Hi everybody!
Sorry it has taken me so long to post a new blog, but I have been very busy. We who are long-time Giants fans know post-season frustrations. 1962- when Willie McCovey hit a line drive to the Yankees' Bobby Richardson that, if it was just hit a few inches higher, the Giants would have won the '62 series. 1971- when the Giants won game one over the Pittsburgh Pirates, then the Pirates win three straight to win the NLCS and go on to win the '71 World Series. 1978- The Giants were leading the National League West almost all season long until they were overtaken by the L.A. Dodgers. 1987- The Giants lose to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. 1989- The Giants get swept by the Oakland A's in the Earthquake Series. 1997- The Orange and Black lose to the eventual World Champs, the Florida Marlins. 2002- The Giants were just eight outs away from winning their first World Series since moving to San Francisco. The last time the Giants won a World Series was 1954 when they were in New York. I was in the Weather Center working on my Weather graphics for the newscast that night. For some reason to this day I don't know why, Manager Dusty Baker takes starter Russ Ortiz out of the game after giving up two consecutive singles with a 5-0 lead! Baker gives Ortiz the game ball for some reason that nobody knows and brings in reliever Felix Rodriguez who gives up a three-run home run and a solo home run. The Giants go on to lose game six, 6-5 and go on to lose the series the next night. I went home and was talking to my mom about it and I looked at her and asked "Will the Giants ever win the World Series?". She looked at me and said, "They will someday.". The Giants go back to the post-season the following year to take on the Marlins in the NLDS and the Giants lose that series 3-1. Then the 2010 season starts and my wife who is a Dodgers fan looks at me and said "Your team is going all the way.". I looked at her and said, "You're jinxing it for us.". The season for the Giants was going pretty well, I personally was doing fine until I received a phone call on the afternoon of June 25th that my mother had passed away in her sleep. I was devastated. I was numb for a long time and I just focused on my family, work and Giants baseball. The Giants won the Western Division on the last day of the season by beating the Padres. The Giants go on to defeat Atlanta and Philadelphia. I told my wife that when the Phillies Ryan Howard took strike three to end the game and the series that my mom was whispering in his ear, "Don't you swing at that!".The Giants were getting ready to face the Rangers in the World Series, my wife put my mom's picture, the same one we used at her funeral by the television. My said she did that so mom and I could watch the games together. The Giants defeated the Texas Rangers in the World Series and I saw the final out at work that night and I ran out of the room crying. I went outside and looked up to the night sky and said "It finally happened, Mama!". They finally did it and I wished that she was alive to see it. I went home and hugged my wife and started to cry. She told me that she was so happy for me she cried. I always will feel that the Giants won that series for not only all of us fans, but for Sue Burns, my mom, Queen E. Hamilton and all of the Giants fans who were not alive to see it. Thanks again for reading!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Staying Strong With The Orange And Black
Hi faithful readers!
Last week, I told you about how I remained a fan of my hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants. I remember the lean years from 1979-1982 when the Giants were not playing very good baseball. I remember the 1982 season when the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Giants were battling it out for the National League West title. The Giants were eliminated during the last weekend of the season and the Braves and Dodgers were tied. That Sunday, future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan made Braves fans and myself very happy by hitting a three run home run off of Dodger reliever Terry Forester to eliminate the Dodgers and give the National League West title to the Atlanta Braves who were waiting in the visiting clubhouse in San Diego to see if they had to go to L.A. for a playoff or win the west even though they had lost to the Padres. As the years went by and the giants began stockpiling talent such as Will Clark, Robby Thompson, Matt Williams and Kevin Mitchell who the Giants acquired in a trade from San Diego in 1987 under the field leadership of Roger Craig became west champions and National League Champions in 1987. I was attending the University of Southern Mississippi (the Alma mater of Giants great Jim Davenport) when the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals were in a battle for the National League championship. The series was tied and I was watching the game in my room and earlier that day, bought a bottle of cheap champagne (I was a college student, I could not afford the real stuff!) to watch what I thought would be the clincher. I instructed my roommate that if the Giants won, to pour the champagne over my head. Atlee Hammaker got rocked in the second inning for four runs and the Cardinals won game seven by the score of 6-0. Giants outfielder Jeff Leonard with four home runs was voted series MVP even though the Giants lost the series. Instead of having the champagne poured over my head, I drank the whole bottle while I cried. In 1989, I finally saw my childhood dream World Series, the Oakland A's taking on the Giants. I thought that the Orange and Black had a real good chance of winning the series but, mother nature had other ideas. I was standing in the DJ booth of the sports bar and dance club I was a DJ for and I saw the pre-game show and saw Joe Morgan interviewing Willie Mays and I saw the shaking and suddenly the ABC slate came up. I found out it was an earthquake. Being from San Francisco and living through small earthquakes I thought it was nothing. I found out later that it was a massive