Thank you, Joe. I missed your kindness post and I’m so glad this recap led me to it. Your blog is one of the few things that helps me choose to see that side of the world and I’m so grateful for it.
So many great moments. So two comments. Jimmy Carter. You might love or hate his performance as POTUS but he was a stellar example of what a man should be. His charitable works, his refusal to use his political career as a launching pad to great wealth all stood out. As to Willie Mays, never saw him live but saw him a lot on TV. To me he was the greatest. There were people that will pull out record and argue otherwise, which is fine. On the other hand, if you watched him, even if only on TV, in his prime he was the greatest living ball player.
I saw Willie Mays play, once, in Puerto Rico’s Winter League in 1954; I was 12 and in a good seat with a close view of the infield at the old Sixto Escobar stadium in San Juan. Willie was very young and an up-and-coming major leaguer but not yet the superstar he became. He was already a NY Giant but chose to play winter ball that season. Then he came to bat and hit … something … I don’t remember what. It was his running to first base that impressed me: The long strides and his speed just set him apart from all the other players, some of whom were Negro League stars and great players themselves. But Willie was just … different. Many years later in 1984, I rode a Dulles-airport bus, and to my delight Willie was sitting across from me! He was older and long retired from baseball but instantly recognizable. He was alone. Coincidentally, I was dressed in coat and tie as if for this moment. I got up, walked across the aisle (the bus was nearly empty), and spoke with him, told him I had seen him play in Puerto Rico for the Santurce team. I called him Mr. Mays. He perked up, smiled, and mentioned the year immediately. We exchanged a few more words (don’t remember what as I was star struck), and I asked for his autograph, which he promptly gave me and which I gave to my son, who had it framed and placed on display at his house where it remains today. (My son is a lifelong baseball fan and author of “The Book of Baseball Literacy.”) Willie Mays is truly immortal. He lives on in the memories of millions. Those of us who were lucky to see him play and later had some contact with him will pass on, but the memories will pass to the next generation, and so on. By the way, my son and I are lifelong Dodger fans but it doesn’t matter: baseball greatness has no team.
oh my God, Joe- you have just made me flood with tears, especially as i got to #1- i DID get to see Willie Mays play- many, many times in person at wretched Candlestick (which probably deprived him of soooooo many homers!!!) and i will say this:
WILLIE MAYS WAS ALL THAT- AND MORE!!! (his Godson Barry wasn't a slouch either!)
wishing you, your family and all your devoted fans herein a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year... and maybe a bit of peace in the world might be nice? (ahhh, i dream, maybe pigs will fly)
Mays hit more home runs at home (335) than on the road (325). He averaged a homer every 15 at-bats at Candlestick and every 15.4 at-bats at the Polo Grounds. On the road, it was one every 17.4 at-bats.
i didn't know that... but still, there is no doubt that were he not battling the constant winds coming in from left field at the Stick, his HR total may well have exceeded 700...
Love your #1, with its tribute to Willie. But my heart is with No. 9. Why? - while not a Dodgers fan, I am a Red Sox fan. And here’s the Great line that won my heart: “Now the score was 5-1, and now horror movie music was playing in New York…”. Finest kind!
This year blew for a number of reasons. But always thankful when I get a notification about new JoeBlogs content, even if the subject is not my personal cup of tea (Browns diary or anything NFL for that matter, fountain pen obsession, chess). No matter the content I will devour anything Joe puts out there.
Kudos to you Joe, for being one of the most productive and positive people I know of, while raising two apparently fantastic daughters and losing significant weight to boot. Like Aaron Burr says, "How do you write like tomorrow won't arrive? How do you write like you need it to survive?..."
Thank you for your writings and just being there in this world. When I am having a down day I know that when I get your blog I’m gonna smile a few times!
That’s his daughter. She looks at him with love and cringe. I get the same look from my own daughter at times.
Your writing about Willie was wonderful. I too was too young to have seen him play but listening to my grandpa tell me about him or watching old clips helped me realize what a truly once in a lifetime player he was. My grandpa thought he was one of the best but he saw Satchel play and The Ghost play so he knew a lot more about baseball than I did and saw it with his own eyes! Thanks again Joe!!
i was blessed, growing up in SF Bay Area (born '56) to have seen the immortal Willie Mays play many times- and he was definitely the best- and his Godson Barry was no sluch either...
