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Bar Chat

07/03/2017

Baseball and Hoops

[Posted Sunday p.m.]

Boston Red Sox Quiz: 1) Only three have 150 RBIs in a season.  Name ‘em.  2) Name the only four to hit 45 home runs in a season.  Answers below.

MLB

--What a rough stretch for the Yankees.  Thursday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Yanks lost to the White Sox, 4-3, and in the process lost one of their prime prospects, outfielder Dustin Fowler.

Fowler had been called up to the majors for the first time earlier in the afternoon and inserted into the starting lineup.

But in the bottom of the first inning, attempting to make his first defensive play, he ruptured the right patella tendon in his right knee, crashing into the right field foul wall, chasing Jose Abreu’s fly ball with two outs.  He was due to lead off the next inning for his first big league at-bat.

The word “tragedy” is often misused.  The death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez in a boating accident last year was a true tragedy.

But Fowler’s injury, more than a typical season-ending mishap, was also a tragedy.  The Yankees organization, let alone his teammates and manager Joe Girardi, were shattered.  It was so unfair.  So cruel.

Ken Davidoff / New York Post

“This was, for lack of better phrasing, uniquely horrific.

“Dustin Fowler, one of the most admired prospects in the Yankees’ acclaimed farm system, had worked his way up to his big moment Thursday night.  He had flown from Syracuse for his major-league debut, then waited nearly three hours through a rain delay.  He had watched the Yankees send five men to bat in the top of the first, scoring a run, and knowing he would get his first big-league at-bat in the top of the second.

“Instead, Rob Refsnyder took that at-bat against the White Sox’s James Shields.  At that very moment, Fowler was probably being loaded into an ambulance at Guaranteed Rate Field.  There’s no telling when, or if, he will get that at-bat.”

“It just makes you sick,” said Aaron Judge.  “About to debut, about to lead off the next inning and then something like that happens.”

Girardi said: “I know what it takes to get here and how hard he’s worked, and what’s supposed to be a really exciting day for him turns into a really bad day.  So I’m still in disbelief.  I’m in tears for the kid.”

Ken Davidoff: “You sure hope Fowler’s story turns out differently.  That the surgery goes well and that he can get that at-bat and put together something resembling the productive career that the Yankees projected.

“You never know what you’re going to see any night at the ballpark.  Unfortunately, those who were here never will forget this one.”

The Yankees then moved onto Houston and whipped the first-place Astros 13-4 on Friday night, but then suffered an awful loss on Saturday, blowing a late 6-3 lead, as the ‘Stros scored 4 in the 8th off Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman to go down 7-6; a second straight dreadful performance by Betances.

Sunday, the Yankees lost 8-1.  19 games without winning two in a row.

--My Mets showed some signs of life, winning 7 of 8 thru Saturday after their embarrassing 4-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in Los Angeles, when they were outscored 36-11.

But then they fell to the pathetic Phils 7-1 on Sunday and if you want to get back in the wild card hunt you can’t lose any game to Philadelphia.  [Sorry, Mark R.]

--The Nationals suffered a huge loss of their own on Thursday night as they fell to the Cubs, 5-4.  Washington’s leadoff hitter, Trea Turner, who leads the majors in stolen bases with 35, suffered a broken right wrist when he was hit by a pitch from Cubs reliever Pedro Strop in the seventh inning. Turner has been playing great recently.

Washington then lost its first two in St. Louis before the Sunday night matchup between Max Scherzer and Carlos Martinez.

--I have to note two performances from All-Stars this week.  Thursday, Clayton Kershaw threw 7 innings, 0 earned, 12 strikeouts as the Dodgers beat the Angels, 6-2, Kershaw now 12-2, 2.32 ERA.

And Saturday, Boston’s Chris Sale threw 7 innings of shutout ball, fanning 11, in the Red Sox’ 7-1 win at Toronto, Sale now 11-3, 2.61.  [Sunday, Boston crushed the Blue Jays 15-1, as Mookie Betts had a career day, 4-for-6, two homers and 8 RBIs.]

So some of the key standings ahead of Washington-St. Louis tonight.....

A.L. East

Boston 47-35
New York 43-37...3 GB

A.L. Central

Cleveland 44-37
Minnesota 41-40...3
Kansas City 41-40...3

--You’ve all heard the following, but I have to get it down for the archives.

