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Al Kaline RIP

Darts

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Ty Cobb was born December 18, 1886
Al Kaline was born December 19, 1934
I see what you did there. LOL
It's just too easy, sometimes.
There would be more satisfaction if there was more of a challenge.
I don't think I've ever commented on that topic one way or the other.
Since all other tennis players are playing the same non-contact sport, it would be logical to conclude that injuries sustained by all tennis players were most likely caused by overtraining.
Since all other tennis players are playing the same non-contact sport, it would be logical to conclude that injuries sustained by all tennis players were most likely caused by overtraining.
1) You are right.
2)There was probably not that much more to be said about AK after 20 posts.
3)Where was I supposed to respond when I was called out on the issue here?
4)You are right.

Tom Webster just died. We could start a thread on him that you are welcome to hijack.
Yeah, but did he ever play with Danny Grant?
These silly and useless posts are disrespectful of the memory of Al Kaline. They should be deleted. They also lower the level of discourse on the Board.
 

Darts

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2017
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Ty Cobb was born December 18, 1886
Al Kaline was born December 19, 1934
I see what you did there. LOL
It's just too easy, sometimes.
There would be more satisfaction if there was more of a challenge.
I don't think I've ever commented on that topic one way or the other.
Since all other tennis players are playing the same non-contact sport, it would be logical to conclude that injuries sustained by all tennis players were most likely caused by overtraining.
Since all other tennis players are playing the same non-contact sport, it would be logical to conclude that injuries sustained by all tennis players were most likely caused by overtraining.
1) You are right.
2)There was probably not that much more to be said about AK after 20 posts.
3)Where was I supposed to respond when I was called out on the issue here?
4)You are right.

Tom Webster just died. We could start a thread on him that you are welcome to hijack.
Yeah, but did he ever play with Danny Grant?
These silly and useless posts are disrespectful of the memory of Al Kaline. They should be deleted. They also lower the level of discourse on the Board.
 

bluecolt

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Jun 18, 2011
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These silly and useless posts are disrespectful of the memory of Al Kaline. They should be deleted. They also lower the level of discourse on the Board.
Damn right, Darts. Finally, someone who agrees, who does not have Trump Derangement Syndrome, that these threads are degenerating to the fighting akin to fourteen year old girls.
 

shack

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I'm done (I promise) No more needs to be said.
 

trm

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Al Kaline: .297 batting average, 399 home runs, 3007 hits and ten gold gloves. I saw him play many times. He had a great arm, nobody took an extra base on him. Enough said.
 

Nad Smith

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funny thing about legends. You never remember the strikeouts or the 1 for 24 slumps...just because their greatness overwhelms the bumps along the road
 

bluecolt

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funny thing about legends. You never remember the strikeouts or the 1 for 24 slumps...just because their greatness overwhelms the bumps along the road
Nad, the saddest thing about many stars is that they hang around too long and try to play when it is obvious that their best days are far in the rear view mirror. In 1974, his last year, Kaline played the entire season as one of the first designated hitters in baseball. It was the first year that pitchers didn't have to bat. Even though he still hit .262, 35 points below his career average, he was punchless, with only 13 homers and 64 rbi. That was over 147 games. I watched the Tigers a lot that year, both at the ballpark and on TV. I dreaded Kaline's at bats at that time, because he was only a ghost of his former self and he became almost an automatic out.

This also happened to others, too. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth all suffered the same fate. They were truly mediocre at the close of their careers. Trivia fact. All three of these players had something in common. They all started and ended their careers in the same city, but with different teams. Willie Mays started with the Giants and finished with the Mets, Hank Aaron with the Braves and then, the Brewers, and The Babe started pitching for the Red Sox and finished as a player-coach for the Boston Braves.
 

shack

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Nad, the saddest thing about many stars is that they hang around too long and try to play when it is obvious that their best days are far in the rear view mirror.
My theory is that what makes so many of these players play so well is the confidence that they have in their abilities. At that level, if you don't have confidence, you will not succeed.

IMO, they carry that confidence in themselves throughout their careers, even as they get to the age that their skills diminish. They still believe that they can get it back. They have to be hit over the head to finally accept that they can't get it back. And that's why you get them playing a year or two beyond where they should have. Hey, nothing wrong with still cashing in a paycheque.
 

WyattEarp

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There seems to be quite some affinity for Al Kaline among members of a certain generation. Before baseball in Canada and Toronto, were the Detroit Tigers popular in Ontario?
 

bluecolt

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There seems to be quite some affinity for Al Kaline among members of a certain generation. Before baseball in Canada and Toronto, were the Detroit Tigers popular in Ontario?
Yes, the Tigers were very popular in the Windsor, Essex County, Kent County area. Prior to the Expos and Blue Jays, there was nothing else. Tiger Stadium was ten minute ride on the tunnel bus from downtown Windsor, a wave through at US Customs, get back on the tunnel bus to Kennedy Square, stop in front of the National Bank of Detroit and a fifteen minute walk to the ballpark along Michigan Avenue. Tickets were $4 maximum for box seats and $1 for the bleachers. We usually got reserved lower deck seats for $3.50.

