Happy Baseball Birthday...Bill Veeck

Today we celebrate the Happy Baseball Birthday! of former big league owner and Hall of Famer, the legandary Bill Veeck. 

I first heard about Bill Veeck watching White Sox games on cable TV in the 1970s, when my Tigers would play the ChiSox and Tigers announcer George Kell would talk about Veeck and how much he had done for baseball.




William Louis Veeck, Jr.  was born on February 9, 1914, in Chicago, Illinois.



Bill worked for his Father, who was the President of the  Chicago Cubs in the 1930s, became the Cubs treasurer after the death of Bill, Sr, and in 1937, Veeck stamped his name in Cubs lore by painting the outfield wall and planting the now famous Ivy in Wrigley Field.




What I remember most about Bill Veeck...


...those unusal but fantastic uniforms the 1976 White Sox wore, including softball shorts...

....the ridiculous Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in 1979...

...and watching Bill Veeck sitting in the outfield bleachers at baseball games...shirtless, drinking a beer wigh fans , and putting his wooden leg up on a seat, or the outfield wall...Veeck had lost his leg serving in World War II.

Bill Veeck passedaway on February 2, 1986, just a week away from his 72nd Birthday.



Bill Veeck certainly made baseball fun for the fans of the teams he ran, from the American Association Milwaukee Brewers, to the 1948 World Series Champion Cleveland Indians, the St. Louis Browns, the 1959 American League Champion Chicago White Sox, and then with the ChiSox one last time in the 70s.


In 1991 Bill Veeck was posthumosly inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.



Today we say Happy Baseball Birthday! to the one and only Bill Veeck. 



PLAY BALL!

Happy Baseball Birthday...Dal Shulman

Today we say Happy Baseball Birthday! to one of my favorite baseball announcers, Dan Shulman of Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN.

Dan is a terrific baseball announcer, and gives ESPN another solid anchor to their Sunday Night crew, which now includes former big leaguer Aaron Boone, and USA Olympic Gold Medal Winner Jessica Mendoza.




I wasn't happy originally when ESPN didn't bring back Hall of Fame announcer Jon Miller, the current voice of the San Francisco Giants, and lead Sunday Night play by play voice for decades, but Shulman is such a good baseball announcer, he knows baseball, and is always prepared.



Dan has also broadcast Monday and Wednesday Night Baseball on ESPN before becoming the lead play by play on Sunday Night Baseball.




Dan Shulman is graduate of the University of Western Ontario, and started his career broadcasting in Canada before joining ESPN.



Happy Baseball Birthday! Dan Shulman...PLAY BALL! 

Tigers sign J.D. Martinez to 2 year extention

Monday the Detroit Tigers agreed to a 2 year, $18.5 million dollar contract extension with All-Star right fielder J.D. Martinez. 

Martinez has become one of the Tigers most productive players since he signed a free agent contract prior to the 2014 baseball season after being released by the Houston Astros.




In his two years in the Motor City Martinez has batted .296, hit 61 home runs, and has 178 RBIs.




Last year Martinez made his first ever All-Star team, and played right field like the second coming of Al Kaline, with 15 outfield assists and a .993 fielding percentage.




The signing of Martinez will solidify a great off season for the Tigers, who have added free agents Jordan Zimmermann and Justin Upton, along with trading for players like Cameron Maybin, Mike Pelfrey, and Francisco Rodriguez.



New Tigers General Manager Al Avila has made is imprint on the team in just a few montgs on the job, and the extension of Martinez is a welcome sight for all fans.



J.D. Martinez baseball reference page.



Pitchers and catchers report to Tigers Spring Training in Lakeland, Florida a week from Friday, on February 19th.




PLAY BALL!

Happy Baseball Birthday... Babe Ruth

715 Home Runs... Happy Baseball Birthday! to The Sultan of Swat, the one and only, George Herman "Babe" Ruth.


The Babe was born in Baltimore, Maryland on February 6, 1895.


Baltimore is also the home of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum.



In case you're not sure who Babe Ruth is, or why his birthday is a big deal to baseball fans, here's the Babe's baseball reference page.

