50 years ago today...the 1966 Big League Player Draft

50 years ago today, June 7, 1966, with the 2nd pick in the 1966 MLB June Player Draft, the then Kansas City Athletics drafted a young power hitting outfielder out of Arizona State by the name of Reginald Martinez Jackson.

⚾ 1966 June MLB Player Draft.


A quick glance at the '66 Athletics baseball reference page shows a roster that already includes 1965 #1 overall pick Rick Monday.


Also on those mid '60s-early Athletics teams were players like Campy Campaneris, Dick Green, Blue Moon Odom, Sal Bando, and Catfish Hunter... players who would become the cornerstones of the 1972-73-74 World Series Championships A's teams.


The draft isn't always a sure bet, that's just a fact...hit, or miss...here's hoping your team...and my Tigers, make the right choices.



The 2016 MLB Draft is starts at 6pm on Thursday, on the MLB Network.... the Philadelphia Phillies have the first pick.


Play Ball!

Happy Baseball Birthday... City Slickers

Today we send out a special Happy Baseball Birthday! to the movie City Slickers, starring Billy Crystal, which was released 25 years ago today, June 7, 1991.

Why is a movie about buddies going on a old fashioned cowboy roundup getting attention on a baseball blog?



Because of its use of baseball in the movie, from Crystal wearing a New York Mets ballcap, to this now legendary scene around dinner at a cattle roundup.

That scene also gave great attention to the big league career of Pittsburgh Pirates 3rd Baseman Don Hoak, who's been a Happy Baseball Birthday! honoree.



If you've seen the movie, the start of that scene has actors Bruno Kirby and Daniel Stern are having an argument on the better right fielder.... Roberto Clemente  (Stern), or Henry Aaron (Kirby).


That's how they transition into the Don Hoak scene, and good old baseball discussion about the best right Fielder in baseball...and, of course, when I first saw the movie I'm yelling at the screen... "hey, ever heard of a guy named Al Kaline!" 


Yes, I have a sore spot when it comes to Kaline, my 10-time Gold Glove winner of the Detroit Tigers...seems like he's always a forgotten guy...not that he's better, just that he's never in the discussion...come on!


Anyway, Congratulations! again, to all involved in the movie...remember... thevsecret to life is about 1 thing...just 1 thing...


Play Ball!  

Happy Baseball Birthday...Thurman Munson

Today's Happy Baseball Birthday! is the late Thurman Munson.

Thurman Lee Munson was born 69 years ago today in Akron, Ohio.

A few years ago on the anniversary of Munson's death, I wrote this post about one of my Brothers favorite palyers.



Happy Baseball Birthday! to the late Thurman Munson... Play Ball! 

This Day in Baseball...Bill Gatewood

95 years ago today, June 6, 1921, Detroit Stars RHP Bill Gatewood pitched the first no-hitter in the history of the Negro National League.

As a Detroit baseball fan, I think it's cool that a player playing for a team in Motown pitched the first ever no-hitter in the history of the Negro National League...anytime the Motor City gets positive recognition it's a good thing.



Big Bill Gatewood  was born in San Antonio, Texas, on August 22, 1881.



I must admit until I opened up baseballreference.com today, I'd never heard of "Big Bill" Gatewood...and I love that we are able to see the history of the Negro Leagues so much in baseball these days.


I need to read up and do more posting on the Stars, and the players like BIG BILL, great players who made their mark on baseball in Detroit.

Play Ball!

Baseball Card of the Day...2008 Topps Heritage James Loney

Last night at Marlins Park in Miami, the New York Mets beat the Marlins, 6-2, behind the 100th career home run by the Mets James Loney.

That 100th career homer gets James Loney our Baseball Card of the Day, my 2008 Topps Heritage #288.

⚾ James Anthony Loney was born in Houston, Texas, on May 4, 1984.


The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Loney with the 19th pick in the 1st round of the 2002 big league amateur player draft.


