2015 BASEBALL HALL of FAME INDUCTEES

The first Tuesday of 2015 – January 6th – will provide us with the next class of major league players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Their actual induction will take place during the last week in July. The Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Fame should be every living person’s – male or female – bucket list. Not only is that part of New York state magnificent, but MLB’s Hall of Fame is unrivaled by any other Hall of Fame that I have visited. The other three major sports have good Halls of Fame, but they are NOT in the same category as that that houses the history of baseball.

The Cooperstown museum is one of the great monuments of human endeavor, and achievement, any where in the world. You do NOT need to be a sport fan to be consumed by it. My wife – God Bless her – detests anything at all, even remotely connected, to sports…across the board. She thought Cooperstown was fantastic. Truly. Or, let me put this way, if she didn’t, it was a performance worthy of Oscar consideration.

To get into the Hall, a former player has to receive a minimum of 75% approval from the committee of voters (mostly baseball writers, which is a mistake in my opinion -many are prejudiced bastards) to join the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, Mays, Koufax, Spahn, Mantle, Robinson – Jackie, Williams, Aaron, and dozens of other past giants of the game.

I am of the opinion that there are only three players that have locks on being elected to the Hall of Fame when the announcements come down on the 6th of January: Pedro Martinez; Randy Johnson; and, John Smoltz.

Pedro, arguably, is one of the greatest starting pitchers ever. He is second only to Whitey Ford, since 1900, in winning percentage; winner of 5 earned-run average titles; and, won 3 Cy Young Awards. He performed during the heart of the Steroid Era.

Randy, arguably again, has to be mentioned in the same conversation with Koufax, Carlton, Spahn, has one of the best left-handed pitchers of all time. Johnson had 303 wins; first in strikeouts per 9 innings all-time; second in total shutouts all-time; led the league in strikeouts 9 times; and, won 5 Cy Young Awards.

Big John Smoltz (“Smoltzie”) is a personal favorite of mine. As a family, we lived in Atlanta for over twenty years, we witnessed the great run under Bobby Cox, and those incredible Braves teams. Smoltzie was right at the center of all of it. He was 15-4, 2.67 ERA, 41 appearances, 27 starts in post-season play. Big John is the only pitcher in the history of the game to have over 200 victories (wins), and over 150 saves (as one of the great relief pitchers ever). He also won a Cy Young Award, as well as a Rolaids Award (for relief work). When Smoltzie was healthy, he was “The Man.”

I previously mentioned that Pedro performed during the Steroid Era. So did Johnson and Smoltz. 

2014 BORDER PATROL REPORT

Followers of this blog know what a fanatic I am when it comes to reports; lists; quotations (past & present); statistical analyses (especially when they involve politics & sports); geography; and, American History.

Having said that, I read a very interesting report from the Pew Research Center today pertaining to the “illegal border crossings” for 2014. Each year, for the past sixty, the Pew folks issue a study on such crossings along our borders. This year was NO exception.

However, the information within this year’s study was somewhat of a mild surprise to me.

Of the 486,000 apprehensions made this year (I recognize we still have roughly 36 hours left in the year), some 229,000 were of Mexican descent. The balance of 257,000 were non-Mexican – a mixture of many nationalities – for this fiscal year. Remember, these are just the people that were apprehended by the Border Patrol. The total number is up 16% over last year.

The rise in non-Mexicans is due to the steady increase mainly from Central American countries – El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. 52,000 of these people were unaccompanied children from these countries. That figure is more than double from last year.

You have to go back to 1970 to find numbers as low as 2014 regarding Mexican apprehensions when for that year there were 212,000 illegal Mexicans apprehended. Interestingly enough, that same year – 1970 – there were only 12,000 non-Mexican apprehensions.

Estos son tiempos intersantes…

NUMBER 99

99 is the number that Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt wears.

Watt is the most dominant defensive player ever in the history of the National Football League (NFL) in my lifetime. In my humble opinion. Watt is also one of the greatest athletes to have played in the NFL. Ever!

Here is my top 10, over the last seventy plus years: 10) Ray Lewis; 9) Bruce Smith; 8) Rod Woodson; 7) Derrick Thomas; 6) Jack Youngblood; 5) Steve Atwater; 4) Howie Long; 3) Lawrence Taylor; 2) Reggie White; and, hands-down, the number one position goes to J.J. Watt. A must.

Watt should be this year’s MVP of the league. He probably won’t be due to the insidious tradition of the league voting in favor of an offensive player, year after year. Absurd!

