If I Had A Blog Then: 2006 4th of July Weekend Trip to Kansas City.

For having the reputation of one of the best looking ballparks in baseball, Kauffman Stadium sure looks clunky from the parking lot. What gives? Me and three buds drove down from the Twin Cities to escape the Dome and get a taste of outdoor baseball, and all I can see is asphalt and dead gra-

OH! Keep in mind that the Twins play in a teflon covererd, concrete bowl - with old Astroturf covering that concrete. This was not the first time I'd seen an MLB game outdoors, just the first time in about 8 years.

But take a look at that lineup! Not a typo, Joe Mauer was hitting a George Brett-like .392 on July 6th. Pretty good for a Catcher, am I right? Ron Gardenhire was experimenting with splitting up the M&M boys with right handed hitting Michael Cuddyer in the Clean up spot. Morneau was a team player about it, but you know he (and Torii Hunter) would have preferred to be a bit higher in the order.

The iconic K.C. Waterworks. Did you know Kansas City is known as the City of Fountains? Well, it is. You just learned something! Or not.

We got the park on the right day - Johan himself was there to go after his 10th win of the season (He finished the year 19-6). Best of luck to Scott Elarton, hoping to avoid his 10th loss. Speaking of ten wins, Coming into the game tonight, the Twins had won 10 Straight Games! Even with the streak, Minnesota was still in 3rd place in the AL Central, 9 games behind the front-running Detroit Tigers.

Here's the first pitch of the game from our seats - Elarton delivers to Luis Castillo. Castillo bluffed bunt and Royals third baseman Mark Teahan started to crash towards the line and home.

Here's a View of Home Plate from the Right Field Line. If you look closely, you'll see several fans wearing Jeremy Affeldt T-Shirts - there must have been a giveaway!

Fireworks were provided by the Royals -- and by the Twins. Mauer and Morneau both homered. The Twins took a lead in the 8th inning with a 3 run burst. Morneau hit an RBI single, and then two wild pitches led to 2 more runs in the inning. Your 2006 Kansas City Royals, everyone...

It was a great weekend in KC - not pictured: way too much BBQ.

By the end of the 2006 season, the Twins made up those 9 games on the Tigers and had the privilege of getting swept by Oakland in the ALDS.

Cards found in Chattanooga

The road trip continued into Tennessee and I found a card shop in Chattanooga.

 More Alous! They must be rare in Minnesota for some reason, I don't see them too often at the shows I go to.

Some Junk Wax Gems. Walker and Franco are Traded/Update sets. There were lots of Dodgers at the shop, probably because the Lookouts used to be the Dodgers' AA Affiliate.

There were also lots of Braves, being so close to Atlanta...

I might have to collect the '58 all stars at this rate. After getting Mantle and Banks, and now Spahnie, I will at least need another American Leaguer to balance the scales!

The store had several shelving units stacked with unopened boxes of wax. Most of it was too fancy for me (Topps Finest, Bowman Chrome, etc etc). I spotted this box all on its own like a lost puppy:

I remember getting packs of this as a kid... just 10 bucks for the box (which is honestly probably twice what it is worth, but I think both buyer and seller were happy with that price).

I was hoping to find some cool Buxton or Sano items unique to Chattanooga, but it was still a bit early in the season for that stuff to accumulate. Dodgers and Braves fans would have had plenty to see!

Cards Found in Cooperstown

Alous!

Can't forget Jesus. At the Hall of Fame, I was able to visit their research library and they pulled their files for each of the Alou brothers for me to browse. Lots of talk about Jesus being the most talented of the three. There was also an article written by Felipe Alou in a 1964 issue of Sport Magazine about Latin American players needing their own Bill of Rights. Apparently in the 60s, players could be fined for playing against Cuban players, or even just playing in Winter Ball. Felipe wrote a very strong argument against the fine and explained why Latin American players would want / need to play at home during the Winter.

Rip Repulski, in addition to having a great name, is from Sauk Rapids, MN.

I also got the pleasure of digging through Minnie Minoso's files at the Hall of Fame - I didn't know about him being beaned while playing for St. Louis in the early 60s. There were several articles that wondered if he would play again, or if he did whether he'd be same player he was. There were several photos of him in the hospital bed, with his wife by his side. There were also several articles from the early 1990s about his attempt to get one more at bat for the White Sox - different editorials that took both sides of the issue.

The more things change - the more they stay the same. Gene Conley had the same photo used for both 1954 and 1956. At 6 foot 8 inches, he was for a time the tallest player to ever play Major League baseball. He's since been surpassed by the soon to be inducted to the Hall of Fame Randy Johnson, and 6'11" Jon Rauch. The Twins also had an even taller pitcher in their minor leagues recently, Loek Van Mil, who stands 7'1". He might still be playing professionally somewhere, but he's not in the Twins org anymore. (The Angels, maybe?)

