Author Topic: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling  (Read 2544 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
There ought to be an award named for the legendary Sign Man of Shea Stadium---and this is it!
By Yours Truly
https://throneberryfields.com/2018/12/30/the-first-annual-karl-ehrhardt-prize-for-extinguished-baseball-trolling/


My phutile attempt to imagine how the 1930s
Phillies’ Lifebuoy endorsement was, shall we
say, augmented editorially by a disgruntled fan . . .


Once upon a time, the Phillies played in a ballpark shaped more or less like a sardine can, with the field looking as though shoehorned into a gymnasium. The place was called Baker Bowl, and the high aluminum right field wall once bore a team endorsement for a deodorant soap. With the Phillies not exactly being National League oppressors at the time, a particularly disgruntled fan managed to add to the ad’s slogan, making it read, “The Phillies Use Lifebuoy . . . and they STILL stink!”

In the same decade (the 1930s), the Dodgers earned their legendary nickname the Bums, thanks to a cabbie asking a passenger, “How did our bums do today?” The passenger was legendary New York World Telegram cartoonist Willard Mullin; the exchange inspired Mullin’s fabled remake of Emmett Kelly, Sr.’s “Weary Willie” hobo into the eternal representation of the Dodgers. The Bums were bums enough that one angry fan took his paint to Ebbets Field’s occupancy law sign, making it read, “Occupancy by more than 35,000 unlawful. And unlikely.”

You thought fan trolling began when Yankee fans trolled Curt Schilling during the 2001 World Series, after he alluded somewhat sarcastically to the Stadium’s “mystique and aura” to be greeted with, “Mystique and Aura. Appearing Nightly?” When George Steinbrenner’s worst of the 1980s inspired a Yankee Banner Day parade winner wearing a monk’s hooded cassock and hanging a sign saying FORGIVE HIM, FATHER, FOR HE KNOWS NOT WHAT HE DOES from the Grim Reaper’s scythe? When Red Sox fans began chanting “Darr-yllll! Darr-yllll!” at a certain Mets outfielder who wasn’t exactly breaking the neighbourhood on the Boston leg of the 1986 World Series? When assorted Cub fans at Wrigley Field whipped up placards saying WAIT ‘TILL NEXT YEAR—on Opening Day when the season’s first pitch was thrown? When seven Original Met fans greeted the Dodgers’ first return visit to New York by unfurling, in perfect sequence, from an upper deck rail, seven window shades spelling out:


Yes, it's another futile artist's conception.

When done properly, with genuine wit, and without truly frothing malice, fan trolling is as much fun as a game-ending home run—or, if your team faces the bases loaded, a full count on the enemy hitter, the winning run at first base, and nobody out, your heroes turn a game-ending triple play. (Yes, it’s happened, though not with the bases loaded. The first victims, what a surprise, were the Mets,
who ran themselves into one in August 2009, and unassisted yet, when Jeff Francoeur—batting with first and second—lined to Phillies second baseman Eric Bruntlett, who stepped on second and tagged the runner advancing from first in a near flash. Obviously the Mets needed Lifebuoy.)

Even Dodger fans enjoyed a sad chuckle when, with the Cardinals about to push the Dodgers out of a postseason and now-traded Yasiel Puig at the plate, a Busch Stadium fan held up a placard hailing, “Dodgers win? When Puigs fly!” The late Karl Ehrhardt would have been proud. So would the ancient Dodgers Sym-Phony Band, whose atonal racket charmed Ebbets Field fans and the Dodgers alike. Especially when they’d play “Three Blind Mice” after close calls went against the Dodgers. (The humourless umps actually tried getting injunctions against that and also against Ebbets Field organist Gladys Gooding for similar musical crimes against their dignity.) Or, trailing an enemy pitcher knocked out of the box, the Sym-Phony bass drummer would beat his drum to the pitcher’s steps back to the dugout, where taking his seat in the dugout (if he didn’t go to the clubhouse first) received a loud SPLAT! of bass drum and cymbal in unison.


Troll over, Beethoven!