Watt played on a 9-7 team that went through four quarterbacks, and lost its highly over-rated first round pick to season-ending surgery. Just to mention two of the most glaring issues. First year Head Coach Bill O’Brien (did a great job with the Patriots, and cleaning up the mess at Penn State) kept the team together with three ingredients: Smoke, mirrors and number 99. Watt carried the club from week 1 until, and through, week 17. He was simply magnificent. Play after play; game after game.

Watt’s final numbers are mind-boggling: 78 solo tackles; 20.5 sacks (the only player to ever have two seasons with over 20 sacks in NFL history); 29 tackles for a loss; 50 quarterback hits; 4 forced fumbles; 5 fumble recoveries; 10 passes knocked down; one interception; a safety; 3 receiving touchdowns (that’s right!); 5 total touchdowns; and, 32 total points in the season (this by a defensive lineman).

And, the best thing about Watt, from my perspective, is he’s one helluva team mate.

He just can’t dance…

JOHN C. NORCROSS, PhD

Have you ever heard of this above individual?

I certainly hadn’t. And yet, Dr. Norcross is one of the world’s top experts in Behavioral Science. Norcross is on the faculty (Psychology Department) at the University of Scranton.

This time of year, he is especially well-read, I’m sure. The reason being he’s spent a life-time studying people and their success or failure with their individual New Year resolutions. 

His compilation of the top five resolutions is of NO great surprise (at least to moi): 1) Avoid Stress; 2) Engage in Eating Better; 3) Exercise on a Regular Basis; 4) Become more Frugal; and, 5) Drink Less.

What was very surprising to me was that better than 40% of us are successful in attaining the goals of the respective resolution(s) we set for ourselves. I would have thought the success rate, especially among those in American society today, to be around 25%. The other 3 out of 4 of us NOT reaching our goal(s), and caring less after the first week or month. It’s good to be wrong about these things. Right, Dr. Norcross?

However, I remain suspicious. I wonder what the good doctor’s resolutions are for 2015?

In vino veritas…

Nothing could be further from the truth!

THE PERFECT ENDING TO A VERY TOUGH YEAR

1974 was a very difficult year!

That was until a little less than four days before 1975 began.

At approximately 3:17 pm on Friday, December 27th, the sky cleared, and the dark clouds parted. Forty-years ago today…

And, the cause for such happiness, and relief, came in the form of a 9 lbs, 6 oz baby boy. His arrival was NOT for the ‘faint-of-heart.’ Fast; steady; and, to-the-point.

As I have previously posted, I was NOT present for the arrival of our first son, due to a dismal place called Vietnam. Number one son’s arrival came just 12 days after my getting in country. In 1967, there were NO “delay deferments” for any reason. Unless your name was Dick Cheney.

With the pregnancy of our second child, we were determined to make the absolute most of our preparation(s) leading up to the delivery. The Lamaze classes, with its technique instructions for a healthy delivery; proper breathing; comfortable sleeping positions; exercises up to the day of delivery; and, so on, became the vocal point for us. I was determined to be in the delivery room for this child’s birth.

On the day of the delivery itself, my wife had a scheduled 12:45 appointment with her OB / GYN. Within moments of the doctor checking on my wife’s dilation, his accompanying nurse asked that I step into the room that he and my wife were in; at which time he said, “Head to the hospital right now. Go to the Emergency Entrance, and inform them of the need to get your wife upstairs for delivery. I’ll be right behind you”

For an instant, I thought everyone was in on a joke to jolt me. One look at my wife made me quickly come to the realization that “the game was afoot!”

As we waddled out of the doctor’s office, and into the car, my strikingly beautiful wife turned to me and said, “Stop at the corner, and I’ll run in and cash a check so you have some money for the next few days until I get home.” At that point, my mind was already in locked-down mode. My wife was about to deliver our second child…literally, and I am looking for a bank. NOT having been the one to write checks, etc. – in those days – her request seems perfectly logical to me. Of course, I was going to need some money, and so forth…

It wasn’t until she – my very, very elegantly pregnant wife – came ‘duck-walking’ out of the side door of the bank that I came to my senses. What the fudge are you doing, you complete imbecile? I hurdled out of the car, and almost lifted her back into the passenger seat, as we headed – at Mach speed – on a the crazed ten minute drive to the hospital – Good Samaritan, Cincinnati, Ohio (great place) – and, to the front of the Emergency Entrance. Our OB / GYN had had his office call ahead. Thank God! Within seconds it seemed, my wife was on her way upstairs to Delivery, as I humbly parked the car, and dashed back inside the hospital.

