Dick Allen's Famous Chili Dog Game

Today is the 53rd anniversary Dick Allen's Chili Dog Home Run.  

This is also the first year we can watch this video without wondering when Dick will finally make it into the Hall of Fame. 

This video pays tribute to a day famous in White Sox lore.  

 

W is for White Sox Fan

I grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.  

We were a family of Cubs fans.  We went to our annual pilgrimage to Wrigley Field each year. My first baseball glove has the cubs logo in the mitt (I still have it by the way). 

I may have stayed a Cubs fan forever if it hadn't been for these three men:

Ray Rayner

 

Dave Roller

This is the story of how a Children's T.V. host, a baseball player and my own father led me to more than 50 years of White Sox allegiance.

Ray Rayner hosted a television show on WGN TV when I was a kid. He had several regular bits he would do on the show: he would feed a duck named Chelveston while he played a popular song (where I ffirst heard American Pie), He would have a  regular visit with Lester Fisher (the director of the Lincoln Park Zoo), He would visit a puppet named Cuddly Duddly at his dog house, and in between these bits he would be a disc jocker for cartoons, (mostly Warner Brothers).  

His role in making me a Sox fan was when he would do the daily traffic and sports reports.  Equipped with a Cubs cap with a White Sox cap sewed in the back of it.  He would show the results of the previous day's baseball games.  He would switch the sides of the cap depending on which team he was reporting on.  This gave me as a child the notion that in Chicago you could like both teams.

Ray Rayner reporting on a Cubs  victory while wearing the Cubs end of his Cubs/Sox cap.

The 2nd person most responsible for me switching my favorite team from the Cubs to the Sox was my Dad.  When I was growing up the White Sox would offer 2 tickets to grade school students who either had straight A's or perfect attendance for the year.  One  l year my sister, who was the year ahead of me  achieved straight A's.  She won the two tickets and My Dad took her to a game to see the White Sox play the Baltimore Orioles.  My sister was 15 months older than me, and I had a brother 18 months younger than me.  By that time I had another brother who was still a toddler.  1 on 1 time alone with my Dad was not really something any of us kids ever got on a regular basis.  So when my Dad took Kathy to a game, I knew that was something I wanted to do as well.  When school restarted in the Fall, I was determined to win a pair of free White Sox tickets to get 3 to 5 hours alone with my Dad.  That year was the only year in my academic career that I ever had perfect attendance.  The next summer My father and I attended my first White Sox game.

Dick Allen only played 3 years on the South side but he made his presence know in a major way.  He hit 85 homes runs in those 3 years and a batting  average over .300 and the best slugging percentage of all baseball.  I remember him hitting at least 1 home run at the game we went to,  I was a White Sox fan after that.  Even without the free tickets my Dad continued to take me to at least 1 game a year through high school.  Dick Allen was my White Sox hero, but certainly not my last.  One of my Cubs hero's Don Kessinger finished his career with the White Sox as a player manager.  Carlton Fisk who was one of my favorite players on an opposing teem came to the White Sox as a free agent when I was in high school.  Wilbur Wood, Bill Melton. Bucky Dent. Jorge Orta. Harold Baines, and the list goes on and on.  Dick Allen died a few years ago but was finally elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame by the Veteran's committee and he will be inducted this year.  

When I think of the White Sox I think back of the 5o+ years of memories I have watching them.  Going to games with my Dad and taking my kids to the games.  Next Saturday I am taking my wife to the White Sox game.  They just happen to be giving away Dick Allen Hall of Fame bobble heads.  My favorite team, my favorite player and my favorite person in the world.  I don't care If I never get back.

2025 Baseball Hall of Fame: If I Had a Ballot

 Since the inception of my illustrious blogging career, This part of January has been reserved for HOF talk.  It started on my sports blog Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog and moved here when I incorporated all my blogs into Leap of Dave a few years back.  

While I certainly had HOF thoughts in 2023 and 2024 I did not post them here.  Since this is my 3rd installment of the 2025 Hall of Fame, you may have correctly concluded that my respite is over.  

Each year certain members of  The Base Ball Writers Association of America are given a ballot containing the names of former baseball players eligible for enshrinement in Cooperstown. While technically not a member of this august body, the same part of my brain that thinks I'm one phone call away from being the starting 3rd baseman for your Chicago White Sox, supposes that the BBWAA would welcome my inclusion into their body. even though  I've never covered my favorite sport in a professional status. 

The BBWAA ballot contains 28 names this year, 14  returning players and 14 on the ballot for the first time.  The writers are asked to vote for no more than 10 of these players on their ballots.  

As I have done here in the past, I imagine a scenario where I was a member of the BBWAA given a ballot and asked to vote for exactly 10 of those players.  Then I imagine the same scenario where I am asked to vote for only 9, then 8, and so on . and add some infinitum.   At some point in these imaginings, I imagine what I have come to call my official unofficial ballot or OUB,  This is where I state who exactly I would vote for if I chose the players who would be on my ballot. Also, as I have done here in the past, I reserve the right to add some purposeful randomness in the proceedings.

Examples of that purposeful randomness are evidenced in my 2022 Ballot which included 12 names. (My OUB is in bold, and HOF after their name indicates that since my previous post, they have been selected for enshrinement. 

12. Barry Bonds

11, Roger Clemens

10. Jeff Kent

9. Scott Rolen HOF

8. Andruw Jones

7. Omar Vizquel

6. A.J. Pierzynski

5. Curt Schilling

4. Todd Helton HOF

3.David Ortiz HOF

2. Mark Buehrle 

1. Dick Allen HOF

So enough introduction, let my imagination run amuck...