Karl Ehrhardt was the fabled Sign Man at Shea Stadium for a very long time (1964-1981), assembling handsome, colourfully-lettered, sometimes made-on-the-spot signs to address plays or situations. His parents moved their family from Germany to Brooklyn when he was six; he grew up a Dodger fan and became a commercial graphic artist by profession. He was known to bring as many as sixty of his reputed 1,200 signs to a given game, picking them according to whom the Mets would play and what he thought was likeliest to happen in a game, and he rarely misstepped.


Karl Ehrhardt.

A favourite was one of his greetings to an enemy pitcher who’d just been knocked out of the box: LEAVING SO SOON? (An alternate: Y’ALL COME BACK NOW, HEAR?) To an enemy pitcher walking a Met hitter intentionally: CHICKEN. To the Orioles with the Mets three outs from their miracle 1969 World Series conquest: BYE, BYE, BIRDIES! To any Cub foolish enough to argue with the umps over a close call going to the Mets: BACK TO YOUR CAVE, BEAR! (When the Orioles argued a close infield play during the Series, it was BACK TO YOUR NEST, BIRD!) After a win over the Cardinals, it was likely to be 5 AND 20 REDBIRDS BAKED IN A PIE!

When Athletics owner Charlie Finley tried to remove hapless second baseman Mike Andrews from the 1973 World Series roster, after two Game Two misplays in Oakland helped the Mets win in extra innings, Ehrhardt was more than prepared. Sure enough, there was an Oakland field miscue in the bottom of the first in Game Three. Up went the Ehrhardt sign: YOU’RE FIRED! (No, we don’t know whether Donald Trump was among the stadium crowd that afternoon.)

But he also knew how to let his own heroes have it when they were playing less than heroically. HE’S HOT TONIGHT! worked either for a Met on a streak or a Met in a slump. IT’S ALIVE! usually greeted a Met breaking out of a slump or a customarily weak hitter reaching base. JOSE, CAN YOU SEE? usually greeted any player named Jose, Met or opponent, who’d struck out. (It started with Jose Cardenal.) Clearly the man who had those plus KONG! and THE KING OF SWING! ready for one of Dave Kingman’s orbital home runs, ORANGE CRUSH! for big hits by Rusty (Le Grande Orange) Staub, and THEY SAID IT COULDN’T BE DONE! for the Miracle Mets’ first parade down New York’s Canyon of Heroes, deserves enduring recognition.

Ehrhardt’s days in the Shea third base field boxes ended after he became fed up with the team’s seemingly willful dissipation in the mid-to-late 1970s, with then-boss M. Donald Grant a particular target for having screwed the Tom Seaver pooch. WELCOME TO GRANT’S TOMB was probably the mildest of Ehrhardt’s trolls to the front office. Once a concurrent fixture at Mets team functions, Ehrhardt’s zaps made him persona non grata there, and, as he eventually said, “They turned their back on me so I turned my back on them.” But a later Met administration convinced him to return for the team’s 40th anniversary, a one-off appearance for which he shocked Met fans by hoisting THE SIGNMAN LIVES! before returning to his private life until his death in 2008.

Fans so often turn trolling into an art worthy of Fred Allen, Groucho Marx, Gracie Allen, Flip Wilson, Jack Benny, George Carlin, P.J. O’Rourke, and Jokey Smurf. But so do those involved with baseball professionally—as anyone can tell you who saw Roger McDowell bomb Mets first base coach Bill Robinson with a time-delayed hotfoot, or Joey Votto trolling road fans by chasing down foul grounders as if they were potential double play balls before they could become fan souvenirs. If the Yankees had beaten the Red Sox in this year’s American League division series, Aaron Judge would be the most powerful contender for the troll awards, thanks to his zapping the Red Sox as he left Fenway Park for the series move to the Bronx by playing “New York, New York” on his boom box.

