Around The Horn

The words and phrases are spoken and written day after day, year after year - generally without any wonderment as to how they became part of the language. All have a history, a story. Now with the 2006 baseball season almost with us -some more language of baseball to savor, to enjoy.

For those of you who liked Part I, Part II and Part III and wrote in to offer suggestions and ask for more - here is more - Part IV. As always, reactions and suggestions always welcome.

THE BABE George Herman Ruth probably leads the list for most nick-names acquired. First called “Babe” by teammates on the Baltimore Orioles, his first professional team because of his youth, G.H.Ruth was also called “Jidge” by Yankee teammates, short for George. They also called him “Tarzan.” He called most players “Kid,” because he couldn’t remember names, even of his closest friends. Opponents called him “The Big Monk” and “Monkey.”

Many of Babe Ruth’s nick-names came from over-reaching sports writers who attempted to pay tribute to his slugging prowess: “The Bambino“, “The Wali of Wallop“, “The Rajah of Rap“, “The Caliph of Clout“, “The Wazir of Wham“, and “The Sultan of Swat“, “The Colossus of Clout“, “Maharajah of Mash“, “The Behemoth of Bust“, “The King of Clout.”

His main nickname was rooted in President Grover Cleveland’s Baby Ruth. Perhaps the greatest slugger of all time and also one of baseball’s most colorful characters, Ruth set some 50 records in his 22 years as a player. His accomplishments, his personality, his nickname-all combined to rocket major league baseball firmly into the nation’s psyche.

“Babe” and “Ruth” In spring training 1927, Babe Ruth bet pitcher Wilcy Moore $l00 that he would not get more than three hits all season. A notoriously weak hitter, Moore somehow managed to get six hits in 75 at bats. Ruth paid off his debt and Moore purchased two mules for his farm. He named them “Babe” and “Ruth “for Ruth.

CHIEF BENDER Charles Albert Bender won 210 games and compiled a 2.45 lifetime earned-run average in 16 years of pitching. He was admitted to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1953. His nickname came from the fact that he was a Chippewa Indian.

CLOWN PRINCE OF BASEBALL Al Schacht performed for only three seasons as a member of the Washington Senators (1919-21), but he still was able to make a mighty reputation on the baseball field. Schacht was a comic and his routines centered on the foibles and eccentricities of the National Pastime. It was said that nobody did it better, and that’s why Schacht was dubbed the Clown Prince.

DAFFINESS BOYS Also known as Dem Brooklyn Bums, the 1926 Brooklyn Dodgers wrought havoc on friend and foe alike. The hotshot of the team was freeswinging, slump-shouldered Babe Herman, dubbed the Incredible Hoiman, who bragged that among his stupendous feats was stealing second base with the bases loaded. Once Herman was one of a troika of Dodger base runners who found themselves all on third base at the same time. A Dodger rookie turned to Brooklyn manager “Uncle” Wilbert Robinson on the bench. “You call that playing baseball?” “Uncle” Robbie responded, “Leave them alone. That’s the first time they’ve been together all year.”

“DON’T LOOK BACK. SOMETHING MIGHT BE GAINING ON YOU” This line of homespun wisdom formed the sixth rule of a recipe attributed to former baseball pitching great Leroy “Satchel” Paige. The other five rules were (1) avoid fried meats which angry up the blood; (2) if your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts; (3) keep your juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move; (4) go very gently on the vices, such as carrying on in society-the social ramble ain’t restful; (5) avoid running at all times. It seems that most of us have managed to break all of Mr. Paige’s rules more than once. As for rule 5-don’t tell it to your neighborhood jogger.

DOUBLE NO HITTER It’s almost a baseball cliché. A no-hitter is tossed. And the next time that pitcher takes the mound, there is all the talk and speculation about the possibility of a second straight no-no taking place. And always what Johnny Vander Meer did 62 years ago today comes back into the public consciousness.

On June 11, 1938, the Cincinnati hurler no-hit the Boston Bees, 3-0. Four nights later, he was tabbed to start against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the first night game ever in the New York City metropolitan area. To that point in time, only two pitchers had ever recorded two career no-hitters. No one had ever posted two no-hitters in a season. No one had probably even contemplated back-to-back no-hitters.

