The Southpaw

Casey Stengel's All-Time All-Stars

In 1961, Casey Stengel wrote an "as told to" article for the Saturday Evening Post, and it includes two highlights: his All-Time All-Stars (from 1912, when he played his first major league game, to 1960), and his All-Star Yankee Squad (from 1949-60).

Here you go:

Stengel's All-Time National League All-Star Squad (1912-1960)

First Base
Bill Terry
Johnny Mize

Second Base
Rogers Hornsby
Jackie Robinson

Shortstop
Hans Wagner
Ernie Banks
Glenn Wrighht

Third Base
Frank Frisch
Pie Traynor

Left Field
Stan Musial
Zach Wheat

Center Field
Willie Mays
Edd Roush
Duke Snider

Right Field
Paul Waner

Catcher
Gabby Hartnett
Roy Campanella
Ernie Lombardi

Pitcher
Grover Alexander
Christy Mathewson
Carl Hubbell
Dizzy Dean
Warren Spahn
Ed Reulbach
Dazzy Vance

AL and Yankee Squads after the jump

Early Ejection = Terrific Tirade: Earl Weaver Gives to Ump, But Takes Plenty in Return

A classic, hilarious Earl Weaver argument. The year, I believe, is 1982. The Orioles are hosting the Tigers. One out in the top of the first. An ump (is it Ron Luciano?) calls a balk on O's starter Mike Flanagan. Earl Weaver is out of the dugout in a heartbeat, and carries on an argument for three minutes -- about 2:45 after he's been ejected.

This was caught with a handheld camera, and the audio is terrific, although the level of conversation isn't very sophisticated:

Earl: "You ain't no good!"
Ump: "You're no good either!"

Earl: "In five or 10 years who's going to be in the Hall of Fame?"
Ump: "For f****** up the World Series?"

etc. Immensely enjoyable.

So We Met Again: Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones

by Jeff Merron

This feature appears in the current (Spring 2007) issue of 108 Magazine. You can find the issue on many Barnes & Noble and Borders newsstands. You can also subscribe to 108 and receive a discount off the newsstand price.

On October 14, 1969, Shea Stadium played host to the first World Series home game in the brief but memorable history of the New York Mets. The Amazing Mets, whose dramatic turnaround from losers to winners had led some to call them a team of destiny, seemed vastly overmatched against the mighty Baltimore Orioles, winners of 109 regular-season games. The Orioles had no major weaknesses; they could hit, and boasted the best pitching and defense in the majors. But the Mets managed one victory in Baltimore before the Series came to Shea for the middle three games. If they could win Game 3, they could gain credibility, confidence, and a bit of a cushion.

In the bottom of the first, Tommie Agee stepped to the plate to lead off against Orioles ace Jim Palmer. After going 0-for-8 in the first two games, the Mets center fielder hammered Palmer’s fourth pitch over the center-field wall to give New York a 1-0 lead. The Mets added two more runs in the second inning. Then, with two on and two out in the fourth, Orioles catcher Elrod Hendricks drove Gary Gentry’s outside fastball to left-center. Agee, shading the left-handed Hendricks toward right, took off. And ran. And ran.

Rare Action Footage of Stan Musial

A few years back, I listed Stan "The Man" Musial as the most underrated athlete of all time. I change my mind often, but I'm still inclined toward that particular opinion. One marker: it's extremely unusual to find free action footage of Musial on any of the Web's video-sharing sites, while it's relatively easy to find material on other greats from the same era.

Here's part of what I wrote for ESPN.com a few years back: "Current MLB players didn't rank Stan the Man as among the top six living ballplayers in a recent SI survey. But they're not alone in their ignorance. In 1999, Musial, No. 4 all time in hits, seventh in slugging, and near the top of the all-time leaderboard in just about every major batting category, wasn't voted by fans onto MLB's all-century team (he was added as a special pick). In 22 Major League seasons, Musial was an All-Star 20 times, an MVP three times, a batting champ seven times. ..."

So I was thrilled to find this short snippet of Musial hitting a homer, making a great catch, and running the bases. The quality is awful, but it's watchable.

A Rau Deal? Lasorda Doesn't Think So

The sitch: Game 4 of the 1977 World Series. Yankees are up, two games to one. Doug Rau, who's pitched well (14-8, 3.43) for the Dodgers all season but who has a sore left shoulder and has tossed only one inning in the last three weeks, is on the mound for L.A. Ron Guidry, who's in his first full season for the Yankees, is practically money in the bank (16-7, 2.82).

Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda has decided to start Rau, despite the obvious risks, in order to give staff ace Don Sutton a extra day of rest.

Bad decision. Rau makes it through the first inning without a problem, but in the top of the second Reggie Jackson doubles and Lou Piniella singles Jackson home. Then Chris Chambliss doubles, sending Piniella to third. Down a run, two men in scoring position, nobody out. Lasorda decides Rau's done enough for the day.

He goes out to the mound, and finds out that Rau doesn't agree. A heated discussion ensues. And we get to hear it, because Lasorda has allowed himself to be miked for the game. So he tones down his language. But not much. So if you have sensitive ears, click elsewhere.

Rick Rhoden, who has also had a fine season as a Dodgers starter, gets the call. He goes seven innings, retiring 17 of 19 batters and giving up only two hits and one earned run (Piniella and Chambliss both scored in the second, but those runs belonged to Rau).