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 12 players the 12th player would be Alex Rodriguez. 

There is no doubt in my mind that if the former Mariner, Ranger, and Yankee was not an admitted PED cheater that he'd already be in the Hall of Fame.  This is why I have him 12th on the ballot.  But he is an admitted PED cheater which is why he stops here at 12.

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 11 players the 11th player would be Bobby Abreu. 

In 2021 I said this about Abreu explaining why he was 10th on my theoretical ballot ... I don't think he's worthy of Cooperstown. I think he had a distinguished enough career to be in the conversation for a year or more.

4 years later ... I'm not sure if he's worthy of Cooperstown, but he's growing on me.

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 10 players the 10th player would be Andy Pettitte.  

Pettitte is a lot like college graduates flying back home for the summer.  They have a resume and they have baggage. The 3 time all star has pitched in 8 World Series with 5 rings to show for it.  Being listed in the Mitchell report for using HGH has deterred many actual voters and at least one imaginary one.

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 9 players the 9th player would be Carlos Beltran.

Speaking of former Astro's embroiled in controversy, Carlos Beltran received 57.1% of the vote last year in his 2nd year of eligibility despite his involvement in the 2017 sign-stealing brouhaha. He may well make the jump to the Hall this year, if he does not I'll consider him again next year.

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 8 players the 8th player would be Torii Hunter. 

In 2021 I said placed Hunter 9th, 5 spots short of the 4 players I put on my official unofficial ballot and said this: When I hear the name Torii Hunter. I think Hall of Fame. When I look at his stats they tell a bit of a different story. He falls short of making My OUB but it would certainly be nice if he could get enough votes to be on the ballot again next year.

Well he made it back to the ballot in 2021 and was not one of my 12 votes, he made it back to the ballot in 2023, 2024, and again this year, but I no longer think of him as Hall of Fame material.  I think there is a good chance this year that he won't make the 5% needed for future consideration.

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 7 players the 7th player would be Omar Vizquel. 

This is Vizquel's 8th year on the ballot and he made my OUB in 2018 through 2021.  I In 2022 I wrote this explaining why he was no longer on my OUB: 

I still think he's a Hall of Fame type player. However, some of the controversy that has swirled around his nomination has made me decide to put a pause on voting for him this year and look at him with new eyes next year.

The controversy still swirls and like many actual voters, I am waiting for that fog to clear before proceeding any further.  

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 6 players the 6th player would be Pete Rose. 

But wait you say Pete Rose is not on this ballot and besides that he is dead.  That is my point exactly Rose was given a lifetime ban from baseball.  Since his life is over his ban should be over and the Veterans committee should be allowed to consider his inclusion in the hall.  

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 5 players the 5th player would be Joe Jackson. 

But wait you say Joe Jackson is not on this ballot and besides that he is dead.  That is my point exactly Jackson and other players from the 1919 "Black Sox" were given a lifetime ban from baseball.  Since his life is over the ban should be over and the Veterans Committee should be allowed to consider his inclusion in the hall.  I am placing Jackson ahead of Rose because he's been dead much longer.

If I could vote for as many players on the 2025 BBWAA ballot that I thought were worthy for inclusion to the Hall of Fame, my ballot would contain 4 names.  The 4th name on that ballot would be Andruw Jones.

This is the first year I have included Jones on my OUB.  In 2022 while explaining why Jones fell 2 places short of the 6 player OUB of that year, I hinted of a change of heart that might be on the horizon: 

The truth is that I'm not sure that Andruw Jones taking a giant step down in his performance in his final 5 years is as much of a detriment to voting for him as I've made it . His star is definitely on the rise and I can imagine a time when my evaluation of him would increase to the point where I'd vote for his place in the hall.

 

That time came in my 2 years absence and while he may fall short again this year, I do believe that Cooperstown is calling.

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 3 players the 3rd player would be C.C. Sabathia.

The former Indian and Yankee hurler is in his first year of eligibility and if voting tracking numbers are to be believed, he will be a first year hall of famer.  I'll have more to say about him after I reveal my next  2 votes.   

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 2 players the 2nd player would be Ichiro Suzuki.

There is no doubt that Ichiro Suzuki is a first-year ballot Hall of Fame, he may even be the 2nd ever unanimous choice for the Hall of Fame.  He is definitely on my OUB.  However, I am not passionate about Ichiro and I am passionate about the player I  put ahead of him on my ballot. And like my pal Irene Cara used to always tell me, take your passion and make it happen.

If I were given a Hall of Fame Ballot and told to vote for exactly 1 player that player would be Mark Buehrle.

There are 3 starting pitchers on the ballot this year who have some comparable stats. In my opinion, Buehrle outshines Pettitte and Sabathia.  True, I am a lifetime White Sox fan and Buehrle is my daughter's favorite player. 

When you look at some of the hardware and accolades they have merited Pettitte has 5 World Series Championships compared to Buehrle's and Sabathia's 1 each.  Sabathia has been elected to 6 all-star games, compared to Buehrle's 5 and Pettitte's 4.   Sabathia is the only Cy Young recipient and both he and Pettitte have a a league championship series MVP.  Buehrle is the only one of the 3 with Gold Gloves and he has 4 of them.  So when you total them all up it is Buehrle who has 10, Pettitte with 9, and Sabathia with 8. Buehrle also has a perfect game, an additional no-hitter, and a streak 0f 14 seasons where he pitched 200 or more innings.  