The oldest card I own! This card is even older than the Hall of Fame itself!

and the Title for oldest card changes hands again! This is a 1919 Strip Card. The Jefferson Burdick designation is W514. The card is roughly the size of a Tobacco card (think T206), and originally came in an uncut strip that was sold at candy stores. Cactus Cravath (aka Gavvy Cravath) was the one I specifically wanted. Cravath's T206 card features him as a member of the minor league Minneapolis Millers.

From an Article for SABR by Bill Swank:
In an era when "inside baseball" ruled supreme, Cravath bucked the trend and preached what he practiced. "Short singles are like left-hand jabs in the boxing ring, but a home run is a knock-out punch," he asserted. "It is the clean-up man of the club that does the heavy scoring work even if he is wide in the shoulders and slow on his feet. There is no advice I can give in batting, except to hammer the ball. Some players steal bases with hook slides and speed. I steal bases with my bat." 

That's really cool.

I found all of these (and some more) at one store in Cooperstown. Most of the stores were marked up heavily for the tourist crowd, and most of the prices on the cards under glass were well beyond what I would expect to pay for cards at local shows. In spite of that, This store had very reasonable prices on vintage singles and I was able to negotiate a little mark down on price for buying in bulk.

Look out, it's the Lookouts!

Tuesday I drove across Tennessee (the Long Way) to see the Chattanooga Lookouts.

As this handy chart indicates, Chattanooga is now the Twins' AA Affiliate.

 That's quite the formidable lineup for a Double-A Squad.

The Lookouts play at AT&T Field in Chattanooga. They have what might be the most exclusive Hall of Fame ever:

Cal Ermer, the  Lookouts' first manager (coincidentally also a manager and scout for the MN Twins);
...  and Tommy LaSorda, who apparently attended several games according to his plaque (probably starting around the time Chattanooga became the Dodgers AA Affiliate?). Both inducted in 2010.

Louie, the Lookouts' mascot.

The view from my seat - $9 for this ticket...

Lookouts' Catcher Stuart Turner sending a baseball into orbit

The game actually started with "Boog Powell" trying to bunt for a base hit:

Super Prospect Byron Buxton hit a Grand Slam, singled and stole a base.
Here he is coming home to greet his teammates after the grand salami:

Sano didn't have much going on offensively, but he made several impressive defensive plays at third (none of which I captured on film). The Lookouts cruised to a 10 - 3 victory.

It was a gorgeous evening and a great game!

Where am I?

Here's where I started this morning:

This is on the southwestern shores of Lake Erie . . .

About 11 hours later, I found myself in front another body of water.

I'll have more details tomorrow (Saturday)  . . . long drive today (yesterday, actually)!

Quick Contest - name the Lake in the last two photos. First one to answer correctly will get something from me, from the town at this lake's southern borders.

Hint 1: Drove all day from Northern Ohio to get here.
Hint 2: There is a baseball theme to the town.
Hint 3: The lake is not named after the town.

Welp - that was Quick indeed. Jeff guessed Otsego Lake, which is correct! I am staying in Cooperstown, NY until Sunday Morning.

Good luck!

Speaking of Wheels

Day # 3 - Visiting my grandma (not pictured), then on to Detroit to see a Twins game!

My first trip to Detroit, now I can cross of all the AL Central stadiums!

 Lots of Tigers in Comerica Park

 Lots of statues - here's the Georgia Peach, Ty Cobb.

 Hank Greenberg

 Another view of the big Left Field Scoreboard

 Lots of Tigers outside, too.

Menacing!

Torii Hunter homered in the top of the first inning, made a great catch in the bottom half. The Twins jumped out to an early 6 - 0 lead, and I had a muted and respectful celebration from my seat.

Twins win and tie the Tigers in the standings! One big inning for the Twins, and it was pretty much over from there.

Big Wheel Keep on Turnin'

Hey, how about seeing some baseball?

You know, Cincy is just a couple hours away from Louisville...
Part Two, Day Two-- Cincinnati vs. the Atlanta Braves.

 I Must Ask You a question - why so serious?

Great American Ball Park.

 Reds' Starter warming up in the pen.

 The Reds Bullpen hanging out on the field.

 Amen.

Chicken and Waffles from "A Taste of Belgium"

Reds Hall of Fame / Museum has lots of statues...

Great city, great food, and a Walk Off Win for the Home Team!  Awesome!