From Where I Sit

Ripken & Gwynn: Baseball Ambassadors

    Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were both elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday by huge majorities. Yes, you read that correctly - huge majorities. Which means that there were actually some schmucks who did NOT vote for their induction into the honored fraternity. This is amazing to me. It shouldn't surprise me because we all know that there's never been an unanimous pick for the Hall of Fame: not Ruth, not Mays, not Aaron. Now who in their right mind could think to themselves, "Willie Mays? No, he doesn't really belong in the Hall of Fame." Somebody did!

    The easy solution is to make the votes a matter of public record - everyone's votes get printed. This will accomplish at least one of two things. First, it should embarrass any self-respecting sportswriter from making a fool of his or herself by not voting for a Willie Mays or a Cal Ripken Jr. or a Tony Gwynn. If it doesn't prevent that, then at least we'll know who, in essence, voted against them and immediately take away their voting privileges.

    Aside from both of these player's Hall of Fame statistics is the fact that they were both two of the best ambassadors the game has ever had. In a time when sports superstars often show themselves to be self-absorbed, greedy, sometimes criminal, jerks along comes Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn to show you that there still are some guys who "get it." They understand that they were blessed with special talents. They understand they were, and are, able to make a hell of a good living because of these special gifts they have. They have both been active in the communities in which they played and have given back to the baseball community in both time and money. You'd be hard pressed to find two better role models for young athletes or young kids in general.

    There are other reasons to be happy about this year's selection. In this steroid-crazed era in baseball history, neither player was known for his home run hitting. Yes, Ripken had 431 home runs but the truth is over 21 seasons he only hit 30 or more runs one time. In today's game, 30 home runs is an off-year for most sluggers. No, Ripken will always be remembered for his Iron Man reputation for having played in 2,632 consecutive games, obliterating the record of Lou Gehrig which stood for over 55 years before Cal came along. Ripken was consistent, responsible, reliable, hard-working - everything today's athlete seems NOT to be. Tony Gwynn was the closest thing baseball has come to a Ted Williams since, well, Ted Williams. In fact, Williams loved talking hitting with Gwynn. In 20 seasons, Tony Gwynn batted under .300 just one time. ONCE!!!! And that was his rookie year - he played in 54 games and batted .289. Remarkable.

     And now the most remarkable statistic in the career of both of these gentlemen. They both played for one team in their entire 20 year careers. NO ONE does that anymore - no one. This Hall of Fame induction will mean more to the cities of Baltimore and San Diego than most baseball fans could ever imagine.

    Living in Rochester, NY, I and my fellow Rochestarian baseball fans also feel as though we have a share in this election. Cal Ripken Jr. played his AAA ball for our Rochester Red Wings in the Summer of 1981. Those of us who saw him play back then knew he was a special ballplayer but I don't think any of us imagined that he would become such an iconic figure in the sport.

    That's all the good stuff - now for the slightly more controversial. Is the Hall of Fame even relevant? Many people argue this point. Pete Rose isn't in the Hall of Fame but there are people who think he should be. Last year, Bruce Sutter was inducted but Goose Gossage and Lee Smith are still not in. Mark McGwire only garnered about 23% of the vote today - is that just a slap on the hand to send a message or a signal to say that no players with a steroid suspicion hanging over their heads will make it? Bert Blyleven is ticked off he's not in the Hall and I'm ticked off that Jim Rice and Luis Tiant aren't there. Rice may make it next year but no one ever mentions Tiant and, in many ways, I think he was BETTER than Blyleven. Maybe none of it matters. Those of us who love baseball love to argue about its history and its players. As I just told my sons the other day, the reality is that it's foolish to even try to compare a ballplayer who played 70 years ago to one who plays today. The game, the equipment, everything has just changed too much and yet we do it all the time.

    Just for the record, I don't mind Sutter being in but he shouldn't have gotten there before Gossage and Smith. As for McGwire - NO. He wasn't nearly as dominant before he looked like The Incredible Hulk as he was after that. Blyleven can go in but only if Jim Rice and Luis Tiant are there as well. And I definitely think Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. In fact, I think he should be in the Hall with special consideration given to his plaque and it's placement. I think HIS plaque should be prominently hung in the Men's Urinal to reflect the honor he's brought to the game.

    I've lost so much interest in sports over the past 20 years. There are still great moments, there are still great games, and, occasionally, there are some great ballplayers. But overall, none of it seems to be as much fun as it did once. There aren't just games any more - all sports are big business. Of course, many people will argue that it's always been this way and they're probably right. The games haven't changed - we have. I'm no longer a little kid who can believe that every ballplayer out on that field is just thrilled to be playing in the Major Leagues the way I want to someday. And still, every once-in-a-while a ballplayer comes along, a Tony Gwynn, a Cal Ripken Jr., and he's everything I'd like to believe I would have been had I been given the gifts.

