Extra Bases

In time for Opening Day: 108's On Sale!

Opening Day is only a few days away.  The Freeway Series starts tonight.  And I have in my hands - hot off the press - the current issue of 108.  If you are a subscriber, your copy is in the mail and it should be in your mail box soon (I know some of you have already received it because you sent me emails - thanks for the kind words).  If you aren't a subscriber and want to get a copy, click here and find a list of all the current bookstores and other retail outlets that are selling the magazine.  If you're favorite bookstore is not on the list, let us know.  If you still can't find a copy, drop me a line and we'll take care of you.

Play ball!

Rest in Peace Ed Bailey

Saturday afternoon, the AP reported that Ed Bailey, an All-Star catcher with the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants in the 1950s and early 1960s, died of cancer on Friday, March 23. Bailey was 75 and recently diagnosed with throat cancer.  As the case with many former stars of the Golden Era of Baseball, most modern fans have little recollections of Bailey.  Although one could say that our forgetting heroes from a prior generation is merely a fact of life, reality doesn't make it right.  The passing of the 5-time All-Star should not take place without stopping for a moment to remember Ed Bailey.

Bailey's playing career for the Cincinnati Reds (whose name was officially changed to the Redlegs in those dark and fearful years when McCarthy stalked the halls of Congress - when he wasn't out beating the bushes for a different kind of "Reds") began in 1953 and continued into the early Sixties when he was traded to the Giants.   

His best year at the plate was 1956 when he broke the all-time record for home runs by a Reds' catcher on August 15 when he hit his 21st homer against Chicago.  Bailey went on to hit 28 dingers that year, even as he shared the catching duties with Smokey Burgess.  The record lasted for another 14 years until a Cincinnati backstop with whom modern fans are more familiar - Johnny Bench - slugged 45 in 1970.

Gar (short for Edgar) Bailey's reputation as an outstanding catcher of his generation owed as much to his abilities as a receiver calling a game as to his battingi skills.  Ironically, for someone who enjoyed respect among his peers for knowing the strengths and weaknesses of other hitters in the National League, many in baseball felt that Bailey might take baseball too lightly.  His teammates felt differently.  The native Tennessean entertained his teammates and opponents alike with his "hillbilly-type sayings having to do with fat hogs, etc." - as one former teammate phrased it.  If the picture of Bailey "horsing around" with actress Dagmar in this picture is any indication, Bailey knew how to have fun. 

In We Played the Game (ed. by Danny Peavy), Billy O'Dell, a former pitcher with the San Francisco Giants, felt that the Giants lost something special when the team traded Bailey. "Not only was he a good hitter and receiver, but he also was probably the only really funny guy on the team."

In a game played by too many cardboard corporate cutouts who live separate from teammates, perhaps players should be considered sufficiently successful if they have left memories of solid performances, good humor, and being missed when you were gone. If so, Ed Bailey was a success.

Rest in peace, Mr. Bailey.  You left the game better than it would have been without you.

The Lineup for Spring Issue of 108

As promised in a previous post, I am providing a sneak peek into what you can expect in the Spring issue of 108 (which has been shipped and should be either in your mailbox or in a bookstore near you in the next week or so)

In addition to columns by Tom Lasorda, Fay Vincent, Mike Veeck, John Thorn, Gerald Early, Jay Johnstone, and George Genovese and short fiction by Hank Williams Garfield and Joseph Schuster, the Spring Issue contains the following profiles and articles:

Banner Year (Tony Bunting): A century ago, the Cubs and the White Sox engaged in dual pennant races that turned Chicago upside down.

Wonder Girl (Jean Ardell): From her prowess as a semipro pitcher to her career as a doctor, Alta Weiss exemplified the changing role of women in the early 20th century.

Better Late Than Never (Monte Irvin with Harvey Frommer):  Monte Irvin shares stories of his life in baseball, from facing prejudice to mentoring Willie Mays.

Rocky Trails & Dusty Dreams (Jeff Powers-Beck):  Green's Nebraska Indians battled stereotypes and hardships to become successful barnstormers at the turn of the century.

Attack of the Grasshoppers (Jeff Merron): No one in Hollywood could have scripted a horror flick with this ending to a Texas League game.

October Surprises (Evan Weiner):  Real playoff drama is often behind the scenes and off the playing field.

 

In addition, 108's departments include Beyond the Box Score of the infamous Merkle Game in 1908 (Paul Adomites); Growing Up Babe Ruth's daughter (Woody Woodburn); Whatever Happened to Joe Charboneau (Phil Osterholt); Teammates - the story of Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones (Jeff Merron); 108 Pictorial; and the 108 Interview with Harmon Killebrew.

And much more: photos, cartoons, and humor.

