Kranepool Society :: A New York Mets Blog
A daily account of the trials and tribulations of the New York Mets. Contact me at sinymets@aol.com
Taking a little break from Mets related talk on THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN, my guest today on the podcast was Rob Abruzzese of Bronx Baseball Daily. Rob and I discussed Brian Cashman’s winter of discontent, the Yankee starting rotation and the landscape of the AL East among other topics.
Check out the podcast right here at Kranepool Society or at the show page on Blog Talk Radio and on iTunes
Bob Murphy, Tim McCarver, Brian Cashman, Bill James, and Mike “King” Kelly to Be Inducted in Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday, Aug. 6, 2010
Housed in Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant Recognizes Players, Executives, Journalists and Entertainers of Irish Descent
New York, NY (July 1, 2010) – The Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame (www.irishbaseballhall.com) today announced its inductees for 2010: New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman, veteran TV analyst and former player Tim McCarver, longtime New York Mets announcer Bob Murphy, famed statistician and Boston Red Sox executive Bill James, and Mike “King” Kelly, baseball’s first superstar.
The honorees will be inducted on Friday, August 6 at Noon, when their plaques will be unveiled at a ceremony held at Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant ( 18 W. 33rd St. ), which houses the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame. Voters include past inductees and a panel of baseball historians.
“This deserving group includes successful executives, a beloved voice of the New York Mets, a four-decade player and Emmy-winning broadcaster, and an early legend that time has nearly forgotten,” said Shaun Clancy, president of Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame and owner of Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant, which features one of the country’s most extensive public displays of baseball memorabilia.
With a blessing from Cooperstown, Foley’s, a popular destination among baseball players, executives, umpires, media and fans, created the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame to recognize players, managers, executives, journalists, and entertainers. Inductees are chosen based on a combination of four factors: impact on the game, popularity on and off the field, contributions to society, and ancestry/connections to the Irish community. The 2010 honorees are:
1. Tim McCarver (Former Player/Broadcaster)
Born in Memphis , TN , Tim McCarver signed with the St. Louis Cardinals right out of Christian Brothers High School and was a two-time All-Star selection (1966, 1967) and World Series champion (1964, 1967). During a career that spanned from 1959 until 1980, McCarver also played for the Phillies, Expos and Red Sox. He was the favorite catcher for two Hall of Fame pitchers: Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton.
After retiring as a player, McCarver became a six-time Emmy-winning broadcaster. He has called games for the Phillies (1980-82), Mets (1983-98), Yankees (1999-2001), and Giants (2002). Beginning with the 1985 Fall Classic, Tim McCarver has provided color commentary for more World Series games on TV than any other announcer in history. He is frequently paired with Joe Buck as the lead team on FOX network broadcasts and also hosts The Tim McCarver Show, a nationally syndicated interview program now in its ninth season.
2. Brian Cashman (Executive)
A native of Rockville Center , NY , Brian Cashman began his career with the New York Yankees as an intern in 1986. He moved up the ranks and eventually succeeded Bob Watson as General Manager in 1998. During Cashman’s tenure as GM, the Yankees have won six AL pennants and four World Series championships (1998-2000 and 2009). Brian Cashman graduated from Georgetown Prep in 1985 and The Catholic University of America in 1989. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.
3. Bill James (Executive)
Born in Holton , KS , Bill James has authored more than two dozen books on baseball history and statistics. He coined the term “sabermetrics” for his innovative statistical analysis of player performances. James’ statistical measures gained widespread acceptance when Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane applied sabermetric principles in running his low-budget, small market team (chronicled in Michael Lewis’ bestseller Moneyball). In 2003, James became a senior advisor for the Boston Red Sox and is credited with advocating moves such as the team’s emphasis on on-base percentage. Bill James is a Viet Nam era veteran, a graduate of the University of Kansas , and was one of TIME magazine’s “Time 100” most influential people in 2006. He is proud of his predominantly Irish heritage with grandparents named Burks, Yates, McCool and James.