Baseball set a home run record in June, 1,101, a record for any month and topping the 1,069 of May 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.  Major League Baseball coincidentally issued a report over the weekend that the ball is in no way juiced and we’ve all come to know one thing about today’s game.  “It’s about launch angle, stupid!”  [Which it just hit me, with its missile tests this year, North Korea has been following the same principle, but I digress....]

After home run production declined following baseball’s crackdown on steroids and amphetamines, since mid-season 2015, the rate of homers has been soaring anew and four of the top six home-run months have occurred in 2016 or 2017.  [May saw 1,060; August 1,053; and last June 1,012.]

--Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger led the A.L. and N.L. in home runs thru June with 26 and 24, respectively.  Both are gunning for the rookie record of 49 held by Mark McGwire of the A’s in 1987.

But based on history, it seems unlikely, as McGwire had 28 thru June and then hit a solid 21 after, while others who started their rookie season with at least 20 thru June (Jose Abreu, Albert Pujols and Joc Pederson), then had no more than 16 (Pujols) the rest of the way.

--Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper were the two largest vote getters for their respective All-Star squads, the vote just released.  I can’t get fired up in the least about this, though I will watch the game.  Otherwise, I’ve come to like the All-Star break because I take a little break from baseball.

--I have to get down for the record that after I posted early Wednesday morning, the Chicago Cubs released catcher Miguel Montero, a day after he dissed pitcher Jake Arrieta after the Nationals went 7-for-7 stealing bases in a Cubs loss to the Nats.  [Four of them by the aforementioned Trea Turner.]  Montero said Arrieta was “slow to the plate...Simple as that.”

But Montero was 0 for 31 this season throwing out baserunners and you don’t throw your teammate under the bus like he did.

--Houston Astros rookie David Paulino was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for Boldenone, an anabolic steroid, the penalty starting with Saturday night’s game against the Yankees.  Two minor leaguers also received drug suspensions.

Paulino has pitched in just nine games for the big league club the past two seasons and wouldn’t you know, he hails from the Dominican Republic, where steroids are a basic food group.

--Derek Jeter appears to finally have the financial backing for his bid to buy the Miami Marlins, at least according to the New York Post on Sunday.  [The press has blown this story before, though.]

That said, the Post says Jeter, who lost his rainmaker when Jeb Bush decided to join a different bid, apparently has Wall Street money lined up, though Major League Baseball still may not view the new group as legit, including Jeter’s role.

The two other groups bidding still haven’t met the $1.3 billion asking price, according to the Miami Herald last week.

The Herald says Miami owner Jeffrey Loria would love to see Jeter’s group win in the end and Loria is finally expected to make a decision by the end of the month.

Supposedly the Marlins are on schedule to lose $80 million this season and MLB wants this process completed post-haste.

--Darren Rovell of ESPN reported that two pieces of Babe Ruth memorabilia sold for big bucks Saturday morning; a 1927 World Series title ring, attributed to Ruth with “G H Ruth” inscribed inside, sold for, get this, $2,093,927, while an original copy of the sale document that sent Ruth to the Yankees from Boston went for $2,303,920.  The auction was held by Lelands.com.

The price for the ring, Rovell reports, “is more than four times the record paid for any sports ring at auction.  The previous record was Julius Erving’s 1974 ABA championship ring, which sold for $460,741 in 2011.”

Both of the Ruth pieces of history were owned by actor Charlie Sheen, who bought them in the early 1990s from Josh Evans of Lelands.

There were two copies of the Ruth sale document and in 1993, Evans purchased one of them for $25,000 and auctioned it off for $99,000.  Sheen, upset he missed out, convinced Evans to get the second copy from famed collector Barry Halper.  Evans bought the second copy for $150,000.  Sheen then paid an undisclosed sum for the document and the ring.

It isn’t known as yet who was making Saturday’s purchases through Lelands.

--The Brewers-Marlins game Friday night in Milwaukee was briefly delayed in the bottom of the fourth inning after first base umpire Joe West was hit in the head by a baseball thrown from the stands.  West appeared to be fine and play resumed after a meeting with Miller Park security.  I didn’t see if the offender was arrested, but hopefully he was fed to the lions at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

“Look what we brought you today, guys.   A little treat.  A dirtball.”

--Last Wednesday afternoon, umpire John Tumpane helped prevent a woman from death or injury when he kept her from leaping from the Roberto Clemente Bridge before a Pirates game he was scheduled to officiate that night at PNC Park.

