Joe Garagiola, Dead at 90

Joe Garagiola, left, with Yogi Berra

[From article]
Joe Garagiola, a Major League Baseball legend who successfully moved from the field to the broadcast booth, has died at the age of 90, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced Wednesday. The cause of his death was unclear.
Garagiola entertained audiences for 58 years with a sharp sense of humor and a seemingly endless trove of stories. Popular with those who followed sports and those who didn't, his personality transcended games and landed him a pair of stints on the "Today" show, a slot as a guest host in Carson's seat on "The Tonight Show," spots as a game show host and almost a decade on Westminster dog show telecasts.
His longtime friend, Yogi Berra, died last year.
A 20-year-old rookie with the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in 1946 — he had more hits and RBIs in the seven-game matchup against Boston than Ted Williams — Garagiola spent nine seasons in the majors as a catcher. He was a career .257 hitter, then really became a star once he stopped playing.
Garagiola's first broadcast job was alongside the famed Harry Caray with the Cardinals. He later with Curt Gowdy and Vin Scully on NBC broadcasts, mixing in keen insights gleaned from his playing days along with funny stories he picked up along the way.
[. . .]
Garagiola recalled a pitcher "who will remain nameless" who threw only a fastball. But when Garagiola put down the sign for the fastball, the pitcher kept shaking it off. Finally, an exasperated Garagiola went out to the mound.
"I go out there and said, 'What do you want to throw?'" Garagiola recalled. "He said a slider. I said, 'You don't throw a slider.' He said, 'That's why I'll get him out, he won't be lookin' for it.'"
He remembered a time when Dusty Rhodes, known for his clutch hitting, came to bat. The fidgety pitcher, Cliff Stein, was concerned about how to work. "Dusty," Garagiola said, "was known to take a drink now and again."
"I said I don't care what you are going to throw," Garagiola said, "but don't hit him in the back pocket or we'll have Jack Daniels all over home plate."
[. . .]
Garagiola said his fondest memory was the 2001 season when the Diamondbacks, with his son, Joe Garagiola Jr., as the team's general manager, beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
"Baseball, it hasn't changed that much," Garagiola said. "You still have to hit the ball and you still have to catch it. Good players will win and bad players will lose. Winners win and losers make excuses. It's as simple as that."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/23/hall-fame-sportscaster-mlb-catcher-joe-garagiola-dead-at-90.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fmost-popular+%28Internal+-+Most+Popular+Content%29

Hall of Fame sportscaster, MLB catcher Joe Garagiola dead at 90
Published March 23, 2016

FoxNews.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New York Governor Cuomo Resells World Series Tickets To Fund Campaign

[From article]

As The Post reported Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo is using the Mets’ home games in the World Series to raise himself some campaign cash.
His staff picked up a “very limited number” of tickets to this week’s Games 3 and 4 at Citi Field — and is selling the $125 tickets to supporters for as much as $5,500.
The campaign’s offer also includes a ­90-minute private reception with the gov. Cuomo’s not the only pol using the Fall Classic to raise campaign funds: Rep. Grace Meng has a similar scheme — for an only slightly more affordable $2,500 a head.
Now, scalping is perfectly legal in New York; a whole secondary market exists for that purpose. But Cuomo’s charging a major markup: The average Series ticket at Citifield is going for about $1,600 on StubHub.



Worse is the unseemly air of insider access here. It’s far easier for a high-ranking official (or his flunkies) to score seats than it is for the average Joe. Did Cuomo forget the anger when Gov. David Paterson scored Yankees tickets?
And to then milk the prized passes for campaign cash . . .
It’s particularly tacky when Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was so tough on scalpers. Back in 2010, he went after folks who sat in line for free Shakespeare In The Park tickets, then resold them on Craigslist.

http://nypost.com/2015/10/27/cuomos-world-series-scalping-scam-is-outrageous-and-hypocritical/

Cuomo’s World Series scalping scam is outrageous and hypocritical
By Post Editorial Board
New York Post
October 27, 2015 | 7:38pm

Updated: "Yogi" Berra, New York Yankees Great, Dead at 90

Posted September 23, 2015 9:57 PM ET; Last Updated September 26, 2015 8:13 PM ET


Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, pictured, survived D-Day and went onto win 10 World Series medals. 
AP

Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center 

http://www.yogiberramuseum.org/

Little Falls, New Jersey
Here are some of the tributes to New York Yankee super star Yogi Berra.





http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/35-of-yogi-berras-most-memorable-quotes/

35 of Yogi Berra’s most memorable quotes
By New York Post Staff Report
September 23, 2015 | 4:30am

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http://nypost.com/2015/09/24/yogi-berras-rise-from-sandlot-baseball-player-to-american-icon/

Yogi Berra’s rise from sandlot baseball player to American Icon
By Laura Italiano
New York Post
September 24, 2015 | 12:07am

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Picture Gallery of Yogi Berra

http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/yogi-berra-through-the-years/#1

