“It Didn’t Take A Feather Out Of Me.”

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

july 15 spokane press 1905

One of the greatest games in baseball history happened on the Fourth of July.

It really did.

On July 4, 1905, the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Americans played a doubleheader at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds.

Doubleheaders, in those days before stadium lights, began bright and early in the morning.

(1910) Public Domain image.

Huntington Avenue Grounds

The A’s took the morning game 5-2. At some point late in the game, the A’s quirky lefty Rube Waddell came in, pitched in relief, and got a couple outs.

This would be of only passing note, except that Waddell then started the afternoon game. And, pitched a 20-inning complete game. And, won. Beating Cy Young (who also pitched all 20).

Every game your team wins is a great game. But, this really might have been the greatest.

box score

Twenty innings pitched by two of the greatest pitchers ever.

This conversation really happened:

The Baseball Bloggess: “How about that ‘the greatest baseball game on record’ happened on the Fourth of July?”

Editor/Husband: “How about that ‘the greatest baseball game on record’ was 20 innings and was over in three hours and 31 minutes?”

(The average nine-inning game these days – what with all the commercials and instant replay and batting gloves and infield shifting – hovers around the three-hour mark.)

Waddell later estimated that he threw 250 pitches in that single game. Cy Young thought he pitched slightly fewer.

(No one counted in those days.)

“That 20-inning game was the best game I ever pitched,” Waddell said. “But it didn’t take a feather out of me. I felt just as good after the game was over as I did during the contest.”

(1909) Permission: SDN-055366, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum.

Rube Waddell

“I can’t claim that I did better work than Young,” Waddell said. “I had the luck. … The fact that it was the Fourth of July kept me going, and I guess the shooting of revolvers and the fireworks and the yelling made me pitch better.”

Wait, what? Revolvers?

Fireworks, in the daytime?

Holy crap.

Our great-grandparents were crazy (and dangerous)!

Waddell was nicknamed “Rube” because he was thought to be a little slow, a goofy, country bumpkin. Young was nicknamed “Cy” – for Cyclone – because it was said he threw fastballs so hard they would destroy the wooden grandstand walls.

Waddell loved a good drink and would skip starts to go fishing or wrestle alligators or play street games with neighborhood kids. He could become so distracted on the mound that he would just up and leave. (Fans of other teams suggested that holding a puppy up at a game would distract Waddell from his work.)

But, his pitching itself, including a powerful fastball and deceptive curve, reflected a focus and control that he lacked in other aspects of his life. On at least one occasion, he was so “on” that he shooed his outfielders out of the game and proceeded to strike out the side.

(1908) Permission: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division #LC-USZ62-77897 DLC

Cy Young

Cy Young was far less colorful, except when he pitched. He threw the first perfect game of the modern era (against, wouldn’t you know it, the A’s and Waddell in 1904) and won 511 career games, the most by any pitcher ever, which is why pitchers today vie for the Cy Young award and not the Rube Waddell award.

Here’s your 20-second 20-inning recap of that Fourth of July game.

The Americans went up 2-0 in the first. The A’s tied it up with a two-run home run in the sixth. Then, for the next 13 innings, nothing.

Finally, sometime before dark, in the 20th inning, Boston – and Young – faltered. A couple Boston errors, and a batter hit by pitch, allowed the A’s to cobble together two runs, and a victory.

Despite the loss, it was, Young said, “the greatest game of ball I ever took part in.”

The glove Waddell used that day is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

POST-SCRIPT:

Both Waddell and Young are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Their combined 20-inning complete game was a pitching record that stood – for one season. In 1906, the A’s and Americans met again at Huntington Grounds. This time the A’s Jack Coombs and the Americans’ Joe Harris combined for a 24-inning complete game. (The A’s won that one, too.)

The Philadelphia A’s moved to Kansas City in 1955 and Oakland in 1968. They are currently 52-33, the best record in baseball.

The Boston Americans are now called the Red Sox. They are currently 38-47. Their Fourth of July game today with the Baltimore Orioles has been rained out. Doubleheader tomorrow!

Oh, hey … one more thing!

Waddell went 0-for-8 at the plate in that 1905 game. Only one other player has gone 0-for-8 in a game AND gotten the win. And, it was against Boston, too.

The Orioles’ Chris Davis, the designated hitter, was moved to pitcher at the end of a 17-inning game against the Red Sox in May 2012 when the team ran out of available pitchers. He hadn’t ever pitched in the big leagues before. He pitched two scoreless innings. He got the win. He hasn’t pitched since.

