Exclusivity

"Well known in the 'hood...where everybody love you..."

Beatnuts - Routine

Baseball is a numbers game, built on history and statistics...and every season brings a new milestone, and opportunity.

The Future

Alex Rodriguez is on the threshold of something special...600 home runs to be exact, and while he was unable to deliver this past weekend in front of the home Bronx crowd, he will soon join the likes of Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, and Babe Ruth as a member of the prestigious HR club.

A-Rod is one of the greatest baseball players ever, and as the new faces were inducted into the hall of fame today...it's safe to say that Rodriguez will be on the first ballot when all is said and done.

Simply the Best

Lucky Lefty

Junior

"I'm so evolved, I'm so involved, I'm showing growth...I'm so in charge..."

Jay-Z - Kingdom Come

It's September and as the leaves begin to change color, and fall into giant piles along the sidewalk...the baseball season will also soon change, as teams gear up for the division and pennant races.

Homecoming King

The New York Yankees are headed to the post season after missing the playoffs last year, and with one more victory they will clinch their berth. Last night they were denied in a 7-1 loss...and with one sweet swing, Ken Griffey Jr, blasted a 3-run home run into the right-field stands postponing the Yankees inevitable celebration.

With the homer Junior now has 16 on the season and 627 for his illustrious career...he sits in 5th place on the all-time list behind Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds.

In My Lifetime

Skill

"Wanna bring the 80's back...it's okay with me, that's where they made me at..."

Jay - Z - Blue Magic

Last night was an amazing night in baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies posthumously enshrined legendary announcer Harry Kalas into their wall of fame, the Yankees and Red Sox played until the break of dawn, and Ken Griffey Jr. continued to add to his illustrious career.

Lucky Lefty

The Seattle Mariners hosted the Tampa Bay Rays, as they needed extra innings to outlast them 7-6. Junior smacked career home run number 623 into the inky Seattle night, in the 7th inning. It was his 12th homer this season, as he continues to climb into the history books. He is currently in 5th place among the all-time HR leaders...standing 37 behind living legend Willie Mays.

Reminisce

The Kid

Teammates

"I guess Michael Jackson was right...you are not alone..."

Mos Def - Mathematics

Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez starred for the Seattle Mariners in what seems like a lifetime ago...however last night they rekindled some of their magic as opponents in the new Yankee Stadium.

Hall of Fame

I began watching baseball because of Junior, so when he hit career home run number 621 in the 6th inning off Andy Pettitte...I cheered. The Yankees won 4-2, for their 7th consecutive win, as this game turned out to be one for the history books.

Griffey and A-Rod entered the game with at least 550 home runs each as they both extended their totals by connecting on home runs. The last time a feat like this happened, it was Hank Aaron and Willie Mays on May 8, 1971.

Baseball entails thinking in various situations, but at the end of the day it's a numbers game, and its because of moments like this, that I revel in it.

Swan Song

Grand finale

3rd base line

The last dance

The Bronx Zoo

AG. and the Captain

"I'm a public enemy but I don't rob banks, I don't shoot bullets, and I don't shoot blanks...my style is supreme, number 1 is my rank...and I got more power than the New York Yanks..."

Chuck D - Miuzi Weighs a Ton

The best baseball park on planet closed its hallowed doors yesterday, and while I shudder at the fact that I missed the closing ceremony both in person and on television, I revel in the memories from the cathedral. From Lou Gehrig's speech, Larson's perfect game, Reggie's 3 homeruns in the '77 World Series, Charlie Hayes catching the final out in '96, Boomer and Coney on the mound, Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill patrolling the out field, Jeter's dive into the stands against Boston, and millions more, the games and hours that I spent in that building will stay with me forever. 

I'm from Philadelphia so the question is how did I become such an avid fan of the New York Yankees? Well to best answer that, my family on my father's side is from Brooklyn and Queens so naturally/unnaturally they are fans of the New York Mets. At the time of my arrival to the city that never sleeps the Mets were the top dog, and their cross town rival the Yanks were less than stellar. My hometown team the Philadelphia Phillies, are the arch enemy of the Mets so I became a Yankees fan. 