More than 40,000 (Fire Department rules notwithstanding) jammed into Ebbets Field to see the first night game in that tiny ball park’s history and also bear witness to Vander Meer questing after his second straight no-hitter. Utilizing a one-two-three-four pitching rhythm that saw him cock his right leg in the air before he delivered the ball to the plate, “Vandy” featured a fast ball that was always moving and a curve ball that broke ever so sharply. Inning after inning, the Dodgers went down hitless. In the seventh inning, Vander Meer walked two batters. But the fans of “Dem Bums” cheered the Cincinnati pitcher on, sensing they were witnessing baseball history. The ninth inning began with Cincinnati holding a 6-0 lead. Buddy Hasset was retired on a grounder. Then suddenly, Vander Meer lost control of the situation. He loaded the bases on walks. Reds manager Bill McKechnie came out to the mound to talk to his beleaguered pitcher.

“Take it easy, Johnny,” he said, “but get the no-hitter.” Vander Meer got Ernie Koy to hit a grounder to infielder Lou Riggs, who conservatively elected to go to the plate for the force-out for the second out. The bases were still loaded, though. Leo “Lippy” Durocher, the Dodger player-manager and a veteran of many wars, stepped into the batter’s box.

Only the “Lip” stood between Vander Meer and the double no-hitter. Durocher took a lunging swing and smashed the ball down the right-field line. But it went foul into the upper deck. Bedlam and tension intermingled at Ebbets Field as Vander Meer’s left arm came around and delivered the pitch to Durocher, who swung and popped up the ball into short center field. Harry Craft clutched the ball. Johnny Vander Meer had made baseball history.
Fans leaped out onto the playing field, but Vander Meer’s Cincinnati teammates had formed a protective shield around the exhausted hurler as he scurried into the relative calm of the dugout. His mother and father, who had come to see their son pitch with about 500 others from their hometown, were not as lucky. Swarms of well wishers and autograph-hunters milled about Vandy’s parents. It took about half an hour before they could be extricated from the mob of admirers. The event remains in memory as the miracle of 1938, consecutive no-hitters spun by John Samuel Vander Meer, the man they called the “Dutch Master.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent congratulations. Newspapers and magazines featured every detail of the event for months. For Vander Meer, the double no-hitters were especially sweet coming against Boston and Brooklyn - teams he tried out for and been rejected by.

Vander Meer performed for 13 big-league seasons, winning 119 games and losing 121. He perhaps would be remembered as a southpaw pitcher who never totally fulfilled his promise if it had not been for the epic moments of June 11 and June 15, 1938.

HITLESS WONDERS The 1906 Chicago White Sox had a team batting average of .230, the most anemic of all the clubs in baseball that year. The team’s pitching, however, more than made up for its lack of hitting. The White Sox staff recorded shutouts in 32 of the team’s 93 victories. The “Hitless Wonders” copped the American League pennant and faced the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. The Cubs of 1906 are regarded as one of the greatest baseball teams of all time; they won 116 games that year, setting the all-time major league mark for victories in a season and for winning percentage. The White Sox continued their winning ways in the World Series, however, trimming their cross town rivals in six games.

“hitting for the cycle” Hit a single, double, triple and home run in the same game, not necessarily in that order.

HORSE COLLAR Describes a situation when a player gets no hits in a game.

KLU Ted Kluszewski played 15 years in the major leagues. He pounded out 279 homers, recorded a lifetime slugging average of nearly .500 and a career batting average of nearly . 300. He was a favorite of the Cincinnati fans; at 6′2″ and 225 pounds, his bulging biceps were too huge to be contained by ordinary shirt-sleeves. Kluszewski cut off the sleeves and started a new fashion in baseball uniforms-just as fans and sportswriters cut off part of his name to make for a nickname more easily pronounced and printed.

LONSOME GEORGE Former legendary Yankee General Manager George Weiss, for his aloof ways.