After lunch, Tumpane was walking across the bridge around 3 p.m., according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, when he witnessed the woman climb over a railing.  He then asked a nearby couple what the woman was doing before he moved toward her and grabbed her arm while trying to calm her.  He then told a passer-by to call 911.

“I was thinking, ‘God, this has got to be a good ending, not a bad ending,’ and held on for dear life,” Tumpane said.  “She said, ‘You don’t care about me.’  I said, ‘I care.’  She said, ‘I just want to end it right now.  I want to be in a better place.’  I said, ‘You’re going to be all right.’”

The conversation went on for some time, the woman insisting, “Just let me go,” and, “You’ll forget me tomorrow.”

“I’ll never forget you,” he said.  “You can have my promise on that.”

Eventually, as she struggled to free herself from his grasp, others finally grabbed onto her arms and ankles and then emergency personnel arrived to help, including a police boat and helicopter.

The woman left in an ambulance.  Tumpane shortly after left his hotel room to head to the ballpark.

“It’s a sad day, but it ended on a positive note,” he said.  “I was just glad to help.”

Tumpane sent a game ball to one of the bystanders who helped him keep the woman from jumping.  That person, named Chris, called Tumpane “an absolute hero” in an email to the Post-Gazette.

Tumpane goes into the December file for all the right reasons.

--As many of you wrote in, and as the aforementioned Darren Rovell reported on, July 1st is a special day for Mets fans everywhere, Bobby Bonilla Day, as the team makes its annual installment of $1,193,248.20 to the former Metropolitan.

As part of deferring $5.9 million the Mets owed Bonilla from the 2000 season, a year in which he didn’t play for them, the Mets instead have to make this payment every July 1 from 2011 to 2035.

So when all the payments are made, Mr. Bonilla, a la Warren Buffett and his bank plays from the financial crisis, will have turned $5.9 million into $29.8 million.

The Mets and the Baltimore Orioles are also splitting a separate $12.5 million payment with Bonilla, which comes in 25 installments, part of the deal when he was traded to the Orioles.

Bonilla is 54, said to be in good health, and living the good life in Sarasota, Florida, where there’s no state income tax.

--Lastly, frat bro Myles T. from Wake Forest wrote the other day on Facebook about a recent quiz and how he thought Early Wynn was one of the answers (the 340 innings quiz).  So I just have to note that when you look at this Hall of Famer who went 300-244 in his career, it’s pretty amazing what he did late; as in his first of five, 20-win seasons came in 1951 when he was 31, and his last was 1959, age 39, when he went 22-10 for the White Sox and captured the Cy Young. As Ronald Reagan was no doubt saying for General Electric back then, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

[Wynn led the league in innings pitched three seasons, including 1959 with 255, though his peak was 285 in 1952 when he was with Cleveland, going 23-12.]

And, as Bazooka Joe might have said, “Early hit 17 home runs in his big league career!”

NBA Moves

--Let’s get one thing off the table, at least until guys start underperforming next NBA season.  Yes, the money is beyond obscene, especially after the last collective bargaining agreement was signed.  But it is what it is.  Case in point, Steph Curry, who just signed a max five-year, $201 million deal to remain in Golden State, the highest reported salary in all of sports.  Curry had been a steal, playing under a four-year, $44 million contract.

The Warriors and Curry teammate Andre Iguodala then agreed on a new three-year, $48 million contract, amid reports the key sixth man was testing the free agency market in Houston and San Antonio.  The guy is 33, is obviously comfortable with Golden State and there is zero reason to leave, unless he’s worried about the Big One hitting while he’s there.

--Blake Griffin, having watched running mate Chris Paul bolt for the Rockets, opted to sign a five-year, $175.4 million max deal to return to the Clippers.  Recall, the most he could have received from another team was four years, and at substantially less money.

But after a three-hour sales pitch from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, coach Doc Rivers, and new consultant Jerry West, Griffin re-upped, in what was a pretty easy decision to make.  He canceled scheduled visits with the Suns and Nuggets.  Obviously the Clippers couldn’t afford to lose him, but they are hoping he plays a full season!  Something he hasn’t done his last three.

Last season Griffin averaged 21.6 points a game, with 8.1 rebounds when he was on the court, the points right on his career average.

