Saturday, March 7, 2015

Friday, March 6, 2015


Step Up To The Plate And Swing Away.  
I am staying with a baseball theme to finish out this week. See if you can answer the trivia questions and be a star.
Team Zelazny, Yankees, Visitors: Vandenberg, D’Herin, Keller, Doerbaum, Stier, Levesque, Farinas, Denny, Hite, Zelazny, Davis and Wells.
Team Matta, Tigers, Home: Reagan, Dampier, Brock, Wiltshire, Drouilard, Jacobson, Constantine, Seguin, Coffman, Matta, Oesterreich and Kallister.   
Trivia 1: Match up these teams with their home fields. (Rays, Tigers, Rangers, Twins and Astros), (Tropicana Field, Minute Maid Park, Comerica Park, Target Field and Globe Life Park).
 
I can sum up the game in a few sentences. The game started out close, then one team took a huge lead, then the game ended up close. On Tuesday, 3/3, it was all defense and pitching. Today’s game, Friday, 3/6, it was a hitters game. Over 38 runners reached a base safely in today’s game, per team; that averages out to over 4 runners per inning. When looking at the score, after 8 innings of play, you would not have guessed that both teams hit so well. I can assure you that both teams had their Wheaties for breakfast. A few guys even challenged to make the Wheaties box cover, for their play.
Trivia 2: Which (5) of these MLB players listed, have appeared on the Wheaties box? (Dave Winfield, Ted Williams, Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan, Ernie Banks, Tom Seaver and Ozzie Smith).
 
The Visitors started the scoring in the top of the first inning. The big hit was a Jeff Steir homerun, hit over the left fielders head. The Home team answered back with 5 runs of their own. Reagan, Dampier, Wiltshire, Drouilard and Constantine all scored. Seguin and Coffman also had hits that inning. The two outs recorded, by Brock and Jacobson, were useful sacrifice flies. Everyone who batted that inning did their job! After 1 inning the score stood, Yankees: 3-Tigers: 5.
Trivia 3: What are the 7 ways a batter can reach first base in baseball?
 
The Yankees were shut out in the 2nd inning but the Tigers continued to hit well. The big hits came from Matta and Kallister who doubled and tripled. The Home team scored 4 runs in the 2nd to take a 9-3 lead.
The Tigers stayed in the game, scoring 3 times in the top of the 3rd. Doerbaum hit a bomb over the center field fence, with two runners on base, to score the 3 runs. The Home team answered back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Constantine had a triple that sparked the Tigers that inning. After 3 innings of play the score was Yankees: 6 - Tigers: 11.
 
Trivia 4: Who is the only pitcher to win 7 consecutive World Series starts? (Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Dave McNally, or Jim Palmer.) 
The Tigers took over the game and kept a healthy lead until the ninth inning. They outscored the Yankees, 8-1, from the 4th inning, through the 7th inning. Their efforts were keyed by Mike Wiltshire hitting two home runs and Rick Brock adding a homer of his own.
In the 8th inning, Doerbaum hit his 2nd HR over the fence and Denny had a triple, to help the Yankees score 3 runs. Now leading 19-10, the Tigers added 5 runs in the Home team’s half of the 8th inning; it looked like they might be running up the score. They were not, as it turned out, they were protecting their lead. After 8 innings of play the score was Yankees: 10 - Tigers: 24.
 
Trivia 5: Which of these sayings are attributed to Yogi Berra?
1. “Ninety percent of hitting is mental; the other half is physical."
2. "It ain't over till it's over."
3."If fans don't want to come out to the park, nobody's going to stop them."
4. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
5. All of the above.
The Yankees came to bat in the ninth inning with a mountain to climb, in order to win the game. They must be part mountain goat, because they almost hiked to the peak of the ridge. The Visitors scored 9 runs, on 11 hits, to make it a game. Even though they gave it a valiant effort, the comeback fell short. It was the 5 runs that the Tigers had scored in the 8th inning, which sealed the Yankees fate. As Yogi Berra might say, “I always thought our lead would last, unless they overtook us.” Final Score: Yankees: 19 - Tigers: 24.
 
Wheaties Box Cover: Mike Wiltshire for his 5/5, with two HRs and a triple hitting and gold glove fielding.
Honorable mention: Dave Doerbaum for his two homeruns over the fence and going 4/5.
Leading hitters for the Visitors:
Vandenberg: 3 / 4. With a HR and 2 walks.
D’Herin: 3/5.
Doerbaum: 4/5. 2 HRs.
Levesque: 3/4 and a walk.
Denny: 4 /5.  With a triple.
Hite: 3/ 5.  With a triple.
Zelazny: 3/ 5.
Davis: 4 / 5.
Leading hitters for the Home team:
Dampier: 4/ 5. With a double.
Wiltshire: 5/5. Two HR’s and a triple.
Drouilard: 4/ 5. With a triple and a double.
Jacobson: 2/3. With a walk, SF and a double.
Constantine: 3/5. With a triple.
Seguin: 4/ 5. With two doubles.
Coffman: 4/5.
Matta: 3/ 5. With a double.
Kallister: 3/5. With a triple.
Trivia Answers:
1.      Rays-Tropicana Field, Tigers- Comerica Park, Twins-Target Field, Rangers- Globe Life Park, Astros-Minute Maid Park.
2.      Winfield, Rose, Williams, Smith and Ryan all have appeared on the Wheaties box. Seaver and Banks have not appeared on the box cover. Although Banks was on a Corn Flakes box cover.
3.       A hit, error, walk, hit by pitch, dropped 3rd strike, catcher's interference and a fielder's choice will all get a batter to 1st base.
4.      Bob Gibson came up big, in the “big game”.  He has won the 7th game of the World Series, twice. Gibson won seven consecutive World Series games. He has pitched eight straight complete games in the Series.
5.      All of the above. “I never said most of the things I said”, Yogi Berra. 
If you went 5/5 in answering the trivia questions, you made the Wheaties box, move over Mike.
If you were 4/5, you are an all-star.
If you answered 3/5, you made the big league roster.
If you were 2/5, you bat last in the line-up.
If you only answered 1 correct, you have to spend some time in the minor leagues.
If you did not get any answers correct, you better take up knitting.

Write up by Nick Matta

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