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[From article]
Berra played on teams that featured numerous Hall of Fame inductees, including Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Phil Rizzuto, and Whitey Ford, which is why he was sometimes overshadowed on the field.
But Berra took second place to no one when it came to entertaining the fans. He is being referred to as an "American Classic." In this, as with most other statements being made about the beloved Yogi, there is understated greatness.
[comment]
Aztec82 • September 23, 2015
One of my favorites is what he said to New York mayor John Lindsay's wife. When she said he looked nice and cool in his new summer suit, he said, "Thanks. You don't look so hot yourself." A great player and a class act.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/09/an_american_original_yogi_berra_dead_at_90.html

September 23, 2015
An 'American original,' Yogi Berra, dead at 90
By Rick Moran

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http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/berra-on-mantle-dimaggio-yogi-isms-in-never-published-qa/



Berra on Mantle, DiMaggio, Yogi-isms in never-published Q&A
By Steve Serby
New York Post
September 23, 2015 | 2:21pm

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Yogi Berra, pictured leaping into the arms of Don Larsen, after catching a perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
AP


Yogi Berra pictured riding in a convertible during the New York Yankees 27th World Series Championship victory parade through the Canon of Heroes on Broadway. 
Photo: SL

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http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/yogi-berras-legacy-the-most-beloved-man-in-baseball/

Yogi Berra’s legacy: The most beloved man in baseball
By Mike Vaccaro
New York Post
September 23, 2015 | 9:14am

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http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/yogi-berra-granddaughter-shares-touching-tribute-article-1.2371622



Yogi Berra's granddaughter shares touching tribute to Yankees star and wife Carmen: 'Together again'
BY LARRY MCSHANE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, September 23, 2015, 1:34 PM

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http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/flags-in-nyc-fly-at-half-staff-for-yogi-berra/



Flags in NYC fly at half-staff for Yogi Berra
By David K. Li
New York Post
September 23, 2015 | 5:17pm

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Yogi Berra, pictured, was the son of Italian immigrants, was inducted into the hall of fame in 1972.
AP

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/opinion/2015/09/george_will_yogi_berra_an_american_story


Berra Dancing With His Wife Carmen

George Will: Yogi Berra, an American story
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
New York Post
By: George F. Will
Boston Herald




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http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2015/09/23/baseball-great-yogi-berra-dies-at-0/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fmost-popular+%28Internal+-+Most+Popular+Content%29

Baseball great Yogi Berra dies at 90
Published September 23, 2015
FoxNews.com

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Pictured above on his wedding day at the beginning of 1949 to his longtime love and beautiful bride Carmen, and below, a few weeks later, smiling for the cameras. 
Photo: Bettman Corbis



http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/my-heart-is-broken-baseball-world-mourns-iconic-yogi-berra/

‘My heart is broken’: Baseball world mourns iconic Yogi Berra
By New York Post Staff Report
September 23, 2015 | 3:24am

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http://nypost.com/2015/09/23/yankees-legend-yogi-berra-dead-at-90/

Yankees legend Yogi Berra dead at 90
By Don Burke
New York Post
September 23, 2015 | 2:26am

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3245875/Yogi-Berra-baseball-legend-inspiration-cartoon-hero-Yogi-Bear-died-aged-90.html



'It ain't over until it's over': Legendary New York Yankees player Yogi Berra dies aged 90 after fighting in D-Day, winning ten World Series and coining countless phrases
Yogi Berra won the World Series 10 times with the New York Yankees
He was also baseball's most valuable player on three different occasions
Berra, 90, was a D-Day veteran and launched rocket attacks from a boat
He was known for his witty quotes such as 'it ain't over until it's over'
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
Published: 02:14 EST, 23 September 2015 | Updated: 08:35 EST, 23 September 2015

Alan H. "Bud" Selig's Legacy

Former Baseball Commissioner, Alan H. "Bud" Selig

[From article]
Since 1992, baseball has created four new teams, opened 21 new ballparks,adopted interleague play, instant replay and drug testing, expanded the postseason with two wild cards in each league, gone 20 years without labor troubles interrupting play and has vastly expanded revenue-sharing and has implemented a "competitive balance tax" on team payrolls above a certain threshold. And on Sept. 1, 2014, in the last season of the Selig era, 17 of the 30 teams were within 5 1/ 2 games of a playoff spot.
The average attendance at MLB games last year was 30,437, compared with 13,466 in 1955, in baseball's supposed golden age. Last year's worst per-game attendance (the Tampa Bay Rays' 17,857) was better than that of the 1955 World Series-winning Dodgers (13,423)
[. . .]
Eisenhower administered eight years of peace and prosperity. Voters gave him vast affection; the intelligentsia, which usually is the last to understand things, gave him condescension.
[. . .]
When a worried aide anticipated possible news conference questions about a delicate problem, Eisenhower placidly promised, "I'll confuse them."
Selig has sometimes resembled Alan Greenspan, who supposedly once said, "If I've made myself too clear, you must have misunderstood me."
[. . .]
the four most important people in baseball's history: Alexander Joy Cartwright (the genius who in the 1840s placed the bases 90 feet apart), Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and a fan from Milwaukee. Which is what Selig has been, first and always.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will012915.php3

