this as well as he happened to walk by Hill at the right moment. Hill then asked me a few questions about myself which I kicked off with going to the University of Oregon, hailing from the Bay Area and especially Bakersfield, California. Hill lit up immediately, “Dude! I’m from Visalia! That’s crazy!” Bakersfield and Visalia are roughly 80 miles apart from one another off of Highway 99, but are practically the same city if you’ve ever spent time in either. Hill then asked which baseball leagues I played in growing up, trying to figure out if we had played one another. As it turned out, we missed each other by a year; which also would have made for an interesting conversation seeing as I played second base growing up and he’s an All-Star second baseman. Suddenly, the urge to head out went away as we continued to gab about growing up in the armpit of California… that is until Lindsay decided to butt in. It literally went from us totally bro-ing out to Lindsay wanted everyone to take a photo for all of the executives. I’m not sure why she cut in at that moment, but it completely changed the mood rapidly. Either way, it was good to get the chance to share a few words with someone who had a similar upbringing. What I didn’t expect, besides getting kicked out of the Fan Cave, was that Hill was about to embark upon a historical journey. But first, the cap!

The Dbacks unveiled this cap back in 2007 along with the cap I wrote about on April 29^th. While the red brick cap serves as their game cap, this black model with the “A” logo serves as the home alternate cap. By this I mean that the Dbacks generally wear it on Sundays OR whenever the starting pitcher decides to roll with it for their start which also contingent upon the jersey/pant combo they elect to roll with. What’s a little disappointing about this cap is that I decided to mark it up with dates and stories despite the fact that the cap wasn’t even worn when the events took place. No matter, it’s still worthy of praise.

6/18-29/12: If there was ever a fitting bit of irony in all of 2012, June 18, 2012 was certainly a fitting day. It was the fourth game of the Northwest League season and I happened to be down in Eugene to watch the Emeralds face off against the Yakima Bears in the fourth of their five-game series. I had all ready been to Opening Day, in which I wrote my experience on June 18^th (what a coincidence!) and I rolled back down from Portland to catch this particular game with my friend Chris Crude. The main reason why I say today was filled with irony is because the then-Bears, who are now the Hillsboro Hops, are the short season-A affiliate of the Dbacks. Now, even though I was all ready at a baseball game I always take the time to check up on how things are going around the league using my MLB.tv application on my phone. One of the games on interest I had was the Dbacks versus Seattle Mariners game taking place in Phoenix. Normally I would be blacked out due to the fact that Eugene sits within Mariners territory; however, I lucked out. Here’s why.

Flashback

During my time in the Fan Cave I had won the phone during a scavenger hunt challenge set up in the first two weeks we were there. It proved to be especially useful for me as I was the only one there who didn’t have a smart phone. So, anytime I went to the bathroom or upstairs to grab a drink I always made sure to have at least one game going. The only problem was that I ran into the same issues with blackouts from time-to-time. The worst instance came when I had to give fellow University of Oregon alum and SB Nation host Dan Rubenstein a tour of the Fan Cave. During the tour, I had to keep my eyes on the Mets versus Washington Nationals game that was taking place; however, the game was blacked out due to the fact that I was standing in Mets territory. When I pointed this out to the head of business public relations for MLB Jeff Heckelman, he took it upstairs for a moment and came back with the game on the screen. Apparently Heckelman had the tech guys play with it in which one of them installed a master key, so now I never have to worry about blackouts, missing spring training games, playoff games, the World Series and the All-Star game. Tight! All I need to do is take care of it and not lose it.

Back to reality

About two weeks prior to this game Hill had almost hit for the cycle June 5^th against the Colorado Rockies, but more important, since our chance meeting Hill had been hitting well so I decided to monitor his progress, plus deep down I’ve always had a soft spot for the Dbacks and enjoy watching them. At first the only true redeeming quality of the game was that Wade Miley was taking the hill for the Dbacks, just one of the many games in which he would be lights out and build a solid case for the National League Rookie of the Year award. Despite giving up a single to Kyle Seager in the first inning, Miley dealt the rest of the way. In the bottom of the first inning Mariners pitches Hector Noesi gave up three consecutive singles to Bloomquist, Hill and Justin Upton. At the time, no one really thought much of it and the Dbacks put a few runs up on the board by the end of the inning to take a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning Hill led off with a triple, but was then brought in to score after an Upton sacrifice fly to deep right field to take a 4-0 lead. Once again, as the inning then came to a quick close, nobody really knew what was going on.

In the bottom of the fifth inning Miley led off with a strikeout while Bloomquist fired one to second baseman Dustin Ackley. With two outs, nobody on, Hill slapped a line drive into left field which allowed him to get to second on the stand. With the single, triple and double in the books in only the fifth inning, the mood of Chase Field tensed up a little bit, despite the fact that the Dbacks were still holding onto a 4-0 lead.

As the bottom of the seventh inning loomed the Mariners decided to make a pitching change and brought in Shawn Kelley to take things over with Bloomquist leading off as the Dbacks now led 6-1. If the first batter faced was any proof of how probable it was going to be for Hill to hit for his first career cycle, then anyone who had the chance to make a bet on Hill hitting a home run to finish it out should have been made. Prior to Bloomquist’s at-bat Kelley had only given up two home runs on the year; the first was Oakland Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes’s first career home run on Opening Day in Tokyo, Japan and the second was on May 8^th against Detroit Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder. In both cases it’s not like Kelley was getting teed off of by some slouch. Against Bloomquist, Kelley served up a tater right down the middle, but Bloomquist could only get it to deep center. With a little more pop in his bat, if Hill was given the same pitch, it definitely would have gone over the way. Luckily for Hill, that happened. After taking the first pitch for a strike, Hill played the next pitch as aggressive as possible, launching it over the left field wall, becoming the fifth player in Dbacks history to hit for the cycle and the second player in MLB on the season to pull it off; the first being Mets outfielder Scott Hairston.

