June 2012 archive

Gonzales and Strasburg are both having historic season

When it all said and done I believe the 2012 Washington Nationals may have a season that will be written about for decades. The team itself has done well to stay on top of their division. The team seems to keep an even keel in the first 72 games this season. Every time the team …

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Excelsior Base Ball Club of Arundel

We live in a world where words like “cloud computing” and nanotechnology are part of everyday language. Where your neighbor might as well live in Singapore and communication is often in the form of a 140 word or less text message.[1] The very interconnectivity of modern life is also causing some to feel a certain …

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Bring back the Rally Horse

With Ryan Zimmerman possibly going back on the DL! Great pitching but a struggling offense. It is time for the Nationals to bring back a secret weapon from the distant past. Well before the Angels had the rally horse the District had the rally horse! A mere look of the horse would insure the success …

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Mickey Vernon Reminiscences

The Mickey Vernon Sports History Museum, located in Delaware County, PA,  is a non-profit museum with the purpose of celebrating the life and career of Mickey himself and the athletes of his home county.  It is funded strictly by donations. Mickey Vernon died on September 24, 2008.  Two months before he died, he and I were taking a trip to …

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This week’s Glovegate Wasn’t Nats’ first, or Worst

For many longtime Nats fans, Tuesday night’s feud between Nationals manager Davey Johnson and Tampa Bay skipper Joe Maddon over reliever Joel Peralta‘s pine tar-laden glove sparked memories of the team’s first season in Washington. In fact, it was nearly seven years to the day, on June 14, 2005, and many of the key folks …

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American League players drawn by Vic Johnson – Yogi Berra

From the Mickey Vernon Museum, American League Baseball players drawn by Vic Johnson. This caricature of Yogi Berra is just one of a series of 19 caricatures of American League baseball players drawn by Vic Johnson during 1957. This caricature of  Yogi Berra and the other 18, is taken from a composite collection of those illustrations and …

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They were the Glory of Their Times

They were the Glory of Their Times[1] Saturday, 16 June while the Yankees battled the Nationals, Mark Hornbaker, Martin Niland, Karen and I from DC Baseball History at the request of Bill Blewett, One-Eyed Horse Productions,[2] took a step back in time to watch the filming of their new motion picture, “Day of the Gun.” …

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Another Failed Test, But No Time to Wallow

Another big weekend series against one of baseball’s top teams, another setback. Instead of showing that they can play with the hottest team in baseball, the Nats let the New York Yankees have their way at Nats Park, losing two games that weren’t even close and a 14-inning heartbreaker that showed there is still considerable …

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Hannan Isn’t Helping Retirees As Much As He Could Be

So we were out at Doubleday Field, in Cooperstown, NY, watching the 4th Annual Baseball Classic that the Hall of Fame puts on every Father’s Day weekend when one of my buddies pointed out that Jim Hannan’s name was listed in the souvenir scorecard. “Hannan?,” I asked, incredulously. “James John Hannan, of Joisey City, New Jersey?” …

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Thinking about Dave Stenhouse on this Father’s Day

To all the dads out there, I wish you a happy Father’s Day today. And here’s a special shout out to former Washington Senator Dave Stenhouse. Dave, who started the 1962 All-Star Game as a rookie hurler for the Senators, is the father of former major leaguer Michael Stenhouse and Dave Stenhouse, Jr., who regrettably never got …

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