Blogiversary

 Twelve years ago I started this blog. I'm not sure if it's a true blogiversary because of my prolonged hiatus. Either way, I'm okay. 

There's six weeks left in the school year and the sophomore baseball team I coach is off to a 6-2 start. 

This morning I shot five under par at my "home" disc golf course, which is a personal best. Pretty exciting!

Family, friends and my cats are all in relatively good health. To cap it off, the Cubs are in second place (for now)!

I just wanted to give a quick life update and show off a pretty neat trinket sent to me from Mark. Mark is relative on my mom's side, and he might be as just a big of Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson fan as myself. Thanks, Mark!

Enjoy the spring everyone!

An Auto of Randy Johnson?

 I celebrated a birthday a couple of weeks ago with my family and my sister surprised me with a nice little stash of autographed baseball cards. 

All of my autographs and relic cards are housed in top loaders within a couple of sizeable "shoeboxes" within my man room. Up first are a couple of infield prospects who didn't pan out. 

Neither Greg Smith nor Gary Scott had much MLB staying power, but Scott hit 0.366 during Spring Training in 1991 and had all of Chicago dubbing him the next coming of Ron Santo. 

This is my second autograph of Turk Wendell, who I have privately nicknamed "Turk the Quirk." 

Wendell who turned in a pretty fair major league career was more known for his quirky superstitions when we was first brought up. On my other card, which is also a Cubs card, he inscribed "Mets" under his signature. I'm glad he scribbled in "Cubs" this time around!

Tommy Hottovy did not play for the Cubs, but he is the current pitching coach for my favorite team. 

Up next are autographs of four different players with whom I share a surname: Greg Olson, Matt Olson, Garrett Olson and Gregg Olson. 

I have player collections of Greg and Gregg, but this is only my second card of Garrett and his first autograph. I've been known to snag Matt Olson base cards at shows on the cheap when I run across them, and this is my second autograph of his. 

Randy "Big Unit" Johnson was always one of my favorite players. This is not that Randy Johnson. 

This Randy Johnson played 204 games for the Braves in the early stages of the 1980s. Joke's on me! 😂 Good one, Jane!

This was my favorite card of the lot, and honestly it wasn't it even close. 

Julio Franco had one of those batting stances every kid wanted to imitate and it's shown on this card. Additionally, Julio's signature is beautiful and he's another one of those players who holds a footnote in my memory banks as one of the oldest to ever play baseball at its highest level.

Julio was actually my answer to a trivia question last month, albeit the wrong answer. "In 2004, this player became the oldest major leaguer to win a batting title." Julio hit 0.309 in 2004 as a 45 year old. FORTY-FIVE! But, alas, he did not win the batting title that year. (The correct answer is a slugger who is currently on his 10th year on the current HOF ballot.)

Thanks for the great stack of autographs, Jane!

Corkball Bat

 Last weekend my parents went to an estate sale in their neighborhood, and knowing their son loves anything and everything baseball related they forked over $4 for a corkball bat. 

I had never heard of corkball before, but from what I can tell it's a variation of stickball. There are no baserunners in this game and the size of a standard playing field is 30 feet by 250 feet. As few as two people, the pitcher and batter, can play at a time. If the ball is batted between 15 and 150 feet then the batter is awarded a single, 150 to 200 feet is a double, 200 to 250 feet is a triple, and if the ball clears 250 feet then it's a home run. 

The ball itself is the same size as a baseball, but its interior is nearly all cork and it weighs about a third of a traditional baseball. 

This particular bat looks well-loved and from what I find through online searches it appears production started in the 1950's in the St. Louis area. I don't think this one is 60 years old, but I bet it's been around for at least a few decades. This exact model can still be purchased online today from Markwort for $42!

The corkball bat is 36 inches in length and the barrel is only 1.5 inches in diameter. For reference, the picture above shows the corkball bat leaning up against the wall next to my bat collection, which includes my two coaching fungos on the far right. 

I'm not sure if I'll just decorate the man room with the bat or maybe purchase some whiffle golf balls and use them with the bat as a training aide for my sophomore baseball players. 

Thanks for the bat, Mom and Dad!

