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The Daily Dose/April 15, 2010
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
Notes from around the Human Experience...
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME: Wednesday night it was time for our twice-yearly visit with our old friend Doug Greenwald, Voice of the Fresno Grizzlies. As noted during last year's visit, Doug and I were, for a couple of weeks in 1995, announcers for the legendary Imperial Valley Brahmas of something called the Golden State League. Doug thinks so much that assignment he doesn't even list it on his resume.
FunFact: I don't either, actually. It was my last job in radio and good riddance. Well, actually 'job' implies we were paid, which we weren't, the Golden State League folding before they could get around to issuing us paychecks. I did get my meal money on our only road trip, though.
Pregame Notebook: It's Fresno vs. Las Vegas in exciting Pacific Coast League action from almost lovely Cashman Field. Cashman opened in 1985 and is attached to a convention center and is about as exciting as a water treatment plant.
Fashion Police: Minor league umpires are wearing black shirts this year. For years they wore navy blue shirts, the same types the big leaguers until they went to black shirts several years ago. Also, there are four umpires for tonight's game. Usually Triple-A games have three umpires, but some crews have an umpire who gets called up to the big leagues when big leaguer's start taking their vacations, so it is not uncommon to see four umpires early in the season.
On The Air: Doug is one hell of an announcer. I would like to say I taught him everything I know but I didn't. I tried, but I wasn't any good and he didn't need my help anyway. When sitting in the booth with him he will from time to time turn and look at you like he's actually talking with you, one hell of a trait for an announcer to have. Maybe I could take credit for teaching him that.
Meaning Of Life: What is really fun is looking through Doug's official Pacific Coast League Sketch and Record book. One of the very best parts of baseball is its history and there aren't many things more enjoyable than reading the major league record book. I even brought my new copy for Doug, who also appreciates baseball history.
Time spent browsing the Coast League record book is time well spent. The PCL goes back to 1903 and some of baseball's biggest names have played in it over the years. Not only that, until the big leagues moved west and television invaded American living rooms, the Coast League paid pretty well and it wasn't uncommon for some really good players to make a career in the PCL.
Diving Right In: Starting right in, we see the very first listing is for pitcher Herman Pilette, who had the longest PCL career, 23 years between 1920 and 1945. Pilette also hold the PCL record with 708 games pitched. Frank Shellenback, throwing for a variety of teams from 1920-38, though is the PCL's all-time win leader with 295.
Hit Parade: Jigger Statz, also playing in the same era, knocked out 3,356 hits for Los Angeles. Jigger also played in a PCL record 2,790 games.
This Ball Is Gone: Oakland's Buzz Arlett is the all-time PCL home run leader with 251 from 1918-30. In 1925 future New York Yankee Tony Lazzeri hit a Coast League record 60 home runs. Pete Schneider is the only PCL player to hit five home runs in a game, a feat no major leaguer has accomplished. Playing for Vernon (just outside LA), Schneider connected on May 11, 1923 against Salt Lake City.
Oh Yeah: Future big leaguers Lefty O'Doul, Babe Herman and Joe Gordon are the only Coast Leaguer's who have hit pinch-hit home runs in both games of a doubleheader, a record not even listed in the shiny new, Elias Sports Bureau record book.
Some Interesting Games: You have to look in two different parts of the PCL Sketch and Record Book to find this out, but on May 19, 1975 Gary Ross of Hawaii threw a five inning perfect game against Salt Lake City. That's all the record book says though. It doesn't why it only went five innings.
So we checked the year-by-year section in the sketch book. They don't mention anything about Ross's perfect game, but it does mention that on that date Hawaii scored the first 13 batters who came to the plate in the first inning. What, again, is not recorded is why the game only went five innings. It may have been rained out, but after being down 19-0 after five innings without managing a base runner it is possible Salt Lake City said 'screw it' and decided to call it a day.
FunFact: There have been nine perfect games in the Coast League over the years, but only three have been nine inning games. The other five have were seven inning games, not uncommon in the minors where both ends of doubleheaders are seven innings in length.
Dry Technical Matter: Number ten won't be thrown tonight. Fresno got three in the first with Las Vegas coming back with two in the bottom of the first.
More Dry, Technical Matter: San Francisco has won the most Coast League pennants with 14.
Yawn: The first of two 24-inning games in PCL history - and the only 1-0, 24-inning shutout in league history - was played on June 8, 1909, with Oakland playing at San Francisco. San Francisco scored with two outs in the bottom of the 24th. Like the longest game in major league history, 26 innings, both starting pitchers in this game went the distance. Cack Henley gave up nine hits, walked one and struck out six. Oakland's Jimmy Wiggs gave up eleven hits, walked six and struck out 13. In stark contrast to today's major league games which take nearly three hours to complete, San Francisco and Oakland played 24 innings in three hours and 35 minutes.
Thanks Bro: On April 7, 1918 Los Angeles' 'Doc' Crandall has his no-hitter broken up with two outs in the ninth by his brother Karl, who played for Salt Lake City.
The On This Date, Trivia, and Thought for the Day features will return.
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