I asked the following questions yesterday.  I showed this post to a bunch of folks, including my wife, a lot of people read the blog and not too many people got more than one right.

Who was the first player to jump directly from the Negro Leagues to Major League Baseball?

Who was the first African-American to hit a home run in a World Series?

Who was the first African-American in the American League?

Who was the first African-American to be selected to represent his team for the American League in the All-Star game?

Who became the first African American in the American League to hit a home run in an All-Star game?

Who was the first African-American to lead either league in home runs?

Who was the first African-American to lead either league in slugging percentage?

Another Robinson, Frank, was the first African-American to be named manager of a MLB team.  Who was the second?

And now you know the answers.  It’s all one guy – Larry Doby.  He’s really the forgotten man in the breaking of the color barrier.  Jackie Robinson’s shadow is so huge that it’s understandable.

But Larry experienced the same prejudice and treatment and his story is not really told often.  We all know the story of Pee Wee Reese, Dodger shortstop and Kentuckian, coming up to his rookie teammate second baseman, Jackie Robinson, and putting his arm around Jackie’s shoulders.  It’s an iconic story that shouldn’t be forgotten.

But how about Joe Gordon, MVP award winner with the Yankees, and then teammate of Larry’s asking the young man the simplest and most important questions, “Hey Kid, how ‘bout a catch?” setting the tone for the rest of the Indians for the rest of their lives.

What about the story of Bill Veeck first trying to purchase the Phillies during the reign of then Commissioner and racist Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis and being rebuffed?  And then  integrating the American League with Larry Doby and then the great Satchel Paige.

These stories are as important as Jackie’s because it’s the second, third, fourth men who integrated the leagues that made it feel normal and made us scratch our heads in wonder at why we didn’t do this earlier.

Here’s my rant.

People rail against the usage of steroids by superstar ballplayers such as Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire and how there isn’t a level playing field right now because blah blah blah and more blah blah blah.  They wish that we could go back to the old days when the game was pure and the playing field was level.

The playing field isn’t level and it never has been.

How many less home runs would Babe Ruth have had if he had to face Negro League Hall of Fame pitchers Satchel Paige, Smokey Joe Williams or Bullet Rogan in their primes?  Or if he had to face any of the great Latino pitchers from Cuba, Puerto Rico, South and Central America who never got the chance?  If each of the then 16 teams in Major League Baseball had one more non-white starting pitcher would the prodigious stats of the early era in baseball by people like Babe Ruth been accomplished?

If Josh Gibson had had his chance, how many of the catchers from back in the era before Jackie and Larry would be in the Hall of Fame, given the dominance that we could have seen by him?

Mickey Mantle and other young white ballplayers of the 50s and 60s didn’t have to play with the same pressures and prejudices that the blacks and Latinos of the same era did.  How much better could those ballplayers have been without the added personal stuff that came with them just being a ballplayer?

I can go on and on, but you get my point.

Yes, we needed Jackie Robinson to smash through the glass door and start the integration of our great sport.

We also needed Larry Doby to quietly slip through that door, endure what Jackie did, accomplish what Larry did, under the radar, so that it became normal for us to cheer for our new found heroes without regard to the color of their skin.  Or their eye color.

“Lawrence, you are going to be part of history.” – Indians’ owner Bill Veeck “Part of history? I have no notions about that. I just want to play baseball.” – Larry Doby

Here’s to you Larry.  Thanks for making it possible for all of us who just want to play baseball.

The World Wide Leader in Sports ESPN is reporting that the Kansas City Royals are holding a voluntary mini-camp before Spring Training.

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Zack Greinke, the 2009 American League Cy Young award winner, is not resting on his laurels.

Greinke, who led the majors with a 2.16 earned run average while posting a 16-8 record last season, was among the early arrivals Friday as the Kansas City Royals opened spring training with a mini-camp.

It was labeled a voluntary camp and pitchers and catchers are not scheduled to report until Wednesday. But Greinke’s attendance sent a message. The Royals are trying to get a head start after finishing last in the American League Central for the fifth time in the past six seasons.

I’m thinking that this is a little bit of much ado about nothing.  I don’t see how one week of extra training is going to help at all when Spring Training is 6 weeks long, the season is about 30 weeks long and the ballplayers have all the time and money in the world to stay in shape.

