Baseball Between Us

Philip Humber made history by throwing the 21st Perfect Game on the 21st of April. The 29-year-old  hurler from the Chicago White Sox blanked the Seattle Mariners 4-0 on Saturday, seven years after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

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Humber’s teammates poured on to the field to celebrate the first Perfect Game of 2012, as you’ll see by clicking on the video link below:

Perfect Game

It’s only the second Perfect Game ever pitched in April and the first since Phillies Ace Roy Halladay shut down the Florida Marlins on May 29, 2010 (see below for list of all 21 Perfect Games):

Rare Feats

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Speaking of Perfect – I have found the perfect road map for baseball fans everywhere. It’s called BallparkEGuides – a wonderful Web site compiled by Baltimore Orioles superfan Kurt Smith who can tell you where to sit, where to eat and what’s the best (and cheapest way) to get to the ballpark.

Kurt provides the inside scoop on 14 ballparks in the East and Midwest – nothing west of the Mississippi River, but I’m hoping he’ll be making a West Coast road trip in the near future, so he can experience the most beautiful stadium in all of baseball, AT&T Park in San Francisco:

AT&T Park

and historic Dodger Stadium now celebrating it’s 50th birthday in Los Angeles:

Dodger Stadium

But in the meantime, until Kurt goes west to add these venues to his site,  I can offer this inteview I just completed with the founder of BallparkEGuides:

BBU: What are your top 5 Favorite ballparks and why?

Kurt Smith: Well I get asked what my favorites are a lot, and I know that my top four are Camden Yards, PNC Park, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, and it’s tough to assign an order to those four, they’re all great. If you asked me to pick a fifth, I’m torn…I love Comerica Park in Detroit, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and I have a fondness for Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City too. Make me pick one? OK, I’ll go with Comerica for #5.

I haven’t yet been to AT&T Park, Coors Field, Target Field, or Safeco Field, and people rave about all of them, so I may have to revise this list someday.

Fenway and Wrigley are great just because they’ve been there so long, but they also have an ambience that has been built up for a century. It’s just pure baseball in both places, and that’s the kind of thing that you can’t just plant a new ballpark and create. Camden Yards and PNC Park both have that kind of atmosphere too, even though they’re newer. Here’s why I prefer Camden and PNC above all the other new parks: in the upper level of them, you’re still close to the field because of the way the concourses are laid out. In almost all of the other new parks, if you go to the upper level you can almost wave to pilots it’s so high, because they raised the stands so that people could see the game from the concourse. I don’t care about seeing the game from the concourse…I’m not sitting there!

BBU: What are your  top 5 favorite ballpark foods?

Kurt Smith: Well number one is easily the Ben’s Chili Half Smoke at Nationals Park in D.C.—it’s a spicy sausage with Ben’s outstanding chili and cheese on it. Really spicy, and you need a spoon to eat some of the chili off of the thing. (Your mouth is watering now, isn’t it?) I hated finishing it…or passing on it when I gave up sausage for Lent once. That was rough!

Next four, in no particular order: the Lobel’s sandwich at Yankee Stadium, which is prime beef soaked in au jus and served on an onion roll with horseradish sauce; the Chicago Bison Dog at Wrigley, with grilled onions and all of the Chicago dog fixins’; the Schmitter at Citizens Bank Park in Philly, a sort of cheesesteak with salami, tomato slices and secret sauce; and the Hard Times chili nachos, also at Nationals Park, with spicy chili, cheese, jalapenos and Old Bay seasoning if you want it.

I still think Nationals Park is the best when it comes to food choices, although I’m somewhat annoyed that they added all of those Citi Field items like the Shake Shack. The Shackburger is good, but that’s for Citi Field. Let D.C. institutions like Five Guys be represented in Washington. I feel strongly about that.

BBU: What is your best experience at a ballpark?

Kurt Smith: Gosh, there are so many…

My first trip to Cleveland to see what was then Jacobs Field in 1994 ranks very high—I will share the story on my website sometime. The weather was perfect even though it was raining everywhere else in America that day, I enjoyed a beautiful ride across Pennsylvania, and the ballpark of course was great.

Or I could say the day I managed to somehow get into Yankee Stadium the day that Derek Jeter homered for his 3,000th hit…a story that I did share on my website.

