CC and Prince Headed to Plus-Size Baseball Hall of Fame?

The Milwaukee Brewers have two players on the ballot for entering baseball's plus-size Hall of Fame.

A few more fried Twinkies, cans of mayonnaise, and some post-season success should guarantee them double-wide places on the reinforced hallowed floors of the HOF.

The Babe is the king of this club. Not many players have had as much baseball success while busting buttons on 5X Size Jerseys more than these "athletes":

- John Kruk

- Cecil Fielder

- Mo Vaugh

- Rick Reuschel

- Sid Fernandez

- Bartolo Colon

- Boog Powell

- Kirby Puckett

Good luck to CC and Prince this post-season. They'll do fine if they just keep their eye on the ball and little debbie snack cake in their back pocket.

Willie Mays "The Catch" 54 Years Later

Fifty four years ago today (Sept. 29, 1954), Wille Mays made the greatest catch in World Series History and maybe baseball history.

In the 8th inning of Game 1 in the 1954 World Series, Willie Mays made the unbelievable over-the-shoulder catch to rob Cleveland's Vic Wertz of an extra base hit and potential game winning RBIs. The Giants later won the game in the 10th inning and went on to sweep the Cleveland Indians to win the '54 World Series.

Willie Mays was part of Shea Stadium's closing ceremonies on Sunday was at an MAB autograph show over the weekend. This would be a great photo to have Mays' signature!

Umpire Dale Ford TTM Success

This spring I picked up my greatest through-the-mail success: Umpire Dale Ford. Dale was the umpire behind the plate during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

Currently, Dale Ford is out of baseball and is a member of the Tennessee State Legislature. I contacted his assistant who gave my information to Dale. A few days later I had a voice mail from Dale Ford! We talked on the phone for a few minutes and he told me how great it was to umpire and to be a small part in that historic play. It was really a great experience talking to him.

Dale Ford has a long history in baseball including historic clashes against Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, and Earl Weaver.

This project I'm working on is a 16"x20" photo of the Mookie Wilson ground ball through Bill Buckner's legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. So far I have Dale Ford, Bob Stanley and Bill Robinson's autograph on it (not seen on this image). I saw Stanley and Robinson at an MAB show last year. Bob Stanley was very cool about signing it and just laughed when he saw the picture. I was lucky to get Bill Robinson's autograph, sadly he passed away a few months later.

$869 for the Shea Seats that Watched the Mets Collapse (Again)

The NY Mets are selling the last of their Shea Stadium seats. For $869 you can buy two seats (in red and green, orange and blue are sold out).

Perhaps Omar and his fat new 4 year contract can also throw in a tryout for the bullpen if you buy the seats. Just think of the history those seats have seen . . . in the last two years! They've been the best seats for watching some of the best choke jobs in the history of the game. Unbelievable - and I'm a Mets fan!

Why $869? The price is a combination of the World Series years for the Mets (1986 and 1969). After this season's September failure, maybe they price them for the last two years the Mets fell apart $07.08 (2007 and 2008).

The Mets web site adds: The Mets will donate their portion of the net proceeds to the Mets Foundation. The Mets Foundation funds and promotes a variety of charitable causes, including educational, social and athletic programs for young people in the community.

If the Mets can get that money for a stadium with 2 championships, what will the Yankee Stadium seats go for?

Fred Merkle Day

Is it irony or destiny that 100 years after the Fred Merkle play the Chicago Cub are in New York playing against the team that used to call the Polo Grounds home?

Last month I blogged about the upcoming 100 year anniversary of the Fred Merkle play. I reached out to someone who said she's the granddaughter of Fred Merkle, but I didn't get a response.

If you're watching the game tonight, keep an eye on Louis Castillo (2B of the Mets) to see if he makes bone-head play too.

If you're in Chicago, watch the game at Merkle's Bar & Grill.

Or is this the night Mets fans get to see their first no-hitter with Johan Santana pitching?

Shea Baseball Autograph Project

I'm starting another a mini autograph project later this month. I bought a few of the "Final Season at Shea Stadium" baseballs.

My goal is to get autographs of the players who had the last of some Shea Stadium accomplishments:

• - Win
• - Save
• - Hit
• - RBI
• - HR

I'd like to get them all on one of the Shea baseballs. That way, the baseball would tell a story of the last game at Shea. Of course, the Mets have to win to for this project to be relevant, but they only have to play a weak Florida Marlins team. I'm pretty sure the McDonald's near my work has a higher payroll than the Marlins.

My other final season at Shea baseballs will probably go to Gary Carter, Mookie Wilson, and Tom Seaver for autographs.

Why are the Yankees Leaving Yankee Stadium?

How do you answer that question?

Do they need more seats for more fans to watch the games?
No, the new stadium actually has fewer seats for the fans.

Do they need a new stadium because the old one is falling apart?

Not really. It seems to always hold capacity crowds to huge events that range from World Series games to visits from the Pope.

Is the stadium one of those old cookie-cutter ugly stadiums?
No, it's not like Veteran's, Riverfront, or Three Rivers Stadiums. It's a one of a kind design.

Clouded by all of the YES Network's, I mean ESPN's coverage is the real reason the Yankees are tearing this one down and moving to a new baseball park. MONEY. MONEY. MONEY.

Everyone on TV talked about how great Yankee Stadium is, the history it holds, but few mentioned the reason they are moving... MONEY. The team with the most expensive payroll, the most luxury tax violations, and the most revenue is tearing down a piece of American History so they can make even more money.

So before we get all nostalgic, teary eyed, and stroll through memory lane, we should recognize the reason the Yankees are moving across the street - so the richest team in professional sports can become even richer.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with wanting more money, all I'm saying is that we shouldn't forget the reason the Yankees are leaving Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium - This Week's Sports Illustrated Cover

Sports Illustrated has a cool cover and story on the closing of Yankee Stadium. I'm not a Yankees fan, but the last game at the stadium is the closing of a baseball history chapter.

You can still get seats on StubHub if you want to be a part of the last game. The cheapest seats I found were bleacher seats in the no alcohol section for $151 a piece. The most expensive seats were in the Field Championship level for $5,400 a piece.

For a price, you can be a part of baseball history. Or for the same amount of money you could run payroll for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Florida Marlins!

Earlier this week the Awful Announcing Blog provided information about ESPN's all day coverage of the last game at Yankee Stadium.