2025 Baseball Hall of Fame: New On The Ballot

 The 2024 Baseball Writers Association of America Hall of Fame Ballot contains 28 names of former MLB players being considered for enshrinement. This year the ballot has been split right down the middle with 14 players returning to the ballot and 14 players eligible to be on the ballot for the first time.   Players have 10 years of eligibility to receive the 75%  or more votes needed to make it to the Hall this way.  If they have additional years of legibility remaining and receive between 5% and 74.9 % of this year's vote they will remain on the ballot for next year.  

The 14 players on the ballot for the first time in 2025 are in Alphabetical Order

Carlos González OF 12 Seasons 4 Teams: Rockies, A's Indians, Cubs

Curtis Granderson OF 16 Seasons 7 Teams: Tigers, Mets, Yankees, Marlins, Bluejays, Dodgers, Brewers

Félix Hernández P 15 seasons : 1 Team: Mariners 

Adam Jones CF 14 Seasons 3 Teams: Orioles Mariners D-Backs

Ian Kinsler 14 Seasons 5 Teams: Rangers, Tigers, Angels, Padres, Red Sox

Russell Martin C 14 seasons: 4 teams: Dodgers, Bluejays, Yankees, Pirates 

Brian McCann C 15 Seasons 3 Teams Braves Yankees Astros

Dustin Pedroia 2B 14 Seasons 1 Team Red Sox 

Hanley Ramirez IF 15 seasons 4 teams: Marlins, Red Sox, Dodgers, Indians

Fernando Rodney RP 17 Seasons 11 Teams Tigers, Rays, Mariners, Angels A's D-Backs, Twins, Marlins, Nationals, Padres, Cubs

CC Sabathia P 19 Seasons 3 Teams: Yankees, Indians, Brewers

Ichiro Suzuki RF 19 Seasons 3 Teams Mariners Yankees, Marlins

Troy Tulowitzki SS 13 Seasons 4 Teams: Rockies, Bluejays, Yankees 

 Ben Zobrist IF 14 Seasons 4 Teams: Rays, Cubs, A's Royals

Fun Facts: 1) Only the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and San Francisco Giants do not have any 1st-year eligible players on the ballot this year.  

2) The 2 players on the ballot for the first time this year who played the most seasons, Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia both played on 3 teams and were teammates on the Yankees. 

2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Voting: Returning to the Ballot

The 2024 Baseball Writers Association of America Hall of Fame Ballot contains 28 names of former MLB players being considered for enshrinement. This year the ballot has been split right down the middle with 14 players returning to the ballot and 14 players eligible to be on the ballot for the first time.   Players have 10 years of eligibility to receive the 75%  or more votes needed to make it to the Hall this way.  If they have additional years of legibility remaining and receive between 5% and 74.9 % of this year's vote they will remain on the ballot for next year.  

The returning players are listed here in descending order of the % of votes received in the 2024 BBWAA election.

Player                  Position                 YOE           Highest PCT. (YR)         Lowest Pct. (YR)

Billy Wagner       Relief Pitcher        10th            73.8 % (2024)                 10.2% (2017)          

Andruw Jones      Centerfielder         8th              61.6%  (2024)                 7.3% (2018)

Carlos Beltran      Centerfielder         3rd              57.1 % (2024)                 46.5 % (2023)

Alex Rodriquez    Shortstop               4th              35.7 % (2023)                 34.3% (2022)

Manny Ramirez    Outfielder              9th              33.2 % (2023)                 22 % (2018)

Chase Utley             2nd Base                2nd              28.8% (2024)                  28.8% (2024)

Omar Vizquel           Shortstop               8th               52.6% (2020)                 17.7% (2024)

Bobby Abreu            Righfielder            5th               14.4% (2023)                5.5% (2020)

Jimmy Rollins          Shortstop               4th              14.8% (2024)                 9.4 % (2022 )

Andy Petitte              Pitcher                  7th               17.0% (2023)                9.9% (2019)

Mark Buehrle            Pitcher                    5th              11% (2021)                   5.8% (2022)    

Francisco Rodriguez Pitcher                 3rd             10.8% (2023)                  7.8% (2024)

Torii Hunter              Pitcher                5th               9.4% (2021)                    5.3% (2022)

David Wright           3rd Base               2nd             6.2% (2024)                    6.2 % 2022

Billy Wagner who is in his final year of eligibility missed enshrinement last year by only 1.2% of the votes.  

Fun Fact of the 12 players who are on the ballot for the 3rd time or more, only 4 of them received the highest percentage of votes in their election cycle in 2024. 

Dick Allen Finally voted into HOF OPV

I have been campaigning sometime now for my first White Sox hero, Dick Allen to get into the the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown. Last night he finallt got voted in. I'm sure I'll have some more posts to add in the coming days but for now here are three videos I've pulled off of You Tube to commemorate his big moment.

First up a career retrospective from MLB

 

Next: Local Chicago Newscast reporting Allen's induction

 

 Finally: Philadelphia news story yesterday.

Better Late Than Never: An Open Letter to the White Sox regarding the Legacy of Dick Allen

A lot can happen in 3 years.  3 years ago I started the below blog post and for whatever reason left it in draft status.  Earlier this month I saw this announcement on the Baseball Hall of Fame website.  Seeing that  Chicago White Sox legend Dick Allen was again being considered for enshrinement made me want to do something on his behalf.  Then, I remembered I already did, well at least I started.  A lot can happen in 3 years.  

Aside from correcting multiple grammar and spelling errors, the de-mothballed post is the same as when I started it three years ago. The only exception is that I have color-coded the first three paragraphs, put important statements in bold, and italicized the entire tome (Not Jim Tome; that's a Hall of Famer of a different spelling). The green indicates that the statements are still valid some 1100 days later. The red indicates they are not. I'll be back at the end to further my point.