Except that the Red Sox dumped the Yankees quickly and without a loss in the Stadium. No less than former Yankee star Mark Teixiera reminded Judge what happens when you awaken a sleeping giant. Even MLB itself, whose social media staffers know a thing or two about symbolism, couldn’t resist hitting the Yankees where it hurt on Twitter:



Having been unable to exhume the actual identity of the staffer whose genius it was to create that impossible to top fashion statement, we’ll just have to settle for giving Throneberry Fields Forever’s first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling thus:



Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled Yankee fans yearning to breathe, period; the wretched refuseniks of the steaming Stadium. Send these, those homeless, Series-ringless-this-time-round to thee. And lift your braying ears before the House That Ruthless Built!
--------------------------------
@Polly Ticks
@Machiavelli
@AllThatJazzZ
@AmericanaPrime
@Applewood
@Bigun
@catfish1957
@corbe
@Cyber Liberty
@DCPatriot
@dfwgator
@Freya
@GrouchoTex
@MomMD
@musiclady
@mystery-ak
@Right_in_Virginia
@Sanguine
@skeeter
@Skeptic
@Slip18
@TomSea
@truth_seeker
« Last Edit: December 31, 2018, 09:08:04 pm by EasyAce »


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline Absalom

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,375
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2018, 07:38:28 pm »
Er.......could we extinguish Baseball for a copula years ??????????
« Last Edit: December 30, 2018, 07:39:00 pm by Absalom »

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2018, 07:46:36 pm »
Er.......could we extinguish Baseball for a copula years ??????????
@Absalom
Does someone urinate in your oatmeal every morning?


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline catfish1957

  • Laken Riley.... Say her Name. And to every past and future democrat voter- Her blood is on your hands too!!!
  • Political Researcher
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,360
  • Gender: Male
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2018, 09:41:07 pm »
Great.read.  Part of the love and charm of MLB is the ancient rivalries that have developed through the approaching 16th decade of the game.  Yankees - Red Sox, Dodgers -  Giants, Cubs - Cardinals  among others are part of what of the mystique of the game.

Even of late.  Prior to my team's move to the AL (Astros- 2013) our relationship with the Rangers was relatively inert and cordial, even to the point of rooting for each other.  When the Stro's sucked badly, back say 2013/2014 we went through some pretty nasty inner-state ridicule.  This escalated greatly in 2017, when we got to consistently remind them that there has only been one WS winner from the state of Texas.   :cool:

Yeah, it's gotten where we don't get along too well.
I display the Confederate Battle Flag in honor of my great great great grandfathers who spilled blood at Wilson's Creek and Shiloh.  5 others served in the WBTS with honor too.

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #4 on: December 30, 2018, 09:48:17 pm »
Great.read.  Part of the love and charm of MLB is the ancient rivalries that have developed through the approaching 16th decade of the game.  Yankees - Red Sox, Dodgers -  Giants, Cubs - Cardinals  among others are part of what of the mystique of the game.
@catfish1957
Even the postseason showdowns between teams who aren't historical rivals brings out the best trolling. There was some serious trolling between the Brewers and the Dodgers in this year's NLCS, from Jeremy Jeffress calling the Dodgers lucky to yours truly (if I do say so myself) having a fine bit of fun when Jeffress got victimised by what pretty much assured the pennant for the Dodgers . . .



Even of late.  Prior to my team's move to the AL (Astros- 2013) our relationship with the Rangers was relatively inert and cordial, even to the point of rooting for each other.  When the Stro's sucked badly, back say 2013/2014 we went through some pretty nasty inner-state ridicule.  This escalated greatly in 2017, when we got to consistently remind them that there has only been one WS winner from the state of Texas.   :cool:

Yeah, it's gotten where we don't get along too well.
Perhaps one of these days the Astros and the Rangers will hook up in an ALCS. And it'll be time for Texas to rock 'n' troll.  wink777
« Last Edit: December 30, 2018, 11:13:39 pm by EasyAce »


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline Absalom

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,375
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2018, 05:11:57 am »
@Absalom
Does someone urinate in your oatmeal every morning?
-------------------------
Apparently we can't, so sadly, we'll have to view this neurosis for another year!!!
Can see it now! The first foul ball of the season followed by 5,000+ words of blather.
Imagine if the batter had hit two consecutive foul balls?????
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, this site would need a companion site just to print the drivel!
« Last Edit: December 31, 2018, 05:37:03 am by Absalom »

Offline catfish1957

  • Laken Riley.... Say her Name. And to every past and future democrat voter- Her blood is on your hands too!!!
  • Political Researcher
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,360
  • Gender: Male
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2018, 06:14:35 am »
-------------------------
Apparently we can't, so sadly, we'll have to view this neurosis for another year!!!
Can see it now! The first foul ball of the season followed by 5,000+ words of blather.
Imagine if the batter had hit two consecutive foul balls?????
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, this site would need a companion site just to print the drivel!