Vintage Scorecards from Mom

 During my last visit to my parents' house my mom handed me a file folder from her youth. Mom & Dad have been making their way through the many boxes housed in their storage space in their basement. I actually have a stack of boxes, from my childhood, which I need to retrieve, but today's post will focus on some baseball related content from Mom's childhood.  

First up is a couple of pages from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from July 12, 1966. 

Thousands of "A" students had their names published in the paper. Hey, look! There's my mom!

Also, within the paper are messages from the MLB Commissioner, the AL and NL presidents, and August A. Busch, Jr., the president of Anheuser Busch.

14,545 students were given a ticket in the reserved seating area for the efforts in the classroom. Very cool.

Next up is a St. Louis Cardinals score card from the 1965 season. 

The first thing I noticed when opening up the scorecard were the penciled in attendance numbers at the top of the page, "22,003 people - 8,100 A Students."

Other things to note are some of the names from the game on August 18th, 1965, which include Felipe Alou, Hank Aaron, Joe Torre, Lou Brock and Curt Flood. Unfortunately, all of those honors students went home disappointed as the Milwaukee Braves defeated the Cardinals 5-3 on this day. Lastly, check out the "special plays" section at the bottom of the score card. I've never seen anything like that before. 

Here's another scorecard from the same year, but this one drew my interest a little more as the Cubs visited St. Louis.

Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ernie Banks came to town and defeated the Cardinals 12-4, on June 25th, 1965.

Inside the scorecard was a 50+ year old relic: 

Aren't peanuts around $4 in a stadium these days?

Here's a slightly older scorecard from August 24th, 1964.

The Cardinals were able to turn the Pirates away, by the score of 5-1.

The Pirates had Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski in the lineup, but the late Bob Gibson put together this line: 9 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks and 12 strikeouts. Wow. 

One more side note: The Cardinals began the day in 4th place (65-58) and 11 games behind the Phillies in the NL, but they would rally the last month of the season and eventually defeat the Yankees in the World Series. 

There were four more scorecards in Mom's file folder.

June 17th, 1966 - Phillies 6 and Cardinals 5. The Phillies had Dick Allen and Bob Uecker in the lineup.

June 29th, 1966 - Cardinals 2 and Giants 1. The Giants started Juan Marichal, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. 

July 8th, 1966 - Astros 6 and Cardinals 1. Jim "The Toy Cannon" Wynn and Rusty Staub were the big names in Houston's lineup, which handed Bob Gibson the loss.

July 13th, 1967 - Pirates 8 and Cardinals 5. The Pirates bested Steve Carlton in this match-up. The Pirates' lineup was loaded with recognizable names, Clemente, Stargell, Maz, Manny Mota and Maury Wills. 

The Cardinals were a force to be reckoned with during the middle part of the 60's, winning it all in 1964 and 1967, but they only managed to win two games of the seven my mom attended during this time. Sometimes that's the way it goes I guess. 

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with these scorecards, but I sure did enjoy flipping through them and seeing my mom's handwriting throughout. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Making Sawdust - Bird Houses

This post has been sitting in the queue for about seven weeks now. I made one of these wren houses for my sister's birthday and I didn't want to give away the surprise. Happy Birthday, Jane!
I figured it would go well in the ornamental pear tree I helped her plant in her yard.

My mom found directions for two different types of bird houses when she and my dad were cleaning the basement. My mom's handwriting is in red and it looks like a short of list of who to build houses for: one for her parents and one for her mother-in-law.

The directions are from The Backyard Builder's Book of Outdoor Building Projects, which was originally published in 1987.

 I decided to give it a go and I made three of these wren houses. I installed the first one in May in our backyard Maple tree and a wren had claimed it within a week. Pretty cool.

 In early June, on a rainy day, I made a couple more wren houses, but I added a personal touch to them both. I cut a Cubs sticker to fit the back wall. I have plenty of these stickers from the junk wax era. I figure this will keep the cardinals out. LOL

 One of the two from the second build found its way into our front yard crab apple tree.

The second house is for bluebirds.

This design was much simpler and the project went very quick. I was even able to find a dowel rod to stick in the front for a perch.

All the bird houses are crafted from cedar so they should stand up to the elements fairly well. I also made the bottoms of each removable for end of the year cleaning purposes.

Four bird houses from 33 year old plans and all it cost me was a twelve dollar cedar board. All of the other materials including the finishing nails, dowel rod, eye hooks and wire could be found in our workroom. That's a pretty good deal if you ask me!