    Congratulations Cal, Congratulations Tony . . . and thanks.

Vinnie, Guido, & Timmy

    I had Vinnie Falcone as my guest this afternoon on my weekly radio show, The Sunday Music Festa. The show can be heard on the web stream at our station's website at www.jazz901.org

    Falcone was pianist and then Musical Director for Frank Sinatra for about 8-10 years between 1973 and 1986. He's a fabulous musician and a truly nice man. He's worked with Tony Bennett, Joe Williams, Jack Jones, Rosemary Clooney, Julius La Rosa, Andy Williams, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme and the list goes on and on. He also wrote a very interesting book about a year ago entitled "Frankly, Just Between Us: My Life Conducting Frank Sinatra's Music," with a journalist named Bob Popyk.

    Vinnie told me today that when Sinatra was getting older he planned to spend the last years of his life traveling around to music schools passing on what he knew of the music he loved, namely The Great American Songbook, to young people and young music students.  Unfortunately, he never got that chance as his mental faculties began to fail him in his declining years. Vinnie says he's been doing that whenever he gets the chance in recent years and the response from the young students is always very positive. He's a very articulate and intelligent guy and you couldn't find a better promoter for America's greatest music. He's quite a passionate and intelligent guy and I feel fortunate to call him a friend. It's because of Vinnie that I got to meet Sinatra many years ago but I'll save that story for another day.

    When I spoke with him this afternoon he was in Florida working with Joe Piscopo. They were doing a concert tonight in Tampa. I don't even want to speculate about Piscopo as a singer. I know Vinnie met him years ago and they became friendly. What I found more interesting was that they did a show last night with Piscopo, Victoria Jackson, and Don Novello, aka Father Guido Sarducci. I always thought Father Guido was one of the funniest characters/bits EVER to come out of Saturday Night Live. Truth be told, apparently Novello was doing this character long before Saturday Night Live and David Steinberg saw him and hired him as a comedy writer. He went on to work for the Smothers Brothers and then Lorne Michaels tapped him for Saturday Night Live sometime around 1978. I'm happy to hear that Father Guido is still active and sharing his special brand of wisdom with the world.

     Finally a message for my friend the Ol' Philosopher - not Eddie Lawrence but Timmy Madigan.

To blog is not an easy task
especially with all the questions you ask
you rant and rave and always pester
you fancy yourself an old court jester
but with all the trivial miles you log
you yourself should write a blog.

    Good night for now and remember, as Frank Sinatra used to say that Joe E. Lewis used to say, "A friend in need is a pest."

The Goof and the Gomer

    I watched much of the coverage yesterday morning of the funeral of President Gerald R. Ford. As a somewhat cynical person, certainly when it comes to politics, I don't often get a real patriotic feeling when watching our government in action. However, funerals of former presidents, as well as Inaguaration Days, do make me feel rather proud of our system. The fact that men and women who have, through the years, often been at odds with each other on certain issues can all come together to pay their respects in a civil and dignified manner says something positive about our system. The same goes for the transfer of power in our government. No matter how bitter and ugly a Presidential campaign can get, the transfer of power from one leader and administration to another is always peaceful and civil. That could be seen as hypocritical or it can be seen as an orderly system of rules and laws that is respected by all sides, winners and losers.

    I thought that , generally, all the eulogies were quite good. Bush 41 was admiring of his former mentor and  successfully injected some humor into the proceedings. Henry Kissinger was Henry Kissinger but, at times, seemed dangerously close to getting downright emotional. Tom Brokaw was a man who was on camera in front of millions of people for decades so I expected good things from him. The guy who continues to surprise me is George W. Bush, or Bush 43. This guy seems totally incapable of even "acting" dignified or Presidential. We know he's not too bright, we know he's arrogant despite his lack of enlightenment, but doesn't he know by now how bored he always looks at these very official and/or solemn occasions? Hasn't someone said, "Mr. President, you can't look like you don't give a damn today. You really need to at least act concerned, act remorseful, act respectful." I must admit, as cynical as I am, I still can't get over how either clueless George W. Bush is or how little he cares what the American people think.

