Category Archives: Uncategorized

German ballplayer Donald Lutz made history last night

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Last night, during the Reds-Cardinals game, history was made: Donald Lutz made his debut, grounding out in his lone pinch-hit AB against Adam Wainwright.

What’s so special about that, you ask? Well, Lutz, in making his Reds debut, became the first German Major League Baseball player in history (there have been some that were born on military bases there or who came over to America as young children, but Lutz is the first player who can truly be said to be “from Germany”). Although born in Watertown, NY, he grew up and spent essentially his entire childhood with his mother in Germany, not playing baseball until his teenage years.

Who knows how long this first stint for Lutz will last (he is, after all, mainly on the roster right now as a replacement for Chris Heisey while he is on the DL), but still, it’s not every day you can say that something happened yesterday in baseball that hadn’t happened before. So congratulations to Donald Lutz, the first German MLB player in history.

Review of “42”

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“Continuum Global News” will return next week, but better late than never, here’s my review of 42:

Jackie Robinson was, without question, the most important baseball player of the 20th century. While Babe Ruth may have been the most transcendent star, and Curt Flood proved a pivotal figure in the game’s labor history, Robinson’s effects did not simply stop at baseball. No, his effect was felt far beyond the diamond. How important was Jackie Robinson? Well, no less than Martin Luther King Jr. declared him an important member and symbol of the civil right movements. And, least we forget, Robinson was a great ballplayer as well, a career .311 hitter, a six-time All-Star, the Rookie of the Year in 1947 and MVP of 1949. Who knows what type of career he may have had (he didn’t make his MLB debut until age 28) if not for segregation and the war?

So given this, it’s sort of surprising that it’s taken this long for a modern biopic on Robinson. There was a biopic starring the man himself in 1950, and a TV movie about his court-martial in 1990 (starring Andre Braugher as Robinson), but nothing else. But, I guess good things come to those who wait, because 42, although far, far from perfect, is a fine movie that does well at honoring Robinson while also educating those who perhaps are not as familiar with the story.

(MORE AFTER JUMP)

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MVP of Yesterday (April 27, 2013): Carlos Gomez

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Going 3-5 with a HR and 2 RBIs that helped the Brewers to a 6-4 win over the Dodgers, Carlos Gomez is the MVP of Yesterday.

Go below the jump for the MVP Standings:

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Quote of the Day (April 25, 2013)

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Today’s quote comes from pollster (and former baseball sabermatrician) Nate Silver:

Any one game in baseball doesn’t tell you that much, just as any one poll doesn’t tell you that much.

Off-Topic Thursday: Summer Trailer Spectacular

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During the off-season, I occasionally had a “Off-Topic Tuesday” where I talked about stuff outside of baseball- usually something related to popular culture. Well, during the season, look for “Off-Topic Thursdays”, in which, well… you’ll see stuff that is off-topic. Like this:

Okay, so the summer slate of movies is coming, and while I have yet to see 42, it looks like it could be a fun summer with lots of interesting movies to go see. So, below the jump, I go through some of the trailers and give my thoughts. Note that I’m only going to look at traditional summer movie fare (action, adventures, maybe a comedy here and there)- if you wanted to hear my thoughts on the upcoming Great Gatsby movie, well, you’ve come to the wrong place.

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MVP of Yesterday (April 24, 2013): Alex Cobb

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Going 8.1 innings, giving up just 3 hits and striking out 7, Alex Cobb of the Rays is yesterday’s MVP.

Go below the jump for the MVP standings:

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The Famous For Something Else Index (as of April 24, 2013)

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Want to see all of the “Famous For Something Else” features so far? Go through the links below:

Mario Cuomo (Governor of New York State from 1983-1994)

Randy “Macho Man” Savage (Wrestler)

Ricky Williams (NFL Running Back)

John Elway (NFL Hall Of Fame QB)

John Lynch (9-Time Pro Bowl Safety)

Kurt Russell (Actor)

Michael Jordan (His Airness)

George Halas (HOF Football coach and player)

Danny Ainge (NBA player and executive)

Scott Patterson (Actor)

 

Famous For Something Else: Scott Patterson

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I’m starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel of baseball players who became famous for doing something else, to the point where I’m now doing TV actors I had to look up on IMDB. So, anyway, here are the statistics for Scott Patterson (IMDB link). After his pitching career ended, he became an actor who has had roles in Gilmore Girls, some of the Saw films, Aliens in America and The Event.


(Go below the jump to see them.)

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RANDOM THING: Ninja Baseball Batman

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I am working on an article about my memories of some of the great baseball video games of the past, but while doing research, I have found something that will blow everyone’s mind: Ninja Baseball Batman.

What is Ninja Baseball Batman? I’ll let this video by James Rolfe, who has a web series, “The Angry Video Game Nerd”, in which he (in character) foul-mouthedly reviews crummy or bizarre games, tell it:

So, basically, Ninja Baseball Batman is a obscure beat-em up game in which you play as ninja baseball players. For those of you who skipped the video, the reason you have never heard of it is because it was only in arcades- not consoles- and was a total failure, selling only 43 machines. It was only found when some gamers came across it on (technically illegal) emulators. Therefore, I haven’t played it, and probably won’t, unless it’s released on a console I have or comes to the PC or Mac.

But, man, this seems like it would be the most bizarre baseball culture. Weirder than the “Double Trouble Header”, weirder than Martian baseball, and even weirder than Rockets Freaking Rigby. I mean, apparently the plot of this game is that the Commissioner hires four ninja baseball players named Ryno, Straw, Roger and Jose to retrieve objects stolen from the Hall Of Fame. Yes, there is a video game that exists that has ninja baseball players named after Ryne Sandberg, Darryl Strawberry, Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco. Although, to be fair, this is like the fifth weirdest thing to ever involve Jose Canseco.

So, there you go, a random post about some obscure video game I have never played… and one of the most unusual baseball-related products in history.

MVP of Yesterday (April 22, 2013): Jay Bruce

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The MVP of Yesterday is Jay Bruce, who went 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBIs. However, it’s not just that: in the bottom of the 13th inning of Cincinnati’s game against the Cubs, his 2-run double tied up the game at 4. Bruce would then score the walk-off run when Cesar Izturis singled to left.

MVP standings (after the jump):

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