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Hello
Oct 26, 2006 1:22:31 GMT -5
Post by tonyo on Oct 26, 2006 1:22:31 GMT -5
I am a free lance sports writer. I am looking forward to contributing to this forum. Please check out my site. The link is ; amatoboxingsite.multiply.com/We cover boxing, Major League baseball and the NFL.
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Post by tonyo on Dec 16, 2006 0:33:47 GMT -5
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THE SAGA OF SAL BANDO
I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio called Warrensville Heights. A decade before I graduated from that high school, a fellow by the name of Sal Bando graduated. He would go on to be the cornerstone of some great Oakland A's ball clubs and one of the best third basemen of his era.
Sal started his career in 1966 with the lowly Kansas City Athletics. By 1968 when the colorful owner Charlie Finley moved the club to Oakland, Sal had become a starter. It was also the beginning of the A's becoming one of the best teams in baseball for the next several seasons. Graced with players like Rick Monday, Bert Campanaris, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, Vida Blue, Ken Holtzman and Hall Of Famer's, Jim " Catfish " Hunter and Reggie Jackson...a dynasty was born.
Sal would spend nine seasons as an Oakland Athletic. During that time he was as steady and solid as any third baseman in the American League. He belted out 192 home runs and drove home 722 runs. That's an average of 21 HR's and 80 RBI's a year.
In 1977 he went to the Milwaukee Brewers where he also had some success. His career ended after 1981. In all he was in the Major League for sixteen seasons. In his career he appeared in 2,019 games. He batted officially 7,060 times. He had 1,790 hits. He had 242 home runs and 1,039 runs batted in. He stole 75 bases, 20 of which came in 1976.
Although he was a career .254 hitter, he had six seasons with over twenty home runs. One time he went over thirty. Twice he surpassed the century mark in RBI's and he went over ninety on two other occasions. He was really the foundation that Charlie Finley built on. It's an honor to say he was from my hometown.
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Post by tonyo on Dec 28, 2006 20:18:02 GMT -5
FORMER YANKEE BOBBY MERCER
Note ; Former New York Yankee star of the 1970's Bobby Mercer had surgery to remove a brain tumor today, December 28, 2006. Our prayers are with him.
He was supposed to be the next Mickey Mantle. Those are pretty big shoes to fill especially in the media critical New York area. Bobby Mercer did not become the next Mickey Mantle but he did become a solid major league star who in three straight seasons ( 1971, 72 and 73 ), he finished in the top ten for Most Valuable Player.
Bobby was signed by the Yankees in 1964 and made his major league debut in 1965, just in time for the Yankee dynasty to crumble. Mercer broke in as a starter in 1969 and put up solid numbers. He continued to improve in 1970 and in 1971 he had a breakout season with 25 home runs, 94 runs batted in and 14 stolen bases to go along with his .331 batting average. In 1972 Bobby whacked 33 HR's, drove in 96 and stole 11 bases while hitting at a .292 clip. In 1973 Bobby went back over .300 while connecting for 22 round trippers. He sent 95 across the plate.
Bobby's numbers went down a bit in in 1974 and in 1975 he went to the San Francisco Giants. Mercer had two solid seasons with the Giants and then he moved on to the Cubs in Chicago. Bobby spent two and a half years there. Part way through the 1979 season Mercer returned to the Yankees where he finished his career in 1983.
In all Bobby played seventeen seasons in the majors. His career stats were 252 homers, 1043 RBI's and 127 swipes. His lifetime average was a respectable .277. In his first five year stint as a Yankee starter ( 1969-1973 ), Bobby was one of the best outfielders in baseball.
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Post by tonyo on Aug 31, 2007 23:46:35 GMT -5
" Sweet " Lou Johnson...A major player in the Dodgers win over the Twins in the 1965 World Series.
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Post by tonyo on Aug 31, 2007 23:41:20 GMT -5
Jim " Mudcat " Grant...Fine ptcher for the Indians and the Twins. Won over 20 games for the AL champ 1965 Twins.
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Post by tonyo on Aug 31, 2007 23:37:56 GMT -5
" The Big Bear " Mike Garcia : Pitcher for the Indians.
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Post by tonyo on Jul 14, 2007 12:11:35 GMT -5
" The Ripken Way : No Shortcuts To The Hall "...This is a wonderful article in this weekend's edition of USA Today. With all the focus on Barry Bonds, this article put a lot of things in perspective. Cal Ripken Jr. will be inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame on July 29th. A fine and fitting tribute to a real hero.
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Post by tonyo on Jul 14, 2007 11:34:49 GMT -5
If Bonds and Sosa did not " juice " then I can kick Wladimir Klitschko's ass ! This is so painfully obvious. I've heard the expression " There is a sucker born everyday ". Well I'm beginning to wonder how many fans have become " suckers " !!!
