Just a little teaser 🙂
Something is happening out there…
New Book Project Incoming
Well, hello there!
I certainly didn’t expect about five years to pass between posting. But, fulltime work, a lot of life stuff, and other projects have taken center stage. Mostly, I’ve been posting on my other site, tatteredpage.com, (though not posting nearly enough there, either.)
The Mournful Threads came out in the fall of 2024, and since then I’ve been at work on my next project, titled Beneath the Farlight Sky.
The story is set in 1914, where Johnny Jennings, a 21-year-old first baseman, joins his new semi-pro team in Thornville, Illinois with the hopes of making it to the Major Leagues one day soon. He just needs his shot. But he soon discovers his new team, the small farming town he lives in and his curmudgeon of a manager are not what they were cracked up to be. Everyone on the hard-working, heavy-drinking team is rude and off-putting, and tightlipped about a huge game at the end of the season against a team from a neighboring town. It would seem like your standard small town rivalry game, except for one thing: the town doesn’t exist.
Johnny becomes a key part to the most successful season Thornville has ever had, but the final game looms ahead, where something even stranger than the game of baseball itself is at play.
The manuscript is finished as of today, and hoping to get it out later this spring/summer. Stay tuned!
The Field of Dreams Game: A Nice Nod to Nostalgia
The inaugural Field of Dreams Game was simply a success. And it succeeded because it was simple.
The newly built stadium was unsurprisingly packed (despite the astronomical ticket prices), and the whole rural setting – coveted movie site or not – looked amazing. Mother Nature also dished out a key assist with absolutely idyllic weather, complete with a gorgeous Iowan sunset.
FOX Sports delivered it all with a sterling production that was neither overblown nor underwrought. It was just right. In fact, it may have been one of the smoothest and best-produced ballgames you’ll ever see, again in part because of it’s scaled-back simplicity.
Then there was the game itself, which was outstanding.
Two classic franchises in awesome retro-styled, though with a modern twist, uniforms engaged in a power barrage. The slugfest featured eight home runs, including three in the ninth inning. Facing a 7-4 deficit, Yankee sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton gave their squad an 8-7 lead after each tagged Liam Hendriks with 2-run shots.
But then, in true Hollywood fashion, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson walked it off in the bottom of the ninth with a 2-run blast of his own, setting off fireworks in the cornfield as he and his White Sox celebrated the 9-8 victory. (On a fun personal note, I called this walk-off on Twitter mere seconds before it happened.)
In all, it was a great game in a perfect setting. As an event, it was stellar. But did MLB hit its mark with it?
In their ongoing effort to attract and retain younger fans, it might seem counterintuitive to hype up a game at a site (and with plenty of hoopla) honoring a movie that came out before most of them were born. Perhaps not surprisingly, the 35+ crowd loved it all. But there were plenty of younger folks in the stands, and there were a lot of social media posts from parents saying that their kids loved the game and are now experiencing the movie – or vice versa – and so that is great in MLB’s eyes. Time will tell about the whole impact.
Big picture-wise, Major League Baseball stumbled onto a great possibility.
In another case of what’s old is new again, MLB may have dug up the chance to develop a modern form of barnstorming. While future games in Dyersville, Iowa would/will be great, imagine having an MLB game in random places across the country. They could take the show on the road to the four corners of the country, exhibiting big league baseball in states and markets who don’t have their own team. Cheyenne, Billings, Albuquerque, New Orleans…the list goes on of terrific cities and landscapes where an MLB game would have a huge and enjoyable impact for both players and fans. We’ll see where it goes from here, but the opportunity may exist.
With regard to the movie, its presence was obvious the whole time, playing on the same site notwithstanding. James Earl Jones delivered another great soliloquy during the pregame video, and Kevin Costner was in attendance, leading the players out of the cornfield and providing a couple great innings’ worth of discussion in the broadcast booth.
One of the more underappreciated parts of this whole event was the acknowledgments to the late WP Kinsella, the genius who brought us the novel Shoeless Joe, from which all of this magic originated. One could imagine his estate saw an uptick in book sales this week, and justifiably so. On a similar note, Fox Sports playing snippets of the also-late James Horner’s incredible score throughout the broadcast added a nice touch, for without his music the film would not have had remotely the same impact.
