Robin Ventura: Timeline

Born: July 14, 1967

1987: 58-Game hit streak at Oklahoma State

1988: All American for third time at Oklahoma State

1988: Golden Spikes and Dick Howser trophy

1988: Won Olympic Gold Medal in baseball

1988: Drafted by Chicago White Sox

Debut: September 12, 1989

1993: First AL 3b with three consecutive 90 RBI seasons since Graig Nettles (1975-78)

1993: Beaten up by Nolan Ryan

1993: Sox win AL West

1995: Two Grand Slams in one game

1997: Broke ankle sliding into home

1998: Signed with New York Mets

1998: First player to hit Grand Slams in both ends of a double header

1999: Grand Slam single

2000: Mets win Pennant

2001: Traded to New York Yankees

2002: Mets lose ALDS

2003: Traded to Los Angeles Dodgers

2004: Hit two pinch hit GW HR

2004: Pitched in a game (1 inning, 1 hit, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 Ks)

2004: Dodgers lose NLDS

2004: Retired

2006: College Baseball Hall of Fame inaugural class

2009: Inducted into Oklahoma State Athletic Hall of Fame

2010: Fell off HOF ballot (1.3% of vote)

2012-Present: White Sox Manager (148-176, .457, 2 seasons)

Accomplishments:

2x All Star

6x Gold Glove

3x All American

Golden Spikes

Dick Howser Award

18 Career Grand Slams

Grand Slam Single

College Baseball Hall of Fame

Oklahoma State Athletic Hall of Fame

.267

294 HR

1182 RBI

1006 Runs

.362 OBP

.444 Slugging

.806 OPS

3133 TB

30+ Doubles: 4x

20+ HR: 9x

30+ HR: 2x

100+ RBI: 3x

105 walks (1993)

.301 (1999)

.500 slugging: 2x

300+ TB: 2x

Postseason: .177, 3 HR, 19 RBI, .614 OPS (37 games-8 series)

Sci Fi History: The Prisoner (1967)

The Prisoner lasted just 17 episodes, but had a dramatic impact on sci-fi. A British secret agent retires to an idyllic village that turns out to be a prison. His captors demand information from him, which he never devolves. Instead, he spends the series trying to escape his prison. The show combined the spy thriller with sci-fi and psycho drama. It contained counterculture themes and served as an allegory for society. It also included one of the most surreal settings in pop culture history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRPDO63rI1

1903 World Series Game 8

Game 8: Boston: 3 Pittsburgh: 0 (Boston wins 5 games to 3)
WP: Dinneen (3-1)

LP: Phillippe (3-2)

The Pirates had to win Game 8 or they would suffer the humiliation of losing to an American League team. They turned to Deacon Phillippe again for his fifth start in eight games. Boston countered with Bill Dinneen for the fourth time. Phillippe was worn out and it showed. The game was scoreless into the fourth when Hobe Ferris slapped a two-run single. Ferris knocked in the game's third and final run in the sixth with another single. Dinneen only needed one run. He tossed a four hit shutout, his second of the series, and struck out 7, including Honus Wagner to end the series.

If the writers' awarded a World Series MVP in 1903, then Bill Dinneen probably wins. He started four games, won three times, threw two shutouts, and struck out 28 in 35 innings. Cy Young won two games and had the key triple to turn the series around in Game 5. Hall of Famer Jimmy Collins hit .250 for Boston. Chick Stahl batted .303 with a .839 OPS and Patsy Dougherty had a two home run game and .827 OPS.

For the Bucs, Deacon Phillippe started five games and went 3-2. No other pitcher notched a victory. Jimmy Seebring hit .333 with a home run and .855 OPS. The great Honus Wagner managed just .222 with 3 RBI and .582 OPS against Boston pitching. Pittsburgh's other Hall of Famer, Fred Clarke, hit .265 with a .668 OPS.

The Pirates experienced a World Series hangover in 1904 and finished fourth. They returned to the Fall Classic in 1909 where Wagner redeemed himself at a .333 clip. Boston repeated as AL Champs in 1904, but New York Giants dictator John McGraw refused to play the junior circuit in the World Series. As a result, the Sox did not get the opportunity to defend their crown. They would appear in their next World Series in 1912.

1903 World Series Game 7

Game 7: Boston: 7 Pittsburgh: 3 (Boston leads 4-3)
WP: Young (2-1)

LP: Phillippe (3-1)

Pittsburgh was bleeding and desperately needed a win after blowing a 3-1 series lead. They turned to Deacon Phillippe who authored all three of their series victories. It was the fourth and final game in Pittsburgh, with the series looking to return to Boston for Games 8 and 9. Boston handed the ball to Cy Young. The game was not a piece of art as both teams combined for seven errors.

The Americans jumped on Philippe for two in the first. Jimmy Collins and Chick Stahl hit back-to-back triples and Stahl scored on a grounder. Boston added two in the fourth to pretty much put the game away. They led 6-1 in the sixth and 7-2 in the ninth. Pittsburgh scored a slop run in the ninth. Five Boston batsmen slammed triples against the Pirates. Both starters pitched complete games. 