earthquake that hit the city hard, a section of the Bay Bridge was gone and many people lost their lives. After the delay, the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. Years later I became Public Address Announcer and Fill-In Play-By-Play announcer for the Greenville Bluesmen who were members of the old Texas-Louisiana League. While I worked for the team,I met some former Giant greats such as Bob Lacy who managed the Greenville Bluesmen baseball team in the old Texas-Louisiana League Orlando Cepeda's son Malcom played first base for the Bluesmen. He and I were friends while he was here, Mark Carreon, who I met when he played for the Jackson Ms. Diamondkats in the same league. One of my biggest thrills as a Giants fan was meeting Vida Blue! He and Bob Lacy were teammates and friends and Bob asked Vida to make a public appearance for the team. Bob introduced me to Vida and I was very excited to meet him. Vida and Bob came by the Radio station I worked at and interviewed him and Bob on the morning show I did. I asked Vida if he could autograph a old Giants cap I had. He looked at and asked me "where did you get this from?" I told him I got it from cap day in 1978. He looked at me with a surprised look on his face and said "you still have this after all of these years?" I told him yes and he signed the bill of the old stretched out black and orange cap. Vida also signed a Texas-Louisiana league baseball and all of the baseball cards I have of him. I think he was amazed on how much of a fan I was of him. I went home and told my mother that I met Vida Blue and she got excited because she too was a fan of his. Next week, I will write about how my dream of the orange and black winning a World Series finally came true.
Thanks for reading!
Last week, I told you about how I remained a fan of my hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants. I remember the lean years from 1979-1982 when the Giants were not playing very good baseball. I remember the 1982 season when the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Giants were battling it out for the National League West title. The Giants were eliminated during the last weekend of the season and the Braves and Dodgers were tied. That Sunday, future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan made Braves fans and myself very happy by hitting a three run home run off of Dodger reliever Terry Forester to eliminate the Dodgers and give the National League West title to the Atlanta Braves who were waiting in the visiting clubhouse in San Diego to see if they had to go to L.A. for a playoff or win the west even though they had lost to the Padres. As the years went by and the giants began stockpiling talent such as Will Clark, Robby Thompson, Matt Williams and Kevin Mitchell who the Giants acquired in a trade from San Diego in 1987 under the field leadership of Roger Craig became west champions and National League Champions in 1987. I was attending the University of Southern Mississippi (the Alma mater of Giants great Jim Davenport) when the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals were in a battle for the National League championship. The series was tied and I was watching the game in my room and earlier that day, bought a bottle of cheap champagne (I was a college student, I could not afford the real stuff!) to watch what I thought would be the clincher. I instructed my roommate that if the Giants won, to pour the champagne over my head. Atlee Hammaker got rocked in the second inning for four runs and the Cardinals won game seven by the score of 6-0. Giants outfielder Jeff Leonard with four home runs was voted series MVP even though the Giants lost the series. Instead of having the champagne poured over my head, I drank the whole bottle while I cried. In 1989, I finally saw my childhood dream World Series, the Oakland A's taking on the Giants. I thought that the Orange and Black had a real good chance of winning the series but, mother nature had other ideas. I was standing in the DJ booth of the sports bar and dance club I was a DJ for and I saw the pre-game show and saw Joe Morgan interviewing Willie Mays and I saw the shaking and suddenly the ABC slate came up. I found out it was an earthquake. Being from San Francisco and living through small earthquakes I thought it was nothing. I found out later that it was a massive earthquake that hit the city hard, a section of the Bay Bridge was gone and many people lost their lives. After the delay, the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. Years later I became Public Address Announcer and Fill-In Play-By-Play announcer for the Greenville Bluesmen who were members of the old Texas-Louisiana League. While I worked for the team,I met some former Giant greats such as Bob Lacy who managed the Greenville Bluesmen baseball team in the old Texas-Louisiana League Orlando Cepeda's son Malcom played first base for the Bluesmen. He and I were friends while he was here, Mark Carreon, who I met when he played for the Jackson Ms. Diamondkats in the same league. One of my biggest thrills as a Giants fan was meeting Vida Blue! He and Bob Lacy were teammates and friends and Bob asked Vida to make a public appearance for the team. Bob introduced me to Vida and I was very excited to meet him. Vida and Bob came by the Radio station I worked at and interviewed him and Bob on the morning show I did. I asked Vida if he could autograph a old Giants cap I had. He looked at and asked me "where did you get this from?" I told him I got it from cap day in 1978. He looked at me with a surprised look on his face and said "you still have this after all of these years?" I told him yes and he signed the bill of the old stretched out black and orange cap. Vida also signed a Texas-Louisiana league baseball and all of the baseball cards I have of him. I think he was amazed on how much of a fan I was of him. I went home and told my mother that I met Vida Blue and she got excited because she too was a fan of his. Next week, I will write about how my dream of the orange and black winning a World Series finally came true.
