tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676591017018865408.post6613728228850938100..comments2024-03-28T17:00:25.774-04:00Comments on The Greedy Pinstripes: The magic and determination of "42"Daniel Burchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04212584396848733519noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676591017018865408.post-47766805666182333732013-04-15T19:49:13.000-04:002013-04-15T19:49:13.000-04:00First time I ever saw Jackie was in the 1947 WS, I...First time I ever saw Jackie was in the 1947 WS, I really didn't understand all the fuss being made about him.<br>He was a big, fast and (I'll say it again) very instinctive player, you know...just like Jeter. As a 10-year-old, I didn't understand how those attributes tied in to his playing so well...in fact, I didn't understand what they were, until later in life.<br>I do remember all the names being called out to him, but I must say, the Yankees handled the games with the class of the Yankees; no hard tags, no spikes up, no close shaves at the plate. Later, I read, there were one or two guys that were very much against him being allowed to play with the White Folks but, they played as Yankees always do...with class!<br>All baseball players should be proud of Jackie, without him doing what he did, how could one player be the best ever, if he never played with some of the best? Orange, blue, green...you pick the color...it is the man, not the color!oldyankee7http://oldyankee7.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676591017018865408.post-62239983052258751342013-04-17T13:21:14.000-04:002013-04-17T13:21:14.000-04:00Thanks for sharing your experience Ken. Whenever ...Thanks for sharing your experience Ken. Whenever I watch movies about jackie Robinson and hear stories, I wonder how much is embellished/exageratted. Were players really trying to hurt him and what not?<br><br>It's hard to imagine baseball without all of the Black and latino players. While Black players have diminished to only about 8% in today's game, Latino players make up around 25% of the league. Adding players from different parts of the World and from different cultures and backgrounds makes for a more diverse and exciting game today. One of the cool things about the WBC was watching how some foreign teams play and have fun together.<br><br>Ken - Did you ever see Satchel paige pitch? I guess if you did he was probably close to 50 years old by then. but there are some amazing stories about him as a Pitcher and an Entertainer.fishjam25http://fishjam25.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676591017018865408.post-78201132406819645902013-04-17T16:06:36.000-04:002013-04-17T16:06:36.000-04:00Oh yah, I had many, many stories about "The O...Oh yah, I had many, many stories about "The Old Man"! Yes, I did see him many times, he came up with the Cleveland team in the late "40s and the old St. Louis Browns. Later he was called up by KCA so as to be eligible for baseball retirement money.<br>He was called by Babe Ruth, Joe D, C.Mathwson, Dizzy Dean and many more...as the greatest Pitcher they had ever seen.<br>I believe you all have heard of the greatest hitter of all time, Josh Gibson "The Black Babe Ruth" (only better).<br>As the story goes (without my notes), Josh and Satch had many run ins, well nobody knows who was the winner of these meeting, and Satch got tired of being asked who was better so, when asked he said something like; "Next time I face him, I will load the bases and strike him out with 3 pitches!"<br>Anyhow, to make it as short as my memory, A game came up where Satch did just that. Ok, ok, Late innings of the game, bases empty, Satch stands on the mound and tells everyone what he was going to do! Satch walks the bases full and up come "Big Bad Josh" Satch says to him, "3 fastballs down the middle you are out" (about). Satch winds up and throws 3 fast ball strikes down the middle and strikes him out. <br>Guys like John Pop Lloyd, called the "Black Wagner" to which Wagner said, "It is an Honor to be compared to him.<br>They were great players in their leagues and against the Major league winter Team which was made up of the best the Majors had to offer they showed very well, so much so that the white guys said many times most of the bigger named players could play and be stars in the bigs. Bad thing is, it took too long for it to be open to them, so the fans got to see a 41-58 year old Satch, not the greatest pitcher ever!oldyankee7http://oldyankee7.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676591017018865408.post-31494364495702888152013-04-18T14:26:38.000-04:002013-04-18T14:26:38.000-04:00Ken - There was a good movie called "Soul of ...Ken - There was a good movie called "Soul of the game" with Delroy Lindo as Satchel and Blair Williams as Jackie Robinson. I watched it about 10 times....perhaps you can tell me how accurate it was.<br><br>The jist of the movie was that Satchel and Josh Gibson were BY FAR the 2 best Black players in the Negro Leagues. They were showmen and kept the Negro league alive....Satchel would often pitch on multiple days for different teams! They would trade him to a team for a week that was struggling with attendance. There were rumors that MLB would take a black player and everyone figured it would be Satch and/or Gibson. They were about to play a game against the MLB All-Stars to see who would go to the Majors but it gets rained out! Branch Rickey ends up taking a young player from Satchels KC Monarchs team named Jackie Robinson. They took him not because he was the best player but because of his education and the way he carried himself. They said Satchel was too old and too much of a showboat (because he was paid to be) and that Gibson was crazy (he suppossedly was in and out of mental hospitals).<br><br>Did Gibson really have mental issues? I know he died at just 35 because of a brain aneurysm.....was that related?fishjam25http://fishjam25.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676591017018865408.post-91642794929719702582013-04-19T05:15:38.000-04:002013-04-19T05:15:38.000-04:00fishjam...I must have been out of the country, at ...fishjam...<br>I must have been out of the country, at the time that move came out. I can't comment on the move but, I can comment on the points you have brought up;<br>True, they were the prize of the league, as for Josh being nuts...never heard a word of it...but, one must remember, he was a catcher and in those days they got banged up a lot.<br>Satch pitched in back to back games many times, in fact to many times...he hurt his arm and was out of baseball one year. In the early days Satch threw nothing but fast balls or as Babe Ruth, Lou G, and Joe D said; "Nothing but Gas".<br>After Satch came back, he was a much better pitcher. He had always had perfect C&C so, he added some other pitches to his arsenal (a lot of pitches). He still had his fast ball but, he didn't use it as much.<br>If one were to try looking up Satch's pitching record....wast of time....the records were few and far between. The league was not big on keeping them.<br>Oh, a little side bar! After going 0 for 5 against Satch, The Babe said, I don't get paid to stand there and see 3 strikes go by. And I think he never had another at bat against Satch.<br>Where Josh and Satch the best ever, those that faced them have said; "With out a doubt"!oldyankee7http://oldyankee7.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676591017018865408.post-71487135695622922272013-04-19T11:56:26.000-04:002013-04-19T11:56:26.000-04:00kEN.....Amazingly, you can watch the entire movie ...kEN.....<br><br>Amazingly, you can watch the entire movie on YouTube. Check it out if you have 90 minutes. It was an enjoyable movie, probably a little overdone for TV but here's the link:<br><br>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6MODKpJ8X4fishjam25http://fishjam25.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com