Or my first Phillies game as a ten-year-old, with the Phillies and Pirates battling to a 4-4 tie till the 14th. The Bucs scored two in the top of the 14th inning and the Phillies scored three in the bottom…I replayed that one in my backyard for weeks! There’s another story I should tell…

Or a doubleheader at Memorial Stadium in 1979, where my beloved Orioles came from behind to win both games, the first on a dramatic walk-off from Eddie Murray in front of a delirious crowd of 45,000. Or Murray’s 500th home run at Camden Yards, a year to the day after Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record. Or a game at Miller Park last year that featured an inside-the-park home run and a game-winning suicide squeeze (and an acknowledgement from Uke!). Or the game I saw at Montreal in the Expos’ last season of 2004—the attendance was sad but I had a great time!

And any first trip to see a game at a ballpark for the first time counts; that is always magical and those games always stand out among the most memorable.

BBU: What is your worst experience at a ballpark?

Kurt Smith: The first one that comes to mind was a night my sister and I drove down to Baltimore to see our O’s play against the Brewers with my Dad, who lived there at the time. We had seats right next to the bullpen, and I remember getting irritated with women flirting with Brewers pitchers. No loyalty. And everything about that game just rotted. The Brewers scored two runs before the Orioles even got an out, it was 4-0 at the end of the first inning, and the final was 5-0. Every inning, it seemed, the Orioles would get a weak mini-rally going with two outs and then fail to score. Just a bummer of a game all around if you were an Orioles fan. I got a flat tire on the way home, too.

I remember being disappointed in the old Busch Stadium in many ways; seeing the Orioles get crushed by the Red Sox in my first trip to Fenway; another Red Sox-engineered drubbing at Camden Yards that was followed by a traffic ticket on the way home (I don’t know why bad O’s losses at the Yard end up including transportation problems), or a Yankees-Mets game at Shea that was mostly on the unpleasant side in the cheaper seats, as you can imagine.

All these games included though, I can’t think of any time that I wished I hadn’t gone to the ballpark. The odds are pretty good that I’ll be happy afterward!

BBU: What is the best kept secret about any ballpark you have visited?

Kurt Smith: Well if I share secrets there won’t be any reason to buy a Ballpark E-Guide, will there? Just kidding.

Hmmm. Well let me think about this. I know a few well-kept secrets about each ballpark. The free parking on South Lawrence Street in Philly used to be a good one, but people have been getting ticketed for that, so I have to nix that. Tell you what, here’s three I really like:

Citi Field: If you park in the Southfield Commuter lot near the Mets-Willets Point train station before noon on night game days, the price for the whole day is what the commuters pay, around $4. Much better than the $20 that the Mets charge in their lots. You can talk a walk around Flushing Meadows Park or take the 7 train into Manhattan, whatever, it’s New York City, finding something to do for a few hours is never a problem.

Yankee Stadium: Like with most ballparks you can bring in your own food; get a sandwich or a knish before the game at the Court Deli on 161st street, about a block from the Stadium. Good-sized sandwiches, quickly made and very cheap. Long lines but they move fast. Will save you much cash.

Progressive Field: I don’t know if they’re doing it again in 2012, but last year the Indians gave away free tickets to the Tribe Social Deck, to people who won an invitation by filling out a form on the website. The idea was to get young folks to tweet about the great time they were having. Food isn’t included, but you’d be in a climate-controlled suite, and protection from the elements in Cleveland is no small thing!

That’s just three good ones, I’m keeping some of the better ones!

To contact Kurt directly, check out his Web site at www.ballparkeguides.com

It’s embarrassing to say – but I had never been to McCovey’s Restaurant – until this weekend. That’s when I made my first visit to  one of the best sports-themed restaurants anywhere – certainly equal to Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant in New York.

McCovey's Restaurant in Walnut Creek, California.

The Walnut Creek eatery is a shrine to the San Francisco Giants – and their Hall of Fame first baseman, Willie McCovey, who has surrounded the booths with authentic jerseys of All-Star players mostly from his era and beyond.

The McCovey All-Stars

Note the Jackie Robinson (#42) jersey above, along with three players who all made #14 famous: Vida Blue of the Giants,  Ernie Banks of the Cubs  and Pete Rose  of the Reds. This place is a must for baseball fans – and even if you don’t appreciate the world’s greatest game, you will love the food: house-smoked BBQ baby back ribs, grilled fish tacos, burgers, hot dogs and a wide variety of salads.