MAHATMA Branch Rickey (1881-1965) was one of baseball’s most influential personalities. Inventor of the farm system, the force responsible for Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color line, the master builder of the St. Louis Cardinal and Brooklyn Dodger organizations, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1967. Sportswriter Tom Meany coined Rickey’s nickname. Meany got the idea from John Gunther’s phrase describing Mohandas K. Gandhi as a” combination of God, your own father, and Tammany Hall.”

NICKEL SERIES Refers to old days when New York City teams played against each other and the tariff was a five cents subway ride.

NUMBER l/8 On August 19, 1951, Eddie Gaedel, wearing number l/8, came to bat for the St. Louis Browns against the Detroit Tigers. Gaedel, who was signed by Browns owner Bill Veeck, walked on four straight pitches and was then replaced by a pinch runner. The next day the American League banned Gaedel, despite Veeck’s protests. Gaedel was a midget, only three feet, seven inches tall.

HF

Harvey Frommer is now in his 32nd. consecutive year of writing sports books. His “Old Time Baseball” will be published in 2006. He is the author of 38 sports books, including the classics: “New York City Baseball,” “Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball,” “Rickey and Robinson,” “A Yankee Century,” and “Red Sox Vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry” (with Frederic J. Frommer). Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.

The Vernon Law of Cosine:

This formula named for the great pitcher, Vernon Law from the 1960 World Champion Pirates, is the first formula that will accurately measure the range of any fielder, on any given play. By taking the Law of Cosine, which states: For a triangle with sides a,b, and c and the angle µ opposite the side c,

The Law of Cosines is the relationship between sides and angles in any triangle.

If you use this formula you can define the exact distance any player ranges on any given play.
In baseball terms the distance from the point the bat and ball make contact is the first side of the triangle, (B) from that point to where the fielder’s glove is positioned at contact is point (A). The point where the fielder’s glove either catches the ball or goes by the glove is point (C) of the geometric equation, finding the distance from point A to C is really the distance that a player ranges on any given play. If you use a camera to take footage of each play, you could install a program that would instantly give the distance of AC, which, is the range distance of any fielder on any given play. When you combine that range distance by the reaction time of the play you will find a measurable statistic to rate how difficult each play really is to complete. This statistic will be known to all of baseball as Reaction and Range. The formula will be to divide the Reaction Time, by the Range Distance. RT/RD=RR. Reaction and Range. If a fielder is able to range 60 feet from where he is positioned in a play that lasts 3 seconds, his R/R would be 3.0 divided by 60, or .050. That would be a great number. If a player has to go 20 feet in 4 seconds his number would be poor .200, only if he missed the ball. This would be a way for all defensive plays to be measured against all other plays. Hopefully if the baseball world takes a look at this, they will use Reaction and Range to measure defense in the 2006 baseball season.

I am
The Fan’s Commish
Rick Swanson

‘’I think Bud Selig should hire somebody like John Dowd or set up a committee,” Fay Vincent said. Those words need to be followed out by the man that runs the game today. Once everyone opens their eyes and reads the book, or at least the Sports Illustrated excerpts they will realize these two reporters have more information on Barry than Woodward and Bernstein had on Nixon. Vincent was right when he said you had to go back to the twenties to find such a scandal in the game. This is what Judge Keneshaw Mountain Landis said back then:
“Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player that throws a ball game; no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ball game; no player that sits in conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the way and means of throwing games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball.” Those eight men out were acquitted in a court, but banned for life from the game. Bud needs to do the same thing now. Ban Barry Bonds from ever playing this game again. Just like the records of Shoeless Joe with his lifetime .356 average, are stricken from the record books, so should these 4 men out, (Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, and Palmerio) have their home run records stricken from the records and from Cooperstown. Here is my speech for Bud:

“Regardless of the fact that none of these players were ever convicted by any jury, no player that uses illegal substances; no player that tries performance enhancing steroids, no player that uses a bunch of crooked personal trainers, where the plan was to create a body that could hit a baseball farther than those without these substances, no player that did this to deceive the fans and integrity of the game, will ever play professional baseball, or have their records remembered by the game.”