After Hill hit the double I began tweeting up a storm, mostly focusing on how had he hit the double he needed against the Rockies on June 5^th he would have been the third player in MLB history to hit for the cycle twice in a season. Once again, the irony of this day, and especially this tweet, were about to come back in a big way.

On June 28, 2012 I was laying in bed watching baseball on my computer as I had just gotten back from a three-day road trip in Seattle to watch the Athletics play the Mariners along with my friend, and 2013 Fan Cave hopeful Tommy Bentley (@RealTomBentley). Due to my fatigue level I was kind of in-and-out of the Dbacks game as they were playing the Milwaukee Brewers on the road. I don’t remember too much about the other three games I had going at the same time, but as the Dbacks game progressed I ended up closing the other screens out.

Just like the game on June 18^th (2012), Hill batted in the two-hole behind Bloomquist who ended up grounding out in his first at-bat against Brewers pitcher Randy Wolf. With a called strike against him, Hill mashed a hard liner into left field which bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. Aside from putting himself in scoring position, the hit also turned out to be the 1,000^th of his career. Upton and Jason Kubel followed Hill by both striking out looking, marooning Hill on second base to close out the first. Once again, no one really paid much attention.

In the top of the third inning “The Igniter” led off with a double which was then followed up with a bloop single just over the head of Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks and into centerfield by Hill. Hill then stole second base before Upton roped a single himself, scoring Bloomquist from and pushing Hill to third. After that, the floodgates opened as the Dbacks ended the inning with a 6-1 lead. With a double and a single in the bag, plus a five-run lead, very few gave much though to Hill, once again, despite the fact that he still had a solid amount of at-bats left in the game.

In the top of the fourth Dbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy struck out looking to lead off while Bloomquist reached on an error by Weeks. Not being the one to waste pitches, Hill took the first for a strike and then exploded upon the second. Hill sent a screamer to deep left field to not only put his team up by seven runs, but also got the social media world jibber-jabbing about how he still had five more innings to lock up a triple. Not since Babe Herman of the Brooklyn Robins in 1931 had a player hit for the cycle twice in one season, and not since John Reilly in 1883 had someone done it in games so close together.

In the top of the sixth inning catcher Henry Blanco and Kennedy both recorded outs. Bloomquist then legged out a slow rolling single to short, which paved the way for all of the eyes of the baseball world to be focused on Hill. Livan Hernandez had replaced Tim Dillard at the top of the inning who in turn had replaced Wolf at the top of the fifth. Hernandez started off by throwing two consecutive balls, none of which Hill wanted a piece of. As Hernandez let the third pitch go (a changeup) Hill dipped his head down after making contact as if he thought it was a pop out. Nope! The ball actually had a decent amount of speed behind it and as soon as Hill saw it drop into play he kicked his run into third gear. Morgan got to the ball slowly, which rolled to the wall as he figured Hill was going to holdup for a double. Nope! Weeks caught the cutoff throw and fired it slightly offline to the waiting Aramis Ramirez at third base… too late. Hill dug it out like a champion and slid his way into the record books when he touched (and stayed) on third base. A fair amount of Brewers fans applauded Hill for his effort, which was a bit classy on their part. Not too bad of an achievement for a kid from Visalia, California who went home with two balls in his pocket. You know, one for hit #1000 and the other for the double cycle. What were you thinking? Video

#46- Patrick Corbin was especially a treat to meet, but even weirder is that he looks almost identical to my U of O roommate Lyle Birkey, just a bit taller See..

Somewhat unknown last season, Corbin was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the second round of the 2009 amateur draft only to be traded to the Dbacks on July 25, 2010 along with Rafael Rodriguez, Joe Saunders, a player to be named later (Tyler Skaggs) in exchange for Dan Haren… who I look nothing like.

From then until the end of the 2011 season Corbin muscled his way through the minor league system, posting solid numbers while playing with the Rookie League Orem Owlz, intermediate-A Cedar Rapids Kernels, advanced-A Visalia Rawhide and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the AA Mobile Bears plus a brief stint with the AAA Reno Aces before making his Major League debut on April 30, 2012 against the Miami Marlins. Corbin got tagged for three earned runs in that first game, also allowing eight hits and three walks, but he struck out six and received the win for his efforts.

For the rest of the season Corbin had his highs and his lows, but in every case he stuck through it and didn’t make excuses. After the game on May 5^th against the Mets Corbin, his brother and I got into a bit of a discussion in regard to his performance that day. He was pulled after 83 pitches after going 3 1/3 innings and only allowing two runs. Despite the high pitch count it was a situation that his brother and I felt he should have been allowed to attempt to get himself out of. For being a first-year pitcher, sometimes you have to take the lumps in order to know how to correct your mistakes down the road; a lesson in baseball that isn’t much different from real life. Corbin finished the 2012 campaign with a record of 6-8 with a 4.54 ERA in 17 games started. Like I said, it had its ups and downs, but in the end it all proved to be an eye-opener for Corbin’s 2013 effort… which has gone by rather smoothly.