But taking it back to the game and the atmosphere for a moment…
If you strip away all the associations to the film and all the hype and ballyhoo, what you had was a simplified, few-frills exhibition of baseball. It was MLB-Unplugged. No cavernous stadium, massive video boards, fancy effects and other in-game visuals that accompany today’s big league games. It was just baseball in the middle of a field. With a manual scoreboard and dugouts built from distressed lumber. It looked and felt far less modern – which was the point – for baseball is a nostalgic game, and that aura was captured quite well last night.
It wasn’t corny (sorry, couldn’t resist), though it easily could have been.
Sometimes you just have to let baseball be baseball and it was something that I think fans appreciated.
Release Date Has Arrived!
Funny how things sneak up on you, even when you think you’re prepared.
Such was the case first thing this morning when I received the email notification that (Not) Just Another Ballgame is now available! (The Kindle version is coming soon as well.)
Special thanks to fellow SABR member and baseball historian Gary Livacari for the wonderful Foreword. Also big thanks to Molly Errek, Denise Baran-Unland and Rebekah Baran and Todd Calcaterra for helping cover all things from design to editing to production and some crucial creative assistance.
Click the image below to visit Amazon and order your copy!
And of course, thanks to YOU, the baseball fan who may get a kick out of this project.
Chapter List and Official Artwork Revealed!
The manuscript for (Not) Just Another Ballgame is in the can, and the final editing process is underway.
We’re shooting for an early spring release, which is obviously just around the corner!
Designer Molly Errek once again delivers stunning cover art, which can be seen right here:
(Not) Just Another Ballgame, edited by Denise Baran-Unland and featuring a foreword by longtime SABR member, baseball historian and author Gary Livacari, is a collection of essays that highlight just a tiny few of baseball’s compelling moments from days long gone – with a couple more recent tales inside as well.
Here is the full chapter list:
- A Lucky Bounce or Three: Washington’s Wild World Series Win in 1924
- The AAGBBL Turns on the Lights at Wrigley Field
- The Greatest Game Babe Ruth Ever Pitched?
- The Brakeman Completes Another One
- A Perfect Game, Perfected
- The Clowning of Germany Schaefer
- The Mays Malaise
- Silence of the Bats: The 1917 White Sox Go Hitless Two Days In a Row
- The Great Zim, Cocky Collins, and one Daring Dash for the Dish
- Ruth’s Mysterious Gambit: The Final Out of the 1926 World Series
- Johnson vs. Williams: The Forgotten Duel of 1918
- The 1919 World Series: Did the White Sox Lose, or Did the Reds Win?
- Mathewson’s Monumental Marvel of 1905
- A Great Game Seven Finally Ends the Greatest Drought
- Field of Dreams: Is the Beloved Classic Really a Baseball Movie?
Official release info is on deck!
(Not) Just Another Update
Well, okay, yeah it is.
Nevertheless, happy and excited to announce that the manuscript for (Not) Just Another Ballgame is complete. I submitted it to my editor yesterday, so the editing/revision process is officially underway.
The cover art for the book was completed yesterday as well, so stay tuned for that reveal.
Still hoping for an early spring release. More updates coming soon!
(Not) Just Another Ballgame – Coming Spring 2021!
Excited to announce the initial details of my forthcoming collection of baseball essays, slated for a Spring release!
This collection focuses mostly on the Deadball Era of America’s pastime, but will include some more modern tales sprinkled in for fun. Many of the chapters in the book are built from earlier, condensed versions that appeared on this blog over the years. They have been expanded and enhanced for inclusion. As you stroll down hardball memory lane in this book, you’ll discover some fun bits of info such as:
- Who played the actual first night game at Wrigley Field?
- What happened with the mysterious final out of the 1926 World Series?
- Has there ever been such a thing as a perfect perfect game?
- Did the Chicago White Sox lose the 1919 World Series? Or did the Cincinnati Reds actually beat them?
- What was the best game Babe Ruth ever pitched?
- Is Field of Dreams really a baseball movie?
…and much more.
(Not) Just Another Ballgame will feature cover art by Molly Errek and a foreword by SABR member and baseball historian, Gary L. Livacari.