I love baseball (some would say that I'm fanatical) and I have since become quite fond of both the Yankees and Phillies, but if I had to pick one team to root for...it would be the Bronx Bombers. My mother coincidentally is a Chicago Cubs fan, but that's another story. My favorite players are Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Derek Jeter. Of course there are others, from the past and present, but I don't want to turn this into a baseball who's who, so I'll stop while I'm ahead. 

I have been going to Yankee Stadium every year since they won their first World Series in the modern era back in 1996. I missed 2007 because I lived too far from New York to travel comfortably in one day by car or train (I did however catch them against the Orioles in Baltimore on the cusp of A-Rod's 500th HR), and this year I've missed seeing them altogether, as I've been working like a madman to pick up the pieces in this crazy economy. If Sunday night was the last Yankees game to ever be played in the "House that Ruth built", then my final memory would forever be from the last game I attended there on September 29, 2006. 

I would often attend games alone, because very few of my friends like the Yankees or baseball for that matter. On that night I not only had two tickets, but a willing taker...my friend from school, Patricia. I don't remember much from that game aside from the hot dogs, souvenir cup, and cold autumn night, but I was excited for no reason other than I was at a baseball game in the Bronx, cheering for my team, with a good friend, and in those moments...life can be as the Wu-Tang Clan once echoed, so simple. 

I'll miss the old stadium already, however I look forward to fresh memories in the new place. I drove by the old and new parks last week when I was driving south from the George Washington Bridge on the Harlem River Drive, and I could hardly keep my eyes on the road ahead of me because those buildings were a sight for my baseball weary eyes. One day I hope to pass the Yankees pride and tradition on to my family, but until that day (when I grow up) I'll continue to support the team wherever they play...near and far. 

And I'd like to thank my friend Danielle who not only started watching baseball and the Yankees because of me...but she attended last night's game with some friends from her job...and while she didn't take any pictures...she thought of me and called from within the halls of the best place in sports. So what did I do...I missed her call because I was in a meeting. 

Can't win 'em all!

Batman

The Kid is now the MAN

Another day at the office

Junior Griffey an outfielder and a gentlemen

The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.

The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people.

Beautiful, also, is the sun.

Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.

-Langston Hughes, My people

Ken Griffey Jr. is my favorite baseball players, so when I had the opportunity to interview him, there was no doubt that I would be there. I love baseball, and while the game is often passed down from generation to generation, I taught myself the game at the precocious age of 13. I used to watch NBA Inside Stuff and one commercial for Upper Deck trading cards used to stand out, as it showed Griffey Jr. robbing some unlucky hitter of a home run. His grace, swing, and number 24 intrigued me, so I begin to watch the Seattle Mariners, as I learned the game through the American League. Now I cheer for the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies, however that is another story.

Junior Griffey is a very respectful, humble, and talented person. I was honored to interview one of the true legends of the Major League Baseball. Below is the conversation we had around the diamond, during the Phillies batting practice:

Talk about your relationship with Nike:
“[Big smile] It started with my first pair of Air Jordan…actually I had Nike before then, but I remember getting them. My brother had the red and black and I had the red, black, and white Air Jordan. We tried to talk my dad into Nike…he was into Converse, but we finally got him to go with Nike, and we have been a Nike family ever since. When I got to pro ball, I signed a contract…in the minor leagues I got 3 pairs of shoes, and when I got to the big leagues it was $1500 dollars, with $750 in merchandise and $750 in cash.

It’s not a company, it’s more of a family, and I think they have been through the ups and downs with me as far as my getting hurt, and all that I have been through. When I broke my wrist, I had to get a plate and 9 screws, and they [Nike] had a little small wall and everybody wrote get well soon. I detached a hamstring and one of the guys, Lynn Merritt who I’ve known since I was 19 came and visited me for a few days. I went to a basketball game and I sat between LeBron [James] and Phil [Knight]…it’s really just more of a family than it is a business relationship and I wouldn’t have it any other way. When my family needed something Nike was there.

On the commemorative 600 home runs sneaker:
“Yeah we are working on that, I just have to hit it [laughs]. Nike has taken care of my family…they always send a gift for Christmas, or a fruit basket, and the same thing on mother’s day and father’s day. Everybody that wears Nike, even if they play for the other team, we know all about them.”