In 2004 Loney arrived here in Jacksonville to play for our Double A Suns, then affiliated with the Dodgers.

The back of Loney's baseball card shows his two years here, which included the Suns 2005 Southern League Championship.

Loney played for the Dodgers for 7 years, 2006-12, and had double figure years in homers in 2007-11, blasting a career high 15 dingers in '07.


Loney also loves home runs and the #13...he's hit 13 homers three times, in 2008-09, 2013.


Loney then moved on to Boston, Tampa Bay, and now plays with the Mets.

Congratulations! James Loney, on your 100th career HR, and being our Card of the Day.


Play Ball!

Baseball Card of the Day...Tom Brady, Montreal Expos

Like all kids of his, and my generation, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady played more than one sport.

Besides getting drafted by the Patriots with the 199th pick in the 6th round of the 1999 NFL Draft, Brady was also a good baseball player growing up, good enough to be drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round of the Amateur Player Draft.

If you follow Brady on his Facebook page  you know he loves to have fun with the social media outlet, and yesterday's post by the 4 time Super Bowl Champion is today's Baseball Card of the Day.

Tom posted this picture of him dressed like an Expos player on a 1995 baseball card.


Okay, the card isn't real, we know that...Tom used a 1974 Topps Baseball Card design as the base...he was born in '77...but we loved the effort by Tom to give him props here on the blog.



And, as far as Tom's question on the posteoporosis yesterday...NO, Tom, you didn't make the wrong choice...football was the right choice.




PLAY Ball!

Baseball Bulletin...June 2, 2016

Here's a few things I've come across lately in the baseball social media world...

⚾ 75 years ago today baseball lost it's Iron Horse, Henry Louis Gehrig, to the fatal disease that now bears his name.

Lou Gehrig was a truly honorable man and ballplayer, who's record setting 2,130 consecutive games played stood as a big league record six decades until broken by Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr.

To find out more about ALS, a.k.a, Lou Gehrig's Disease, go here...


⚾ 125 years ago, on June 2, 1891, future Hall of Fame pitcher Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn won his 300th baseball game pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, at the old South End Grounds against his old ballclub, the Boston Beaneaters.

Radbourn won a big league record 59 games pitching for the 1884 Providence Grays., a pretty good chunk of his 309 career victories.

Radbourn would be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.



⚾ I posted about how a Hot Dog isn't a sandwich...

....please VOTE in the poll on the top of the right hand page...



⚾ The first ballots for this year's All-Star Game in San Diego were released this week.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez leads all American League players  with 1, 094, 942 votes, and in the National League the honor belongs to Chicago Cubs 1st Baseman Anthony Rizzo, with 874, 471 votes.

2016 American League All-Star Game vote.

National League All-Star Game vote totals.

I've been a voter for the All-Star Game since I was a kid in the 1970s, filling out paper punch ballots at old Tiger Stadium, and I've voted again this year.


The 87th All-Star Game will be played in San Diego, California, on July 12th.

I hope you will all vote for your favorite ballplayers this year.


⚾ The very best thing I saw all week was this 92 year old World War II Veteran throwing out the first pitch in Seattle on Memorial Day.

⚾ Finally today, another big league player, Marlon Byrd of the Cleveland Indians, was suspended 162 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for use of PED's.


Byrd is the 6th player suspended by MLB this year.


This really made me mad, because, as you saw in the link, he hit a game winning home run off the Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander that cost the team, and Verlander, a 2-1 loss.

The Indians should be stripped of every single win in which Byrd played, period.

This player, a guy who's played 1,573 baseball games since 2002, when he broke in as a rookie with the Phillies on September 8th, a player I've watched play baseball a lot of those years, a player who always seemed a likable guy, a player who enjoyed playing baseball.

Anything I once liked about Byrd is now gone, as it is with every ballplayer that's been busted for cheating the game of baseball.

These players know they can sign a contract for millions of dollars, and they can keep getting paid until he gets caught.