What's your pastime bud?  If you have the balls to share, maybe some of us could give a critique of it too.
I display the Confederate Battle Flag in honor of my great great great grandfathers who spilled blood at Wilson's Creek and Shiloh.  5 others served in the WBTS with honor too.

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2018, 05:21:25 pm »
What's your pastime bud?  If you have the balls to share, maybe some of us could give a critique of it too.
@catfish1957
Every now and then it's valuable to be reminded how right Red Smith was when he proclaimed baseball was dull only to dull minds.


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Online DCPatriot

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,799
  • Gender: Male
  • "...and the winning number is...not yours!
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2018, 06:58:44 pm »
Great.read.  Part of the love and charm of MLB is the ancient rivalries that have developed through the approaching 16th decade of the game.  Yankees - Red Sox, Dodgers -  Giants, Cubs - Cardinals  among others are part of what of the mystique of the game.

Even of late.  Prior to my team's move to the AL (Astros- 2013) our relationship with the Rangers was relatively inert and cordial, even to the point of rooting for each other.  When the Stro's sucked badly, back say 2013/2014 we went through some pretty nasty inner-state ridicule.  This escalated greatly in 2017, when we got to consistently remind them that there has only been one WS winner from the state of Texas.   :cool:

Yeah, it's gotten where we don't get along too well.

Don't mean for this to be a "woe is me", but...

I came for a Triple AAA city to Washington, DC.  Eventually became an Oriole fan.  Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Paul Blair, etc..  Five (5) twenty game winners in a season?  GTFO!!

Then came Jeffrey Meier.   :thud:

Never been the same since.

And now I'm supposed to get excited for the NATIONALS?

...okay, maybe one more year!    :whistle:
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #9 on: December 31, 2018, 07:22:45 pm »
Don't mean for this to be a "woe is me", but...

I came for a Triple AAA city to Washington, DC.  Eventually became an Oriole fan.  Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Paul Blair, etc..  Five (5) twenty game winners in a season?  GTFO!!

Then came Jeffrey Meier.   :thud:

Never been the same since.

And now I'm supposed to get excited for the NATIONALS?

...okay, maybe one more year!    :whistle:
@DCPatriot
You'll be like me with my amazin' Mess (er, Mets). It won't be over until it's over.  wink777

By the way, if anyone asks me, my choice for the most surrealistic ceremonial first pitch of all time happened in Washington---when the Nats opened for business after their move from Montreal. It was thrown by former Senators (Washington---First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League) pitcher Joe Grzenda. And it wasn't just any baseball he threw.

The Senators' final home game in 1971, against the Yankees, was heartsickening for Senators fans who knew their team was going to be moved to Texas despite the then-owner, Bob Short's, promises not to move the team. (Banners hoisting his initials were prevalent throughout RFK Stadium that day.) They got a big jolt of love in the sixth when big Frank Howard---who'd said he hoped he could do it one more time for those fans---
hit one out off Mike Kekich to lead off*, starting a four-run fifth that tied the game at five. (He was nudged out of the dugout for a curtain call and, letting the crowd ovation get to him, he wept openly.) The Senators took a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the eighth, with an RBI single (Tommy McCraw) and a sacrifice fly (Elliott Maddox), and Grzenda went out to the mound trying to save it for Paul Lindblad.

As Grzenda went to work the fans went from heartsick to outrage and began jumping onto the field. It was bad enough to prompt manager Ted Williams to order his bullpen pitchers and coaches to leave the pen by way of the tunnel under the park to the clubhouse. Grzenda got pinch hitter Felipe Alou and Bobby Murcer on back-to-back ground outs and was ready to pitch to Horace Clarke when the dam burst. Fans poured out onto the field en masse, and it got wild enough that the umpires declared a 9-0 forfeit to the Yankees. Grzenda escaped with his life banging his way through the mob to the Senators' clubhouse.

