Harper ties Two More on His Way up: 257 Long Ones

e Harper (10, 28)	257	L	HR Log
	Ian Kinsler (14)	257	R	HR Log
	Carlos Santana (12, 35)	257	B	HR Log

Now tied at 221 all time, with two recent players, Santana still playing at age 35, and Kinsler more recently done. Ian Kinsler never hit more than 32 homers in a year, but was productive in 14 seasons with the Rangers, the Tigers, and 3 more teams of one season each by age 37.

Santana has played mostly with Cleveland, soon to be the Guardians, but also has played with Philadelphia a season and now with the Royals. He has 17 total as of late August, so he may play a while longer. He hit 34 as a season best twice, in 2016 and 2019. Career batting average of .247, this year hitting .225. 

Bryce has a career average of .278, and this season is hitting .299 so far.

My Sabbath

 

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The Sabbath Day

I Was Going to Write About Indiana basketball, and it was going to be called "Doubting Every Indiana Basketball Coach I Have Ever Known." No worries, I still have it in me for later.

But I wanted to blog about how I choose to worship and rest on the Sabbath, which today is Sunday.

It comes differently, Sunday to Sunday.

But it is something that comes from God, and I believe in it and try to live it.

More later, but if you read this and want to discuss, please feel free.

Edward M.

Bryce Keeps Going Deep: Joins Some Pretty Good Names at 227 and 223 All Time

223.	Bob Allison (13)	256	R	HR Log
	Bryce Harper (10, 28)	256	L	HR Log
	Larry Parrish (15)	256	R	HR Log
	Vada Pinson (18)	256	L	HR Log
227.	Kirk Gibson (17)	255	L	HR Log
	Adam LaRoche (12)	255	L	HR Log
	John Mayberry (15)	255	L	HR Log
	John Olerud (17)	255	L	HR Log

John Olerud was one that I watched, mostly with the Blue Jays but I think he did some time with the Mets.

I looked up John Mayberry earlier, he had a decent career. Big man, hung up the cleats in 1982. His best year for clouts was 1975 in Kansas City, with 34.

Adam LaRoche played for some of my favorite teams, the Washington Nationals and the Chicago White Sox. He called it a career when they would not let his 15 year-old son hang out more around the club house or the dug out. He hit a career best in 2012 before retirement in 2015 at age 35.

Kirk Gibson had a fine career, border line Hall of Famer. He had one of the biggest homers of all time in 1988, when hurt in the World Series. I guess those playoff stats do not count for the career, which they should, in my opinion. (I think that I only learned this a few short years ago from some the fathers of my baseball playing sons.)

Vada Pinson never had too many high homer years, just consistent. Done in 1975 at age 36.

Larry Parrish I remember when I was younger, his high career year was 1979 with the Montreal Expos, a couple years before they became my favorite team. He finished in 1988. With the Bo Sox after many years with the Texas Rangers.

Bob Allison had some power years with the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins before hanging it up in 1970, the year of my birth,

Harper to 230 in the All Time List

 

230.	Joe Gordon+ (11)	253	R	HR Log
	Bryce Harper (10, 28)	253	L	HR Log
	Andre Thornton (14)	253	R	HR Log
	Todd Zeile (16)	253	R	HR Log

 Harper Tied at 233 All Time: Joins Some Good Names

233.	Bret Boone (14)	252	R	HR Log
	Bryce Harper (10, 28)	252	L	HR Log
	Bobby Murcer (17)	252	L	HR Log
	Joe Torre+ (18)

Torre played until 1977 with many teams. He became more famous for being the skipper of the killer Yankees of the turn of the century, with Derek Jeter et al.

Murcer played a lot with the Yankees, with some away time in the middle, finishing in 1983. He was 19 when he began, with a high home run year in 1972, with 33. Torre hit his best of 36 in 1966, with the Atlanta Braves.

Boone played only 14 years, in a bigger home run era, from 1992 until 2006. He hit 37 in 2001, a pretty good year for home run hitters, despite the terrorist attacks near the end of the season. He was done at age 36.

While I am typing this post Harper hit another one against the Dodgers.

The count goes on.

