Ranpitsu

SI 1968: Drysdale suspected of ball tampering after breaking a record

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:23:45 -0700

I was a little surprised to discover this afternoon that Sports Illustrated has broad online archives of its back issues. The following is from an article by William Leggett in the June 17, 1968 issue called “The Season of the Zero Hero”. (1968 was dubbed the “Year of the Pitcher” since overall batting average fell to an all-time low of .237; Carl Yastremzemski won the AL batting title with .301, the lowest ever for a league leader.)

It involves Don Drysdale breaking the consecutive scoreless inning streak record on June 8th (previously held by Walter Johnson who threw 55 2/3 shutout innings in 1913) and getting a little guff from the home plate umpire.

The first man Drysdale faced in the third inning was Roberto Pena, a small shortstop. Pena tried to bunt and fouled the pitch off but eventually Drysdale induced him to hit an easy ground ball to third base. The big crowd exploded and Drysdale turned his back, folded his arms across his chest and looked out toward center field for 20 seconds. The record was now his. He turned to work to [Phillies pitcher Larry] Jackson, and Jackson raised his hand in a virtually unseen wave of salute to Drysdale, who acknowledged it by holding his palm open toward Jackson. Two pitches later Jackson singled, but Drysdale struck out the next two hitters and the crowd was wild. Only this time Drysdale’s triumphant march was halted by Plate Umpire Augie Donatelli. Off came Drysdale’s cap after a brief exchange of words. Donatelli rubbed his hand through Drysdale’s hair, then over his forehead, then into the cap. [Phillies manager Gene] Mauch, an off-season golfing partner of Drysdale’s, had insisted that he was putting grease or Vaseline on the ball—a charge that Giant Manager Herman Franks also had made recently.

According to Donatelli, ” Mauch started to complain and said, ‘He’s putting grease on the ball.’ I asked him where he was getting it from and Mauch said, ‘The back of his head.’ I went to Drysdale and said, ‘Don, do you have Vaseline on the back of your head?’ He said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘You know the rule, and if you touch the back of your head again I’m going to have to fine you.’ Don said, ‘Augie, I’m sweating like hell out here. That isn’t Vaseline; that’s sweat. Just tell me what the hell I can’t do.’ When Drysdale first came up to the majors he was no bargain, but he changed and we umpires appreciate that. He could have punched me in the mouth when I started to inspect him.”

Two other pitchers also had scoreless streaks of 40+ innings that year: NL Cy Young winner Bob Gibson (St. Louis) had a span of 47 from June 2-26 and Luis Tiant (Cleveland) went 41 straight without surrendering a run from April 28 to May 17. [Source: ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia, 4th edition]

What I thought of when I saw this MSNBC headline:...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:27:46 -0700

What I thought of when I saw this MSNBC headline: “‘Dancing’ delivers a double whammy”

"If we are faced with the prospect of Tony Blair suddenly emerging, suddenly pupating into an..."

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:06:30 -0700

“If we are faced with the prospect of Tony Blair suddenly emerging, suddenly pupating into an intergalactic spokesman for Europe, then I think the British people deserve a say on it … I do think it would be right for such a debate to be held, particularly if the upshot of the Lisbon treaty is going to produce President Blair.”

- Boris Johnson uses insect language and a possible reference to alien diplomacy when talking with the London-based Sunday Times about Blair’s potential to become the first EU president. [Sunday Times]

"What pictures like Surrogates show is that there’s no substitute for a compelling story. Much..."

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:33:00 -0700

“What pictures like Surrogates show is that there’s no substitute for a compelling story. Much of the awkwardly-titled Surrogates’ marketing time was devoted to establishing the context and setting of its near future world where humans live their lives through robot surrogates, from a trailer that started as a commercial (a la ads for The Island and others) to billboards of models with parts of their robotic skeletons exposed. However, relatively little time was devoted to the story, characters and action, which were left vague and nondescript. Given the volume of other like-minded movies, the robot or avatar premise alone does not possess the wow factor with audiences, and, lacking a clear connection to the real world, served only to disconnect Surrogates from moviegoers.”