What nobody knew at the time was that Grzenda kept the ball he never got to pitch to Murcer. And there he was, on Opening Day 2004, throwing that ball as the ceremonial first pitch of the first Nationals home game.

* - The link is to the radio call of the Howard home run.
The entire game's radio broadcast has also survived.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2018, 07:25:23 pm by EasyAce »


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline catfish1957

  • Laken Riley.... Say her Name. And to every past and future democrat voter- Her blood is on your hands too!!!
  • Political Researcher
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,360
  • Gender: Male
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #10 on: December 31, 2018, 07:28:19 pm »
Don't mean for this to be a "woe is me", but...

I came for a Triple AAA city to Washington, DC.  Eventually became an Oriole fan.  Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Paul Blair, etc..  Five (5) twenty game winners in a season?  GTFO!!

Then came Jeffrey Meier.   :thud:

Never been the same since.

And now I'm supposed to get excited for the NATIONALS?

...okay, maybe one more year!    :whistle:

Back when I was a kid, the Orioles were my favorite AL team.  The Robinsons, Belanger, Boog, Blair, and the best staff in our lifetimes?  They were awesome.  Even with all his fire and flair, Weaver was also a legend as a field tactician.

I remember when we traded Cuellar for Blefary back in the late '60's..  Man were we screwed.

Always thought moving the Expos to DC, was a bad overall move for MLB.  Really tough splitting a geographical core of fans with Baltimore.  Carolina would have been a much better fit.
I display the Confederate Battle Flag in honor of my great great great grandfathers who spilled blood at Wilson's Creek and Shiloh.  5 others served in the WBTS with honor too.

Online DCPatriot

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,799
  • Gender: Male
  • "...and the winning number is...not yours!
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #11 on: December 31, 2018, 07:39:20 pm »
Back when I was a kid, the Orioles were my favorite AL team.  The Robinsons, Belanger, Boog, Blair, and the best staff in our lifetimes?  They were awesome.  Even with all his fire and flair, Weaver was also a legend as a field tactician.

I remember when we traded Cuellar for Blefary back in the late '60's..  Man were we screwed.

Always thought moving the Expos to DC, was a bad overall move for MLB.  Really tough splitting a geographical core of fans with Baltimore.  Carolina would have been a much better fit.

Two of my favorite memories of the Weaver era:

1) Weaver had a reliever, Don Stanhouse.  Earl dubbed him, "full pack", because that's how many cigs he'd go thru while he was doing his thing.

2) Similarly, Mike Hargrove's at-bats were getting ridiculous, with the glove routines, the wiggle of the ass...it got to Rick Dempsey, who'd taken matters into his own hands.

On the next pitch, he threw the return at 45 mph smack in the side of the helmet.
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #12 on: December 31, 2018, 07:58:54 pm »
Two of my favorite memories of the Weaver era:

1) Weaver had a reliever, Don Stanhouse.  Earl dubbed him, "full pack", because that's how many cigs he'd go thru while he was doing his thing.
@DCPatriot
Stanhouse was so flaky he was nicknamed Stan the Man Unusual, too.

2) Similarly, Mike Hargrove's at-bats were getting ridiculous, with the glove routines, the wiggle of the ass...it got to Rick Dempsey, who'd taken matters into his own hands.
They didn't nickname Hargrove the Human Rain Delay because he was a master of Indian rain dancing. ;)

On the next pitch, he threw the return at 45 mph smack in the side of the helmet.
Ridiculous though Hargrove's batter's box routines were, Dempsey was probably lucky he didn't start a bench-clearing brawl with that one. (Or did he?)

It was that very thing by Dodger catcher John Roseboro---throwing a ball back to Sandy Koufax that zipped right past Juan Marichal's ear, with Marichal in the batter's box facing Koufax and unaware of what was coming---that blew Marichal's cork and, when he confronted Roseboro who looked in the moment as though he were about to waylay Marichal (Roseboro actually had martial arts ability), had him screaming, "Why did you do that???" before he poleaxed Roseboro (who'd peeled off his heavy iron mask and looked like he might use it as a weapon in the moment) with his bat, starting the brawl in that 1965 game.

