Author: Tom Knuppel

 

Previous entries

Junior Thompson

Eddie Gaedel

 

We continue to look at major league players that were born in Illinois and today is their Birthday.

 

Lee Dunham

 

 

He was born Leland Huffield Dunham in Atlanta, Il on June 9, 1902. He attended college at both the University of Illinois in Champaign and Illinois Wesleyan College in Bloomington, Il. After college he began playing professional baseball in 1925. He was assigned to the Binghamton Triplets which played in the New York-Pennsylvania League and led the team with a .334 batting average.The following season he was called up to the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies and made his debut on April 17, 1926 as a pinch hitter. He went 1-for-1 with an RBI for the game. He was a first baseman and played in five games and was sent down to the Virginia League where he played for the Wilson Bugs. He batted .300 for them that season. He never made it back to the major leagues but in his career in the minors he had 1,024 hits in 910 games with a .310 batting average.

Dunham died in 1961, in Atlanta, Illinois, at the age of 58.

 

 

 

Charlie Kavanaugh

Charles Hugh “Charlie” Kavanaugh was born in Chicago on June 9, 1891. He went directly to the major leagues and never played in the minors. In 1914, he played in six games for the Chicago White Sox and got one hit, struck out twice in six plate appearances. He never played defense as he was strictly used as a pinch hitter. He made his last appearance at the plate n June 28, 1914. Kavanaugh worked for Cook County treasurer after his playing days were over. He died on September 6, 1973.

 

 

 

 

Jason Anderson

 

   Born in Danville, Il. on June 9, 1979, Jason Anderson is a former major league pitcher and current head baseball coach at Eastern Illinois University. In high school he was an all-stater at Danville High School and put together a 14-1 record with six consecutive shutouts. He received a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Illinois where he earned All-American status and Academic All-American along with Newcomer of the Year in 1998. In 2000, he was named Big Ten pitcher of the year. He was drafted in the 2000 Amateur Draft by the New York Yankees and eventually played minor league baseball for the Staten Island Yankees where he became the first from the team to get promoted to the New York Yankees. He also had a day proclaimed for him and had his number was retired by Staten Island.

He made 22 appearances for the Yankees and received one win before he was traded across town to the New York Mets. He was designated for assignment and claimed by the Cleveland Indians where he pitched one inning for them as he allowed five runs. He went back to the Yankees in 2005, then the Padres in 2006 and was signed by the Cubs to a minor league contract.from there he went to the Phillies. He spent the next several seasons in the minor leagues and retired on July 19, 2011.

He became pitching coach for the Eastern Illinois University Panthers and after three seasons was promoted to head coach.

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The Play: With none out, none on, and a two-strike count, the batter attempts to strike a fastball, missing the pitch as it traveled through the strike zone. The catcher, too, misses his catch, as the ball bounces off his glove and into the air, where it strike’s the bat as the batter completes his natural backswing. As the deflected ball caroms toward the wall behind home plate, the batter-runner arrives at first base ahead of the catcher’s throw.

 Using professional rules, what is the call?

 

Scroll down for answer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWER:

The batter-runner should be out for runner INT under (new rule) 6.01(c), as he has clearly hindered the catcher’s attempt to field the ball after strike 3. The ball is dead, and the batter-runner is out.

Even if we rule this “weak” or “backswing INT” under pro rule 6.03(c) The ball will be dead immediately, and so the batter will be unable to advance on strike 3.

There’s no harm or foul intended on the BR’s part, so just kill the play, award a strike and return your runners. In this case, the BR had a X-2 count, so, he’d be out. Standard weak interference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is heard all across America. Fans of major college basketball teams want their school to get the local kids. In mny cases, that would help success but that is not always the fact.

 

So Travis Ford is now the Head Coach of the SLU Billikens. He mentioned he wanted the kids from St. Louis, Kansas City, the State of Missouri and The State of Illinois to give his program first look and strong consideration. Can that work? If you JUST recruited St. Louis are you putting several key pieces on the floor to help the program? Can you find five players in the area or the city that can play like Division I players should?

Let’s take a brief look.

