2020 MLB postseason thread

Not going to defend a lot involving voting back then, especially when someone like DiMaggio not going in on the first ballot, but it is not like the way it is now.

Technically he went in on the fourth try, but the first was when he was still an active player, because there was no rule that only retired players were eligible -- and he ended up playing six more seasons after getting those votes. So it was more like a third time, which is still not excusable. And then there was the fact that there was no limit to the ballot or the players you could vote for and the five-year waiting period didn't start until 1954.

That 1953 ballot had guys who retired in 1917 on it. It was kind of a mess.

 

I believe Joe DiMaggio belongs in “The Hall.”

 

I believe I have posted this before, but since Joe D came up, I'll retell it. The earthquake in the middle of the '89 Series happened, and a day or so later Dom DiMaggio, who still lived in the Boston area, called the Herald sports desk and asked if someone could go to his mother's place and check as he hadn't heard from her and was worried. Steve Harris, the Series sidebar guy, went to the address in the hard hit Marina district and there, beside a badly damaged but not demolished home, was Joe DiMaggio, looking at firefighters putting out gas leak fires on the block. Steve introduced himself, explained his mission, and was assured by Joe that his mom was OK. Joe, who didn't give many interviews, was so impressed/happy/I dunno that the Herald had run this family errand (which we may note he hadn't done yet) that he gave Steve a 20 minute interview and allowed pictures to be taken.

 

Two great DiMaggio stories I've heard over the years.

1) Joe's parents didn't understand English well when he was first signed by the Seals. Papa DiMaggio was a fisherman, so every morning before going to sea, he'd look in the morning paper for the box score of the previous night's game. He knew the numbers, though, and if Joe had a good night, he'd wake up his wife and share the news.

2) This one you've heard. Hell, it was in AP's obit, and I still regret it got cut out of the paper I was working for at the time (I was doing A1 that day and, even though 99 and 44/100ths of the time we had an all-local front, we were also a pm and could get a jump on the other guys, so I stripped it across the front).

Shortly after he wed Marilyn Monroe, she went on a USO trip to Korea. When she got back, she was telling him about it and said "All the troops were cheering me and screaming my name. You've never heard anything like it."
His reply? "Yes, I have."

 

“See it’s the immigrants’ fault, they don’t want to be like us, they won’t learn the language!!” How soon people forget about their ancestors.

 

I'm sure the "yes, I have" story was great fodder for the marriage counselors on both sides.

 

Yeah, but they weren't "spanish".

 

One other tidbit involving your No. 1. story. When they were kids, Papa DiMaggio hated that they played baseball because he thought it was a waste of time. Vince wanted to leave home to play ball and Papa DiMaggio forbade it because he thought men should provide for their families and that baseball was not a profession to support one’s family.

So Vince defies his dad, plays semi-pro and lower minor league ball, then joins the San Francisco Seals. One day, he comes home with a pile of cash in the thousands of dollars. He explains that his Dad wouldn’t know what a paycheck was, but would understand the cash. Papa DiMaggio accuses Vince of stealing the money. Vince tells him it’s his pay. Papa D doesn’t believe him, so Vince takes him to the Seals’ owner, who confirms it’s Vince’s pay. Papa D calms down.

Later, when Dom is in high school, Papa D asks him, “So when are you going to start playing baseball?”

 

This book has many great stories about DiMaggio. Really suggest to give it a read.

 

Jim Misiuda‎ "THE DUGOUT" A FORUM FOR THE LOVE OF BASEBALL
45 mins ·
Seventy five years ago today, October 23rd, 1945, Branch Rickey-

 

For my fellow Members of the Tribe. If Ryan Sherriff and Joc Pederson face one another, it could be the first Jewish batter/pitcher matchup in World Series history

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/...iCFol7dBVSlaXSZwy1tQFjlfL5F7Eqp3CemI1isacVSGc