February Hot Stove

Lots of corney valentines wishes from the Stripers, Braves, Falcons, and other teams.

 

Notes from the February Hot Stove meeting. Eleven in attendance. No special guests so we talked baseball the whole time.

 

Notable transactions: Martin Prado retired. Padres sign Gordon Beckham.Reds sign Jessie Biddle. Cards sign Matt Weiters. Braves sign Ozuna, Felix Hernandez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Yangeruis Salarte, Shane Robertson, Yonder Alonzo. Dusty Baker named Astros manager. Twins sign Chris Rowley. Brewers sign Shelby Miller. Mets sign Matt Adams. Curtis Granderson retired.

 

Bob Turley lived in Dunwoody, coached Little League. Pitched to dads to raise funds. Sold insurance. Moved to Big Canoe.  

 

Eddie Perez’s son hit four home runs in a Sunday doubleheader for North Georgia. A fifth was just foul. Kid went to Pinecrest.

 

Several Emory pitchers went to high school with Max Fried in California.

 

Johnny Mize lived in Demorest. Bitter about HOF. Related to Babe Ruth by marriage. Some of his memorabilia is on display in a Cleveland GA funeral home, including a ball signed by Mize, Ruth, and Cobb.

 

Former Cracker Buck Riddle still lives in Buckhead. Randy Huntley played for the Crackers.

 

Coming in 2021: a new book about the Black Sox scandal, with new info recently discovered by Sabermatricians. Depositions, etc.

 

McCann tried to talk Beltran out of cheating. Wonder if it will hurt Beltran’s HOF chances.

 

Book: Harvey Weiderman, former Cardinals trainer “Eat My Way Through the Majors” sounds like a good read. When the Braves moved spring training from West Palm Beach to Orlando announcer Skip Carey hated giving up his relationships with all the eating and drinking establishments he’s cultivated over the years.

 

Johnny’s brick is in the Tim Hudson section. Hugh’s brick is in the Sid Bream section.

 

Pickens County High new a new all-astroturf field for both baseball and softball. The fence moves in and out,