(Editor/Husband would want me to tell you this: That 2012 O’s – Red Sox game? It took six hours.)

Watch the two-minute highlights here.

Happy Fourth of July!

Baseball’s Not A Spectator Sport … Vote for Nick!

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

A friend told me recently she hates baseball.

“I hate all spectator sports, but I especially hate baseball.”

I’m pretty sure she doesn’t read this blog.

I think her baseball-hate thing comes from a long-ago doofus boyfriend who would watch the Mets on television with his father and not include her.

Baseball, as in many things, has its share of doofuses.

But, you shouldn’t hate baseball, just because you dated a dolt. (And, really, if your boyfriend is bringing his dad to your date night, you’ve got relationship problems well beyond baseball.)

The thing that really bothers me, though, is that she called baseball a spectator sport – some boring, passive, sit-around-and-watch sort of thing.

Binge-watching Downton Abbey is a passive spectator sport. Oh, and it will probably kill you.

Baseball is no spectator sport.

Even at our laziest, we always get up and stretch in the 7th inning.

To be a real baseball fan, however, requires a bit more than just a stretch. It takes commitment and, occasionally, Gatorade.

There are those slightly weird, old-fashioned purists who bring their scorecards to games and carefully pencil in every play.

Yeh, it’s mine. So?

(I met a nice old fella at an Orioles game this season who chuckled because I did my scorecard in pencil. He and his wife keep separate cards. In pen. Show offs!)

There are fans who will happily wear whatever in order to break a Guinness World Record in the middle of a game.

Angels Fans in Santa Hats, 2014.

… and in Cowboy Hats, 2012

Snuggies … wigs … wrestling masks.

Wacky Angels fans don’t care. They’ll wear anything!

Always on alert, there are fans catching foul balls and home run balls at every turn, sometimes even while holding a baby.

There are fans who dance …

… and kiss …

… and sing …

Even if you aren’t actually at the game, there is still much doing to be done.

Have you voted for your All Stars, yet?

Because, you only have until this Thursday, July 3, to vote online for the starting line-ups for this year’s game.

You might think this is where I will beg you to vote for all the Baltimore Orioles.

You would be wrong. Even The Baseball Bloggess can’t vote for all of them. Not this year.

But, I can vote for a few, and there’s one in particular that deserves – and needs – your support.

Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis.

His plays in the field are seldom flashy, simply because he positions himself so well, that he rarely has to overcorrect. (It’s often those over-correctors who make the highlight reels with their crazy chin-first swan dives into the ground.)

His uniform stays pretty clean in the field.

He made NO errors in 2013. He played right field in 155 games – all nine innings in 152 of them – and made NO errors. NO errors in his 74 games this season either.

I bet YOU made an error at work last year. Nick Markakis did not.

Trust me, it’s not for lack of work. It’s not like the Orioles crack team of starting pitchers is striking everybody out.

His glove stays plenty busy.

He is stellar in the outfield. But, unheralded, because he goes about his business without grandstanding.

Just one Gold Glove. (2011)

He is steady and reliable as the Orioles leadoff hitter, batting .298 this season. (Geek Alert: .358 OPB/.410 Slugging).

But, no showing off, no fancy home run handshakes, no bat flipping, no jawing at umpires.

And, in nine big league seasons NO All-Star Game appearance.

And, that just stinks.

So, Vote for Nick.

Because he does this …

And, this …

(Yes, they won.)

And, this …

And, that was just in June.

Or, as Orioles’ Manager Buck Showalter says, “He makes our highlight reel every night.”

Don’t Be a Spectator. Vote Here.

And, Vote for Nick.

It’s A Hoo’s Wrap

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

Last week, the University of Virginia came within two runs of winning the College World Series.

(This is my gentle way of saying that UVa lost 3-2, without actually saying “UVa lost,” which is still just a little too painful to say, unless I mumble “they lost” quietly inside these parentheses.)

Congratulations to Vanderbilt who took two of three against UVa last week. In Game 3 on Wednesday night, Vanderbilt was just the better team. They played as if they had nothing to lose. UVa played as if they had everything to lose.

Thanks for breaking my heart, Vanderbilt.

(Don’t you find it sketchy when colleges and universities refuse to tell you their location in their names? I mean, I don’t want to start a rumor, but maybe Vanderbilt is hiding something.)

On Thursday night, UVa hosted a “Welcome Home” celebration for the Hoos as they returned to Charlottesville. They may have lost that one last game, but they still had an outstanding 53-16 winning season.

Did I go?