--The aforementioned Chris Paul became a Houston Rocket, dictating a trade when he made clear he didn’t want to remain a Clipper.  Doc Rivers said he was disappointed, and resented the idea that personal issues with his son, Austin Rivers, or Griffin or DeAndre Jordan played a key role in it.

The Clippers under Paul couldn’t advance past the second round of the playoffs during the six years he played for the team.  He’s a loser.

Bill Plaschke / Los Angeles Times

“For six dramatic seasons, he was the first true shining symbol of Clipper hope.

“In one stunning moment Wednesday, he became just another monument to Clipper devastation.

“Chris Paul has bolted town, and the Clipper Curse lives.

“The best player in Clippers history has forced his way to the Houston Rockets, and the Clippers are suddenly in danger of becoming the Clippers again.

“Shortly before the beginning of a free-agency period during which the Clippers were expected to re-sign their leader, Paul abruptly turned his back on the team, the town, and millions in immediate money for what he perceives is a better chance at a championship.

“Paul told the Clippers he was going to walk to Houston once he became a free agent, so the Clippers avoided losing him for nothing by sending him to the Rockets on Wednesday for a bunch of players (Patrick Beverly, Lou Williams, and Sam Dekker) and a 2018 first-round pick that will be ridiculously low.

“In a star-driven town, the Clippers were forced to give up their biggest star for no stars, some nice players but nobody even guaranteed to be on the team after this season.  This was not a basketball deal, it was damage control.  This was not a trade made with a promise, but in pain. If Chris Paul was indeed the face of the Clippers, his final expression was a sneer....

“Paul was the guy they were going to keep. Paul was the guy they viewed as their cornerstone.  He’s 32, he’s still one of the best players in the league, and he was universally loved throughout Clipper Nation.

“They had already dangled Jordan in a trade.  They had already resigned themselves to losing Griffin.  They were focused on keeping Paul.

“But the headstrong Paul obviously had other ideas...

“From all reports, Paul didn’t like the idea of playing with Griffin, no longer loved playing for Doc Rivers, and generally didn’t think the organization was moving in the right direction....

“Bottom line, Paul apparently just didn’t like playing here despite six years of statements to the contrary...

“The Clippers had their chance at greatness. As of Wednesday, that window is now slammed shut, with the team forced to press its nose against the glass while watching Chris Paul scurry off into a hazy sunset.”

--The Indiana Pacers were forced to trade All-Star forward Paul George, as he kept bitching about leaving when he becomes a free agent after next season, so what were the Pacers to do?  [Try harder to keep him, some would say.]

The Pacers swapped the difference-maker to Oklahoma City, where he will form a rather dynamic duo with Russell Westbrook, for Victor Oladipo and big man Domantas Sabonis.

The Thunder are hoping the move to get George will convince Westbrook to sign a five-year extension, but obviously the talk all this coming season could easily be, ‘Where is George going next?’

--The 76ers made a smart move in signing shooting guard JJ Redick for one year, $23 million.  He’ll add stability to the otherwise kiddie-corps, albeit promising lineup.  Redick recently relocated to the East Coast from Los Angeles, where he spent the past four seasons with the Clippers.  While he’s 33, he still has game and averaged 15 points per last season, including 42.9% from the 3-point line.  For his career, he is 41.5% from downtown.

Philadelphia also agreed to a one-year, $11 million deal with solid forward Amir Johnson.

So add these two to first overall pick in the draft, Markelle Fultz, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons and the like and Mark R., who I previously identified as one of the 13 Philadelphia fans* in existence, is convinced they’ll win 42 this coming season.

*But watch everyone begin to climb about the Sixer Train.  I’m being offered all kinds of enticements to do so myself.  Cheesesteaks, Yuengling and such.

--Former Wake Forest Demon Deacon Jeff Teague signed a three-year, $57 million deal to play with Minnesota, the Timberwolves quickly filling their point guard position after trading Ricky Rubio to the Utah Jazz the day before for a protected first round pick.

Teague is coming off a solid season with Indiana, averaging 15 points and a career high 7.8 assists.  The guy is no superstar, but he’s above average and reliable, and is the perfect complement to a lineup of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and newcomer Jimmy Butler.

--New Orleans re-signed free-agent Jrue Holiday, the point guard agreeing to a five-year, $126 million deal to stay with the Pelicans and remain partnered with All-Star frontcourt players Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.  Holiday averaged 15.4 points and 7.3 assists per game last season.  Like Teague, just solid.