Harper Rising in the Dog Days of August; Phils in Contention

236.	Tony Armas (14)	251	R	HR Log
	Tony Clark (15)	251	B	HR Log
	Bryce Harper (10, 28)	251	L	HR Log
	Cy Williams (19)	251	L	HR Log
	Robin Yount+ (20)	251	R	HR Log
241.	Jose Valentin (16)	249	B	HR Log

    Bryce left Washington the year that the Nationals won the World Series, 2019, so the Phillies getting to the playoffs would be a big deal. Many people thought that this year of "post pandemic" 2021 much of the National League East would be a really good division and race, but all the teams are struggling, including the Mets, who have had some good runs but overall the record is not that great compared to most leaders in the other divisions of both leagues, National and American. The Phils are in good contention with the Mets now, and maybe the Braves could do some things. The Nats have blown way too many wins, traded out some serious experience and talent (alas!, Scherzer and Turner and about four others, including Series winners, both batters and pitchers) and they are 10 below five hundred. Schwarber got hot for a couple weeks and things were exciting, but the pitching and other factors sank my hometown team. Juan Soto has had an okay season, but has lost some of his back up hitters to keep the opponents' pitching more honest. They are building for the future, perhaps some young great talent will fill in the blanks.

    Harper was tied with 16-year veteran infielder Jose Valentin on all time home runs at 249, who I watched play a bit with the White Sox (fan since 1992), and had really good power from both sides of the plate. He finished his big league career in 2007 with the New York Mets. He hit a career best 30 homers in 2004 with the Pale Hose of Chicago. The Sox won the World Series in 2005, but Jose, of Puerto Rico, played one season with the Los Angeles Dodgers that season nearing the end of his career.

    Harper was at 250 career homers for a second by himself, but then he made 251 on the all time list to be tied with some all time players, including Robin Yount, the Hall of Famer. He played 20 years, all with Milwaukee, and finished in 1993, with over 3100 hits. He was a hitter, who had some power. Best season in long balls was 29 in 1982, at age 26. Milwaukee had a great team that year.

    Cy Williams stopped playing way back in 1930, leading the league in home runs four times, including 1916 with only 12, 1920 with 15, and then 1923 with 41. Babe was not doing his thing so much in the 19 aughts. His last year to lead the majors with home runs was 30 in 1927. He started with the Cubs in 1912 but ended up the rest of his tenure with the Phillies, finally done at age 42, playing only 21 games his last year with 0 home runs.

    Tony Clark was a big 6'8" man with power who played from 1995 to 2009; most of his best home run years were with Detroit when he was younger, topping out at 34 in 1998, the year of baseball when hitting thirty some homers was pedestrian. (See Mark and Sammy, that crazy year of the long ball). He had one good year in Arizona, 2005, and retired at age 37.

    Tony Armas of Venezuela, played 14 years and lead the league twice in long balls, 1981 was a short strike season, he had 22. That was with Oakland in 109 games. In Boston he hit a career best in 1984 with 42 clouts. I am thinking the Green Monster likely helped this right handed hitter. He played his last three years with the California Angels, hanging up his cap in 1989 at age 35. He hit 11 ding dongs that last year.

Bryce, the swings and balls keep coming, as do these many names. 

235 more greats to surpass. Can you do it? Top 100, for sure. But maybe Trout, or Machado, or some other powerful youngin' like Tatis or Guerrero will eventually catch the pantheon of Bonds, Aaron, and Ruth...

Time tells all things, right? I may be pulling for Juan Soto, myself, some 8 or so whacks still from the top 1000...

Desert Fans Episode 1: Preseason

 

Desert Fans Episode 1: Preseason

It was the summer of 2000 when I first saw the Phil Steele College Football book. Or maybe 2001. Either way, I became convinced that he was the smartest guy in the game, and win or lose he was so passionate about college football that he could explain almost everything and it makes sense. I do not buy his magazine every year, but I know what he is doing, and I look at his rankings and predictions, and I think that he knows the future the best, because he studies the most and takes in the most factors.

This season, while some of us are far from our favorite campuses, I felt excited to do some reporting on our favorite teams. I will share some Steele and other thoughts, but I will certainly inject my own. First, the Phil Steele picks according to which teams we are covering (seven total).

