"Government is an unnecessary evil. Human beings, when accustomed to taking responsibility for their own behavior, can cooperate on a basis of mutual trust and helpfulness."Fred Woodworth
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A Game In Progress
A Game In Progress The game is getting down to the nitty gritty and the opposing team is ready to pull ahead if we don't get our stuff together. Oh well I know I had him, blind ump. The next batter is their number four batter and he is ready to clean up. ...
How to Break in a Baseball Glove the Old-Fashioned Way
You learn how to break in a baseball glove as soon as you're able to hold a baseball mitt with one hand. It was a tradition in my family each winter. Come late October or early November, after the leaves had already fallen and been raked up and when the ...
The Rise Of A Racing Empire
In 1947, the sport of stock car racing was becoming extremely popular and beginning to draw large crowds of spectators. More drivers began taking an interest due to the increasing fan popularity. Cohesiveness, however, did not exist as rules differed from ...
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Why I'd Rather Be A Slugger
During the last NLCS, I asked Brandon Backe of the Astros what the hardest thing was for him in making the conversion from outfielder to pitcher in the minors. He said it was "not playing every day." That is why I would rather be a slugger, to answer your question. I'd want my mind and body to be in every inning of every game. I wouldn't want to be one elbow injury away from a possible end of my career or a lost year. I listened to Nolan Ryan talk at the last All-Star FanFest in Houston about how he would have to "rebuild" his body from one start to the next, an incredibly arduous process that the great pitchers know and few fans realize. Ryan would be on the bike immediately after each start, and he said his physical strength would go down to about 50 percent a day or two after each start, and then his mission was to get it back up to 100 percent by the next start. As the slugger you mentioned, I'd love to be in that zone of hitting in the cages every day and be able to "slow down" every pitch like Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols do so incredibly well.
There is no greater feeling on earth than hitting a ball over a fence and running around the bases at your own speed. And I would be just like Scott Rolen, who has the fastest home run trot in the game -- no-nonsense, get back to the dugout and prepare for that next at-bat. I would be even-keel like a Cal Ripken and a Tony Gwynn and take satisfaction from reaching my potential every day and
living in that zone and being completely in every inning.
The above article was written and given to this publication with permissions
by Mark Newman - You can find Mark at mlb.com
For me hitting a ball on the sweet part of the bat is the best. As far as doing anything in sports, I cannot think of anything that pleased me more. This includes shooting a basketball, scoring a touchdown, or sinking a long put in golf. When I played, it was my fantasy to hit one squarely. This is what I dreamt about. Hit one to right center. Hit one to left center. Hit one down the line.
Always hit it hard.
This part of the article was contributed by me, Aron Wallad
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