Final revisions are tentatively scheduled for early March, leading to a spring release.
More details coming soon!
New Book Project In the Works
Hello all! Hope everyone had/is having a good holiday season!
As has been the case for the past year, I’ve been a bit bogged down with other projects which has kept me from posting as much here. I’ve recently considered writing about the current state of the Cubs, but that’s a sad road I’d rather not travel at this moment in time.
Rather, I’ll just announce a new project that is underway.
I’m compiling some of the greatest hits of this here site, and adding a few new tidbits for inclusion in a little book. I’m hoping to have this ragtag collection of baseball essays out sometime this coming spring, 2021.
Title, release info, and chapter teasers forthcoming.
Thanks all, Happy New Year!
Sisler Sizzles in Final Big League Win
Normally, a tilt between the fifth and seventh-place teams with just two weeks remaining in the season wouldn’t be grounds for excitement, much less remarkableness.
On Sunday, September 17, 1916 at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis however, there was a game that was thoroughly exciting. It was also quite remarkable.
On this day, “Gorgeous” George Sisler of the home team Browns out-dueled the great Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators 1-0 for the final win of his pitching career.
But wait, isn’t Sisler a Hall of Fame first basemen? Yes, he is. But like several other ballplayers of that era, notably Babe Ruth and Smoky Joe Wood, Sisler enjoyed some success on the hill, albeit in a smaller capacity, comparatively.
Sisler started just 12 games with 28 appearances on the mound in his 15-year MLB career, compiling a mark of 5-6 with a 2.35 ERA over 111 innings pitched. Included in those outings were nine complete games, three saves, and one shutout – coming against Johnson, no less. He started three games for his Browns in ’16, completing all of them, with a record of 1-2 and an ERA of an even 1.00. These pitching marks went alongside a strong offensive campaign for the 23-year old in which he hit .305 with 11 triples, 76 RBI and 34 steals.
His final, and lone pitching victory of 1916 was a dandy.
In a game late in the season with both teams long out of pennant contention, the young Sisler took the bump opposite the Big Train himself. In an otherwise meaningless contest, the two pitchers locked horns in an epic standoff. The solitary run of the game crossed the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning. Browns center fielder Armando Marsans drew a walk by Johnson and was shortly thereafter singled home by catcher Grover Hartley. It was the only threat the Browns mustered all day, as Johnson was his typical brilliant self, scattering four hits while striking out eight. One of his two walks on the day, that to Marsans, would be the difference in the game.
For his part, Sisler allowed six Senators hits, while walking two and striking out six in a game that took just one hour, forty-seven minutes.
Although this was the last time Sisler would throw a complete game victory, it was not the first time he did so against Walter Johnson. Almost a year earlier to the day, on August 29, 1915, Sisler went the distance in a 2-1 victory over Johnson and the Senators, in a contest that was also at Sportsman’s Park and made famous by a brilliant eighth-inning execution of the hidden ball trick.
The St. Louis Browns would finish 79-75 in 1916, good enough for fifth place in the eight-team American League. The Washington Senators ended up 7th, with a mark of 76-77.
Sisler made just six more pitching appearances in his career after the Johnson shutout. He would go on to be the greatest player in Browns history and one of the best first basemen of his era. He finished with a lifetime batting average of .340, hit over .300 in 13 of his 15 MLB seasons, was the 1922 MVP and won batting titles in 1920 and 1922, hitting over .400 each time.
An excellent hitter, baserunner and defensive player, Sisler was not surprisingly part of the inaugural class at Cooperstown. But notching two of five career pitching wins against Walter Johnson, hurling the full nine each time, deserves a doff of the cap too.
Sources:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sislege01.shtml
The Curious Case of Gentleman George
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLA/SLA191508290.shtml
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1916.shtml
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLA/SLA191609170.shtml
https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/sisler-bests-johnson-in-epic-pitchers-duel
Photo credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/452752568771330267/
The AAGBBL Turns on the Lights at Wrigley
Baseball is the oddest game of numbers, dates, funny hops and bizarre coincidences.
9 August, 1988
The Chicago Cubs earn a 6-4 victory over the New York Mets in the first official night game at Wrigley Field — except it wasn’t supposed to be the first. It just became the first official completed night game there. Sort of.