Thanks for stopping by!

Throwback Thursday - Card Show

Here's a picture my mom passed on to me a couple of weeks ago. I thought about filing it away in a photo album from my youth, but I think it'll hang out in one of my display cabinets in the man room for the time being.

Take a gander and soak it all in.

You may have noticed the 1989 Score rack packs on the table, or maybe the stacks of 1989 Donruss hobby boxes. The binder being flipped through shows 1989 Topps and there's a stack of cards, in the foreground, which show an '89 Topps checklist on top.

What I noticed was a beautiful family picture. Well, it would be nice if my sister were more visible (far left), but we're all there. With coats being present, I'm thinking this picture was taken during the spring of 1989, which would have been the tail end of my 5th grade year. To give you a little context I had opened my first pack of baseball cards at a friend's birthday party the previous fall. I was in the midst of becoming a true baseball fanatic and the Cubs were playoff bound!

For what it's worth, I have no idea who is photo-bombing the picture in the back-middle, underneath the exit sign.  Also, I am clueless as to who was holding the camera. Perhaps one of my grandparents went to a show with us?

Everyone in my family collected during the junk wax era and we would often head out on a Saturday or Sunday to a local card show. My mom is undoubtedly looking for cards of Mitch Williams, as "Wild Thing" was becoming all the rage during the summer of 1989. My sister collected cards of Andre Dawson and I was on the hunt for Ryne Sandberg. My dad was all in on Gregg Olson, who we share a surname with. It was pretty cool getting into the hobby at the same time another Olson was making a name for himself in MLB. For those who don't remember, Gregg Olson was drafted in the first round by the Orioles in 1988 and he made him MLB debut that same summer. He had a sterling '89 season and captured the AL Rookie of the Year award. 

Besides this being a candid photo of my family enjoying time together, I think my favorite part is my father, standing behind his family, with his warm and gentle smile.

Good picture. Great memories.
Thanks for stopping by!

Throwback Thursday - Summer of 1994

I don't believe I've ever done a Throwback Thursday post on the blog. But let's give this a try.

My parents have been sorting and re-organizing their basement and in the process have unearthed some things they thought I'd like to have.

Here we have a program from the 1994 McDonald's All-Star Classic, which was held at the old Meinen Field in Peoria. Meinen Field, at Pete Vonachen Stadium, was home to the Peoria Chiefs, the Class A affiliate of the Cubs at the time. This was a pretty cool experience for any prep ball player.

  I attended Peoria Central High School, which is not known for being a baseball juggernaut, but we had a decent enough senior and junior bats above me to make us competitive, but they were short on arms. Yep, I was "called up" as a sophomore to pitch for the varsity that year. My numbers, which aren't great, are at the bottom of the page below. The fact I had a 3-3 record with a 5.61 ERA tells you all you need to know the hitters in the conference. They could rake and many of them would play college ball and a couple were even drafted out of high school.

 So, my high school coach put my name up for consideration for the AA Underclass all-star game and the other coaches in the area thought enough of me as a sophomore to place me on the roster.

 Here's the box score from the local paper the next day. I entered the 8th inning with the score tied 6 to 6. As my mom's handwriting notes above, I gave up four hits and two runs in the 8th and quickly found ourselves down 8 to 6. My teammates picked me up in the 9th and plated five runs. I gave up two more hits in the bottom of the 9th inning, but managed to put up a goose egg on the scoreboard. How about that?!? I got the win! Looking at the rosters and the box score sure does bring back a lot of memories.

Fun Fact: I have helped coach the last four McDonald's All-Star games in Peoria. I'd much rather be playing on the field, but it's pretty cool being in the dugout and in the coaching boxes on a professional field.

Later during the same summer I played for our local American Legion team, Peoria Post #2. American Legion teams are quickly dying out, but back then they were the only travel all-star teams for high school players.

We hosted a regional tournament at Meinen Field, within the friendly confines of Pete Vonachen Stadium. The teams in the tournament were the best in their respective states, which included Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. We, Peoria Post #2, were the host team, and filled out the bracket as the eighth team. Honestly, we really didn't deserve to be there as a sub-0.500 team.