Byrd will forfeit a years pay, and his career, at age 39, is probably over, but does that matter to a man who's made $38,015,000 dollars playing baseball.


Baseball still has a serious steroids and PED problem, but it seems the testing is working...now, we have to start punishment of the players money, as well as the team he's playing for.


Until next time, enjoy our great game of baseball.


Play Ball!

Baseball Card of the Day...2009 Obak Tristar Madison Baumgartner

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Baumgarner is one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he's also a outstanding hitting pitcher as well.


The 2014 World Series Most Valuable Player has won 91 career games since making his big league debut at the age of 20 years old on September 8, 2009.


My 2009 Obak Tristar #14 Madison Bumgarner is today's Baseball Card of the Day. 

It's not very clear, but that's Madison Bumgarner batting for the Giants on my TV In the next at bat after his homer today.


This card shows Bumgarner pitching for the 2009 Connecticut Defenders of the Eastern League.

Bumgarner was 9-1, with a 1.93 ERA in 107 IP, in 19 starts for the Defenders...and...clubbed 1 home run batting.


In his career Baumgarner has shown the ability to not only hit the baseball, but hit the baseball for power as well, with 11 home runs coming into the 2016 season.


Today in Atlanta, Bumgarner hit his second homer of the season, a tremendous clout about a dozen rows into the seats in left field.


Looking threw the baseball cards I have of Madison, they're all of him pitching, so I found this 2015 Topps card of him swinging a bat on Google...and it's a beauty of a baseball card that I'm going to need to get.

Bumgarner is one of my favorite pitchers in baseball, and, like today, if I can, I tune into the Giants game to see him pitch...and hit.


⚾ As I'm writing this post, Madison has just struck out his 11th batter of the game...it's going to the 8th inning, and the Giants have a 6-0 lead.


Until next time baseball fans... PLAY BALL! 

Baseball Card of the Day....2016 Topps Mookie Betts

Last night in Baltimore the Boston Red Sox beat the Orioles, 6-2,  behind outfielder Mookie Betts, who smacked three home runs for the BoSox.


Those three dingers gets Mookie the Baseball Card of the Day, my 2016 Topps Series One #84.

⚾Leading off last night, Mookie went 3/5, with those 3 HRs, with 3 runs scored and 5 runs batted in.


Mookie is hitting .285 on the season, and has become the sparkplug for the first place Red Sox offense.



⚾Markus Lynn Betts was born on October 7, 1992, in Louisville, Kentucky.


Mookie was a 5th round selection by the Red Sox in the 2011 Amateur Baseball Draft, and made his big league debut for Boston on June 24, 2014 vs the New York Yankees.


I wanted to use three different Mookie cards in honor of his 3 homer night, but could only find this year's card...I know I have more Betts cards somewhere.



I think I need to take Mookie to get a base hit tonight in Beat the Streak.


⚾⚾⚾Congratulations to Mookie Betts, today's Baseball Card of the Day! 


PLAY BALL! ⚾

My Mailbox today...

Today's Mailbox find was a very cool piece that I had ordered a few weeks ago.


I just had to have this awesome Tiger Stadium blueprint poster.

Of course  it came rolled up in a tube, so I am using some books to straighten it out...Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers Media Guide are helping.


I absolutely love old Tiger Stadium.


It was the stadium that I first went to back in 1967, the first ballpark of my youth, the place where my heroes, the Detroit Tigers played baseball, it was special.


The 1971 All-Star Game was played in the old ballpark, and, as expected, the Grand Ole Lady of the Motor City put on a spectacular display of baseball in the American League's 6-4 victory.

⚾If you're interested in this, here's the link I shared on my Facebook page.

⚾Here's a link from Etsy...


⚾⚾⚾And here's the page for artist Charles Kee... who's grew up in Michigan and loved the Tigers and Tiger Stadium as well.

Until the next mailbox wonder...Play Ball!