Sluggers

_{Albert Pujols tied Willie Mays for 5th place on the all-time home run list, with 660. Needs 37 to pass Alex Rodriquez, 40 to reach 700, and 55 to pass Babe Ruth. But age and injuries have slowed him down – he only hit 65 HR in the past 3 years, and only 4 so far this year, in 31 games.} 

 

_{The Braves only have 12 regular season games remaining. Hopefully the starting pitching can improve. Cole Hamels returns tonight and Fried tomorrow. Folty has gained weight and has gotten his fastball back to 95 mph. He may pitch this weekend. Wright looked good on Sunday, and rookie Ian Anderson has excelled in all four of his starts. Touki doesn’t need to wear those red cleats again until he becomes a better pitcher. Same with Folty.}

_{The National League playoffs will be held in Houston and Arlington, with the NLCS in Arlington. The American League playoffs will be staged in San Diego and Dodger Stadium. First round games will take place in the higher seed’s home stadium. No off days, but watch them play postseason games during weekday afternoons. Only baseball.}

 

_{Not much new to report. Worked past 5:40 last night because the daily order came in late. Stopped by Dollar Tree for a few items but forgot one of the things I went there for. Matthew cooked lettuce wraps. Watched the Braves. Ceil was working on school stuff.}

_{Working from home today and tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed. Also three conference calls.} 

 

Our new fridge delivered today, which delayed this email moving all the food around. Ceil had to goes to her Tuesday evening women’s ministry which left a bunch of chores for me.

_{Sunday Ceil bought a new pair of Vans sneakers. Pink.}

_{I finally ordered the black Adidas sneakers to wear for work. SC Premiere.
If they're too small i may have to get a different model.} 

Matthew got some new shoes as well, to wear at work. He chose black. Mine will deliver tomorrow.

NAP LAJOIE [SABR Bio] led the American League in OPS in its first year of operation. In the American League’s inaugural 1901 season, Lajoie led batters in nearly every conceivable offensive category including OPS (On-Base Percentage Plus Slugging Percentage)—a statistic that wasn’t even popularized until 1984.

 

A manager, on a team he never played for, conspired to give him a car. In his only year managing in the majors, St. Louis Browns’ skipper Jack O’Connor ordered his 3^rd-baseman Red Corriden to play on the outfield grass when Lajoie batted, thus allowing Lajoie to lay down eight bunt singles in a season-ending double-header.  This chicanery (calumny?) was contrived out of jealousy/hatred of Ty Cobb and to enable Lajoie to overtake Cobb for the AL batting crown which came with a free automobile sponsored by Chalmers Automobile Company.  Full scandal details here. For his role in this debacle, O’Connor was fired and never again hired to manage in organized baseball.

 

Nap was taller than average for the position he played and, perhaps alignment with his name, people were drawn to him and not just teammates. Napoleon Bonaparte, although no giant, was of unremarkable normal height. Still, a misconception remains that he was short. Lajoie, on the other hand was a sturdy 6’1”, well above average for his time, particularly among middle infielders.  In French, “La joie” means joy.  Nap was almost universally well-respected and admired by teammates and rivals alike. Like Hank Aaron (below).