This week’s HRD Wayback Machine takes up back into the 1970’s and early 80’s.
Back then, big name sports stars weren’t lining up to do commercials for Gatorade. Instead, they were lining up to do commercials for Aqua Velva.
Okay, Aqua Velva looks a lot like Gatorade, but it was (still is) a men’s aftershave. I think it was orginally meant to be a mouthwash. Your dad probably used it. Personally, I don’t know anyone who used that stuff.
And with the tagline “A man wants to smell like a man” … the cheese factor in the Aqua Velva spots was simply priceless. Even worse than that Johnny Bench commercial for Bubble Fudge.
Pete Rose was the posterboy for Aqua Velva … and he wasn’t afraid to sing the Aqua Velva jingle.
The cameo by Vic Tayback (Mel from the TV show Alice) makes that whole commercial for me.
But that’s not Charlie Hustle’s best work. Here’s Rose simultaneously taking batting practice and putting on the charm on a female reporter.
Rickey Henderson is still above 97% of the vote and will probably finish with a higher percentage than that. But even more interesting is the three-way logjam of Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, and Bert Blyleven at 68.4% of the vote. Each one has a legit chance to make the Hall this year – but fans of Rice’s HoF final chance at enshrinement have to be concerned, as he’s tracking lower than he did in 2008. But there’s over 500 ballots to go.
Curiously, Delaware County Daily Times writer Jack McCaffery is both the first writer to vote for the maximum of ten players and the first writer to vote for a write-in candidate. That write-in was cast for Pete Rose.
As a purveyor of a Home Run Derby contest … I have to admit I love Cincinnati Reds slugger Adam Dunn.
Every time he steps to the dish, he’s a serious threat to put the ball in the seats.
He’s a lock for 40 Home Runs every season
He has the longest current 40-Home Run streak (4 seasons) of any active player in baseball
He’s on pace again in 2008 with 23 Home Runs already.
Since 2004, only Alex Rodriguez (191) and David Ortiz (190) have more Home Runs than Dunn (189) – and I think he’ll surpass them by the end of the season.
What makes him even more fun is that he’s an certifiable adventure in left field – and not in a good way.
He might be the worst left fielder I’ve ever seen – and I know something about bad fielding (ask Nick the Greek about my legendary anti-prowess in the field back in intramural softball).
Every time a ball is hit to left, he’s a serious threat to put the ball on the ground.
He has a .968 Fielding Percentage in LF since 2002 – which is the worst of any LF who qualified for at least two seasons in that span.
Since 2002 – he has 53 errors in LF – 17 more than any other player in that timeframe.
He’s already got five errors in LF this season.
Here’s one of them right now …
So imagine my surprise to find out that Adam Dunn has a signature glove.
Louisville Slugger makes that error-assisting machine. What the Hell are they thinking?
Ken Griffey Junior almost had Home Run #600 this afternoon.
There’s a lot of talk that baseball isn’t paying attention to Griffey’s quest for 600. Don’t tell that to Phillie Phans … who seemed to be rooting for Griffey to do it this afternoon.
Backup catcher David Ross came to the plate to lead off the inning and lined out. But the batter in the No. 8 spot should have been outfielder Corey Patterson, with Ross hitting ninth after an earlier double switch.
Mets manager Willie Randolph came out to inform the umpiring crew of the mix-up. Patterson was charged with the out, which officially counts as a putout by the catcher, and Ross came up again. This time, he singled.
Good God. Corey Patterson is finding new ways to make outs. This time he didn’t even leave the stinking dugout.
I thought of that one-liner myself, but Walkoff Walk beat me to publishing it. Damn you, Iracane! I’m stealing a picture for that.
But what’s also funny is that Cincinnati Reds’ manager Dusty Baker, who took responsibility for not catching the mix-up, has a short memory when it comes to teams batting out of order in games …
Baker said his only other experience with a team batting out of order came when he was a player and he was the one who hit when he wasn’t supposed to. When he came up the second time, he hit a three-run homer.
Because Dusty Baker has been involved in two games where a team batted out of order … in the past five years. From The Baseball Blogger’s Gift from God that is Retrosheet …
The Brewers’ Bill Hall started to bat out of order in the bottom of the second inning against the Cubs but did not complete the plate appearance.
Hall was listed eighth in the batting order but came to the plate in the seventh spot the first time through the order. He took the first pitch for a ball before the mistake was rectified. Keith Osik took his proper place at the plate, and despite being spotted ball one, struck out on five more pitches. Hall then popped out to end the inning.
I can see how Baker might have forgotten that – According to rule 6.07.a.1 there was no rules violation since the Brewers caught the error and corrected it before the end of the at-bat.
In the top of the seventh inning, Cubs manager Dusty Baker intended to place two new players in the lineup with a double switch but failed to tell Umpire C.B. Bucknor.
