A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

Can of Corn Challenge

Can of Corn Challenge: Favorite player of all time

4,256.

That should give you an idea of my favorite player of all time. That is, if you’re a baseball fan.

That’s how many hits Peter Edward Rose had over his 24-year playing career. Of course, he’s know by today’s generation much more for being on the permanent ban list for betting on baseball and for being the guy so many have tried to get into the Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose got into one Hall of Fame ... will he ever get into the big one?

Pete Rose got into one Hall of Fame … will he ever get into the big one?

He’s been turned down several times to be rinstated to baseball. The latest, by current commissioner Rob Manfred, did leave some light for the Hall though as Manfred said the Hall is not the MLB and doesn’t necessarily have to follow the  ban list. That’s always been my thought, too, as the Hall of Fame is supposed to be a museum that shows the history of the game and it should be all aspects.

What Rose did on the field as a player is nearly unmatched. How about these Major League records:

  • Most career winning games played – 1,972
  • Most career games played – 3,562
  • Only player to play at least 500 games at five different positions – 1B (939), LF (671), 3B (634), 2B (628), RF (595)
  • Most career at bats – 14,053
  • Most career singles – 3,215
  • Most career hits – 4,256
  • Most career outs – 10,328
  • Most career runs by a switch hitter – 2,165
  • Most career doubles by a switch hitter – 746
  • Most career walks by a switch hitter – 1,566
  • Most career total bases by a switch hitter – 5,752
  • Most seasons of 200 or more hits – 10 (shared)
  • Most consecutive seasons of 100 or more hits – 23
  • Most consecutive seasons with 600 or more at bats – 13 (1968–1980) (shared)
  • Most seasons with 600 at bats – 17
  • Most seasons with 150 or more games played – 17
  • Most seasons with 100 or more games played – 23

In the National League, he also has record:

  • Most years played – 24
  • Most consecutive years played – 24
  • Most career runs – 2,165
  • Most career doubles – 746
  • Most career games with 5 or more hits – 10
  • Modern (post-1900) NL record for longest consecutive-game hitting streak NL – 44
  • Modern record for most consecutive hitting streaks of 20 or more games – 7

That’s impressive, no matter how you look at it.

And how about a few more tidbits:

  • 17-time All-Star
  • 3-time World Series champion
  • NL MVP (1973)
  • World Series MVP (1975)
  • NL Rookie of the Year (1963)
  • 2-time Gold Glove Award
  • Silver Slugger Award
  • Roberto Clemente Award
  • 3-time NL batting champion
  • Cincinnati Reds No. 14 retired
  • Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame
  • Major League Baseball All-Century Team

No matter how you look at it, Pete Rose was an amazing player. When I was a kid and he came to the Phillies (and proceeded to help them win their first World Series title in 1980), I loved Pete Rose and how he played the game. I used his number (14) any chance I could when I played and he was always the player I looked up to most.

He may not have the best morals at times and he may have done wrong (as he has admitted), but he’s still one of the greatest of all time and he was the one who I cheered the most as a kid. Without a doubt, to this day, he’s my favorite all-time player, though there are others who are close on the list.

If you want more information on the season-long Can of Corn Challenge, please visit this page. I am co-hosting this challenge with Kasey at Kasey at the Bat, so go visit her, too! The more the merrier, so please feel free to visit all the others and join up! Also, feel free to grab the button below!

Can of Corn Challenge

Can of Corn 2016 – Dates

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Can of Corn Challenge: A current rule you’d change

Ahh, the rules of baseball.

I keep a copy of MLB’s rules with me during my baseball travels throughout the summer. The idea behind it is if we see something odd or different, or want clarification, we have something we can use to look it up and try and figure it out.

It’s also nice from the scorekeeping aspect because it’s easier to settle an “argument” about a rule.

Let’s not shy away from this though – there are a lot of rules in baseball people likely would want to change. I know there are many I probably would, if I could. Most of them are in recent years, such as this slide rule, not being able to mow down the catcher at the plate, or the fact that it seems like players can’t police themselves anymore, which is one of the reasons baseball has always been so great.

Instead, the rules continue to get stricter, thus making the game a little less fun at times. I get some of the rules, but not all of them. Instant replay, in theory, is pretty solid. But it takes away some of what makes baseball great. Such as if you have to make sure there was a walk-off homer … kind of takes away some of the luster, no?

