Tag Archives: baseball

Searching For Babe Ruth

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Because today is Babe Ruth’s birthday, I wanted to watch a movie about the player who is still considered to be one of the best to ever play the game of baseball.  Specifically. I wanted to watch a film that was made about him while he was still alive, The Babe Ruth Story (1948). in which the very presence of Babe Ruth on a baseball field causes a previously crippled child to walk again.

I couldn’t find that movie streaming anywhere online but I did watch two other Babe Ruth movies.  First, I watched Babe Ruth Story: That Ever Livin’ Babe (1962).  It’s available on Prime and it’s a documentary that was made about Babe Ruth.  Actor Pat O’Brien narrates the life of Babe Ruth, from his start at a school for wayward boys all the way through the end of his career.  It was a good good documentary and one thing that I found interesting is that the documentary didn’t try to sugarcoat any of Babe Ruth’s later problems with gambling or that he liked to live large.  (That was the reason why, despite his success on the field and his popularity off the field, Babe Ruth was one of the few former stars not be offered a management position after he retired from playing,)  The documentary even admits that, having grown up so poor that his own family sent him away, Babe Ruth was determined to enjoy his fame.  More importantly, the documentary also featured a lot of footage of Babe Ruth both on and off the field, including his first game at Yankee Stadium and also he and his wife selling liberty bonds during World War I.

Then, on YouTube, I found Just Pals (1932), a nine-minute film starring the Babe himself.  Babe Ruth returns to the “orphanage” where he grew up and watches a group of boys play baseball.  When one of the boys strikes out and walks away dejected, Babe Ruth takes the time to teach the boy how to properly hold and swing a bat.  That’s not quite as good as magically curing a cripple but Babe Ruth still offers some good advice and an important lesson.  He teaches the kid how to hit a ball like Babe Ruth.  The team wins the next game and Babe Ruth is there to see it.  Then he drives away with one of the orphans stowing away in the trunk of his car.

What I’d really like to see is Babe Comes Home (1927), a silent movie starring Babe Ruth that supposedly featured a lot of footage from Babe Ruth’s games.  Unfortunately, it’s believed to be a lost film.

Artist Unknown

Babe Ruth was born 130 years ago and he played his last game 90 years ago.  He was the first baseball player and one of the first athletes to become a celebrity in America and he’s still considered to be one of the best to ever play the game.  I don’t know if he actually called his shot at the 1932 World Series but I like to think he did.

Happy birthday to Babe Ruth, the man who epitomized the the spirit of baseball!  As for the rest of us, Spring Training begins on February 20th, the Dodgers and the Club will play in Japan in March 18th and 19th, and then the Regular Season runs from March 27th to September 28th!  Go Rangers!

 

 

 

I Watched A Winner Never Quits (1986, dir. by Mel Damski)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

In 1945, Peter Gray made history when he became the first one-armed major league baseball player.  Gray grew up in poverty in Pennsylvania.  His father was a miner and Peter was one of five children.  He was only seven years old when he lost his right arm in a wagon accident but he loved baseball and he wasn’t going to let his disability keep him from playing.  He learned how to bat and catch and throw with his left hand.  He quit school when he was thirteen and worked for a while as waterboy while playing baseball in the local leagues.  Eventually, he made his way up to the minor leagues and, in 1945, he was called up to the majors.  He played one season for the St. Louis Browns.

The media loved the story of the one-armed baseball player but Peter always said that he resented feeling like he was being put on display whenever he took the field.  He was a competitive outfielder who could catch a ball, remove his glove, and then throw the ball to the infield just as quickly as anyone with two hands.  As a hitter, he struggled because pitchers figured out early on that he couldn’t hit the breaking ball.  After the 1945 season, Peter was sent to back to the minors, where he spent the rest of his career.  Though Peter was known for being an angry player who resented anyone pointing out his disability, he still made time to visit amputees in military hospitals to show them that they could still find success and to encourage them to chase after their dreams.

Peter’s story was the basis of A Winner Never Quits, which I watched on YouTube this weekend.  It was a good baseball movie, starring Keith Carradine as Peter.  What I liked is that the movie didn’t make him into a saint.  Carradine played Peter as being angry and with a definite chip on his shoulder.  Peter had every right to be angry and I’m glad the movie acknowledged that.  In both the movie and in real life, Peter was worried that he was just being treated as a sideshow.  In the movie, his attitude improves when he meets a young boy who recently lost his arm and who looks up to Peter.  Peter remained a friend to the boy and his family for the rest of his life.  A Winner Never Quits is about pursuing what you love and never giving up.  That’s what baseball is all about.  A Winner Never Quits is a good and inspiring baseball movie that’s not just for the fans.