8 August, 1988
On a windy and stormy evening, a game between the Cubs and visiting Philadelphia Phillies was called midway through the fourth inning after a lengthy rain delay. Mother Nature had other plans for the would-be first official night game at Wrigley Field — only that it was considered the first professional night game at Wrigley wasn’t exactly true either.
For the actual first pro game under the lights at Clark & Addison, you have to journey back to July 1, 1943.
On that night, an All Star game of the All-American Girls Base Ball League (AAGBBL), then in its inaugural season and long before being immortalized by the smash hit film A League of Their Own, first graced the ivy in the twilight.
Night games in professional baseball began in 1935 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. On May 24 of that year, the Phillies ventured across the Ohio River for a late-spring matchup against the Reds. In a grand ceremony overseen by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, night baseball was officially underway. MLB teams began adding lights to their ballparks over the next several years, including the Cubs, but the events of December 7, 1941 changed their north side installation. The Cubs were set to have night games beginning in the 1942 season, but the day after the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, the Cubs donated all the steel and useful parts of the lights to the ensuing war effort. Despite a lot of back and forth for the next several years, the Cubs still wouldn’t play a night game until nearly five decades later.
Night baseball did happen at Wrigley Field, however, courtesy of the AAGBBL (before the name was changed prior to the 1944 season to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, or AAGPBL) (1). For the occasion, portable lights were placed “behind home plate, first base, and third base.” (2).
The first season of the AAGBBL featured four teams, playing standard baseball rules but using a 12-inch softball to create a sort of hybrid-style game. While the first official AAGPBL All Star Game wouldn’t occur until 1946, the league’s stars were assembled on this forgotten July night in ’43 for a special contest — on nearly the 10 year anniversary of the first MLB All Star Game, which was held at Chicago’s other legendary ball yard, Comiskey Park.
The two 1943 AAGBBL All Star teams consisted of combined rosters of the Rockford Peaches and South Bend Blue Sox on one side, and the Racine Belles and Kenosha Comets on the other.
The game itself was the headline event of the evening, and the Wisconsin squad blanked the Illinois-Indiana group by a tally of 16-0. The opener featured a softball game by the WAAC (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps), wherein Fort Sheridan defeated Camp Grant 11-5.
Researcher Jay Feldman acquired some AAGBBL player feedback on the contest.
“The lights weren’t all that great, but we were used to that — we had to play with whatever we had,” said Shirley Jameson of the Kenosha Comets. “Besides, just the fact that we were playing in Wrigley Field was enough. We’d have done it whether it was light or dark, because we were all on Cloud Nine.” (3).
Center fielder Betsy “Sock ‘Em” Jochum of the South Bend Blue Sox went about the game as usual. “I didn’t realize at the time that they didn’t have lights at Wrigley Field,” she said. “I just thought those lights were there all the time. We showed up for the game, the lights were on, and we played. (3).
The league returned to Wrigley Field a year later, once again using portable lights, when on July 18, 1944 the now-named AAGPBL played a twi-night doubleheader to benefit the Red Cross. (2).
These overlooked night contests further signify the remarkable role these women played in not only keeping baseball going during the war years, but planting the seeds for a significant cultural impact that would be felt for decades to come.
Oh, and speaking of those bizarre coincidences, A League of Their Own debuted on July 1, 1992 – which was 49 years later, to the day, of when the AAGBBL became the first professional group to play ball under the lights at the friendly confines.
Notes and sources
- https://www.aagpbl.org/history/league-history
- https://baseballhall.org/discover/1943-aagpbl-all-star-game-played-under-lights-at-wrigley-field
- https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/july-1-1943-all-american-girls-play-first-game-under-the-lights-at-wrigley-field/ (article appearing in “Wrigley Field: The Friendly Confines at Clark and Addison, (SABR 2019), edited by Gregory H. Wolf)
https://www.aagpbl.org/history/league-historyhttps://chicagology.com/baseball/wrigleylights/
Image Source:
https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/july-1-1943-all-american-girls-play-first-game-under-the-lights-at-wrigley-field/ (image originally from the Jul 2, 1943 edition of the Kenosha Evening News.)
Radbourn's Revenant 