• Jayson Tatum of Chaminade High School was just named the 2015-2016 Gatorade Player of the Year. He accept a scholarship at Duke, not St. Louis under Jim Crews.
• Tyler Cook, also of Chaminade, has signed to go to Iowa.
• Mikey Lewis, a guard at Chaminade, is expected to play at Duquesne.
• Hazelwood Central forward, Xavier Sneed, is playing for Bruce Weber at Kansas State.
• Jordan Barnes, CBC guard, has his sights set on Indiana State.

Granted, they all may not rise to a level of success they are hoping for in D1 basketball, but neither to several other recruits that other school sign. That is a starting 5 that just comes from St. Louis. If Travis Ford can get these kind of players along with Kansas City and compete is Mizzou and Illinois, he has the makings for a very successful future at St. Louis University.

 

 

1943 The Texas League, as will most minor leagues, announces it will cease operations for the duration of World War II. The difficulty to travel and the lack of able-bodied men available to fill team rosters make suspending play a necessity.
1948 The White Sox trade Ed Lopat to the Yankees for Aaron Robinson, Bill Wight and Fred Bradley.
1966 University of Southern California pitcher Tom Seaver is signed by the Braves. The deal will later be voided, and the USC stand-out will be selected by the Mets in a special draft.
1977 The Oakland A’s trade Ron Fairly to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor leaguer Mike Weathers and cash. The Macon, Georgia native, who played with the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 1974, becomes the first major leaguer to appear with both Canadian teams.
1986 Eleven weeks after Padres executives attempt to buy out his contract, only to be thwarted by team owner Joan Kroc, Dick Williams resigns as manager of the Padres. The future Hall of Fame skipper, who captured a NL pennant in 1984 and compiled a 337-311 (.520) record during his four seasons in San Diego, will be replaced by Steve Boros.
1990 At the age of 45, former Red Sox fan favorite Tony Conigliaro dies of pneumonia and kidney failure. Hitting 32 home runs in 1965 at the age of 20, the Revere, MA native becomes the youngest player ever to lead the American League in home runs.
2003 In the wake of Steve Belcher’s death, Commissioner Bud Selig bans the use of ephedra in the minor leagues. Players on the current 40-man major league rosters, which would have included the 23 year-old Oriole pitcher who died last week, are not prohibited to use the substance because as union members they are already covered by the drug-testing rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, which bans only drugs of abuse and certain illegal steroids.
2010 A Kansas man, who sat six rows behind the third-base dugout, files a lawsuit against the Royals as a result of being hit in the eye by a hot dog thrown by Sluggerrr, the team’s mascot. The suit is seeking $25,000 in damages for injuries caused by the flying frank, which includes a detached retina and the development of cataracts in the left eye.

 

1921 Rabbit Maranville is traded by Brooklyn to the Pirates for Billy Southworth, Fred Nicholson, Walter Barbare, and $15,000 in cash. The future Hall of Fame shortstop will spend four of his 19 major league seasons playing for the Bucs, providing excellent defense for the team while compiling a .283 batting average.

1934 Brooklyn coach Casey Stengel signs a two-year deal to manage the Dodgers, replacing skipper Max Carey, who guided the sixth-place club to a 65-88 record last season. During the rookie skipper’s three-year tenure with the team, the Brooks will finish 43 games under .500.

1960 Twenty-eight months after the Dodgers play their last game in Brooklyn, the demolition of Ebbets Field finally begins. The National Anthem is sung by pop singer Lucy Monroe, and a wheel-chair bound Roy Campanella, the team’s former catcher, is given an urn of dirt from behind home plate.

1986 Although he loses his arbitration case, Boston third baseman Wade Boggs receives the largest amount ($1.35 million) ever awarded by this process. Last season’s AL batting champ had sought $1.85 million, but arbitrator Thomas Roberts rules in favor of the Red Sox, resulting in a drop of a half-million dollars for the infielder.

1987 Three days into spring training, Dick Howser’s attempted comeback after undergoing brain tumor surgery comes to an end when the frail-looking Royals manager finds he is physically too weak to continue. Third base coach Billy Gardner replaces the ill skipper, who will die three months later at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City.

1988 A committee of Chicago aldermen, facing the loss of the 1990 All-Star game and possible postseason games, allows the Cubs to play 18 night games at Wrigley Field, the last major league ballpark to be illuminated. In 1942, team owner P.K. Wrigley had planned to be among the first to install lights, but the idea was abandoned when the materials were needed for the war effort.

