Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. It was this day in 1941 that the Japanese bombed the port in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. With that act of war the United States was forced into a war they didn’t really want to be a part of, World War II. We all know the stories, the movies and the history behind Pearl Harbor and the war and I don’t know about you but I’d like to not remember the day. Let’s remember the people, the people that died, the people that lived and shot those Japanese planes into the Pacific Ocean and the people who were survived by the decease.


I can’t say it enough, thank you. Remember the people, remember the day, just don’t remember the event.

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. It was this day in 1941 that the Japanese bombed the port in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. With that act of war the United States was forced into a war they didn’t really want to be a part of, World War II. We all know the stories, the movies and the history behind Pearl Harbor and the war and I don’t know about you but I’d like to not remember the day. Let’s remember the people, the people that died, the people that lived and shot those Japanese planes into the Pacific Ocean and the people who were survived by the decease.


I can’t say it enough, thank you. Remember the people, remember the day just don’t remember the event.

Curt Schilling Fired by ESPN

I’m not saying I want to see anyone lose their jobs but it’s hard to feel sorry for people when they do it to themselves, you know? And leaving any fandom or loyalties at the door Curt Schilling did it to himself. I don’t dislike Schilling personally, I don’t know the guy, and while I didn’t like him as a player, he killed us as an Arizona Diamondbacks player in that 2001 World Series and again as a Red Sox player during his tenure there, I have no real beef with him since his playing career ended. I think he runs off at the mouth sometimes and I think his skills as a broadcast announcer need some work and fine tuning but that’s not for me to decide. It seems as though I’m not alone though as ESPN decided to relieve Schilling of his duties this week firing the former pitcher.

Schilling has had more than his fair share of hiccups and instances that could have and maybe even should have got him fired during his tenure with the Worldwide Leader in Sports. At the end of the 2015 season Schilling was quoted on Twitter comparing “Muslim extremists” to the Nazi regime in Germany during World War II. Also earlier this season Schilling was quoted as saying that Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton should be “buried under a jail somewhere” ruffling a few feathers with her fans and supporters. The final straw may have been though when Schilling went on a Facebook tirade this week against access to public facilities and bathrooms for transgender people.

Schilling went too far whether you agree with the whole thing or not. Schilling posted a pretty crazy photo that I won’t share here, it’s not too hard to find with the world of Google, and went after people who were angry with him. Schilling justified his actions and his feelings in his own mind and he’s more than able and welcome to express those behind the first amendment of this country but what a lot of people forget is that for every reaction and use of that amendment there can and usually will be some sort of punishment and lash back.

That punishment is that Schilling is no longer employed by ESPN and honestly, he shouldn’t be. The network doesn’t need people like him giving them a bad image or a bad name and they don’t need him pushing away potential viewership in a business that is reliant on it. Schilling I hold no ill will towards you but you dug your own hole, you covered yourself up and you’re probably still talking as you buried yourself. I wish you well and hope you find work and happiness elsewhere but I can’t lie and say I’m not happy that it won’t be with ESPN anymore.

Schilling, get out of your own way pal. 

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. It was this day in 1941 that the Japanese bombed the port in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. With that act of war the United States was forced into a war they didn’t really want to be a part of, World War II. We all know the stories, the movies and the history behind Pearl Harbor and the war and I don’t know about you but I’d like to not remember the day. Let’s remember the people, the people that died, the people that lived and shot those Japanese planes into the Pacific Ocean and the people who were survived by the decease.

I can’t say it enough, thank you. Remember the people, remember the day just don’t remember the event.

Remembering Yankees of the Past: Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra, quite possibly one of the best players to ever play Major League Baseball, passed away this week of natural causes in his sleep. Berra was living in an assisted living facility in West Caldwell, New Jersey and was 90 years old. Berra died on the same day he made his major League debut 69 years prior. With heavy hearts and teary eyes we remember Yankees of the past, we remember Mr. Yogi Berra.

“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra was born on May 12, 1925 in a primarily Italian neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri called “The Hill.” Berra was born to a pair of Italian immigrants Pietro and Paolina Berra. Pietro came to Ellis Island, New York on October 18, 1909 at the age of 23 and nicknamed his son “Lawdie” which was derived from his mother’s inability to pronounce the names “Lawrence” or “Larry” correctly. Berra attended South Side Catholic School, now known as St. Mary’s High School, in south St. Louis but quit after the eighth grade to begin playing baseball in the local American Legion Leagues. There Berra learned the basics of catching, playing the outfield and the infield but more importantly earned the name “Yogi” from Bobby Hofman who thought Berra resembled a “Hindu yogi” when he crossed his arms and legs when he sat down waiting to bat or the way he looked depressed and sad after losing a game.

“Always go to other people’s funerals otherwise they won’t go to yours.”

In 1942 Berra hoped to sign with his childhood favorite team the St. Louis Cardinals but then Cardinals president Branch Rickey instead signed his boyhood best friend Joe Garagiola. Berra reportedly took the news tough but Rickey had an ulterior motive. Rickey was set to leave the Cardinals to join the Brooklyn Dodgers and wanted to bring Berra with him but the New York Yankees came calling first offering his a $500 bonus, the same bonus that Garagiola received from St. Louis. Berra’s minor league career was cut short after he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a gunner’s mate on the USS Bayfield. Berra was on the ship when the Americans stormed the beaches of Normandy in an attempt to take back France on what is now known as D-Day in the history books.

“You can observe a lot just from watching.”

