The Line Sports Talk Podcast

06/10/2021

Yes! Let's hug.

06/10/2021

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself play in a Red Sox/Yankees AL Wild Card Game.

25/08/2021

Patriots are trading RB Sony Michel to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for conditional 5th- and 6th-round draft picks, per sources.

New England gets back two picks, the Rams get needed talent and depth at running back.

Also, Sony Michel scored the only TD in the Pats-Rams super bowl from a couple of years ago

Now he joins the Rams.

09/08/2021

Ouch

06/08/2021

September should be interesting

Max Scherzer lived up to the hype, striking out 10 in his Dodgers debut, pitching seven strong innings and backed by four home runs in a win over the Astros.

30/07/2021

And just like that...Frank Reich adds himself to the depth chart.

Colts' QB Carson Wentz is out indefinitely as he undergoes further testing on a foot injury that he suffered at the end of Thursday's practice, per and me.

Colts' second-year QB Jacob Eason took the starter reps at today's practice, with Sam Ellinger as his backup.

30/07/2021

This is why we love Chad.

27/07/2021

Aaron Rodgers has arrived this morning at Lambeau Field.

📸

13/07/2021

This is what it’s all about (via )

02/07/2021

Shohei Ohtani will be the starting pitcher and leadoff hitter at Yankee Stadium tonight

30/06/2021

Happy Birthday! Go have yourself a Slumpbuster.

Cubs Fans, let's wish Cubs great Mark Grace a Happy Birthday!

Join our awesome Cubs FB Group here: https://bit.ly/3h7o55A

17/06/2021

All major wins should be equally celebrated. Four times each year, a golfer has a chance to produce a career-defining moment. It’s the most pressure, the most attention, the most drama, the most intensity, the most demanding on a golfer’s schedule.

17/06/2021

Truth

13/06/2021

See kids...if you eat right and exercise ...

Somebody sign this man 👀

09/06/2021

Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs at the 1987 All-Star Game

06/06/2021

The Atlanta Falcons are expected to trade Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans barring any setbacks in the next 24-48 hours, per . The two sides still are finalizing compensation but, as one source said, “I feel very good about this happening (between Atlanta and Tennessee).”
If there are no snags, the trade would be processed as early as Monday. Falcons and Titans still are discussing whether the package for Julio Jones will be a second- and a fifth-round pick, or a second-round pick with a swap of other picks, per sources. But the belief is the agreement will get done.

04/06/2021

This really is absolutely insane 😳

01/06/2021

This is so true ⚾️💯

01/06/2021

😂😂😂

01/06/2021

🙌

01/06/2021

Long-term partner, Toro, will help Jack and the newly-renovated Muirfield Village have the course in perfect condition this week to test the world’s top players 💯💯💯. —Nicklaus Companies

31/05/2021

29/05/2021

Give the man his Rolls back...

Titans’ cornerback Janoris Jenkins returned from a trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, to find his 2016 Rolls-Royce Wraith was stolen from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. Jenkins reported the car missing on Wednesday. Jenkins said he parked the $250,000 vehicle in the south economy lot at Hartsfield-Jackson on May 5 before catching the flight to Florida. According to Jenkins, no one has any idea as to the whereabouts of the vehicle.

29/05/2021

Vladimir Guerrero and his son, Vladimir, Jr at the 2004 home run derby

29/05/2021

Javy

25/05/2021

It's good to see that we're getting back to normal.

📷:

25/05/2021

21/05/2021

21/05/2021

20/05/2021

This is great 😂😂😂

20/05/2021

20/05/2021

🚨 COREY KLUBER NO-HITTER 🚨

The New York Yankees first no-hitter since David Cone’s perfect game in 1999‼️

18/05/2021

This is awesome 😂😂😂

13/05/2021

Probably....

Could Las Vegas be welcoming another major-league sports franchise soon? If the Oakland Athletics can’t work out a new stadium deal in northern California, they will begin exploring options for ...

12/05/2021

On this day in 1960, Tony Gwynn was born in Los Angeles, CA. Here’s a small painting of the Padres great that was used in 2019’s 150 Years of Baseball set by Topps.

06/05/2021

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO WILLIE MAYS AS HE TURNS 90!

“What can I say about Willie Mays after I say he’s the greatest player any of us has ever seen?” –Leo Durocher, who spent over 50 years in baseball

We certainly can't let the day go by without a tribute to the great Willie Mays on the occasion of his 90th birthday. So here are some words about Willie's career and also about him as a man edited from some of my previous essays about him:

The superlatives seem to come easily in any discussion of Willie Mays, arguably the greatest center fielder of all time. Few players in the history of the game have combined the grace, athleticism, intelligence, and accomplishments of Willie Mays. The “Say-Hey Kid” was unique, combining all of baseball’s key offensive and defensive skills into the quintessential five-tool player, with four pennants and a World Series championship on his resume.