Of course I did. (Thank you to the clients who kindly let me juggle their appointments Thursday evening so I could be there.)

My very handsome and wonderful Editor/Husband got me this sweet College World Series cup!

It was a great opportunity to cheer the team one more time.

Did The Baseball Bloggess geek out when she got to meet some players and coaches? She’s not saying.

(Yes. Yes, she did.)

Here’s the 2014 UVa highlights video they showed that night. (Look for me and Editor/Husband in the crowd shots!)

A few weeks ago, I met Jeff Curry at a game. He attends plenty of UVa baseball games and he draws them as they unfold.

He draws basketball and football games, too, but his favorite art comes from the diamond.

~ Jeff Curry, Artist

Curry used to play baseball, now he draws it. This is his 2014 UVa season wrap-up piece, as he was working on it Thursday night.

“I have been drawing collegiate and professional baseball games most of my life,” he says. “I really enjoy the silent tension that comes with the game as the drawing allows me to fully absorb it. The crack of the bat amidst the calm really opens the creative angle and the pen or paintbrush really flows.”

~ Jeff Curry, Artist

UVa defeats Maryland 11-2 in Game 3 of the Super Regionals, June 9, 2014. The players often autograph Curry’s artwork.

“Witnessing any hit for a go-ahead run is simply the best,” Curry said, “but that walk-off in the 15th inning against TCU [at the College World Series on June 17], please!”

Oh heck, let’s watch it again …

So, that’s a wrap for the 2014 University of Virginia baseball season.

The other night at dinner, a friend asked Editor/Husband what I was going to do now that UVa baseball is over.

Hey, the major league season is just at the halfway point. There’s a whole lot of baseball left.

But, after the Orioles’ miserable series against Tampa this weekend, it might be one ugly summer.

Davenport Field is quiet tonight. But, UVa’s informal Fall Ball Season is back in September. That means we’ll be back in our seats at “The Dav” in no time.

_________

(You noticed! Yes, I have changed the name of my blog. You can now find me at www.thebaseballbloggess.com … because, well, because someone had to be THE Baseball Bloggess, and it might as well be me. More on the new “me” soon.)

Fauxetry In Motion

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

“To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” ~ Isaac Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion

Friday, I wrote about poetry, and the poetry of a perfect play in baseball … a motion that is beautiful and effortless and just-so.

But, for every bit of perfect poetry, there must be an equal and opposite reaction.

Mustn’t there?

Fauxetry.

And so, to even things up this week, there was this.

Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies. Saturday, June 21, 2014

Of course, players somewhere will try to straddle the line between poetry and fauxetry.

If you put your team in throwback 1970s-era Houston Astros jerseys, don’t be surprised when this happens.

Houston Astros at Tampa Bay Rays. Saturday, June 21, 2014

Poetry? Fauxetry?

You decide.

No, wait. I’ll decide. My blog, my decision.

Houston Astros wearing hideous, yet strangely kind of cool 1970s jerseys grooving in the dugout?

Even AL batting leader Jose Altuve (.336) can’t not dance as he walks by.

The baseball “law of motion” is this:

If it makes you dance … Poetry.

Sit Back. Watch Poetry.

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

Tennis, World Cup, Baseball, Poetry. And, I buried the lead. Again.

Poetry is said to be emotion set to words.

Which, if the poetry is good, is deep and satisfying and stays with you like the memory of those crazy-good chocolate-chipotle and salted caramel gelatos from Splendora’s that I just started thinking about … and now I can’t shake.

Gelato Poetry.

Not all poetry is good.

But, good poetry doesn’t need to be long or deep or hard to cut through.

This is good poetry. It’s one of my favorite poems that I recite to myself nearly every day.

Righty-tighty.

Lefty-loosey.

See, poetry can be beautiful and useful, too.

(I might argue that “Suckity, suck, suck” which sometimes slips out of me when the Orioles go bad at about the sixth inning is poetry, too. Not beautiful, but there’s a certain rhythmic honesty to it, don’t you think?)

Most important, poetry must be just-so. Just the right amount of words and rhythm and voice to convey an emotion or a thought. And, nothing more.

One of my clients was at the French Open and when I asked him how it was he said simply, “Roger Federer is poetry.”

Federer is nearing the end of his career and was defeated early on in the Open, but, I knew what he meant.

Poetry in writing and in athletics and in Yoga … is when you don’t do too much, but you do just enough.

It appears effortless, even when you know that it isn’t.

You can see here, that my client is right about Federer.

