Writer’s note: One Sixty-Two is a season-long series of blog posts connecting baseball’s major-league players to life’s universal themes. Just as there are 162 games in a season, so there will be 162 posts in this series. Let’s play some ball.
Day One Hundred-Five: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Got ‘bone?
The words were printed on a black T-shirt, one that hung in a gazebo behind the West Cape May Municipal Complex. Inside the gazebo stood a group of middle-aged men with guitars and drums, and they were playing a set of bluesy rock songs for dozens of adults and kids sitting and eating on blankets in the field around the gazebo. The men call their group Bluebone, and over the years they’ve developed quite a following in this part of the Jersey Shore. They’ve grown popular enough to warrant more than the usual CD sales at gigs: The band has its own Web site, its own slogan (“Burnin’ Blues & Smokin’ Boogie”) and, of course, its own T-shirt design (with apologies to the California Milk Processor Board).
When I saw and heard Bluebone play on a recent night, it was at the delightful West Cape May Farmers Market, one of the hidden gems of the Jersey Shore summer season. For $7, I had a dinner of crab cake and freshly picked cherry tomatoes. If I’d wanted, I could have added such delights as peach cider, barbecued chicken and fresh jam to my grocery list. The sun was out, the breeze was delightful, and the music was, well, bluesy.
My mom, who is a big fan of Bluebone, was digging the tunes, which featured a mix of covers and originals. But while my mom might splurge for the new Bluebone CD, Devil Keep Chewin’, I doubt that she will choose to walk around the Victorian-Era homes of Cape May wearing a “got ‘bone?” shirt. If she lived in Seaside Heights, maybe. But not here.
Aside from all the R-rated connotations this phrase brings to mind, there are other connections to be made here – other variations on what this pointed question could mean. There’s backbone, for instance. With every group of people who work together, there needs to be someone with the steady skills and intestinal fortitude to lead the way toward success. Many musical groups – Bluebone included – have a member who takes the lead in writing lyrics and singing vocals. At most of our workplaces, we can name individuals who keep the ship sailing by constantly delivering help and guidance when it’s needed.
On the diamond, every baseball team has a player or two who serves as the club’s backbone. The last-place Kansas City Royals look to pitchers Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria as backbones, as these two men show their teammates that you don’t have to be on an elite team to perform at an elite level. At the other extreme, the first-place Tampa Bay Rays have a backbone of their own. He’s a third-year player who mans third base better than anyone in the American League while also driving in runs, hitting for power, and stealing bases. He is Evan Longoria, and this season fans voted for him over Alex Rodriguez to start at his position in the All-Star Game. Longoria has quickly become one of the most productive players in the game, and he is the backbone behind the ballclub that is tied with the Yankees for the best record in baseball.
Despite the similarity of his name to that of model and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, the Longoria of baseball is much more grit than glitter. From the moment he arrived in the Show, Longoria has been one of those guys who just knows what it takes to win. It’s no coincidence that the Rays went from last-place castoff to playoff squad in Longoria’s first season as a big-leaguer. This season, the Rays are well on their way to a second postseason visit in three years, while their third baseman is well on his way to a top-10 finish in the league Most Valuable Player voting.
Many baseball players have nicknames; Longoria’s is “Longo.” It seems we cannot avoid the sexual connotations today. So let’s just come out and say it – Longo has got ‘bone. And that, my friends, seems to have made all the difference in Tampa Bay.
Showing posts with label Joakim Soria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joakim Soria. Show all posts
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Pine Tar & Partners (One Sixty-Two: Day 93)
Writer’s note: One Sixty-Two is a season-long series of blog posts connecting baseball’s major-league players to life’s universal themes. Just as there are 162 games in a season, so there will be 162 posts in this series. Let’s play some ball.
Day Ninety-Three: Jose Guillen, Kansas City Royals
I’m good with dates, in a Trivial Pursuit kind of way. For some reason, I can remember that Mt. St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. I can tell you that Ronald Reagan was shot on the same day that Indiana defeated North Carolina in the men’s basketball title game – March 30, 1981. I recall the first Gulf War’s aerial attacks starting on the day before my 20th birthday – January 16, 1991.
And so on. You can argue, quite convincingly, that there are more important things to store in my brain than dates I can look up in two seconds’ time on the Internet. But our minds do what they want, and we can’t really control that. So while my brother compares me to Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man, I shrug and say sure, good connection. It’s my own idiosyncrasy, and I embrace it.
For a long time, I associated July 24th with a baseball event – the legendary “Pine Tar Game” of 1983. For those who don’t recall, this was the game in which Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett hit a two-out, two-run homer off Yankees reliever Rich Gossage in the top of the ninth inning to put his team on top by a run, only to be called out by home plate umpire Tim McClelland for having too much pine tar on his bat. Yankees manager Billy Martin brought the bat to the umpires’ attention as soon as Brett crossed home plate. Martin challenged the bat’s use by claiming that the pine tar was spread too high up the barrel of the bat. This, Martin claimed, was against baseball rules. The umpires conferred and agreed with Martin, calling Brett out and therefore ending the game.
The rest is the stuff of legend – Brett dashing onto the field like a man out for blood, his teammates and other umpires restraining him from McClelland, and the Yankees walking awkwardly off the field, somehow victorious. A few days later, American League president Lee MacPhail reversed the ruling, claiming that Brett’s pine tar hadn’t interfered with the spirit of the rules. Twenty-five days after Brett’s home run, the game resumed and the Royals won.
