Here are a couple of links to stories I posted in the last couple of days at Baseball Digest… One is a review of the fine book Happiness is Like a Cur Dog, by former Pirates player and broadcaster Nellie King. King is a guy that I must admit I had never heard of before seeing a notice a few weeks back about his book. There were some great stories — the best ones were about guys King encountered in his minor league days — and a great slice of what it was like in the bushes in the 40s and 50s. An easy and highly recommended read.
The other is a quick news piece on the Thurman Munson Awards dinner on Feb. 2, which I will be working and covering for B:B. I’ll try to get a pic with Sweet Lou at least. Piniella was my first favorite player — I remember my dad taking me to a game in 1977, when we lived in upstate N.Y. and going to a game was a rare treat and an all-day commitment. We spend the morning with a roll of some kind of cardboard paper and brown paint, printing out LOOOOOOOOOOOOOU, which I dutifully held up each time he came to bat. I liked how he hit, but I think I liked more how Frank Messer or Phil Rizzuto would always have to say, “They’re not saying BOOOO, they’re saying LOOOO” every time the crowd would serenade him.