What's your favorite baseball play
- Thread starter oddfellow4870
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As much as I'm turned off to the game today.... Thats still one of my great memories of baseball.
Of course some liberal ACLU fucknuts here will probably say that he stifled someones right of free speech that day.
Rick Monday Saved the Flag 30 Years Ago
By JOE RESNICK
The Associated Press
Saturday, April 22, 2006; 8:59 PM
LOS ANGELES -- Rick Monday never tires of answering questions about that memorable day 30 years ago, when he performed his own Patriot Act and unwittingly became an icon to millions of American war heroes and their loved ones.
Monday was playing center field for the Chicago Cubs on April 25, 1976, at Dodger Stadium when he noticed two protesters kneeling on the grass in left-center, intending to burn the American flag. He immediately bolted toward them and snatched it away.
Outfielder Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs dashes between two men in the Dodger Stadium Outfield in Los Angeles, in this April 25, 1976 photo, snatching an American flag the men were about to burn. In honor of the 30th anniversary of his saving the American flag on April 25, 1976, the Los Angeles Dodgers will recognize Rick Monday on Sunday, April 23 with a video tribute. Monday, a Dodger broadcaster, will also be on hand to throw out the first ceremonial pitch.
"I was angry when I saw them start to do something to the flag, and I'm glad that I happened to be geographically close enough to do something about it," said Monday, now in his 13th season as a Dodgers broadcaster.
"What those people were doing, and their concept of what they were trying to do was wrong. That feeling was very strongly reinforced by six years in the United States Marine Corps Reserves. I still think it's wrong to do that."
The Dodgers will acknowledge the event before the finale of a nine-game homestand on Sunday, two days before the actual anniversary of it. A video tribute will be shown before the game and Monday will throw out a ceremonial first pitch. On Tuesday, the Houston Astros will honor him as well when the Dodgers play the middle game of a three-game series.
Back in '76, Monday was presented with the flag in a ceremony at Wrigley Field by Dodgers executive Al Campanis. It hung in his home in Vero Beach, Fla., until a couple of years ago, when the house sustained severe damage from a hurricane. Now it's in a safety deposit box.
Monday wouldn't say how much the flag is insured for, but "you'd have to add a lot of zeros. People have offered an outrageous amount of money for it _ not that it's for sale."
The Baseball Hall of Fame recently named Monday's quick-thinking act as one of the 100 Classic Moments in the history of the game.
"Whatever their protest was about, what they were attempting to do to the flag _ which represents a lot of rights and freedoms that we all have _ was wrong for a lot of reasons," Monday said. "Not only does it desecrate the flag, but it also desecrates the effort and the lives that have been laid down to protect those rights and freedoms for all of us."
In Peter Golenbock's 1996 book, "Wrigleyville: A Magical History Tour of the Chicago Cubs," former Cubs reliever Darold Knowles recalled what happened in the aftermath of Monday's flag-saving effort.
"That put Rick on the map," said Knowles, a teammate of Monday's for two seasons in Chicago and one in Oakland. "Rick got more recognition out of the flag incident than he got as a player. He was getting letters from all over the country, all the time _ from VFWs (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and American Legions organizations. Every place we'd go, somebody would honor him with a plaque. He let us read some of the letters (from) people thanking him."
Along with the flag, Monday has a copy of the 16-mm footage taken by a fan who was at the game, as well as Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully's play-by-play of the incident. Also among his souvenirs is a copy of the now-famous photo by James Roarke of Monday just as he grabbed the flag.
Monday hit a career-high 32 home runs that season before the Dodgers acquired him from the Cubs with reliever Mike Garman, in exchange for outfielder Bill Buckner and backup shortstop Ivan DeJesus. Monday spent the final eight seasons of his career with Los Angeles, helping the Dodgers win three pennants in a five-year span.
He was the first player chosen in the very first draft back in 1965 after leading Arizona State to a College World Series title. The two-time All-Star put up some impressive numbers during his 19 major league seasons. His ninth-inning home run in the fifth and deciding game of the 1981 NL Championship Series at Montreal catapulted the Dodgers into the World Series, where they beat the Yankees in six games.
