Spring Training: Day 2

Don't forget the Virgil Trucks Memorial Giveaway ends today!

On the second day of spring training I drug myself out of bed early and went over to the minor league practice fields. I used the wrong entrance and made it all the way inside before a security guard caught me. He was cool about the whole thing, and I dutifully left, parked my car in the right spot, and and re-entered via the right gate.

There might have been 6 fans present. I guess that's the glory of following a team with poor attendance, but it made the experience that much more awesome. I had intended to grab an auto or two of some of the Rays prospects but decided not to in favor of just taking in the scene. Guys doing drills (the catchers were already working when I showed up), guys running between stations, fans and others milling about.

I had some great conversations, first with a friend of Durham Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo who had come down to check things out. It's strange, but I'm a Bulls fan even before I'm a Rays fan, and it was interesting to meet someone whose interest in the proceedings was limited exclusively to the AAA team.

Next I had a longish chat with an agent who said he was there to take a client or two out to lunch. He seemed like a nice guy. He had stories about playing Legion ball with guys who went on to be Charleston Rainbows and pointed out that the family of one player (a client, I'm guessing) was in the adjacent bleacher watching their kid take batting practice.

Finally, I ran across former Bulls coach Bill Evers. I stopped him for a moment as he passed by and told him that I really appreciated his Bulls teams. More than a decade after the ruined season of 1994, his teams were the ones I watched when I fell back in love with the game. Sadly, despite being wildly successful in terms of W-L record Mr. Evers lost his gig due to the, um, player development.

Later on we attended the Rays 6-4 loss to the Twins. It was a spring game that actually went into extras, which was something of a treat. Roberto Hernández looked serviceable in the battle to be the #5 starter and the ML relief corps of Farnsworth, Wright, Peralta, and Mcgee was outstanding as they allowed 2 hits over 4 innings with 4 Ks. Luke Scott also hit a BOMB, which hopefully is a sign of good health and good things to come later on.

Before the game, of course, I tried to get an auto or two.

After two near-hits in Minneapolis and Baltimore, I finally landed a Matty Ice. It was signed with someone else's pen for the sake of efficiency.

The big "score" I guess was getting Longo's signature for the Topps Rookie AS project. Folks were saying he never signs anymore, particularly not for adults, so I got really lucky.

Rich Thompson signed a team card for me, and in fact signed ttm for me last year. He's got a really cool story and, truth be told, is one of the players who fairly or not has been saddled with the AAAA label. Here's to hoping he gets a legit shot at coming back up this year. As side note, I briefly confused him with Brandon Guyer. I swear those dudes were separated at birth.

Another team card, this one signed by Chris Gimenez. He's battling for the backup catcher spot and having a hell of a spring (OPS of .917) but still has options remaining while other guys don't. What else can you do but play?

Stephen Vogt came up to the big club last year and went hitless in 25 AB. He's got the skills, so it's just a matter of time. I'm hoping he doesn't go a decade between ML stints like Thompson, or goes 30 or so hitless ABs to begin his career like new Ray Kelly Johnson. 

And the craziest auto:

Cecil Fielder was in the house through the Adopt a Legend Program. He was one of THE guys when most of us were young, and getting his auto in person was pretty amazing. I told him his 51-HR 1990 season was one of the most exciting things for my friends and I when we were kids. He said he was mostly lucky. There's "luck," then there's "lucky x 50," which points to successful process.

The highlight of getting autos that day was talking baseball to a mother and her son up by the wall. They are Stone Crabs fans and the son even goes to kindergarden with one of the kids of a Rays player.  I was able to given them cards of said Rays player, plus several others, Longo included. Last week I sent them a 400-couunt box of Rays, which I hope they enjoy!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Virgil Trucks Celebration Giveaway

With Mr. Trucks's passing, we all acknowledge that the world has lost someone who meant a good deal to a lot of people. 

If you ever wrote to Mr. Trucks you've probably seen one of these cards that celebrate his 2 no-hitters in 1952. If you haven't, here's your chance to own one.

Here's the deal: Mr. Trucks brought a lot of light into the world. Go out, do something, it doesn't have to be huge, that brings joy to someone around you. At some point in the next week leave a comment on this post and I'll random the responses on 4/1. No judging "best," "funniest," or whatever, no need even to say what you did. Just bring a smile to someone's face the way Mr. Trucks did for so many of us.