When the Cubs batted in the bottom of the inning, shortstop Ramon Martinez came to the plate in the ninth spot in the order and doubled. The Reds protested that the Cubs were batting out of order. Pitcher Kent Mercker, the proper batter, was called out. Baker argued with the umpires but was told that the call stood. Yelling & screaming, he tossed his lineup card on the ground and was ejected by Bucknor. Baker threw his hat, walked away and returned; he tossed his hat again, stomped to the dugout and kicked some items in the on deck circle before finally leaving the field.
Why doesn’t Dusty remember that one?
Well, for one, he was the one who looked like a dumbass, even though the Cubs came back and won the game after he got thrown out. Also, Baker’s son called him “Mad Dog” after the game because of his tantrum.
No, you’re not drunk and seeing things in triplicate …
The Reds broke out of their hitting woes today against the Cubs. Dusty Baker’s heretofore Big Dead Machine popped out seven Home Runs (including four against Jon Lieber in the 2nd inning) in a 9-0 shutout of the Chicago Cubs in the Great American Bandbox in Cincinnati.
But that wasn’t close to being the story of the game. Because Reds rookie 1B Joey Votto slugged three of those dingers … and that means he gets a 3 Homer Night post at HRD. Votto tagged three different Cubs pitchers for longballs during his feat and even stole a base during the game.
He had a chance in the eighth inning to hit his fourth Home Run … but grounded out.
Votto becomes only the third Canadian to have a Three Homer Night in Major League Baseball. I think I’ll crack open a Moosehead tonight, if I can find one.
The others were Larry Walker (with the Rockies in 1997) and Justin Morneau (with the Twins in 2007).
Votto also joins Fred Lynn and Mark McGwire among a number of players who have hit three Home Runs in a game during their rookie season. He’s the first rookie since Jonny Gomes did it back in 2005.
In case you’re wondering, only one team – Oaktags – has Joey Votto in our Home Run Derby contest. Oaktags just hopped up into a tie for third place.
You’re going to see a lot of ninth-inning Home Runs as the Homer of the Day. And today’s HRoD is no exception and the third straight to start the season.
But it’s our first Walk-Off.
Cincinnati – Edwin Encarnacion made up for some earlier blunders. In the fifth innning, Encarnacion gave the D-Backs the lead when he wildly threw home and missed on a forceout play.
And then, with the Reds trailing the Diamondbacks by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, Encarnacion stepped to the plate with two men on and nobody out. He was booed when he failed to lay down a bunt to move the runners over.
But with a 2-2 count, Edwin made everybody happy.
Think the Diamondbacks will miss Jose Valverde? Brandon Lyon did okay on Monday … but not Wednesday night, as he got nobody out.
Dusty Baker got his first win as manager in Cincinnati and another closer blew it. Maybe this should be the “Blown Save of the Night” series.
Remember when you used to get a stick of gum in a pack of baseball cards? That oblong piece of stale bubblegum hasn’t been seen since 1991 … and I’ve always felt that something was missing from my baseball cards ever since. Maybe we should replace it with something …
I know!! A Bottle of Wine!! It tastes better than gum, and it’ll just get better with age. Not to mention the side effects you can’t get from gum.
In 2007, a trio of Red Sox players unveiled wines which would benefit some of their favorite charities. There were wines for …
The response was so good, that there’s a lot more players on wine bottles in 2008. Something called Longball Cellars is at it again with wines produced by Selby Winery, but now there’s 21 baseball players (past and present) on wines which go for about $12 or $13 a bottle, all available in Spring 2008. 100% of the proceeds go to a charity of the player’s choice.
The art on some of these bottles rivals the baseball cards my dad has in his collection from the fifties.
Let’s see whose face you could be drinking, and who they’re supporting.
You can believe that the Red Sox are back on the bottle with new “Championship Edition” bottles …
Every season since 1997, Major League Baseball has had Interleague Play.
But since the AL and NL have a different number of teams, there’s always a bit of a necessary imbalance when it comes to scheduling. Add to that the doubling up of games between the geographic rivalries … and you get a Grade A Mess. There’s always potential for some contending team to be at a competitive disadvantage to another team in its division … because of the resulting imbalance in strength of schedules.
Players and managers and owners gripe about it …
What’s not fun is when they’re all contenders and your competition doesn’t have to play the same competition you do. If you play the top teams in the AL and everybody else doesn’t, it’s pretty unfair. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves OF (2007)
The unbalanced schedule is not good for baseball … Some teams are getting a so-called lesser opponent, and other teams are playing powerhouses. Art Howe, former Oakland A’s Manager (1999)
I believe in my heart that last year the reason why we didn’t win the division is we didn’t play very well in the Interleague games and the Diamondbacks did. Dusty Baker, former SF Giants Manager (2003)
I used to be for it, but I’m not for it anymore. It’s too easy for discrepancies George Steinbrenner, NY Yankees Owner (2003)
Let’s see who gets the shaft this season … based upon 2007 MLB Won-Loss records. We’ll start in the National League Central …
I think we’re going to hear a lot of bitching this season about the Cubs’ feeble 2008 Interleague schedule.
This week’s HRD Wayback Machine takes up back into the 1970’s and early 80’s. 
What makes him even more fun is that he’s an certifiable adventure in left field – and not in a good way. 
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