Month: June 2016

Fast Rise and Faster Fade: The Yde Mystery

Every generation has them: The flash-in-the-pan players who are highly touted, or sometimes coming from nowhere, to create an instant impression only to quickly fade into nothingness again. Emil Yde was one of these types. A potential ace in the early days of the Live Ball Era, Yde would fall as quickly as he rose, but not before enjoying some team and individual successes both on the mound and at the plate.

Pitchers that can hit can be a deadly weapon. Ah, in the classic style of baseball, before the Designated Hitter came about, and still (thankfully) the rule in the National League where pitchers bat for themselves, occasionally there’s a gem waiting to be mined. Although usually the weakest hitter in a given lineup, there is an opportunity for a threat to the opposition: If the pitcher can hit, it’s a formidable advantage.

Such was the case with Yde, and particularly in one game at Forbes Field, on June 25, 1924.

Rookie left-hander Emil Yde entered the game against the Cubs in the 4th inning, facing a 6-1 deficit. Yde would hold the Cubs in check the rest of the way, and at the plate he capped off an improbable comeback in the bottom of the 9th with a game-tying double. Continuing on the bump, Yde would add an RBI triple in the bottom of the 14th to give his Pirates an 8-7 win. The left-handed slinger would end the day having pitched 10 1/3 innings in relief for the victory, and add 5 RBI’s on two extra base hits.

Yde would have a brilliant season in 1924, finishing 16-3 with a 2.83 ERA and 14 complete games while leading the league in shutouts. He was highly effective the following year as well, going 17-9 with a 4.13 ERA and helping the Pirates win the World Series. An inexplicable decline in performance thereafter forced Yde to spend much of the late ’20’s racking up a ton of innings in the minors, and save for a brief stint with the Tigers in 1929, his life in the major leagues had ended. His final major league record of 49-25 was strong overall but ended up being unsustainable, and his career batting average of .233 was nothing to scoff at for a pitcher, either. He remained in the minors for a few more years, fading into obscurity before retiring at the age of 33 in 1933, having never been given another shot. His short, but notable career was a clear case of here one minute/gone the next.

For a brief moment however, Yde was the hero of the day.

Sources: http://www.nationalpastime.com

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT192406250.shtml

The Grounds Crew: Artists of the Ballpark

Ah, the ballpark. To the players, coaches, and serious baseball fans, the ballpark isn’t just a place where the game of baseball is played. Instead, it’s considered hallowed ground that is so sacred, they may as well be called cathedrals. From their aesthetically pleasing lines and angles to the miraculously landscaped grass (heck, even the dirt looks perfect), and just the general aura of the field itself, ballparks across the world are a sight to be revered.

Today we offer a very special tip of the cap to those men and women who are responsible for so majestically nurturing the (literal) landscape of baseball. In honor of that recognition, we’re thrilled to have a little Q&A with Shaun Thomas, Head Groundskeeper for the Class-A Staten Island Yankees.

Q: Hi Shaun! Thanks for taking a few minutes with us today. What is your current role and with what organization?

A: No problem at all! I’m currently the Head Groundskeeper for the Staten Island Yankees, a Class-A affiliate.

Q: How did you get into groundskeeping as a profession?

A: I finished my baseball career in college and was not fortunate enough to get drafted to pro ball, so I figured groundskeeping was my next best route.

Q: Baseball fields are famous for the various patterns that get cut into the grass (checkerboards, crisscross designs, etc.) How exactly is that done and who chooses the designs?

A: The designs are chosen by me and my grounds crew. The two different colors that you see are just from the direction the mower was being driven on the grass. I have a reel mower which has rollers behind the three reels and the rollers bend the grass in which the direction the mower is going. The bending of the grass blade away from you lets more light reflect upward whereas the darker shade of green the grass blade is folded towards you and the light reflects down. So if you were to see one pattern behind home plate, it would look the exact same from center field, just opposite colors.

Q: Is there a specific type of dirt/clay that you use in the infield and warning track?

A: The warning track is usually just made up of crushed brick. As for the infield, there are two types of materials there: The sub soil is an engineered soil that is designed to retain water and get firmer as the moisture leaves. Then the top layer is calcined clay, which is just clay that is heated at extreme temperatures to harden it. The top layer is very minimal, just enough for the players to slide on.

Q: Is there a standard height the grass needs to be cut? Or is it your call? Or player’s preference?

A: The height of the grass is completely up to the Groundskeeper. Coaches and players can have their say, but it is ultimately the Groundskeeper’s choice. I keep my grass cut at 1 ¼ inches. I mow everyday so that my players have a consistent play with the same grass every day. A lot of teams cut their grass at 1 inch height. I keep mine a little longer because of the extra events we have at the stadium which leads to more wear and tear on my field.

Q: Best part of your job?

A: The best part of my job is waking up and going to the ballpark every day! It doesn’t feel like work! I have been around baseball since I can remember and I couldn’t imagine my life without it. As for the duties themselves I would say mowing is the best part. The grass is the first thing everyone sees when they walk in and I love seeing people’s reaction to a nice looking pattern!

Great stuff there! Thank you for your time Shaun, and keep up the great work making America’s pastime look so beautiful.

 

Gehrig Owns Comiskey For a Day

On this day in 1928, the Bronx Bombers visited Comiskey Park, which just a year before had undergone massive renovations largely to accommodate all the extra fans who wanted to witness the spectacle that was Babe Ruth.

Today however, it was the Iron Horse who put on the real show.

As if on cue, Ruth would belt out his 23rd home run of the season this day, but it paled in comparison to the 14 total bases and five runs collected by Lou Gehrig. His singular onslaught included two triples and two home runs while driving in five in the Yankees’ 15-7 thumping of the Pale Hose.

For good measure, Gehrig also added seven putouts and two assists on the day.

The Sox would add 13 hits of their own but a late surge would fall well short as the incendiary crusade led by Gehrig was too much to overcome. It was certainly not the only time the Iron Horse was the iron fist in a ballgame.

Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA192806120.shtml

75 Years Ago Today, the Iron Horse Fell

75 years ago today, baseball’s Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig, lost his battle with ALS at the all-too-young age of 37.

Widely regarded as one of the true good guys of baseball, Gehrig had a brilliant 17-year career, all with the Yankees, in which he was an integral part of an unprecedented eight World Series championship teams.

Upon retiring from baseball and being inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1939 as one of the greatest of all time, his records still sit among the highest in history, even after 3/4 of a century since his passing. As of today, Gehrig still remains:

  • 14th in batting average (.340)
  • 11th in runs scored (1,888)
  • 5th in runs batted in (1,995)
  • 28th in home runs (493)

At the end of a stellar career in which he was a two-time MVP and also batted a career .361 in postseason play, Gehrig delivered, on July 4, 1939, perhaps the most famous speech in the history of the game:

“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

“Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.

“When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift – that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies – that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter – that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body – it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed – that’s the finest I know.

“So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

Farewell, Buster. Baseball will never forget you.

Source(s): http://www.espn.com
                    http://www.baseballhall.org