Happy Baseball Birthday! Babe! 



PLAY BALL!

First Topps Baseball Cards of 2016

Yesterday I puchased my first two packs of Series 1 Topps 



2015 National League MVP Bryce Harper is the Topps cover boy this year.




The pack is also stamped with the Topps 65th Anniversary logo.

I went to the closest Walmart on Friday, and even though Topps just released Series 1 on Wednesday, all that was left to buy were packs with 36 cards per pack...hangers packs I think they're called.



Walmart sells what are called "retail" packs of baseball cards, packs that have all the base cards for players and some inserts.



Too make sure the Hobby stores are able to survive and sell packs and boxes of cards as well, Topps sends the stores "Hobby Boxes" that are sold onky in the card stores.


Those packs include special inserts, autographed cards, and memorabilia cards that you cannot get in the retail packs at Walmart,  Target, etc.



In the first pack I opened, 3rd card from the top of the pack, was this card...and my day was made.

Miggy in the very first pack of new baseball cards...yeah baby!



Also in the first pack with Miguel Cabrera was 2014 American League MVP Mike Trout and 2014 A.L. Rookie of the Year Jose Abreau.

Topps has brought back its popular First Pitch inserts, and I was fortunate to get a Jordan Speith card.

Maybe the coolest insert of the two packs was a shinny, colorful refractor looking card of Indians catcher Yan Gomes.

Pretty neat...you can see the difference in the regular issue card and the parallel insert card.



This year marks another year of me collecting baseball cards.... Topps Baseball Cards... I'm closing in on 50 years of collecting cards.


I once proudly owned complete sets of every Topps set of baseball cards from 1968 to 1980, before selling them off because I needed the money.


I'm always excited when I see the new designs for the upcoming baseball card season, and in a couple of weeks I hope to purchase some Hobby Packs at a local card store.



If you're a collector, let me hear ftom you in the comments section below,  or on Twitter... @freehan11 ...I'd love talking baseball and baseball cards with you.


Have a great year collecting....and... PLAY BALL!

Happy Baseball Birthday...Alice Cooper

Today we say Happy Baseball Birthday! to legendary rocker and lifelong Detroit Tigers fan, Alice Cooper. 

Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier in Detroit, Michigan on February 4, 1948.





If you're someone who loves music then you know all about Detroit and it's famous musicians, and Alice Cooper is right up there with the best of Motown.

Cooper, Kid Rock, Eminem, and the late Glenn Frey of The Eagles were all born in Detroit, and they're also passionate fans of the Tigers.



Cooper attended public school in the Motor City before suffering health problems that forced the family to move to Phoenix, Arizona where Cooper finished up high school.


Cooper has had a very successful career in rock since forming the band in the late 1960s.


Later in life Cooper embraced his love of baseball and rock music by opening up his restaurant Coopers'Town in Phoenix.

I love that Coopers'Town logo!



Just to be fair, although I've long know about Alice Cooper, his Detroit roots, love of baseball, the Tigers, and his adoptive Arizona Diamondbacks, I cannot tell you one song that Alice Cooper had recorded...that music wasn't my thing...but I respect him and his band for all their success.



Alice Cooper also celebrates a Birthday with former Tigers Germany Schafer,  Joe Sparma, and Rusty Kuntz.


Schafer played on the Tigers 1907-08 American League Championship teamd, Sparma won the World Series with the 1968 Tigers, and Kuntz was on the 1984 World Series Champion Tigers.


That's some pretty good company... a big Happy Baseball Birthday! to them all!



PLAY BALL!

Happy Baseball Birthday... Matt Boyd

Today we say Happy Baseball Birthday! to Detroit Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd. 

Matthew Robert Boyd  was born on February 2, 1991 in Bellevue, Washington and played baseball in high schhol at Eastside Catholic HS in Sammamish, Washington.




After high school Matt moved on to play collegiate baseball for the Beavers at Oregon State.



Matt was originall drafted in 2012 by the Cincinnati Reds (rd. 13), but returned to Oregon State, and in 2013 he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 6th round of the amatuer baseball draft.




