2020 MLB postseason thread

My friend lives in Martinez, tiny city in the NE area of the Bay. That's where Joe D. grew up. There was a small restaurant named DiMaggio's in town. Don't know if it's still there.

 

I used to go there when I got out of Court!! Cool diner. But not really tied to Joe D IIRC.

Martinez is amazingly the cradle of not only Joe D, but Jeff and Stan Van Gundy and then the Brothers Turner (Norv, Scott?, and a 3rd I believe).

 

I think it originally was owned by the Joe D family but has changed hands a few times, although they kept the name for obvious reasons. My friend lives two blocks from the main part of town. When she got married at her house, they booked a restaurant. The wedding party and all of the guests walked (strolled) from her house to the restaurant. She was a favorite customer of Viano Vineyards, the only winery in Martinez that bottles a very good Zinfandel.

 

Those were the CBS Yankees. The C did not stand for Competence.

 

I was taught driver's ed by a football coach who grew up across the street from the DiMaggio family. He would take us into Martinez every Saturday morning for practice, because it's twisty, hilly and he could brag about growing up there. It's also the county seat, which meant that's where I got our marriage license in 1987.

 

We drove past Alhambra High and the sign board said, "GO LAKERS!"
WTF?
They had just drafted Mark Madsen from Stanford and he went there.

 

Damn Madsen went to Alhambra? Didn't know that. To think Contra Costa County produced both Madsen and Todd Lichti (another Stanford guy; that guy completely disproved that White Guys Can't Jump).

 

Yep on Lichti.

 

Back in the mid-70s (and it could be still), Alhambra's athletic facility was a football-track-baseball field hybrid because of limited space. The baseball infield used part of the track, while the outfield was a corner of the football field. Neat setup, except the track had a concrete inner ring, which was about three inches high.

So the second baseman and shortstop had to be extra careful going back on any ball hit shallow in the outfield to keep from tripping over it. And sharp ground balls would take wicked ricochets off that thing. Talk about a home field ground rule advantage.

 

Hahaha. We had a junior high in town like that. The curve of the track ran between the mound and the plate.

 

Lichti couldn't even make a layup.

 

I met DiMaggio once
He was a friend of a guy who owned an Italian restaurant in Clearwater who did a lot of charity work
I just shook his hand and said it was an honor to meet him
At the Columbia restaurant, a great Cuban place in Ybor City, they have a dish called the Marilyn and Joe, because they would order it when they went
Rice, shrimp, beef, chicken and assorted vegetables
Excellent