It was a Sunday game to finish a series in which tensions between the two teams were already boiling over, including mutual brushback pitches. In that game, early on, Marichal brushed Ron Fairly back and Koufax---who generally didn't believe in retaliation as it was---brushed Willie Mays back in the next inning. According to the book written about that brawl and its aftermath, The Fight of Their Lives, Roseboro still felt Marichal hadn't been repaid properly even after Koufax pushed him back off the plate just a bit to remind him, too. So Roseboro, knowing Koufax wouldn't deliver a second purpose pitch to Marichal (whenever he did have to send a message pitch, Koufax adhered to the once-is-enough philosophy), took matters into his own hands. He let a Koufax curve bounce past him, then retrieved it . . . and even seeing Marichal not glancing back but keeping his eyes on Koufax on the mound, threw the ball as close to Marichal's head as he could. Bam! (When order was restored, Koufax was still shaken up enough that Willie Mays could and did hit a three-run homer off him; the Giants went on to win.)

It was actually a wonder both men were even playing. Roseboro was hit where it hurt by the Watts riots, and Marichal was strung out over his cousin's electoral challenge to the Trujillo dictatorship in his native Dominican Republic. The Dodgers screamed bloody murder when Marichal got a ten day suspension, saying it was too lenient, but the suspension actually hit the Giants right where it hurt---they lost the 1965 pennant to the Dodgers by two games; Marichal missed two starts during the suspension. But there was actually a happy postscript: Marichal and Roseboro patched it up, knowing that each of them had behaved completely out of character (Marichal in particular was renowned as an even-keeled guy who never woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was an inveterate practical joker; he often pranked his teammates by leaving them elaborately carved perfume bottles to give their wives or girlfriends---bottles spiked with stink bombs), and when Marichal was eligible for the Hall of Fame Roseboro actively and publicly supported him saying their 1965 brawl shouldn't be held against Marichal. When Marichal finally was inducted, he thanked Roseboro publicly. They kept their friendship for the rest of Roseboro's life; Marichal was one of Roseboro's funeral pallbearers, and he gave a thumbs-up when Sandy Koufax, speaking a eulogy, looked at him and told him, "Juan, you would have loved pitching to John."


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Online DCPatriot

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,799
  • Gender: Male
  • "...and the winning number is...not yours!
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #13 on: December 31, 2018, 08:06:21 pm »
@DCPatriot
Stanhouse was so flaky he was nicknamed Stan the Man Unusual, too.
They didn't nickname Hargrove the Human Rain Delay because he was a master of Indian rain dancing. ;)
Ridiculous though Hargrove's batter's box routines were, Dempsey was probably lucky he didn't start a bench-clearing brawl with that one. (Or did he?)

It was that very thing by Dodger catcher John Roseboro---throwing a ball back to Sandy Koufax that zipped right past Juan Marichal's ear, with Marichal in the batter's box facing Koufax and unaware of what was coming---that blew Marichal's cork and, when he confronted Roseboro who looked in the moment as though he were about to waylay Marichal (Roseboro actually had martial arts ability), had him screaming, "Why did you do that???" before he poleaxed Roseboro (who'd peeled off his heavy iron mask and looked like he might use it as a weapon in the moment) with his bat, starting the brawl in that 1965 game.

It was a Sunday game to finish a series in which tensions between the two teams were already boiling over, including mutual brushback pitches. In that game, early on, Marichal brushed Ron Fairly back and Koufax---who generally didn't believe in retaliation as it was---brushed Willie Mays back in the next inning. According to the book written about that brawl and its aftermath, The Fight of Their Lives, Roseboro still felt Marichal hadn't been repaid properly even after Koufax pushed him back off the plate just a bit to remind him, too. So Roseboro, knowing Koufax wouldn't deliver a second purpose pitch to Marichal (whenever he did have to send a message pitch, Koufax adhered to the once-is-enough philosophy), took matters into his own hands. He let a Koufax curve bounce past him, then retrieved it . . . and even seeing Marichal not glancing back but keeping his eyes on Koufax on the mound, threw the ball as close to Marichal's head as he could. Bam! (When order was restored, Koufax was still shaken up enough that Willie Mays could and did hit a three-run homer off him; the Giants went on to win.)