We were destined to make a quick exit in the tournament, and even though I was a "pitcher only" and dealing with an arm injury I found my way into a blowout game. My coaches thought I would like the experience of playing in the tournament and on the Peoria Chiefs' field. Part of me approved of their decision, but the other part of me was scared silly. I was inserted into right field, which I never played, and I remember thinking, "Please, don't hit the ball to me!"

I actually had a ground ball make it out to right field and I remember under-handing the ball into the second baseman, because I wasn't supposed to be throwing.

I'm in the back row, fourth from the left.

Later that game I actually came to bat. I turned out to be a fairly decent high school hitter during my junior and senior years, but as a sophomore, who was a "pitcher only," I was more or less freaking out. I went up there just trying to make contact and I took an outside fastball the other way to right field for a line drive base hit! Yep, I batted a thousand in the tournament. (Probably the only hitter to do so!) Honestly, I think that hit, my first above the sophomore level, boosted my confidence more than anything I did on the mound that summer.

It's Not a Bobblehead, But...

... it's still very cool.

I helped my dad take out an old cinder block wall at my parents' place, which was starting to give way to weight of the landscaping, and replace it with interlocking landscaping block.

Working in the mornings was key as the midwest can be terribly humid and hot this time of year. My dad and I would put in three or four hours each morning we worked and then it was time to go inside and rest up.

My favorite part of the experience was working with my dad. He's really good with machines, specifically engines. I help when I can, but in general I just slow him down when I'm around. (I am not good with engines.) But, I have plenty of experience with landscaping and we worked well together on this project.

Each block weighs 63 pounds and there around 180 blocks in the wall. Add in all the rock we tamped down to make the wall level, and all the rock for back fill above and below the drain tile, and you're looking at a 7+ ton wall.

I did my fair share of "grunt work" and I even went down a hole on my belt, but my weight stayed about the same. Needless to say, I think building this wall was better for my body than hiring a professional trainer!

Bonus: I got to use a jackhammer! Part of the old cinder block wall we removed was filled with rebar and concrete. I had an eye appointment later in day after using the jackhammer and my dad joked about how my eyes would still be vibrating when the optometrist checked me out. 😂

Here's a picture of the nearly finished wall.

In this picture we're missing the toppers and some cleanup still needs to done, but all that's minor.

Yesterday my parents stopped by and gave me some cash, for helping out with the wall project, which they didn't have to do. The money will undoubtedly go toward something baseball related.

My mom took the time to procure this gem as a thank you:

 I have many bobbleheads in my collection, but I've never seen a box so "done up" before.

Here's the inside of Pedro Cerrano's locker:

 Again, the detail is astounding, but the true treat is Jobu!

 I had to take a profile shot to allow you to get a better feel for his hair!

Jobu isn't a mascot, he's more of a deity, but he joins the other mascots in my collection within one of the display cases of my homemade television stand.

Because he's omnipotent, Jobu gets a prime location in the front of the display case where he can be back-lit to add extra emphasis to his powerful aura. The San Diego Chicken won't dare mess with Jobu.

Thanks, Mom & Dad!

A Baseball Birthday

I'm another year older today. Woo.

I spent the day coaching a baseball camp for elementary and middle school athletes in our school district. Our high school coaches ran the camp with the help of our varsity players. It's great to get a large chunk of the program's fundraising out of the way and even better to see our high school players interacting with the participants and giving back. Plus, I can't complain about a day that involves baseball . . . and lots of it!

Earlier in the week my wife and I met up with my side of the family to celebrate my birthday and my mom's. We're only four days apart and it only makes sense. I'm not one who likes all of the attention anyway. I'm not sure if my ten year old self would agree, but this middle age "grown up" enjoys sharing the day with Mom. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I used quotation marks in that last paragraph because I'm not sure a person who receives the kinds of gifts I did would do anything but confirm they're still a child. You be the judge!  Here's my favorite five gifts from earlier in the week.

First up, a science fiction novel about baseball and two universes. This should make for a fun read! Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Here's probably the most useful gift from my birthday haul.

My parents gave me envelope of cash and the above flyer so I can buy a new fungo to hit with for the upcoming spring season. I think it's pretty cool the company is from the southern part of Illinois, near a forest that I have hiked in. Now I have decisions to make about the type of wood, the length, weight, and finish. Fun!