For six years, my brain-bank of dates and numbers noted July 24th as Pine Tar Day, and nothing more. It was a fun event to remember for a baseball fan like me. And then, when I was 18, I started dating a girl who was born on this same day. A whole bunch of years later, we’re still going steady. So now, there are a few more important things to remember when July 24th comes around – cards, gifts and plans for the day, for starters. My wife isn’t real big on birthdays, and she especially doesn’t like to be the center of attention. But my daughters and I do what we can to make her feel as special as we know she is. Today, it was homemade cards and drawings, a trip to the big balloon festival here in Jersey, her favorite ice-cream shop, and a movie.
There aren’t many similarities between my wife and the Pine Tar Game. Amy is not a rule-breaker, nor is she very controversial. She doesn’t run after anyone like Brett did on that day, although now and then she flashes me the kind of look Brett gave to those umpires. My wife, in fact, is the antithesis of that game: She’s calm, reliable, fair, cheerful and loving. And, of course, she is beautiful.
Coincidentally, the Yankees happened to play the Royals today on the anniversary of that crazy game 27 years ago. When Kansas City’s Jose Guillen blasted an upper-deck home run off New York’s Sergio Mitre today, there were no calls for a look at Guillen’s bat. It was a homer, fair and square. The Royals won, although a controversial umpire’s call in the ninth inning found Mark Teixeira out on a play in which he appeared to be safe. Royals closer Joakim Soria got out of the game with less drama than Rich Gossage experienced a quarter-century ago, preserving a 7-4 win.
We watched the end of the game, then moved on to other things. There are, of course, more important things than baseball. And there are other things that happen on July 24th. Such as the birthday of your life’s partner. The day you get to remind her that she’s the most important person in your world. There’s nothing controversial, or trivial, about that. The umpires all agree.
Day Ninety-Three: Jose Guillen, Kansas City Royals
I’m good with dates, in a Trivial Pursuit kind of way. For some reason, I can remember that Mt. St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. I can tell you that Ronald Reagan was shot on the same day that Indiana defeated North Carolina in the men’s basketball title game – March 30, 1981. I recall the first Gulf War’s aerial attacks starting on the day before my 20th birthday – January 16, 1991.
And so on. You can argue, quite convincingly, that there are more important things to store in my brain than dates I can look up in two seconds’ time on the Internet. But our minds do what they want, and we can’t really control that. So while my brother compares me to Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man, I shrug and say sure, good connection. It’s my own idiosyncrasy, and I embrace it.
For a long time, I associated July 24th with a baseball event – the legendary “Pine Tar Game” of 1983. For those who don’t recall, this was the game in which Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett hit a two-out, two-run homer off Yankees reliever Rich Gossage in the top of the ninth inning to put his team on top by a run, only to be called out by home plate umpire Tim McClelland for having too much pine tar on his bat. Yankees manager Billy Martin brought the bat to the umpires’ attention as soon as Brett crossed home plate. Martin challenged the bat’s use by claiming that the pine tar was spread too high up the barrel of the bat. This, Martin claimed, was against baseball rules. The umpires conferred and agreed with Martin, calling Brett out and therefore ending the game.
The rest is the stuff of legend – Brett dashing onto the field like a man out for blood, his teammates and other umpires restraining him from McClelland, and the Yankees walking awkwardly off the field, somehow victorious. A few days later, American League president Lee MacPhail reversed the ruling, claiming that Brett’s pine tar hadn’t interfered with the spirit of the rules. Twenty-five days after Brett’s home run, the game resumed and the Royals won.
For six years, my brain-bank of dates and numbers noted July 24th as Pine Tar Day, and nothing more. It was a fun event to remember for a baseball fan like me. And then, when I was 18, I started dating a girl who was born on this same day. A whole bunch of years later, we’re still going steady. So now, there are a few more important things to remember when July 24th comes around – cards, gifts and plans for the day, for starters. My wife isn’t real big on birthdays, and she especially doesn’t like to be the center of attention. But my daughters and I do what we can to make her feel as special as we know she is. Today, it was homemade cards and drawings, a trip to the big balloon festival here in Jersey, her favorite ice-cream shop, and a movie.
There aren’t many similarities between my wife and the Pine Tar Game. Amy is not a rule-breaker, nor is she very controversial. She doesn’t run after anyone like Brett did on that day, although now and then she flashes me the kind of look Brett gave to those umpires. My wife, in fact, is the antithesis of that game: She’s calm, reliable, fair, cheerful and loving. And, of course, she is beautiful.
Coincidentally, the Yankees happened to play the Royals today on the anniversary of that crazy game 27 years ago. When Kansas City’s Jose Guillen blasted an upper-deck home run off New York’s Sergio Mitre today, there were no calls for a look at Guillen’s bat. It was a homer, fair and square. The Royals won, although a controversial umpire’s call in the ninth inning found Mark Teixeira out on a play in which he appeared to be safe. Royals closer Joakim Soria got out of the game with less drama than Rich Gossage experienced a quarter-century ago, preserving a 7-4 win.
We watched the end of the game, then moved on to other things. There are, of course, more important things than baseball. And there are other things that happen on July 24th. Such as the birthday of your life’s partner. The day you get to remind her that she’s the most important person in your world. There’s nothing controversial, or trivial, about that. The umpires all agree.
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