And, here’s World Cup poetry. Guillermo Ochoa is the goalkeeper for Mexico. During this week’s game against heavily favored Brazil, they played to a tie, and Ochoa did this.

But, a tie, strangely enough, leaves the story untied, untidy, and unfinished.

A good poem, like a good baseball game, will always end. On Tuesday, it took the University of Virginia Cavaliers 15 innings, and nearly five hours, to defeat Texas Christian University in the College World Series.

UVa Shortstop Daniel Pinero had two errors in the game, including one that led to an unearned run for TCU.

But, poetry has a habit sometimes of wrapping things up neatly, forgiving the sins of the past, and making things just-so. Like this.

Pinero Poetry.

A good poem will hold you. It’s too beautiful to turn away.

Watching LA Dodger Clayton Kershaw pitch is always poetry. Seemingly effortless and beautiful to watch.

Listening to longtime broadcaster Vin Scully call a Dodger’s game, something he’s been doing for 65 years, is poetry, too. The rhythm, the words, and the beautiful silence that stretches between. Just right.

To see Kershaw pitch a no-hitter this week, with Scully sitting beside you … forget the rest of this post. THIS is poetry.

“And now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to sit back and watch it with you.”

_________

And, here’s Part 2 … Fauxetry In Motion.

OmaHoos!

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

Before today, I knew just three things about Nebraska:

1) They have the only unicameral legislature in the country.

2) Carhenge is there(and I once forced Editor/Husband to go there and he got me a tee-shirt).

3) The College World Series is played every year in Omaha.

I’m sure Nebraska’s a very nice place, and despite a strong argument that inventing Kool Aid is pretty awesome, I think my Top Three list hits the high points.

(Editor/Husband would like me to point out that Bob Gibson, Rex Barney, Gregg Olson, and Sloppy Thurston are all from Nebraska, and I shouldn’t be so fast to close the door on interesting facts.)

But, this post isn’t about Carhenge (which means many of you will just stop reading now).

It’s about this: the University of Virginia Cavaliers will be playing in this year’s College World Series which kicks off this weekend.

To join the seven other teams in Omaha, UVa first had to emerge from a weekend regional tournament (where they beat Bucknell once and Arkansas twice) and last weekend’s Super Regional best of three against the University of Maryland Terrapins.

Editor/Husband and I went to every game.

Look, it’s us!

It came down to Game 3 on Monday night against Maryland. And, at the risk of burying the lead, which I’m afraid I’ve already done, this happened at 10:17 p.m.

Followed by this …

Followed closely by this …

You can see the dogpile ballet in slow motion here.

You can see the team climbing into the bleachers with us here.

You can almost see me.

A recap of the Virginia/Maryland weekend:

UVa lost Game 1 on Saturday.

game 1 box

It was during that especially hot and humid day game that I nearly succumbed to heat exhaustion. I’m not kidding. I almost passed out. It took two bottles of Gatorade before the field stopped spinning. My face was covered in a thin layer of grit which I later discovered to be salt that my body had leached completely out.

Editor/Husband was impressed that despite my weakened state, I was still scoring the game on my scorecard.

This conversation really happened:

ME: If I die you’ll need to write something on my blog to let people know I’m dead.

E/H: OK. Amanda* can help me with that.

ME: Tell them I died at a baseball game, it will make a better post.

E/H: OK.

* Amanda knows raptors and, apparently, Word Press.

Rehydrated, I rallied for Game 2. So did UVa.

game 2 box

And, it came down to Monday night’s Game 3.

game 3 box

Happy Hoo. Unhappy Terps.

FUN FACT: The University of Virginia Cavaliers are known informally as the Hoos, which is short for Wahoos. Back in the 1890s, baseball fans at Washington & Lee University called UVa’s baseball fans a “rowdy bunch of Wahoos.” The name stuck. (UVa didn’t become the Cavaliers until the 1920s.)

You can see University of Virginia take on Ole Miss in the first round of the College World Series this Sunday, June 15, on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. EDT.

If you do, you’ll likely see this guy …

All-American Pitcher Nathan Kirby

And, these guys …

Shortstop Daniel Pinero and First Baseman Mike Papi

Pitcher Nick Howard

Third Baseman Kenny Towns

Third Baseman/Designated Hitter John LaPrise

Right Fielder Joe McCarthy

Left Fielder Derek Fisher

“Fish” threw a lot of foul balls into the stands this weekend. I nearly caught one.

She caught it instead.

And, this is Wyatt.

He goes to almost all the UVa home games and sits just a few rows down from us.

