The Cubs just scored 5 runs in the 4th inning against the Rangers
…before that they had scored 5 runs in all 4th innings combined.
- WGN Radio
@eliassports Upton’s are 1st brothers to HR in same inning since Cal and Billy Ripken for the 1996 Orioles.
So the Chicago Cubs are on Tumblr.
Nothing better than Pat Hughes saying “on Tumblr” during WGN broadcasts.
Obit of the Day: The Woman Who Inspired The Natural
On June 14, 1929 Philadelphia Philles first baseman Eddie Waitkus received an unsigned note asking him to a meeting in a 12th-floor room in the Edgewater Hotel, located on Chicago’s far north side, where his team was staying. Mr. Waitkus entered the room and from behind heard a woman say “I have a surprise for you.” He was then shot in the back, with the bullet tearing through his lung and lodging near his spine.
The woman who shot him, Ruth Ann Steinhagen, then contacted the hotel’s front desk and waited until an ambulance and the police arrived. She confessed telling the officers that she “just had to shoot somebody.”
But it wasn’t just “somebody.” Ms. Steinhagen had an unhealthy fixation on Mr. Waitkus for several years beginning when he played for the Chicago Cubs in 1946. Ms. Steinhagen not only had a “shrine” to the ballplayer in her room but would set a place for him at the family dinner table, even though they had never met.
Ms. Steinhagen was charged with what is now defined as “attempted murder,” but she never went to trial. She was sent to Kankakee State Hospital to deal with her mental health issues. When she was released almost three years later in 1952, Mr. Waitkus refused to press charges and prosecutors dropped the case.
The same year that Ms. Steinhagen was released for psychatric care author Bernard Malamud published his novel The Natural which followed the career of pitching prodigy Roy Hobbs. Hobbs’ career was cut short, though, when a woman named Harriet Bird invites him to her hotel room and shoots him*. He based the scene on Ms. Steinhagen and Mr. Waitkus. (In the novel, Roy Hobbs returns to baseball sixteen years later as a hitting star with an mysterious past.)
After her release Ms. Steinhagen lived a quiet and secluded life in Chicago. She would later buy a home with her sister Edith Pietl. Ms. Steinhagen would live there for 40 years. She died on December 29, 2012 at the age of 83 - her death discovered accidentally by a Chicago Tribune reporter who was looking through death records.
Mr. Waitkus, who passed away in 1972, was a two-time All Star before the shooting. He returned for the 1950 season when his Phillies lost in the World Series to the New York Yankees. He would play for five more seasons and retire in 1955. He suffered from post traumatic stress disorder for years.
Sources: Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Baseball-reference.com, and Wikipedia
(Image of Ms. Steinhagen sitting in a police wagon on June 14, 1949 following the shooting of Philadelphia first baseman Eddie Waitkus. Copyright of the Chicago Tribune via Softpedia.com)
* In the 1984 film version of The Natural Roy Hobbs was played by Robert Redford and Barbara Hershey played Harriet Bird. (You can watch the complete movie here, the Bird-Hobbs scene is at the 20:00 mark.)
In a dynamic unfortunate NL Central matchup, the 4th place Cubs defeated the 5th place Astros, 7-1, last night. For most baseball fans, including those in Chicago and Houston, the game is irrelevant. But not so fast my friends.
The Cubs and Astros are in a battle for history. They are trying to become only the second pair of teams in the same division to lose 100 or more games since 1969. The only other time two teams in one division were that horrible was in the 2002 AL Central when the Royals (100) and Tigers (106) both reached the magic 100-loss mark.
With yesterday’s win the Cubs are on pace to squeak by with a 64-98 record. The Astros on the other hand will end up comfortably past the century mark with 109 anticipated losses.
So we look to the Cubs in the hopes that their futility might reach historic levels. Because otherwise it’s simply an ugly rebuilding year.
Random note: The last time two teams in the same division won 100 or more games was 2001 when the Mariners won 116 and the A’s won 102 in the AL West. Yep, win 102 finish 14 games back.
(Image copyright of MLB)
The Hall of Fame Induction Speech Vicki Santo Should Give
Good afternoon. Thank you so much to all those who made today possible, especially the great Cubs’ fans who have always loved my husband whether on the field or in the broadcast booth.
When Ron retired from baseball in 1974 he finished his career with 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances.
Six years later, when Ron was first eligible for election to the Hall of Fame he had 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances. He earned 3.9% of the vote and was removed from the ballot.
In 1985 when Ron and several other players were returned to the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot, he had 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances. He received 13.4% of the vote.
When he last appeared on the writers’ ballots in 1998, he had 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances. He received 43.1% of the vote.
When his left leg was amputated in 2001, due to complications from the juvenile diabetes he dealt with during his entire playing career, he had 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances.
The next year saw him lose his right leg and he had 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances.
When the Veterans’ Committee voted on Ron in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 he had 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances. He finished as high as first in the balloting but never with enough votes to be admitted to the Hall.
When Ron passed away on December 3, 2010 he had 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances.
One year and two days later, on December 5, 2011, Ron Santo was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He had 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances. Fifteen of sixteen members of the committee voted for Ron, giving him 93% of the vote.
Today, as I stand before Ron’s fans, teammates, friends, and, now, fellow Hall of Famers, on July 22, 2012, he still has 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances.
Not one more home run, hit, RBI, Gold Glove, or All-Star game in 38 years. I could not be any prouder of my husband. He never once complained. Not about perennial losing seasons with the Cubs, not about his problems with diabetes, and certainly not about the Hall of Fame. And if he were here today he would not complain about how long it took, how his statistics didn’t change, or how he hasn’t improved as a third basemen over the last four decades. He is smiling today and I’m sure he’s doing a little heel click in Heaven.
But I’m not Ron and I just want to remind everyone that my husband had 342 home runs, 2254 hits, 1331 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, and nine All-Star appearances during his career. He was a Hall of Famer the day he retired. He didn’t become one over the last 38 years.
Thank you.
Sources: baseball-reference.com and wikipedia.org
(Image of Ron Santo clicking his heels after another Wrigley win during the 1969 season is courtesy of 90feetofperfection.com)
Ryan Dempster Hits a Triple Off Daisuke Matsuzaka
The last time he hit a triple was on May 12, 2002 as a Marlin. The pitcher? Hideo Nomo. Dempster OWNS Japanese righthanders.
Thanks to retrosheet.org
Kerry Wood will retire after today’s game versus the White Sox
….unless he doesn’t get in the game, then he’ll retire on Saturday….unless he doesn’t get in the game, then he’ll retire on Sunday…etc. The retirement will occur after Wood’s next appearance regardless according to ESPN1000’s John Greenberg and Bruce Levine.
Wood exploded on the scene in 1998 striking out 20 Astros in only his sixth start, tying a record held by his idol Roger Clemens. (The very next game Wood struck out 13 more.) He was voted the 1998 Rookie of the Year. Twelve of his fifteen seasons were with the Cubs, the first six as a starter (minus the 1999 season which he missed due to injury) before transitioning to the bullpen. He was selected as an All-Star in 2003 as a starter and 2008 as a reliever.
For many Cubs fans, Wood’s second most memorable moment was his infamous performance in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS. Pitching after the “Bartman game,” the Cubs still had a chance to win and advance to their first World Series since 1945, but Wood gave up 7 runs in 5.2 innings.
You can find Wood’s career stats here.
Note: Wood and his family were active in the Chicago community especially through their Wood Family Foundation.