My wife had been as cool as the proverbial cucumber!

By the time I got up to Delivery, I was instructed to go immediately into the doctors’ quarters, and undress, and get into my ‘johnny’ for the Delivery Room. I remember the floor supervisor (an obvious close confidante of Nurse Ratched) saying to me, in an extremely loud, and authoritative voice, “Don’t dilly-dally around, I’ll pick you up in a matter of less than a minute, do you understand me?”

It was a matter of seconds, before she was dressing me in my ‘johnny’ and hauling me into the Delivery room. I was asked only one question at this point, “You will verify, and sign these papers that you and your wife have attended Lamaze instructions.” As I signed the papers, I glanced over at my wife, and she literally had NEVER looked more perfect, calm and gorgeous to me than at that very moment. Her smile was one of contentment and joy. The clock above her head said 2:56 pm. In just a little over two hours: arriving for the appointment; her check-up; getting instructions to get to the hospital; cashing a check; being prepped for delivery; and, all the while, looking like a million bucks.

All I had done was act like a complete misfit… Completely inadequate. Inappropriate every second.

We had only gone through a couple of breathing exercises, when a final push by my wife was made, and I saw a little head suddenly – miraculously – appear. My eyes welled up with a flood of tears! One of just a handful of times in my life where I was completely over-whelmed with the circumstances. Totally. I literally was short of breathe as my wife and I held each other, and kissed. This is what LOVE is truly about, being in that room. Being present at the birth of your child, and letting your wife know the depth of your feelings for her, and what she means to me as my wife, and the mother of our growing family. As the nurses were cleaning the baby, I was driving everyone crazy wanting to get a closer look at my son, and making certain that my wife was 100% alright, and checked on by every soul in that Delivery room. I was nuts…salted, and crushed!

The delivery had taken all of 21 minutes!!! 21...

Rose Kennedy has said it best, “Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.” One of those most precious moments is being present, and participating in the birth of your child. Indescribable!

Happy Birthday, number two son!

TWO MAJOR HISTORICAL ANNIVERSARIES in 2015

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, as I read countless lists for the “best of” during 2014, I also started reflecting on upcoming anniversaries for the new year.

Two major ones jumped out at me, from a purely historical point-of-view: The Magna Carta (15 June 1215 – 800 years ago – at Runnymede, England) and The Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815 – 200 years ago – at an area now in present-day Belgium).

The Magna Carta is one of the great documents in all of history. It is still a model throughout the world to this day. The “charter” granted the basic freedoms of man; it asserted NO man is above the law (tragically, this element is lacking in all corners of our planet today, and was in the context of history in general).

The second anniversary, The Battle of Waterloo,  was one of the most decisive, as well as significant, victories for Great Britain, and her Allies, ever in her history. Just as importantly, the defeat of Napoleon’s reign of horror brought about fifty years of peace in Europe.

With what I’m hearing and seeing from the younger generations, such historical anniversaries hold very little interest, let alone significance to their daily activities, and lives. Let alone the rubbish that now makes up the contents of history books in most classrooms across America today.

It’s ALL about megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes, amigos.

HUMAN KINDNESS

Historians are, for most part, uncertain where exactly the 1914 Christmas Truce began. What is known is that 100 years ago today – four months into what became World War I – thousands of English, French and Belgian troops spent a cold and beastly Christmas mingling with their committed Germany enemy along the Western Front.

It began with the troops singing along the lines on both sides of the trenches. It was followed by shouts and overtures throughout the night (Christmas Eve) by both combatants.

By daybreak, it was mutually agreed to bury the dead that had laid on a patch of land that would become known as No Man’s Land (probably in the Flanders area).

As Christmas day rolled on, food, tobacco, and in some sectors, alcohol was shared and exchanged between the sides. English was the language that all the soldiers seemed to have a grasp of – at least in a passable sense. Where a soccer ball could be found, matches eagerly were contested by the soldiers.

Since the time of Rome, religious and secular holidays have existed during war time. However, the Christmas Truce of 1914 was spontaneous by all accounts. I am of the belief that it represented the last “pure” cry for sanity before the advent of industrialized warfare.

War did resume. It was nothing more than a brief respite. NOT a formal peace!

Pope Benedict XV, who had been selected by the cardinals to the Vatican in September 1914, had immediately reached out to all sides to stop the massive engagements of war. It fell on deaf ears with all combatants, and their respective leaders. Repeatedly, his calls for a Christmas Truce were ignored, as well as officially rejected.

