By Charlie Danrick

What manager uttered these rather harsh statements?

“A sense of humor (needs for successful manager) and a good bullpen.”

“Baseball has been good to me since I quit trying to play it.”

“Down there (New Athens, Illinois), we’ve got more taverns than grocery stores. I walked in, threw down a bill and said, ‘Give everybody a drink.’ Nice gesture I thought, but down the bar somebody yelled, ‘Hey big shot, your brother is still a better ballplayer than you are.” [Read more →]

Robin Yount is back in uniform with the Arizona Diamondbacks as their first base coach. Yount tells us what brought him back to the field during Friday’s guest interview on Right Off The Bat beginning at 3:00 PM Pacific right here on LOTGP.com, the A’s web site, or KFRC 610 AM, in Northern California. [Read more →]

Mark Grace, Arizona Diamondback’s firstbaseman, just wants to be remembered as a player who could beat you. He’s the guest today on Right Off The Bat beginning at 3:00 PM Pacific here on LOTGP.com, the A’s web site, or on KFRC 610 AM, in Northern California. [Read more →]

Erik Hiljus sealed his own fate Tuesday night with another subpar performance in a starting roll.

Baseball coaches are well known for masking their true feelings when assessing a player’s performance, but pitching coach Rick Peterson was less than complimentary when he described Hiljus’ poor outing.

Now, the question becomes when do you pitch Aaron Harang, Sunday or Monday?

Here’s what I think. [Read more →]

Brent P. Kelley has written a book on the SF Seals, the title is “The San Francisco Seals, 1946-1957.”

It covers briefly the history of the team through WW II, then it has a history of each season from 1946 through the end of the franchise in 1957. Twenty- five former Seals are interviewed, including Ferris Fain, Con Dempsey, Reno Cheso, and Leo Righetti. The publisher is McFarland and Co., Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. 1-800-253-2187.

You can find it in any bookstore or on the net.

I’ve seen the book and it is a wonderful recollection of one of the most colorful eras in Pacific Coast League history.

You’ll enjoy reading “The San Francisco Seals 1946-1957.”

Reviewed by Marty Lurie [Read more →]

Three teams relying on their pitching got a boost Tuesday night from their starting pitchers.

Mark Mulder beat the Orioles on the road.

Miguel Batista and Jason Schmidt hooked up in an old fashioned National League pitching duel for nine innnigs.

It’s been a long time since I saw Mulder pitch a good game, I’m not as excited about his performance last night as everyone else seems to be.

Batista and Schmidt seem to be the real deal right now.

I’ll tell you why I’m still concerned about Mulder. [Read more →]

No one in baseball journalism has a better handle on the National Pastime than Paul White, editor of USA Today’s Baseball Weekly. Paul White will discuss his views on the pennant races and more Wednesday at 2:50 PM Pacific on Right Off The Bat, heard right here on LOTGP.com, The A’s web site, or 610 KFRC AM in Northern California. [Read more →]

Memorial Day has a special significance to the baseball season. It’s the first big holiday weekend. The weather back East is getting warmer, the pennant races are starting to take shape, and the baseball is getting more consistent.

America used to celebrate the holiday with doubleheaders throughout the majors.

Now, teams travel on Monday and aren’t even scheduled to play. Doubleheaders are a thing of the past.

Let’s check some baseball history for a little perspective on Memorial Day and the excitement it used to provide to the baseball fan.

Forty years ago today, the races were heating up.

Memorial Day in 1962 saw the return of the Dodgers to New York to face the expansion Mets for the first time since “The Bums” abandoned Brooklyn for the West Coast in 1958.

Over 55,000 fans saw the Dodgers sweep the Mets that day, despite the Mets pulling off a triple play in the second game.

Can you really tell anything about the eventual outcome of the pennant chase on May 30th (the day Memorial Day was traditionally observed before the creation of the three day weekend)?

Let’s look at the American League standings after the 1962 Memorial Day twin bills and see what happened during the games on May, 30th, 1962.

It’s interesting. [Read more →]

Lefthanded relievers are worth their weight in gold to a major league manager. The Orioles Buddy Groom is one of the best. Groom is Marty’s guest on Right Off The Bat Tuesday beginning at 2:50 PM Pacific right here on LOTGP.com, the A’s web site, or KFRC 610 AM in Northern California. [Read more →]

Charlie Maxwell played for Detroit in the 50’s. He was from Paw Paw, Michigan and he could hit homers for the Tigers.

He hit most of his homers on Sunday. He is the most famous Sunday hitter in major league history. I used to listen to his games on the radio when he played against the White Sox on Sunday.

See, I only got Sox games on the radio, when I lived in Miami in the late 50’s. Charlie was a legend with his Sunday power. I think that’s where I got hooked on the magic of Sunday baseball.

Today it’s Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Greg Maddux, Javier Vasquez, Barry Zito, Mike Mussina, Eric Milton, and Kevin Appier to name a few, the list is impressive.

They all pitch in key games for their teams this Sunday.

Why does it seem that more rides on Sunday games than any other games during the week.

Baseball fans exhale on Sunday, sit back, and can’t wait to figure out what the day’s results mean to their favorite team.

Sunday was Charlie Maxwell’s day. I’ll never forget him.

[Read more →]