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Baseball Movie You Must See

When we watch professional baseball players on TV or at the ballpark, none of us really understand what most had to go through to get to the top.

Getting there is even harder for the non-American players, who are in a totally unfamiliar place, without family and don’t have the words to communicate more than through actions on the field.

The movie SUGAR portrays a pitcher; Miguel Santos from the Dominican Republic drafted at age 16 by the Kansas City Royals and follows his steps through the minor leagues.  Santos’ nickname is ‘Sugar’ for his knuckle curveball was that sweet.

This movie will engross any baseball fan, as you fathom from the vast pressure put on someone so young to go all the way. From family you never knew to the realization that if this doesn’t work out that you are unequivocally uneducated to get anymore than a remedial job, if that.

SUGAR shows the little details of the everyday emotions and struggles faced in the minor leagues everyday. Not only is the baseball aspect fascinating, but also as an American you get to see how the country looks threw a young man’s raw viewpoint, which makes this movie all the powerful.

Trust me go and watch SUGAR. I can promise that you will walk away feeling like you really learned something about the sport of baseball that we tend to overlook or just never really understood in the first place.

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New York Yankees: Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil

In Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil, you can appreciate the admiration author Jerome Charyn had for Joe DiMaggio the New York Yankees baseball player.

The first half of the book, Charyn is just a fan that enjoyed nothing more than going to Yankee Stadium and watching DiMaggio play the game of baseball with such grace.

In a sense Charyn wanted to keep his DiMaggio the unvarnished hero that the Yankee Clipper was when he wore the pinstripes.

The later half tells a story of a man who struggled with life after baseball, the true love of DiMaggio’s life, until he met Marilyn Monroe.

Monroe and DiMaggio loved each other but valued how they were perceived to be even more, as the most beautiful actress and the greatest to play the game.

Once DiMaggio desired for Monroe to take on the role of wife their relationship soured. Only to end with DiMaggio being rejected, which did not bode well with a man who was suppose to be perfect. Charyn asserts to the idea that it was only after Monroe’s tragic death, that DiMaggio became the thoughtless character he is remembered for today.

Whether it was in DiMaggio’s personality or whether the pressure of being a baseball star got the better of him is what the author brings into question. Maybe DiMaggio felt used and baseball was the only real personal connections he truly formed authentically.

It makes DiMaggio’s attitude almost understandable and for a moment even endearing. Charyn’s words describe a passionate man in everything he did, regardless of whether it was good or bad, it was just very real.

It justifies why DiMaggio said, “I’d like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee.”

The book reiterates a recurring theme amongst athletes still today, why life is sometimes so hard off the baseball field, when everyone seems to love you when you are on it.

When I completed reading The Long Vigil, one of my favorite quotes came to mind this one by Dr. Harriet Braiker.

It best describes how I perceive Joe DiMaggio after being influenced by Charyn valiant words:

“Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.Dr. Harriet Braiker

 

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Baseball Basics: Statistical Basics Part 2

The first part of this basic covered the batters, so here is the second post which gives definitions of the pitching statistics abbreviations.

Baseball Basics Question:

WHAT STATISTICS DO ALL THE ABBREVIATIONS STAND FOR?” PART 2

For Pitchers:

Robby Cano Don’t You Know Well Now You Do

Robinson Cano is a darn authentic baseball player, but after years the discussion of Cano’s promise to excel seems to be unfolding.

Cano is leading baseball in hitting, with .407 avg, eight home-runs, five doubles, one triple, 17 RBI‘s and .444 OBP.

To understand the importance of Cano’s impact, just compare Albert Pujols‘ stats, a .333 Avg, seven home-runs, six doubles, zero triples, 19 RBI’s but has struck out 16 times at 84 at-bats. Cano has 81 at-bats and only 10 strike-outs, so you catch my drift.

Cano’s monster has followed him to second base, as his defense has been just as remarkable. Last night bottom of the third, Cano’s play off Orioles Nolan Reimold’s hard grounder to get the out at first will be a Web-gem for the next month.

Cano is the darling of the town in New York, and also of his team. With the Yankees power twins, Arod and Tex, still slumping away could have hurt the team if it were not for Cano. Continue reading ‘Robby Cano Don’t You Know Well Now You Do’ »

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Here Come The Yanks!!!

Wow!!! 

Johnny Damon

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

 

I am talking about the first 2 games against the Twins…..just in case you missed out on watching, here are brief updates:

Friday -

  • I was not happy when Damon, who is out best hitter thus far, got ejected in the 3rd inning. The umpire was making crapy calls for the entire at-bat. So,  I was glad Damon got pissed, which is a rare occurrence for him. It was in frustrating to watch and you can’t blame Damon it was 0 outs with 2 men on base and down a run!!
  • Brett Garner (whom I love, love!!) had a walk off homerun in the bottom of the 7th inning which gets everyone pumped up!! That boy is fast!!!
  • A-rod walked for his first at bat in new home; didn’t stop he walked his 3 next at bats…..better then not getting on base so again frustrated!! 4th walk came in the bottom of the 9th with 0 outs and Tex on 1st. I was wishing for an A-bomb!!
  • Bottom of the 9th inning, Twins leading with the game at 4-3…..the Twins decide to walk Robbie Cano cause he has been lethal so far and so up comes Melky Cabrera to the plate. Melky is not n easy out and has been great in pivotal situations but I was a tad nervous watching. I would think that as a player it must piss them off to have the teammate in front of you purposely walked….I would love to shove it in the other teams face!!! And that’s just what Melk-man did when he lined a two-out, bases-loaded single to score a pair of runs!! Amazing…….win No. 18!! Continue reading ‘Here Come The Yanks!!!’ »