So far this season (as of July 28, 2013), Corbin is on pace to potentially win the National League Cy Young award with a 12-2 record, 2.24 ERA, 123 strikeouts and a .991 WHIP. That’s one hell of a turnaround! Not to mention the fact that the Dbacks are hanging tough in the NL West and looking to secure their sixth trip to the postseason since the team’s inaugural year in 1998. Lord knows I bet on them to do it. Here’s to hoping I’m not as crazy as I look.

May 14- Arizona Diamondbacks

Today was kind of interesting. The newly acquired short season-A club the Hillsboro Hops were holding an open casting call for jobs over the summer and I figured why not give it a shot. It’s been a solid 13 years since I last worked for a professional baseball team at which all of that time came on the field as the bat boy for the Bakersfield Blaze. As cool as it would be to work in a clubhouse again, the title of bat boy doesn’t seem fitting for a man of my age; let alone for the fact that I can grow a manlier beard than any of the guys on the team. I printed my resume off, hiked down the road, caught a bus and I was there. I dropped off my resume, answered a few questions and as quickly as I got there I was on my way out again. It almost feels like it didn’t even happen at all. I had worn a hat inside and made sure to take it off before I walked through the door. Without even realizing it the hat I had chosen to wear and write about today is in fact the Major League affiliate of the team I interviewed with. Since 2001 the Yakima Bears, now Hops, have been an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks as members of the Northwest League. As I just mentioned, my hat choice today came more out of a spot in the rotation and had little to do with whom I was being interviewed by.

I picked this bad boy up while I was in Florida visiting my girlfriend Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie). The online shop for Major League Baseball was running a huge sale on the last of the Stars and Stripes hats from 2012 left in their inventory so I made sure to get as many teams as I possibly could. I preferred the black one, but unfortunately they didn’t have my size so I rolled with the brick red to fulfill my goal of obtaining at least one from every team. In the past few years the Diamondbacks have been one the few teams to show a constant deal of support for the troops, which is something I take a lot of pride in considering the fact that my stepfather spent a good chunk of his life in Arizona before and after his time with the Army Special Forces.

At the forefront of all of this attention in paying tribute to the troops is the Diamondbacks’ mascot, Baxter. For those who don’t know, D. Baxter the Bobcat was unveiled to the world on June 23, 2000, at Chase Field. The idea for the mascot came from Brantley Bell, son of former second baseman Jay Bell, who explained to his dad that the team should have a "BOB" cat as a mascot since the team played in the BOB (Bank One Ballpark). Bell informed management about his son's idea and Baxter was born. Pretty cool if you ask me.

As far as Memorial Day games are concerned I was only able to find one consistent pattern in the 15 possible games the Diamondbacks could have played on this date. Their record is a blow average 6-8 with one game off in 2005; however, the only thing that I was able to uncover is that the Diamondbacks are 1-0 I the World Series anytime they beat the San Francisco Giants on Memorial Day. Yah, this stat is a bit farfetched, but not really. The Diamondbacks have played the Giants on Memorial Day four times (2001, 2002, 2004 and 2012). In that span the Diamondbacks are 1-3, but in that one year, with that one win they did end up going on to win the World Series. The one thing I can tell you is that the Diamondbacks are playing the Texas Rangers this year, so don’t go rushing to Las Vegas to lay a bet down just yet. But be sure to keep an eye out for when the Giants and Diamondbacks meet up again on Memorial Day and be sure to have your money ready if the Diamondbacks win.

When trying to come up with numbers for this hat I figured it was probably best to just use the last two paragraphs as a lead-in. So, here they are…

#1: It took me a bit to track this down, but I did find out that Baxter’s jersey number is in fact #1. Kind of an odd thing to try and find a picture of, to be honest. How often does a person take a photo of the back of a mascot? Anyway, back in October of 2012 I had been contemplating a few more mascot-related tattoo ideas when I remembered a conversation I had with the person who runs Baxter’s Twitter account (@DBacksBaxter) from December I believe. The one thing I should point out with this conversation is that it all happened when Baxter went down to an ankle injury during an event. I had sent him some well-wishes and he suggested that I get a tattoo of himself on me since I had the original batting practice logo of the snake tattooed on me. Based on my desire to get all of the mascots inked on me I just couldn’t argue his logic. Kind of weird to get such an insight from a mascot. Hmmmmm… anyway, I scoured through photos trying to find something that was really fitting as every tattoo that I have has some sort of deeper back story to it. Of all the photos that I kept running across the ones that made the most sense was Baxter in military camouflage from his visits to military bases over the years. My stepfather’s time in the Army also played a big part in my decision, but there really wasn’t anything telling me not to do it. So, on a cold Tuesday in January my tattoo artist, Felix the Tat, and I made it happen.

I hadn’t really done anything patriotic with any of my tattoos. Even in the one case where I really could have with Screech, the Washington Nationals mascot, I still put it in a Montreal Expos uniform. I have a great deal of respect for any individual, let alone team, who dedicates so much of their time for the amusement and celebration of others. So to you Baxter, I tip my cap… and have you forever etched on my body in full support the troops mode.

5/27/13: Yes, I have gone into the future and all ready paid tribute to a moment that all of you will finally witness in less than two weeks. Actually, I looked ahead in the schedule and caught something that very few of you probably did. In my previous Stars and Stripes posts I mentioned how a few teams ended up playing doubleheaders on Memorial Days as part of make-ups for missed games earlier in the season. Well, the Diamondbacks have gone and blown the minds of the baseball realm; the purposely scheduled a doubleheader on Memorial Day. This sort of practice, pre-scheduling doubleheaders, is not new. In fact, the Diamondbacks did it last season and had such success with it they decided to do it again; this time with the two-game series they have with the Rangers on May 27^th.