RIP Mr. Virgil Trucks

Not long after I started the blog I started getting into ttms. Like a lot of bloggers, one of the first gentlemen I wrote was Mr. Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks. As anyone who wrote him knows, he was a tremendous and frequent signer, often responded to you with a handwritten note, and always included two trademark stamps, one of a pitcher and another of a firetruck.

I saw on Twitter not long ago that Mr. Trucks passed away yesterday at 95.

What else can you say? If you read around the blogoshpere you'll find that Mr. Trucks brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. Like to William over at foul bunt. Like me when, in 2009, Mr. Trucks signed a whole bunch of cards for me to giveaway on the blog as a way to promote his book. It was one of the most amazing interactions I've ever had with one of my cardboard heroes.

Strangely, not too long ago while I was cleaning house I came across a few extra of these that he sent for me to giveaway. I thought I gave them all away long ago, but apparently not. To celebrate Mr. Trucks and his hobby legacy, starting tomorrow I'll give these last ones away.

I recognize the value and importance of mourning, but Mr. Trucks is one of those individuals who unselfishly brought joy into the world and through his own example taught us all that we should do likewise.

RIP Mr. Trucks.

Topps TTM Project: the 1950s

Cards previously posted have a link to that post. Enjoy!

1951 Bob Feller (post)

1952 Billy Pierce

1953 Roy Sievers (post)

1954 Bobby Shantz (post 1; post 2)

1955 Monte Irvin (post)

1956 Virgil Trucks (post)

1957 Gene Conley (post)

1958 Chuck Harmon (post)

1959 Whammy Douglas (post)

There we go, the 1950's in ttm autos! Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Heroes nobody knows: Cecil Travis

One of the best recurring stories in baseball concerns the ballplayers who took a break from their careers to fight in WWII, men like two of this site's favorites, Virgil Trucks and Lou Brissie. These men deserve all the praise that goes their way, but until I read Brissie's book I had never thought about the players who fought but DIDN'T resume their careers, men like Cecil Travis.

I know, "Who is Cecil Travis?" According to one blog he might be the best player never to receive a single vote for the HOF. Is that hyperbolic? Maybe, but a lot of his contemporaries thought he was a HOFer. Check his stats from '34-'41. His last year before the war, at age 27, Travis posted a monster 150 OPS+ as a shortstop. Bill James projects Travis to have been a HOFer if not for the war, and from age 22-27 Travis's most similar batters are all HOFers.

Post-WWII, however, Travis was never the same. He played only 3 years after returning, retiring in '47.

I wonder what it says about us as a society that we continually celebrate the greats who left and returned without missing a beat and yet seldom acknowledge the sacrifices of those who also served, also sacrificed, and yet because of their demons and/or injuries were never able to achieve in the ways they had before. I mean, in all the much-deserved adulation of Ted Williams and others of that era, I don't recall ever hearing about Travis or many others mentioned in Brissie's book. I have some conflicting thoughts and would love to hear anyone's comments.

At any rate, a book about his life recently came out and I hope to grab a copy soon. After a few months of ebay hunting I finally grabbed the above card (which is great for lots of reasons) for $7.50 with shipping. Like any collector I dig my cards, but this is one I'm really proud to have in my collection as corn ball as that may sound.

Have a good one everybody and good night Pumspie Green, wherever you are!

It's here....

and I'm already hooked. I'm only a few pages in, but the book is awesome. The Intro is all about why you pitch inside. He cites no less an authority than Satchell Paige on the subject, and recounts sitting in the bullpen with Paige one afternoon which Paige spent intimidating Larry Doby, warning him not to be digging in against him later. AWESOME.

He also put a great auto on it for me, complete with "Fire" Truck. Thanks again Mr. Trucks!

And on a final note, CC is out of the lineup again tonight. We have our collective breath held here Carl! Get well soon!!!

And Gomes is, once again, not starting for Cincy. I mean....what the heck do I know? I haven't destroyed the careers of any major league pitchers, so I know nothing. Dusty, loved you as a player, but get it together!!!

The quote off of Volquez's BReference page says it all: I wouldn't trust Dusty to put together a sandwich, nevermind a pitching staff. My turkey and cheese would be visiting Dr. Andrews within the week.

Virgil Trucks Giveaway: Results are in!!!

The Rays are up, it's a Friday evening, things are right with the world.