I liked most of the Tigers, especially Earl Wilson and Mickey Lolich. They were true gentlemen. I hated Denny McLain, especially after he was banned for a while for gambling by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. He was a thoughtless self-centred clod who pulled mean pranks in the dressing room. Later in life, he served two terms in Federal Prison and even got recharged with his buddy, John Gotti, Jr, for telephone ripoffs while still in the Pen. Some years later, while chatting with Earl Wilson one day, he indicated that he, and many of the other Tigers, did not like McLain at all and that "he was not a nice man." We were friends. I miss Earl Wilson.

Also, the Red Wings were very popular in Windsor. There was a great rivalry with Leaf fans, and one bar in Windsor even flew both Red Wing and Maple Leaf banners. It was a friendly rivalry.

I was partial to the Red Wings, after meeting many of them personally and helping them with their tax situations.
 

WyattEarp

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Some years later, while chatting with Earl Wilson one day, he indicated that he, and many of the other Tigers, did not like McLain at all and that "he was not a nice man." We were friends. I miss Earl Wilson.
What I love about Earl Wilson was that he was a power-hitting pitcher. He had 35 home runs, 111 RBI's in 740 at-bats.
 

bluecolt

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He was also a nice humble down to earth guy. After retirement, he opened an engine rebuilding business in Detroit. He was a real gentleman. He had a 20 game season in 1967 and was called upon to pinch hit, due to his hitting prowess.
 

Darts

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and was called upon to pinch hit, due to his hitting prowess.
Don Drysdale and Gary Peters were also good hitting pitcher. I remember one time Drysdale won a game 1-0. He hit the home run for the one run.
 

bluecolt

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Don Drysdale and Gary Peters were also good hitting pitcher. I remember one time Drysdale won a game 1-0. He hit the home run for the one run.
Batters could not dig in against the late Don Drysdale. He was particularly mean when he pitched and would not have a problem plunking you with a fast ball. I recall following him and Bob Gibson as they both vied for the Cy Young in 1968. Both of them had substantial shutout streaks of 50+ innings during the year, later to be copied and bested by Orel Hershiser over twenty years later. Gibson was best with a miniscule 1.12 ERA pitching over 300 innings and a 22 win season with 28 complete games in 34 starts and leading the league with 268 Ks. I often wondered how he lost 9 games in 1968. Drysdale, playing for the punchless Dodgers, had a 2.15 ERA but could only manage 14 wins. I thought that, with a better team, 1968 should have been a 20 game season for him. Drysdale pitched for one more year and retired in 1969 at 32. Gibson retired several years later. Both are in the Hall of Fame.
 

Darts

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Batters could not dig in against the late Don Drysdale. He was particularly mean when he pitched and would not have a problem plunking you with a fast ball.
Here's a Don Drysdale story. The manager came to the mound and instructed Drysdale to issue an intentional walk. As the manager was walking back to the dugout he heard an awful scream. The manager turned around and asked Drydale what happened? Drysdale said he hit
the batter with one pitch because he didn't want to throw 4 pitches when one would do.

P.S. Any moment now, Shack and/or George will say that this is a thread about Kaline and not about Drysdale.
 

gcostanza

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Here's a Don Drysdale story. The manager came to the mound and instructed Drysdale to issue an intentional walk. As the manager was walking back to the dugout he heard an awful scream. The manager turned around and asked Drydale what happened? Drysdale said he hit
the batter with one pitch because he didn't want to throw 4 pitches when one would do.

P.S. Any moment now, Shack and/or George will say that this is a thread about Kaline and not about Drysdale.
/Attempted Hijacking, but I'll play....

You write that Drysdale threw a pitch as the manager was walking back to the dugout?

I don't believe you.

Mr. Drysdale may have hit the batter on the 1st pitch following the mound visit, but unlikely the batter would emit an awful scream.
The umpire would not have signaled 'play ball', allowing play to resume after timeout was called when the manager (I'll guess Walter Alston) 1st entered the field of play. Resumption of play would is extremely unlikely to have occurred until the manager was safely back in the dugout.

