Comments for Cardboard Gods

Comment on Cookie Rojas by Arthur Field

Arthur Field — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:37:40 +0000

hello I was going through some childhood things and found cookies autograph from a little league banquet where he signed my program for the evening October 19,1969.it seem like yesterday thanks for letting me share this. artfieldnj@comcast.net

Comment on Ron LeFlore by Matt Baron

Matt Baron — Tue, 14 May 2013 06:29:31 +0000

On the topic of inappropriate books for boys under 10, my parents gave me Wilt Chamberlain’s book, “Wilt” (with a subhead of Just Your Average 7-foot, Black Millionaire Superstar who Lives Next Door, or some such thing) for Christmas 1976 or ’77. I was 8 or 9….and in the book, Wilt details his exploits with women, though only in general terms, I think. Anyway, I would always breeze past that stuff to see his outrageous numbers on the court from game to game, or season to season. Also, related to LeFlore’s porous defense, the made-for-TV movie with Levar Burton playing LeFlore has Mickey Stanley teaching Ron the art of building momentum as you catch the ball to be able to fire a dart into the infield and keep the runner from advancing.

Comment on Dave Campbell by Matt Baron

Matt Baron — Tue, 14 May 2013 06:22:37 +0000

Thru Retrosheet, I enjoy seeing how guys break in and how they leave the game….for example, I think Frank Robinson’s last game in the majors as a player, he was pinch-run for by Alfredo Griffin, a future Rookie of the Year (three years later!) for the Blue Jays, an honor he shared with John Castillo of the Twins. Another interesting tidbit: Robby had more than 2,900 base hits in his career, could have penciled his own name as manager of the Indians but did not do it very often that final year when he played.

Comment on Biff Pocoroba by Matt Baron

Matt Baron — Tue, 14 May 2013 06:11:52 +0000

The enduring baseball card image of Biff that I have is from a few years earlier….the standard head-on shot of a mask-less catcher in spring training. And, yes, my brother and I would cite his name very often throughout our childhood. Something lyrical about it.

Comment on George Brett by Matt Baron

Matt Baron — Tue, 14 May 2013 06:08:41 +0000

As I recall, Gedman was totally overmatched by Lucas on that at-bat, too….sort of how Bernie Carbo looked lost against the Reds’ hurler in the 8th inning of Game 6 of the ’75 Series, before launching the three-run tater into the centerfield bleachers of Fenway. I recall reading later that future Met pitcher Ron Darling, a kid at the time, was in the stands not far from where Carbo’s homer landed.

Comment on Jim Gott by Peter Anderson (@Peter29Anderson)

Peter Anderson (@Peter29Anderson) — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:10:03 +0000

Bill James once pointed out that if Teufel homered off of Gott, the ensuing story should be called Paradise Lost.

Comment on Jim Gott by Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:38:13 +0000

jamesguitarshields: The very name of Gott buried deep in a box. I love it.

Thanks, edgydc. There are a couple of Tuefel cards in my son’s collection (it’s heavy on late-’80s journeymen), so the Gott-Tuefel tangle goes on.

Comment on Jim Gott by edgydc

edgydc — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:33:04 +0000

Of course you can protect your son. Some days will be a struggle. Some will be a losing struggle. Jim Gott may have had a lot to contend with going up against the Schmidts and Dawsons out there, but he wasn’t exactly at their mercy. And they knew he wasn’t without resources of his own.

Tim Teufel himself only went 2-9 against Gott. One of those two was a homerun, and that’s tough, but fully 87.8% times, Gott sent Teufel back to the bench in futility.

That’s worth something.

Comment on Jim Gott by jamesguitarshields

jamesguitarshields — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:20:43 +0000

somewhere buried deep in a box, i have a Jim Gott signed baseball… the autograph pickings were pretty slim for Toronto fans in 1982.

Comment on Darrel Chaney by Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:45:30 +0000

Cynthia: This will probably sound weak (and I can’t speak for anyone else in the comments thread), but it wasn’t my intention to criticize your uncle. In the comments above, I’ve tried to explain my original intention in this post–which was to rant about my own creative drought and not to criticize a player (on the day I wrote the post, I was frustrated with myself and, by extension, with Darrel Chaney’s baseball card). Chaney was unquestionably one of the best in the world at what he did–a major leaguer, a champion. I’m sure there are many, many fans who remember him fondly. Contrary to the passing mood captured in the post at the top of this page, I remember him fondly, too–when I was a kid he was one of my gods.