4. Bob Murphy, (Broadcaster)
A transplanted Oklahoman, Bob Murphy was a TV and radio announcer for the New York Mets from their inception until his retirement in 2003. Beloved for his sunny disposition and “happy recaps” of Mets’ victories, he and colleagues Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner described both the ineptitude of the 1962 Amazin’s and the ecstasy of the 1969 World Series. From 1978 onward, Murphy served primarily as the Mets’ radio voice. He welcomed fans to the team’s first game and called the thrilling post-season wins in ‘69 and ‘86. Bob Murphy received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame and is a member of the New York Mets Hall of Fame. He died of lung cancer in 2004.
5. Mike “King” Kelly (Hall of Famer/Legend)
Widely regarded as the game’s first superstar, Mike “King” Kelly was a colorful catcher, outfielder and manager. Born in Troy , NY , to Famine immigrants and raised in Paterson , NJ , Kelly’s baseball skill and Irish charm made him one of America ‘s first sports celebrities. He was the subject of a hit song, Slide Kelly, Slide, and a Vaudeville star. A two-time batting champion and daring base runner, historians credit Kelly with developing the hit-and-run, the hook slide, and the catcher’s practice of backing up first base. However, his greatest contribution was the popularity he brought to the game in the 1880s and ‘90s. He was the first player to sign autographs, the first to publish his autobiography, and his trade from Chicago to Boston for $10,000 was one of the biggest deals in early baseball history (thus solidifying baseball as a business). King Kelly was elected posthumously to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.
The game of baseball has long welcomed immigrants from its earliest days, when an estimated 30 percent of players claimed Irish heritage. Many of the game’s biggest stars at the turn of the 20th century were Irish immigrants or their descendants, including Michael “King” Kelly, Roger Connor (the home run king before Babe Ruth), Eddie Collins, Big Ed Walsh and NY Giants manager John McGraw. Today, major league teams regularly sign players born in Latin America, Japan , Canada , and elsewhere.
Shaun Clancy, an amateur baseball historian, created the Hall after learning about the rich heritage of Irish Americans in the sport dating from its infancy – a legacy that has been overshadowed in recent years by other ethnicities. He decided to celebrate his roots and those who helped make the game great by creating a shrine to Irish Americans in baseball in 2008.
About Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant
A popular destination among baseball players, executives, umpires, fans, and media Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant is located at 18 W. 33rd St. , across from the Empire State Building . The “Irish Bar with a Baseball Attitude” is adorned with 2,100 autographed baseballs, hundreds of bobbleheads, game-worn jerseys, stadium seats and other artifacts. Foley’s is home of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame (www.irishbaseballhall.com) and is considered one of the best sports bars in America .
One of my favortite places to eat and watch sports is FOLEY’S NY PUB & RESTAURANT, 18 w33st in the shadow on the Empire State Building, has released the names of this years nominees for the IRISH AMERICAN BASEBALL HALL OF FAME:
Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame Announces Nominations for 2010 Induction Class
Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant Recognizes Players, Executives, Journalists and Entertainers of Irish Descent
New York, NY (March 15, 2010) – Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant (18 W. 33rd St.) today announced the nominations for 2010 induction into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame (IABHOF). Voters include past inductees into the IABHOF and a panel of baseball historians. Results will be announced in April 2010.
HALL OF FAMERS and LEGENDS
Big Ed Walsh – Baseball’s All-Time ERA Leader
Michael “King” Kelly – Baseball’s First Superstar
“Mighty Casey” of the Mudville Nine by Ernest Thayer
CURRENT LIVING EX-PLAYERS
Dale Murphy, Long-time Atlanta Brave, two-time NL MVP
Joe McEwing – “Super Joe,” now a manager in the White Sox minor league system
MANAGERS
John McGraw – Legendary manager of the NY Giants
Tom Kelly – Minnesota Twins two-time World Series winning manager
BROADCASTERS
Tim McCarver – Network TV analyst
Bob Murphy – Longtime Mets Broadcaster
EXECUTIVES
Brian Cashman – GM, NY Yankees
Bill James – Stastician, Red Sox Consultant
ENTERTAINERS
John Fogerty – Writer/Singer of “Centerfield”
Bill Murray – Cubs Fan, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” singer at Wrigley Field
John Cusack – Star of “Eight Men Out”
Rosie O’Donnell – Co-star of “A League of Their Own”
“It’s a strong and deserving class of nominees for the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame this year. All of these men — and one woman — have made significant contributions to the game,” said Shaun Clancy, owner of Foley’s, which features one of the country’s most extensive public displays of baseball memorabilia outside of Cooperstown.