If you want to delve more deeply into this incident, read Jeff Angus' fascinating post about it over at Management by Baseball.

The Phillies: 10,000 Losses, But Hey -- Remember Dick Allen?

With the Phillies rapidly approaching their 10,000th loss -- a dubious and distinctive record -- it's important to think about the good things that have happened in Shibe Park and the Vet. There were the Whiz Kids of 1950, led by the superb young ace Robin Roberts; Gene Mauch's near- great, but cursed, 1964 team; the 1983 and 1993 NL Championship teams, and of course, the 1980 World Series winners.

It's probably the 1964 team, unfortunately, that those of a certain generation (and certain mixed feelings about Philly) feel characterizes the franchise the most. The Phillies were in first place in the NL on September 21 when they began a 10-game slide, eventually finishing tied for second, a game behind the pennant-winning Cardinals. You can see how the team fell off a cliff at the end.

A key to that 1964 team was rookie Dick Allen, who played 162 games at third base, finished fifth in the NL with a .939 OPS, led the league in runs, total bases, triples, extra-base hits, and runs created. He also hit 29 homers, drove in 110 (third in the NL), was voted Rookie of the Year, and finished seventh in the MVP voting.

That season was no fluke for Allen. He would be an All-Star seven times and was the AL MVP in 1972, when he played for the White Sox.

But Philly wasn't so kind to Allen. He brawled with Frank Thomas in 1965; Thomas was released, and Allen's stock declined. He remained unpopular to the point where, after an injury forced him to move from third to first late in 1967, he said, "I'll play first, third, left. I'll play anywhere--except Philadelphia."

What follows is an excellent mini-documentary, the "Dick Allen Story," which includes lots of great vintage footage. Enjoy.

Hank Aaron to Barry Bonds in 2002: "It's time to walk into retirement."

Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron together and having fun in a 2002 commercial. When did their friendship sour?

Sparky Anderson's #$%^%#@! Postgame %^&$#@! Media $%##@%^ Analysis

Would any writer at this post-game press conference in Detroit suspect that Sparky Anderson's Hall of Fame bio would say he was "known for his jovial disposition"? It's certainly not in evidence here as Anderson lets the press have it with barnyard epithets and more. NSFW, and definitely not safe for children. Enjoy.

Smokin' Hot Disco Demolition Night Footage

It may have been the worst promotional idea in baseball history. It had begun as "Teen Night," taking place during a July 12, 1979 Tigers-White Sox twin-bill at Comiskey. But Mike Veeck had an idea ... to make the promotion even better -- attract even more teens by making a spectacle of it. During "Disco Demolition Night," the heartland's adolescents would be invited to bring their disco albums, to be burned in a massive pile on the field between games.

The White Sox were 22 games out of first place. What could make things worse?

Well, an excess of albums, for one, which became, according to Chicago DJ Steve Dahl, host of the events, "became frisbees." The records were blown up, the field was overrun, the batting cage was destroyed, the playing surface was ripped apart, and it took 40 minutes for Chicago police to restore order. The White Sox were forced to forfeit the second game of the doubleheader.

If you're especially nostalgic about the whole deal, you can download a commemorative poster.

In this video, which includes footage of the action, Keith Olbermann interviews Dahl, who says that a movie is in the works.

A Brief Talk with Dick Sipek, the Third Deaf Player in Major League History

In 1945, at age 22, Dick Sipek played his first, and only, major league season. In 82 games with the Cincinnati Reds, the outfielder batted .244, had eight extra base hits, and drove in 13 runs. Sipek, who died less than two years ago, was only the third deaf major leaguer, and, as he says in the short video profile below, the first not to be nicknamed "Dummy."

It's most likely that Sipek would never have played in the majors if not for World War II -- it's probably no coincidence that among those who made the bigs in 1945 were Pete Gray, who had one arm, and Bert Shepard, who had an artificial leg. In 1944, the Reds had called on 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall for mound duty; eight years later, he would really begin his very good major league pitchinig career. In 1945 the Negro Leagues faced a player shortage, too, and Jess Alexander, who like Gray had only one arm, was a beneficiary.

The most recent deaf player to make the majors was Curtis Pride. In parts of 11 major league seasons the outfielder has hit .250, and in his best season -- 1996, with Detroit -- played 95 games, hitting .300 with 10 homers and 31 RBI. At age 38, he didn't fare well in spring training with the Angels this year, and I'm not sure whether he's still playing.

Here's the Sipek video. He tells some good stories -- too bad there's not more to hear.

In Memory of Mark Harris: Watch "Bang the Drum Slowly" here

Mark Harris, who wrote four baseball novels focusing on the trials and tribulations of pitcher Henry Wiggen, died Wednesday at 84. The best known of the four, Bang the Drum Slowly, was made into a well-known 1973 movie starring Robert De Niro. First published in 1956, it received its first screen treatment the same year in a CBS teleplay starring Paul Newman. During his literary career, Harris wrote 13 other books.

It Looked Like For Ever, the last of his baseball books, came out in 1979. In the New York Times Book Review, Donald Hall, our current Poet Laureate and the author of the great, but largely unknown, Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball, wrote that it "is not so much about baseball as it is about aging, just as ‘Bang the Drum Slowly’ was not so much about baseball as it is about dying.”

In addition to writing, Harris taught English; his final stint in that capacity was at Arizona State University from 1980 to 1982.

The 1956 version of "Bang the Drum Slowly," starring Newman, is presented below. Enjoy.