But all of that pales in comparison to Monday's most famous achievement in a baseball uniform.
"I know the people were very pleased to see Monday take the flag away from those guys," recalled Manny Mota, Monday's teammate that season and now a Dodgers coach. "I know Rick has done a lot of good things as a player and as a person. But what he did for his country, he will be remembered for the rest of his life as an American hero."
Of course some liberal ACLU fucknuts here will probably say that he stifled someones right of free speech that day.
Rick Monday Saved the Flag 30 Years Ago
By JOE RESNICK
The Associated Press
Saturday, April 22, 2006; 8:59 PM
LOS ANGELES -- Rick Monday never tires of answering questions about that memorable day 30 years ago, when he performed his own Patriot Act and unwittingly became an icon to millions of American war heroes and their loved ones.
Monday was playing center field for the Chicago Cubs on April 25, 1976, at Dodger Stadium when he noticed two protesters kneeling on the grass in left-center, intending to burn the American flag. He immediately bolted toward them and snatched it away.
Outfielder Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs dashes between two men in the Dodger Stadium Outfield in Los Angeles, in this April 25, 1976 photo, snatching an American flag the men were about to burn. In honor of the 30th anniversary of his saving the American flag on April 25, 1976, the Los Angeles Dodgers will recognize Rick Monday on Sunday, April 23 with a video tribute. Monday, a Dodger broadcaster, will also be on hand to throw out the first ceremonial pitch.
"I was angry when I saw them start to do something to the flag, and I'm glad that I happened to be geographically close enough to do something about it," said Monday, now in his 13th season as a Dodgers broadcaster.
"What those people were doing, and their concept of what they were trying to do was wrong. That feeling was very strongly reinforced by six years in the United States Marine Corps Reserves. I still think it's wrong to do that."
The Dodgers will acknowledge the event before the finale of a nine-game homestand on Sunday, two days before the actual anniversary of it. A video tribute will be shown before the game and Monday will throw out a ceremonial first pitch. On Tuesday, the Houston Astros will honor him as well when the Dodgers play the middle game of a three-game series.
Back in '76, Monday was presented with the flag in a ceremony at Wrigley Field by Dodgers executive Al Campanis. It hung in his home in Vero Beach, Fla., until a couple of years ago, when the house sustained severe damage from a hurricane. Now it's in a safety deposit box.
Monday wouldn't say how much the flag is insured for, but "you'd have to add a lot of zeros. People have offered an outrageous amount of money for it _ not that it's for sale."
The Baseball Hall of Fame recently named Monday's quick-thinking act as one of the 100 Classic Moments in the history of the game.
"Whatever their protest was about, what they were attempting to do to the flag _ which represents a lot of rights and freedoms that we all have _ was wrong for a lot of reasons," Monday said. "Not only does it desecrate the flag, but it also desecrates the effort and the lives that have been laid down to protect those rights and freedoms for all of us."
In Peter Golenbock's 1996 book, "Wrigleyville: A Magical History Tour of the Chicago Cubs," former Cubs reliever Darold Knowles recalled what happened in the aftermath of Monday's flag-saving effort.
"That put Rick on the map," said Knowles, a teammate of Monday's for two seasons in Chicago and one in Oakland. "Rick got more recognition out of the flag incident than he got as a player. He was getting letters from all over the country, all the time _ from VFWs (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and American Legions organizations. Every place we'd go, somebody would honor him with a plaque. He let us read some of the letters (from) people thanking him."
Along with the flag, Monday has a copy of the 16-mm footage taken by a fan who was at the game, as well as Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully's play-by-play of the incident. Also among his souvenirs is a copy of the now-famous photo by James Roarke of Monday just as he grabbed the flag.
Monday hit a career-high 32 home runs that season before the Dodgers acquired him from the Cubs with reliever Mike Garman, in exchange for outfielder Bill Buckner and backup shortstop Ivan DeJesus. Monday spent the final eight seasons of his career with Los Angeles, helping the Dodgers win three pennants in a five-year span.