The girl in the commercial is definitely his daughter, and she is not twirling his hair, she is removing the price tag from the new Alabama hat he just bought. She is an Alabama student. Her Dad is obviously not a sports fan, and is trying to act like one to connect with his daughter.
Not me. I'm a died in the wool Mariners fan but every time I go to another team's home park for the first time I try to buy a hat. My Oakland hat is not a team hat or even a Slider (their final Oakland mascot) hat. It is a batting hat in green with a gray tinge. The picture is an African elephant with a baseball hat, sunglasses, two tusks and two crossed bats. Never getting rid of that.
Man I can't wait for more HOF posts =) Joe, WHEN are you going to finally make a book about all things Baseball Hall of Fame?!?! It could include your interesting and wonderful tidbits about every player on each ballot (and their vote totals...and your response to them)! I've saved HOF articles from you for a dozen years now and still read them every year around this time. I soooo wish you would write a book about the HOF and include who you would have voted for and, ultimately, who would've ended up in the HOF if you'd been the sole elector. We need more books about the HOF, Joe. It's been awhile since Jaws did his brilliant book. We need some Pos HOF.
Of course not. Joe Posnanski's posts about the HOF are classic! I love them. I've been posting on this site for years saying that he needs to write a book about the HOF.
Happy New Year to all, and thanks for the great blog and the many brilliant readers. Your blogs a must read. Given how fast the comments pile up, I think many readers are like me and drop everything when you post a new entry.
Sports Illustrated how I anxiously awaited its arrival each week stretching back to my teenage years. While it was inevitable its fall and the subsequent cancellation of my 40+ year subscription was like the death of a friend.
Read faithfully after my Dad had his shot at. Started many years before the first swim suit issue (January 1965 when I was a junior in HS). I never minded that issue much but I do think the best years were before that started.
Thank you, Joe. I missed your kindness post and I’m so glad this recap led me to it. Your blog is one of the few things that helps me choose to see that side of the world and I’m so grateful for it.
So many great moments. So two comments. Jimmy Carter. You might love or hate his performance as POTUS but he was a stellar example of what a man should be. His charitable works, his refusal to use his political career as a launching pad to great wealth all stood out. As to Willie Mays, never saw him live but saw him a lot on TV. To me he was the greatest. There were people that will pull out record and argue otherwise, which is fine. On the other hand, if you watched him, even if only on TV, in his prime he was the greatest living ball player.
I saw Willie Mays play, once, in Puerto Rico’s Winter League in 1954; I was 12 and in a good seat with a close view of the infield at the old Sixto Escobar stadium in San Juan. Willie was very young and an up-and-coming major leaguer but not yet the superstar he became. He was already a NY Giant but chose to play winter ball that season. Then he came to bat and hit … something … I don’t remember what. It was his running to first base that impressed me: The long strides and his speed just set him apart from all the other players, some of whom were Negro League stars and great players themselves. But Willie was just … different. Many years later in 1984, I rode a Dulles-airport bus, and to my delight Willie was sitting across from me! He was older and long retired from baseball but instantly recognizable. He was alone. Coincidentally, I was dressed in coat and tie as if for this moment. I got up, walked across the aisle (the bus was nearly empty), and spoke with him, told him I had seen him play in Puerto Rico for the Santurce team. I called him Mr. Mays. He perked up, smiled, and mentioned the year immediately. We exchanged a few more words (don’t remember what as I was star struck), and I asked for his autograph, which he promptly gave me and which I gave to my son, who had it framed and placed on display at his house where it remains today. (My son is a lifelong baseball fan and author of “The Book of Baseball Literacy.”) Willie Mays is truly immortal. He lives on in the memories of millions. Those of us who were lucky to see him play and later had some contact with him will pass on, but the memories will pass to the next generation, and so on. By the way, my son and I are lifelong Dodger fans but it doesn’t matter: baseball greatness has no team.
oh my God, Joe- you have just made me flood with tears, especially as i got to #1- i DID get to see Willie Mays play- many, many times in person at wretched Candlestick (which probably deprived him of soooooo many homers!!!) and i will say this:
WILLIE MAYS WAS ALL THAT- AND MORE!!! (his Godson Barry wasn't a slouch either!)
wishing you, your family and all your devoted fans herein a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year... and maybe a bit of peace in the world might be nice? (ahhh, i dream, maybe pigs will fly)
Mays hit more home runs at home (335) than on the road (325). He averaged a homer every 15 at-bats at Candlestick and every 15.4 at-bats at the Polo Grounds. On the road, it was one every 17.4 at-bats.
i didn't know that... but still, there is no doubt that were he not battling the constant winds coming in from left field at the Stick, his HR total may well have exceeded 700...
