I can see it now: St. Peter, swinging wide the pearly gates and proclaiming, "He-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-re's Johnny!"
There will certainly be more laughter and sparkling conversation in Heaven today; on Earth, however, there is less.
God be with you, Mr. Carson. You did Nebraska proud.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
It's About Bloody Time!
Ryne Sandburg has been selected to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The only other player inducted with him this year is Wade Boggs . . . not bad baseball company, but surely two very different styles of player! Sandberg was noted for his cool calmness; Boggs for his intensity. Yet both have achieved the ultimate measure of success. Their accomplishments are about to be recognized as being among the very best of all those who ever played the game.
Boggs was a first ballot inductee. It took Ryno three tries to be voted in. That's a shame; he's a first ballot quality player, too, and did not deserve to be shunned twice before being ushered into baseball's Promised Land.
He was the premiere second baseman of his era. He excelled in all aspects of the game. Offensively, he hit more home runs than any other second baseman ever, 277 (till Jeff Kent broke his record just last season)--including 40 in his MVP year. Defensively, he holds the major league record for consecutive errorless chances at his position (something like 123 games in a row) and his career fielding percentage is the highest ever at second base, .989. He also was a nine-time Gold Glove winner.
He also was a threat on the basepaths: he stole a lot of bases, scored a lot of runs, and generally did everything in his power to make the Cubs a winner. It certainly wasn't his fault that the Cubs had only sporadic success in the 1980s. Besides, he was the National League MVP in 1984, the first year in a lo-o-o-o-ng time that the Cubs made it to the playoffs. [Darn those San Diego Padres and Tony Gwynn, anyway! -Ed.]
Now if we can just get the Veterans Committee to vote Ron Santo in, all will be right with the world.
Sandburg was also very popular--he was a starting All-Star something like 10 times overall, 9 of those in a row. Most importantly, he was (and is) a genuinely nice guy and a real class act. It has been suggested that this worked against his getting voted into the HOF because he didn't do a lot of self-promotion. Frankly, I'd rather have him as he is, exuding quiet excellence, than being a lot of talk and no real action, the way too many professional athletes in all sports are these days.
[I'd also like to start a petition to get ugly sports events off TV, like last night's Orange Bowl. Whatever happened to the Oklahoma Sooners? I think they got kidnapped and some stringers were put in their uniforms just so USC could beat the living daylights out of them. The final score in that game was on the order of 55-19 . . . I'm not sure I have it right because I had to quit watching. It was making me ill. -Ed.]
Anyway, I look forward to hearing his speech at the induction ceremonies later this year. The juxtaposition of Sandburg and Boggs must be the best one in contrasting styles since George Brett and Robin Yount in the class of 1999.
Here I am, stuck at home in the middle of the worst snowstorm we've had in eastern Nebraska in years, and I am dreaming of the Hall of Fame and the start of spring training. I must be a real baseball addict!
Anyway, congratulations, Ryno! You richly deserve all the accolades you're getting. It's more than about time!
Boggs was a first ballot inductee. It took Ryno three tries to be voted in. That's a shame; he's a first ballot quality player, too, and did not deserve to be shunned twice before being ushered into baseball's Promised Land.
He was the premiere second baseman of his era. He excelled in all aspects of the game. Offensively, he hit more home runs than any other second baseman ever, 277 (till Jeff Kent broke his record just last season)--including 40 in his MVP year. Defensively, he holds the major league record for consecutive errorless chances at his position (something like 123 games in a row) and his career fielding percentage is the highest ever at second base, .989. He also was a nine-time Gold Glove winner.
He also was a threat on the basepaths: he stole a lot of bases, scored a lot of runs, and generally did everything in his power to make the Cubs a winner. It certainly wasn't his fault that the Cubs had only sporadic success in the 1980s. Besides, he was the National League MVP in 1984, the first year in a lo-o-o-o-ng time that the Cubs made it to the playoffs. [Darn those San Diego Padres and Tony Gwynn, anyway! -Ed.]
Now if we can just get the Veterans Committee to vote Ron Santo in, all will be right with the world.
Sandburg was also very popular--he was a starting All-Star something like 10 times overall, 9 of those in a row. Most importantly, he was (and is) a genuinely nice guy and a real class act. It has been suggested that this worked against his getting voted into the HOF because he didn't do a lot of self-promotion. Frankly, I'd rather have him as he is, exuding quiet excellence, than being a lot of talk and no real action, the way too many professional athletes in all sports are these days.
[I'd also like to start a petition to get ugly sports events off TV, like last night's Orange Bowl. Whatever happened to the Oklahoma Sooners? I think they got kidnapped and some stringers were put in their uniforms just so USC could beat the living daylights out of them. The final score in that game was on the order of 55-19 . . . I'm not sure I have it right because I had to quit watching. It was making me ill. -Ed.]
Anyway, I look forward to hearing his speech at the induction ceremonies later this year. The juxtaposition of Sandburg and Boggs must be the best one in contrasting styles since George Brett and Robin Yount in the class of 1999.
Here I am, stuck at home in the middle of the worst snowstorm we've had in eastern Nebraska in years, and I am dreaming of the Hall of Fame and the start of spring training. I must be a real baseball addict!
Anyway, congratulations, Ryno! You richly deserve all the accolades you're getting. It's more than about time!
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