Wyatt’s either happy the Hoo’s are winning or happy that his mom just bought him some ice cream.

Probably both.

Go Hoos!

Photos: University of Maryland vs. University of Virginia, June 7, 8, and 9, 2014, Davenport Field, Charlottesville, Virginia

Free Baseball: Hoos, Ostriches & Vultures Edition

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

When the game is tied after nine, baseball goes to extra innings. Free baseball!

Here are some extras that I have lying around …

10th INNING ~ Go Hoos!

If you’re shopping for baseball players, the first round of the Major League Draft was last night. Three members of the University of Virginia Cavaliers were chosen in the first round: Nick Howard, RHP (Cincinnati Reds), Derek Fisher, OF (Houston Astros), and Mike Papi, IF/OF (Cleveland Indians).

But, before heading off to their new paying jobs, there’s still this business with the College World Series to attend to. Good luck this weekend in your games against Maryland. Go Hoos!

Would the #1 ranked college team please put your glove in the air?

Thank you, UVa Freshman SS Daniel Pinero. (Hey Susie, he’s Canadian!)

(Watch the University of Virginia Cavaliers vs. the University of Maryland Terrapins Saturday and Sunday at noon, EDT on ESPN2. Game 3, if necessary, is Monday at 4 p.m.)

11th INNING ~ Ostriches

I thought it couldn’t be real. They call it an Ostrich Pillow, a napping, pillow-y, cave-like thing that makes you look kind of dead. It creeps me out and mesmerizes me all at the same time. It’s real … sweet apple cider, it’s real!

ostrich pillow

Orioles Fans, Is your starting pitching falling apart again and it’s only the second inning? Tuck into Ostrich Pillow!

NFL, Still refuse to acknowledge your ugly concussion crisis? Here, stick your head in!

Editor/Husband, Wondering how much longer this game can go on? Answer: MUCH longer. How about a half-inning snooze?

Endless meetings. Dinner party guests that just won’t leave. Mind-numbing political rants from the drunk uncle who gets all his news from Fox.

Ostrich Pillow.

ostrich pillow2

I’m so glad it’s real!

12th INNING ~ Keep Calm & Carrion

Buttercup is a black vulture that lives at the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

Buttercup

Vultures – or buzzards as some people call them – are one of the world’s greatest recyclers. They eat the rotting meat of dead animal carcasses lying on roadsides and in fields that would otherwise spread disease and kill us all. Vultures are our great protectors.

Vultures are also misunderstood.

It is ok to dislike the New York Yankees because they upset the economics of baseball with their pocket-change millions. It is NOT ok to dislike vultures because they’re a bit wrinkley on the outside and like to fly around around in circles overhead looking for a snack.

(And, yes, they do pee on their legs sometimes, but really, who doesn’t?)

They are sociable creatures with amazing stomach enzymes. (I’m talking about the vultures here, not the Yankees.) Thousands of humans might go down, but a vulture would never succumb to food poisoning on a cruise ship.

Celebrate vultures and Buttercup with the Wildlife Center’s new “Spring Carrion” line of tee-shirts and tote bags. You’ll be helping a great organization and helping spread one of the best worst puns ever.

(P.S. If you’re planning on using your Ostrich Pillow outdoors, please watch out for vultures.)

13th INNING ~ Yay!

Oh, how I love the hidden ball trick. And, this is one of the best!

Florida vs. College of Charleston. May 30, 2014

Watch it here.

Isn’t college baseball grand?

The Tubby Rule ~ “Girls Are Not Eligible Under Any Conditions.”

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

1954

“I simply wanted to play the game that I loved.” ~ Kay “Tubby” Johnston Massar, the first girl to play Little League baseball, 1950.

Watch this stupid scene from an otherwise pretty good movie.

“There’s no crying in baseball.”

It’s a big lie and, if you have ever loved baseball … and loved a team … you’ve cried. If nothing else, you’ve sniffled a little (swallowed hard and wiped your nose on your shirt), which you might say is not crying, but, trust me, it is.

If you’ve never cried at least once when your team has let you down (see: Orioles, Cubs), or cried with joy when your team wins a World Series (see: Red Sox, Yankees, etc etc), or with despair when your team ruined your evening by squandering a perfectly adequate – and rare – five-hit, two-run performance by your struggling starter and then losing to one of the worst teams in baseball (see: Orioles, again), you really don’t love baseball, so stop saying you do.

(Some of the greatest to ever play the game have cried. And, there is no shame in that.)

So, when Kay Johnston Massar told me that when she was a young girl growing up in Corning, New York she cried as she watched her brother go off to play Little League, I understood.

