Did you see this?
Our weekly look at some of the best and most interesting things I've seen over the last 7 days
Zach Buchanan of The Athletic has a terrific look at the 50-year career of the world’s greatest mascot as Ted Giannoulas prepares to retire The Famous San Diego Chicken.
Little-known fact: I performed several routines with The Chicken in Rochester, NY in 1990. That’s a story for another day.
Hornell and Palymyra-Macedon, a pair of Western New York high schools, produced one of the craziest finishes to a baseball game you’ll ever see in their Section V championship game last week.
With Hornell leading 5-4 in the bottom of the 7th and a strike away from victory, Pal-Mac had runners at first and second. A 2-2 curveball was called strike 3, but the pitch was not caught cleanly by the catcher. The catcher quickly picked up the ball and reached to tag the batter out, seemingly ending the game and setting off a Hornell celebration. But, unseen by anyone on the Hornell side, the home plate umpire signaled no tag had been made. As the batter ran to first base, the runner at second sprinted home to tie the game, and the man who had been at first came around with the game-winning run.
The chaos on the field was furthered by the fact that both teams (both nicknamed the Red Raiders) were wearing red jerseys.
Here’s a recap of the fallout from the shocking Hornell loss from The Wellesville Sun.
The video went viral. Among those who saw it, and felt for the Hornell team, was Yankees catcher Jose Trevino.
In political news, The Los Angeles Times reports that former Dodgers and Padres first baseman Steve Garvey is mulling a run for the U.S. Senate.
This brief video demonstration illustrates why hitting major league pitching looks a lot easier from your couch than it does from the batter’s box.
With the University of Miami hosting a College Baseball Regional this weekend, The Athletic’s Manny Navarro tells tells the story of the iconic Mark Light Shake. With Texas, Louisiana and Maine joining in the Hurricanes in the Coral Gables Regional, fans at The Light this weekend have the chance to sample 3 special shakes: the Texas BBQ Brisket shake, the Louisiana Tabasco shake and the Maine Butter Lobster shake.
The 2023 class of the New York Mets Hall of Fame was inducted in a pre-game ceremony at Citi Field yesterday. The 4-member class includes Al Leiter, Howard Johnson, current Mets TV play-by-play man Gary Cohen and current Mets radio voice Howie Rose.
Cohen and Rose are the 4th and 5th Mets Hall of Fame inductees selected for their work in the broadcast booth, joining Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner.
It’s always good to see an organization that respects the work of its broadcasters and appreciates the bonds long-time voices build with fans.
The Chicago Cubs were charged with an error on their Billy Williams bobblehead give away last weekend.
The Washington Post broke the news that rehabilitating Nationals righthander Stephen Strasburg has been shut down from all physical activity since late April due to severe nerve damage. As Strasburg tries to come back from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, The Post’s Jesse Dougherty says there is increasing doubt the 34-year-old will ever pitch again.
The 3-time All-Star enjoyed his finest season in 2019, and he capped a dazzling postseason by earning World Series MVP honors. That winter, Strasburg signed a 7-year, $245 million deal to stay in Washington, at the time the largest total contract ever awarded to a pitcher (since surpassed only Gerrit Cole’s 9-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees). But Strasburg has made only 8 starts and pitched a total of only 31 1/3 innings in the 4 seasons since due to a slew of injuries. The rebuilding Nats owe Strasburg $35 million a year through 2026 with part of the deal deferred with interest through 2029.
In his career, Strasburg is 21-8 with a 2.89 ERA in 37 starts against the Marlins. He has 236 strikeouts in 215 innings. No opposing pitcher has more wins, and only Cole Hamels had more career strikeouts. Strasburg ranks 4th in career starts and 5th in lifetime strikeouts against Miami.
ICYMI
This week’s most-read pieces on VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS:
Jorge Soler has given the Marlins a much-needed dose of power.
In a 3-part series Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I looked at some major questions facing the Marlins in the near future, some of which may have to be answered before the August 1 trade deadline.
GLENN GEFFNER’S PLAY-BY-PLAY BOOT CAMP
With summer vacation upon us, I’m now enrolling high school and college students who aspire to work in Sports Broadcasting for my next wave of one-on-one play-by-play coaching via Zoom.
Sessions are offered on a flexible schedule that accommodates you, and are tailored specifically to where you are in your broadcasting journey.
Because the sessions are conducted on Zoom, I’m able to work with students from across the country.
If you or someone you know or love might be interested, you can learn more about my Play-by-Play Boot Camp at GlennGeffner.com.
And if you register and tell me you heard about the Play-by-Play Boot Camp on my Substack, I’ll throw in a free one-year subscription to VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS that you can use yourself or gift to someone else.
I’m headed out to the U tonight. My son plans to try the lobster shake.