Golf Balls

--Kyle Stanley picked up his second PGA Tour title, defeating Charles Howell III on the first hole of sudden death at the Quicken Loans tournament in Potomac, Md.

For Howell, who after all these years only has two wins himself, it was the 16th time he has been runner-up. 

--Kenny Perry picked up his second Senior U.S. Open, defeating Kirk Triplett by two  at  Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass., a great-looking Donald Ross track.

[There’s a developing story I probably will be reporting on next time...the USGA confronted Bernhard Langer about his anchoring of his putter, and his game fell apart after the confrontation on the course.  Recall I noted this the other day in terms of a PGA Tour player that some say is blatantly going against the rules, wearing baggie shirts to try to hide it.  I have gone through all the players who anchor myself, and there is no one obvious who stands out.  I have a possible suspect, but I would never publicly state my guess.]

--Danielle Kang won the Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields, edging defending champion Brooke Henderson, Kang’s first LPGA Tour title.

--I missed this earlier in the week.  Last Sunday, CBS’ 2.7 overnight rating for the final round of the Travelers Championship was the second-best Sunday rating on any network to date this season.  That’s the drawing power of Jordan Spieth, the “likeable” Jordan Spieth, importantly.

NASCAR

--I love Saturday night races and so I caught the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona, the Coke Zero 400, the finale for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the track as his farewell tour kicks into high gear.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who needed 158 races to pick up his first Cup win at Talladega Superspeedway May 7, captured his second Saturday in a crash-filled event that was nerve-wracking for fans (and DraftKings participants such as moi...but I won again, though I’ve been sucking wind in DraftKings golf.  I don’t play baseball...).

Stenhouse took it in overtime, moving ahead in the final restart and winning by .21 of a second over Clint Bowyer.

Earnhardt finished 32nd, exiting following his second mishap of the race with 54 laps to go.  He left open the possibility that after retirement, he could just return to Daytona for the 500 at some point as a one-off deal.  He shouldn’t.

Stuff

--Former schoolteacher Jeff Horn upset champion Manny Pacquiao to win the WBO world welterweight title Saturday night in Brisbane, Australia, with a unanimous points decision; the judges scoring it 117-111, 115-113, 115-113 to the 29-year-old Australian, even though he was a bloody mess by the end.

Pacquiao said after: “That’s the decision of the judges.  I respect that.”

Horn is now 17-0-1.  He grew up in Brisbane and first walked into a boxing club to learn self-defense.  Then while studying for a teaching degree, he reached the quarter-finals of the London Olympics in 2012 and turned professional shortly after.   

--Venus Williams was sued on Friday by the family of a Florida man who died after being involved in a two-vehicle crash that police say was the fault of Williams on June 9.

Jerome Barson, 78, died June 22 of injuries suffered in the incident.

Williams, according to the police report, was only driving 5 miles per hour when entering an intersection when she was hit from the side.  She wasn’t distracted or on drugs or alcohol.  But the dispute is over whether Williams entered the intersection appropriately.  The report said, “[Ms. Williams] is at fault for violating the right of way of [the other driver].”

She was not issued any citations or traffic violations.

--After nearly 25 years, and after protests outside NFL stadiums and vows by sports journalists never to use the word, and everyone, including President Obama, urging team owner Daniel Snyder to change the name, the Native American group fighting the NFL team over the use of Redskins called it quits in federal appeals court, as did the Justice Department, which on Wednesday declared the team the winner.

The moves were due to the June 19 Supreme Court ruling that declared that a key section of federal trademark law banning trademarks that “may disparage” people was a violation of the first Amendment.

So now it’s all officially over.  Redskins it is and Redskins it will remain seemingly forever and I, for one, have zero problem with this.  But I still like “Red Clouds.”

--Postal deliveries in a section of Vancouver, Canada, have been suspended after a well-known crow called Canuck attacked a mailman.

Canada Post said it would not resume deliveries “until such time as the hazard no longer exists.”

Canuck is said to have drawn blood after biting a letter carrier.

The bird is known for riding the city’s SkyTrain and stealing shiny objects, including a knife from a crime scene.  But I also saw a video where he allows some people to scratch its head.

So I first saw this story in the BBC a few days ago and I don’t know if Canuck has been arrested or gunned down in a hail of bullets, a la Bonnie & Clyde, as yet, but crow attacks, it seems, are common in Vancouver.