1903 World Series Game 6

Game 6: Boston: 6 Pittsburgh: 3 (Series tied 3-3)
WP: Dinneen (2-1)

LP: Leever (0-2)

Sam Leever managed to pitch more than a solitary inning in his second start of the 1903 World Series. Leever made it the whole 9 innings in his second start, but took another loss. Bill Dinneen bested him for the second time in the series with a complete game of his own. Both starters allowed 10 hits, but Dinneen limited the damage to three runs while Leever surrendered four earned.

The game was scoreless until the third when Boston put up three on three singles, a walk, and an error. The Americans put the game away in the fifth with two more runs. They scored their final run in the seventh on a Candy LaChance double. Pittsburgh tallied three in the bottom of the seventh on a Ginger Beaumont single and a 2-run double by Fred Clarke. Beaumont had four hits, Clarke and Jimmy Sebring had two each. Chick Stahl and Hobe Ferris had two knocks each for Boston.

1903 World Series Game 5

Game 5: Red Sox: 11 Pirates: 2 (Pirates lead 3-2)
WP: Young (1-1)

LP: Kennedy (0-1)

The Pirates decided to start someone other than Deacon Phillippe in Game 5. Brickyard Kennedy got the ball for the Bucs despite having a bad year. The 35-year-old was at the end of his career. He appeared in just 18 games, but completed 10. Kennedy carried a high 3.45 ERA into the postseason.

The Sox desperately needed a victory and turned to Cy Young. Amazingly, Kennedy matched Young for the first five innings. Then, the Red Sox offense awoke for 10 runs in two innings off Kennedy. They scored six in the sixth before recording an out and then four in the seventh. In fairness, the Pirate starter allowed only 4 earned runs in 7 innings. The Sox blasted five triples in the game, including one by Young and two by Patsy Dougherty. Young's triple blew the game open in the sixth. Boston scored another in the eighth inning while the Pirates posted two meaningless tallies late. The win brought the Sox back into the Best-of-Nine World Series. In fact, the Sox sixth inning rally seemed to turn the series around. The Pirates never recovered from Young's triple or dominant pitching performance.

1903 World Series Game 4

Game 4: Pirates: 5 Red Sox: 4 (Pirates lead 3-1)
WP: Phillippe (3-0)

LP: Dinneen (1-1)

Deacon Phillippe returned for his third complete game of the series to help the Bucs take a 3-1 series lead. Game 2 winner Bill Dinneen was Phillippe's latest victim. Pittsburgh scored in the first on a Kitty Bransfield single. Boston tied it in the fifth on a Lou Criger single and the Pirates retook the lead 2-1 in the bottom half on Tommy Leach's RBI safety. The Pirates seem to put the game away in the seventh. Leach tripled in two and then scored on Honus Wagner's hit. Pittsburgh took the 5-1 lead into the ninth and held on for dear life. The Sox scored three with a furious rally that fell just short. Both starters finished the game despite wobbly moments.

1903 World Series Game 3

Game 3: Pirates: 4 Red Sox: 2 (Pittsburgh leads 2-1)
WP: Phillippe (2-0)

LP: Hughes (0-1)

Deacon Phillippe started his second game of the series on one day of rest. He pitched a complete game 4-hitter as the Pirates took the game 4-2 and a 2-1 series lead. That would never happen today! Claude Richey and Ed Phelps had two hits each for the Pirates. Hall of Famer Jimmy Collins posted two of the Red Sox hits. They managed only four total against Phillippe. 20 game winner Long Tom Hughes lasted only two innings giving up three runs. Cy Young pitched the remaining seven.

1903 World Series Game 2

Game 2: Americans: 3 Pirates: 0 (Series tied 1-1)
WP: Dinneen (1-0)

LP: Leever (0-1)

HR: Dougherty-2 (2)

The Americans tied the World Series at a game a piece behind Bill Dinneen's pitching. Pirate bats could do absolutely nothing against the 27-year-old right hander. He went 21-13 in the regular season with a 2.26 ERA. In Game 2, Dinneen went the full nine innings, allowed three hits, no runs, walked two, and struck out 11. He punched out Claude Ritchey, Bucky Veil, and Jimmy Sebring twice each.

Patsy Dougherty gave Dinneen all the runs he needed in the first. The outfielder led the game off with a home run. Buck Freeman singled in a second run in the opening frame for a 2-0 lead. Dougherty hit another home run in the bottom of the sixth for the game's final score. Dougherty totaled three hits, two runs, and two RBI. Freeman had two hits and a RBI.

The Bucs managed three weak hits against Dinneen. However, Dinneen was not the only pitching story of Game 2. The Pirates started Sam Leever against Boston, but lasted only a single inning. Leever left the game in the second with an injury. Veil replaced the starter and finished the game.

1903 World Series Game 1

Game 1: Pirates: 7 Americans: 3 (Pittsburgh leads 1-0)
WP: Phillippe (1-0)

LP: Young (0-1)

Boston's Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds hosted the first World Series game on October 1, 1903. Boston started baseball's all-time winningest pitcher Cy Young against Pirates ace Deacon Phillippe. As was the practice at the time, both starters pitched complete games.