Dear White Sox Organization: 

 First and foremost, I would like to wish you a joyous and happy holiday season. Secondly, I would like to congratulate you on the fine baseball season you just finished. It is truly an exciting time to be a White Sox fan. I have been a Sox fan going on 50 years. I can not emphasize enough how the accomplishments of one player brought me into the White Sox fan base.  A  player who sadly I don't think your organization has spent enough time heralding his accomplishments while on the South Side.  This player is no other than Dick Allen, The 1972 AL MVP in his first year for the White Sox.

There are two things I'd like to see the Sox organization do to honor Mr. Allen's legacy.  The first is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his MVP season in 2022.  The impact of Dick Allen on the White Sox is legend.  He revitalized the team mobilized the fan base and squashed all the talk of moving the franchise from Chicago to Florida.  His homers at Old Comiskey Park especially those rooftop shots are why a 7-year-old boy raised to be a Cubs fan flipped allegiances and spent his days wanting to emulate his new heroes like Bill Melton, Wilbur Wood, Bucky Dent, Jorge Orta, and especially Allen himself.  

I hope you guys have something like this in mind because a celebration on the scale that I'm thinking should have been planned years in advance.  

Secondly, I would love to see the White Sox publicly champion the HOF candidacy for Mr. Allen.  In my opinion, Allen is the most deserving player in White Sox history for enshrinement in Cooperstown.  Actually, I believe he is the most deserving former player in the entire league who is not yet been voted in.  I was very happy when Minnie Minoso got in this year on the Golden Days Era Ballot..This may seem like blasphemy at 35th and Shields but I feel Allen is more deserving than Minoso for a spot in Cooperstown.  I understand that looking at the advanced metrics bears my thoughts out.  I was heartbroken when Allen missed out by 1 vote again this year.  He now has to wait 5 more years before his case can be reviewed again.

A lot of this heavy lifting needs to be done by Allen's first team the Phillies.  He played the brunt of his career there and I am glad to see that there is a greater acknowledgment of the racism he endured while in Philadelphia.  What I ask of the White Sox is that in the next 5 years, they begin stating Allen's case every time they have the opportunity.  There are still very many White Sox fans of my generation and the generation previous to mine who understand the impact Dick Allen had for the Southsiders in the early 70's.  I ask that the management of the Sox while continuing to look to the future and endeavoring to bring more pennants and World Series championships to their fan base also look back at the past especially the accomplishments of Allen and celebrate what he brought to the team and lobby for his accomplishments to be recognized and honored by the powers that be at Cooperstown and beyond.

A few years back Jerry Reinsdorf lobbied hard for the HOF candidacy of Harold Baines.   I have long been a proponent of Baine's inclusion in Cooperstown.  Reinsdorf did the right thing by helping make the case for Baines.  Reinsdorf had seen firsthand the impact of Baines on the White Sox and knew in his heart that Baines was HOF material.  Dick Allen was long gone when Reinsdorf became owner of the Sox.  Reinsdorf and the White Sox need to understand that although they did not experience it Allen's impact on the White Sox and on baseball in that era was actually far greater than the impact Baines had.  Baines had HOF teammates like Carlton Fisk and Frank Thomas.  

That is where I left things off in 2021

Dick Allen (Circa 1965)
Public Domain

Here in the present (11/23/24) Dick Allen is a candidate once again for the enshrinement in Cooperstown that eluded him in his lifetime.  Having missed out on the highest individual honor in baseball by only 1 vote in his last 2 elections, he again is considered a front-runner.  This year he is joined by Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, Dave Harris, and Luis Tiant.  All these players are certainly worthy of consideration, and many deserve their own plaque in Cooperstown.  I would still argue that none of these players are more deserving than Allen.  

On December 8th a 16-member Hall of Fame Panel will convene at the Baseball Winter Meetings to decide if any of these players will make it for 2025.  Anyone receiving 12 votes or more from the committee will become a Hall of Famer.  Anyone who doesn't will have to wait until 2028 to even be considered to be a finalist again.  Dick Allen shouldn't have to wait that long.

He actually shouldn't have had to wait this long.  Allen was not the malcontent nor rabble-rouser that people portrayed him as.  He had been vindicated from most of that in his lifetime.  Some of it remains from the atmosphere of racism that followed his career and his BBWAA-era candidacy.  If you're not aware of Allen's experiences as the first professional black baseball player in then-segregated Little Rock, Arkansas while a Phillies farmhand in 1963, this article is a good place to start. Moving to Philadelphia in 1964 and having one of the greatest rookie seasons in MLB history, didn't stop the unfair treatment.  He wasn't allowed 548to go by his preferred name Dick but was relegated to becoming the diminutive Richie, a move which can only be construed now some 60 years later as a thinly veiled attempt to keep him in his place.  

His place is in the Hall of Fame. Yes, injuries shortened his career and certainly, he would have been helped by a longer body of work, but what a body of work.  The 7-time all-star, according to Baseball Musings, Day by Day database the 1964 Rookie of the Year and 1972 MVP in his first 6 seasons (1964-1969) was ranked 20th in at-bats. but ranked higher in 9 other offensive categories  including 5th in runs, 3rd in triples, 8th in both home runs and RBI, 9th in walks, 10th in batting average, and  1st in slugging percentage. Allen's slugging percentage was .555 in that 6-year time. Here is a list of the 10 fellows directly behind him.

