Author: Bill Grimes

I'm from Chicago. I worked in broadcast journalism for much of the 1970's and 80's. In 1990 I became a litigation consultant, retiring in 2017. Around 2005 I recall flipping through the sports section of the newspaper coming across "On this day in baseball history Willie Mays hit his 600th home run." I enjoyed the one-liners, but I wanted more. I wanted a story. I took my news reporting skills and started researching and telling baseball stories, one for every day of the year. TodayinBaseball.com is the result.

JAN 7-Tony Conigliaro: Heartbreak kid

TODAY IN BASEBALL TAKES US BACK TO REVERE, MASSACHUSETTS JANUARY 7, 1945. Tony Conigilaro was born on this date outside Boston. He grew up to realize what most Boston area kids can only dream about — play for the Red Sox.

Conigliaro debuted with his hometown team at age 19. He was the youngest American League player to reach the 100-home run mark. The dream, along with his cheekbone, was shattered the night of August 18, 1967 when he was hit in the face by a fastball from Jack Hamilton of the California Angels (today’s Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). Teammate and friend Rico Petrocelli was in the on-deck circle when Tony C got drilled and later wrote in his book, Tales from the Impossible Dream Red Sox:

"I always believed there was a spot where Tony couldn't see the inside pitch. If you threw it to the right spot, he'd hit that ball nine miles. But then there was this blind spot, a little more inside. Sometimes he moved too late to get out of the way, and sometimes he never moved at all."

Conigliaro was knocked unconscious. He had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. His cheekbone was broken and his left eye severely damaged. For a time it was feared he might not survive. The cheekbone healed but he had a hole in his retina. He missed the entire 1968 season.

His vision miraculously cleared up and he played again in 1969. He hit 20 home runs and drove in 82, and was named comeback player of the year. He had the best year of his career in 1970 when he hit 36 home runs and drove in 116. He was traded that off-season to, ironically, the California Angels.

Tony C’s eyesight deteriorated again in 1971. He hit just .222 with 4 home runs and 15 RBI. He was increasingly difficult to deal with. According to the Associated Press (AP) his manager, Lefty Phillips, told reporters after a loss that Conigliaro “was ready for the insane asylum.”

Conigliaro sadly announced his retirement from baseball July 10, 1971, “I have lost my sight and on the edge-of-losing my mind.”

Tony Conigliaro, the heartbreak kid, died of kidney failure on February 24, 1990. He was 45.

Contributing Sources:
Associated Press (AP), July 11, 1971, Oakland, California
Seeing it Through, by Tony Conigliaro
Tales from the Impossible Dream Red Sox, by Rico Petrocelli

NOV 6 in baseball history – 2020 predictions

NOVEMBER 6, 2020 : Where will your team be in the standings when the 2020 season (how ever it’s set up) comes to a close? Lets see what the number crunching geeks (I say that fondly. I’m one of them) responsible for PECOTA – Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm have to say.

But before you get too excited, or depressed, we’ll look at how accurate PECOTA was in 2019.

November 6th – the American League. November 7th – the National League.

2020 PREDICTED FINAL STANDINGS
AL East

  1. Yankees
  2. Rays
  3. Red Sox
  4. Jays
  5. Orioles

In 2019 the Yankees were favored by PECOTA to win the Division, which they did. Then lost to the Astros in the ALCS.

The Rays were favored to finish 3rd, but finished 2nd. They beat A’s in the 2019 wild card game. Lost to Astros in the AL Division Series

AL Central  

  1. Twins
  2. Indians
  3. White Sox
  4. Tigers
  5. Royals

In 2019 PECOTA had the Minnesota Twins finishing in 2nd, playing just .500 baseball. The Twins took the Division with 101 wins. They were beaten by the Yankees in the ALDS.

AL West

  1. Astros
  2. Angels
  3. Athletics
  4. Rangers
  5. Mariners

PECOTA favored the Astros to win the AL West in 2019, which they did. They made it to the World Series, losing to the Washington Nationals.

Now, it’s a whole new season. How will MLB shake out in 2020? That’s why they play the games.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2019.shtml  2019 final standings
https://www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/  PECOTA Predictions for 2020
https://doublegsports.com/pecota-projected-mlb-standings-2019/  DoubleGSports

July 1 – DiMaggio drama

July 1, 1941 | NEW YORK, NEW YORK – New York Yankee outfielder Joe DiMaggio got hits in his 43rd and 44th consecutive games on this date in 1941. This tied him with Wee Willie Keeler who held the 44 consecutive game hit streak since 1897.

To add to the DiMaggio drama, some think he got a little help from the official scorer in his first hit in game one of a doubleheader that day. It was a grounder fielded by Boston Red Sox third baseman Jim Tabor who made a poor throw to first. Official scorer Dan Daniel of the New York World Telegram ruled it a hit. DiMaggio ended up getting a solid hit to center later in the game, which, according to Associated Press sportswriter Gayle Talbot, brought a “tremendous cheer from the crowd.”

Many thought Wee Willie Keeler’s 44-game record would never be broken, and it may not have been if Joe DiMaggio hadn’t come along. “Joltin Joe” set a new record of 56 consecutive games with at least one hit a couple weeks later, and he remains the only player to hit in more than 44 consecutive games.

This note: When Wee Willie Keeler set his record in 1897 foul balls were not counted as strikes.  Contributing source:
Associated Press (AP), Gayle Talbot, July 2, 1941 

DEC 1: Image change

DECEMBER 1, 1964 | HOUSTON, TEXAS • The Houston “Colt .45s” officially became the “Astros” on this date in 1964. It was quite a change in image, from a symbol of the old west to the city’s modern image as home to NASA and the space program.

The new name coincided with the team’s new home, the world’s first ever indoor baseball stadium. It was initially called the Harris County Domed Stadium. It later became known as the Astrodome. It was also unofficially referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”

Playing baseball inside created problems during the 1965 inaugural season. The original design called for real grass. Sunlight was allowed in through semi-transparent synthetic glass panels in the dome so the grass would grow. But the players quickly discovered that the hundreds of panels created such a glare that they couldn’t see fly balls.

The solution was to paint over the synthetic glass panels, but then the grass wouldn’t grow. Hence, synthetic grass (Astroturf) was developed, but it took a while.

There were times during the 1965 baseball season when the grounds crew had to paint parts of the playing surface green because the grass had died off. It wasn’t until midway through the 1966 season that there was enough Astroturf to blanket the entire surface of the playing field.

Contributing source:
Astrodome

Nov 8: It’s the Shirts!

NOVEMBER 8, 2007 | ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – The Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ road to the 2008 World Series started on this date in 2007. More than 7,000 fans showed up at Straub Park in St. Petersburg on a Thursday in November to usher in the age of the Rays, no longer named for a sea creature, but for the ever-present bright light in the sky. There were a number of games during the 2007 regular season where the Devil Rays struggled to get 7,000 fans in the seats.

But this was a new day.

According to the St. Petersburg Times 18 Rays players and a couple former players showed off new uniforms with a new logo and a new name. The players, the manager and the fans were impressed. Veteran Devil Ray Carl Crawford told the Times, “It feels like a fresh start.” Manager Joe Maddon (current Chicago Cubs manager) said, “[They] have a classic look to them… you’re always looking for that symbolic moment to really move on to that next area… getting to the playoffs, et cetera.”

Et cetera ended up being the 2008 World Series. The Devil Rays won just 66 games in 2007 and came in last in the American League East. The following year the Rays with a new name and new uniforms won 97, knocked the White Sox and Red Sox out of the playoffs to get to the World Series, which they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 1.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE:
St. Petersburg Times, November 8, 2007