Check it out for yourself at your favorite bookstore.

108 Goes To College

In April, 108 goes on sale at campus bookstores in nearly 700 colleges and universities across the country. To see if your local institution of higher learning will be selling the Spring 2007 issue, hit the links that include your school's state.   If your school is not on the list, ask for it or drop in a comment here, or just send the magazine an email at info@108mag.com.  We'll see what we can do.

Alabama - Delaware

Florida - Illinois

Indiana - Massachusetts

Maryland - New Jersey

New York - Oregon

Pennsylvania - Texas

Utah - West Virginia

Right Man; Wrong Era

Who was the fastest man to ever play professional baseball - non-Herb Washington Division?  If you had answered: "Cool Papa Bell," you would not have been alone.  Yet one baseball expert who witnessed Bell's exploits would have disagreed.  Ernie Carrol in 1974 asserted that only one man could match the great Negro League star for pure speed:  the former Chicago White Sox outfielder Maurice "Flash" Archdeacon.

If you've never heard of Archdeacon, don't be embarrassed - even Chicago baseball fans wouldn't recognize him.  Before coming to Chicago, Archdeacon starred for the Rochester Tribe in the International League - along with Fred Merkle, where he fell percentage points short of winning the 1922 batting title, while scoring more than 160 runs.  A punch hitter, Archdeacon's reputation for speed grew to legendary status.  In 1921, Archdeacon set the record for circling the bases by completing the circuit in 13.4 seconds, even though he slipped to one knee rounding third base. In the fall of 1923, he was sold by Rochester to the Chicago White Sox for a reported $50,000.  The "Man with the $50,000 Legs," however, never became a major league star. His major league career lasted a little more than a year, consisting of slightly less than 400 at bats; nevertheless, "Flash" made the most of his limited appearances, averaging .333, while stealing 13 bases and scoring 84 runs.

After his brief stay in the majors, Archdeacon was released by the White Sox, but continued to play successfully in the high minors.  So what happened to the Chicago Flash?

Archdeacon was an perfect example of the many players in those days before expansion whose abilities placed them on the cusp of the major leagues, but whose shortcomings kept them in the high minors, especially when those shortcomings were combined in a change in baseball strategy.  In the Roaring Twenties, it wasn't just chicks that dug the long ball, fans, managers, and owners saw what was happening with Ruth and Company in New York.  A player like Archdeacon, who could barely reach the outfielders with a fly ball, fit best in an era where speed and contact was at a premium.  But the Dead Ball Era was passing and the fastest man in baseball was lost to memory.

[Photo Courtesty of Transcendental Graphics] 

An Irish Pioneer in America

In the spirit of St Patrick Day, and in honor of my ancestral home, I wanted to pay tribute to the 40 native Irishman who have played major league baseball.  According to Baseball-Reference.com, the first players from Ireland to play in the majors were Ed Duffy (shortstop for the Chicago White Stockings), Jimmy Hallinan(shortstop for the Ft. Wayne Kekiongas), Fergy Malone (catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics) and Andy Leonard (second baseman for the Washington Olympics).  The quartet began play in May 1871 in the National Association. 

That the four played major league ball is impressive (even if there careers were not particularly noteworth); yet their survival in the rough and tumble world of 19th century baseball was nothing compared to their real life survival.  All four were born or were infants during the time of the Great Famine between 1845 and 1851.

Technically, Leonard was the pathmaker, as his first game was on May 5.  Leonard was born on June 1, 1846.  The potato fields were luxuriant and hopes were high for a plentiful harvest. Two months later, everything had changed.  As one eyewitness observed:

I beheld with sorrow one wide waste of putrifying vegetation.  In many places, the wretched people were seated on the fences of their decaying gardens, wringing their hands, and wailing bitterly [at] the destruction that had left them foodless.  James Donnelly, Jr.  The Great Irish Potato Famine, p. 57.   

In Leonard's birthplace County Cavan - in northern Leinster - the impact of the Famine was severe:

The population of the county [Cavan] fell by nearly 29 per cent between 1841 and 1851. Part of this was due to starvation- and disease-induced mortality. A significant part was also due to emigration to England and America. 

The Great Famine in Cavan

Although the details behind the journey is lost, Leonard is one of the fortunate ones who survived the hunger the disease, and the dangers of the trans-Atlantic journey to become one of the Irish Diaspora.  How did Leonard adjust to urban life in a country that more often than not despised the native Irish?  How did baseball help the social and cultural development? I don't have the answers.  But one thing is clear, Andrew Jackson Leonard learned how to play the national game of his new home.