Frank Robinson      .552   HOF

Willie McCovey      .551  HOF

Hank Aaron             .548  HOF

Willie Mays             .539  HOF

Harmon Killebrew   .535 HOF

Roberto Clemente    .511 HOF

Willie Stargell          .510 HOF

Reggie Jackson        .508 HOF

Carl Yaztrzemski     .507 HOF

Ron Santo                .505 HOF

This is just one example of Allen's on-field accomplishments putting him among the elite players of his generation.  Allen is also revered by many players who played alongside him.  One is Hall of Famer Allen's former White Sox teammate Rich Gossage.  I'm going to end this post with a quote from Gossage for a 2014 USA Today article about Allen and the Hall of Fame.  Goose puts it more eloquently than I ever could.  

"I've been around the game a long time,'' Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage tells USA TODAY Sports, "and he's the greatest player I've ever seen play in my life. He had the most amazing season (1972) I've ever seen. He's the smartest baseball man I've ever been around in my life. "He taught me how to pitch from a hitter's perspective, and taught me how to play the game, and how to play the game right. There's no telling the numbers this guy could have put up if all he worried about was stats. "The guy belongs in the Hall of Fame.''

The Sandberg Game | The Signature Game of Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg's ...

40 years ago today The Cubs played the Cardinals in the famous "Sandberg" Game. Enjoy this documentary:

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100 Days of Summer Reading 2024

Summer is right around the corner and it is time for me to endeavor once again to get into one of my favorite past times: Summer Reading.  My Summer reading season generally goes from Memorial Day (tomorrow) to Labor Day (which is September 2nd this year).  By starting today and ending Labor Day, the season is 100 days long.  

I want to read at least 10 books during this period.  That is an absolute minimum goal.  I think I would actually be disappointed if I only read 10 books this Summer.  That is basically only one  book every week and a half.  I really have my eyes set on twenty, Which is 1 book every five days for a fortnight of weeks.  

Now when I say read, I really mean consume.  I may listen to some, and read some on a device, but the majority will be physical books which I will read from the printed page.  There are some books that I am in the middle of reading, if and when I finish them this Summer I will count them.  There are some reading programs that do not allow this,  but mine is not one of them.  To keep myself honest each year, I don't start reading any books the week prior to Memorial Day.  I've been so busy lately, that I don't think I've read any books for the last two weeks,  

My lack of recent reading could become problematic as I am out of habit.  Over the next few days I hope to remedy that by jumping back into the waters of reading.

Here is a list of 10 books that may be some of the first I finish this Summer.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

This is probably a good time to stipulate that some of the books I plan  to read this Summer, I actually will be re-reading.  Earlier this month, in my A to Z Reflection, I wrote about my plan of reading all the Narnia books again this year, and then doing the 2025 A to Z challenge on the series.  I wouldn't be at all surprised, If I finished all 7 prior to Labor Day

Walking With Sam by Andrew McCarthy

Many of the books I read during this program are books that I own.  I picked this one up last year at a meet the author event.  My wife has already read this story of McCarthy's walking trip with his son on the Camino de Santiago.  I read some of it last year but will be starting anew as I'm not sure where I left off.

Luke: The Gospel of Amazement - Michael Card

Michael Card is one of my favorite singers, but I also enjoy his writings.  This was going to another one that I started over from the beginning. I just page through it and I remember most of the introductory material from reading it earlier this Spring.  I'm going to start again on page 32 which is a chapter about Luke chapter 1.

Eugene Onegin byAlexander Pushkin

Years ago I lived on Pushkin Street in Khabarovsk, Russia,  This Summer I will again be attempting to read Pushkin's verse novel, Eugene Onegin,  I have been very off again Onegin (pun very much intended) with this one.  For the past few months I have been  consistently practicing Russian for the first time in decades.  If I can wade through the English translation, maybe next year I'll attempt it in Russian.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien 

At the beginning of this year, I wrote a post about my plan to read FOTR (I have never finished it) by September 2nd, which is the 53rd anniversary of his death.  I am about 1/2 way finished and if I only read 1 book this Summer it needs to be this one.  If I'm not done by 4th of July I will start listening to it as well as reading it.

1984 by George Orwell

Speaking of books that I've  never finished.  2024 should be the year I finally finish 1984.  I've had to return a copy to the library twice this year, but I'll order one today from them and should be finishing it very soon.

Concise Theology by J.I. Packer

The 3rd book so far with initialized authors.  I have read this book multiple times over the years.  This year has been a little different as I've been reading one chapter at a time and highlighting that chapter as I read. There are 94 chapters and I have completed 24.  It is very possible I will not get through all 94 by Labor Day.

The Cooperstown Casebook by Jay Jaffe

  In my sports blog, Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog, (which has now been incorporated into this blog), I write a lot about Baseball's Hall of Fame.  Jaffe writes in this book about who he thinks are Hall of Fame worth candidates.  I am looking forward to finishing it soon.  

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

As of yesterday, all my children are officially finished with their secondary education.  Which of course means they are all finished with their primary or elementary education as well.  I, on the other hand, will probably never be finished with  children's literature.  To that end, I'm dusting off a favorite tome from our home school days and planning to enjoy it anew this Summer.  

 Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

Now that school is over, I am looking forward to re-reading Allen Levi's fiction debut.  I believe I gave my copy away.  So, I may need to wait until I get a summer job and a summer paycheck before I get to this one.  

Don't be  too surprised if I finish other books before or instead of some of these  these 10.   I will try to post a review of each book as I finish them.  I'm not always successful when it comes to that part of the program, but we shall see.  3 short weeks after Labor Day I will turn 60, so this is my last Summer Reading Challenge of my 50's.  I think that will make it that much more enjoyable.  