With the blessing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Foley’s, a popular destination among baseball players, executives, umpires and fans, created the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame to recognize players, managers, executives, journalists, and entertainers of Irish descent. Inductees are chosen based on a combination of factors, including impact on the game, popularity on and off the field, contributions to society, connections to the Irish community, and, of course, ancestry.
The game of baseball has long welcomed immigrants from its earliest days, when an estimated 30 percent of players claimed Irish heritage. Many of the game’s biggest stars at the turn of the 20th century were Irish immigrants or their descendants, including Michael “King” Kelly, Roger Connor (the home run king before Babe Ruth), Eddie Collins, and NY Giants manager John McGraw. Today, major league teams regularly sign players born in Latin America, Japan, Canada, and elsewhere.
Shaun Clancy, an amateur baseball historian, created the Hall after learning about the rich heritage of Irish Americans in the sport dating from its infancy – a legacy that has been overshadowed in recent years by other ethnicities. He decided to celebrate his roots and those who helped make the game great by creating a shrine to Irish Americans in baseball in 2008.
“Starting Nine”
The “Starting Nine” inductees were: the late Mets and Phillies reliever Tug McGraw, Yankee announcer John Flaherty, sportswriter Jeff Horrigan, NY Mets groundskeeper Pete Flynn, retired sluggers Mark McGwire and Sean “The Mayor” Casey, Kevin Costner, star of Field of Dreams and Bull Durham, legendary owner-manager Connie Mack, and longtime official scorer and sports columnist Red Foley.
The 2009 inductees were: longtime Brooklyn and LA Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, sluggers Steve Garvey and Paul O’Neill, longtime umpire Jim Joyce, veteran sportscaster Vin Scully, and Ed Lucas, a blind reporter who has covered the Yankees and Mets for more than 40 years.
About Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant
A popular destination among baseball players, executives, umpires and fans, Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant is located at 18 W. 33rd St., across from the Empire State Building . The “Irish Bar with a Baseball Attitude” features walls adorned with 2,000 autographed baseballs, hundreds of bobbleheads, game-worn jerseys, stadium seats and other artifacts that make Foley’s the best baseball bar in New York and one of the best sports bars in America. Foley’s is home of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame and features one of the country’s most extensive public displays of baseball memorabilia outside of Cooperstown. For more information, call (212) 290-0080 or visit www.foleysny.com or www.facebook.com/FoleysNYPub.
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I know we all bleed Orange and Blue around here and you’re probably saying to yourself “why should I read “The Yankee Years” (Doubleday) by Joe Torre and TomVerduuci? Well if you’re a baseball fan and if you really want to feel better about being a Mets fan you’ll read this book.
Verducci does the writing here and that’s what makes this a first rate book. St Joseph of Torre adds in lots of inside the Highlander clubhouse stuff and the book does come off a bit like a tell all jilted lover story but the real big contributors to this book are bullpen catcher Mike Borzello, who is not afraid to let his feelings known like when he tells how the Derek Jeter-Alex Rodriguez War of the Roses spilt the team, David Cone and Mike Mussina who come off as straight shooters.
The book reveals how the Steinbren-ian way of just buying talent bothered Brian Cashman as the more he dealt with Billy Beane, Theo Epstein and Mark Shapiro, he wanted to run the Highlanders in the same new school manor.
Verducci also delves in the PED Revolution with Rick Helling comeing off as the voice in the forest pertaining to steroids and how they were rampant through baseball and needed to be controlled and both ownership and the MLBPA told him to “Sit down and shut up”
The book is a great read and just shows that The Yankee Way is really a myth as Verducci and Torre let us know that once his core guys (Bernie Williams, Chuck Knoblauch, Tino Martinez, Paul O’Neil and David Cone) left the team, they were replaced by guys who had no idea what it took to win and it’s a problem that the Highlanders still have today.
After reading this book I realized the New York Highlanders are not as regal or as highfalutin as my Highlander fan relatives, co-worker or next door neighbor will lead me to believe.
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