Of all the things in baseball I’ve ever wanted to be a part of, a doubleheader is definitely on my list. I missed the Oakland Athletics double-dip against the Los Angeles Angels back in 2011 and I’ve been patiently awaiting another chance. In the case of the Diamondbacks something like this should never happen. By that I mean they play in a stadium with a retractable roof; therefore, there is nothing to really keep them from playing a regularly scheduled game. But, leave it to the people in charge to find a way to heighten the fan experience on a day in which we celebrate those who have fought and lost their lives for our country. I’m not being sarcastic. I seriously think this is a great activity for the holiday. Because what’s more American, and a better way to celebrate those who we remember for their brave sacrifice, than baseball? Nothing.

April 29- Arizona Diamondbacks

This post is going to jump around a bit in history, but more when I get down to talking about the marks on my cap. I picked this one up off of Ebay back in October of 2011 along with a few other hats I got on the cheap from a dealer for around $20 apiece including shipping. Needless to say, I had a pretty solid haul that day.

The Arizona Diamondbacks introduced this cap at the start of the 2007 season where it has served as their home and road style cap ever since. In their 16-years history they’re one of a few teams to run through close to a half dozen caps in shut a short period of their existence. Not too bad to nearly average a new cap every other season. New Era Cap collectors like myself are incredibly appreciative of this trend, especially since it allows us to build upon our arsenal in a shorter time frame. One of the most important things to note from this addition is the change in colors. In 1998 I always thought it was kind of interesting how the Diamondbacks expanded into the Majors sharing the same color (purple) as their counterpart the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Even more interesting is how just five years prior the Colorado Rockies also had the color purple as one of their dominant colors. The most important thing to note from this trend is that prior to the Rockies not a single team had worn purple. It’s almost as if the uniform designers/creators thought that this was going to be the new thing. Well, they were wrong. The Diamondbacks adopted more of a desert motif of colors and the Devil Rays dropped the Devil and the color purple in 2001 and 2008 respectively.

The 2007 season was a great year for the Diamondbacks. I would even be as bold to say, from a depth perspective, that it was their second greatest year in franchise history. For those who are as savvy on the Diamondbacks as I am, here’s what I’m talking about. Obviously 2001 was their best year. They went 92-70 on the season and won their first World Series title in seven games against the New York Yankees. Now, there are a few different ways you can go with this. On one hand you can look at the 1999 team led by then manager Buck Showalter who went 100-62, but lost in the National League Division Series against the New York Mets in four games. Next you have the World Series-defending Diamondbacks who went 98-64 under then manager Bob Brenly, but got swept by the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. This leaves the 2007 team who played under then third year manager, and current Oakland Athletics manager, Bob Melvin. Melvin had a rough shake in his first two years; winning 77 and 76 games in 2005 and 2006 respectively. In 2007; however, Melvin and the Diamondbacks were firing on all cylinders. They won the National League Western Division with a 90-72 record and made it passed the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS in three games. Unfortunately they got smoked by the Rockies in four games in the National League Championship Series. The Diamondbacks have been to the NLDS five times in their existence, but only twice have they ever been to the NLCS, going 1-1 in the process. Therefore, even though they may not have had the season record to prove it, I put more value on their depth in the playoffs. Because after all, which means more?

The two numbers I marked this cap up with have personal ties to very important times in my life. I’ve been around baseball for the better part of 27 years, but the moments I had with these two guys are unforgettable.

#14- Back in February of 2012 I was lucky enough to be one of the 30 people selected to be a part of the final audition process for the second season of the MLB Fan Cave. On our first full day there we were each given a packet with our itinerary to let us know how each of the two days were going to go, as well as show us which players we were going to interview at whichever sprint training facility we were assigned to. When I saw everyone else open up their envelopes and read off the names they had been assigned to I only had one name running through my head, which from a marketing standpoint would have made the most sense. However, none of the executives, nor any of the other potential Cave Dwellers knew that this guy is one of my favorite players. As I broke the seal and scanned by pages the only thing that popped out was Ryan Robert’s name. I didn’t show it on the outside, but on the inside I was ecstatic.

Roberts was drafted in the 18^th round of the 2003 amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays out of the University of Texas. He worked hard through the Minor Leagues and hit with a lot of power in his first few years until finally getting his shot in the Majors on July 30, 2006. He made a few appearance that season, but his most notable moment came on August 3^rd when Roberts hit a solo home run in Yankee Stadium for his first career hit and his only hit in the nine games he played in. 2007 started out almost the same, in AAA with the Syracuse Chiefs. By the time the end of April rolled around Roberts got called back up with almost identical results of 2006; eight games with only one hit. At the end of the season the Blue Jays parted ways with Roberts, making him a free agent.

During the offseason the Texas Rangers signed Roberts to a Minor League contract where he played 130 games with the Oklahoma RedHawks. He did quite well, batting .300 with 10 home runs and 66 RBI. Like the Blue Jays, the Rangers liked what they saw and brought him up and he made his Rangers debut on July 29. He made only one appearance that season, a pinch hit strikeout for Milton Bradley. He was sent back down afterward to finish the season out in Oklahoma.

In November of 2008 Roberts was signed to another Minor League contract; this time by the Diamondbacks where he ended up making the 2009 Major League roster out of spring training. For a few games throughout the season Roberts spent some time in AAA with the Reno Aces, but mostly for the sake of getting him some at-bats as he was mostly used for spot starts as a utility guy. That season he posted his best season average to date; .279, along with seven home runs and 25 RBI in 110 games. Even with the successful year he had in 2009 Roberts still found himself playing in AAA to start the season. He would play in only 36 games for the Diamondbacks and 94 for the Aces in 2010. Until this point in time I had only heard bits and pieces about Roberts, and saw him in a few games when the Diamondbacks played the San Francisco Giants. But it was during this season that I heard the story that really opened my eyes to what kind of a person he is.