- Box Office Mojo’s Brandon Gray in his report on domestic returns for the Sept. 25-27, 2009 weekend

"There are about 100 hardcore criminals in this country who have specialized in this type of serious..."

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:00:33 -0700

“There are about 100 hardcore criminals in this country who have specialized in this type of serious robbery. They are definitely no amateurs.”

- Jerzy Sarnecki, professor in criminology at Stockholm University, in an AP story about a Swedish cash depot heist involving a helicopter.

GULP! (Bizzaro, Sept. 18, 2009)

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:18:27 -0700

GULP! (Bizzaro, Sept. 18, 2009)

“I hate wasps! Wasps are bastards! Wasps are the skinheads...

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:56:52 -0700

“I hate wasps! Wasps are bastards! Wasps are the skinheads of the insect world!”

Craig Ferguson as Bing Hitler, Montreal Just for Laughs Festival (Jul. 1987). Was reminded of this while listening to this week’s clip show episode of Wait Wait.

"Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me. I think there’s sexiness in infield hits..."

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:31:21 -0700

“Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me. I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.”

- Ichiro Suzuki, in a NY Times article about him approaching 200 hits for a major-league record 9th straight season.

"Since 1966, when I started in this business, I’ve worked in almost every aspect of..."

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:08:00 -0700

“Since 1966, when I started in this business, I’ve worked in almost every aspect of entertainment. I’ve been a manager, I’ve run a record label, I’ve produced TV shows and movies—pretty much everything. And, still, the most powerful thing I know of in entertainment is the live experience. The performer onstage receiving the adulation of the fans—there’s nothing like it, and that’s never going away.”

- Irving Azoff, CEO of Ticketmaster, in a New Yorker article (Aug. 10 & 17, 2009) by John Seabrook about the music concert ticket business. [Full text requires registration.]

Japanese TV show “Fountain of Trivia” (トリビアの泉)...

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:35:30 -0700

Japanese TV show “Fountain of Trivia” (トリビアの泉) performs an experiment where a bazooka (RPG-7) is fired at 5cm thick, and then 10cm thick, bulletproof glass.

“It is not over. I have a special 10cm in the truck. I want to challenge this again. Please tell your people to prepare again.”

When the Big Wheel’s beeper breaks, the audience steps up...

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:43:00 -0700

When the Big Wheel’s beeper breaks, the audience steps up to the challenge. From the May 8th, 2007 episode of The Price is Right. [YouTube]

"I tell them that any time you decide to forward something, you are making a big decision. You are..."

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:30:37 -0700

“I tell them that any time you decide to forward something, you are making a big decision. You are putting your reputation in real life and in cyberspace on the line.”

- Sreenath Sreenivasan, a new media professor at the Columbia Journalism School, in a NY Times article about how news about events like Michael Jackson’s and Neda Agha-Soltan’s deaths spread on the Internet before being handled by traditional news outlets.

"Originality is, in its own way, a sign of authenticity: only Bowie could be Ziggy Stardust, because..."

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:53:58 -0700

“

Originality is, in its own way, a sign of authenticity: only Bowie could be Ziggy Stardust, because the character, however elaborately garbed and alien-seeming, came from within. Lady Gaga is more like a collection of quotes than a singular performer. Every move she makes, every crazy ensemble she wears, can be easily traced. She’s a human mash-up, a sample bank, recycled and reused.

To Gaga’s detractors — and, I suspect, to dance floor veterans 30 and older, who say she makes them feel old — the borrowed quality of her act undermines her obvious smarts, decent voice and endearingly overwrought sense of purpose. But what pop innovator hasn’t also been a borrower? In the permanent state of Gaga, “new” is a false category, just like “real.” Every thought’s been had by someone who came before and is searchable through Google. Every image has been minted and uploaded to YouTube.

”

- LA Times pop music critic Ann Powers, in an article about musicians who don’t try to separate their “real” selves from their stage personas

Whenever you are cringing at someone doing a horrible rendition...

