by David Krell | Mar 4, 2017 | David Krell
There are coaches and managers who approach baseball with a Lombardi-like focus on winning without the trademark Lombardi philosophy of striving to obtain psychological, emotional, and physical fulfillment through 100% effort. Their desire to win is pure. Their...
by David Krell | Mar 3, 2017 | David Krell
During the summer that William Holden escaped Stalag 17, Audrey Hepburn gallivanted around Rome, and Burt Lancaster kissed Deborah Kerr on a Hawaiian beach, two sluggers edged toward a batting championship decided by one thousandth of a point—Al Rosen and Mickey...
by David Krell | Mar 2, 2017 | David Krell
Sandy Koufax had a left arm envied by southpaws from Malibu to Miami, a curveball rivaling Mulholland Drive’s bends for arc intensity, and a fastball comparable to a bullet shot from a Winchester. None of these assets were on display, however, during Game 1 of...
by David Krell | Mar 1, 2017 | David Krell
When Happy Days premiered on January 15, 1974 as a mid-season replacement for ABC, it began a 10-year journey as a refuge from the barrage of daily headlines indicating malaise, frustration, and tension—particularly in the second half of the 1970s with inflation, gas...
by David Krell | Feb 28, 2017 | David Krell
Zack Wheat churned out hits with the reliability of Henry Ford’s assembly line, which débuted the Model T in 1908, a year prior to Wheat’s introduction to the major leagues. From 1909 to 1926, Wheat flourished as a member of Brooklyn’s National...
by David Krell | Feb 27, 2017 | David Krell
Nestled in the Antelope Valley of California, about 70 miles from Dodger Stadium, the Lancaster JetHawks of the California League play in a ballpark labeled, quite appropriately, the Hangar. Antelope Valley is one of the focal points for America’s aerospace...
by David Krell | Feb 26, 2017 | David Krell
Vic Willis, he of the assonant moniker, hurled with the intensity of a Nor’easter whipping across the Charles River. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995, Willis compiled a career 249-205 win-loss record, achieved a 2.63 Earned Run Average, and...
by David Krell | Feb 25, 2017 | David Krell
Not since the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre had Chicago seen an eruption of violence like the one on May 27, 1984 at Wrigley Field—okay, not quite an apt comparison. A three-run homer in the second inning of a Cubs-Reds game ignited the fury. With Leon Durham...
by David Krell | Feb 24, 2017 | David Krell
During the Colt .45s’ inaugural season—1962—Houstonians could point to few bright spots in the team’s 64-96 record. Román Mejías was one of them. Mejías played in 146 games, swatted 162 hits, and finished the season with a .286 batting average. Initially...
by David Krell | Feb 23, 2017 | David Krell
Baseball, unlike other sports, has no boundary of time. On June 24, 1962, the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers issued a reminder at Tiger Stadium. It took 22 innings, seven hours; an epic test of endurance inched the players toward completing the contest,...
