“Sometimes I think if I had the same body and the same natural ability and someone else's brain, who knows how good a player I might have been.”

Topps c. 1952

One of the rare few who stood among the elite of the elite—brilliant, flawed, immortal: Mickey Mantle, born 20 October 1931 in Oklahoma.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook.

In remembrance of Tim Wakefield, upon the second anniversary of his departure from this world

MediaNews Group/Getty Images

Yours truly, a Yankee partisan marooned behind enemy lines, is none too pleased with the Boston Red Sox this morning, having seen New York fall in the first contest of the best-of-three Wild Card series. Tonight must turn the tide, or the Yankees are finished. Yet amidst my ire, let us pause to recall Tim Wakefield—one of the most distinctive pitchers of his generation and in Boston franchise history—who departed this world two years ago today, aged only 53, claimed by pancreatic cancer. A master of the knuckleball, a philanthropist, and laureate of the 2010 Roberto Clemente Award: in short, a consummate sportsman and, by every account, a thoroughly decent man.

(alternate text) Tim Wakefield is captured mid-delivery, his motion frozen at the point just before release. Clad in the team’s iconic scarlet jersey with bold “RED SOX” lettering across the chest, he projects both intensity and composure, the hallmarks of his long career. His right arm is cocked, fingers poised delicately about the baseball—an image suggestive of his signature knuckleball, a pitch as elusive as it is unorthodox. His left hand, gloved in black leather, extends outward to balance the motion, while his gaze fixes unwaveringly on the target. Behind him, the blurred stadium and faintly discernible crowd set the stage without distracting from the clarity of his form. In this image, Wakefield embodies the paradox of his craft: effort harnessed into simplicity, a calm exterior concealing the unpredictable dance of the ball soon to leave his hand. It is at once a portrait of athletic precision and a testament to a pitcher defined by singular artistry.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook. On X-TWITTER: @Sunking278 and @DollsFallen. BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. REDDIT - https://www.reddit.com/user/SiberianKhatru278/. FULL LIST OF LINKS - linktr.ee/arthurnewhook. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED on Cash App ($ANewhook) and PayPal (paypal.me/Sunking278), and also at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Born #OTD 1934: remembering the great Roger Maris on what would have been his 90th birthday

Topps 1963

Roger Maris is arguably the most glaring omission from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. While some folks today may believe he had only one standout season (1961), Maris was, in fact, a seven-time All-Star, a back-to-back AL MVP in 1960 and 1961, and a Gold Glove winner. He is most famous for breaking Major League Baseball’s single-season home run record with 61 in 1961. Although this record has since been surpassed in the National League (McGwire, Sosa, Bonds), it is worth noting that no American League player exceeded this total until Aaron Judge hit 62 in 2022. Maris was also instrumental in the Yankees’ World Series victories in 1961 and 1962, as well as in the St. Louis Cardinals' seven-game triumph in the 1967 World Series, where he hit .385 and recorded seven RBIs. While he may not have displayed the consistent brilliance of players like Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays, it is absurd for the Hall to not recognise his historical significance. Maris made history, and he remains a household name decades after he departed this ruthless and unappreciative world.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Quotables 18 May 2024: Baseball great Reggie Jackson on the value of ‘the will to win’, Mickey Mantle, tolerating failure versus accepting it, the batter’s box belonging to him alone, and bringing his star to New York City

1977 Topps baseball card for Reggie Jackson

Words of wisdom from the all-time excellent right fielder Reggie Jackson, born on this day, 18 May 1946, in Abington Township, Pennsylvania:

‘The will to win is worthless if you don’t get paid for it’.

‘Just like every other kid in my grade school, I was listening to my little radio plug in my ear when Mickey Mantle hit 18 post-season homers and won series after series for the Yankees. I listened and I learned from that. I think he was the original "Mr. October", but thank god it didn't stick’.

‘I feel that the most important requirement in success is learning to overcome failure. You must learn to tolerate it, but never accept it’.

‘Fans don't boo nobodies’.

‘I’m a businessman. I bring my bat and glove and attache case to the office and go to work. I don’t give a damn if the other workers at the office like me or not’.

‘When I stepped into the box, I felt the at-bat belonged to me. Everybody else was there for my convenience. The pitcher was there to throw me a ball to hit. The catcher was there to throw it back to him if he didn’t give me what I wanted the first time. And the umpire was lucky that he was close enough to watch’.

‘There are at least three kinds of advantages that the pitcher and batter contest. There’s the physical advantage, the strategic advantage, and also the psychological advantage. I didn’t want two out of three. I wanted them all’.

‘So many ideas come to you and you want to try them all, but you can't. You're like a mosquito in a nudist colony, you don't know where to start’.

‘In the building I live in on Park Avenue there are ten people who could buy the Yankees, but none of them could hit the ball out of Yankee Stadium’.

‘I didn’t come to New York to be a star. I brought my star with me’.

Quotes via https://www.azquotes.com/author/7277-Reggie_Jackson, https://quotefancy.com/reggie-jackson-quotes, and https://www.allgreatquotes.com/authors/reggie-jackson/

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

A RANT ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TELEVISION BROADCASTS IN THE PRESENT AGE

MLB

New rules for baseball announcers and the various television crews covering these broadcasts: Firstly, actually call the bloody games and ixnay the chit-chatting on the headsets with outfielders, managers, et al. Unnecessary distractions. Everybody does this nowadays, yet I’ve not seen any evidence to suggest any viewers derive enjoyment from it. It annoys the life out of me. Indeed, I have vented over this on these forums numerous times through the years, and not once hath a single person tried to defend the merits of this practice to me. 

Secondly, refrain from trying to inject frivolity and cheap humour into these broadcasts, which typically consists of commenting on every player’s beard or hair ad nauseam. As I type this, the guys on ESPN covering this afternoon’s Yankees preseason game are so f**king out to lunch. The annoying triviality of it all. Albeit, this is not game seven of the World Series, but such boorishness is never becoming at all. Anywhere and everywhere, at all times, this is always absolute cringe behaviour, namely trying to have fun with others’ appearance. Stop that, whoever needs to hear it! In my 46 years, I have struggled mightily to kill those things in me that are unacceptable. Obnoxiousness is not an endearing trait, but I digress.

No wonder the younger folks are gravitating towards other sports, for all of these attempts at modernizing and altering the traditional essence of this most old-fashioned and pastoral of games are transparently misguided and patronizing. The growing overall disinterest is a clear indication that these superficial changes are failing to resonate. Just present the game authentically, respectfully, and with sincerity. Perchance, by focusing on the core values of the sport, rather than futile attempts to appear 'cool,' there is a greater likelihood of attracting new fans and re-engaging those who have drifted away. Major League Baseball does not need to chase trends, and it does need to be ‘hip.’ It needs to be genuine and respect the intelligence of its audience.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST.