Sure Fire Winner

Today, it's just a numbers game. Let's compare statistics* for two Major League Baseball players.

Player A has played 2,393 career games.

Player B has played 2,458 career games.

Player A has scored 1,748 runs.
Player B has scored 1,554 runs.

Player A has accumulated 4,374 total bases.

Player B has 4,560.

Player A has 487 doubles.

Player B has 440.

Player A has 1,181 runs batted in.
Player B has 1,664 RBI.

Player A has been walked 962 times, 37 intentionally.

Player B has been walked 1,711 times, 169 intentionally.

Player A has a career batting average of .313.

Player B hits .277.

Player A has an on base percentage of .383.
Player B has a .403 OBP.

Player A has a slugging percentage of .449.

Player B has slugged .558.

So, which player, if any, is the absolute lock to make it to Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame?

Perhaps, I have left out the most important factor...

Player A is a lifelong Yankee.

Player B, never a Yankee.

Yet.

I have intentionally omitted two offensive categories which vary greatly between these two players, each favoring a different guy.  (They also are the two stats that would most likely reveal each player's secret identity.)

Player A has 3,045 career hits.

Player B has 2,265 hits.

Yes. Player A is the one and only Derek Jeter, almost universally accepted as a lock to be a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee. As a matter of fact, they will probably just wave the waiting period after he retires. There may not even be a need to take a vote.

But Player B.

Jeter has 238 career home runs.
Player B has 601 career home runs.

Player B is Jim Thome. He is one of only 8 players ever to hit 600 home runs. Only Babe Ruth did it in fewer at bats. The .403 OBP that I mentioned earlier is higher than all-time greats Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn. I believe it was Jayson Stark from ESPN who pointed out that Thome has scored at least 100 runs in more seasons than Gwynn, Kirby Puckett, and Dave Winfield combined. Impressive.

The greatest Jim Thome stat: he is tied for the most walk off home runs of all time with 12. His co-record holders are Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Jimmy Foxx, and Frank Robinson. If that's not Hall of Fame caliber company, I don't know what is.

I'm not the first or the last person to stump for Thome. Instead, let me be the NEXT to state it publicly. Jim Thome is and has been one of baseball's finest players. I am grateful that I have been able to follow most of his career. Cooperstown should be waiting for him once he hangs up his cleats for good.

*-Stats current as of 8/18/11

Scripture - "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3

Quote - "So there you have it. It's all so simple when you break things down scientifically" Nick Bakay

What Really Matters

The Texas Rangers got a big win last night. Derek Holland pitched a complete game, four hit shutout. Michael Young homered, and Josh Hamilton had four RBIs to help the Rangers win their fourth straight and stay one game ahead of the surging Angels in the American League West.

None of it matters. Not really.

There was a moment of silence before tonight's Ranger game. All the flags at The Ballpark are at half staff. Players from both teams are wearing black ribbons. All are kind tributes but sad reminders of the tragic death of Ranger fan Shannon Stone.

Mr. Stone, a Brownwood, Texas firefighter, was at the game with his six year old son, Cooper. A player tossed a ball to them from the field. (I know the player's name, but it is not essential to the story, and I am sure that said player would prefer to not be associated with these events forever.) In his attempt to catch the ball for Cooper, Mr. Stone lost his balance and fell over the railing in left field. He passed away on the way to the hospital.

The sports media will somehow attempt to turn this into a sports story. If Texas goes on a losing streak and misses the playoffs, writers will say that this incident affected their mindset and became a turning point in the season. If Texas continues to win, especially in the immediate future, TV anchors will say how gritty and determined they were to overcome this tragedy, even if it's more likely that Oakland's pitching staff is having as much trouble erasing the horror from their minds. Their bullpen was mere feet from where Mr. Stone fell. (As I am writing this, Texas is beating Oakland 8-4 in the ninth inning on the day after.)

I can't help but think back to my first baseball experiences with my Dad when I was around ten years old. Living out in West Texas for my whole life, there was never Major League Baseball nearby. While we have it now, there was no minor league team in town at that time. Dad was working in Fort Wayne, Indiana. When we would visit, he would take my brother and me to see the Fort Wayne Wizards play. I learned about the rules, the strategies, and the stats. I even learned how to keep a scorecard-a skill that I still practice when I attend live baseball games today. I remember the one foul ball that came our way. Dad tried to catch it, but it bounced off the heel of his hand and down four rows to another family. We never got one, but it was time spent together. It was time that was precious, especially while Dad was working in another state.

I am not even sure if the Wizards still exist. The Rangers held on to beat the A's. None of it matters. Here is what matters.

