MLB Network will be hungry for content until the season opens. One wonders why they didn’t wait until at least Spring Training — if not opening day — to launch. I guess they wanted to start building their audience early.
I watched a little but last night, mostly previews of what is to come. Among the personalities serving as talking heads will be overall host Matt Versagasian and ex-players such as Harold Reynolds, Joe Magrane, Al Leiter, Mitch Williams, Dan Plesac, and Barry Larkin. Other on-air personnel include Greg Amsinger, Alex Rojas, writer Jon Heyman, and the obligatory female reporters Trenni Kusnierek and Hazel Mae. And let me say immediately that I apologize if anyone finds the choice of “obligatory” offensive. In watching the “trailer” for the new enterprise last night, several of the ex-athletes swung a bat for the camera. So did the women, and that looked just stupid. If they were Dot Richardson of Jennie Finch — elite softball players — I could accept that; at least they would look competent swinging a bat, but Mae and Kusnierek just looked silly. (and don’t get me started on Jeanne Zelasko.)
Anyway…
So I’m watching and there was a lot of exciting and emotional footage, mostly World Series events (home runs by Joe Carter, Bill Mazeroski, Kirk Gibson, etc.), a behind-the-scenes look at the studio in Secaucus, NJ, and testimonials from various baseball figures such as Commissioner Bud Selig and Cal Ripken Jr.
A word of caution: as much as baseball fans love the game, the executives at MLBN have to take care not to wax too poetical or philosophical: the metaphors of life and baseball, the majesty and history of the national pastime, the august music, the verdant playing fields, etc. That’s something I always find annoying when it comes to the All-Star Game and the World Series. I know there are those who never watch a game except those, but I find such exposition redundant in almost every circumstance.
The latest big news is the rebroadcast of Ken Burns’ nine-part documentary. which will air weekly beginning Jan. 6. I wonder if they will be showing other documentaries as well. And when there’s a rain delay, perhaps they can show a baseball-themed movie or episodes of old TV shows that have a baseball guest star ( Leo Durocher on The Munsters!).
A regional title announced in the pages of The Telegraph-Herald of Dubuque, Iowa. I’m including it just as much for the audio rendition as the brief story itself. For one thing, how could a visually-impaired person be able to find the link? And, at the risk of being un-PC, the computer-generated voice sounds like Stephen Hawking on helium.
The last timne I went on vacation, I returned to the news that Bobby Murcer had died. This time, it’s Dock Ellis. (Just goes to show that I can’t go away for a minute.) The former Pittsburgh Pirate, who admitted to tossing his 1970 no-hitter against the San Diego Padres under the influence of LSD, died Dec. 19 at the age of 63.
Ellis — who also pitched for the Yankees, As, Rangers, and Mets, — had a record of 138-119 with a 3.46 ERA in 2127.7 innings over 12 years. He was the subject of Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball, a biography by Donald Hall published in 1976. I found this interesting reference to the book on the Sports Illustrated website.
Ellis recalled the game in this interview, evidently recorded sometime shortly before his death.
Here’s a musical tribute. I suggest closing your eyes and just listening to the song; not sure why this guy felt the need to lipsynch.
Yesterday’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Mefeatured excerpts from past shows regarding the 2008 Presidential election. It included a segment from an August 2005 show featuring a newly-elected Senator Barack Obama in the “Not My Job” portion of the program. His topic: The superstitions of Wade Boggs. Obama got two of three answers correct; he got game.
In these challenging economic times — during which every story and press release commences with an “in these challenging economic times …” salvo — media entities are as likely to roll out a big-dollar, big-ambition offering as they are to quadruple their head count. And then there’s Major League Baseball, which will come across as positively brazen when it launches its eponymous cable network in upward of 50 million homes Jan. 1.
…
On paper, the MLB Network looks like nirvana for hard-core fans. The net’s flagship show, “MLB Tonight,” will air every day except Sunday during the regular season from 6 p.m. Eastern time until a half hour after the evening’s final game has concluded. It will broadcast a game every Thursday night and cover any number of events in and around the game. Additionally, the network will tap the league’s trove of historical footage for documentaries and series such as “Prime 9,” a countdown show devoted to the game’s best moments and performers (center fielders, dramatic home runs, etc.).
Can’t wait. Where do I sign up? Aw, sweet! It’s on Comcast.
One of the two "mammoth sets" at the new MLB Network.
Jonah Keri announces on his blog that his has agreed to terms with ESPN Books and Random House on a book analyzing the Tampa Bay Rays and the team’s “Wall Street approach to baseball.” (The concept sounds very interesting, but with the way Wall Street is going these days, maybe the Rays should look for a new philosophy.)
There’s no publication date yet or even a title, but on his blog, Keri’s enthusiasm is unmistakable:
I’m psyched about the project, because there’s an amazing story to be told. Three guys with limited baseball experience but a wealth of Wall Street experience, Stuart Sternberg (Goldman Sachs), Matt Silverman (Goldman Sachs) and Andrew Friedman (Bear Stearns) have taken the Rays from the worst team in baseball to the 2008 AL champions. That’s not even stating it strongly enough. When these Wall Street guys took over three years ago, the Rays were the butt of constant jokes, the weak sister in a division ruled by the unbeatable Yankees and Red Sox. Now…well, I’m writing a book about them! They’ve got a loaded team that’s going to be very good for many years to come.
Michael Lewis’ examination of the Oakland Athletics in Moneyball has become one of the all-time classics about the game. Here’s wishing Keri the same success.
Thanks to eagle-eye Greg Spira for provided the information.
Necciai was a legendary minor league pitcher, who regularly struck out opposing batters in the double digits. His record-setting performance came as a 19-year-old in a 7-0 no-hitter in 1952.
Author George Stone (not to be confused with pitcher for the Atlanta Braves/NY Mets or the outfielder for the St. Louis browns at the turn of the 20th century) describes the atmosphere of the event, and the sad tale of Necciai, who was brought up to the Pittsburgh Pirates a few months after his feat, going 1-6 with a 7.08 ERA in 54.7 innings. He struck out 31 but walked 32. Drafted into the armed forces, he tried to come back too quickly after he was discharged and hurt his shoulder, never to return.
The writer, from the Virginia Bristol Herald-Courier, also praises Stone for “an excellent job of depicting what Bristol was like in the early 1950s. Such landmarks as Bunting’s Drug Store, Trayer’s Restaurant, the Hotel Bristol and of course, Shaw Stadium, are mentioned and are sure to bring back memories for anyone who lived in the area during that period.”
I think we big-city snobs tend to forget that most of America is like this. I think there’sa ot more Mayberry than Manhattan out there.
In my "day job," I'm the features and sports editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper. I'm also the editor of the Bibliography Committee Newsletter for the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
I did a piece on the award-winning cartoonist and he was nice enough to "immortalize" me.
I maintain a list of the baseball titles on Librarything.com, with ratings and links to reviews. Click on the "Search" tab on the top navigation bar, then type "RonKaplanNJ" in the search box.
The last timne I went on vacation, I returned to the news that Bobby Murcer had died. This time, it’s 
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Thanks to eagle-eye 
, by Catchcart and Klein
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