Baseball
Wally Moon & John Montefusco both won the NL Rookie of the Year awards in their respective first seasons. 1954 for Wally & 1975 for ‘The Count’
What we’re looking for here at The Amazing Blaze Zine is what else do these two players have in common?
(Hint: It also occurred during their rookie season.)
Frank Thomas won back to back AL MVP awards in 1993 & 1994. He was the first player to do so since Roger Maris did it back in 1960 & ‘61. Who knows what his numbers may have been had the 1994 season not been cut short by the Strike. In the 113 games played that year ‘Big Hurt’ was batting .353 with 38 Homers, 101 RBI’s & 106 runs!! Happy B-day Hurt!!
Hey there Blaze Fans! Here we are back with yet another edition of ‘On Deck’ …
Can anybody tell us who was in the on deck circle when Hammerin Hank Aaron hit #715 ??
Any Guesses??
Ernie Banks ranks 5th in games played without appearing in a World Series. Ernie suited up for the Cubs for 2,528 games but never once during a World Series run.
Can you name the four players ahead of Ernie in this category ??
Who Was On Deck for Bobby Thomson’s historic Homer?
‘ The Shot Heard Round The World’
October 3rd, 1951 Polo Grounds New York City
New York Giants vs Brooklyn Dodgers
Back in 1987 forty-eight year old Phil Niekro pitched 5 innings of a 14-3 Indians win over the Toronto Blue Jays, earning his 312th career victory as a result. What made this particular game special was that coming on in relief for Phil that day was fellow 300 game winner Steve Carlton! The first time in MLB history that two 300 game winners combined for a victory. Steve pitched four innings of scoreless ball earning him just the 2nd save of his career, the first being way back in 1967.
Who earned the victory back in Steve’s first save? Hint: He’s a Hall of Famer as well.
On June 11th 1988 Rick Rhoden became the first pitcher to start as the Designated Hitter in the lineup since the DH rule was implemented in 1973. Yanks skipper Billy Martin put Rhoden into the 7th spot in the lineup where he went 0-1 with a RBI on a Sacrifice Fly. The Boynton Beach, FL native was actually a pretty decent hitter for a pitcher. Over his 16 year career he hit .238 with 9 HR’s & 75 RBI’s. He even had an 11 game hitting streak while he was with the Pirates in 1984. Happy Birthday Rick Rhoden!
Felipe Alou managed the Single A West Palm Beach Expos from 1986-1991. On May 22nd, 1992 he was promoted from bench coach to Manager of the Montreal Club becoming the 1st Dominican Manager in MLB History. The 1990 West Palm Expos, led by Alou, are ranked #89 on the top 100 Minor League Teams of All time. They went 92-40 and lost in the Florida State League Finals. Happy Birthday Felipe!
4/20/1988 - Can you name this Yankee Pinch Hitter who is responsible for hitting the 10,000th Homer in Yankees History?
Can you name the Hall of Fame Pitcher who gave up an infield single to Bo Jackson for his 1st career MLB hit?
Did you know that Danny Jackson is the only pitcher to have ever pitched an ‘Immaculate Inning’ in a World Series Game? That’s right in the 7th Inning of Game 5 during the 1985 World Series, Danny struck out the Cardinals Side with just 9 pitches.
On June 23rd, 1984 St. Louis Cardinals Centerfielder Willie McGee became the 1st Cardinal in 9 years to hit for the cycle. Willie’s big day including 6 rbi came in defeat though as the Cards fell to the Cubs 12-11 in 11 innings. Can anybody tell us the Cardinal Great who had last hit for the cycle back in ‘75?
Bonus point awarded if you can also come up with the Nickname of this particular afternoon affair at Wrigley Field.
Alrighty Dudes. We’re starting off the Weekend with an awesome Dock Ellis Print Set. Designs came from some of our favorite Blaze Posts of the Past on the Pirates Pitcher. Each print measures 7” x 9” and is a hand pulled Gel Transfer Print on Watercolor paper (140lb/300g/m) Stop on in the Blaze Shop and pick yourself up this 3 piece set.