I’m just picturing Canuck being brought to trial and sentenced to 15 years and the look on the inmate’s face when he is told he is sharing his cell with the bird.  [Canuck having been sentenced as an adult, of course.]

--I was watching a PBS nature program the other day on the “Yellowstone Thaw” and in admiring the incredible engineering skills of the Beaver to prevent flood damage to his dams, I am officially taking the rodent off Probation and soon will unveil a new All-Species List Top Ten as a result.  Will ‘Beaver’ be back in the top ten?

Meanwhile, ‘Bison’ is now on the Suspended list because in watching the same PBS program, these idiots (it’s a known fact an adult bison has the education of a second-grader, if that) didn’t come to the aid of a calf crossing a flooded river with difficulty...though the calf figured out a way to make it on its own.

--We note the passing of singer Gary DeCarlo. He was 75.  DeCarlo sang lead on the #1 Billboard hit, “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” which topped the charts in 1969 and has been a stadium staple ever since.

DeCarlot wrote and recorded the tune with two friends and fellow musicians, Dale Frashuer and Paul Leka.

The friends had written the opening lines years earlier: “He’ll never love you / The way that I love you / ‘Cause if he did, no no , he wouldn’t / Make you cry.”

But it was the repeating chant that made it such a favorite, “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye.”  A line Knicks fans never had a chance to sing in front of Phil Jackson at the Garden before he was fired.

The song was released by Fontana Records under the band name Steam.

DeCarlo never toured in support of the single, with Leka maintaining his friend was too embarrassed by the song and had refused to perform it.

Top 3 songs for the week 7/6/74: #1 “Rock The Boat” (The Hues Corporation)  #2 “Sundown” (Gordon Lightfoot)  #3 “Billy, Don’t Be A Hero” (Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods)...and...#4 “Rock Your Baby” (George McCrae)  #5 “If You Love Me (Let Me Know)” (Olivia Newton-John)  #6 “Hollywood Swinging” (Kool & The Gang)  #7 “You Make Me Feel Brand New” (The Stylistics) #8 “Annie’s Song” (John Denver)  #9 “You Won’t See Me” (Anne Murray)  #10 “On And On” (Gladys Knight & The Pips)

Boston Red Sox Quiz Answers: 1) 150 RBI: Jimmie Foxx, 175, 1938; Vern Stephens, 159, 1949; Ted Williams, 159, 1949.  2) 45 homers: David “The Big Needle” Ortiz, 54, 2006; Jimmie Foxx, 50, 1938; Ortiz, 47, 2005; Jim Rice, 46, 1978; Manny “admitted user” Ramirez, 45, 2005.

OK, some things to talk about.  In no particular order...Ted Williams never hit more than 43 home runs in a season, doing that in 1949, his only year with 40, because he was always walking!

Mo Vaughn, 1996, and Carl Yastrzemski, 1967, had 44 homers.

Tony Armas once hit 43, 1984, leading the A.L. that season in both homers and RBIs (123).  [Armas had been acquired after ’82 in the Carney Lansford swap with Oakland; Armas then slamming 36 homers and driving in 107 for Boston in his first season, 1983, though he hit only .218.  Dave Kingmanesque, you might say.]

Vern Stephens would have had one of the more interesting baseball cards to collect as a kid, as he had 137, 159, and 144 RBIs from 1948-50, ages 27-29, destined for the Hall it seemed, then quickly tailed off.  Plus he was a shortstop posting those awesome numbers.

The Red Sox, in case you were wondering, were 96-59, 96-58, and 94-60, 1948-50, but finished 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd.

If you’re wondering about the offense with that 1949 team having two guys with a staggering 159 RBIs, Bobby Doerr also drove in 109 and the BoSox scored 896 that season.  Mel Parnell (25-7) and Ellis Kinder (23-6) were the big guns on the mound.

Parnell is also the last Boston pitcher to win 25, Roger Clemens having 24 in 1986.  Babe Ruth also won 24 in 1917...and he ate a lot of hot dogs...and it’s Fourth of July and the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest...as I desperately try to close this circle!

Next Bar Chat....I’m actually not sure when it will be.  It might be Tuesday.  Whatever, it will be brief, and potentially disgusting if you’re not into eating a lot of hot dogs and other foods....I need to give myself a few hours on the Fourth to pseudo chill out.

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