Tagged: Triple

Bucky: A Story of Baseball in the Deadball Era

Baseball is well covered in literature. The obsession with America’s Pastime has produced many great books. Bucky: A Story of Baseball in the Deadball Era by Fred Veil is no exception. The book is a work of fiction that uses the available historical record to follow Fred “Bucky” Veil through his professional baseball career. 

Bucky Veil found his way to the Major Leagues like many players in the early years of baseball, through skill and luck. Veil was skilled at getting batters out. Pitching for local teams his abilities were undeniable. He began moving up from local leagues to bigger and bigger leagues until the Pittsburgh Pirates signed him. 

The Pirates were coming off a dominant 1902 season in which they easily won the National League Pennant. Early in the season, Bucky felt like he did not belong among these great players. However, like most Rookies, this began to change the better he played. In 1903, Veil pitched in 12 Games, Made 6 Starts, Finished 6 Games, threw 4 Complete Games, with 70.2 Innings Pitched, 35 Runs allowed, 30 Earned Runs, 1 Home Run, 36 Walks, 20 Strikeouts, against 298 Batters Faced, while posting a 5-3 Record, 3.82 ERA, and 1.500 WHIP. Bucky made 1 Start between May 31 and August 2 due to illness. It looked like he was beginning a great career. 

Bucky Veil could have been great if not for illness. (Fred Veil)

Unfortunately, Malaria derailed Bucky’s career. Veil pitched in only one Major League game in 1904. Bad luck hinders many careers. After a year off the mound, Veil returned to pitch for the 1905 and 1906 Columbus Senators of the American Association. He did well, but his time in the Major Leagues was over. 

The story of Bucky Veil’s baseball career is presented in an unique way. Fred Veil writes about his grandfather’s baseball career. This familiar connection allows for a closer connection regarding Veil’s personal life away from the diamond. The humanizing of Veil as he meets and marries his wife and begins his life away from his hometown helps connect readers with the players. We face many of the same challenges, but ballplayers do it under an ever increasing microscope. 

Fred Veil mixes in accurate information with a fictionalized account of his grandfather’s life, including Bucky’s interactions with future Hall of Famers Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, and Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss. This blending of fact and fiction create an entertaining story about a player that could easily be lost to history. Readers can simply enjoy the story and fully immerse themselves in this baseball book that is written like so few others.

Bucky: A Story of Baseball in the Deadball Era by Fred Veil is an entertaining read. It helps baseball readers who may not venture into the fiction section very often, expand their literary horizons. Fred Veil has written an excellent book, for which his grandfather would be proud. Fred Veil gives baseball readers something new to enjoy. Bucky: A Story of Baseball in the Deadball Era earns a 7 out of 10, a Triple. 

DJ

I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies

Tim Kurkjian’s love of baseball is obvious to everyone who listens or reads his work. He was born to report and write about baseball. His love of the game oozes off the pages of his book, I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies: Inside The Game We All Love. It is everything you want and expect from a reflective book written by someone who has spent much of their life covering baseball.

I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies reads like a memoir. However, the focus is not on Kurkjian, rather on the world of baseball he has spent decades covering. The grand moments are obvious, but the smaller, more intimate moments create the memories. Admittedly a reader needs some baseball background to fully appreciate the stories. Tales about baseball lifer Don Zimmer are best when he is remembered as a tough manager and the grandfather of baseball. Knowing this background information helps connect the organized stream of consciousness in the book. 

The chapters are poignant and personal. Kurkjian’s two decades long obsession with box scores before suddenly stopping cold turkey is both heartwarming and breaking.  The obituaries for his friends Tony Gwynn, Don Zimmer, Earl Weaver, and Mike Flanagan are the remembrances of baseball lives well lived. Life and baseball are built on personal relationships. Baseball players are human with lives on AND off the diamond. Kurkjian understands this and his friendships with these men show the humanity within the game. There is plenty of crying in baseball, both happy and sad.

Tim Kurkjian was born for baseball. (St. Martin’s Press)

Quirkjians are one of Tim Kurkjian’s greatest contributions to baseball. He is not the first person to love mundane baseball trivia. However, his love for these tidbits is contagious. Few care about a small event happening for the first time in 100 years, or ever, but Kurkjian has the ability to entice the audience to care. His fascination with the minute only gives weight to his discussions on more important events. Quirkjians are not consumed in large quantities. They are to be studied, bounced around in your mind as you read or watch along. Quirkjians are the appetizers of baseball. Too many and they spoil the main course, they should wet your appetite for what is to come.