I've had a great time running this, and I hope ya'll have enjoyed it. Mr. Trucks is really one of the kindest, most generous players I've come across, and his appreciation for us fans is pretty incredible. If you didn't win, please feel free to drop Mr. Trucks a line. He's an incredible individual, and without his cooperation this wouldn't have been possible. If you are so inclined, order the book as well. I got a note from Mr. Trucks today, and my copy is in the mail! I'm really stoked to get it, and will let you know how it is once I've read it.

Also, Troll is running a cool HOF contest over on his blog, here. Check it out!

Time for the results, the randomizations are below. I have traded with some of you, and some of you I don't know! Please email me your address ASAP and I'll get these in the mail. (After two weeks I'll re-run the giveaway with anything left over, so don't leave me hanging!!!)

Have a great weekend everyone!

1. Mmosley---1954 Bowman (an NC State fan at #1!!! I should have run another randomization!!)

2. Matthew Glidden---1950 Bowman

3. Dean Family---1957 Topps

4. Pack Addict---1959 Topps

5. Wicked Ortega----Diamond Stars (Brown version)

6. Dan---Diamond Stars (Blue Version)

7. Douglas---personal card

8. MattR---business card w/ Fire Truck

9. Don---business card w/ Fire Truck

#1

1. Matthew Glidden
2. Jeff Meloy
3. Captain Canuck
4. White Sox Cards
5. Slangon
6. Dean Family
7. Hackenbush
8. Night Owl
9. Beardy
10. Mark’s Ephemera
11. Mmosley
12. Wickedortega
13. Brian
14. Packaddict
15. MattR
16. Collective troll
17. Dan
18. Maury Wills HOF fan
19. Douglas
20. Core contrarian
21. Dinged Corners
22. MadHandle11
23. Gcrl
24. Zman40
25. Don

Timestamp: 2009-08-22 00:57:22 UTC

#2

1. Don
2. Douglas
3. Night Owl
4. Wickedortega
5. Dinged Corners
6. Gcrl
7. MattR
8. Packaddict
9. Matthew Glidden
10. White Sox Cards
11. Collective troll
12. Core contrarian
13. Slangon
14. Beardy
15. Maury Wills HOF fan
16. Dan
17. Hackenbush
18. Zman40
19. Brian
20. Captain Canuck
21. MadHandle11
22. Jeff Meloy
23. Mmosley
24. Dean Family
25. Mark’s Ephemera

Timestamp: 2009-08-22 00:57:57 UTC

#3

1. Mmosley
2. Matthew Glidden
3. Dean Family
4. Packaddict
5. Wickedortega
6. Dan
7. Douglas
8. MattR
9. Don
10. Jeff Meloy
11. Dinged Corners
12. Brian
13. Captain Canuck
14. Collective troll
15. Zman40
16. Core contrarian
17. White Sox Cards
18. Gcrl
19. MadHandle11
20. Beardy
21. Hackenbush
22. Night Owl
23. Slangon
24. Maury Wills HOF fan
25. Mark’s Ephemera

Timestamp: 2009-08-22 00:58:26 UTC

Virgil Trucks Giveaway: What are the stakes?

OK, the cards have arrived and the giveaway is closed! I'm pretty exhausted from work-related travel during the past four days, but thought I'd put of some scans of what is being given away. I think you'll agree, Mr. Trucks is an awesome individual who cares a lot about baseball fans and the games history. I can't wait to get the book!

So, you already know the 1954 Bowman:

Like I said, I sent Mr. Trucks a few more cards. First, this gem:

Yep, that is some mega-vintage 1950 Bowman Virgil Trucks. If you've never seen these, they are incredible. Whoever lands this beauty will be incredibly stoked. Next up:

1957 Topps. Another nice card, this one of Mr. Trucks playing with the A's. Pretty cool you can see the warm-up suit peaking out from under his uni. Even better, check out the back:

See '44-'45? It actually lists his service in the Navy on the back of the card. Nice. And we have this:

1959 Topps. This card, along with the '54 Bowman, was among those purchased at the cardshop in Devanport, IA, I mentioned here. But that isn't all! Mr. Trucks threw in a few more graphs that he said I could give away.

The awesome things about these diamond signatures cards is that they were printed up specifically for players to give away. This is another version:

He also included this awesome cardboard you have already seen and that I am guessing is of personal vintage:

It is a little large than a "normal" sized card, but this cool card features a pitching tiger on the front and some great info on the back. And like I said, it's kind of Mr. Trucks's "if I designed baseball cards, my baseball card would look like this..." baseball card. I'm sure we all agree that some folks at the card companies could learn a thing or two from Mr. Trucks. And finally, I think you remember the "Fire Trucks" stamp:

He threw in 2 of them!

