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GREAT MOMENTS OF 2013: The Pepsi Max Field of Dreams Game
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This was cool, and is from May 19, 2013:
You may have heard of the Pepsi Max Field of Dreams game, probably semi-heard during commercial breaks of MLB Network. Well, basically, it’s part old-timers game, and part fantasy camp. Two teams play a 6-inning game… with the catch being that each team is half made up of former MLB stars (almost all of them either Hall of Famers and ones that one day will be) and the other half is made up of ordinary Joes who won a contest. There are also some ringers (mainly guys who either play or coach locally and had professional careers) thrown in to fill spots in later innings. This year, it was was in my home town of Rochester, New York, and myself and 13,715 of my closest friends were there to see it.
(By the way, any picture you see in this was taken by me, and can be enlarged if you click it.)
Go below the jump for more, this is a photo-heavy post.
Merry Rickeymas from the Baseball Continuum
It’s Rickeymas! So, have a Merry Rickeymas, everyone, as we celebrate the birth of the Man of Steal, Rickey Hendersen. The Continuum will return tomorrow, the 26th.
A traditional Rickeymas wreath at the All-Star Sports Resort at Walt Disney World.
GREAT MOMENTS OF 2013: My over-the-top word choice at Kenny Lofton dropping off the HoF ballot
On January 9 of this year, I lamented the fact Kenny Loften had fallen off the Hall of Fame ballot. While my thoughts were legitimate, I think calling it a “tragedy” was a bit over-the-top…
Yes, nobody was elected to the Hall of Fame today, meaning that the only people going into the Hall this summer will be long-dead old-timers. It is sad to see Biggio and Piazza not get in when their connection to the steroid era has been innuendo at most, and for returning candidates like Bagwell, Raines and Jack Morris not to get in either (although Morris, at least, is more of a iffy pick to start with).
But want to know what the true tragedy is? Kenny Lofton just being dropped from the ballot entirely, only receiving 3.2% of the vote, just behind Bernie Williams (who also deserved to remain on the ballot).
Now, I’m not saying Kenny Lofton is a Hall of Famer. He isn’t, but he is not a player who should have been dropped after his first appearance. After all, he was, as I was growing up, a near-constant presence in baseball, seemingly always making the All-Star Game, winning a Gold Glove, or leading off for a playoff contender… and this was after his best years. In 1994, for example, he may well have had a chance to get the MVP if not for the season being cut short. He is 15th in career stolen bases.
In other words, he shouldn’t have just been dropped from the ballot. He never should have been a major threat to make the Hall, but he should have gotten his 15 years on the ballot.
GREAT MOMENTS OF 2013: The clever baseball reference in the “Parks and Recreation” book
As 2013 comes to a close, I’ll remember the good times we had by reposting some of the most popular things from the Continuum in the past year. Today, from September 19, a look at the clever David Aardsma reference in the Parks and Recreation book:
In 2009, Parks and Recreation first aired. A spiritual spin-off (but not an actual spin-off) of The Office, it follows the life of the Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and the rest of the staff of the Parks and Recreation Department in the fictional, Springfield-like city of Pawnee, Indiana.
In 2011, Knope released a book on Pawnee in the show, entitled Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America. NBC released the book in the real world.
In 2013, as part of a Netflix/Hulu binge to get caught up on Parks and Recreation before the next season starts, I also read Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America. I got it from the library (thankfully, my local library is not run by Ron Swanson’s second ex-wife Tammi). In doing so, I was able to catch a clever baseball reference in it during a section on Pawnee’s school board- which is filled with people who have lots of A’s at the start of their names in order to be at the top of the ballot, helping them win simply through the laziness of the voters of Pawnee. I’ve put the page up below the jump*, can you spot it?
*(Please don’t sue me, NBC!)
Coming up in the next week….
Okay, so, in the coming week or so, I’ll be setting up some stuff to go up automatically, as my internet will be a bit spotty. Here are some things to look forward to:
- About two and one-tenths Bizarre Baseball Culture installments with the first one featuring Ozzie Smith.
- A look back at some of 2013’s greatest Baseball Continuum posts
- Another look or two at stuff I found in storage. Maybe three, if you’re lucky.
- Perhaps the long-overdue return of Baseball Card Haiku Project.
- Some good links.
- And I’ll probably randomly post one or two things totally unrelated to baseball, just because late December is sometimes slow.
So… keep an eye out!
“Mariners Mojo” delayed until tomorrow, sorry
Due to the time it’ll take me to scan the needed images for the Bizarre Baseball Culture feature on “Mariners Mojo”, it won’t be up until tomorrow.
Sorry.
Tomorrow: The Mariners Fight Bigfoot
Due to the shocking Robinson Cano signing, I’m going to be sending in a pinch-hitter tomorrow, replacing the would-be Bizarre Baseball Culture installment I was planning that featured Ozzie Smith and Tony the Tiger (seriously) with a very special installment that features two comics from 2002 in which the Mariners fight a Sasquatch invasion.
You have been warned.
Off-Topic Quote of the Day
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
-Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013
THE BASEBALL CONTINUUM LIVES!
…Well, starting tomorrow. With my Wi-Fi issues all fixed, expect daily posts to begin again!
The Baseball Continuum 