Today is not only America’s 250th birthday! It’s also the day that the Texas Rangers set a world record by pouring the world’s largest glass of beer at Globe Life Field in Arlington! Behold 600 gallons of Budweiser in one very big glass!
They started pouring at noon and finished at 1:45 in the afternoon! The previous record was 545 gallons and it was held by the UK. By pouring 600 gallons, the Rangers brought the record home to America!
Congratulations, Rangers!
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, for America’s birthday, I want to celebrate America’s game!
4 Shots From 4 Films
The Natural (1984, Dir. by Barry Levinson)
Major League (1989, Dir. by David Ward)
Eight Men Out (Dir. by John Sayles)
Eephus (2024, Dir. by Carson Lund)
Guess who beat the Guardians last night… again!?
Go Rangers!
I know that I keep saying that I can’t allow myself to get excited because I might jinx the team but I’m going to take the risk. If they start losing, I’ll go back to not getting excited. I’ll fight the jinx. I think I can beat it.
For now, the Rangers are 44-42. We’re only one game up on the Mariners so we can’t afford to get cocky. But I’m finally feeling good about this season! The only question right now is whether or not we’re going to sweep this series against the Guardians. Go Rangers! I’m cheering for you!
Last night, the Rangers beat the Guardians 6-3 and, dare I say it, they’re finally starting to look like a playoff team to me!
Again, I’m trying not to jinx them by getting too excited. Whenever I get too excited or too confident, it seems like they always end hitting a bad streak. I am trying to trick the Baseball Gods into thinking that I’m “Comfortably Blasé,” as my sister puts it. But it’s not easy to stay calm when your team has a good night!
I love this. I my Rangers. I love America. And I love the great American pastime.
GO RANGERS!
(By the way, in the video below, ignore the annoucners when they try to dismiss the American League. Everyone knows that baseball media is biased in favor of the National League.)
I’ve been trying not to write too much about the Rangers because I’m worried that I might jinx them. It seems like every time that I get excited and start posting about them, they hit a rough streak. So, I have been keeping quiet and not getting ahead of myself. The Rangers have broken my heart a few times this season but they’ve made me cheer too.
I’m cheering right now.
Finally, we’re in first. Our record isn’t great. 42-42. .500. But the last few games have got me excited. We just swept the Blue Jays. That’s a big deal for a Rangers fan. The Rangers and the Blue Jays don’t exactly have the best histroy.
Even though Jose Bautista is no longer playing and Rougned Odor is no longer a Ranger, it’s impossible for me not to think of this wonderful moment whenever the Rangers play the Blue Jays.
The All-Star Game will take place on July 14th. It’s always pointless to speculate too much about the playoffs until after the All-Star Game. The Rangers are starting a series against the Guardians later today and who knows how that will go. (The Guardians helped the Rangers move into first place by defeating the Mariners. Thank you, Cleveland!) But right now, I’m feeling good.
I love baseball.
Go Rangers!
“Don’t leave home without it!”
The Cleveland Indians (yeah, I said it) are finally in the race for the pennant and, as a result, they get to star in their very own credit card commercial. The main reason that I love this scene is because, even when appearing in a commercial, each member of the the team still has their own personality and style.
From Major League, one of the greatest baseball films ever made:
I nearly shared the “there’s no crying in baseball” scene from A League Of Their Own as a reminder to myself not to cry, no matter what the Rangers’s final record is.
But then I decided that I would rather share this scene from 42, in which Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) takes his team to the World Series! Forget about Black Panther and Da 5 Bloods. This was Boseman’s greatest performance.
Last night, I was tying to not scream in frustration. Tonight, I’m cheering!
After last night’s humiliating loss, I had to share our victory today. It wasn’t necessarily a pretty victory. The Astros never should have gotten within three runs of tying up the game. But it’s a victory all the same. It’s a win and I’m happy!
Go Rangers go!
I haven’t really sad much about the Rangers this season because they’ve really been struggling and I haven’t had much happy news to report. Right now, everyone is down on the team’s prospects, even though we haven’t even played the All-Star Game yet. There’s a lot of baseball left to play and you never know when a team might turn their fortunes around. That’s one of the things that I love about this game. A team can always make a comeback and I’ve seen the Rangers make plenty.
Still, when I see something like this:
Oh, Rangers! Why must you break my heart?
I still have faith in my team. I always have faith in them. That’s why they’re my team, no matter how many times they left me screaming into a pillow and hoping no one gets the wrong idea. Rangers, I love you! Even when you lose to the Astros!
Please don’t do it again.
LeVar Burton stars as Ron LeFore. After growing up on the hard streets of Detroit and getting addicted to heroin, Ron is arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to four years in prison. It’s in prison that Ron starts playing baseball and proves himself to be so good at the game that he’s offered a contract with Tigers. (Manager Billy Martin plays himself.) Out of prison, Ron proves himself on the field but he worries about his younger brother (Larry B. Scott), who is still trying to survive in Detroit.
This movies was made for television and no one’s going to mistake it for anything other than a television movie. When the movie was made, Ron LeFore was still playing in the Major Leagues. Several players appear as themselves and the movie feels pretty sanitized. None of the other players give Ron a hard time about being a baseball player on parole. Instead, they’re all supportive and encouraging from the minute he arrives. They’re the nicest jocks around! I like baseball players. I still light up whenever I think about the way Elvis Andrus would smile when he was playing for the Rangers. But even I know that players like to give each other a hard time.
I still liked the movie because it was about second chances and one of the things that I love about baseball is that it’s a game that gives second chances. There is always another chance to hit the ball. There’s always another chance to make a game-saving catch. There’s always another chance to throw a strike. A player who struggles on one team can become a star on another. While the rest of the world gave up Ron LeFore, his family believed in him. The city of Detroit believed in him. Baseball believed in him.
LeVar Burton isn’t the most convincing baseball player that I’ve ever seen but Ron LeFore’s story still moved me. After this movie aired, LeFore went on to set franchise records for stealing bases. After playing a few seasons with the White Sox, he retired from the game in 1983.
Through the Shattered Lens 