3 Former Bears in 2024 NFL Hall Of Fame Class.

The NFL announced their 2024 Hall of Fame class yesterday in advance of Super Bowl LVIII.  You can watch the announcement on YouTube by clicking here. The last 3 players announces Steve "Mongo" McMichael, Devin Hester, and Julius Peppers all played for the Chicago Bears.

60 Years In 60 Days: 1964

Dick Allen in 1964

 I was born in 1964.  Some people may call that my rookie year, but if you know about baseball you know my birthday on 9/23 was just a late September call up and my Rookie year would be in 1965.

  In a similar fashion, Dick Allen (my first White Sox hero) debuted for the Philadelphia Phillies on 9/3/1963 came back in the spring of 1964 and played his rookie season.  He played all 162  games for the Philadelphia the only Phillie to do that in 1964 and just 1 of 12 in the majors. 

When I was growing up I wanted to be the starting third baseman  for the Chicago White Sox.  In 1964 22 year old Allen was the starting 3rd baseman for Philadelphia. Allen had an amazing season, one of the finest rookie seasons in MLB history. He led all of MLB with 125 runs scored.  His 13 triples were tied for first with Cubs 3rd baseman and fellow hero of my youth, Ron Santo.  He had 201 hits and 29 homeruns (5th overall for both achievements.  

Allen  had many successes but a few bumps in the road that eventually saw him be voted N.L.  Rookie Of the year.  He was an adventure at 3rd base amassing 41 errors at the hot corner.  He also led the national league in strikeouts which is great when your a pitcher but not so good when you have a bat in your hand. Allen struck out 138times  in his rookie year   but still managed  to hit .318 in '64 with a slugging percentage of .557.  

Allen's Phillies spent 135 days in first place that year but lost 10 games in a row from September 21st to the 30th in one of the greatest sports collapses in the 20th century. That most of these 10 losses happened in my first week alive is merely coincidence.  At least I hope it is. 

 Bleacher Report has an excellent article about Allen which talks about how claims that Allen was somehow to blame for the collapse have no basis in fact.  That article can be found  by clicking here.

Dick Allen as I remember him

1964 was a great year to be born and a fine year to play your first full season in the majors.  I discovered Dick Allen for myself in the early 70's and he is one of the main reasons I became a White Sox fan,  

Closing Thoughts: 

The scout that signed Dick Allen to the Phillies also saw Babe Ruth play and said of Allen that he was the only player he had seen that hit harder than Ruth.  

Dick Allen died December 7th 2020 in at the age of 78.

He is considered by many to be the best  baseball player not to be enshrined in Cooperstown.  

F is For 42

 A to Z Challenge

A Month At The Movies

Hello and welcome back to A Month at the Movies,  my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.

This year I am copying from a myriad of other A to Z  challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter.  You can skip over this part if you want to.  

I love movies and have decided to share with you a movie each day that I have enjoyed to one degree or another.  With each entry, I'll give a brief synopsis of the film, share a positive and negative review from Rotten Tomatoes ( a website, I didn't use much at all until preparing for the challenge), discuss its resiliency (the theme of the A to Z challenge this year), and other tidbits like whether the film may appear in my top 100 film list, which I have been revamping this year. I think that's enough in the way of introduction, considering you'll be reading it (hopefully) 20 more times this month.

Film: 42

Director: Brian Helgeland

I grew up loving baseball. I didn't think much of it.  Baseball was always there.  I could watch it on t.v. I could play it with my friends and I could dream about being my favorite players Dick Allen or Hank Aaron. 

These players were black and I was white. At that time I had never met a black person, but that didn't bother me.  My heroes were great baseball players and I wanted to be like them.  That I could do that is  a tribute to Branch Rickey, the general manager who helped integrate baseball and to Jackie Robinson who was the first black player in the modern era of baseball.

Image by Welcome to All ! ツ from Pixabay

Positive Tomato: Well-paced and often riveting, and manages to inspire while remaining true to sport and to the player who changed it and all of the professional sport forever. Bruce DeMara - Toronto Star

Negative Tomato:  42 is a hackneyed, cookie-cutter film that manages to tell us absolutely nothing about a turning point in American history. AP Kryza - Willamette Week

Chadwick Boseman shines as Robinson. He gives us a glimpse of how difficult it is to be the first. 

Harrison Ford transforms himself into Branch Rickey.

Resiliency: When Rickey tells Robinson his plan to have him be the first black player in baseball, they have this exchange...

Robinson: You want a player who doesn't have the guts to fight back?

Rickey: No. No. I want a player who has the guts not to fight back.

This resiliency to take the verbal abuse, the discrimination, to receive the hate mail and death threats is shown scene after scene.  

Top 100: Regardless of whether it makes my top 100 (I imagine it will) it will always be my top 42.

A to Z Connections: This is the 3rd sports film (Breaking Away and Chariots of Fire) and the second film with Harrison Ford (The Empire Strikes Back). 

Next Time: G is for Gene Noir 

Jim Kaat Full Baseball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Speech and Jim Kaat on Dick Allen

Amy gave me some White Sox Ticket vouchers as a Christmas gift and while I am excited for the future of the White Sox, I still love the past of the White Sox. Here are some videos featuring HOF pitcher Jim Kaat, The former White SOx hurler. The first is his induction speech at the Hall if Fame last summer.

 

The second is an interview he did on the MLB network after the passing of Dick Allen.