But all of these recent rules have nothing on the rule I’d change, if I could.

The designated hitter.

I can’t stand the designated hitter. Maybe it’s the National League fan in me. Maybe it’s the baseball purist. But either way, I fully despise the DH.

Look, pitchers get paid a lot of money to throw once every five days (starters, anyway). They should have to bat. Some can hit, some can’t. But that’s part of the game. And yes, I realize the DH has allowed many big-time hitters to stay in the game longer. But at the same time, there doesn’t necessarily need to be something like that. Baseball isn’t just about swinging a bat or throwing the ball.

How simple?

Throw it. Hit it. Catch it.

Pitcher’s should hit. Get rid of the DH. Simple as that.

What about you? What do you think of the DH? And do you have any rules you’d change? If you blogged about it, link up below!

If you want more information on the season-long Can of Corn Challenge, please visit this page. I am co-hosting this challenge with Kasey at Kasey at the Bat, so go visit her, too! The more the merrier, so please feel free to visit all the others and join up! Also, feel free to grab the button below!

Can of Corn Challenge

Can of Corn 2016 – Dates

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Can of Corn Challenge: Dream baseball road trip

Dream road trip

If you are a baseball fan – you’ve likely come up with that one dream road trip. It could be to see your favorite team or maybe see the team you’ve cheered on for years.

Maybe you want to just hit certain stadiums, or see two select teams play one another.

Or, it could be that you want to see the lowest of minor leagues on a warm summer night, with not much else around besides the sounds of the game.

No matter what your trip is … it’s all about the game.

Though I’ve taken some small road trips in the past to see baseball, I’ve never really taken a lengthy trip. I’m doing a couple of decent ones this year – one with a major league game scheduled, the other with nothing but the minors. I’ll have a post about this trip soon enough.

But the dreams of a baseball road trip…

Honestly, I’ve wanted to take a summer where I did nothing but travel around, take photos and watch baseball. I’d hit every MLB stadium during this trip, as well as hitting up as many MiLB stadiums as possible. Add in several Hall of Fames and other baseball stops and it would be glorious.

Alas, I am not sure when or if that will ever happen.

I have a couple of dream road trips, though – ones that I believe are possible during my lifetime.

Trip 1: California

It would likely take some planning, but I’d want to hit every MLB stadium (and any MiLB games I could fit in) in one trip – Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles Dodgers AND Angels, and the San Diego Padres. It, of course, would require flying to the opposite coast and then renting a car and plotting things out, but it would be glorious.

Trip 2: Wrigley Field

I am pretty sure this is on the bucket list of most baseball fans. Why wouldn’t it be? Though, in the past, I would add on sitting in the bleachers during a day game as part of this – that’s not really required for the road trip, rather a dream part of it. Instead, it’s just about getting there.

For some reason, I always thought it would be fitting to go to Chicago via train for this one. Then go to the stadium, soak up the history and watch the Cubbies play. I’m sure I will get there one day, but we shall see when.

Trip 3: Fenway Park

It’s almost comical I haven’t been to a game there yet. It’s only about four hours away or so and I can easily make it down and back in a day, if I want to. Things just haven’t aligned up for me to go yet, and I know it will happen eventually.

Trip 4: Just going

I’m kind of doing this in August – going on a trip for a week for the sake of watching baseball. Sure, I’ll do a few other things, but the goal of this is watching baseball – away from my home area. Nothing but baseball.

In the end, this post doesn’t detail the trips as much as I would have liked to, but honestly, the best trips are more of setting up an area, and then seeing what you can fit in (depending who is home etc.) and then go from there.

How about you? Do you have a dream baseball road trip? If so, link up your blog post below and join us!

If you want more information on the season-long Can of Corn Challenge, please visit this page. I am co-hosting this challenge with Kasey at Kasey at the Bat, so go visit her, too! The more the merrier, so please feel free to visit all the others and join up! Also, feel free to grab the button below!

Can of Corn Challenge

Can of Corn 2016 – Dates

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Can of Corn Challenge: The best promotion you’ve been to

Baseball teams are known for promotions.

It could be dollar dog days, or hats, or something for kids, or adults. There are posters and jerseys, and shirts, and all sorts of greatness.