On top of all that, he combined an infectious glee with a boyish enthusiasm that lifted the spirits of all around him. Cap-flying, wall crashing, legs churning, Willie Mays is one of the most beloved figures in the history of the game.

WILLIE'S GREAT CAREER

Over his 22 years in the majors (1951-1973), he hit .302 with 3,283 hits (11th all-time), 1903 RBI’s, 660 home runs (fourth all-time), a .557 slugging percentage, a lifetime .384 on-base percentage, and 338 stolen bases. Willie hit over 35 homers in 10 seasons, hit 40 homers six times, and won five slugging crowns. He’s one of the few players with 300 steals and 500 home runs. His defensive skills won him 12 Gold Gloves (the award wasn’t even started until he was six years into his career).

Willie Mays is one of only five National League players to have had eight consecutive 100 RBI seasons. In addition, he won four stolen base and three triples titles, six top-three finishes in National League batting races, and he played in a whopping 24 All-Star games, tied for the most ever. He won two MVP Awards and was a two-time All-Star game MVP. His lifetime total of 7,095 outfield putouts remains the major league record.

Willie Howard Mays was so athletically advanced by age 14 that he was competing with the men on his father’s steel mill team. He played semipro ball at age 16 and was on the Birmingham Black Barons by 1947. He was one of the last players – and likely the best – to come from the Negro Leagues. In 1950, the Giants signed him and sent him to the minors. In 1951 he was batting .477 with the Minneapolis Millers when he got the call to go up to the Giants…thanks to Leo Durocher.

LEO AND WILLIE

Durocher, the Giants’ irascible manager, demanded Mays be promoted after the Giants’ 6-20 start in 1951. Probably Durocher’s most lasting contribution to baseball was acting as a mentor and "father-figure" to a frightened and home-sick Willie Mays. I always love to think about the wonderful scene in the Giants’ clubhouse after rookie Willie Mays got off to his disastrous 0-12 start (which eventually extended to 1-26). Giants’ coach Freddie Fitzsimmons saw Willie sitting alone in front of his locker crying. “Leo,” Franks said, “I think you better have a talk with your boy over there.”

What would have become of Willie Mays if Leo wasn’t there to console him at this crucial time? I still get goose-bumps whenever I think about it. Leo went over to Willie and asked him, “What’s the matter, son?” Willie turned to his manager and with tears streaming down his cheeks, replied:

“I don’t belong up here…I can’t play here…I can’t help you Missa’ Leo. Send me back to the minors.”

"YOU'RE THE BEST CENTERFIELDER I'VE EVER SEEN..."

Leo smiled, patted Willie on the back, and simply said: “Look son, I brought you up here to do one thing. That’s to play center field. You’re the best center fielder I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been around a long time. As long as I’m here, you’re going to play center field. Tomorrow, next week, next month. As long as Leo Durocher is manager of this team you will be on this club because you’re the best ballplayer I’ve ever seen.”

The rest, as they say, is history. On his 13th at-bat, Willie hit a homer over the left-field fence off Warren Spahn who later joked, “I’ll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I’d only struck him out.”

When Willie retired, he held all-time records for games, putouts, and chances for center fielders. His career statistics and longevity in the pre-PED era have led to a growing opinion that Mays was possibly the greatest all-around baseball player in the history of the game. In 1970, the Sporting News named Willie as the 1960s “Player of the Decade.” He placed second on The Sporting News’s “List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players.” He was a near-unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame in 1979. His number 24 has been retired by the Giants.

Happy birthday Willie...may you have many more. Those of us old enough to have seen you play are forever grateful!

-Gary Livacari

Subscribe to our website, “Baseball History Comes Alive!” with over 1100 fully categorized baseball essays and photo galleries, now surpassing the half-million hits mark at 645K hits: www.baseballhistorycomesalive.com

Photo Credits: The Walter Iooss, Jr. Collection; “The Greats of the Game;” Baseball Hall of Fame Collection; The George Brace Baseball Photos Collection, The Leslie Jones Collection, Public domain.

Biographical Information: Edited from “The Greats of the Game”; “Cooperstown: Baseball Hall of Fame Collection;” and the Willie Mays Wikipedia page.

Check out my latest book, recently nominated for the SABR 2020 Lawrence Ritter Award: "Reflections on the 1919 Black Sox: Time to take Another Look," now available on Amazon in e-book and paperback. All profits go to the Illinois Veterans Foundation: https://amzn.to/2uk6KBU

Add your name to the petition to help get Gil Hodges elected to the Hall of Fame (with voting now postponed until December 2021): https://wp.me/P7a04E-57h

06/05/2021

👀

04/05/2021

😂😂