This is a new feature where I will post a quote every day. From now on, expect three to four posts every day, sometimes five: MVP of Yesterday, Picture of the Day, Quote of the Day and a unique post or two.
Today’s quote:
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
(This picture was taken by PVSBond, used under a creative commons license)
Throwing a complete game 5-hit shutout against the Orioles, Hiroki Kuroda of the Yankees is the MVP of Yesterday.
Honorable Mentions: Michael McHenry, Clay Buchholz, Josh Hamilton, Austin Jackson
MVP Standings (after jump):
Today’s random find from the Library of Congress Flickr Feed is of Oscar Stanage, who played parts of 14 years in the big leagues, mainly with Detroit.
Perhaps had Matt Harvey gotten a no-hitter, he would have been the MVP. But he didn’t so Adam Wainwright wins it. In his 8-0 complete game shutout victory over the Brewers yesterday, Wainwright not only struck out 12 while giving up only four hits, he also had three hits and two RBIs of his own. And for that, he is the MVP of Yesterday.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Harvey, Wilin Rosario, Nick Swisher
MVP standings (after jump):
Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig‘s record…. but who had the record before Lou Gehrig?
Well, the answer is this man, Everett Scott. He played in 1,307 straight games from June 20, 1916 to May 6, 1925. It remains the third longest streak in history.
Scott, a shortstop like Ripken, played at various times the Red Sox, Yankees, Senators, Reds and White Sox. When his streak ended on May 6, 1925, he was replaced at short by a man named Pee Wee Wanniger.
A few weeks later, on June 1, Wanniger was pinch-hit for by Lou Gehrig, who had only seen marginal time as a pinch-hitter and a defensive replacement before then, as 1B Wally Pipp had, since Scott’s streak ended, now had the longest active consecutive game streak going. The day after that, June 2, Wally Pipp had a headache. Lou Gehrig started in his place, and went 3-5 with a double in a 8-5 win over Washington.
Gehrig, as I mentioned before, had seen some marginal time before. In fact, his debut had come during his age 19 year in 1923, when, on June 15, he came in as a defensive replacement for Wally Pipp. As he looked across the diamond, standing at short, he would have seen… Everett Scott.
Here’s a picture of Scott from the Library of Congress:
The MVP of Yesterday is Justin Masterson of the Indians, who threw a 5-hit shutout with seven strikeouts that allowed the Indians to pull off a 1-0 walk-off victory over the White Sox on a Nick Swisher single.
Honorable mentions: Dexter Fowler, Daniel Murphy, Starlin Castro, Ramiro Pena, Josh Donaldson
MVP Standings (after jump):
Okay, some brief blog dealings for today:
Going 2-3 with 2 RBIs and 2 walks, Bryce Harper helped pace the Washington Nationals to a 7-4 win over the White Sox.
Honorable Mentions: Adam Jones, Prince Fielder, Josh Donaldson, Doug Fister, Pre-Injury Zack Greinke
MVP standings (under jump):
The Code. The unwritten rules by which all baseball players live by, held intuitively inside every clubhouse from Little League to the Majors. Rules like…
Actually, the third one is one that many probably have always assumed, but never said. After all, in baseball fights, nobody, it seems, has gotten hurt since Juan Marichal took a bat to John Roseboro in 1965 (okay, that isn’t true, but sometimes it feels like it). Until last night.
On a 3-2 count, in a one-run game, Zack Greinke hit Carlos Quentin of the Padres. Quentin charged the mound, they collided, the usual basebrawl ensued, and when the smoke settled, Greinke had broken a collarbone and Matt Kemp, Jerry Hairston and Quentin had been ejected.
It’s unlikely that there is anyone- not even Padres fans- who will dispute that the incident was because of Carlos Quentin. While he and Greinke have a history, nobody would think that Greinke had hit him on purpose- things like that do not occur on 3-2 counts in one-run games. Quentin’s charge and the resulting fight, and the resulting injury, had no reason to occur. At all.
And, if that isn’t enough, after the game, Matt Kemp met up with Quentin in the parking lot and exchanged words.
And as that incident in the park lot proves, this isn’t the end. Merely the beginning. The next time these two teams meet- especially if Quentin is playing (it’s entirely possible he’ll be suspended during next week’s series in LA)- there will be retaliation. I know it. You know it. The social media department of the Dodgers knows it (and pulled out a Ron Burgundy reference to boot). And so does Major League Baseball, which must have the sinking feeling that next Monday’s game between the Dodgers and Padres, which was supposed to be a yearly tribute to Jackie Robinson, could get very ugly.
As Vin Scully would say: “Fertilizer.”
The Baseball Continuum 