If you love a game as much as she did – and still does – you would cry, too, if you were left behind.

But, this is not a story about crying.

courtesy of Kay Johnston Massar

Massar’s mother saw a notice in the paper that there was another Little League tryout coming up.

It was 1950, though, and girls did not play Little League baseball. Leastways, no one had ever done it before.

So, Massar had her mom cut off her braids, pushed what was left of her hair up under a ball cap, took her sister’s bike, and pedaled off to tryouts.

Her father had taught her to play and love the game. She played sandlot games with her brother Tom and his friends. She was good.

“I’m going to make the team,” she promised her mom. “I bet you will,” her mom replied.

Before she left, her mom suggested she change her name so no one would know she was a girl. Kay became “Tubby”, after the loyal best friend in the Little Lulu comics.

Tubby’s story might have faded away, except for one important thing.

She made the team.

courtesy of Kay Johnston Massar

“Tubby” Johnston was the first girl to play Little League baseball.

Some of you and your googling will try to tell me I’m wrong. You’ll say Maria Pepe was the first. No. Although her lawsuit in the early 1970s opened the door for all girls to play. Some of you will argue for Janine Cinseruli. No. Although she was the first girl to play a full season post-lawsuit in 1974.

Some of you will say, “Girls don’t play baseball.” Now, you’re just being disruptive. (Here. Read this. Then you can come back and read the rest of this post.)

Back to Tubby Johnston.

“When I tried out for Little League baseball I was not trying to be a beacon for women’s rights,” Massar says. “I simply wanted to play the game that I loved.”

Corning, New York wasn’t just any Little League town in 1950 either. Corning had made it to the semifinals of the Little League World Series in 1949 and the quarter-finals in 1948.

Not every kid who tried out got to play in Corning. Corning was tough. You had to earn your way in.

Tubby Johnston was tough too. And, she earned her way in.

Soon after being assigned to play first base for the King’s Dairy team, she told her coach the truth – he had a 14-year-old girl on his Little League squad.

The coach decided that there were no written rules at the time that specifically prohibited a girl from playing. And, if Tubby was good enough to make the team, she was good enough to play.

She played first base all season – she could hit, she could field. (When she finally got a proper first baseman’s glove of her own she slept with it. “I loved the smell of the leather,” she told me.)

When her teammates were told that Tubby, their first baseman, was actually a girl named Kay, they accepted her, she says. “They said, ‘Well, she plays as well as we do.’” And, then she adds, “Actually, I was better.”

But, they never did call her Kay. She was always “Tubby.”

Adults, on the other hand, could be cruel.

When the news broke that a girl was playing Little League in Corning, the fans turned out to watch. Many cheered, but many adults would jeer at her from the stands, call her names, or come right up to her and tell her she was a “freak” for playing baseball with boys.

“I didn’t let it bother me, I didn’t want to raise a commotion or squeal about it,” Massar says. “I didn’t want to get kicked off the team.”

(I told you she was tough.)

King’s Dairy was a prestigious team, highly prized by Little Leaguers, not only because they won a lot, but because after games the coach would take the kids to the dairy store and treat them to banana splits and milkshakes.

That 1950 season was Tubby’s first and last in Little League. After the season, Little League passed the “Tubby Rule” which stated in full:

“Girls Are Not Eligible Under Any Conditions.”

The rule stood until it was overturned in the courts in 1974.

By then, however, most girls were playing softball. That trend pretty much continues. Last year, just one girl played at the Little League Baseball World Series – Eliska Stejskalova, from the Czech Republic, who played for the Europe-Africa Team.

(In 2005, Katie Brownell, the only girl playing Little League baseball in Oakfield, NY, pitched a perfect six-inning Little League game – 18 up, 18 down. All strike outs.)

After Little League, Massar played a few years of softball herself, before getting on with things, becoming a nurse, getting married, having a family.

She was a tough softball player, too. Once, while sliding into second, she dislocated her shoulder. While coaches were trying to hustle her off to the hospital she was busy arguing with the umpire that she should have been called safe.

And, she almost got herself into a football game. Not long after her Little League season, she dressed in her brother’s football uniform one day when he was sick, put on his helmet, and tried to take his spot on the field. A fellow player ratted her out to the coach, however. “The coach ran out on the field shouting ‘Stop, Kay! Stop, Kay!’ or I would have been the first girl to play football, too.”