Raised in Newark, New Jersey, Leonard eventually moved to Cincinnati, Ohio.  In the Queen City, Leonard was hired by Harry Wright to join the Cincinnati Red Stockings and was an important member of the unbeaten 1869 team.

Subsequently, Leonard joined the Olympics of the National Association and played in the first game of the newly formed National League on April 22, 1876.

Leonard may have been the first native-born Irishman to play in the majors, but hundreds of second-generation Irish transformed the game in the 1880s and 1890s.  Today, Baseball Ireland presents the most valuable player in the Irish Baseball League the 'Andy Leonard League MVP Award.'

'Tis a grand day to be Irish!  Erin go bragh.

Absence of African - Americans in baseball: Crisis or Fact of Life?

C. C. Sabathia - the only African-American player on last year's Cleveland Indians' roster - looks around the Indian's locker room (and baseball fields everywhere) and observes something painfully obvious:

"There aren't very many African-American players, and it's not just in here, it's everywhere. It's not just a problem -- it's a crisis."

The Cleveland pitcher contends that the problem is not limited to major league rosters:

"I go back home to Vallejo [California] and the kids say, 'What's baseball?' It's not just an issue for my hometown, it's an issue for the whole country. I think Major League Baseball should do something about it. I don't know exactly what they could be doing, but I know it's not enough."

SI.com - MLB - Sabathia makes pitch for more black players - Wednesday March 14, 2007 7:56PM

Sabathia, of course, is not the first person to make this observation.  The critical question is: "Should Major League Baseball do something? And if so, what?"  Other baseball fans and executives have asserted their point of view.

One baseball executive, with long familial ties to the history of the game, team owner and master promoter Mike Veeck addressed the question in one of his regular columns, "The Hustler's Angle," in the premiere edition of 108 magazine last summer.  In the column, Mike notes the distinct lack of recognition MLB given by has to one of his father's favorite players, Larry Doby - the second African-American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era (first in the AL). 

In the column, Mike observes:

The decline of African-American players over the last 20 years (currently one of 11 as opposed to one out of four) coincides with Major League and Minor League teams losing the determination to market their product to this specific segment.  How can we begin to impact the African-American community, and attract youngsters to the wonderful game of baseball, without veering into condescension?

He calls on baseball execs to stop using oft-repeated obstacles (e.g., lack of diamonds in urban areas, paucity of African-American owners and senior marketing personnel) as excuses.  He calls on them to produce "compelling advertising campaigns that speak to, and not down to, the African-American community."

As a first step, Mike calls for baseball's powers to "use Mr. Doby as the focal point for a marketing effort designed to attract African-Americans" back to the game."  In particular, MLB should hire Larry Doby, Jr.

to represent Major League Baseball on playgrounds and at schools and ballparks across the country. ... Have him make stops in a hundred major and minor league towns - meeting the kids and spreading his father's gospel of unbending pride and determination.  Let him gently hustle them into a love of the game.

The observation made by both Sabathia and Mike (as well as by others) is obvious and undeniable.  The open question is whether they are correct that something should be done, and if so what.  Mike Veeck has given his opinion, the invitation is open for anyone else to give theirs.  What about you?

Harry Bay

Even the fastest players in baseball have their limits.  Harry Bay, former outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, may have been so fast that he was nicknamed "Deerfoot" but he couldn't run forever.  His former minor league teammate, Boston Braves' Hub Perdue recounts the time that he and Bay were teammates with the Southern League Nashville Volunteers.  Nashville was in Mobile, Alabama, playing a game against the Gulls.  Perdue was on the mound and Bay was in left field.  Perdue was not particularly sharp and Mobile was pounding him hard.  One after another, the Gull hitters drove the ball far over Bay's head.  Five batters - five drives over Bay.  The last hit was particularly impressive and Bay had just returned to his position from a long chase.  With Bay barely in his stance, the next hitter slammed another over his head - again.  Bay turned, ran a few yards, and then fell flat.  He didn't move.  Players from both team raced to where he was lying - expecting that he had been seriously injured.  When they got to Bay, someone rolled him over onto his back.  "Are you hurt?"  Bay opened his eyes and said, "Not a bit - but I ... have ... just ... got ... to ... get ... my ... wind."

Spring 2007 Issue of 108 Goes to Press

The long wait is almost over!  The next issue of 108 goes to the press on March 20-21  Everything should be on schedule for delivery of subscription copies in the last week of March.  Copies should be in bookstores around the end of March.

Stealing First

The Official MLB Rulebook prohibits any player from stealing first base.  To be specific, the Comment to Rule 7.01 provides: "If a runner legally acquires title to a base, and the pitcher assumes his pitching position, the runner may not return to a previously occupied base.  This was not always the case.  Herman "Germany" Schaefer of the Detroit Tigers once stole three bases on three consecutive pitches and never advance beyond second base.  Newspaper reports written decades after the event contain conflicting accounts of the infamous triple steal.  A first-hand account, however, is included in Lawrence Ritter's classic oral history, "The Glory of their Times". 

