A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

can of corn

Can of Corn Challenge: Swing and a miss (May)

Even Mighty Casey did it.

Baseball is a funny sport. So is softball, for that matter. If you break it down to its simplest terms, baseball can be explained quite easily.

Somebody throws a small round object at you and you are trying to hit it with a stick. It could come at high velocity, or slower and moving all over the place. If you should happen to hit the ball, the idea is for somebody else to catch it and get you out, either by catching it in the air, or by throwing the ball to another person to get you out.

Simple.

Or is it?

Strikeouts are a way to for pitchers to, sometimes, show some dominance. The idea, of course, is for batters to swing and miss … and then pitchers know they’ve done an excellent job.

Strikeouts come at all levels of baseball. I remember many of mine, be it in baseball or softball. I always prided myself on behind a good hitter and being able to make contract. Still, strikeouts happen — and often it’s a swing and a miss that gets you.

Think about this — the top 10 pitchers in MLB history have combined for 40,726 strikeouts. Let that sit in for a bit. That’s a ton of strikeouts and, most likely, a lot of those have a lot of swing and misses.

I’ve played softball for more than 25 years. That’s a long time to play modified pitch softball. Yes, I’ve struck out. I even remember a few games where I struck out more than once.

It’s all part of the game.

As much frustration a batter gets when he or she swings and misses, remember that more often than not, batters make contact with the ball. So think of the frustration a pitcher must feel!

Back to Mighty Casey, though. Let me leave you with this YouTube video of James Earl Jones reading the famous story of Mighty Casey.

If you are taking part in this month’s Can of Corn Challenge, link up below and visit any others who might be doing the same! You can see the remainder of the themes for this summer (and join us in any that you would like) by clicking here.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Can of Corn Challenge: An early baseball memory (April)

My father wasn’t much of a baseball person.

I don’t recall a lot of memories many young boys have with their fathers in regard to baseball. I am pretty sure we might have gone to a minor league game or two as a kid. But I remember being in Philadelphia and left behind when my father and grandfather took my older brothers to a game at the Vet. I do recall getting a Larry Bowa giveaway shirt, though.

1982 champs!

I don’t have memories of playing catch with my father, though in later years, there are some fond memories on the golf course together.

But I do have a pretty vivid baseball memory of him. It was 1982 and I was 8 and playing in the younger division of the local “little league.” My father was the chief of police in town, so he usually worked during the days and such.

For the 1982 season, though, he coached our little league team with another father or two. I do remember him at games, wearing a cap, in jeans and a short-sleeve shirt and doing the best he could as coach. I can still picture him, when the tattoos he got when in the Air Force (on his arms) were a little more vivid and vibrant. I can see him watching the game as it unfolded.

As an 8-year-old on that team, it was an important memory.

I think what is even cooler, though, was that we won the championship that year. I still have the tiny plaque we received for winning that year (something I again experienced five years later – but my father wasn’t the coach of that team), and it’s something I’ve though back on several times.

So despite never learning how to score a game, or have daily catches in the summer with my father, there’s an important memory as a youngster where I shared baseball with him.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Can of Corn Challenge 2017

It’s time for the Can of Corn Challenge.

Maybe this year, we can get a few people to join in throughout the summer to follow the themes below and add to this challenge.

It’s pretty simple – the third Wednesday of each month from April-October, there will be a baseball-related theme. So plan a blog post for that day, then come back here and link up.

Last year was the fire year this challenge went and didn’t attract a lot of eyes. Maybe this year will be different.

And don’t think you have to be somebody who watches or goes to a ton of games to be part of this. I’ve tried to make the themes somewhat open in the hopes that more bloggers could take part in this.

The dates and themes for the entire summer are below. Maybe you’ll get into a writing frenzy and get them all done at once and schedule them. Maybe you’ll only want to do a couple of them. But join in and have some fun. After all, that is what this is all about!

The dates and themes are as follows:

April 19: An early baseball memory
May 17: Swing and a miss
June 21: Best baseball movie
July 19: What do you bring to the ballpark?
August 16: The designated hitter
September 20: The voice of baseball
October 18: The fall classic

Again, take the theme and have fun with it. Hopefully, this is open-ended enough to get a bunch of bloggers to join us for this challenge and have some fun!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

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!