Matt made his big league debut on June 27, 2015 for Toronto, before being traded to the Detroit Tigers in the David Price deal on July 30th.



On August 5th Matt made his Tigers debut, allowing 1 run on 7 hits in 7 innings of work.




When I heard about the Tigers acquisition of Matt I was very happy that my team got such a quality young pitching prospect, but the fact that his last name was Boyd, well, Matt instantly gained a new fan in yours truly... John Boyd.


Yes, my middle name is Boyd.


Boyd isn't a household name.



My middle name was given to me by my Dad, who at the time worked for and admired a Kalamazoo businessman named Boyd Alan Sutton.



My entire life growing up as a kid all my relatives called me Boyd, and so anytime I heard my name, such as in former big league pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd of the Red Sox, I'd always pay attention to that players career.



So, when Matt Boyd made his debut for my beloved Tigers, well, I was extatic, and, well, I'm hoping to get a #48 BOYD Tigers jersey for my 56th Birthday later this month.

Heck, maybe I'll be able too meet the one and only Matt Boyd during Spring Training this year.



Matt will be facing a big challenge in the spring as the Tigers have established starters in veterans like Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Anibal Sanchez, Shane Greene, Mike Pelfrey, and buddy Daniel Norris, who came over from the Blue Jays in the trade.



I hope he makes the club, of course, and I've heard nothing but good things about Matt's pitching future in Motown.




You can find Matt on Twitter... @mattboyd31 ...he's a great guy...and remember, you can always talk baseball with me on Twitter... @freehan11 ...




Matt Boyd has worn the Olde English D, and that means once a Tiger, Always a Tiger!



It all starts on February 19th when pitchers and catchers report to Tiger Town in Lakeland, Florida.



Happy Baseball Birthday! Matt Boyd... Go Tigers!

Happy Baseball Groundhog Day!

                                             Happy Groundhog Day!

Black History Month

February is 29 leap year days long this year, giving us 29 days to celebrate Black History Month.



As a baseball fan, we all know about April 15, 1947, the day Jack Roosevelt Robinson broke the big league color barrier debuting for the old Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbetts Field.

My hope is that besides baseball fans, all children in America are taught about Jackie and Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, who signed Robinson to play for the Dodgers Triple A club, the Montreal Royals. 



Yes, it's just baseball to many people, but, in the history of our country, the story of how big league baseball kept players of color out of the game for 60 some years between the great Moses "Fleetwood" Walker, a star player in 1880s professional baseball after playing college ball at The University of Michigan, and Robinson's debut in '47.

And it's also important that we talk about the late Larry Doby, the first African-American ballplayer in the American League, breaking the A.L. color barrier with the Cleveland Indians  just months after Jackie Robinson.

Baseball and America have basically grew up together, with all the growing pains of racial discord constantly prominent all along the way.




We now live in a day where the first African-American President of the United States, Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have led Americans into the 21st Century and a country that includes inclusion for all Americans, regardless of their personal preferences.




Of course President Obama is also a big baseball fan, cheering on his beloved Chicago White Sox whenever possible.

We salute President Obama, Jackie Robinson, Lary Doby, and Fleetwood Walker, to start 29 days in celebration of Black History Month.



Play Ball!

Happy Baseball Birthday...Zane Grey

Today's Happy  Baseball Birthday! is famed author of the old America West,  Zane Grey. 

Now, to be honest, I had no idea that Zane Grey played baseball until logging onto baseballreference.com today.




Zane was born in Zanesville, Ohio, and played college baseball for the Quakers of the University of Pennsylvania and professional baseball in the summer.





Zane never made it to the big leagues, but he did write about baseball in a few books, including The Shortstop, The Redheaded Outfield, and The Young Pitcher.

Now that I know Zane Grey played baseball and wrote about baseball, I'm gonna have to read some Zane Grey.



Zane Grey passed away on October 23, 1939, at the age of 67.



Today, 144 years after his birth, we wish Zane a Happy Baseball Birthday!



Play Ball!