GO WEST
Joe West is set to break the record for most games as a major league umpire with No. 5,376 when he works the Cardinals-White Sox matchup in Chicago.
Now 68, West started out in 1976 the first time he worked the plate, knuckleballing Hall of Famer Phil Niekro was throwing to Braves catcher Dale Murphy.
West will break the mark set by Bill Klem, who worked from 1905-41 and was known for his complete control in making running games. âIt ainât nothinâ till I call it,â he supposedly said.
A college quarterback who led Elon to the NAIA championship game in 1973, West became the best-known ump in the bigs for all sorts of reasons. Never shy about speaking his mind or singing, earning the nicknames of âCowboy Joeâ and âCountry Joeâ for his music West has drawn plenty of praise and criticism over the decades.
Remembering Hank Aaron Hank Aaron died yesterday at the age of 86. Aaron is second on the all-time home run list behind only Barry Bonds, who used steroids. Aaron is baseball’s all-time leader in total bases, far ahead of Stan Musial, who is second place.
In terms of WAR (a measure of player value that estimates wins above a hypothetical replacement player), Aaron ranks seventh. The only players ahead of him are Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Barry Bonds, Ty Cobb, and Willie Mays, in that order.
A huge amount has been written about Aaron in the day and a half since his death. Today’s Washington Post sports section contained six articles about him,
“It was just Henry Aaron being Henry Aaron,” House said. “I remember in Cincinnati when he opened up there, kind of being this pushing him, ‘What if you hit the tying home run Friday? Are you going to play Saturday or Sunday? What happens this? What happens that?’ And he was like, ‘Look, I’m here to play baseball. I’m going to play baseball, and what happens, happens.’ Unflappable. He may have been really nervous inside or frustrated, or whatever. He never showed us as teammates.”
House had met Aaron years before after signing with Atlanta as a minor leaguer in 1967.
Dec 31, 2020
It’s likely that you lost a cultural icon who meant something to you during 2020, whether from the world of politics, art or sports.
We again were reminded the importance a single person can make on the lives of everyone through the losses of a couple of giants from the world of politics.
On July 17, for instance, we learned of the death of John Lewis. Lewis, who was 80, was an icon of the civil rights movement. His bloody beating by Alabama state troopers helped to strengthen opposition to racial segregation. He would go on to have a long and celebrated career as a member of Congress.