The story was first reported by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Roberts and his family had moved to Phoenix where they all thought that he was going to be a regular fixture in the Diamondbacks lineup. They got their own place, all the fixtures and were ready to start their new life. The unfortunately side of reality is that plans are sometimes halted without notice. Roberts was sent back down to Reno at the start of the 2010 season. Since he had all of his money tied in being able to provide for his family, so he did one of the most unselfish acts of his life, he voluntarily became homeless.

After every Aces home game Roberts would lay out on the couch to give off the idea that he was just going to relax for a bit before showering up and heading home. Every night, one-by-one, his coaches and teammates would exit and Roberts would shower up and hang out with the cleaning crew while they worked. After they finished he went back to the couch and slept for the night. Granted, Roberts was in a much better situation than most, but it doesn’t exactly mean it was something that the club would just look over because of his financial situation. When his family came to visit he’s spring for a room, and when the team was on the road he had hotels to crash in. But for every home game Roberts would raid the fridge for snacks, play video games on the clubhouse television and chat it up with the maintenance crew. It wouldn’t be until early September that Roberts was called back for good.

I’ve brought this point up many times before, but I’m not the most conventional sports journalist. I’ve always believed in telling the stories that go beyond the game to learn more about the people who play it, run it and watch it. Getting the opportunity to interview Roberts was my chance to show what kind of range I had as an interviewer, not to mention how to make the guest feel relaxed… or weirded out. I have the interview recorded, so you be the judge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98rKUFAjzeg

I think it went well, but I also know it could have been better had I not had to wear that Fan Cave shirt. I’m more of a dress shirt kind of guy, believe it or not. Anyway, Roberts’ 2012 campaign with the Diamondbacks had its ups and downs. In 83 games he batted .250 with 6 home runs and 34 RBI. On July 27^th he was designated for assignment. Fortunately for Roberts, the Rays were interested. He finished his season out in Tampa, 60 games in which he’d crush six more home runs and bring in 18 more runs. Roberts provided a much needed spark in the offense; however, the Rays fell short of the making the playoffs by five games.

This season Roberts has played in all but six games, getting a fair mix of time at third, first and mostly second base. Two weekends ago my girlfriend Angie Kinderman and I caught the Rays’ series against the Oakland Athletics at Tropicana. He went 4-11 with two RBI, two walks and two runs, on top of some stellar defensive plays to rob the A’s of quite a few hits. At 32-years-old he still looks great. I hope the best for him and his family for years to come. I also wish to thank him again for the time he gave me and for being a great sport with my line of questioning. And lastly, I still want to do an interview with him while we’re both getting tattooed. I had pitched that after our on-screen interview as a possible sketch in the Fan Cave, but alas, it never came to be. Someday perhaps.

#22- This guy and I have a history that goes back to the long summer days of the California League in 1999. I was in my first year as bat boy for the Bakersfield Blaze and he was in his second year win the league with the Modesto Athletics. It should be noted that he played 29 games with the Visalia Oaks in 1998, who were also an advanced-A affiliate of the Athletics at the time. He’s one of the few guys to be selected in three separate drafts; the first time coming in the 38^th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1994 June amateur draft, the second time in the fourth round by the Houston Astros in the 1997 amateur draft until finally getting taken in the eighth round by the A’s in the 1998 amateur draft as he opted to attend all four years of his college days at UCLA alongside fellow MLB gamers Garrett Atkins and Troy Glaus.

During the few games when we met and interacted with one another in Bakersfield he always tried to get me in trouble. Nothing major, just minor hazing type things like convincing me to steal his teammate’s pizzas after the games, sticking gum on the top of my hat while he was on-deck and always telling me I had a black widow spider on my back after one time when I actually did. He was one of a few guys from that squad (Jacques Landry, Ryan Ludwick and Marcus Jones) who always took the time to talk to me, joke around and never treated me like some kid. Needless to say, Eric Byrnes was one of the raddest dudes I had ever encountered in my life.

Being an A’s fan I’ll never forget about how awesome he played in the green and gold. He made his debut on August 22, 2000 and only had ten at-bats in the 10 games he played, batting .300 in the process. In 2001 he made appearances in 19 games before getting his big break in 2002 when he played in 90 games with the now historic “Moneyball” team who won 20 straight games on top of their 103-59 record. Byrnes has always been a solid hitter, despite most critics considering him to be a “free swinger.” His biggest accomplishment at the plate, with the A’s, came on June 29, 2003 when he hit for the cycle against the San Francisco Giants at Pac-Bell Park. It is one of the few times that Giants fans have ever given a standing ovation for an opposing player, let alone their Bay Area Rival. The A’s won 5-2 and Byrnes went 5-5 on the day. Despite having a career .270 average, 45 home runs and 164 RBI in the six years he played in Oakland, Byrnes was a regular fixture of highlight reels making body-sacrificing diving catches in the outfield game-after-game. It was rare to see Byrnes without grass stains or dirt on his jersey and his was aptly given the nicknames “crash test dummy” and “Pigpen.”

