Sad news that Earl Weaver, the longtime Baltimore Orioles manager, passed away last night. Earl was once of the best managers in baseball and one of the most volatile.
One of my most favorite Earl Weaver moments was when the Orioles were wronged by an umpire, Earl argued and got tossed and in the course of the argument, Earl went back into the dugout, grabbed the rule book, and walked behind the umpire he was having the argument with tearing the rule book into pieces.
Kudos to Major League Baseball for coming to the aid of fellow citizens. This is the essence of America – Friends, neighbors, strangers, businesses helping each other out. This is how the Founders envisioned the country.
Two homes will be framed outside Kauffman Stadium during this summer’s All Star Game. The homes will be two of the nine Habitat for Humanity homes bound for Joplin and Tuscaloosa. Both cities were hit in 2011 by devastating tornadoes.
One of the homes will go to each community. It’s all part of a partnership between Major League Baseball, the players and State Farm Insurance. The partnership was announced on Wednesday at the K.
Baseball and its players will support nine homes. Five will be placed in Joplin and four in Tuscaloosa to help families whose homes were destroyed. In Joplin, 65 Habitat Homes are being built.
Feel-good video of the day and a great palate cleanser as the Mariners help an Army Sergeant, returning home from an overseas tour, surprise his family during a recent game. Well done.
Nine months after a Texas Rangers fan died after falling over an outfield railing at a game, his 7-year-old son helped unveil a statue Thursday honoring his father and others who love America’s pastime.
The life-size bronze statue depicts Shannon Stone and his son, Cooper, wearing baseball caps. They are holding hands and looking at each other as if they’re talking. The inscription reads: In memory of Shannon Stone and dedicated to all fans who love the game.
“Today is a celebration of spirit, family and love of the game,” Rangers President Nolan Ryan said. “This bronze represents so many things that are good about baseball — competition, happiness, memories — and I think Shannon embodied what we as an organization hope for in our fans.”
On July 7, Stone was reaching for a ball tossed to him by Josh Hamilton, Cooper’s favorite player, when he fell headfirst about 20 feet and landed on concrete behind the outfield wall. Before the game, Stone had stopped to buy his then-6-year-old son a new glove in the hope of catching a ball.
Witnesses said Stone, a Brownwood Fire Department firefighter, was conscious after falling and sounded worried about Cooper being left alone. Stone, 39, was pronounced dead within an hour.