Love your #1, with its tribute to Willie. But my heart is with No. 9. Why? - while not a Dodgers fan, I am a Red Sox fan. And here’s the Great line that won my heart: “Now the score was 5-1, and now horror movie music was playing in New York…”. Finest kind!
How is popularity measured? By hits? Comment count? A magical formula that uses those numbers, word count, and number of names dropped??
probably number of clicks on a post
I can't tell if the girl is his daughter or whatever, because I can't bear to watch the commercial, its so cringy
Reading this today led me to read this article by Joe in Sports Illustrated from 3. on Yogi Berra. Laughed out loud and couldn’t have enjoyed it more!
https://vault.si.com/vault/2011/07/04/where-are-they-now
This year blew for a number of reasons. But always thankful when I get a notification about new JoeBlogs content, even if the subject is not my personal cup of tea (Browns diary or anything NFL for that matter, fountain pen obsession, chess). No matter the content I will devour anything Joe puts out there.
Kudos to you Joe, for being one of the most productive and positive people I know of, while raising two apparently fantastic daughters and losing significant weight to boot. Like Aaron Burr says, "How do you write like tomorrow won't arrive? How do you write like you need it to survive?..."
Thank you for your writings and just being there in this world. When I am having a down day I know that when I get your blog I’m gonna smile a few times!
That’s his daughter. She looks at him with love and cringe. I get the same look from my own daughter at times.
Your writing about Willie was wonderful. I too was too young to have seen him play but listening to my grandpa tell me about him or watching old clips helped me realize what a truly once in a lifetime player he was. My grandpa thought he was one of the best but he saw Satchel play and The Ghost play so he knew a lot more about baseball than I did and saw it with his own eyes! Thanks again Joe!!
i was blessed, growing up in SF Bay Area (born '56) to have seen the immortal Willie Mays play many times- and he was definitely the best- and his Godson Barry was no sluch either...
I bet that was a wonderful time! Yeah Barry he was pretty good too! I definitely didn’t appreciate him as much then as I do now.
The girl in the commercial is definitely his daughter, and she is not twirling his hair, she is removing the price tag from the new Alabama hat he just bought. She is an Alabama student. Her Dad is obviously not a sports fan, and is trying to act like one to connect with his daughter.
That all makes sense, except she looks at least 30.
Thanks for another GREAT year of writing and gabbing (with Michael). Happy New Year!
Every time I see an Athletics fan wearing Oakland A's gear, I just want to cry. That team was so important to Oakland.
I got rid of my A's gear, except my Rickey jersey and my Eric Chavez. The A's are dead to me, like Tony Soprano's mother.
Not me. I'm a died in the wool Mariners fan but every time I go to another team's home park for the first time I try to buy a hat. My Oakland hat is not a team hat or even a Slider (their final Oakland mascot) hat. It is a batting hat in green with a gray tinge. The picture is an African elephant with a baseball hat, sunglasses, two tusks and two crossed bats. Never getting rid of that.
Man I can't wait for more HOF posts =) Joe, WHEN are you going to finally make a book about all things Baseball Hall of Fame?!?! It could include your interesting and wonderful tidbits about every player on each ballot (and their vote totals...and your response to them)! I've saved HOF articles from you for a dozen years now and still read them every year around this time. I soooo wish you would write a book about the HOF and include who you would have voted for and, ultimately, who would've ended up in the HOF if you'd been the sole elector. We need more books about the HOF, Joe. It's been awhile since Jaws did his brilliant book. We need some Pos HOF.
wut
Sarcasm?
Of course not. Joe Posnanski's posts about the HOF are classic! I love them. I've been posting on this site for years saying that he needs to write a book about the HOF.
Happy New Year to all, and thanks for the great blog and the many brilliant readers. Your blogs a must read. Given how fast the comments pile up, I think many readers are like me and drop everything when you post a new entry.
Sports Illustrated how I anxiously awaited its arrival each week stretching back to my teenage years. While it was inevitable its fall and the subsequent cancellation of my 40+ year subscription was like the death of a friend.
Read faithfully after my Dad had his shot at. Started many years before the first swim suit issue (January 1965 when I was a junior in HS). I never minded that issue much but I do think the best years were before that started.
30 years for me ending in 2016.
Me too. 40 years.