I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies is an easy read with an ample supply of anecdotes about baseball and its people. While the chapters are relatively short, they conjure up communal and personal memories. Kurkjian does not dive deeply into any one topic, but he unleashes a flood of information to send any reader down the baseball rabbit hole. He provides an honest account of his time as a baseball journalist and occasional official scorer. 

The final chapter proves Kurkjian is not alone in his baseball obsession. Cal Ripken Jr. spoke at a fundraiser to support Joe Maddon’s hometown, Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Kurkjian moderated the discussion between the two great baseball minds. The stories these baseball lifers could tell are endless. Instead they discussed Ripken calling pitches from Shortstop while Maddon tried to steal his signs. The crowd was transfixed. This is interesting only to those who have been ensnared by baseball and can never untangle themselves. They become obsessed with everything about the only real game. Fortunately for all of us, Tim Kurkjian is afflicted with this obsession and loves to spread the joy of baseball. 

Originally I gave I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies a 7, Triple. However while writing this review my mind continually bounced around the stories within the book. It is a simple book, but by no means insignificant. Kurkjian and his writing stirred my baseball memory and curiosity like few books do. The book earns a well deserved 8, a Home Run.

DJ

The Second Lousy Day of Baseball Christmas

On the Twelfth Lousy Day of Baseball Christmas the baseball gods sent to me: the most Home Runs without a Triple, and the most Complete Games without a Shutout.

All power and no speed. Plenty of baseball players fit this description, yet only one is king. Ryon Healy has the most career Home Runs without hitting a Triple. His reign began when Matt Olson, and his 99 Home Runs, Tripled off Chris Paddack in 2020. The throne is securely Healy’s for now, after he signed a one year contract with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization. He cannot add to his record, nor can he accidentally hit a Triple.

In five seasons for the Oakland Athletics (2016-2017), Seattle Mariners (2018-2019), and Milwaukee Brewers (2020), Healy has launched 69 Home Runs and 0 Triples. This is not just by happenstance, Healy does not possess speed. He has 0 Stolen Bases and 1 Caught Stealing. He provides the power and leaves the speed to his teammates. Unfortunately, injuries have hampered Ryon Healy’s career, reducing him to a part time player the last few seasons.

Ryon Healy enjoys his Home Run trot, why race all the way to Third? (Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

Every career has its ups and downs. Ryon Healy’s best season was 2017 with the Athletics. In 149 Games, he collected 156 Hits, including 29 Doubles and 25 Home Runs, with a .271 BA, .302 OBP, .451 SLG, .754 OPS, and 103 OPS+. Healy hit two Home Runs in a game four times, including three times in June (June 3, June 5, and June 17). After an offseason trade to Seattle, Healy’s power continued where it left off. In 133 Games for the Mariners he collected 116 hits, 15 Doubles, and 24 Home Runs. He hit two Home Runs in three different games. His hitting did not move north, as he posted a .235 BA, .277 OBP, .412 SLG, .688 OPS, and 91 OPS+. While not terrible, injuries limited his playing time. He played just 47 games in 2019 before becoming a free agent. Healy tried to start over in Milwaukee. However, he played just four Games for the Brewers with one hit, a Single. 

Careers are made with talent and health. Ryon Healy has the talent, but the health has eluded him. In 405 career Games, he has 495 Hits, including 80 Doubles, 69 Home Runs, a .261 BA, .298 OBP, .450 SLG, .748 OPS, and 103 OPS+. Hopefully his injury woes do not continue in the KBO. Healy has had a solid career, despite the time lost due to injury, as sitting on the throne for most Home Runs without a Triple can attest. It is no small feat.

Happy Second Lousy Day of Baseball Christmas. 

DJ

Score Book

Scoring a baseball game requires paper, something to write with, following the action on the field, and knowing what to write on the score sheet. We enjoy everything related to baseball, not just watching and playing. We indulge in baseball books, poems, music, and films. In reviewing them we cannot use a normal 1 to 10 ratings system. Even this we must make about baseball. 

Here is our ratings system to understand our opinions about our previous reviews and moving forward.

  1. Golden Sombrero
  2. Strikeout
  3. Walk
  4. Hit By Pitch
  5. Single
  6. Double
  7. Triple
  8. Home Run
  9. Grand Slam
  10. Walk-Off Grand Slam
Scorecard
The is no wrong way to score a baseball game, so long as you can read and understand what happened in the game. (The Winning Run/ BL)

Here are our past reviews and ratings. 