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Post by tonyo on Jul 12, 2007 22:27:18 GMT -5
CRY ME A RIVER... Jul 12, '07 11:26 PM by Jim for everyone
neverlast Where are you Joe Cocker ? Our country turns its lonely eyes to you... Oh hell, that's not right. I'm so confused. Barry Bonds and some others are boo-hooing because they feel he is not getting the recognition he deserves in pursuit of the great Henry Aaron's home run record. Waa...Give me a break... I can be sympathetic to what Mr. Aaron endured when he chased and eventually broke the long standing record of Babe Ruth. The racial implications were enormous but Henry hung in and shattered the record. Hats off to Henry. He was truly one of baseball's greatest players. A man in the mold of Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby. He achieved and broke racial barriers. How can you NOT respect Henry Aaron and his contributions to baseball ?
Barry Bonds is a great talent. He was from the beginning. He was the son of a very fine player named Bobby Bonds who in my opinion has borderline Hall Of Fame statistics. To me the bottom line is did Bonds achieve his stats with the help of steroids ? If he did, is that fair ? I really can't envision someone sticking a needle in Babe Ruth's behind to make him hit MORE home runs. Good Lord...Give the Babe six beers and six hot dogs and he was ready to go.Belch and blast.
Could you imagine the Mick on roids ? What about " Say Hey " Willie Mays ? That is just a scary thought ! Frank Robinson, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams... Get my drift ? It's all about a level playing field. IF Mr. Bonds and other current record setters were guilty of taking steroids then to me that is a slap in the face to guys like Al Kaline, Eddie Mathews, Billy Williams and so many others. Shame on them. Shame on us for accepting this. It is by all sense of fairness, unacceptable.
Give me a clean Willie, Mick and a Yogi. Throw in a Roger Maris , Aaron and Ernie Banks too. Boo hoo...they had a few beers. That didn't turn them in to Supermen. Like a friend of mine recently told me. The great Bob Feller's " drug " of choice was milk. Go figure...
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Post by tonyo on Jun 27, 2007 21:36:10 GMT -5
No, no, no what ? They shouldn't be remembered as cheaters or they shouldn't be remembered at all ?
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Post by tonyo on Jun 27, 2007 17:29:39 GMT -5
Back when Jim Bouton's classic book " Ball Four " came out it was " greenies " that were the rage. These speed pills made the players perform better, etc...There may be some truth to that but in a lot of those cases the players took the greenies to offset the effects of a terrible hangover.
I believe overall that today's players take a little bit better care of their bodies. Plus you have much better conditioning techniques. Drinking + ballplayers went hand and hand in the old days. Not all the players drank but quite a few of them is certain. I've read several stories on the antics of Whitey, Mick and Billy. Also stories on many other ballplayers. Knowing what we know today, the drinking surely didn't enhance their on field performances. How many " fat " pitches were swung and missed at because the blurry eyed batter saw more then one ball ? Maybe his reflexes were dulled enough that his powerful swing was timed just a tad bit off and a potential home run became a futile missed swing. Maybe the speed pills just put them back on a level playing field. I'm not condoning their use but I've seen first hand how alcohol can destroy a fine athlete.
Steroids though are a far cry from " greenies ". Roids are not just a little pick me up. In reality it turned the users into physical monsters. The size, strength and speed of those who used steroids just put them in basically a different league then the other non using players. Fair ? Hardly... It would have been OK if they would have created a Steroid Major League. That way all the players using steroids could compete against each other on even terms. Mixing them with non users was hardly playing fair. In fact it was down right cheating. No I don't believe it makes sense to take their stats and records out of the books. That would alter the whole historical landscape of the game. It would not hurt my feelings one bit though if historians and record keepers put an asterisk by the names of all those players guilty of using steroids. They were cheaters and it should be duly noted for all time.
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Post by tonyo on Jul 14, 2007 22:26:16 GMT -5
That photo of the Three Stooges...That's Bonds, Sosa and Canseco...
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Post by tonyo on Jul 14, 2007 22:24:14 GMT -5
So you're saying that if Arturo Gatti would have walked into the ring tonight against Alfonso Gomez with a ball bat it would have been OK ? That is the only way he could have won. That's blatant cheating. NO WAY Bonds would have broke the records if everything was on the up and up...
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Post by tonyo on Jul 14, 2007 11:29:10 GMT -5
If it did not improve their performance then why did they bother to take it ? Bonds went from a 30 HR guy to a 70 HR guy. Sosa went from 20 to 60. If it was not cheating then why is it not legal ?
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Post by tonyo on Jul 8, 2007 13:02:29 GMT -5
SIZE...Like they say, it means something. Sosa was a 20 HR / 20 SB guy and all the sudden he becomes Mickey Mantle ?
Look at Sosa, Juan Gonzalez, Palmiero, Canseco, McGwire, Bonds... Check out old baseball cards of them. Yes, adult bodies mature but they don't transform into " Supermen ".
Give me a clean cut talent like Aaron, Mays, Frank Robinson, Ted Williams, Al Kaline , etc.. ANYTIME over these basically, freaks of nature. Like I said in an earlier post...Would they have been so dominant if ALL players could use steroids ? If it wasn't cheating then why are they trying to hide it or worse yet, denying they used it. It's pitiful, just plain pitiful.
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