Talk about your signature line and which sneaker is your favorite?
“The first one...it’s always the first one. What’s really interesting is that my son always gets my shoe before me. His baseball season would start off a month before mine, and I’d look at his shoes and say ‘man they look nice, I can’t wait to get mine…and he’d give me a look like yeah! He would get the shoes, and even now he gets them before me. If I come home and he has on the 600 home runs shoe, I’m going to look at him like he’s crazy, [laughs]. He’s my son and I can’t really argue.”

What was it like filming that baseball commercial with Michael Jordan and Spike Lee?
“My main man Spike! [Laughs] It was fun. I got to meet Spike Lee and I was so nervous…because I couldn’t wait to say ‘my main man Spike! You get nervous when you meet certain people and he is one of them. It wasn’t so much about meeting Mike…Mike was easy, it was just the fact that meeting Spike Lee and all of the things he has done, and I got a chance to see him this past off-season and I asked him if I could get that 3-movie deal [laughs]. I would like to one day go behind the scenes and sit there and watch him, because I think that is more entertaining than his actual work. His creativeness, how the Michael Jordan concept came about, etc., all the people that are a part of Nike is family. I can call Spike right now…his wife called my wife a couple of weeks ago, talking about getting together.”

When you look at 600 home runs what do you see?
“I start laughing; you have to understand that growing up in my house was a lot differently than other houses. Most people have to relate to their kids through sports…not in my house. Because my dad played sports, so we had other things to talk about. It wasn’t sports, it was how are you, how did you do this, and how did you do that? I knew how my dad did and that was the last thing we talked about. It didn’t matter if he went 0-4 or 4-4 he always came home with the same attitude. It was our turn, its was ‘hey lets go play, let’s do whatever. Now there is so much emphasis on the individual instead of the team. I remember going to the games and over 50% of the people in the stands had a program so they could mark down how the team was doing, they kept score; how many people are doing that now? You don’t see it anymore.”

So why do you wear the number 3? You used to wear 24, and I wore that number because I was born on October 24th:
“Really, October 24th…that’s my wedding day! I hit 24 home runs in one year, and one of my favorite players growing up was Ricky Henderson and he wore 24, and I really didn’t think about that…and growing up having guys around like Joe Black, Willie Mays, Chuck Harmon Sr., you know all these guys in my house day in and day out…I got a sense of history…a sense of history early, and what an African American had to go through and what they had to do for guys like me now to put on a uniform. I remember laughing because my dad would tell me stories, ‘I walked in the snow to school 12-miles, up hill both ways, you know that sort of thing. I grew up on those stories, and you say that didn’t really happen, that didn’t happen, and then you start listening to the other people talk and then you think…that really did happen. Maybe I should start believing it. And they would always make the stories funny, and some of the stories they told, I would start cracking up. When I check into hotels, a couple aliases I used were Joe Black; I tried to mix it up every now and then. I have 3 kids, I picked 24, 14 home runs and then 10 home runs in summer ball and in school, and then it was 30 for my dad, and then I picked 3 for my three kids. My oldest is Trey, which means 3, my daughter we named a boat after her, Taryn and we have another boat named the Chosen One because my youngest [Tevin] is adopted. So Trey asked me why I don’t do anything for him, so it’s for him and because I have three kids.”

What was it like playing with your dad in 1990?
“It was a lot of fun, but it was different. Everyone would talk to him and say ‘hey Ken how are you doing, and I would say hey dad let’s go…where are we going to eat? It was always dad, dad, dad. On the field he would say this is your team go out and play, have fun…I’m here to help you. He didn’t treat me like his son, he treated me like I was his teammate and I learned a lot by watching him and what he did. He was a guy that didn’t hit very many home runs, but he knew how to set up pitchers. He helped me out in the long run, I wouldn’t take certain pitches and then the next one, I’d hit it because I was looking for it. I miss those days.”