Best of all, I got to meet owner Rocky Dudum, who told me the story of how he first met Willie McCovey in 1958 when the Giants had just moved to San Francisco. 

Rocky was a furniture manufacturer and provided many of the players with couches, beds and sofas for their homes. Rocky became good friends with Willie McCovey and ended up mentoring the young star on the ways of the world.  Rocky would later open and run the restaurant honoring the San Francisco great.

McCovey’s was the perfect place to eat lunch with my friend Paul Hirsch, a director with the Society for American Baseball Research.

Paul Hirsch of SABR

Paul is a rabid Dodger fan, but no one razzed him at McCovey’s, where baseball fans can feel welcome, no matter what team they root for.

Next on the agenda was a book signing at Barnes & Noble in Walnut Creek, where I got to see long time friends Marty Gonzalez, Tom Stilwell and Sydnie Kohara.

Tom Stilwell worked with me in the KNTV newsroom 2006-2009

Sydnie Kohara, my former colleague from KCRA

It was a fun event and we ended up selling every copy of Baseball Between Us in the store. Next up is a book signing at Pomona College in Claremont, California on April 28th.

The next book signing for Baseball Between Us will be in the Bay Area next Saturday, April 14 from 2 -6 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble store in Walnut Creek. I hope to catch up with some friends and former colleagues from KNTV, NBC Bay Area.

In the meantime, I want to thank everyone who attended last week’s book signing in Emoryville, including my distributor John Teall from Midpoint Trade Books

John Teall, West Coast Representative from Midpoint Trade Books

and my cousin Meredith Reich, who took time out from her busy schedule of wedding planning to hang out with Carol and me at the book signing.

My cousin Meredith Reich

Meredith is getting married in June!

Also, there is a Sacramento area book signing event this Wednesday April 11 from 7 – 9:30 p.m. at Sue Peppers’ studios in Mather.

Here are the details and maps for the upcoming events.

Upcoming NorCal Book Signings

Meanwhile, it’s great to have the baseball season underway. Hope you get to enjoy some games this weekend!

It was great to share book signings with my family and friends who joined me for two events in Southern California. The first was Friday, March 23 at the USC Bookstore in Los Angeles.

Family book signing with Carol, Matt and Sarah

A lighter moment with cousins Estelle and Bill Reich

It was a treat to hang out with students and my cousins from L.A. Then we headed south to San Diego via Amtrak, and along the way our train stopped at Angel Stadium, home of the Big A, which now stands for Albert, as in Pujols.

The Big A

Most baseball experts predict the Angels are on track to win it all this year. With the addition of Pujols and pitcher C.J. Wilson, they are the prohibitive favorites to capture the flag, but anything can happen and that’s why they play 162 games (just ask the Phillies who were the pre-season faves in 2011, but they could not stop the Cardinals).

The next book signing was March 24 at Barnes & Noble in La Mesa, where I met up with some of Matt’s high school friends – all living now in San Diego.

With Emily, Taylor and Blake in San Diego

Next stop on the book tour is back in NorCal, at the Barnes & Noble store in Walnut Creek on Saturday, April 14 at 2 p.m.

A big “Thank You” to all my friends in Northern California who attended book signings in San Jose and Roseville. It was fun to see you and I am truly blessed to have such great friends and so much support for Baseball Between Us.

I hope you’ll get a few laughs from some of the stories and maybe some insight on how to deal with Terrible Teens who hate your music, refuse to wake up in the morning and call you by your first name.

Roseville Barnes & Noble March 17

With Kevin Riggs and Ken Shuper

H.D. Palmer and son Harry

Big Yankee Fan, CBS 13's Brian Gregory

CBS 13's Maria Medina and son. Author Tim Herrera and wife Carol.

A lighter moment with Carol Herrera, Mirta Rhinehart, CBS 13's Kurtis Ming, KNTV's Mykie Vang and KCRA's Mike Rhinehart.

San Jose Book Signing March 10 with KNTV's Gracinda Carvalho

Next stop: USC Bookstore on Friday March 23 and San Diego Barnes & Noble, Grossmont Center on Saturday, March 24.  Thank you again so much!