• 

Germany Schaeffer trying out a state of the art camera.  From the Library of Congress Digital Collection (ID # - LC-DIG-ggbain-09131)

Davy Jones, for years an outstanding lead off hitter for the Tigers and other teams, related the eyewitness account of Schaefer's ploy. 

The Tigers were playing Cleveland in a close game.  Jones was on third and Schaefer was on first.  Schaefer bolted for second, trying to draw a throw from the Indian catcher to give Jones a chance to score on the double steal.  The catcher chose not to make the attempt.  With Tigers on second and third and Sam Crawford at the plate, it seemed the game would go on in a typical manner.  But nothing was typical about Germany Schaefer.  On the next pitch, Schaeffer let out a blood curdling scream and sprinted back to first.  The catcher was too stunned to do anything but stand there with the ball in his hand.  The umpires after a long discussion allowed the "steal" and on the next pitch, Schaefer again took off for second.  The third time was the charm; the catcher attempted to throw out Schaefer, Jones took off for home, and both base runners were safe.

Two for Three Isn't Bad (Just Frustrating)

Publishing a new magazine can be frustrating, especially for a Type A personality.  Even when one is working on something that deals with something they are passionate about, like baseball.  The unexpected is to be expected and every day seems to be another example of Murphy's Law.  And I do not refer to the apparent law that provides that a great outfielder who dominated during his era without putting up overwhelming career numbers will not be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

A major league hitter who succeeds only one-third of the time gets an automatic pass to immortality at Cooperstown. I wish I could say the same thing for magazine publishers.  In the case of Sandlot Media and the publishing of 108, our premiere issue was very well received by baseball fans.  Fans everywhere have been waiting for a magazine that celebrates the history and cultural significance of the game with great articles, photos, and art.  That's one big success.  Sandlot Media also entered into a national distribution deal with one of the major magazine distributors in the US - Source Interlink - that will make 108 available to readers in bookstores across the country.  That's two significant successes. 

The frustration is found in the interminable delay in distribution of the second issue.  We have had to push back the distribution date of our second issue from October 2006 to January/February 2007 now to the end of March 2007. The delay was necessary and resulted from events outside our direct control.  Nevertheless, it has been frustrating to our staff, authors, artists, columnists, and subscribers alike.  Rest assured that it has been no less annoying to the publisher.

The wait is nearly over and the second issue of 108 is at the printer and should be in stores before Opening Day.  Subscribers will receive it even sooner.  My mom used to say when her only son would express his impatience: "Good things come to those who wait."  In this case, I must agree with my mom (she will probably be surprised to hear that I agree with her on anything).  I'm pretty sure that you'll agree with me that the Spring issue is even better than the first issue.  In future posts, I'll give you sneak previews of some of the articles that you will soon be enjoying.

Thanks again for waiting.  Your patience has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

Kudos to The Southpaw

Congratulations to Jeff Merron, author of The Southpaw, the other (and primary weight bearing) pillar of Sandlot Media's 108 Interactive.  His recent interview with J.C. Bradbury, author of The Baseball Economist, was highlighted in this morning's baseball section of usatoday.com. 

On Bradbury's blog www.sabernomics.com , the author put in a good (and well-deserved) word for Jeff's work when he wrote, "If you’re a fan of baseball history and you’re not reading The Southpaw, you are missing out. I highly recommend it."

Link to Sabernomics» Economic Thinking about Baseball

Taking the Extra Base

After a long hiatus, Extra Bases is back with a new focus resulting from discussions with other baseball fans, subscribers to 108 Magazine, and others.  Publishing a magazine like 108 demands entering into and facilitating conversations.  Although I hesitate to use the overused - some may say overhyped - buzz word, it is really the best word to describe what I want to accomplish both through the magazine and through 108 Interactive. 

As the publisher and Editor in Chief of 108, I want to know - better yet, I need to know - your thoughts and opinions.  What do you like about the magazine and what don't you like about it/  If you have a suggestion for a subject of one of our profiles, pass it along to us.  I can't promise we will include the profile in a coming issue, but I can guarantee that we will give it serious consideration.  If you have an opinion on one of our columns, express it.  Together, we can make 108 a remarkable publication, worth buying and worth keeping.

So come back (or better yet, go ahead and subscribe to the blog through the RSS link) and enjoy the news updates and extra features that couldn't be included in the 132 pages of the printed magazine. 

There may be only 108 stitches in a baseball, but hopefully we can stitch together millions of our collective memories of the game.