Bud Selig's winning legacy
By George Will
Published Jan. 29, 2015

St.Louis Cardinal Fans Confront Ferguson Anti Police Protestors

[From article]
One Cardinals fan taped “I am Darren Wilson” to the back of his jersey, referencing the officer who shot 18-year-old Michael Brown and has not been prosecuted, before the group turned “Let’s go Cardinals” chants into “Let’s go Darren” chants.
At one point, video shows a white Cardinals fan telling the mostly black protesters they “need to get jobs,” before addressing the camera: “If they’d be working, we wouldn’t have this problem.” Later, a woman adds, “We’re the ones who gave all y’all the freedoms that you have!”

http://nypost.com/2014/10/07/cardinals-fans-taunt-ferguson-protesters-in-ballpark-clash/

Cardinals fans taunt Ferguson protesters in ballpark clash
By Howie Kussoy
New York Post
October 7, 2014 | 2:40pm

Moe Berg, New York Baseball Catcher, Lawyer

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Moe+Berg

Moe Berg, Baseball Great
Columbia University Law Graduate
CIA Employee
Lived in New York City, Newark, Belleville NJ

Stan "The Man" Musial Dead at 92

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/cardinals_hall_age_famer_stan_the_vmNQrokOj8tFRSyCQKqGbO

Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan 'The Man' Musial dies at age 92
From ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York Post
Last Updated: 8:24 PM, January 19, 2013
Posted: 8:23 PM, January 19, 2013

Best Friends Forever

Two 90-year-old men, Moe and Joe, have been friends all of their lives. When it's clear that Joe is dying, Moe visits him everyday. One day, Moe says, "Joe, we both loved baseball all our lives and we played minor league ball together for so many years. Please do me one favor. When you get to Heaven, somehow, you must let me know if there's baseball there."

Joe looks up at Moe from his death bed, "Moe, you've been my best friend for many years. If it's at all possible, I'll do this favor for you."

Shortly after that, Joe passes on. At midnight, a couple of nights later, Moe is awakened from a sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to him, "Moe. Moe."

"Who is it"? asks Moe, sitting up suddenly. "Who is it?"

"Moe, it's me, Joe."

"You're not Joe. Joe just died."

"I'm telling you, it's me, Joe," insists the voice."

"Joe! Where are you?"

"In Heaven," replies Joe. "I have some really good news and a little bad news."

"Tell me the good news first," says Moe.

"The good news," Joe says "is that there's baseball in Heaven. Better yet, all of our old buddies who died before us are here, too. Better than that, we're all young again. Better still, it's always spring time and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we can play baseball all we want and we never get tired."

"That's fantastic," says Moe. "It's beyond my wildest dreams! So, what's the bad news?"

"You're pitching Tuesday."

Baseball Collector Exposed as Fraud

[The below article was removed from the New York Post's web pages. An attorney wrote to me on September 4, 2011, saying he wrote to the New York Post which removed the story after receipt of his letter. All references to the aggrieved party are removed from this site as of September 4, 2011 at 5:10 PM eastern daylight time.]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/treasure_trove_is_baseball_history_MQHFNfIYJ2lj2tRkXhIfzH

Treasure trove is baseball's history in the faking
Ruled foul: Shock as top collector is revealed as scammer-abilia king
By PETER J. NASH and BRAD HAMILTON
New York Post
Last Updated: 6:56 AM, July 24, 2011
Posted: 12:04 AM, July 24, 2011

Exploiting Civil Rights For Business Purposes

Legislatures and courts are businesses run by and for politicians and lawyers. Now baseball will be a business to benefit children of civil rights leaders. What justifies "transferring" the legacies of Jackie Robinson and Dr. King, Jr. to a taxpayer subsidized for profit business? It is not only politicians that have no shame exploiting the work of good men for their own mercenary purposes.

[From article]
"It's fitting with the legacy of Jackie Robinson essentially transferring to the Mets; what better place to have African-American ownership than with the Mets," [TV executive Larry] Meli said, noting that Major League Baseball has no African-American owners.
[. . .]
"Martin Luther King Jr. died for the common man to do better in his life," [TV executive Larry] Meli said. "That sort of legacy is going to take hold here."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/king_iii_has_dream_team_aKV1Ge8A3diwD2pfIIWj1J

Martin Luther King III trying to become part owner of Mets
Kevin Kernan
New York Post
Last Updated: 11:12 AM, January 30, 2011
Posted: 12:53 AM, January 30, 2011

Palin Soars, Media Roars

Maybe Palin wants to be Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Why do so many small-minded people, especially journalists focus only on being President?

Photo by AP

Sarah Palin signs copies of her new book,
‘America By Heart,’ on Tuesday in Little
Rock, Ark.

http://bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view.bg?articleid=1300003

Sarah Palin leaves N.H. out in cold for now
By Katy Jordan
Boton Herald
Wednesday, December 1, 2010