What did the Negro Leagues mean to you?
“It means everything! Guys went out there and they didn’t have the same opportunities nor the same equipment…I can sit here all day and the stories that Willie [Mays] told me…he said they used to wash their clothes, and then put them in the window on the bus and close the window to let the clothes dry in the wind. And I’m like ‘nah, and then I saw a picture, so those guys never gave up on their dream of being a professional athlete, and whatever they had to do they did it, and a lot of people don’t see that. Jackie Robinson took a whole lot of punishment so we could be here, and every generation gets farther and farther away from it, because they don’t know those stories. I had a dad that watched those games, and I grew up with people in my house that played in the league and against each other. I have a 1956 World Series baseball that Joe [Black] gave me, and it’s sitting in my house. He wanted to give it someone that would respect it and understand it. I was 22 when he gave it to me and I understood, but then I started reading about it and learning. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to go out and live my dream. The only thing that makes me upset is that Buck [O’Neil] should be in the Hall of Fame. They asked him to speak about the importance of the Negro League and he did it, but he should have been in there. That’s the only thing that I am upset about with the Hall of Fame because that man has done more for baseball…one man, than anybody, other than Jackie Robinson. He has carried the torch for African-Americans hands down!”

Black Diamond

                                  The best of the best

                Ryan Howard is the most known unknown

               Derek Jeter the Captain and AG the writer

Last night while flipping channels around the 10 o'clock hour, I stumbled upon the show Costas Now on HBO. The sports coverage on HBO is top tier and the telecast on Wednesday was no different, as they did a special on the legends of baseball. 

I absolutely LOVE baseball, and as a black man I respect it more than any other sport. Baseball is considered America's pastime. However when I study the game it shows the history of black people in America, therefore I am not only entertained, it also serves as moments of enlightenment. I have often heard that baseball is a thinking person's game, and does it ever get my gears turning.

During the episode, David Winfield, Jim Palmer, Henry Aaron, and Willie Mays were interviewed and it was truly amazing to hear their stories and struggles within the game that has served as a metaphor for life, for them and countless numbers of fans. One point that Willie Mays made was that, had he not served in the Army during the Korean War, he would have surpassed the home run record (714) that was once held by Babe Ruth. Mays lost approximately 2 seasons away from the San Francisco Giants, and finished his career with 660 home runs. 

Henry Aaron is best known for his playing days in Atlanta as well as having actually breaking Ruth's record and he expressed how trying those times were for him and his family. In fact instead of looking back upon those days with fondness, he actually is more relieved that it is over and that his family survived unscathed. He had to not only play the game, but he also endured death threats, hate mail, and disrespect at the highest power. I don't get it, and it is really a shame that these instances were a part of his life and the game. My grandmother says that when the Brooklyn Dodgers used to come to Philadelphia, that the fans through a black cat on the field because of Robinson. Imagine something like that in today's game?

David Winfield is the ultimate athlete, as he was drafted, yes drafted by teams in 3 professional sports...Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the NBA. I best remember him as a member of the New York Yankees, and during an interview I had with Derek Jeter he recalled watching Winfield. As Jeter spoke, he lit up like a Christmas tree when speaking about his childhood hero. He wanted to emulate him both on and off the field because of Dave Winfield's athletic ability and his work within the community. 

In the modern game of baseball the black hero is there in people, like Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Torii Hunter, Curtis Granderson, Juan Pierre, and Ken Griffey Jr. However the major problem is that no one within the black is looking up to them. In this day and age the children want to play basketball and football first, and sports like tennis, soccer, baseball, and swimming are last on the list or not at all. 

Things have really changed from yesteryear. From the Negro Leagues and the greatest man in baseball Buck O'Neil, to April 1947 when Jackie Robinson was called up to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. 

What happened to the soul of the game? 

I really do not know how to answer this question, but I love baseball and all that it has meant to my culture over the generations. I couldn't imagine Major League Baseball without black players...and I hope that it never comes to fruition. 

Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies is currently leading ALL players with 28 home runs, yet he wasn't in the All-Star Game on Tuesday. If he wasn't tops among league leaders it might not have been an issue, but it was the final All-Star Game to ever be played in the old Yankee Stadium. That was an opportunity that he should not have been denied. 

Somethings in life just don't seem fair. 

Did you know that the top home run leaders of all-time are black? Where would baseball be had Jackie Robinson and Larry Dolby not integrated the sport? 

The only thing constant in this world is change, and in this case, the change was as good as it was necessary.