Triple Plays

Braves turned an 8-3-5 triple play. Horrendous baserunning by Boston. Had to correct someone on social media who said Andrelton Simmons had made an unassisted triple play. It was Rafael Furcal in 2003. A few years earlier Chipper started a 5-4-3 triple play.

As a boy I witnessed the Braves pull off a triple play that involved a rundown and several throws, with Rico Carty jogging in from left field to tag out the third opponent.

I've probably mentioned several times that Will pulled off TWO unassisted triple plays. In coach pitch he was fielding the pitcher position. He drifted back to caught a short pop, stepped on second, and tagged the runner before he made it back it first (the very next inning while playing second base, Will caught a line drive, tagged out the runner leading off first for the second out, then threw across the diamond to triple off the runner from third – but the third baseman dropped the throw). Then several years later in pony league Will was playing shortstop. He broke to his left and speared a line drift up the middle, stepped on second to double off the runner, and chased down the other runner before he could scamper back to first.

Going to the July 31 Braves / Angels game with coworkers. Got the nice seats. Then August 23 Collier Metals has gifted me even better "Chairman" seats behind the Mets on deck circle - $350.00 each. Valet parking. Access to the Delta Club buffet. Orasi Software had auctioned off the seats for charity. Can't wait.

BILL DICKEY [SABR Bio] was the first American League catcher to hit .300 with 25 home runs in consecuutive seasons. In 1937 & 1938, Dickey hit 29 & 27 HR and batted .332 & .317. Those were his only seasons with more than 25 HR, but his batting average was north of .300 eleven times. For his 17-year career in the majors, he batted .313 & hit 202 HR. In 1933 the 26-year-old rookie was walked intentionally 9 times, tied with Jimmie Foxx for AL honors. On defense, however, Dickey led the AL in various categories many times. He received a substantial fine and suspension after breaking an opponent's jaw during an on-field brawl in the 04-Juyl-1932(1) game. Tensions rose between the Yankees and Senators. The entire incident is well detailed here.

LeBron James' son had a heart attack.

We see deer in our front and back yard. This weekend I saw two baby deer on our street, up near the busy highway.

Always remember back in the 80's before I got married, when I was house-sitting for some friends who lived on 2649 Sharondale Road. I had driven up late in the evening but hadn't gotten out of the car yet. First I saw a raccoon, then I saw a fox. Pretty cool.

Yesterday: worked past 6 pm. I signed up for the Willy's email club, which gave me a coupon for 50% off a burrito. Stopped by on the way home for supper. Watched a few episodes. C came home from The Table.

Up early to lift weights this morning. At work Brad gave me a coffee drink this morning, with protein but also caffeine. At first I thought it was just a protein supplement, but it is really an energy drink. I've only drank a little, and its like my heart and lungs are wide open. Need to remember to drink an energy drink the next time I have asthma or eat fish. Otherwise I try to stay away from energy drinks.

DENISON: the Wall Street Journal reports parents are now hiring $4,000 sorority consultants to help their daughters dress and impress during rush. The article explains that getting into sororities has become nearly as competitive as acceptance to top universities. Such consultants advise their clients on what to wear, how to act, what to say, and the wisdom of scrubbing potentially off-putting social media posts. Gallup tells us the share of US adults who are "extremely proud" to be American sits at 39%, down 31% from its high of 70% in 2003 (fter 9/11). The share of young adults who are "extremely proud" to be American has especially plummeted to 18% today. Americans 55 and older are nearly 3 times more likely to be extremely proud of their nationality than younger generations.