CHICO AND THE MOURN
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Friday, May 27, 2005
Top of the 1st
CHICO AND THE MOURN
the first great Venezuelan shortstop, Chico Carrasquel died yesterday at the age of 77. Carrasquel played in the majors from 1950-59 and with Nellie Fox was one of the great double-play combinations for the Chicago White Sox.
"El Chico" was the third Venezuelan to play in the majors following pitcher Alex Carrasquel (no relation) who played for the Washington Senators, in 1939) and first baseman/outfielder Chucho Ramos (also no relation) who played for the Cincinnati Reds, in 1944. But while he was the third Venezuelan, Chico Carrasquel was the first Latin to play in an All-Star game, starting at shortstop for the AL in the 1951 All-Star game at Detroit and singling in his first at-bat off Robin Roberts. Carrasquel was chosen over that year over the reigning MVP, Phil Rizzuto. The second Latin all-star was Minnie Minoso, who ironically pinch hit for Carrasquel in that same game.
His major league career began with the White Sox, where he played shortstop from 1950 to 1955.
Carrasquel would go on to be selected to the All-Star team a total of four times in a career in which he hit .258 lifetime with 55 home runs and 474 RBI.
Carrasquel was originally signed in 1949 by Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers, who sold him to the White Sox where he replaced Luke Appling in 1950. He was traded after the 1955 season to Cleveland in a deal for Larry Doby to make room for future Hall of Famer, and fellow Venezuelan, Luis Aparicio, Jr. Carrasquel played for the Indians from 1956 to 1958, the Kansas City Athletics in 1958, and the Baltimore Orioles in 1959.
Those were very different times for Latinos. Carrasquel explained, “Luis Aloma was a pitcher—a Cuban guy—so he spoke English and he helped me, because in those days I didn't understand anything in English.... Today, the Latin players have [translators, etc.]. In those days, in the 40s and 50s, we don't have help. They say, “Go to ****.” Nowadays, you look at the lineup, it's a lot of Latin players, but in those days, what the ****, just one or two, so they say you have to speak English.... They told Hector Rodriguez to speak English and he said, “The only thing I know is, well, if he wants me to talk English, I know how to say ‘Chicago White Sox.’” I played shortstop, he played third base, and all game, what he said was, “Chicago White Sox, Chicago White Sox.” And I said, “Hector, please say something different.” He said, “Chico, they want me to speak English, the only thing I know is ‘Chicago White Sox.’” Nellie Fox, Billy Pierce, Minnie Minoso, they tried to help me and I got along with them real good....”
While Chico struggled in the US, he was a legend in his native Venezuela being a major influence on future countrymen who played Major League Baseball. Last year, before Ozzie Guillen's first home game as manager of the White Sox, three star Venezuelan shortstops threw out ceremonial first balls - Carrasquel, Aparicio and Guillen.
"He and [Omar] Vizquel and Guillen and [Andres] Gallaraga and all those guys, they are legends," said Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano, a countryman of Carrasquel's. "He was so big a name, one of the ballparks in winter ball has his name on it." The Venezuelan Baseball League belatedly honored its native son in 1991, when the Puerto La Cruz baseball park was renamed Chico Carrasquel Stadium.
Cubs catcher Henry Blanco, also a Venezuelan, won't forget him.
"It's sad, not only for me, but for all players from Venezuela," he said. "It's a big loss. He's a big idol in Venezuela and probably here in Chicago too. It's sad for everybody. He made everybody proud of what he did."
I think it’s hard for most of us to imagine the impact a ballplayer can have on a country, but Carrasquel meant so much to Venezuela. During a nationally televised speech, yesterday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that his government had declared two days of mourning for Carrasquel.
"Viva Carrasquel!" Chavez shouted.
We all echo his sentiments.
Top of the 2nd
SWEEPS
Well, this year’s television season came to a triumphant end Wednesday night marking the end of May sweeps, but baseball’s latest sweeps didn’t end until last night (how is that for a transition 
Carrie Underwood fans?).
The AL East is remaining compelling, last night Melvin Mora, Rafael Palmeiro and Miguel Tejada homered as the Baltimore Orioles completed a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners with a 5-2 victory. The Orioles have won 8 of 11 to move a season-high 14 games over .500 (30-16). Baltimore has won eight in a row at Camden Yards against the Mariners, who have lost six straight and 10 of 11 on the road under former Orioles manager Mike Hargrove. On a down note, lefty Erik Bedard joined starting outfielder Luis Matos and starting catcher Javy Lopez on the DL with a strained knee ligament. Bedard is 5-1, and a 2.08 ERA.
The Toronto Blue Jays beat up Red Sox starter Wade Miller for six runs in the 1st and then went on to complete a sweep of the Sox with a 8-1 victory. The Red Sox have lost seven of 10.
Alex Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 17th home run as the New York Yankees completed a sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 4-3 victory. The two-run shot gave him 49 RBI, also tops in the majors and was the 398th home run of his career, tying Dale Murphy for 42nd place on the all-time list. A-Rod needs one homer to tie Al Kaline and Andres Galarraga (399) for 40th place. The win was the Yankees fourth straight and 15th in 17 games.
It has seemingly been cold and rainy all May in this neck of the woods and if that’s the first sign of the apocalypse, then the second is that Tampa Devil Rays swept a series. The Rays and Hideo Nomo defeated Oakland last night, 2-1 to finish off a three game sweep. The loss dropped Oakland (17-29) a season-high 12 games under .500, the farthest the A's have been under .500 since they finished the 1998 season at 74-88.
