Paul, if you ever again run a photo of someone clinging for survival from a ridiculous height (i.e., anything over 12 feet—15 at most), I swear to God I’m canceling my subscription and demanding a refund no matter how hilarious the caption is.
Oh come on, he had a rope! My thought looking at that picture was: "What is the point of wearing a helmet in that situation?" Either the rope works or it doesn't.
Seems like a strange thing to attempt while you're in town to see a doctor about your recently healed wrist. It's always amazed me that no batter has ever hit the scoreboard in all this time. Great share, Bill, thank you!
It was so interesting to see these writers from over a hundred years ago debate just how long between catching a ball and bobbling it disqualified it. It became clear with time that the guy who would get the credit for this could not bobble it at all. I'd say Phil Baker did about 98% of the job but got zero credit for it. That he was such an obscure player probably hurt his case, too. You want Oneil Cruz to be the one to have the hard-hit record and you want the guy catching this ball to be a name catcher. We'll see how it turns out.
Paul, if you ever again run a photo of someone clinging for survival from a ridiculous height (i.e., anything over 12 feet—15 at most), I swear to God I’m canceling my subscription and demanding a refund no matter how hilarious the caption is.
Oh come on, he had a rope! My thought looking at that picture was: "What is the point of wearing a helmet in that situation?" Either the rope works or it doesn't.
Great point! Lol! This was fascinating, and one of your best baseball-adjacent stories. Part 2 is sure to be worth waiting for!
"Baseball-adjacent" -- I love that! Guilty as charged.
I thought I remembered you describing your newsletter that way! At any rate it is apt.
Maybe that's why I love it--but hearing it from you I'm sure it will stick.
This story reminds me of golfer Sam Snead hitting a 2-iron over the Wrigley Field scoreboard in 1951 - a wacky, sort-of-baseball story. . .
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/12/13/5203818/wrigley-field-history-april-17-1951
Seems like a strange thing to attempt while you're in town to see a doctor about your recently healed wrist. It's always amazed me that no batter has ever hit the scoreboard in all this time. Great share, Bill, thank you!
It was so interesting to see these writers from over a hundred years ago debate just how long between catching a ball and bobbling it disqualified it. It became clear with time that the guy who would get the credit for this could not bobble it at all. I'd say Phil Baker did about 98% of the job but got zero credit for it. That he was such an obscure player probably hurt his case, too. You want Oneil Cruz to be the one to have the hard-hit record and you want the guy catching this ball to be a name catcher. We'll see how it turns out.