 

I was very glad to see Kaat finally make it to Cooperstown. It's too bad Allen did not make it in his lifetime, I hope that He will make it soon. Love, Crazy Uncle Dave

What Jim Edmonds Greatest Career Catches has to do with my ADD

My ADD gets in the way of my everyday life but it often leaves a pleasant wake in it's path.  Today, right now in fact,I was getting ready to leave the house on what will be a very busy day. I couldn't find my phone and when I found it it was totally uncharged so I needed to charge it.  I noticed it had earbuds in it that were not working on my phone last night when I was trying to listen to Moby Dick before I went to bed.  So, instead of plugging in the phone and continuing to get ready to leave.  I took the earbuds plus the phone to the computer to check if the earbuds worked on the computer, which they did.

I thought the best way to check it, would be to go to YouTube .  Instead of going to the video I was going to look up, I got distracted by a Jim Edmonds video and began watching the video of his 8 amazing catches.  I liked it so much, I decided to post it here. I also googled Jim Edmonds HOF and found this good article about his qualifications to be voted in by the veteran's committee.  I was right about to go back in my archives and see  if I voted for him on my mock ballot when he was eligible, when my wife walked by and asked if I found my phone and then reminded me it still needed to be charged.  I'm going to go back now to my busy day, which I just made a little busier for myself. Thanks ADD!.

When I post this in a few days, the today referenced at the top of this (6/24/2022) will actually be in the past.  How long in the past? Only my ADD can say for sure.  For now: enjoy this video of great Edmonds catches that my ADD left in it's wake. 

Y is for Yin, Yang, Yaz and Young

 Good morning and welcome to day 24, the penultimate of the A to Z challenge. This year I chose 3 themes for the challenge: Limericks, MLB sluggers in my lifetime, and A to Z wordles. For more information about these themes click here. 

Part I: A to Z Limericks

I don't give a darn or a dang

for the yin or even the yang

Don't meant to alarm ya

I'm just not into karma.

I think God controls whole shebang.

Part II: A to Z Homerun hitters of my lifetime

 

Carl Yastrzemski played his entire career  (1961-1983) with the Boston Red Sox. Yaz is 39th overall in homeruns over his career with 452.  (Nelson Cruz will tie him with his next homer and surpass him with the one after that.) From 1961 to 1963 Yastrzemski pummeled 44 homers for the BoSox in his first 3 years in the Bigs.  From 1964 to 1975 he established himself as a hall of fame caliber outfielder hitting 273 homers with a .290 batting average and a slugging percentage of .480.  In that Era he was 1 of only 4 players to be in the top 40 of homers, doubles and stolen bases along with Dick Allen, Hank Aaron, and Jimmy Wynn.  Yaz hit 135 more dingers for Boston in his final 8 years with the team.

  

Part III: Wordle Starting Words from A to Z

Note: Correct letters in the correct places will be shown in bold. Correct letters in incorrect places will be shown in italics.

My March 25tg starting word was young. 

Y O U N G- I guessed one letter (o) correctly but not in the reight place...

S T O R E - Added 2 more letters (T and  E) still nonr in their correct positions.

O C T E T-  It took 8 people to get the t in the right place.

D E P O T - Depot in 4.

For more A to Z challenge click here.  

V is for Vladimir, Vladimir and Voice

Good Morning and welcome to day 22, the 2nd day of the final week  of the A to Z challenge. This year I chose 3 themes for the challenge: Limericks, MLB sluggers in my lifetime, and A to Z wordles. For more information about these themes click here. 

Part I: A to Z Limericks

I know this guy Vladimir

He is a true friend ,very dear

His name in Russian means swan

I would like to go on

But a limerick's lengths very clear

Part II: A to Z Homerun hitters of my lifetime

Speaking of Vladimir our home run hitter under V is Vladimir Guerrero.  Vladimir in Russian literally means one who rules the world.  Vladimir Guerrero rules the world of Montreal Expo home run hitters with 234 in his 8 years with the team.  Ryan Zimmerman now owns the franchise record but all of his 4 baggers came after the team move to D.C>) 

over his career The hall of famer  hit 449 homers from 1996 to 2011 while maintaining a batting average of .318.  From 2000 to 2010 Guerrero hit 357 of those 449 homers. Putting him 17th among the prestigious sluggers of the 1st decade of the 21st century.  He was one of only 3 during that era with a batting average of .300 or higher. (The other 2 were Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera) and his .318 was the best of the bunch. During that period Vladimir sr. hit 173 of those homers with the Angels, 142 with the Expos and 29 with the Rangers before ending his career in 20011 with the Orioles where he hit an unlucky 13 dingers finishing 1 short of 450 for his career.

I say Vladimir, Sr. because his Son Vladimir, Jr. now plays for the only remaining Canadian team in the MLB, the Toronto Blue Jays where he has hit 77 homers since beginning his career in 2019.  Maybe if we revisit this list again in a few  years we will have anither world ruler to contend with.

Part III: Wordle Starting Words from A to Z

Note: Correct letters in the correct places will be shown in bold. Correct letters in incorrect places will be shown in italics.

My March 22nd starting word was voice. 

V O I C E - The O is in the word but in the wrong place.  I removed vice from my next guess. 

D R O O P - The only thing I learned in this guess was where the O went. 

S H O O T- This was a mistake as I already knew there was only 1 O. 

S L O S H-  Slosh in 4..

For more A to Z challenge click here.  

T is for Tupelo, Thomas & Tower

 Good evening and welcome to day 20 of the A to Z challenge. This year I chose 3 themes for the challenge: Limericks, MLB sluggers in my lifetime, and A to Z wordles. For more information about these themes click here. 

Part I: A to Z Limericks

Yesterday's limerick was pep talk to others in the challenge.  This one's more for me.  

8 years ago we had a bit of a polar vortex in Illinois.  I got myself in a little bit of a Roller Vortex and write a limerick on my Facebook page about the 28 degree difference in temps between the Chicago are and Tupelo, MS.