He was the first player chosen in the very first draft back in 1965 after leading Arizona State to a College World Series title. The two-time All-Star put up some impressive numbers during his 19 major league seasons. His ninth-inning home run in the fifth and deciding game of the 1981 NL Championship Series at Montreal catapulted the Dodgers into the World Series, where they beat the Yankees in six games.
But all of that pales in comparison to Monday's most famous achievement in a baseball uniform.
"I know the people were very pleased to see Monday take the flag away from those guys," recalled Manny Mota, Monday's teammate that season and now a Dodgers coach. "I know Rick has done a lot of good things as a player and as a person. But what he did for his country, he will be remembered for the rest of his life as an American hero."
Here's a link to MLB.com with more of the story and more photos as well as Vin Scully's original play by play. The game was not televised being a day game in LA, so there is no archived video of it, just those few famous photos, but apparently there is a Super8 16mm film floating around that was shot by a fan in the seats that day.
While not truely a baseball play, is there any one that doesn't enjoy seeing Lou Pinella argue with the umpires. It starts with Lou racing out of the dougout after what he percieves as a bad call and starts arguing with the ump. Lou invariably turns his cap around so he can get his face so close to the umps face that the seperation is barely the thickness of a credit card all the while shouting at the top of his lungs. Lou questions the call, Lou questions the ump's ability, he even questions the ump's parentage.
Lou throws his hat on the ground and kicks dirt on home plate so that the ump will have to bend over and sweep the plate. If he is arguing at one of the bases, he will rip the base from the ground and throw it into the outfield.
Along the way Lou has been tossed from the game.
A Lou Pinella argument with an ump is always well worth the price of admission.
Lou throws his hat on the ground and kicks dirt on home plate so that the ump will have to bend over and sweep the plate. If he is arguing at one of the bases, he will rip the base from the ground and throw it into the outfield.
Along the way Lou has been tossed from the game.
A Lou Pinella argument with an ump is always well worth the price of admission.
My greatest baseball argument was George Brett at Yankee stadium in the "pine tar" game. That was something everyone saw coming. He had about 5 minutes to steam and prepare for the most ludicrous 'out' call anyone had ever made. Too bad when you see it on replay they only show ten seconds of him charging out o the dugout. He was steamed for a good 10 minutes that delayed the game when it happened. He was tossed but almost had a stroke at home plate. I cut out of school with a few friends to go to the make up "inning" after the call was reversed and they were giving away tickets for free.
One of my memories of the Polo Grounds was that there were no urinals,just a communal pee trough in the men's room.A few years after the ballpark was demolished(isn't Rucker Park there now?) I heard a friend of mine refer to the phenomenon of not being able to pee in public as "The Fenway Park Blues"When I asked what he meant,he mentioned the piss troughs.This was 35 years ago so I guess they've refurbished the place but I don't know,I've never been there.
Some great and rare plays happen so fast that they're over before you can get the adrenaline rush.Unassisted triple plays are like that.Only one I saw was a Braves game on TV a few years ago,might have been a Sunday night game and Rafael Furcal turned one.My personal favorite during a game I attended was Koufax striking out the first five Yankees he faced and another ten during the game in the World Series opener in '63.Speaking of Sandy,only two other pitchers ever struck out the side on nine consecutive strikes on two occasions.Nolan Ryan and Lefty Grove(Baseball Almanac).
For a pure rush though inside the park homers,plays at the plate and triples are great.
Some great and rare plays happen so fast that they're over before you can get the adrenaline rush.Unassisted triple plays are like that.Only one I saw was a Braves game on TV a few years ago,might have been a Sunday night game and Rafael Furcal turned one.My personal favorite during a game I attended was Koufax striking out the first five Yankees he faced and another ten during the game in the World Series opener in '63.Speaking of Sandy,only two other pitchers ever struck out the side on nine consecutive strikes on two occasions.Nolan Ryan and Lefty Grove(Baseball Almanac).
For a pure rush though inside the park homers,plays at the plate and triples are great.