They're Coming Back
As was reported by the local media outlets a few weeks ago, the rockies are planning a reunion of the Blake Street Bombers. The gathering of the players that were the core of the only glory days the rockies have seen has yet to be announced, but Coors Field is likely to be full for a game not Opening Day or having fireworks for the first time in quite awhile. I'm not sure, but this event sounds very similar to what was proposed here back in October. I suppose I'm going to go out on a limb and take credit for this idea. It may be purely coincidence, but if Rick Cummings, blogging inspiration extraordinaire, author of NFTMM and great-great nephew of Candy Cummings, can take credit for the rockies removing the Wild Card Champion banner at CF, then I can take credit for the BSB Reunion. Regardless of the originator of the idea, I, for one, will be looking forward to the opportunity to see the BSB one last time.
Speaking of Rick Cummings, he emailed me with a question that I had been contemplating myself. Cal Ripken Jr. was elected to the Hall of Fame a couple of weeks ago the first year he was eligible. He was listed on 537 of the 545 ballots, for a percentage of 98.5% of the ballots. Now, Rick's question was "How could anyone, let alone eight individuals, leave Ripken Jr. off their ballot?" Two ballots were submitted blank, so in actuality, six voters left Ripken off of their ballot completely. I too find this hard to comprehend. There is a school of thinking that players may well be HOF caliber, but not first-ballot HOF. Many, including me, believe this school of thought is ridiculous. Either a player is a HOFer or is he isn't. I'm guessing this is the sentiment behind the six individuals that left Ripken off their ballot. They won't have a second chance and will forever be known as not voting for Ripken. Ripken is certainly worthy of induction to the HOF. Ripken revolutionized the shortstop position. When he began his Major League career, shortstops had traditionally been defensive oriented, slap-hitters that could occasionally contribute offensively. Ripken offered defensive excellence while also providing power from a position on the field that rarely had before. He was big for a shortstop, but was still quick and agile enough to have decent range defensively. The position of shortstop is no longer an offensive liability while focusing strictly on defense. Some may say this is mostly a product of today's offense-oriented game, but I believe a great deal of this evolution in the game should be credited to Ripken. In fact, Ripken's effect on the shortstop position bled over to second base, changing the face of that position as well. What better criteria for a HOFer than to change the future of a position he never even played. Shame on those six individuals.
Lastly, for a new DITR record (three) for references to one reader in a single post, Rick Cummings, in his most recent entry at NFTMM, detailed the inner-workings of his blog and "blogging empire" as a whole. Thank goodness! We here at DITR were thoroughly confused, what with all the OFs and no mention of 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, C or pitchers, either starters or relievers, lefthanded or righthanded. Thanks, Rick, for the clarification.
Only 24 days until Spring Training. For updates, visit the website.
Until next time, go rockies!
Speaking of Rick Cummings, he emailed me with a question that I had been contemplating myself. Cal Ripken Jr. was elected to the Hall of Fame a couple of weeks ago the first year he was eligible. He was listed on 537 of the 545 ballots, for a percentage of 98.5% of the ballots. Now, Rick's question was "How could anyone, let alone eight individuals, leave Ripken Jr. off their ballot?" Two ballots were submitted blank, so in actuality, six voters left Ripken off of their ballot completely. I too find this hard to comprehend. There is a school of thinking that players may well be HOF caliber, but not first-ballot HOF. Many, including me, believe this school of thought is ridiculous. Either a player is a HOFer or is he isn't. I'm guessing this is the sentiment behind the six individuals that left Ripken off their ballot. They won't have a second chance and will forever be known as not voting for Ripken. Ripken is certainly worthy of induction to the HOF. Ripken revolutionized the shortstop position. When he began his Major League career, shortstops had traditionally been defensive oriented, slap-hitters that could occasionally contribute offensively. Ripken offered defensive excellence while also providing power from a position on the field that rarely had before. He was big for a shortstop, but was still quick and agile enough to have decent range defensively. The position of shortstop is no longer an offensive liability while focusing strictly on defense. Some may say this is mostly a product of today's offense-oriented game, but I believe a great deal of this evolution in the game should be credited to Ripken. In fact, Ripken's effect on the shortstop position bled over to second base, changing the face of that position as well. What better criteria for a HOFer than to change the future of a position he never even played. Shame on those six individuals.
Lastly, for a new DITR record (three) for references to one reader in a single post, Rick Cummings, in his most recent entry at NFTMM, detailed the inner-workings of his blog and "blogging empire" as a whole. Thank goodness! We here at DITR were thoroughly confused, what with all the OFs and no mention of 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, C or pitchers, either starters or relievers, lefthanded or righthanded. Thanks, Rick, for the clarification.
Only 24 days until Spring Training. For updates, visit the website.
Until next time, go rockies!
Labels: Blake Street Bombers, Cal Ripken Jr.
posted by Todd Nikkel | 7:11 AM
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