The prize for tastiest gift also goes to my parents.

I love peanut butter toast for breakfast. It's a staple of my mornings, but on occasion I'll shock my taste buds and apply jam instead. To say I'm looking forward to tasting this kiwi-strawberry chipotle jam is a gross understatement.

My sister knows me way too well. Check out this 1950 Bowman card of The Heater from Van Meter.

 Bob Feller is on a very short list of my favorite pitchers of all-time with Kerry Wood and Satchel Paige. Yeah, I think I can lock those guys in as my Top 3. Feller's story is just so unique... He was a small town Iowa kid who's high school graduation was broadcast over national radio because he was a dominate pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. Think about that.

Here's the back, because you know, the card is awesome!

Wait, did you see that it was autographed?

No?  No need to scroll back up.  Here it is again!

Alright, here's the present which made me smile the most.

 This is the front of an XL t-shirt that I will wear the heck out of the next few years. Dan Vogelbach hits freaking BOMBS and now I have a shirt to wear around P-town to make sure everyone else knows, too. 

Great stuff! Enjoy the holidays and thanks for stopping by!

Bowling, Beer Drama & Vogel-Mojo

My school district always gives us a five day "fall vacation" centered around the Thanksgiving holiday. It couldn't have been timed much better as I was running on fumes and needed a respite to recharge my battery.

How did I spend my time? Well, on Wednesday I hit up the bowling alley and got three practice games in. I'm in a couples league that bowls every other Sunday and this is my second year in the league. Last year I used an alley ball and bowled a straight ball. During the off-season I bought my own ball and have experimented with a hook.

The practice is paying off. I will still roll an errant gutter ball from time-to-time, like I did in the 6th frame, but I'm connecting for more strikes and less splits. I've raised my average about twenty pins since last season and this game marks the first time I didn't have an open frame in a game since I can remember. It was a nice way to start the break!

On Thursday, Laura and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house. My parents tend to host more often than not, but both of them have had joint replacement surgeries in the last two months. For what it's worth, I'm super proud of the way they have stuck with their physical therapy and have bounced back. I'll also say that I continue to me impressed by wife of 15+ years. She invited one of her patients, who didn't have anywhere else to go, to our family Thanksgiving dinner. It was such a kind gesture and one I think the older gentleman truly appreciated.

Laura and I opted for a quick two-day getaway to St. Louis on Friday and Saturday. We had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in the area, Pi Pizzeria. I'm a math teacher and I love pizza... it's an easy win. Except, there was drama!

Here's the beer menu:

 I wanted to sample 4-Hands CMS Tiramisu milk stouty, but they were all out. During the winter months I tend to favor the stouts, so I tried again and went with their CMS Panna Cotta milk stout instead.

Here's proof that such a beer does exist:

But, this is what arrived:

 That doesn't look like any stout that I have ever tasted. Plus, it was super fruity.  I asked the waiter if he was sure this was the stout I ordered and he replied, "Yes, it's pretty unique for a stout."

If by unique he meant, "Not a stout," then he would be correct.

Above is a list of the beers that 4-Hands is currently producing. There was no Panna Cotta stout listed, just the white ale with raspberry and vanilla, which was what I was tasting. Argh.  For the record, if you need a nice summer ale after mowing the yard, then I would suggest the Panna Cotta White Ale. But hear me now . . . IT. IS. NOT. A. STOUT.  Obviously, the restaurant misprinted the beer list and their poor, misguided waiters were spewing nonsense.

Moving right along:

 Boom! How about the colors in that picture! Laura and I visited the St. Louis Conservatory and I found this flowering tree in their Climatron. Striking!
Oh, and Laura purchased two more house plants at their gift store, which puts her collection somewhere in the whereabouts of 63 house plants. I'm still surprised our cats leave them all alone.

Here's Laura at lunch before we headed back home on Saturday. She's about ready to enjoy some Arabic coffee from a fancy tea set. 

I think it's a great picture of my better half. Don't tell her, but she could fit 163 plants in our house and I wouldn't say a peep.

When we returned home I found this awaiting me in the mailbox:

Boom!  Vogel-Mojo!

Overall, it was a vacation of family, food, and travel that was exactly what I needed.

I hope your fall holiday was just as enjoyable!