Despite being a key fixture in the lineup, let alone a fan favorite, Byrnes was traded to the Colorado Rockies after 59 games during the 2005 season. It should be noted that he was hitting .266 with seven home runs and 24 RBI in the six or seven hole. At that time Byrnes was arguably one of the best hitters on the team. To this day I’m still pissed about that move, especially considering the A’s got Joe Kennedy and Joe Witasick in return. What!?!? As if things couldn’t get any weirder, Byrnes lasted 15 games for the Rockies before being traded again to the Baltimore Orioles for Larry Bigbie. Once again, what!?!? The rest of Byrnes’ season was shaky. He hit three more home runs on the season and never got above .192 with the Rockies or Orioles. At the end of the season Byrnes became a free agent.

On December 30, 2005 Byrnes was offered a one-year $2.25 million deal from the Diamondbacks with the promise that he would be a regular fixture in centerfield. Byrnes happily accepted the terms. An optimistic Byrnes continued to make the highlight reel for his stellar defense, but more important, he got his swing back, batting .267 along with a career-high and team-leading 26 home runs and 79 RBI. He also swiped 25 bags and only got caught three times that season. The Diamondbacks were so impressed by his performance that year they signed him on for another year… which eventually led to a three-year $30 million extension in the middle of the 2007 season. What prompted this you might ask? Well… as I mentioned above the 2007 season, in my opinion, is the second best season the Diamondbacks ever had; most of which should be credited to Byrnes.

Throughout his 11-year career Byrnes never received any major awards, nor did he make a single All-Star Game roster; however, in 2007 he was certainly playing in a higher class. He finished in 11^th place in voting for the NL MVP that season, batting .286 with eight triples, 21 home runs, a career-high and team-high 83 RBI and 50 stolen bases. Un-be-lie-vable. Unfortunately for Byrnes his last three years in the league would be marred by injury. He only played in 136 games from 2008-2009; his last two years with the Diamondbacks and played in only 15 games with the Seattle Mariners in 2010 before they cut him loose. Shorty after, Byrnes retired from the game.

During the 2006 postseason Byrnes made a few appearances with Fox, ESPN’s Baseball Tonight and The Best Damn Sports Show Period, doing analyst work during the World Series and both League Championship Series. In 2007 Byrnes started doing on-scene work for KNBR in San Francisco which has transitioned into a nightly show as of 2011. Byrnes is also a regular fixture on MLB Network, once again working as an analyst on MLB Tonight. It’s because of these gigs that the two of us were reunited in Arizona for the Fan Cave.

On the first day one of the things I had quickly glanced over on our agenda sheet was a MLB trivia competition that would take place after our elevator pitches at Chase Field, the home of the Diamondbacks. The elevator pitch was basically us going into the post-game media room one-by-one to pitch why we would be a great fit for the Fan Cave. We only had 60 seconds and if we went longer there would literally be someone waiting to crack a gong too let us know. My speech was…

Whether the sun shines brightly or the Oregon rain pours upon my head, it’s baseball season. Baseball season is not the box score I read at breakfast and it’s not about the massive wall of hats I have looking down upon me when I wake every morning, ready to brave the elements as I share my stories and dedication with anyone I meet. Baseball is about the eccentricities, the nuances and the superstitions. It’s about the outlandish uniforms of the 1970s, the mustache gang, the fear the beards, but most of all it’s about the fans who come out in droves to support their local ball club, year-after-year. It’s about pain, sacrifice and doing what you love to succeed.

For the last few weeks I’ve done what I can to spread the word and show how much this game means to me. I worked tirelessly, always wanting to find that next baseball fan who shares my same enthusiasm. For the last two years I’ve dedicated my mind and body to the game that I love. For the last 16 years I’ve dedicated my time and resources to build my education to become the voice for the next generation of baseball fans. And for the past 26 years I’ve given my heart, year-after-year to the game that has given me the happiest and lowest moments of my life.

I don’t deserve a spot in the MLB Fan Cave, I earned it. Thank you.

Granted, that was merely a paraphrase. Either way, it was pretty damn inspiring even hearing it come out of my mouth. And yet, looking back on it, I guarantee that it was the best damn speech they’ve ever heard throughout this competition. I didn’t practice a word of it. It all came from the heart when I walked into that dark room. I didn’t stumble, and I still left two seconds on the clock. Everyone in the room clapped, and from what I could tell, they all had smiles on their faces. I should also point out that I flicked the gong with my finger before I walked out. It was really bothering me.

After everyone finished up we broke for lunch up the executive suite area of the park. Since I didn’t have a smart phone at the time I whipped out my computer and looked for a Wi-Fi signal so I could hit to Twitter and update my Facebook status. Roughly two minutes into firing up my computer the spread was served. Ball park food, of course. I decided to wait a minute so I could take care of business. Almost immediately after I was logged in to all of my accounts Baseball IQ host Matt Vasgersian and Byrnes came walking into the main hallway. I was frozen. I looked around and no one seemed to have noticed. I immediately put my computer away, walked out and greeted both of them. I shook Vasegersian’s hand, but the look on his face read, “who the hell is this clown?” as he looked upon me. With Byrnes, I brought up 1999.

Believe it or not, the blonde kid with the “Make 7-UP Yours" shirt is me, and this is what I pretty much looked like in 1999 and 2000. I don’t blame Byrnes for not recognizing me. Hell, I barely do when I look at this photo, but once I brought up some old stories and players it all started coming back a little bit more. I didn’t press it too much; just wanted to make conversation. But at the same time, I’ll totally admit that I was psyched to see him; he’s always been one of my Top-five favorite A’s players I’ve ever witnessed play.