So, once again, many many thanks to Mr. Trucks! I'll run the randomizations tomorrow and cards will be assigned numbers according to the order in which they appear in this post, 9 in all!

Finally, because I have been out of town I am way behind on posts and emails. I will be catching up tonight, but I wanted to throw out a quick "Thanks" to the folks who sent me cards recently. I will be posting them over the weekend, but in the meantime wanted to say your generosity and thoughtfulness are awesome. And, look soon for a special post by the compa!

Nicknames: "Fire" Trucks, Whammy, Superman, and Briefcase

OK, no mail from Mr. "Fire" Trucks today, but I did get two letters. I'm out of town from Monday to Wednesday, so hopefully something shows up around then!

The coolest thing about having the blog is the kind of people you meet who know a lot more about baseball than you do. It's all relative, but I like learning more about the game and its history, especially from other folks that love and follow the game.

A while back I said I had a "top two" nicknames, which I did. Little did I know of the awesomeness of two others. So, we're up to a top four, in no certain order: "Whammy" Douglas, Virgil "Fire" Trucks, Art "Superman" Pennington, and Herb "Briefcase" Simpson.

Yep, Mr. Pennington signed it with the "Superman." The Ginter insert autos are beyond my financial reach, so as I said earlier I'm trying to contact these gentlemen through the mail. AND, there will be a Pennington giveaway a few weeks after the Trucks giveaway, so keep your eyes peeled. In case you are interested, Mr. Pennington has a website found here. He lost everything in the Cedar Rapids flood last summer, so if you are thinking on throwing down cash on the Ginter certified auto, you might consider sending him a base card and a few bucks instead.

He even answered the question sheet I sent him. Where did "Superman" come from? His mom when he was 10 or 12. I'll save the rest for the giveaway later.

I also heard back from this gentleman, Herb "Briefcase" Simpson (another article here).

How awesome is the nickname "Briefcase"!?! Now, in my utter ignorance, I had no idea Mr. Simpson's nickname was "Briefcase," so I didn't ask him how he became known as "Briefcase." Might have to send a follow up letter and ask. BUT, what was his best moment in baseball? Mr. Simpson hit a homer off Satchell Paige and his parents were in the stadium to see it! Very cool memory to share.

So, as a general question, why haven't the big THEY made a Negro League set loaded up with "hits" or whatever? Any thoughts? Given the popularity of the Negro League Ginter autos, would you bust a product with Negro League hits, cut sigs, and relics? They could even get current prominent Afro-American players involved. What do you think?

P.S. Upper Deck, let me suggest that, having lost your MLB license, this would seem to be one heck of an idea. Plus, you'd be educating the general public and providing extra income for some of these men.

Virgil Trucks Giveaway: Who is "Fire" Trucks? Part 2

Like I've said before, the man put up some pretty impressive stats. Before I begin, however, I'd like to give a shout out to a contest over at Saints of the Cheap Seats. Great he's keeping Cy's dream alive!

Like I said yesterday, in 1952 Virgil "Fire" Trucks threw 2 no-hitters. Baseball Digest did a great interview with Mr. Trucks about the two, found here. The first was against the Senators on May 15. According to this article it was also the 2nd no-no in Tigers history.

For good measure, Mr. Trucks then threw one against the Yankees on August 25. Now, any no-hitter is amazing. A no-hitter against this roster, however, is almost incomprehensible. I mean, if someone on the street told you that a guy had no-hit a Yankees team with Berra, Mantle, etc., on it, you'd probably assume he was joking.

Amazingly, his W-L record in 1952 was 5-19 with a 3.97 ERA, or 95 ERA+. It goes without saying that with a little bit more run support, that season might have been a lot different.

Like I said yesterday, Trucks also threw 4 no-hitters in the minors.

When you dig deeper into the stats, Trucks had some pretty dominant years during a period that had quite a few dominant lineups. 1949 might have been his best, when he led the league in K's, had a 2.81 ERA, 148 ERA+, 6 shutout, 4 saves (!), and a 1.21 WHIP. That was against an AL with guys like Dimaggio and Williams sowing terror wherever they went. I'll let the rest of the seasons speak for themselves, and they say that Mr. Trucks had some monster years.