Books

Film

Music

  • My Oh My by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Single)

Poetry

Moving forward we will use this ratings system in our reviews. We do not always agree, but the scoring is the opinion of the reviewer. Everyone wants to hit a Walk-Off Grand Slam, but not everyone will. Hopefully we find our own versions of Bill Mazeroski off the diamond. 

DJ

The Lost Art of the Triple

The most exciting play in baseball is the triple. Rarely is a triple a forgone conclusion. Usually it is a crazy dash around the bases, while the fans and teammates yell for the batter to run faster and to either stop at second base or to slide into third. A triple suddenly changes the complexion of an inning and of a game. The pitcher can be sailing along and with one pitch can go from relaxed and pitching from the wind up to having a distraction on third who makes you shorten your windup from the stretch. The triple is a game changer.

The way that baseball is played and how fields are laid out has reduced the triple to an rarity. The home run has replaced the triple as the means of pushing across multiple runners with one swing and changing the fortunes of a team. The triple has become a lost art. The game changes as time passes, different strategies and approaches are adopted. Pitchers no longer are expected to pitch complete games nearly ever time they take the mound. Instead pitching into the 7th inning is considered a good outing. Batters no longer content to hit singles and then rely on stolen bases or the hit and run to get them around the bases. Baseball changes and different aspects of the game change. Unfortunately the triple has become less of a weapon used by teams, and it has reduced the prevalence of the most exciting play in baseball.

Sam Crawford's record is almost untouchable.

Sam Crawford’s record is almost untouchable.

Understanding how baseball has changed and how the triple has become less and less utilized you simply need to look at how modern players stack up against players from baseball’s past. Sam Crawford holds the record for most career triples with 309. The remaining of the top 5 in career triples are Ty Cobb with 295, Honus Wagner with 252, Jake Beckley with 244, and Roger Connor with 233. The active leader in triples in Carl Crawford with 117 triples, this is good enough for 103rd all time. Crawford is at best on the back side of his prime, and at worst he is on the back side of his career as a whole. Rounding out the top 5 among the active leaders for career triples are Jose Reyes with 111 triples, he ranks 123rd all time. Jimmy Rollins has 107 triples which is good enough for 138th all time. Juan Pierre is fourth among active players with 94 triples, he is 189th all time. Rounding out the top 5 of active players with career triples is Ichiro Suzuki with 83, which has him with the 256th most career triples. None of these players have much of a chance to threaten the career record. Age and time will eventually catch up to all of them, thus protecting Sam Crawford and his record. It is easy to argue the career triples record is safer than nearly every baseball record, including Joe DiMaggio‘s 56 game hit streak.

The difficulty of the career record may be out of reach due to the changing of how baseball is played. However reaching the top 5 for most triples in a season is more attainable, although breaking the single season record maybe completely out of reach. Chief Wilson holds the single season triple record with 36 in 1912. David Orr is tied for second with 31 triples in 1886, which was tied by Heine Reitz in 1894. Perry Werden hit 29 triples in 1893. Rounding out the top 5 for most triples in a single season are Harry Davis in 1897 and Sam Thompson in 1894 with 28 triples. The heyday of the triple was during the dead ball era, and there have been only a few players who have had even a single season with a high number of triples. They have become more and more rare as time has passed. Since 1994 only four players have had a single single where they hit 20 or more triples: Curtis Granderson with 23 triples in 2007, Lance Johnson with 21 triples in 1996, Christian Guzman with 20 triples in 2000, and Jimmy Rollins with 20 triples in 2007.

Even Ichiro does not have the speed to challenge Carl Crawford for the active leader in triples.

Even Ichiro does not have the speed to challenge Carl Crawford for the active leader in triples.

Baseball fans should appreciate the players who can round the bases at top speed to go from batter to 90 feet away from scoring. The triple has become a rare event in baseball and it should be treasured when it does happen. The changing of the game has protected Sam Crawford’s and Chief Wilson’s records from being broken. While I personally love seeing triples, the evolution of baseball is good for the game as it continually reinvents itself. The premium placed on power in today’s game will mean the triple will become less common. Players are bigger and stronger, which usually means they are not nearly as fast. This reduction of speed means there will be plenty of doubles and home runs, but the triple and stolen base will be a little less common and when they are used they should excite fans and players even more.

The triple is becoming a lost art. While it is unfortunate that part of baseball’s history is becoming more and more rare, it is just part of the evolution of the game. The triple may be a thing of the past, it still has a place in the modern game. Playing small ball will never go out of style, and because of that the triple will remain an exciting part of baseball forever. The triple is not completely lost, it is just in the background and shows itself on occasion, and when it does it will ignite baseball fans everywhere.

D