Documentation, please.
 

bluecolt

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Continuing with Don Drysdale. In those days of yore, athletes would often appear as cameos on various tv shows and commercials of the era. Extra money was important when you were not making a whole lot more than the average fan. Willie Mays and Don Drysdale (twice) appeared on the Donna Reed Show as themselves. The plot was paper thin. Jeff Stone (Paul Peterson) wanted to quit school to become a ball player. Donna Stone (Donna Reed) and her husband, Dr Stone (Carl Betz) colluded with the ballplayers to discourage him. I remember the look on Paul Peterson's face when he caught a Drysdale fastball, to which Willie Mays retorted, "Sponge." Paul nodded and slipped the sponge into his glove. He landed up using two sponges. It was a funny episode. I haven't seen it since the sixties.
Don also won $75 on Groucho Marx's show, "You Bet Your Life," with his wife as contestants. Strangely, I recall Whitey Ford hawking Camel cigarettes in a tv commercial, when cigarette advertising was prevalent on the tube. In fact, Johnny Carson and his guests used to smoke on his late night show.
 

The Oracle

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Mar 8, 2004
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On the slopes of Mount Parnassus, Greece
Continuing with Don Drysdale. In those days of yore, athletes would often appear as cameos on various tv shows and commercials of the era. Extra money was important when you were not making a whole lot more than the average fan. Willie Mays and Don Drysdale (twice) appeared on the Donna Reed Show as themselves. The plot was paper thin. Jeff Stone (Paul Peterson) wanted to quit school to become a ball player. Donna Stone (Donna Reed) and her husband, Dr Stone (Carl Betz) colluded with the ballplayers to discourage him. I remember the look on Paul Peterson's face when he caught a Drysdale fastball, to which Willie Mays retorted, "Sponge." Paul nodded and slipped the sponge into his glove. He landed up using two sponges. It was a funny episode. I haven't seen it since the sixties.
Don also won $75 on Groucho Marx's show, "You Bet Your Life," with his wife as contestants. Strangely, I recall Whitey Ford hawking Camel cigarettes in a tv commercial, when cigarette advertising was prevalent on the tube. In fact, Johnny Carson and his guests used to smoke on his late night show.
You saying reminded of an episode of Bewitched in which I remembered Jack Snow of the L.A. Rams making a cameo as himself. I wasn't sure if I was right or not so I looked him up on Wiki and sure enough it mentioned there. Good call on why that was happening in that era. I never considered that.
 

shack

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Goddamn it, you assholes! This thread was about Al Kaline passing on. Let's stick to the subject, Al Kaline.
Batters could not dig in against the late Don Drysdale. He was particularly mean when he pitched and would not have a problem plunking you with a fast ball. I recall following him and Bob Gibson as they both vied for the Cy Young in 1968. Both of them had substantial shutout streaks of 50+ innings during the year, later to be copied and bested by Orel Hershiser over twenty years later. Gibson was best with a miniscule 1.12 ERA pitching over 300 innings and a 22 win season with 28 complete games in 34 starts and leading the league with 268 Ks. I often wondered how he lost 9 games in 1968. Drysdale, playing for the punchless Dodgers, had a 2.15 ERA but could only manage 14 wins. I thought that, with a better team, 1968 should have been a 20 game season for him. Drysdale pitched for one more year and retired in 1969 at 32. Gibson retired several years later. Both are in the Hall of Fame.
Continuing with Don Drysdale. In those days of yore, athletes would often appear as cameos on various tv shows and commercials of the era. Extra money was important when you were not making a whole lot more than the average fan. Willie Mays and Don Drysdale (twice) appeared on the Donna Reed Show as themselves. The plot was paper thin. Jeff Stone (Paul Peterson) wanted to quit school to become a ball player. Donna Stone (Donna Reed) and her husband, Dr Stone (Carl Betz) colluded with the ballplayers to discourage him. I remember the look on Paul Peterson's face when he caught a Drysdale fastball, to which Willie Mays retorted, "Sponge." Paul nodded and slipped the sponge into his glove. He landed up using two sponges. It was a funny episode. I haven't seen it since the sixties.
Don also won $75 on Groucho Marx's show, "You Bet Your Life," with his wife as contestants. Strangely, I recall Whitey Ford hawking Camel cigarettes in a tv commercial, when cigarette advertising was prevalent on the tube. In fact, Johnny Carson and his guests used to smoke on his late night show.
I must have missed the Al Kaline references in your posts. Remember, this thread is about him. Not Donna Reed or Groucho Marx. Glad you brought him up, though, my all time favourite comedian and probably the most influential of all time. And actually, I remember hearing that Groucho was an Al Kaline fan.

 

The Oracle

Pronouns: Who/Cares
Mar 8, 2004
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On the slopes of Mount Parnassus, Greece
I must have missed the Al Kaline references in your posts. Remember, this thread is about him. Not Donna Reed or Groucho Marx. Glad you brought him up, though, my all time favourite comedian and probably the most influential of all time. And actually, I remember hearing that Groucho was an Al Kaline fan.
Oh the irony,lol...........But because Groucho was a Marx fan here is a very funny interview that he did with Dick Cavett. Just for Eddie
 
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