Over his 17-year career Trucks went 177-135 with a 3.39 ERA, 116 ERA+. He led the league in K's in 1949 with 153 and had 124 CG for his career. I know that was a different era, but that's over 1/3 of the games he started. Almost unthinkable today.

Anyway, don't forget to comment at the original post here to enter the giveaway, and that all you need to do is be a follower of the site. I'm off to brew some beer.

Have a great one!

Virgil Trucks Giveaway: Who is "Fire" Trucks? Part 1

When hammering this out earlier, I realized one long post would be too long. We're going multi-parts.

One of the reasons I'm really looking forward to the book is that I'm a big fan of stories and people who can really tell them. If you check out this interview from Baseball Almanac, you'll see why I'm so stoked.

Among other things, Mr. Trucks says that, when he was with the Tigers during the 1945 World Series against the Cubs, he saw THE guy with THE goat at Wrigley field. Now, for several years I've been operating under the assumption that this was mostly an ESPN invention designed to bring drama back into baseball after the Red Sox "lifted the curse" that the media had invented for them. But NO, Mr. Trucks says he saw the guy with the goat at Wrigley field. Incredible.

In addition to the cards I sent him, I included a piece of paper with some questions, which Mr. Trucks answered in detail.

What's that in the middle there you ask? Well, it's this:

That's right, man has a stamp about what his best moment playing ball is. I guess he gets that a lot, but to someone who analyses books for a living the "no-hitters stamp" is awesome! Post-modern? Text in the age of mechanical reproduction? Awesome. I'll get into his stats tomorrow, but fact is between the minors and majors he threw 6 no-hitters, the ones listed above being in the majors and in the same season (a feat only accomplished only by Mr. Trucks, Johnny Vander Meer, Nolan Ryan, [edit] and Allie Reynolds).

Best hitter he ever faced? He wrote Ted Williams and Joe Dimaggio. Well, statistically speaking, he did pitch really carefully to Ted, holding him to a .250 BA but walking him 11 times in 39 total plate appearances. Ted also took Mr. Trucks deep three times. For some reason Dimaggio's stats don't have a "vs" category, so we can't compare him to Ted, but it'd be interesting to know.

Where'd he get the name "Fire" Trucks and why? A reporter, Jack House, from The Birmingham Alabama News gave it to him because...he could throw "over 100 mhp"!!! and "my last name, Trucks."

But let's be serious. It's a superb example of what a nickname should be. For example, if "Fire" Trucks is an OF, the name doesn't give us much of a mental picture, does it? But "Fire" Trucks as a pitcher? THAT guy throws 100mph heat. The name is perfect! It works on every level imaginable.

So, if you are interested in the giveaway, register on the previous post here. I forgot to add in that post that, once things are closed, I'll randomize the list 3x at Random.com, top x names get the goods. Simple enough. Scans below are of the "Fire" Trucks card Mr. Trucks sent, as well as the postcard for his book, which features BOTH awesome Trucks stamps. Have a good one!

Virgil "Fire" Trucks Giveaway

OK, tomorrow I am going to do a long post on this man:

The abbreviated version of the story: the nickname "Fire" Trucks is absolutely incredible, so I decided to try my luck and write to Mr. Trucks and send him a letter with two cards to sign. One of the things he sent back was this awesome business card with his own fire truck stamp. Very, very excellent, and one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

He also included a a postcard about his biography, stating that hardcover copies are currently available for $30 (check to Virgil Trucks) at his address found here. I am a big reader and ordered a copy almost immediately.

I also scooped up a few more cards on ebay and sent them to Mr. Trucks asking him to sign them, saying they would be giveaways on my blog. Maybe he signs them, maybe he doesn't, at the very least I can say he has already been very generous with his time.

If nothing else, I'll be giving away free and clear the beautiful hand-signed 1954 Bowman of Mr. Trucks at the bottom of this post. Why? Because his nickname is one of the all-time greats and his generosity is absolutely impressive. His bio deserves all the attention I can give it.

To enter: be a follower of the blog and leave a comment on this post saying you are "in." Nothing else. Fellow bloggers, please post this on your site to get more folks involved. As I will explain tomorrow, "Fire" Trucks was a great player with some really great stats and I am looking forward to getting the bio. Contest closes when I get the bio and/or other cards in the mail, whichever arrives first!

Good luck!