As we soon found out from him and Vasgersian, the trivia format was going to be team-based and all of our answers would be written down to be revealed to make it fair. I had no beef with this. Our teams were all ready selected, but not told to us until right before the competition started. Somehow everyone either knew or assumed that I was some sort of a trivia master, so naturally everyone wanted me on their team. I’m not exaggerating this either. Everyone asked me to be a member of their team. I just said yes to everyone and moved on; mostly because I was told in advance that the teams were all ready predetermined. I ended up with Toronto Blue Jays representative Dave Barclay (@DaveBarc) and Minnesota Twins fan Lindsay Guentzel (@LindsayGuentzel). Every other team but ours and one other had four members. No matter, we made short work of them.

I don’t normally brag about anything; however, I take a lot of pride in knowledge when it comes to trivia. I’d say about 75% of the answers we got right I knew without help. On a few I needed Barclay’s help, I’ll admit, but not so much with Guentzel. In between rounds I was called upon to see if I knew the answers for any of the question in which our team wasn’t playing, one of which was to name every team that Byrnes played for. With the exception of Byrnes, I was the only one in the room who knew, including a guy who had actually been Baseball IQ; one of two questions where I impressed Byrnes. The second question to do so was to name the player who has one the most home run derbies. I’ll never forget Byrnes saying, “Well, we’re talking about a player who’s not even in their generation.” The team we were playing showed Vladimir Guerrero. I showed Ken Griffey, Jr., the right answer. Like I said, we made short work of the competition. Well, Dave and I did at least.

I wouldn’t see Byrnes again until May when he hit me up one night and asked if he could stop by the Fan Cave to check things out. The answer “no” never crossed my mind. When Byrnes rolled in he brought a bottle of wine and we all kicked it, watching and talking about baseball. It was hands down one of the coolest nights I ever experienced in the Fan Cave, let alone the baseball world. I kept trying to take photos for the Fan Cave Web site but everyone kept popping “The Shark” in the background. As many of you know, this is my little photo call sign, but at that time it was something that I had been photobombing everyone else in the Fan Cave with. So, everyone did it to me. And then eventually we started teaching it to players and so one. I gave Byrnes the scoop and the story behind it and decided to play along.

After he bounced he sent me a tweet to watch MLB Tonight around 7 the next night as he had a surprise for me. The next day was interesting because we were hosting a book release/signing party for one of my favorite writers, Joel Stein. But I’ll get to that part of the story in another post. But, when 7 PM came around we made sure to have MLB Network on a few of the Cave Monster screens. About five minutes in, with all of the editors of Time magazine and most of the executives from Major League Baseball in the house, this happened…

By far one of the most thoughtful things that anyone has ever done for me.

I’ll always hold Byrnes in high regards, and the same goes for Roberts. Both of those guys showed me that what I’ve been trying to accomplish for my entire life is the right path. They pursued their dreams of playing ball, just like I’ve pursued my dreams of being a journalist. I will never forget their kindness and encouragement. Thank you guys.

March 12- Arizona Diamondbacks

My original post today was going to consist of a Chicago White Sox hat used from 1976-1981; however, there was one specific moment in the history of that hat that prevented me from writing about it tonight. Instead, you’ll have to way until July. Sorry. Needing a new hat to write about, I had to jump on the bus back to my house on the south side of Eugene; a process which took way longer than it should have. After that I had what felt like a million other things to do on account that all of my finals are taking place this week. Hence the late post. So, without any further issues, here we go.

I wore this cap a few times throughout 2012; the most notable day coming on February 20th when I was featured in the University of Oregon campus newspaper The Daily Emerald because of my MLB Fan Cave campaign. The actual interview itself was kind of interesting, mostly because the writer conducting it was someone I was taking a Feature Writing class with at the time. Even though we had been talking on a near-daily basis for almost a month about the Fan Cave process, it still took him and the newspaper that long to care about the story. I mean, I’m a journalist at the school and a bunch of other student journalists didn’t really see the news value in my story. OK? Anyway, the interview was done over the phone; another thing I thought was weird because, as I said, we had class together. What was really funny about the interview, at least in my opinion, is that I was in the bathroom the entire time, throwing up in between each question because of a wicked stomach flu I was fighting. The questions varied around the lines of who I am, why I did this and then ended with a slew of baseball trivia questions. Despite my health, I answered all but one question correctly. That question? Who won the World Series in 1974? I had said the Cincinnati Reds, who did in fact win the Series in 1975 and 1976, but somehow I had spaced out on my team, the Oakland Athletics, taking it in ’74. It happens. Personally I blame the lack of electrolytes in my body. Meh! With the interview over I went to bed, but was interrupted by another call from him asking if it was cool if they took a few photos the next day. I obliged and passed out. The next day I met with the photographer and he took a series of photos of me with my shirt off. In keeping with the theme of heading to Arizona for the Top 30 a few days from then, I decided to roll with this hat to the photo shoot.

For those of you who didn’t all ready know; yes, I’m totally that dude with all the MLB tattoos you may have read about on Yahoo or Deadspin. I was also featured in an MLB tickets commercial which ran quite regularly throughout the season, but I’ll get to that in a different post.

The Arizona Diamondbacks only used this hat for one season in 1998, their inaugural year. They rarely wore it as it only served as their alternate road cap and therefore didn’t really build a long historical standing within the franchise. Which is a  shame considering the fact that it’s a pretty sweet hat. When the article ran on the 20^th the physical copy of the Emerald was printed in black and white; however, the online copy was printed in color (as seen above). I didn’t think much of it at the time. I was just happy that my school finally took the time to help me out with a bit of publicity.