So, I watched Hitting The Cycle (2012, dir. by Darin Anthony and J. Richey Nash)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Rip (J. Richey Nash) is a veteran baseball player who started strong and then become mediocre, kind of like this film.  He had his chance in the majors but then he injured his knee and now, he plays in the minors.  One game, he comes close to hitting the cycle, just missing out on his chance to hit a home run.  Immediately afterwards, he told that he’s been released to make room for some young players.  That’s baseball.  Players come and players go.  I thought I’d never get over Elvis Andrus leaving the Rangers and I never did.  When Andrus retired last year, he signed a one-day contract with the Rangers so he could retire as a Ranger.  We love you, Elvis!

Rip goes back to his small town, where he’s still a big deal because he used to be a pro baseball player.  His father (Bruce Dern) is in the hospital but Rip still resents the pressure his father put him under while he was growing up.  It’s all really predictable.

I liked the baseball scenes at the start of the game, even though Rip’s batting stance seemed all wrong.  They still captured the excitement of watching a good game and they reminded me that, even though football and basketball may get all the attention, baseball truly is the nation’s pastime.  Baseball is Americana and I’ll always love it.  But once the movie stopped being about baseball and became about Rip being a jerk to everyone in his hometown, I got bored with it.  Bruce Dern was good but everyone else was forgettable.

The important thing?  Only a month to go until spring training!

Elvis Andrus, once and always a Ranger!

The Dodgers Have Won The World Series

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

And just like that, the 2024 MLB post-season came to an end.

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 2024 World Series champions.  For five innings, it looked like the Yankees were going to pull off a miracle and keep the Series going to at least a Game 6.  But, during the fifth inning, the Dodgers tied the score, the momentum shifted, and they never really looked back.  Even when the Yankees briefly reclaimed the lead, it felt like the an eventual Dodgers win was inevitable.  The final score was 7-6, Dodgers.

Watching the World Series is a lot different when your team isn’t on the field.  I hoped the Yankees would win, because I’m an American League girl but what I really wanted was to watch was my team playing for the championship.  Unfortunately, the Rangers did not make it this year.  Maybe next year.

Now, how long do we have to wait for Spring Training to begin?

Hooray For The Yankees!

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Hooray for the Yankees?

There’s something that I never thought I’d say but I also never thought I’d find myself cheering for the Yankees in the World Series, either.

Yesterday, the Yankees finally showed some life and defeated the Dodger for the first time during this World Series.  The Yankees have got a long way to go and the odds are against them.  The Yankees have won one game but the Dodgers are still just one victory away from winning the Series.  But I was still proud to see the Yankees actually playing the game as if they cared last night.

Game 5 is tonight.  The Yankees are playing to keep the series going.  The Dodgers are playing to bring it to an end.  I really hope the Yankees pull off another victory.  I’m not ready for baseball to end.

Go Yankees!

The Dodgers Are One Game Away

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Congratulations to the Dodgers, who are now one game away from winning the 2024 World Series.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a World Series that was won in 4 but it could happen when the Dodgers and the Yankees meet tomorrow.  Usually, the other team wins at least one game.

I’ll still be cheering for you, Yankees.  I really want to see your team make a comeback, if just because I can remember how excited I was when the Rangers proved all their doubters wrong last year.  The Dodgers have the momentum now but it only takes one victory to change things around.  And, at this point, the Yankees can’t afford to lose another game.  Not if they want to keep alive their chance of winning their first World Series since 2009.

Good luck, Yankees!  I still believe in you.

The Dodgers Win Game One Of The World Series!

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Congratulations to the Dodgers on winning Game One of the World Series!

What a game that was!  The Dodgers came from behind, tied up the game in the eighth inning and then won things in the 10th inning in the most spectacular way possible, with grand slam that brough four runs across the plate!  If you’re going to go into extra innings, that’s how you want to win the game.

Of course, I endorsed the Yankees earlier today so they better make a comeback of their own tomorrow!

For now, here’s the grand slam that won the first game of the 2024 world series.

I Endorse The Yankees For The World Series Championship

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Everyone’s talking about endorsements or the lack of them today so I guess I should make it official.  The World Series is starting tonight and I am officially endorsing the Yankees.

Why the Yankees?

They’re not my team and, as a Southern girl, I never thought I’d be endorsing a Yankee for anything.  But even if the Yankees are not my team, they are the American League’s team.  And I always cheer for the American League, the home of the Rangers.

The Dodgers just won the World Series four years ago.  The Yankees haven’t won since 2009.  It’s time for New York to have something cheer about.

Go Yankees!

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who clinched the National League Championship tonight and who will be facing the Yankees in the World Series!  It’ll be the west coast vs east coast and I’m not sure who I’ll be cheering for.  It’ll probably be the Yankees, because I’m an American League girl.

This will be the Dodgers first World Series appearance since 2020.  Even though neither one of them is my team, I look forward to watching the Yankees and the Dodgers battle for the championship.