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
How And Why Am I Still A Fan Of The S.F. Giants
Hi everybody, In my last post, I said I was going to explain how I continued to be a fan of the San Francisco Giants while living in Greenville Mississippi. Well, I tell you it has not been easy especially when your hometown team is not doing that well and teams like the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds are doing well. I admit, I rooted for the Braves in the early eighties when they had guys like Bob Horner, Chris Chambliss, Dale Murphy and Phil Niekro. My late maternal Grandfather was a huge baseball fan. He and I would watch the Atlanta Braves on television so I rooted for them except when they played the Giants. I remember the 1983 All Star game that Atlee Hammaker pitched in when he gave up a grand slam to Fred Lynn. I did not see it but I read about it while I was in Navy basic training at Great Lakes Illinois. I remember reading the paper, crumbling it up and cursing for a few minutes. As the years went by and technology improved, I was able to keep up with my beloved Giants. I did a television commercial for a local sporting goods store and I got to wear a Giants Starter jacket in the commercial. I was going to buy the jacket and the woman who co-owned the store told me I only had to pay half for it because I was in the commercial. I still have that jacket. I wanted to name my daughter Cheyenne if she was a boy, Clark Mitchell William. the three-four-and five hitters for the Giants in 1989. My first wife said no to that idea if she would have been a boy. In my next post, I will tell you how I was able to meet and talk to one of my boyhood favorite Giants while living here in Greenville Mississippi. Thanks for reading!
Monday, August 1, 2011
How I Became A Fan Of The San Francisco Giants
I was born and raised in San Francisco. My late Aunt came to San Francisco in 1958, the same time the Giants arrived in San Francisco. She told me stories about seeing the parade and Willie Mays. My late mother took me to games when I was a baby at the old Seals Stadium. As I got older, she would take me to Candlestick Park and I saw my heroes such as Mays, McCovey,Marichal, Fuentes, Perry, Speier and many others. I was in the stands at Candlestick that August day when Ed Halicki threw his no-hitter in the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets. I used to tell my classmates the stats from that game with a huge smile on my face! My Mom was a big fan of Willie McCovey and Vida Blue as I was. I remember the 1978 season when the Giants were in first place in the old National League West. I remember the night the Giants were in L.A. Playing the hated Dodgers(sorry babe! My wife is a Dodgers fan!) and Randy Mofifitt supposedly hit Dodgers Shortstop Bill Russell. Umpire Joe West was behind the plate and gave Russell first base which allowed the runner to score from third and the Dodgers won that night. I was so mad, I wrote the Commissioner Of Baseball at the time Bowie Kuhn and got an answer from Monte Irvin who said the call was a judgment call. I still have that letter! My Mom moved me in 1978 to Greenville Mississippi and I had to follow my hometown team from afar. At the time there was no internet and the only way I was able to watch the Orange and Black was when they were playing the Atlanta Braves or listen to them on radio playing against the Cardinals or Reds. In this blog, I will tell you how I kept the faith of being a Giants fan from so far away! Thanks for reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)