Associated Press
In all the years I have known the marvelous umpire Steve Palermo, I have never once heard him say Earl Weaver's name. He would talk about Weaver quite often but always called him "that little …" The ellipses represented any number of charming adjectives. Well, you know -- Earl Weaver was one of the great managers the game has ever known, and he was also quite nasty to umpires. Nasty but brilliant. Palermo always concedes the brilliant part.
On August 16, 1979, Palermo was umpiring third base when Kansas City's Frank White tried to steal home. He was called out but Palermo overruled the call and said Baltimore pitcher Dennis Martinez had balked. Weaver went bonkers. He raced on the field, argued with everyone, kept sticking his finger in Palermo's face -- it looked to...
Outrage? I'll tell you what's an outrage: That 20 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America did not vote for Ted Williams in 1966 (out of 302 ballots). That 11 whack-jobs decided Babe Ruth was not worthy of their... more »
In April, a randomly selected player in Major League Baseball will roll up his sleeves and become the first athlete in the four major North American sports to take a test for human growth hormone during a season. "This is a... more »
The votes are in. The earth is still rumbling. Now let's try to digest the magnitude of what just happened here: A man who hit 762 home runs wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame. A pitcher who won seven Cy Young Awards wasn't... more »
The hand-wringing and vein-knotting over today’s Hall of Fame inductees – or lack thereof – has offered more than the usual amusement with what is already one of American sport’s most spectacular preening ... more »
Email
Print
Share