Many historians now view the noble action taken over Christmas 1914 as the last vestige of morals and manners among gentlemen combatants.

GOD BLESS US, EVERYONE

Followers of my blog know what a fan of Dickens I am…

The above observation made by Tiny Tim at the very end of A Christmas Carol is as appropriate today as it ever was, and, hopefully, will be for the foreseeable future.

However…

One of my closest friends, going back to my tour of duty in Vietnam and being a young officer in the Marine Corps, has now retired, and is living in Israel with his wife. As I always do during this Holiday season, I spoke to him by phone a couple of days ago. After talking about the usual – deteriorating health, how bad the Red Sox were this past season, our families, resolutions for the New Year, and when my wife and I are going to plan a trip to Israel, he very casually mentioned the Nativity of Christ.

Currently, the biblical birthplace of Christ has had large sectors of that land confiscated and colonized, and its tourism industry has been crushed. Bethlehem. This area of geography now has military checkpoints; numerous roadblocks; and, there is a myriad of Israeli settlements. “Bethlehem would be closed if Mary and Joseph tried to enter this year,” he pointedly said to me. “They would need Israeli permission to go any further. When you have some time Google the current occupied territories surrounding Israel today, you’ll quickly see what I’m referring to.” I did, and shockingly, he was 100% dead-right! I realized that it’s another one of those historical, and religious, incidents that we (none of us) NEVER take enough time to consider, and then, re-consider.

Bethlehem is now surrounded by an Israeli-installed 12′ concrete wall on three sides, which in effect cuts it off from Jerusalem, just 6-8 miles to the north. In addition, the city is encircled by over 20 Israeli settlements (some in the international community would classify these settlements as “illegal”). One of the holiest places in Christianity has for all intended purposes become a pawn, so-to-speak, in the middle of the ‘Divide and Rule’ military plan of Israel. Pitting Palestinian Christians against the Palestinian Muslims due to the complete intolerance of the such groups as Hamas, and the insanity of Islamic Jihad.

We hardly ever read, let alone see / hear world authorities wanting to discuss such unintended consequences in this specific corner of our planet.

As my friend said, “It really doesn’t matter if one is a believer in Christ or Muhammad, residents of the West Bank are victims of the longest military occupation currently in the world today.”

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES

As of the current Holiday season – 2014, here are my absolute “favorites” when it comes to watching Christmas movies:

1) It’s a Wonderful Life (’46); 2) A Christmas Carol (’84); 3) The Bishop’s Wife (’47); 4) Miracle on 34th Street (’47); 5) Scrooge (’51); 6) A Christmas Story (’83); 7) Joyeux Noel (’06); 8) Prancer (’89); 9) 3 Godfathers; and, 10) Love Actually (’03).

Feliz Navidad, tias y tios

THE REAL ISSUE SURROUNDING THE HERMIT KINGDOM

The world has been engrossed with the infamous Sony Hack brought on by North Korea over the last couple of weeks.

The cyberterrorism against Sony due to their production of an anti-Kim Jong-Un comedy called The Interview has caused immense embarrassment to NOT only the corporate folks at Sony, but to the United States, more specifically. The First Amendment vs Corporate Liability vs Homeland Security!

Once again, we have a national cyberattack (initiated this time by the North Koreans according to our FBI), which has totally disabled a major transnational corporation – both damaging their profit margins NOT only for this year, but for the next couple of years as well; plus, almost assuredly bruising the the psychotic behavior, and trust, of hundreds of actors and executives in the entertainment industry.

Now comes, today, a new analysis from the Institute of Science and International Security that projects the country of North Korea will have between 75-80 nuclear weapons before 2020.

As Robin would undoubtedly say to Batman, “Holy 8mm!”

This analysis has been put together by some of our top experts as part of an on-going study into “North Korea’s Nuclear Futures” being run by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced and International Studies. NO small potatoes…

Part of what was leaked last year to the Washington Post, by Edward Snowden (little Eddy, a real team player), was major portions of the intelligence community’s budget, which indicated how difficult North Korea’s nuclear program was to truly assess by US spies.

Given the show of emotional instability shown by North Korea in recent days, and their immediate sensitivity as regards their leader, this is a country and region of the planet that requires the full attention of serious-minded people. NOT the likes of Amy Pascal.

By the way, Amy, please report to the principle’s office, and bring Scott Rudin with you.