Do the Royals honestly believe that one extra week is going to make a difference in the start of the season?  Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint.  Getting a good jump in a marathon is a bit ridiculous, unless you can keep up the pace the whole way.  I’m thinking that a team that finishes in 6th every year just doesn’t have the talent to get that done.

I give them an E for effort, though.

Who was the first player to jump directly from the Negro Leagues to Major League Baseball?

Who was the first African-American to hit a home run in a World Series?

Who was the first African-American in the American League?

Who was the first African-American to be selected to represent his team for the American League in the All-Star game?

Who became the first African American in the American League to hit a home run in an All-Star game?

Who was the first African-American to lead either league in home runs?

Who was the first African-American to lead either league in slugging percentage?

Another Robinson, Frank, was the first African-American to be named manager of a MLB team.  Who was the second?

by Chris Williams

I admit it. I’m a Phillies fan. No matter how bad they play, I can’t stop rooting for the guys in the red pinstripes. Explaining why I feel this way is impossible; it’s like being in love. But instead of being smitten with a pretty cheerleader, being a Phillies fan is like being stuck on the mousiest girl in school.

This emotional bondage goes back many years. Growing up in Levittown, PA in the 1960’s, I was the only kid in my neighborhood who rooted for the Phils. The rest of my friends followed clubs who had an honest chance to win the pennant. The Pirates, Reds, Dodgers and Giants were among the most popular teams. By the end of the decade the Phillies were on a downward spiral. A week of .500 baseball was a cause for optimism. Even though my friends didn’t share my affection for the Phils, they did like to go to Philadelphia to see major league baseball. Many a Saturday or Sunday afternoon we hopped on a train to North Philly to old Connie Mack Stadium.

Years later, my parents were horrified to learn that a bunch of us regularly went into the big, bad city without adult protection. Understandable, considering that the neighborhood we ventured into wasn’t exactly a haven of peace and tranquility.

Connie Mack Stadium opened in 1909 and was the first concrete and steel baseball palace in America. Originally named Shibe Park, it was home for some great Philadelphia A’s teams managed by the legendary Connie Mack. The Phillies became tenants in 1938 and were generally terrible. Among the few exceptions include a pennant winner in 1950 and the famous choke of 1964. By the time I started to follow the Phillies, the stadium had deteriorated in proportion to the club’s chronic lack of success on the field. I recall ancient filthy bathrooms that smelled awful on hot days and mildew clinging to the walls under the grandstand. Seating was serviceable at best; spectators paid for a couple of hours in hard, wooden chairs that had been painted numerous times to mask their age. A nearly-imperceptible grime had settled on the ballpark, a mute testimony to the smokestack industries that surrounded the neighborhood and the city.

Despite this, Connie Mack Stadium possessed certain charms, such as a neatly-manicured grass playing surface. Beyond the rest rooms, your sense of smell was massaged by the ingrained aroma of hot dogs, popcorn and beer. If you weren’t saddled with an obstructed seat, it was a great place to watch a game. Fans were close to the action and you didn’t need binoculars to see the players.

The magic of Connie Mack Stadium transcended its diminished condition. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Lou Gerhig head the list of baseball luminaries who graced those pastures. Even the sad-sack Phillies boasted excellent players like Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts and Del Ennis. A trip to 21st and Lehigh was a trip to baseball history.

(more…)

SAN FRANCISCO (ESPN News Services) –  Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants reached agreement Friday on a $23 million, two-year contract ahead of the scheduled start of an arbitration hearing.

Lincecum gets a $2 million signing bonus, $8 million this year, $13 million in 2011 and the chance to earn performance and award bonuses. The agreement is subject to a physical.

This seems to be a bit smaller than what had been previously reported and for one less year.  Perhaps the performance and award bonuses will make up for the missing year and $14M and some change left on the table.

It also allows Lincecum to leave in free agency at the age of 28 or sign a longer term deal with the Giants.  As far as the Giants go, they do not have to go and lose at arbitration and will be insured against injury or lack of performance which we’ve seen many times after a large contract is signed.

All in all a win/win situation for both the player and the team.  I like that.