Berra made his Major League debut with the Yankees in 1946 playing in just seven games before getting into 83 contests in 1947. Berra finished his Yankees playing career playing in over 100 games fourteen different times while also appearing in fourteen World Series, winning 10 of them. Berra played in 75 World Series games, had 259 at bats, 71 hits, 10 doubles, 49 singles, played 63 games as a catcher and had 457 catcher putouts, all World Series records that still stand today. Berra also hit the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history when he stepped up to the plate in Game Three of the 1947 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Berra took Dodger’s pitcher Ralph Branca deep, that same Ralph Branca that gave up Bobby Thomson’s famous “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” just four years later. Berra was a 15 time All-Star and was selected to 18 All-Star Games overall (MLB held two All-Star Games from 1959-1962) and won the AL MVP Award three different times never finishing lower than fourth in the voting from 1950-1957.

“If I can hit it, it’s a good pitch.”

Berra never truly got the recognition that Mickey Mantle or Joe DiMaggio got but it was Berra that kept the Yankees offense going for the most part during his tenure. It was also Berra’s defense and game calling, which was on full display when Don Larsen threw the only perfect game in World Series history with Berra behind the plate in the 1956 World Series, and his playing style was something for the newer generations of baseball players to look up to. Berra could hit bad pitches and cover the entire strike zone with a consistency unseen at the time in Major League Baseball. Berra had more home runs than strikeouts in five different seasons in his career and the Yankees catcher quickly became the original “clutch hitter” in the game. Berra, with a finger outside of his catcher’s glove, was also a great defender that simply did not make errors or bad throws while behind the dish. Most catchers now emulate Berra with the finger outside the glove and could only hope to be half as good as Yogi was in the assists and fielding percentage areas of the game.

“It’s deja vu all over again.”

When Berra got too old to catch he became a good defensive outfielder for the Yankees and even manned the usually tough left field at the stadium. There was nothing that Yogi couldn’t do which is why when he retired after the 1963 World Series he became the Yankees manager replacing Ralph Houk. Berra led the Yankees to the World Series in 1964, this time as the manager, but was not able to get the team past the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. After just one season and a World Series trip Yogi Berra was fired as the manager of the New York Yankees.

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

The Mets quickly signed Berra to be a coach on their staff and even allowed him to make four appearances as a catcher early on in the season. Berra was reunited with long time manager Casey Stengel with the Mets and stayed with New York’s other team for eight seasons, including their 1969 World Series run. Berra officially became the manager of the Mets in 1972 and led the team to an NL East Division crown. Berra was back in the postseason with the Mets in 1973 and even led the team over the heavily favored Big Red Machine en route to a National League pennant.  The Mets fell to the Oakland Athletics in that World Series but it took them seven games before they fell.

“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

Berra was fired as the Mets manager on August 5, 1975 after compiling 298 wins and 302 losses including postseason play. In 1976 Berra was back with the Yankees as a coach when the team won three consecutive American League pennants and the 1977 and 1978 World Series titles. Berra was back as the team’s manager before the 1984 season but turmoil was back in the Bronx before the 1985 season due to owner George Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner had to convince Berra to stay on in 1985 by assuring him that he would not be fired. A mere 16 games into the 1985 season Steinbrenner fired Berra leaving the former Yankees catcher and Yankees legend to boycott the Yankees, Mr. Steinbrenner and Yankee Stadium all together.

“90% of the game is half mental.”

Berra continues his coaching career in 1985 when the Houston Astros signed him to be the bench coach. Berra faced off against his former team, the New York Mets, in the NLCS in six games and remained on with Houston for three more seasons before officially calling it quits after the 1989 season. Berra remained away from the Yankees and outside of Yankee Stadium until in 1999 when George Steinbrenner went to his house to personally apologize in person for his firing and the way it was handled. Berra and Steinbrenner were able to end a 14-year estrangement with the Yankees organization and invited Berra to spring training camp that season to work with the Yankees young catcher Jorge Posada. Berra was back in the Bronx.

“Thank you for making this day necessary.”

When his playing career was said and done Berra was an All-Star a whopping 15 times and won the American League’s MVP Award three different times. Berra appeared in the World Series 21 times as a player, coach and manager and won 13 of them, 10 of them coming as a player for the New York Yankees. Berra was voted into the MLB All-Century Team by the fans in 1999 and even managed both an American League and National League team to the World Series. Berra’s career in Major League Baseball was one to envy but the young Italian was far from living when he finally called it quits. Berra had his #8 jointly retired with Bill Dickey in 1972 and watched last night from heaven as the Yankees wore his #8 on their jersey sleeves in Toronto.

“I really didn’t say everything that I said.”

Yes you did Yogi and we love you for it. May you rest in peace and keep ‘em rolling until I get there to join you! Love you Yogi!

RIP: Yogi Berra Passes Away at 90-Years Old

The great Yankees catcher, manager, teammate, person, legend, coach and personality passed away early this morning in an assisted living home while sleeping. Berra was 90-years old. Not only did the Yankees organization and their family, Berra’s family and Major League Baseball lose a great soul today but so did the world. Berra and his family lived and personified the “American Dream.” Berra’s parents were both immigrants with Yogi’s father coming over to Ellis Island at the turn of the century in 1908. Berra fought in World War II and was in France on D-Day as a member of the U.S. Navy. Berra was America and the world lost a great person today.

Our condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to anyone affected, especially the Berra friends and family. Rest in peace Yogi, while it got late far too early for you here on Earth I feel confident that you brought your book of “Yogi-isms” and your 10 World Series championship rings right along with you to heaven. Save me a seat!

Can't Predict Baseball: No More Night Games In NY

On this day in 1942 New York City Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine announced that night games in New York are now banned for the duration of World War II. The All Star Game was set to be played in the Polo Grounds on Monday, July 6 of that year but the game time would be changed. This will also change the starting times for 28 games involving the Dodgers and the Giants.

The first night game played at Yankee Stadium was pushed back to 1946. Thanks Hitler.