I was honored to join 40 Northern California authors Saturday night for a fundraiser to benefit the Sacramento Public Library Foundation. It was my first official book signing for Baseball Between Us, with a portion of all proceeds going to help fund programs, materials and books for the summer reading program for Sacramento’s 28 branch libraries. Collectively, we raised an estimated $100,000 thanks to the very generous donations of our library patrons!

The keynote authors included crime novelist John Lescroart and suspense writer Lisa Lutz. Fox 40’s Paul Robins served as the moderator for a panel discussion on the future of libraries. It was truly a fun event and I’m thrilled we could help contribute to such a worthy cause.

The official launch for Baseball Between Us is March 1st – but I’m excited to share this review in Athletics Nation, a terrific blog for Oakland A’s fans:

Athletics Nation

Hope I’ll get a chance to see you at one of my upcoming book signings events:

Book Signings

This blog is not about Mitt Romney. It’s not about Barack Obama or anyone running for office. But we are talking about something equally important for the future of our country – and for baseball fans everywhere – the answers to the eternal question: how do you want your mitt – as in baseball glove. Turns out breaking in that new glove is both an art and a science. Molding that new piece of stiff leather into a malleable mitt involves hard labor and creativity.

Some ballplayers drown their gloves in warm water. Others nuke it in the microwave. I’ve even heard of players running over it with a car. But for me the best way to soften that new glove with just the right pocket is to hit it first with your fist about 100 times. Then massage the mitt with a little Gloveolium to loosen up the leather. Insert a baseball into the pocket, then squeeze the glove tight and wrap it up with a belt to keep the pressure on the pocket so it looks like this:

The next thing to do is simply wait for the pocket to form. When I was a kid, I used to sleep with my mitt under my pillow. I thought that might help my glove form the perfect pocket or at least help me dream about baseball. After about a week I removed the glove and went outside to play catch with my Dad. And sure enough – the glove was broken in just the way I liked it.

While that technique worked for me – there are plenty of other methods out there, as you’ll see in this great article from the L.A. Times:

Breaking In Your Ballglove

What’s your favorite method for molding the perfect mitt? Let me hear from you and I’ll post your recommendations.

You don’t want to pick a fight with Albert Pujols. He’s 6’3 and 230 pounds. So why have the Angels launched a billboard campaign referring to Pujols as “El Hombre” – a name that he hates?

The name originated in St. Louis, where fans used the moniker as a way to honor Pujols – and also Cardinal hero Stan Musial, who is known around town as “The Man”.  But Pujols didn’t like the comparison, calling it disrespectful to Musial.

Yet the Angels have posted about 20 billboards across Southern California advertising their new star to the Spanish language audience.  Pujols is not pleased, telling a reporter, “Like I say, I haven’t talked to them, but I prefer not to use [El Hombre],” In response the Angels are saying, “We’re more aware of his feelings about that now…”

Ya think?

Wonder how quickly the Angels will put up new billboards to appease Pujols. And maybe they should come up with a new name for him. How ’bout this: “The Franchise”.

Ask any baseball fan which team improved the most this winter and the answer you’re most likely to hear is: The Angels. They can thank their lucky stars ( and owner Arte Moreno) for spending the big bucks to land the best free agent in baseball, Albert Pujols, who has a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) ranking of 6.8. That means Pujols is good for nearly 7 extra victories compared to the average Triple-A player.

Throw in the acquisition of pitcher C. J. Wilson from the Texas Rangers (WAR value of 4.3)

and you’ve got two players who make the Angels the team to beat in the eyes of the baseball pundits.

The Miami Marlins are 2nd best on paper for winter deals, after picking up speedster Jose Reyes (4.5 WAR) from the Mets,

along with starting pitcher Mark Buehrle from the White Sox with a

2.6 WAR and closer Heath Bell from the Padres (1.3 WAR).

The Detroit Tigers are ranked 3rd in off-season dealings by signing heavy hitter Prince Fielder (5.8 WAR)

While the lowly Washington Nationals look much improved (4th on the list) for acquiring pitcher Edwin Jackson from the Cardinals (3.2 WAR) and Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland A’s (3.1 WAR).

In the past, the Yankees have always lead the way in buying up talent – but not in 2012, where they rank 18th in off-season deals, according to the Wall Street Journal and FanGraphs.  Picking up pitcher Michael Pineda (3.9 WAR) from the Mariners will help