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     On a lighter note, my sons and I have been watching DVDs of the first season of Gomer Pyle starring Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton. I'm a little surprised at how funny it is although I shouldn't be. Remember, it was made by most of the same people involved with The Andy Griffith Show such as Sheldon Leonard, Aaron Ruben, Ron Jacobs, and used many of the same Andy Griffith Show writers like Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell, Art Baer and Ben Joelson, and Harvey Bullock. There were even a couple of episodes written by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson. I'm almost positive that Marshall & Belson did not write any Andy Griffith Show  episodes but they did write a good number of episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, I think eighteen in all. The shows that were filmed on that Desilu lot under the watchful eye of Sheldon Leonard, with the cooperation of Danny Thomas, during those golden years served as the equivalent to college courses for dozens of writers, actors, producers, and directors that would work in television comedy for the remainder of the 20th century. Thank heavens that DVDs are making so many of these shows available again for all to watch and enjoy.

     And one more scary observation (I'm not kidding you this time, kids) - the worst of the shows from the 1960s or 1970s are better than about 85% of what's on TV today. Seriously.

New Year's Resolution

Our long, national nightmare is over.

That phrase has three meanings as it applies to today's posting - the first in nearly 12 weeks. The first meaning is strictly tongue-in-cheek as I refer to my long drought in having posted anything on this sight in such a long time. There's been a number of reasons for my dropping the ball but no need to assign blame, especially since most of it would fall to me. Let me just say that my New Year's Resolution for 2007 is to try very hard to post to this sight at least once-a-week. I've been successfully e-mailing weekly updates about my radio show to a list of listeners for over 6 weeks now so there is some precedent established to help us believe I can achieve this lofty goal of once-a-week posting.

The second meaning has, of course, to do with the fact that the Christmas shopping season is over. We still have tomorrow night/New Year's Day before we can officially  acknowledge the end of the holiday season but the worst is behind us. Now we must endure the after holiday sales, the Valentine's Day merchandising which began on December 26th, and the Lincoln & Washington bedding sales which are awaiting us in the very near future. This is the price we pay, I guess, for the fact that America's greatest export is Capitalism.

The third meaning has to do with the passing of our 38th President Gerald R. Ford. It was the quote for whic he is most famous. When I awoke on Wednesday morning there was a banner across the top of the "newspaper" here in Rochester, The Democrat & Chronicle, about his death at the age of 93 but just a small story on page two. I went looking for other papers and was outraged at the lack of coverage, thinking the media had snubbed this "accidental" President. I should have known better. The media, like hungry lions, are always ready and waiting for fresh meat to chew on. It seemed President Ford just died a little too late on the 26th for the news to make it onto the pages of our nation's newspapers for December 27th.

In recent days there has been much coverage, most of it good, some of it condescending, on the Presidency of Gerald R. Ford. Most of his peers, political allies and adversaries, generally agree that he always put what was best for the country above party politics. He placed his own political future in jeopardy to do what he truly felt was necessary for our nation during a time of great turmoil. All of our current polticians are praising him for these selfless qualities. If they really wanted to honor the man they're praising, they could begin by following his example and end the bitter partisan politics that have disabled our nation for the past decade or more and begin working together for what's best for the many, instead of just the few.

Gerald Ford was often the butt of jokes for his clumsiness, his occasional lack of eloquence, his supposedly poor golf game. He once said, "I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln." It was a sign of his simple. Midwestern humility but compared to the current occupant of The White House, Gerald Ford was Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, and Ben Hogan all rolled into one.

Gerald Ford was never elected President but he occupied the office with dignity and respect. History has already begun to recognize his importance to the our nation. Hopefully future politicians and statesman will also recognize his admirable qualities and try to emulate them.

What's wrong with the NFL

    If you asked me to name my sport I would say baseball. First and foremost, I am a baseball guy. That said, I enjoy watching football. However, in recent years, my interest in the NFL has waned. If you gave me a choice, I would much rather watch a college football game over an NFL game. There is no question that NFL Football is America's most popular sport but, then again, "Survivor" was America's most popular TV show for a couple of years, too. So much for popularity.

    There's so much about the NFL these days to dislike. Nevertheless, let's forget about the wife beatings, the murders, the weapons charges, the drug busts, and let's focus on something the average fan can really relate to - showboating.

    True story: I was watching the first quarter of the Giants/Eagles game this afternoon and the Giants had the ball first and 10 on their 20 yard line or thereabouts. The Giants snapped the ball and picked up 11 yards and another first down on the play. A great play call for the Giants, right? Then tell me why the Eagle's defensive player who made the stop after the 11 yard gain jumped up and was beating his chest and pointing at the Giants after the play!?!  He IS aware that the object of the game when his team is on defense is NOT to give up yardage and NOT to allow the opposing team to get first downs, right? Seriously, someone needs to remind him of this fact. Showboating can get annoying enough when you're beating your chest after you make a really important and impressive play but when you start beating your chest after the other team just beat you on a play that goes beyond annoying into just plain stupid.

    Dear NFL studs, play the game like you know you're a professional and you're being paid to be the best. If you can't do that, then please just sit down and shut-up!