When I moved back to Eugene at the start of 2013, I immediately started school on January 7th. As the days moved on I started to take notice at all the new faces around campus, as I had been gone for almost a full year. One thing about me is that , when I saw someone wearing a New Era cap I always look to see what team they’re wearing. I suppose that has mostly to do with being such an avid fan of the company and the game itself. For me, it’s a good conversation starter; however, as I walked around campus I started to notice a common hat amongst the sea of faces. This hat.

Back on February 2st1 I wrote about the Montgomery Biscuits alternate cap, and within it I mentioned that a lot of kids started rocking the cap not too long after they saw me sporting it. Prior to the interview I did with the Emerald I never saw anyone on campus wearing this cap. Today, and for the last two and a half months, I’ve noticed five to six people wearing it every single day. And not necessarily the same people each day. Am I missing something? Does this cap carry a secret meaning amongst the kids that I’m not aware of? Or did I start a new hat trend…again? These are serious questions. I mean, I don’t really mind being a trend setter, but I’m just confused why this hat seems to be the “ish” in Eugene; especially considering that it had such a short shelf life in the Show.

This, and many other New Era related unsolved mysteries, are things that I will hopefully be able to get to the bottom of by asking these questions. Hell, it worked for the Monte Irvin Los Angeles Angels post I had. So if you have any insight, please feel free to hit me up. Because until I hear or discover any other logical explanation, I can only assume that the kids of Eugene were inspired by my shirtless photo in the paper. Which is kind of cool, I guess.

Like a few other posts I’ve written, this Diamondbacks cap was the only one I ever had intentions on buying. Therefore, when I marked it up I used numbers which were personal to me, not necessarily about the era in which the cap was used.

#9- Matt Williams oddly enough was on the 1998 team, so I totally lucked out with that one. Williams was drafted by the San Francisco Giants with the third overall pick in 1986 and made his debut with the club in 1987. Despite my loyalty to the A’s, I always liked watching Williams play. From ’87-’89 Williams peaked right around the Mendoza line (.200) and was sent back to their AAA affiliate in Phoenix repeatedly. In 1990 it all came together. Williams hit .277 with 33 home runs and 122 RBI, which gave him a respectable sixth place finish for the National League MVP vote. In 1993 he finished sixth again, but in 1994 he finished in second place behind Jeff Bagwell despite having crushed 43 home runs before the players strike ended the season. At the end of the 1996 season the Giants opted night to resign their consistent-hitting third baseman and instead spent 1997 in Cleveland with the Indians on a one-year deal. In ’98 Williams found himself on a brand new team, literally, as the Diamondbacks were assembling a team with as much veteran talent as possible. For third base, Williams was their guy. He spent his final six seasons with the organization, going .278/99/381 in 595 games. During his tenure Williams set the single-season franchise RBI record of 142 in 1999, but most importantly, he helped the team win their one and only World Series in 2001. He finished his career making five All-Star teams, four Silver Sluggers awards, four Gold Gloves and one World Series title. Not too shabby.

#20- Gonzo. This is where I screwed up on my numbering. Luis Gonzalez spent the 1998 season in Detroit in his one and only year with the Tigers after spending eight years with the Houston Astros and two years with the Chicago Cubs. In 1999 the Diamondbacks rolled the dice and traded Karim Garcia to the Tigers for Gonzo; and the rest, as they say, is history. History’s sake consisted of Gonzo tying Williams’ 142 RBI record in 2001, the same year he crushed a career high 57 home runs and won a World Series ring. And not just any World Series ring, a ring against the New York Yankees. And not just any Yankees team, a team with Mariano Rivera closing the game out. And of course when I say closing the game out, I mean Gonzo tagged a Series-winning single up the middle practically off of his wrist. That hit alone can pretty much get him a free table and steak anywhere in Phoenix. Gonzo spent eight solid years in the desert going .298/224/774 during that stretch. A decent story I have about him came during our time in Arizona for the Top 30 interviews.

One of our assignments was to interview a player “randomly” selected by the executives. The person I was paired up with was Ryan “Tatman” Roberts. Shocker. I’ll get to that story another time though. As we were walking around Salt River Fields at Talking Stick I noticed a familiar face roaming around in a golf cart throughout a few of our interviews. He was wearing glasses and had a little bit less hair than I had remembered, but I could still spot that it was Gonzo. After we wrapped up our interviews we headed up to the perimeter of the executive offices for lunch. I was talking to a few of the other finalists when I noticed Gonzo out of the corner of my eye. He was about 50 yards away from me, asking Kyle Thompson if he was plying pool on either of the two tables in front of him. Kyle had elected to eat lunch by himself, and I could tell from the distance I was at he had no clue who he was talking to. Gonzo had merely gone over to ask about the pool tables because the covers were off. Kyle told him he wasn’t playing and proceeded to help him put the covers back on. It was at this time I started walking over to go strike up a conversation with him. It was also at this time that everyone noticed where I was going, and then noticed who I was going to talk to, at which they all decided it might be a good idea to follow. I introduced myself and one-by-one so did everyone else. He spent a good 20 minutes chatting with all of us; telling jokes, answering questions and just being an all-around good guy. He then said he had to head back inside to work at which I told him about the tattoo I had which is a tribute to his 2001 team winning the World Series (which is true and why I went with their classic colors). Gonzo took a quick peek and asked me to wait a minute before he walked back inside. About 15 seconds later he emerged with his phone and asked if it was cool if he could take a picture. That was by far one of the coolest moments of my life to have a big leaguer ask for a picture of me, even if it was just one of my tattoos. He then asked about the history behind it and when I got everything done before he finally headed back inside to more than likely sit around the office and continue being an awesome dude.

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.