A wife has lost a husband. A six year old boy has lost a father. Brownwood has lost a hero. A fire department has lost a brother. That is what matters.

All the rest is just a game.

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1 "...let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."

Quote: "Create your future from you future, not from your past." Werner Erhard

There's Always Next Year

My wife and I have a running joke which says that I should have been a sportscaster. This is because I often will offer personal observations or commentary about whatever sporting event I happen to be watching. That, in and of itself, does not qualify me for a career at the worldwide leader. The joke comes from the increasingly frequent echo effect that occurs when the actual sportscaster on TV says something eerily similar to my statement, often using the exact same language. Unfortunately, my voice (and most would say my face) are not very appealing for TV or radio work. When discussing this the other day, a friend asked about the possibility of sports writing. In order to explore this intriguing possibility, I decided to do what any technologically advanced, modern writer does. I started this blog. (I am even writing my first blog post on my wife's iPad.) I don't think it will be daily to start with, but I will be attempting to post at least weekly unless inspiration hits me more often. Please feel free to give me your feedback on any and all posts. Here is my first attempt. (In reviewing this post, I realize it is rather long. It is my first attempt, and the subject matter is very dear to me. Please oblige me this time. I promise that future blogs won't be so wordy.)

The casual sports fan will not know the name Joan Dolores Kauzlarich. In fact, the most dedicated of sports fans will not know the name Joan Dolores Kauzlarich. You see, she never made it big in the sports world. She did, however, make it big in another world, my family's world. That's no small world by the way. She married Bill Kure and became Joan Kure. She was, above all, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a great grandmother. To me, she was Grandma.

It is a little strange for me to write like this. You see, up until this past weekend, I have never had to refer to any of my grandparents in the past tense. I will turn 30 later this year, and I am well aware of how blessed I am to have made it this far into my life and still have all four grandparents living. Sadly, Grandma passed away last Saturday morning at the age of 78. Because my grandparents live in Missouri and I have always lived in Texas, we couldn't see each other as much as we would have liked. Still, I know that she loved me, and I know that she prayed for me. Those are the two most important things a grandmother can do for a grandchild.

Before she died, Grandma helped me to start learning a great sports lesson, which has now become a great life lesson as well. Grandma was born in Chicago. She was a Bears fan, but the guys she cheered for the most were her beloved Cubs. The lesson she and "the Cubbies" (she always called them the Cubbies) taught me comes from what has become the perpetual motto of Cubs fans the world over.

There's always next year.

I have heard Grandma and my Dad, who is also a lifelong Cubs fan, say that many times during my life. Living so far from Grandma, and moving out on my own and away from Dad, I guess I had not heard that in a few years. More likely, I refused to hear it.

As my wife will attest, I am an obsessive sports fan. A few years ago, I had a subscription to a magazine whose initials spell "yes" in Spanish. When it ran out, I did not renew immediately. I told my wife that I would wait until one of my favorite teams won a title. Then I would subscribe and get that cool bundle of championship freebies they always offer at the end of each sport's season. The problem with that plan is my list of favorites: Dallas Stars hockey, Carolina Panthers football, Texas Rangers baseball, Texas A&M Aggies college football and men's basketball, and Matt Kenseth in NASCAR. Among them all, I have managed to experience ONE title in my 29+ years, the 1999 Dallas Stars. A few readers may wonder about Kenseth's Chase inducing Winston Cup. I was a Mark Martin fan at the time, and only switched to Matt when Martin semi-retired. (Strangely, Martin is still title-less as well.) Do I know how to pick 'em or what?

One title in 29 years, and I was growing increasingly agitated. Furious in fact. Then, my wife asked me (on more than one occasion) why I got so mad when one of my teams lost. Then my grandparents came to town for a visit. In spending time with the family, and talking with Grandma and Dad about sports and "the Cubbies," I heard it a few times again...there's always next year. Then Grandma passed away.

I am working harder at making that motto my outlook. I haven't learned to do it perfectly. However, here is what I have learned.

The Cubs have not won the World Series in over 100 years. There is a term that is often used to describe Cubs fans and that was more than fitting for Grandma too. Long-suffering.

I believe that Grandma is now a no-suffering Cubbies fan. She will get to see the Cubs win a title someday...I think. The difference? She can no longer be heartbroken after each year that it doesn't happen.

For the rest of us, there is not always next year. Life here really is short. Maybe I should not get so worked up when one of my teams falls short AGAIN.

After all, it is just a game.

Scripture: Phillipians 3:13-14 "...one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" This is my favorite scripture.

Quote: "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." Dr. Seuss