Posts Tagged ‘Kansas City’
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Does playing for the A’s lead to the Hall of Fame?May 27th, 2008
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What is it about the Athletics franchise and the Hall of Fame? I was thinking about this the other day when Mike Piazza announced his retirement. What I wanted to know was how many players in baseball history played for the A’s franchise and were also enshrined in baseball’s Hall of Fame. What I came across was outstanding.
In the A’s 41 year history in Oakland, 11 players, coaches, or managers have passed through the green and gold before going on to the Hall of Fame. In addition to them, at least five (Mark McGwire, Tony La Russa, Rickey Henderson, Frank Thomas, and Piazza) more have made stops that are not eligible yet or are on the ballot but have yet to be selected.
Some of those players spent long portions of their career in Oakland (Reggie Jackson, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter and Dick Willliams) while others were here for anywhere from a season to few months to a couple of games (Joe Morgan, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Don Sutton, Goose Gossage and even Joe Dimaggio). These players are not all there is though. This is just the Oakland side of it. DiMaggio was a coach with the A’s after he retired and Williams was a manager for the A’s.
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Bonderman & Tigers Restore Winning WaysMay 24th, 2008
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Both Jeremy Bonderman’s season and career can be summed up in one word—inconsistent.
His pitching on Thursday afternoon stood more on the positive side for the Tigers. He led Detroit to a 9-2 victory over the hapless Seattle Mariners, who jerked back the trophy for Most Disappointing American League team. 40,166 fans watched Bonderman escape several early jams, three times stranding a runner on third base. Armed with one of the game’s most dominant sliders when working—the key phrase is when working—he limited Seattle to two runs on eight hits. Finally receiving sufficient run-support, Bonderman bumped his record up to 3-4, well off pace from his 10-1 streak a year ago.
Like most Tiger pitchers, control has been a major issue so far for Bonderman. In five full years with Detroit he has averaged 31 starts and 60 walks per campaign. Through nine games, he is already halfway to his normal walk total at 33. Striking out fewer hitters as well, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is roughly 1:1; that is one strikeout for every walk. Normally, Bonderman will blow away two batters for every one he gives a free pass. A 2006 runner-up to Johan Santana in strikeouts, his inability to zing strike three’s regularly has led to more hits, ground outs, and fly outs, which in turn has led to more runners advancing to score. Despite the number of prolific bats in Detroit’s lineup, the Tigers will not score 9 runs every time Bonderman takes the mound and he must regain the command he has displayed over the course of his career.
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Detroit’s Attendance Not SufferingApril 13th, 2008
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Fan support in Detroit has not dwindled despite the Tigers’ rocky beginning. Expected to sellout a majority of the 81-game home schedule, Detroit drew a Comerica Park record 44,934 fans on Opening Day. The new mark was made possible with the addition of 778 seats over the winter, including a new section of bleachers atop the Pepsi Porch in right field.
Perhaps more impressive than Opening Day, 37,032 fans showed up for the second game of the season, the highest attendance ever for a second game in Detroit. Excitement for the team peaked in the off-season after the acquisitions of Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, and Edgar Renteria. Increased media exposure and ticket demands provoked a surge in sales—at least 26,000 tickets have already been sold for each contest. More than half of the 41,782-seat stadium will be accounted for all season long.
With so many tickets secured, it will take much more than a bad couple weeks to scare people away from the park. Neither a series sweep at the hands of the long-suffering Kansas City franchise, nor temperatures in the forties and fifties turned Tiger fans away last week. Detroit hosted the Chicago White Sox in their second series and welcomed over 34,000 people to each game. The middle match hosted 42,381 fans, the second largest crowd of 2008.
A total of 222,197 have already walked through the gates of Comerica Park, compared to 180,903 at the same point last year. Experts believe, as long as the Tigers stay competitive, they will beat last year’s season attendance record of 3,047,124.
So far, Detroit fans have proven that no matter how ugly the reality, they will continue to show up. At 2-9, Comerica Park is sure to be packed when the Tigers return home April 14 against the Twins. April tickets are the hardest sell of any month, but Detroit has drawn at least 32,000 for each game to date.
Perhaps backup turnstiles should be ordered for the summer.