4. Clemson Tigers

5. Georgia Bulldogs

7. Notre Dame Irish

16. Miami Hurricanes

18. Indiana Hoosiers

UNRANKED: Brigham Young Cougars

UNRANKED: Auburn Tigers

Clemson has been one of the most dominant teams nationally for the last five years, while their stud Trevor Lawrence was at the helm. They have a ton of talent back; they have rolled the ACC pretty handily. Will they hit a snag, potentially, this year? Right off the bat September 5^th they have Georgia, rated number 5. It should be a big litmus test for sure. That may be the biggest game of the weekend in the whole country terms of top finishes for all teams going into the season as an overall body for best record produced. We shall see. Georgia Tech may not provide much competition week three, although the running game that Tech offers does get some defenses overwhelmed. In total, the Clemson schedule does not look that difficult (Syracuse gave them a scare recently), and so after the Bulldogs, perhaps these Tigers are looking to finish strong, early loss to Georgia or no. The only other ACC teams ranked in the top 25 (according to Steel), are Miami and North Carolina, and the Tigers of South Carolina play neither until possibly the ACC Championship, likely the first weekend of December. Florida State and Louisville are traditionally strong opponents, so there are some teams to be reckoned with. You never know. But Steele has them picked to do well. 11-1 or 12-0 seem likely, 13-0 if they win out.

Georgia, Georgia, Georgia. So close, but so far from the national title! Sorry, Bulldog fans, I get it. I wish you had beaten Alabama a number of times. Or LSU, or Clemson, or Oklahoma, or whomever you came up short against. Florida? The SEC is not easy at all, we know. We already discussed the big September opener that Georgia hosts, which everyone cares about. Arkansas, Auburn, and Kentucky may test them in October, and maybe even Missouri and Tennessee may prove tough after that, but perhaps this is the Dogs’ year to go to the SEC championship and nail the Tide? We shall see. I will be a Georgia guy that day, if that is how it plays out. (Steele has ‘Bama number two after Oklahoma). To me, Alabama is number one until proven otherwise. Can anyone please beat them? I would root for teams that I normally hate, like USC or Florida State, if that could only happen. (War Eagle? More on them in a sec).

The Irish of Notre Dame. Forever spurning the Big Ten to join as a conference copmpetitor, perhaps something may change now that the two best Big 12 programs are joining the Southeastern Conference to make a super group of 16. The Big Ten is at 14 schools, if you did not know. The Atlantic Coast Conference is at 14. The Irish mostly play the latter, with a good sprinkling of the former. The Golden Domers open with Florida State. Permission from yours truly to drop them by 40! I think I really started disliking FSU when they were consistently beating my teams, and they acted like that was normal. Maybe it was normal, but no more! The Irish will face a bevy of ranked opponents, to include Wisconsin, Cincinnati, UNC, and some perennial bowl teams like Navy, Virginia Tech, Virginia, and Stanford. No easy schedule, but doable if the Irish really are as good as Steel predicts. It all starts September 6^th, enjoy. Win by one or 30, please beat the Seminoles. Watch out for Purdue, too, they can louse up a whole season. I know this all too well. Watch out for the Cardinal, too, but hosting in South Bend should make that more

The U.

Miami and all that swagger, we know what goes on. We see it. There will not be much of a bigger ‘Cane fan than me when they match up with the Crimson Tide September 4^th. Game on. Oh, as much as my world was rocked by BYU upsetting powerhouse Miami in 1990, how would it be if the mighty Tide were to fall that Thursday night? Oh, it gives me chills in the 115 degrees where I commonly find myself. The schedule for Miami of Florida (I grew up about 2 hours from Miami, Ohio) does not look too threatening. Some are picking Michigan State to be among the worst in the Big Ten, and I am not sure if Virginia Tech or Virginia will be that goo, but both programs offer some challenges. UNC and even Florida State may prove problematic, but I could see the ‘Canes doing well this season. Super duper if things work out in early September. No matter what, Miami should be a formidable team this year. Would they line up with Clemson in the ACC championship? Seems likely. If so, go ‘Canes again. (Nothing personal against the Tiger fans. I was happy y’all beat ‘Bama a few years ago, for sure.)

Indiana Hoosiers. We are ranked! It takes some getting used to, absorbing that. I say “we”, because not only did I grow up a short walk from campus, but I ended up getting a certified degree there, too. I am a Hoosier, and the Hoosiers are me. We open with Iowa on September 4^th; they are not ranked, which is good. But I have seen the Cream and Crimson get stomped by the Hawkeyes, so I take nothing for granted. The Bearcats of Cincy will be a big test, then Penn State and Ohio State are ranked. The Nittany Lions had us all but beat last year; IU barely got a last minute TD to tie and then a favorable call to score a two point conversion for the win in Over Time. Lucky, really lucky. IU also gave the Buckeyes a little scare, and the pandemic shortened season was one of Indiana’s best ever, despite losing to a so-so SEC Mississippi team in the bowl. IU has to handle the lesser Big Ten teams, and it could be a special season. Like a lot of years, if we do not beat Purdue likely it will not be a good season. Minnesota might be a big test, and Maryland can be an unknown sometimes. Oh, yeah, then there is Michigan. Could we make it two in a row, instead of just twice upsetting them in my entire life? (I am old, too.) The Wolverines. Life is great when IU beats them. We shall see.