Usually, it’s limited to a certain amount of people coming through the gates who get the item if it is a giveaway night. The other nights, such as dollar dog days, or something for a decade (80s night, 50s night etc) or something else can include everybody.

My favorites were two simple bobblehead nights, but they meant so much more to many.

I’m not the biggest fan of some theme nights as I’m not one to “dress the part.” I’ve been to many different ones, such as superhero night, but I kind of just go for the baseball night.

Giveaways, on the other hand, I love.

Over the years, I’ve had the chance to get some cool giveaway promotional items. But when it comes down to a favorite, it’s not something easy to pick out.

But I think I am onto this one.

In my area, there used to be a long-standing minor league team. For years, they were affiliated with the Yankees. Then for 10 or so years, they were with the Tigers. It was the Tigers that I covered for six seasons, fulfilling a goal of covering professional baseball.

For the majority of those years in Oneonta, the team was owned by a small group of local people. At the end, two remained – Sam Nader and Sid Levine. They sold the team when both were in their 80s/90s and the following season, the new ownership celebrated all they had done for the area with bobblehead nights for each.

I love bobbleheads, but these two were a little more special because of the owners and how I had dealt with them for many years.

Because the paper I worked for at the time sponsored those nights, I ended up being given a few extra of these bobbleheads from the publisher at the time. So I have those stored away in safety.

Bobbleheads are normal giveaways for many teams each summer, but for this team it was rare.

Further, there were many leftovers because the crowds on each night were low, which allowed me to write a column discussing my thoughts about the city not supporting the former owners on those nights (I was rather harsh in it). That column was one of three submitted to the New York Associated Press for column writing in our circulation class. I ended up winning first place that year, so the promotion helped me win my final award in my newspaper career.

How about you? What were some of the best promotions you’ve been to? If you took part in this month’s challenge, link up below! I look forward to seeing what others think about favorite promotions!

If you want more information on the season-long Can of Corn Challenge, please visit this page. I am co-hosting this challenge with Kasey at Kasey at the Bat, so go visit her, too! The more the merrier, so please feel free to visit all the others and join up! Also, feel free to grab the button below!

Can of Corn Challenge

Can of Corn 2016 – Dates

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Can of Corn Challenge: Favorite ballpark

This one is a tough one as it could go many ways.

I could talk about covering minor league baseball for six seasons at Damaschke Field, a place where barnstorming teams went through in the first part of the 1900s. Legendary players graced that field. John Elway played his lone season of baseball on that field.

The Bank.

The Bank.

There’s Coca Cola Park in Allentown, which might be the nicest minor league park I’ve been to. So many amazing food options and what a place to watch a game.

What about Camden Yards? Talk about an amazing place. From the outfield area to where you watch the game, it’s fully a fan-friendly stadium and one where you feel like you are part of the action and the food there? Oh my.

There are so many other great parks — in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or Rochester, New York. From Lakewood, NJ to State College, PA. Citi Field in New York is pretty amazing. Old Yankee Stadium was something else.

In the end, it came down to two for me — one MLB, one MiLB.

The MiLB stadium was great. It sits on the campus of the University of Vermont. Centennial Field is pretty awesome. It’s old, and it feels it. The stands are all outside of the main field area. But people packed it in for a short-season Single-A team. They loved their baseball and the stadium was really interesting and unique.

Then there’s the one I like the best and this shouldn’t come as a shock — Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

I was at the first regular season game at the stadium and I’ve loved it ever since. An open concourse, great food offerings, pretty comfortable seats, and not really a bad place in the house to watch a game. I’ve had seats all over the place in that stadium and I’ve loved it every time.

I think of all the games I’ve seen there and know it’s my favorite place. I’ve seen games all over the place and every stadium has something I can take away with me for a memory. But Citizens Bank is something a tad more special. And being a Phillies fan definitely makes me biased, but I’m ok with it.

How about you? What’s your favorite baseball stadium? If you’ve blogged about it, link up below. If not — what are you waiting for?

If you want more information on the season-long Can of Corn Challenge, please visit this page. I am co-hosting this challenge with Kasey at Kasey at the Bat, so go visit her, too! The more the merrier, so please feel free to visit all the others and join up! Also, feel free to grab the button below!

Can of Corn Challenge

Can of Corn 2016 – Dates

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!