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Author Archives: rightoffthebatbook
Tough-luck Buck
Buck Showalter was with the Hyannis Port Mets of the Cape Cod League (which he tore up offensively) as well as then being a fine minor-league first baseman in the New York Yankees farm system. Buck had the poor luck … Continue reading
Ozzie, No Harriet, Lost in Translation
The usually fun Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen has been suspended by the Marlins for comments on Fidel Castro that he (OG) says had most to do with the challenges of going from English to Spanish in several interviews. Speaking … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball
Tagged Literature, Major League Baseball, Miami Marlins, Ozzie Guillen
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Unusual Opening Day for Yankees and Movie with the Literal Hollywood Ending
Yesterday, also Good Friday for the Western Church and the start of Passover at sundown for all Jews, happened to be Opening Day for the New York Yankees—first pitch after 3 p.m. It wound up the first Opening Day meltdown … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Cricket, Right Off the Bat Book, Right Off the Bat Podcasts, Yankees
Tagged Al Campanis, Brooklyn Dodgers, Carl Hubbell, Joe Girardi, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, Mark McGwire, New York Giants, Nick Swisher, San Francisco Giants, Wild Card, Yankee Stadium
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Former Baseball Hall of Fame Researcher on the Mets at 50
Check it out! Mets 50th ANN. Join former National Baseball Hall of Fame researcher and librarian Russell Wolinsky at Hofstra University, April 26, 6 p.m., for his lecture on “The Era between June 15, 1977, and June 15, 1983.” It’s … Continue reading
Biopic of Hank Aaron
The Hollywood Reporter announces a film on Hank Aaron. It will be made by the director of The Natural. As he approached and surpassed Babe Ruth’s sacrosanct lifetime home-run record, Aaron—who was playing in Atlanta at the time—was subject to … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Right Off the Bat Book
Tagged Atlanta Braves, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson
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The Curse of Number One
Amid the endless rounds of bi- and tri-lateral tournaments that dominate the cricket calendar, there are really only two honors that the major cricket-playing nations covet. One is to win the quadrennial World Cup, which uses the one-day (50-over) form … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cricket, England, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Test Cricket, West Indies
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Baseball and Jazz
According to the Boston Globe, pitcher Ben Henderson may be the first individual to have used the word jazz. An April 2, 1912, headline says so. Different dictionaries, such as Webster’s Third and The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, furnish alternate … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Right Off the Bat Book
Tagged Buck O'Neil, C. I. Taylor, Ebbets Field, Jackie Robinson, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Josh Gibson, Literature, Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, Newt Allen, Oscar Charleston, Ray Dandridge, Satchel Paige, Turkey Stearnes, Willie Foster, Willie Wells, Yankee Stadium
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Ascending Mount Vernon
With his six-wicket haul in the third Test match against New Zealand, South African bowler Vernon Philander has taken over fifty wickets in only seven Test matches: the quickest to that feat since—wait for it!—1893. Unlike his bowling partners in … Continue reading
Posted in Cricket, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Test Cricket
Tagged Dale Steyn, Marchant de Lange, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander
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The Great Khan
We at Right Off the Bat have already turned our magisterial attentions to cricketers-turned-politicians here, but it’s worth dwelling on the phenomenon that is Imran Khan. Simply put, Khan was probably the greatest all-rounder of his generation. (His heyday was … Continue reading
Better Luck Next Time, U.S.
As the more discerning of our readers will know, the 2012 World Twenty20 cricket championship is due to take place in September in Sri Lanka. In addition to ten places allotted to the top teams (Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri … Continue reading
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