Kenny Rogers, the 40-year-old Texas Rangers lefty, led his team to an 8-1 victory against the Kansas City Royals and in the process lowered his American League-best ERA to 1.69. Richard Hidalgo homered for the fifth time in five games, and Alfonso Soriano and Mark Teixeira also homered in Texas' sixth straight win. The Rangers have consecutive three-game sweeps at home over last-place teams Houston and the Royals,
Top of the 3rd
DIAMONDBACKS WERE PEAVED
Last night there was a great match-up between two exciting young teams and two exciting young pitchers. Jake Peavy pitched a two-hitter for his first career shutout, and the San Diego Padres handed Brandon Webb his first loss of the season in a 10-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dave Roberts matched career highs with four hits and four runs batted in (why can’t the Red Sox get players like him?), and Brian Giles and Ryan Klesko homered off Webb. Neither Peavy (5-0) nor Webb (6-1) came away with a decision in two previous meetings this season, but this time Webb allowed nine hits and three walks in his 6-2/3 innings, striking out six. Peavy struck out two, walked none, and needed only 94 pitches (65 strikes) in his first career complete game. He had seven strikeouts or more in eight of his nine previous starts.
Top of the 4th
A FIRST FOR OLERUD
Last Monday, longtime major league first baseman John Olerud did something he had never done before, he hit his first minor-league homer. It’s not that Olerud previously had been a bad minor league hitter, Olerud had simply never had been a minor league hitter.
Olerud, a third-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989, joined the team without ever playing in the minors. He spent the next 16 years in the major leagues, finishing last season by batting .280 in 49 games for the Yankees. However, in recent days he has been rehabbing in the minors following off-season surgery in preparation to joining the Boston Red Sox.
In his third at-bat, Olerud slammed a two-run homer, his first, and most likely his only as Olerud begins his Sox career tonight at Yankee Stadium.
Top of the 5th
IN THE DAWG POUND
Rickey Henderson.
I’m just staring at that name for a moment, because whenever I feel I’m done writing about the man, there’s always something new to add. Rickey helped the San Diego Surf Dawgs win their inaugural game, 9-2 over the Long Beach Armada in the new independent Golden Baseball League. The 46-year-old Henderson went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI, two walks and, a stolen base.
Rickey, you did your thing and you are the king of the Dawg pound.
Top of the 6th
EXTRA, EXTRA
"Three straight extra-inning games? I've never had that before, not even in the minor leagues. It's amazing. Everyone got their money's worth fans, players and owners." That was Minnesota outfielder Torii Hunter on playing three straight extra inning games against Cleveland. Last night, Shannon Stewart homered with two outs in the 11th off David Riske to give Minnesota a 5-4 win over Cleveland. The Indians had not played extras against the same team three games in a row since 1967, at Kansas City. The Twins hadn't played three consecutive extra-inning games since 1977. Of the 10 games between the Twins and Indians this season, six have been decided by one run and nine by three runs or less.
Top of the 7th
BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM - 5/27/2005
Happy birthday to this hurtin’ Chi Sox
TANKS OF HARM
BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA - 5/27/2005
Who was the first Colorado Rockies to hit for the cycle?
Send your answers to Bill@billy-ball.com
Bottom of the 7th
BILLY-BALL-A-GRAM ANSWER - 5/27/05
Happy birthday to this “Bucketfoot” Hall of Famer
SLIM MOANS - AL SIMMONS
BILLY-BALL-TRIVIA-ANSWER - 5/27/05
On this date in 1930, Joe Sewell struck out twice, what was the significance?
Those were the last times that Joe Sewall, the Indians third baseman, struck out that season, striking out only three times in 353 at-bats.
Top of the 8th
DID YOU KNOW?
The White Sox are the best team in the majors with a record of 33-15 (.688). They are six games behind the 1928 Yankees, who went 39-9 (.812) through 48 games.
The Royals are the worst team in the majors with a record of 13-34 (.277). They are four games better than the 1904 Senators, the 1932 Red Sox and the 1988 Orioles, each of whom went 9-38 (.191) through 47 games.
Top of the 9th
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND
Thank you all for your support and readership once again this week, as always it is greatly appreciated. I also want to welcome all of you new readers who have joined the Billy-Ball community as a result of Rob Neyer’s naming us link of the month. I was just wondering if we can add a few more days to May in order to stretch out that distinction. Those of you who want to join me in thanking Neyer can do so via his website located at http://www.robneyer.com/.
On the subject of thanking, I want to thank so many of you who passed along good wishes to me and my daughter Elizabeth following last Friday’s Billy-Ball commencement address. Trust me, the Wesleyan commencement speaker, UPenn president Amy Gutman was nowhere near as inspiring as your responses (although Bill Belichick briefly spoke and that was wonderful).
For those of you who have been asking, it seems as soon as I got Elizabeth home, she is gone again. She leaves tomorrow to start three months in Seattle as a news reporting reporter intern for MSNBC. I can assure you she is an outstanding writer, although I still feel I have a few things to teach her about misusing commas and run-on sentences. I’m going to miss her this summer.
This weekend, I will do my best to catch up on your numerous e-mails and on that note, I will be taking Monday off (Memorial Day) to race in the Indy 500.
Have a fun day and a wonderful weekend.
Bottom of the 9th
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Information provided in Billy-Ball has been gathered from A.P. reports, espn.com, sportsline.com, mlb.com and numerous other e-sources. Opinions expressed in Billy-Ball are obviously solely the opinions of the author of Billy-Ball and do not reflect those of source material no matter how off the wall they may be.
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