Friday, August 30, 2024

A chat with Barry Casselman, The Prairie Editor

 Guest:   Barry Casselman, The Prairie Editor.  

We will look at the state of the 2024 election and other stories....

Where are you Little Joe?

Where are you Little Joe?: According to what we hear, President Biden is on the beach.  Can’t blame him because that Delaware coast is nice this time of the year, and every president needs a summer breeze to recharge the batteries.  Reagan went to the ranch; 
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We remember Ted Williams (1918-2002)




The great Ted Williams was born on this day in San Diego in 1918.   

He was probably the greatest hitter ever, although his numbers were impacted by  military service in World War II and Korea:  .344 career batting average, a .482 On Base Average, 2,654 hits, 2,021 walks, 521 HR and 1,839 RBI.   

He hit .406 in 1941, the last hitter to do so, and flirted again in 1957 with .388!

Williams was a bit temperamental with fans and the media.   However, there was not a better hitter once the game started.

August 30, 1965: The day that Casey Stengel retired



  

Let’s remember Casey Stengelwho retired on this day in 1965.

Along the way, he managed the Brooklyn Dodgers (1934-1936), Boston Braves (1938-1943) and took over the New York Yankees in 1949 when he replaced the retiring Joe McCarthy.

It was his time with the Yankees that reminds me of my late father and his generation sitting around watching the TV or catching the sports pages about those great teams of the 1950’s. Casey won 1, 149 games (696 losses) over 12 seasons with the Yankees, including 10 AL pennants and seven World Series rings. Back then, my father would tell me that you were either a Yankee fan or cheer for whoever they were playing in “La Serie”.

He was quite a character as well as an amazing manager. Stengel’s critics say that he was a “button pusher” because of great teams. In fact, he was the first manager to use the platoon system (lefty batter vs right handed pitcher) and was a great judge of talent.

As my father said, Casey managed great teams but he was also a great manager. He was also the author of a lot of wonderful lines that transcend baseball such as this: “There comes a time in every man’s life, and I’ve had plenty of them.”.

So we remember Casey today and baseball conversations that I had with my late father over the years.

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