It was actually a wonder both men were even playing. Roseboro was hit where it hurt by the Watts riots, and Marichal was strung out over his cousin's electoral challenge to the Trujillo dictatorship in his native Dominican Republic. The Dodgers screamed bloody murder when Marichal got a ten day suspension, saying it was too lenient, but the suspension actually hit the Giants right where it hurt---they lost the 1965 pennant to the Dodgers by two games; Marichal missed two starts during the suspension. But there was actually a happy postscript: Marichal and Roseboro patched it up, knowing that each of them had behaved completely out of character (Marichal in particular was renowned as an even-keeled guy who never woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was an inveterate practical joker; he often pranked his teammates by leaving them elaborately carved perfume bottles to give their wives or girlfriends---bottles spiked with stink bombs), and when Marichal was eligible for the Hall of Fame Roseboro actively and publicly supported him saying their 1965 brawl shouldn't be held against Marichal. When Marichal finally was inducted, he thanked Roseboro publicly. They kept their friendship for the rest of Roseboro's life; Marichal was one of Roseboro's funeral pallbearers, and he gave a thumbs-up when Sandy Koufax, speaking a eulogy, looked at him and told him, "Juan, you would have loved pitching to John."

Great talking baseball with you , @EasyAce

Happy New Year!  :beer:
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #14 on: December 31, 2018, 08:18:05 pm »
Great talking baseball with you , @EasyAce

Happy New Year!  :beer:
@DCPatriot
The same to you my friend, and here's to an amazing 2019 season . . .



"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline Absalom

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,375
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #15 on: December 31, 2018, 08:36:51 pm »
@catfish1957
Every now and then it's valuable to be reminded how right Red Smith was when he proclaimed baseball was dull only to dull minds.
----------------------------------
Red Smith???????
Oh you mean Wellesley Smith, that distant relative of Shakespeare no doubt! Hmm........
---
This site is a worthy forum where all are entitled to be heard
yet where my issue is direct and simple.
In Hamlet, Polonius asserts, "Since brevity is the soul of wit and wisdom,
let me be brief as tedium and verbosity are their death."
Many are too compulsively needy of attention to ever grasp this truism.
Good day gentlemen and stay well.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2018, 09:18:18 pm by Absalom »

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #16 on: December 31, 2018, 09:06:28 pm »
----------------------------------
Red Smith???????
Oh you mean Wellesley Smith, a distant relative of Leo Tolstoy, no doubt!
Hmm......................
@Absalom
Walter Wellesley Smith, to be precise, who called himself Red because he didn't like his birth name, and who observed pithily, Ninety feet between the bases is the closest man has come to perfection.



And he couldn't possibly have been related to Tolstoy. Tolstoy wasn't smart enough to say of his craft, Writing is easy. All you have to do is sit down at a typewriter, cut open a vein, and bleed.


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline catfish1957

  • Laken Riley.... Say her Name. And to every past and future democrat voter- Her blood is on your hands too!!!
  • Political Researcher
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,360
  • Gender: Male
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #17 on: December 31, 2018, 09:08:12 pm »
Ironic that a thread about trolling drew in a troll.   :silly:
« Last Edit: December 31, 2018, 09:08:52 pm by catfish1957 »
I display the Confederate Battle Flag in honor of my great great great grandfathers who spilled blood at Wilson's Creek and Shiloh.  5 others served in the WBTS with honor too.

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #18 on: December 31, 2018, 09:10:34 pm »
Ironic that a thread about trolling drew in a troll.   :silly:
@catfish1957
 :rolling: :rolling: :rolling:

Just as long as a thread about hacking doesn't draw in a hacker, I figure we're safe.


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline EdJames

  • Certified Trump Realist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,791
Re: The first annual Karl Ehrhardt Prize for Extinguished Baseball Trolling
« Reply #19 on: December 31, 2018, 10:10:08 pm »
The signs were timely and often very funny, I had no idea who was making them.  Thanks.