May 31st, 2009 03:00am
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Forty-five years ago, on May 31, 1964, my dad and I went to a Mets-Giants doubleheader at Shea Stadium. I wrote about some of my memories of the second game, which went 23 innings, in my Sunday column (sports@pressdemocrat.com). Here are some other memories, impressions, tidbits and facts.
Mets manager Casey Stengel was 74 years old. Casey had a reputation for dozing in the dugout. I’ve always wondered if he stayed …
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May 30th, 2009 03:00am
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I don’t get it. I love boxing. I love movies. People have been tripping over themselves talking up the new documentary (really just a 90-minute tricked-up monologue) about former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Well, I finally saw it. Tyson is a bore. And therefore, so is ‘Tyson.’
Tyson tells us he lost to Buster Douglas in 1990 because he didn’t have his mentor, Cus D’Amato anymore. D’Amato had died four years …
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May 29th, 2009 03:00am
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There is a new biography out, called “Forever Blue,” about Walter O’Malley, the Dodgers owner who moved the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Any book about O’Malley ought to be called “Forever a Bum,” because that’s what he was.
Look, anybody can spin the O’Malley story any way they want, but the fact of the matter is he wanted a new ballpark, the city of New …
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May 28th, 2009 03:00am
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It was a most pleasant surprise to get such warm-hearted feedback on the Harvey Haddix column and blogs.
I wrote the Sunday column on the 50th anniversary of Harvey Haddix’s epic 13-inning loss after pitching 12 perfect innings because I had to. The game, played when I was 11 years old, has always held a special place in my baseball psyche. And I wasn’t a Pirates fan (except in the 1960 …
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May 27th, 2009 03:00am
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Ivan Rodriguez is quickly closing in on old-school catchers Bob Boone and Carlton Fisk, about to reach a milestone that is all the more impressive for its thorough lack of glamour.
Rodriguez, whose 19-year career has included stints with the Rangers, Marlins, Tigers and now the Astros, soon will pass Boone (2,225) and Fisk (2,226) for most games as a catcher.
Maybe it’s the nickname. Rodriguez is also known as Pudge, which …
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May 26th, 2009 03:00am
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Fifty years ago today, Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves, then lost it in the 13th — the bid for perfection, the no-hitter and the game itself. But the ending to that game was so chaotic, I’m filing an unofficial protest.
To recap, Haddix takes a perfect game into the bottom of the 13th inning. Felix Mantilla reaches on an error. Eddie Mathews sacrifices him to second. …
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May 24th, 2009 03:00am
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My Sunday column (sports@pressdemocrat.com) commemorates the 50th anniversary of Harvey Haddix pitching 12 perfect innings — and losing in the 13th. I call it the greatest single-game pitching performance. But Ron Necciai should be part of the conversation.
Necciai was 19 on May 13, 1952, pitching in the Class D Appalachian League for the Bristol (Va.) Twins (a Pittsburgh Pirates farm team) against the Welsh Miners. Necciai pitched a no-hitter, with …
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May 23rd, 2009 03:00am
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I understand the new “Tyson” movie shows clips of some of Iron Mike’s early fights in the mid-80s, when he was making such a strong, devastating impression on boxing. Well, fine, but that’s selective editing. Tyson had a number of fights early in his career when he was less than sensational.
For instance, James “Quick” Tillis and Mitch “Blood” Green (do fighters have the best nicknames or what?) each went the …
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May 21st, 2009 07:35pm
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Jason Giambi has 399 home runs. If he never hits another one, he won’t be admitted to the 400 HR Club, but the 399 HR Club has a couple of distinguished members.
Hall of Famer Al Kaline, one of the smoothest players ever — whether in the field, at bat or on the basepaths — finished his 22-year career (1953-74, all with the Detroit Tigers) with 399 homers.
And Andres Galarraga, a.k.a. …
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May 21st, 2009 03:00am
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All this talk about whether ex-convict Michael Vick deserves another shot in the NFL reminds me of Ron LeFlore, an ex-con who made a significant mark in a nine-year major league baseball career.
I guess there is a difference between Vick and LeFlore. Vick already had an established, lucrative NFL career when he was convicted of the felony of running a dogfighting operation. LeFlore, who had never played organized baseball before …
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Robert Rubino has been a daily copy editor for nearly 30 years and a weekly sports columnist for 15 years. 