1990 Although the owners drop their arbitration and minimum salary proposals, spring training camps remain closed. Baseball’s seventh work stoppage in baseball will last 32 days, resulting in Opening Day being moved back a week and the over-all season extended by three days in order to accommodate the 162-game schedule.

1997 Ira Berkow’s front page story about Larry Doby appears in the Sunday New York Times. The article spurs much interest about the first black to play in the American League and many believe leads to the outfielder’s election to the Hall of Fame the following year.

2000 Cubs manager Don Baylor names four captains, including first baseman Mark Grace, right fielder Sammy Sosa, pitcher Kevin Tapani and reliever Rick Aguilera. The quartet will be the Cubs’ first captains since the 1960s and early 1970s, when Ron Santo held the position.

2006 Complaining about the lack of support from local baseball officials, Roberto Kelly resigns as manager of Panama’s team in the World Baseball Classic. The Giants spring training instructor believes some players were held back from participating in the WBC so they would play in the Panamanian championships.

2012 Avoiding a 50-game suspension, Ryan Braun becomes the first major league player to successfully challenge the results of a positive test. The panel that heard the appeal voted 2-1 in favor of the 28 year-old Brewer outfielder because the test collector kept the urine sample at home and stored it in his refrigerator for two days before sending the specimen to a Montreal laboratory for analysis.

2013 Jason Bay, who mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the Mets in November after three years of futility in New York, clouts a two-run homer in his first at-bat of spring training in the Mariners’ 8-6 exhibition victory over the Padres. The likable, but oft injured outfielder signed with Seattle in the offseason for $1 million, a far cry from the four-year, $66-million free-agent deal he inked when he left Boston for the Big Apple in 2009.

1931 The White Sox and Giants become the first major league teams to play a night game. The Buffs Stadium (Houston, Texas) exhibition game lasts ten innings with the teams collecting a total of 23 hits.

1931 The Dodgers arrive in Cuba to start a series of five inter-squad games. Brooklyn right-hander Dolf Luque, known as the Pride of Havana, will appear in the exhibitions scheduled to be played in spacious Tropical Stadium.

1945 Due to wartime travel restrictions, baseball decides to cancel the All-Star game. It is the only time the Midsummer Classic will not be played since the game’s inception in 1933.

1966 Emmett Ashford becomes the first black to be a major league umpire when he is hired by the American League. ‘Ash’, known for his flashy style in the PCL, will spend five years in the bigs, working the 1967 All-Star game and the 1970 World Series, before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.

1968 The first-ever collective basic agreement is signed by the players and owners. The CBA increases the minimum salary to $10,000 and introduces a formal grievance procedure.

1974 Tom Seaver becomes the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history when he signs a contract for $172,000 per season to hurl for the Mets. ‘Tom Terrific’ has posted a 135-76 record during his seven years in New York.

1986 In defiance of the Reds’ policy, Rollie Fingers refuses to cut off his trademark handlebar mustache and retires from baseball. The future Hall of Fame reliever, who leaves the game with 341 saves, had been offered a contract by Cincinnati’s skipper Pete Rose after being released by the Brewers at the end of last season

1989 Reds manager Pete Rose meets with Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and Commissioner-elect Bart Giamatti to explain the allegations concerning his gambling habits. Major League Baseball will launch a full investigation into the matter next month which will lead to “Charlie Hustle’s” permanent ban from the game in August.

2000 Denying the acquisition of Ken Griffey, Jr. as the reason, the Reds announce the team has dropped its ban on earrings. Players have worn them in the clubhouse, but weren’t allowed on the field with them.

2006 Gene Elston is selected by the National Baseball Hall of Fame to receive the Ford C. Frick Award. During his 47 years in the broadcast booth, the former Astros announcer brought a no-nonsense approach to reporting the happenings on the diamond.

2008 Ryan Howard, who made $900,000 last season, gets a substantial raise by winning his salary arbitration case against the Phillies. The 28 year-old first baseman is awarded $10 million, tying Alfonso Soriano, who had sought $12 million and lost, for the highest amount ever given to a player in the process.

2009 In a decision which team general manager Neal Huntington calls easy, the Pirates pick up John Russell’s contract option for this season. The sophomore skipper went 67-95 in his first season with the last-place Bucs.