The Pirates ambushed Young for four in the first. They added solo runs in the third, fourth, and seventh to make it a laugher. Jimmy Sebring homered in the seventh for the final Pirate run. Boston scored three slop runs in the later innings to make the game appear closer.

Sebring led the offense in Game 1. He went 3-for-5 with a home run, run scored, and four RBI. He knocked in two in the first, one in the third, and a final run in the seventh on the homer. Tommy Leach went 4-for-5 and Fred Clarke added two hits. Phillippe pitched a complete game six hitter, walked none, struck out 10, and gave up 2 earned runs. The strikeout total is amazing for the era. Buck Freeman was the only Boston starter to not strikeout. Second baseman Hobe Ferris punched out twice.

While Phillippe starred for the Pirates, Young was hammered. He allowed 12 hits, seven runs, three earned runs, walked three, and struck out five in nine innings. Freddy Parent and Freeman each had two safeties. Candy LaChance knocked in two American runs.

1903 World Series overview

The American League formed in 1901 to rival the old National League. Two years later, the two leagues agreed to have their respective champions play in a "world's series" for bragging rights. The Pittsburgh Pirates won their third consecutive NL Pennant in 1903 with a 91-49 record. The Boston Americans, aka Pilgrims, topped the AL with a 91-47 record. The Americans eventually became the Red Sox.

Honus Wagner led the Pirates with a .355 average in the regular season while Deacon Phillippe won 24 games and Sam Leever 25. Player manager Fred Clarke hit .351 for the Bucs. On the other side, Cy Young led the Americans with a 28-9 season. Boston had two other 20-game winners with Bill Dinneen and Long Tom Hughes. Patsy Dougherty (.331) and Buck Freeman (104 RBI) led the Boston offense. Their outfield, which included Dougherty, Freeman, and Chick Stahl might have been the best in baseball at the time.

Many prognasticators believed the outcome depended on injured Honus Wagner. The shortstop suffered a major leg injury in September, which he did not recover from until the following year. The money was on Boston if Wagner did not play. In the end, the Americans won the best-of-nine series in eight games. It is considered one of the wildest World Series in history and turned on a triple by Cy Young.

Sci Fi History: Dark Shadows (1966)

Dark Shadows was a soap opera that ran for five years from 1966-1971. The show was not a typical soap opera. It included the paranormal including vampires, werewolves, witches, and zombies. Dark Shadows broke out when the character Barnabas Collins was introduced. The show lasted only five seasons, but had 1,225 episodes since it ran daily as opposed to weekly. Kids used to race home from school to watch. Johnny Depp portrayed Barnabas in a 2012 reboot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvQQ55O2Uvk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe5fo_G_wnI

History Shorts: Japan's first Shogun (1192)

The Shogun title went to military commanders in Japan during the Heian Period (794-1185). In 1192, the Kamakura Shogunate came to dominate Japan. It was backed by a private army of Samurai. The Shogunate lasted nearly 150 years. Shoguns have appeared in popular culture including TV and films. The following is a commercial for a toy from 1976.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbjoI47ARUs

Shogun mini-series:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYON1TPAQHs

Quotes of the Month: February 2014

Quote of the Month: "I didn't have a dad in the house, and I was angry about it, even though I didn't necessarily realize it at the time. .... I got high without always thinking about the harm that it could do."

-Barack Obama
  Stupid Quote of the Month: "In a sense, climate change can now be considered the world's largest weapon of mass destruction, perhaps even, the world's most fearsome weapon of mass destruction."

-John Kerry


Stupid Quote #2: "All are untrue, but they are being told all over America."

-Harry Reid on the Obamacare horror stories

"The word ‘embarrassing’ is an insulting word, to tell you the truth."


-Peyton Manning after being asked if he was embarrassed by the Broncos performance in the Superbowl

"The towering presence, the empire that ascended to affirm a colossal footprint. The revolution that birthed one of modern history’s pivotal experiments. But if politics has long shaped our sense of who they are, it’s passion that endures. As a more reliable right to their collective heart. What they build in aspirations, lifted by imagination. What they craft, through the wonder of every last detail."

-NBC Documentary on Soviet Communism

"I mean this is stuff that that you do in a banana republic."

-Charles Krauthammer on Obama changing laws without congressional approval

"I can do whatever I want."

-Barack Obama

F.A. Hayek said, ‘We shall not grow wiser until we learn that much that we have done was very foolish.’ Nothing is more foolish – and immoral – than sending men into battle to risk their lives winning victories that are later lost by politicians for political reasons."


-THOMAS SOWELL

"What [a federal minimum wage increase] is, is a transfer of wealth from some low-income earners to other low-income earners… this is so obvious, not rocket science -- some will be better off, will make more, but others are going to lose everything."

-CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER

"I have obviously failed to galvanize and prod, if not shame enough Americans to be ever vigilant not to let a Chicago communist-raised, communist-educated, communist-nurtured subhuman mongrel like the ACORN community organizer gangster Barack Hussein Obama to weasel his way into the top office of authority in the United States of America."

-Ted Nugent