She still loves baseball. Her father was a lifelong Yankees fan, and she carries on the pinstripe tradition. (Derek Jeter is her #1. And, yes, she’s heartbroken that Robinson Cano, “the best second baseman in the game,” has left the Yanks for the Mariners.)

Today, she lives in Yuba City, California and gets to local college games and to an occasional Oakland A’s game each season.

“My dream as a child was to play first base for the Yankees, but I am still waiting to be called up,” Massar said and then asked, “Do you think that it is too late?”

Massar is 78 this year. She was joking.

I think.

She threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium in 2006. (“I one-hopped it to [Jorge] Posada,” she admits.)

And, at an Oakland A’s game in 2010.

Come on, San Francisco Giants! Massar is near you. Why not let her throw one out at AT&T Park this season?

Massar has been honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York and at the Little League Museum in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

She is featured in a new film commemorating the 75^th anniversary of Little League which will air on PBS in June.

Oh, and hey, just one more thing.

Sports Illustrated has written about Massar a couple times, most recently in 2011. In that article, the writer suggested that Massar would trip runners as they rounded first base.

Massar would like to clear that up.

She was tough, but she didn’t routinely trip players. She wasn’t a cheater.

But, she did trip one.

“He pushed me down because I was a girl. So, the next time around I tripped him.”

That “kid” is now in his 70s, and he saw the Sports Illustrated story. He tracked down a mutual schoolfriend. “He said, ‘Tell her I’m sorry,’” Massar said, “So I finally got an apology.”

courtesy of Kay Johnston Massar

“I got to do a great thing. I got to play the game I loved.”

(Thank you to Kay Johnston Massar, who still loves baseball.)

Part 2: Grant Turns Four

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

“Never forget, there is a heartbeat in this game.” ~ Joe Torre, former player & manager (Baseball Hall of Fame, 2014)

Here’s Grant.

Yesterday, Grant turned four. And, all he wanted to do for his birthday was to play some ball with his dad at the nearby baseball diamond.

We were nearby, too. We had just transported and released a spotted turtle to a lakeside just a few blocks away.

(Click here for Part 1 and relive the spotted turtle adventure.)

Just as we were driving off, I saw the baseball diamond.

“Let’s stop here,” I said to Editor/Husband when I spotted the diamond. Or, maybe it was something more like a shouted, “HEY! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU??? STOP!!!” just to make sure we didn’t drive too fast, too far away.

And, that’s where we found Grant and his dad. Playing ball.

Grant would like you to know that he is a Washington Nationals’ fan and Bryce Harper is his favorite player.

Grant has the swagger of a big leaguer. He knows how to swing the bat,

knock the dirt off his cleats, and dig into the batter’s box.

“When I hit the ball, I do want to hurt it.” ~ Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals

He’s got pretty good speed for being only four, and the sort of youthful stamina …

… that runs out every home run full-tilt as if it was a thisclose inside-the-parker.

He can slide feet first whether he needs to or not.

And, his very first head-first slide into home is documented here.

When pitching, he has an intimidating stare …

… an unorthodox pitching style that occasionally includes standing behind the rubber …

… and the confidence to shake off the catcher whenever necessary.

“I’m really trying to be a pitcher out there. I’m not trying to light up the radar gun all the time.” ~ Stephen Strasburg, P, Washington Nationals

As for fielding …

“A player running the bases shall be out, if the ball is in the hands of an adversary on the base, or the runner is touched with it before he makes his base; it being understood, however, that in no instance is a ball to be thrown at him.” ~ The Knickerbocker Rules, 1845.

Well, they’re working on that.

“I just like to play the game.” ~ Ryan Zimmerman, INF, Washington Nationals

Happy Birthday, Grant.

You’re why I love baseball.

(Oh, and P.S. I know you love the Nats and all, but couldn’t you just give the Orioles a try?)

Photos: Saturday, May 24, 2014, Fawn Lakes Baseball Diamond, Spotsylvania, Virginia

(Thank you to Grant and his dad, Shane Reid.)

________________________________

Part 1 ~ There You Go, Turtle!

An Incredibly Perfect Pie

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Jackie, The Baseball Bloggess

My mom made an incredibly perfect pie.

Nearly every single one ever … perfect.

(If there was an imperfect pie from time to time, my mother was no frugal cook. She had no respect for cooks who would serve something that was a little off. When an imperfection did come up in her kitchen, no matter how small, she would dump the offending item down the garbage disposal with the efficiency of a cold, calculating hit man. Dump. Gone. She was scary that way.)

So, I thought for Mother’s Day, I would celebrate my mom’s pies.

And, as I was writing this, it struck me. My mom didn’t even like pie.