Auburn Tigers. I guess War Damn is a thing, so I hear. I love to see the cross-state rival put down the bullies of Nick Saban, apparently now the best college football coach of all time, even surpassing Bear Bryant. Incredible. I am more tired of the Tide than I am of Tom Brady. I know the NFL is different, but you know what I mean. Auburn opens with two easy victims before facing Penn State September 19. I expect basketball scores for the Tigers till then, against the Zips (yes, Akron is called that) and the Alabama State (FCS lower division team) I have no ideas. October gets going strong with LSU, Georgia, and the rest of the SEC foes until the Iron Bowl on November 27. I will be extremely happy if Alabama could lose twice or thrice in a regular season. How about once? Auburn should have a good season, I predict. As mentioned before, the SEC is not easy at all. Even the “bad” teams can beat most other schools. I won’t mind seeing Auburn and other traditional SEC teams dumping on Texas and Oklahoma in the near future. Change is now.

Brigham Young University Cougars. My parents became church members before I was born, and then I learned to dig the grid iron Cougs as Lavell Edwards brought them out of obscurity. I later attended there, and now I try to see them play anywhere along the East Coast. I would have driven to Georgia Southern this fall, but the desert life beckons. BYU opens with a predicted easy Arizona Wildcats on September 5, but then we (yes, I am alumni) got arch rival Utah the next weekend. If BYU loses to ‘Zona, the season could get ugly. If we crush the Cats and then beat Utah, finally after nine long, painful years, then the season might be special like last season. During the pandemic lock down last season the brain trust in Provo smartly readjusted its schedule because the many Big Ten and PAC 12 cancellations forced the Y to get mostly weaker opponents, which the number two NFL pick quarterback Zach Wilson showed that BYU was a good team. It lost in a close one to last minute scheduled Coastal Carolina, which was a surprisingly good team to everyone, and BYU cruised in its bowl to finish 11-1, one of its best seasons ever. BYU has some tougher teams this year, to include possibly ranked team Arizona State, Boise State, and USC. If it can handle Baylor and Virginia, major conference teams (called Power Five schools), and take care of the smaller teams like Utah State and South Florida, then this could be a ranked year for BYU.

But, Phil Steele does not have them there. That worries me. However, based on personal expectations and real history, I have more reasons to think that BYU will outperform predictions than Indiana. Once bitten, or a hundred times bitten, many times over shy. I love to see my teams win. I am sure you get a charge from yours winning, scoring, shutting down their opponents on a sunny fall day or a crisp, chilly evening. Being in a desert and somewhat isolated as many of us are, these schools, teams, players, re-connect us to what we love. Guys and fans and bands and commentators celebrating the best of the best.

Here’s to college football in 2021! Enjoy, and get ready for some fun and drama. The good kind.

Further context on predictions and rankings.

BYU was not ranked, nor was Auburn, according to Steele, who could be wrong.  I hope. Athlon Sports has a prediction for all 130 FBS schools by season’s end, which are the following per the ones sampled above:

BYU –51

Auburn –29

Indiana—21

Miami—14

Notre Dame—12

Georgia—5

Clemson—2

Also, a good number of the opponents of the above teams like Iowa, Arizona State, and Boise State are ranked top 25 by Athlon Sports, which were not rated as such by Mr. Steele. Athlon picks Alabama as number one, so maybe Ohio State or another team, like the Clemson/Georgia winner, might be the final season champ. Should be interesting, as always. I tend to wonder if a PAC-12 team could run the table, which has not happened since Southern California in 2003 and 2004, the former shared with Louisiana State, the latter with an asterisk because of cheating allegations. Perhaps a team like Washington could shock everyone. Likely not. Athlon has them at 22, Phil Steele predicts them as number 9. Talking over things with another fan, we realized that Georgia has a lot of good teams, but never gets over the hump to win it all. Washington seems to be the same way. Great players, strong teams, or like Oregon, cannot put it all together.

01 August 2021