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:19:07 -0700

Whenever you are cringing at someone doing a horrible rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, just remember this guy. (saw on Videogum)

"While the Ice Age franchise’s migration from spring to a more competitive summer might be..."

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:47:00 -0700

“While the Ice Age franchise’s migration from spring to a more competitive summer might be bandied about as a reason for Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ relatively more glacial reception, the picture suffered from looking like more of the same in its marketing campaign. No compelling reason was presented to make it as big a theatrical event as The Meltdown, and the proceedings may have been confounded by the anachronistic inclusion of dinosaurs, which were seemingly intended as a shortcut to audience expansion.”

- Box Office Mojo’s Brandon Gray, in his report of Independence Day weekend returns (July 3-5, 2009).
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs grossed $41,690,382 during the weekend and $66,732,868 in its first five days, compared to an opening weekend gross of $68,033,544 for Ice Age 2: The Meltdown from Mar. 31-Apr. 2, 2006.

"Wikipedia has, over time, instituted gradually more control because of some embarrassing incidents,..."

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:56:00 -0700

“Wikipedia has, over time, instituted gradually more control because of some embarrassing incidents, particularly involving potentially libelous material, and some people get histrionic about it, proclaiming the death of Wikipedia. But the idea of a pure openness, a pure democracy, is a naïve one.”

- Joseph M. Reagle, an adjunct professor of communications at New York University who studies Wikipedia, in a NY Times article about Wikipedia administrators’ attempts to keep news of Times reporter David Rodhe’s kidnapping off his page in conjunction with the media silence.

"Issues of personal taste usually shouldn’t be a factor when engaging in legitimate movie criticism...."

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:50:00 -0700

“Issues of personal taste usually shouldn’t be a factor when engaging in legitimate movie criticism. The good movie critic should be able to aptly assess a film’s merit regardless of their own personal preferences for what they like to see on screen. Yet when it comes to a movie like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, personal taste is the major factor that will determine the response of everybody who sees it. Those who embrace the aesthetic of Michael Bay or were a fan of the first film are most likely going to have a good time with this one. For those who think Bay’s films are emblematic of everything wrong with contemporary Hollywood cinema, Transformers 2 will prove to be further evidence to fuel their fire. While many will defend this film and many others will despise it, there’s one thing this film is sure not to do: disappoint. Whatever expectations you have going into it—whether it be a bombastic summer-fun explosions-and-cleavage fest or a bloated schizophrenic mess of incomprehensible noises and images—Bay delivers fully on these expectations.”

- Landon Palmer, leading off his review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for Film School Rejects

"Actors live dependent on being validated by other people’s opinions. I don’t understand what it is I..."

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:26:33 -0700

“Actors live dependent on being validated by other people’s opinions. I don’t understand what it is I do that people want. I don’t know what an actor does. I have no credentials. I don’t know what I’m doing. To my mind, talent doesn’t really exist. Talent is like a card player’s luck. It is motivation, ambition, and luck. It’s just a drive to be the best. I think acting is a con game.”

- Shia LaBeouf, in a profile story by Parade magazine.

SF Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins calls for crackdown on shriekers

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:01:05 -0700

SF Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins calls for crackdown on shriekers:

I am inclined to agree with Jenkins purely on the noise level (I’ve occasionally heard some loud male moaners) but couldn’t the shrieking/grunting be a competitive advantage in that it may intimidate their opponents?

Supposedly, such behavior occurs more often in the women’s game “because” when you grunt, when you breath at the contact point, you’re actually generating more velocity out of the racquet head, you’re more relaxed and you get power”, according to Dr. Jim Loehr, the CEO of LGE Performance Systems and adviser to Monica Seles who encouraged her to grunt since it “helps her to be more assertive in every aspect of her play”. (Bleacher Report)

Jon Stewart breaks down the $135 million Gustav Klimt’s...

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:01:50 -0700

Jon Stewart breaks down the $135 million Gustav Klimt’s Adele Bloch-Bauer I sold for at auction (The Daily Show, June 21, 2006)