She’s not around to ask, but I’m suddenly very sure of this.

I think she found pies old fashioned and uninteresting.

I, on the other hand, loved pie.

Fruit pies, and especially rhubarb and juneberry pies, were kitschy and old fashioned and I wanted to be the interesting girl who liked the quirky pies.

My dad liked chocolate pie. No fancy chocolate pie, just the pudding-mix sort.

This must have been incredibly insulting to my mom who would have happily melted exotic chocolates in a double boiler to create a delicious pie.

So, she made me quirky pies and she made him chocolate pudding-mix pies.

But, now that I think about it, I never recall her ever eating a piece of pie, unless she was just being sociable, or to take a quick taste of what she had baked (and to ensure that she shouldn’t throw it out and start over). She was a nose-crinkler when something wasn’t quite right. And, I think I saw her take a small bite of pie from time to time and crinkle her nose the same way I do when the milk in the fridge doesn’t smell quite right.

My mom may have disliked pie, but she made some of the best.

(You may say that your mom made the best pie in the world, but this is my post and you are wrong.)

So, in honor of Mother’s Day, here’s a quick celebration of pie, with a little baseball on the side …

1) Pie-ing the hero of a baseball game is classy.

(Gatorade dumping, in contrast, is stupid and rarely hits the intended target.)

The Baltimore Orioles have made the pie game an art.

Last season, the Orioles even gave away tee-shirts honoring their pie-in-the-face fun.

Traditionally, face-smash pies were made of shaving cream, presumably because ballplayers don’t have time to whip up a light and eggy custard pie. (And, as many players go shave-free during the season, I suppose there is plenty of excess shaving cream just sitting around.)

Eyes were burned with shaving cream pies.

This year, Dangerously Delicious Pies in Baltimore is supplying two real pies for every home game – just for pie-ing the hero of the game. (Spoiler Alert: No pie-ing today, the Orioles lost.)

Here’s what a proper pie-ing looks like …

“It tastes pretty good.”

Catcher Steve Clevenger’s walk-off RBI double wins the game for the Orioles in the 10th against the Houston Astros on Saturday night.

But, there are some players who, through their tenure and superstar status, are exempt from pie-ing.

Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis is one of them.

Here’s how you appropriately pie a superstar veteran when his hit wins the game …

April 26 vs the KC Royals.

(Please note at the :50 mark when someone from the bullpen – I don’t know who – leans over and tastes the pie off of the ground. This is why I love bullpen pitchers. Because they are weird.)

When the Orioles win the World Series this year (and they will), we will look back at this magical Markakis (and J.J. Hardy) moment and think, “But, of course.”

2) My mom taught me a lot, including how to make a pie crust.

I’m not a particularly fast learner and it took her a few years before I got it right. My mother was not a patient teacher and I think she was, deep down, embarrassed that it took me so long to figure it out.

The trick is cold vegetable shortening and ice cold water.

My mother would tell you this about that …

Yes, vegetable shortening. (Butter has its place in this world, but not in a pie crust. Unless you make your living slinging pies, just swallow your pride and stick to shortening.)

My mother would dismissively nose-crinkle you if you miss the important nuance of the water. Tap water is not “ice cold.” Ice cold tells you right there in its name that you need ice in your water, got it?

Here’s pretty much the pie crust recipe she taught me.

You may now roll out your perfect dough and commence to making the pie of your choice.

3) This is Felix Pie.

Photo Courtesy of Keith Allison CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0), via Wikimedia Commons

It is correctly pronounced “Pee-AY”, but I always called him Mr. Pie.

Felix Pie played for the Orioles, mainly in a utility role, from 2009 to 2011. He played for the Pirates last year, and seems to be playing for a South Korean team now.

I can’t think of any other reason to mention him here, except that he will always be Mr. Pie to me.

___________________

I can’t believe I just realized that my mom hated pie.

But, she made them anyway because I liked them.

I miss those pies. Thanks, mom.

The Baseball Bloggess

Loves the 4-6-3 and the Serial Comma.

Category Archives: Baseball

“It Didn’t Take A Feather Out Of Me.”

Baseball’s Not A Spectator Sport … Vote for Nick!

It’s A Hoo’s Wrap

Fauxetry In Motion

Sit Back. Watch Poetry.

OmaHoos!

Free Baseball: Hoos, Ostriches & Vultures Edition

The Tubby Rule ~ “Girls Are Not Eligible Under Any Conditions.”

Part 2: Grant Turns Four

An Incredibly Perfect Pie

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