 If I spent the day in Tupelo

Where it's 14 above not below

While water would still freeze

28 more degrees 

Would increase by old get up and go

From my Facebook account in the winter of 2014

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Part II: A to Z Homerun hitters of my lifetime

Choosing some  players for this list has been more difficult than others.  There was absolutely  no difficulty in choosing Frank Thomas for this list.  I drove from Chicago to upstate New York to see him enshrined in Cooperstown, so it's no trouble at all to reserve a letter for him.

Thomas is tied for 20th all time in homeruns with Ted Williams, and Willie Stargell with 521.  He hit 301 of those in the era of 1988 through 1999 all with my beloved White Sox. He hit 448 total dingers with the ChiSox and knocked 73 more between the A's and the Jays at the end of his storied career. Only 8 players hit more homers than the Big Hurt in the 1990's and none of those 8 had a better batting average than his .320 for the decade.  He finished his career with over 500 homers and a batting average of .301. Among the 6 other players who have accomplished this are Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams and Willie Mays.  When your career stats match favorably with what could easily be considered the Mount Rushmore of hitting you are in grand company indeed.  

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Part III: Wordle Starting Words from A to Z

Note: Correct letters in the correct places will be shown in bold. Correct letters in incorrect places will be shown in italics.

My March 20th my starting word was tower. It had been Sears the day prior and this was because I was in Chicago proper running a 1 mile and 5 mile race that weekend and my starters were an homage to the Willis Tower FKA Sears Tower.  

T O W E R  - My first guess netted 3 letters but none in the right place 

S H R E W - Got the EW sorted and still had the r in the wrong place.

R E N E W-  For the first time since March 14th I renewed my acquaintance with the feelings of getting a wordle in 3 guesses.

For more A to Z challenge click here. 

 I

O is for Orange, Oliva, and Overt

 Good morning  and welcome to day 15  of the A to Z challenge. This year I chose 3 themes for the challenge: Limericks, MLB sluggers in my lifetime, and A to Z wordles. For more information about these themes click here. 

Part I: A to Z Limericks

From the thet can't all be winners department ...

Orange, is a wonderful fruit.

And has vitamin C to boot.

While it's no crime,

That it has no good rhyme.

It does make me want to say "shoot!"

Part II: A to Z Homerun hitters of my lifetime

Tony Oliva got elected to the Hall of Fame by the veteran's comittee this year receiving 12 of the 16 votes he needed.  Oliva played for the Minnesota Twins from 1962 to 1976 and hit all but 1 of his 220 career homers from 1964-1975.  

Part III: Wordle Starting Words from A to Z

C 

Note: Correct letters in the correct places will be shown in bold. Correct letters in incorrect places will be shown in italics.

My March 15th starting word was overt.

O V E R T - Guessed the E and T the T but not in their proper place.

T E P I D-  Got the T and E in their proper spots.

T E A C H  - Added a third letter in the right spot.

T E A S E - Correct in 4 guesses

For more A to Z challenge click here.  

I is for Illinois, Ibanez and Imago

 Good morning  and welcome to  a new week  of the A to Z challenge. This year I chose 3 themes for the challenge: Limericks, MLB sluggers in my lifetime, and A to Z wordles. For more information about these themes click here. 

Part I: A to Z Limericks

If me, you want to annoy

Go ahead mispronounce Illinois

Please be compliant

Let the s remain silent

And no, I am not being coy

The first 4 lines of that limerick stayed on my open computer screen all night as I could not think of an adequate final line.  This morning I asked my wife who volunteered the closer.  Thanks Amy. How fitting that the limerick dropping on our 24th wedding anniversary  shows yet another example of how wonderful it is to be on a team with you.

Part II: A to Z Homerun hitters of my lifetime

When I was thinking which homer smasher I would choose for the letter I.  I did not immediately think of Raul Ibanez.  I immideiately thought of Jason Isringhausen, forgetting for a moment he was   and gave up far more homers (85 in a 16 year career) than he hit (2).  My thoughts then went to Pete Incaviglia for a moment before settling on Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez. With 311 dingers, Pudge does have more homers than any other I player.  I was pretty settled on I-Rod when I did a little more stat surfing.

In the period between 1988 and 1999 Incaviglia hit 149 bombs. Pudge only hit 109.  In the period of 2000 through 2010 Rodriguez hit 161 homers while Raul Ibanez slammed 204 (99 for the Mariners, 55 for the Royals, and 50 with the Phillies ). That means that I-Rod was the I with the most homers in either time period.  Ibanez hit only 6 less (305) career homers than I-Rod so I decided to give not to Raul.

Part III: Wordle Starting Words from A to Z

Note: Correct letters in the correct places will be shown in bold. Correct letters in incorrect places will be shown in italics.

In March when I was going alphabetically to pick my opening wordle words some were just random, and some held a great bit of meaning to me. Imago was one of the latter.

For several years my family and I went to the local college film festival called the Imago Film Festival click  on Wikipedia for more information about this festival.

I M A G O - Got M and O but in wrong places.

M O U N D-  M and O were correctly placed on my 2nd guess and I added n as well.

M O R O N- I felt a little like a moron not getting any more info from my 3rd guess as I did on my 2nd. 

M O N E Y -Throwing money on your problems, doesn't always solve them.  This maxim came true on guess 4, but I did get my N in the right place.

M O N K S - 5th guess got me no further than the fourth.

M O N T H - This was not the only 6 guess wordle I have had.  But it's the only one that took me a month to get.

For more A to Z challenge click here.