thanks..will get on it now.

Thanks for the advice. I will definately work on that and dont worry about critisizing me, the only reason I am here is to become a better writer so any help is appreciated.

Just finished Steve Blass article a few minutes ago.

I always liked Tug McGraw. His son Tim McGraw had Tug's photo on his wall before he even knew he was his daddy.

I was watching when Tug McGraw ended the World Series in 1980. I had seen the Royals that year in Arlington,Texas playing the Rangers and remember Clint Hurdle hitting a homer for the Royals.

I was exaggerating a little when I said "nobody" has. Only one team in NL history (since 1900, the onset of the so-called "modern" game) has ever done it, the St. Louis Cardinals, as I mentioned. No NL team has ever done it, and only two AL teams have done it in a 162-game season (i.e. since 1961).

But nobody's ever done it without either a crazy-high run environment, like the rabbit-ball era of the 1930's, or the thin air of Coors Field, before they started soaking the baseballs in lard before games. So the Phillies, playing near sea-level in a much more normal run-scoring era, now that the steroid thing isn't such a problem, don't really have a shot.

And for the record, the Tigers, who play in a pitcher's park, really don't have a shot. And didn't before they started the season 0-7 either.

Fantastic videos!! I used to watch Home Run Derby years ago. It is a little different from the Home Run Derby we know today. There must not be anyone in the park for these shows except the camera crew...and the $2,000 prize is a joke today. Can you see Barry Bonds trying to win $2,000...he would laugh at them if they told him he would have a chance to win $2,000. A-Rod makes that much in one swing.

I think you will like the book but don't buy it if you don't have time to read it since I know that can be nervewracking to have a great book to read and no time to read it. I remember the HBO series..think it was called When They Played the Game...then my daughter sold them in a garage sale without my knowledge.

Pete Gray was not much of a hitter but just the fact that he played in the outfield impresses me considering all he had to do just to throw the ball after catching it. I saw Ted Williams in person in Kansas City when the Red Sox played the A's. It is so much fun reliving the past while researching. Manny had just sent me a message about doing a Meet the Users but he may not mind if you do it instead. If you want to read about the past there is a book called When They Played the Game that tells in the player's own words what it was like to play baseball from 1947-1964. I bought it on ebay or amazon for almost nothing but it is a 600 page book and think I got it for about $3 or $4 before shipping. It was written by Danny Peary. You probably can go to amazon.com and read the reviews about it.

I was sad to hear that Eddie Gaedel was murdered and I think the only baseball player to show up at the funeral was the pitcher who pitched to him that day named Bob Cain of the Tigers.