I am
The Fan’s Commish
Rick Swanson

As one who was literally brought up with the Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia (I still have a few volumes in my library), I have felt the lack of that tome in the spring just as baseball comes alive.

Thankfully, now there is “The 2006 ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia” with editors Gary Gillette and Pete Palmer (Sterling Publishing Company, 174 pages, $24.95 doing their splendid stuff. This epic effort is probably the most complete and baseball database ever put together. Essays, info, perspectives, annual team-by-team batting and pitching statistics for all players in major league history, all-time leaders in 150 categories, facts and factoids on teams and managers and more! As Casey Stengel used to say: “You could look it up.”

A kind of companion guide to the above would be “Baseball Field Guide” by Dan Formosa and Paul Hamburger (Thunder’s Mouth Press, $13.95, 224 pages). This a book to rummage thru, to keep in your pocket when you go to a game, to savor. It is as its sub-title suggests: “An in-depth illustrated field guide to the complete rules of baseball.

Jim Reisler’s “A Great Day in Cooperstown” (Carroll and Graf, $26.00, 241 pages) focuses cleverly on a small slice of baseball history - the unusual origins of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Part bio, part detective story, part profiling of the original 11 Hall of Famers - the book is worth the money and your time.

“Crashing the Borders” by Harvey Araton (Free Press, $25.00, 207 pages) is a rather slim but highly interesting survey of the state of hoops. Sub-titled: “How Basketball Won the World and Lost Its Soul at Home,” the book rails at the many flaws, false steps and fakers in the game today. Vet sports journalist Araton spares no one - worth reading.

“Only With Passion” by Katarina Witt with E.M. Swift (Public Affairs, $23.50, 168 pages) was a tie in to the fame of its subject and the Winter Olympics 2006. Witt watchers will benefit.

MOST NOTABLE

“Our Red Sox” by Robert Sullivan (Emmis Books, $10.95, 186 pages, paper) is a delightful read for all fans of the team from the Hub. Personal, painful at times because of the memories, the book is one to savor like a good red wine. Sullivan’s careful and graceful prose, a mix of intimate BoSox lore and family history, sets it apart from other books on the subject. As the co-author of “Red Sox Vs. Yankees” and the just published “Red Sox Where Have You Gone?” - -I can appreciate all the nuances of “Our Red Sox.” It’s also enough to convert one to root for the team from Fenway - -not quite.

HF

Harvey Frommer is now in his 32nd. consecutive year of writing sports books. His “Old Time Baseball” will be published in 2006. He is the author of 38 sports books, including the classics: “New York City Baseball,” “Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball,” “Rickey and Robinson,” “A Yankee Century,” and “Red Sox Vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry” (with Frederic J. Frommer). Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.

Baseball should have a Roger Maris day at the Stadium. Billy Crystal could be the emcee. The entire Maris family will be the guests of honor. Yogi and Phil Rizzoto will also be on the field. Bud Selig and Jeff Idelson of the Baseball Hall of Fame will both read proclamations. The final result will be that number 61 will be restored as the single season mark for the most home runs hit in one year. Baseball will permanently ban any and all home run records hit during the previous decade. The HOF will also announce that all cheaters will be banned for life to the HOF. The list will be read, Raphael Palmerio, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Barry Bonds will not have their name anywhere in the record book. Baseball has had this decree before, as Shoeless Joe Jackson had his name stricken from all the record books, after the Black Sox scandal of 1919. Back then the courts said the eight players were not guilty, but Judge Landis said baseball held to a higher standard and banned them for life. Say it ain’t so Barry but you disgraced the game more than all of those who were thought to have bet on the World Series. Baseball, integrity, history, and America all go hand in hand. Writers like Tim Kurkjian who say they might think about not voting Bonds in, really are writers that act like Ostriches. They completely have their head in the sand, and don’t see the forest for the trees. Bud has always wanted to be known as a real commissioner of baseball, this is the time for him to step up to the plate, and leave his legacy. With Judge Landis it was “8 men out.” Bud has a chance to put “4 men out.” McGwire, Sosa, Palmerio, and Bonds, the biggest losers the game has ever known.

I am
The Fan’s Commish
Rick Swanson