Kindred Blue
Baseball lore, columns, videos, comedy, poetry,
photos, history, a dab of Dodgers and more.
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Ron Sokol, longtime columnist, author, and baseball aficionado, tries to keep the hits coming every week. Follow Ron on Twitter at @kindredblue1.
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SOME VINTAGE VIN SCULLY, THE LYRICAL POET OF BASEBALL
KINDRED BLUE RECENT BLOGS
GUN CONTROL?!
"Your mind might think it's flying, baby On those little pills But you ought to know it's dying, 'cause Speed kills" - Amphetamine Annie, Canned Heat Let's face it: We want speed with our internet connection. Of course, we have a lot of fast food places...
DANGER TO BIRDS
The Big Unit, Randy Johnson, a Hall of Famer. Stats tell the tale: 10× All-Star (1990, 1993–1995, 1997, 1999–2002, 2004) World Series champion (2001) 5× Cy Young Award (1995, 1999–2002) World Series MVP (2001) Triple Crown (2002) MLB wins leader (2002) 4×...
THE SHORT BRUTISH LIFE OF A BASEBALL
The philosopher Thomas Hobbes said life outside society would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". He was not, I repeat, not speaking about the life of a major league baseball, although an argument could be made he was thinking outside the box,...
THE BALL SLAYER
Few know the legend of Octavius Octavius, but this statue remains, and to some degree speaks for itself. Octavius (or "Octo" as he came to be known) hailed from the countryside, at a time when dragons and fireballs existed, as opposed to, you know, regular...
Inspiration
Baseball teaches us many things. It really does, not the least of which is patience, as well as camaraderie. Baseball is very cerebral. The pitcher trying to out-think the batter, and the batter guessing at what is coming his or her way. The runner...
HUMPTY SLUMPTY
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again. A baseball hitter might relate to this little poem. A baseball hitter, that is, in a slump. Speaking of which,...
DOUBLE PLAY
A thing of beauty? It's relative, right? If it is against you, well, that's not good! Way back on July 12, 1920, under the title "That Double Play Again", a poem was published in the New York Evening Mail. It became known as "Baseball's Sad Lexicon", and...
BASEBALL MATTERS
Mom and dad both kept stuff in a wooden chest, tucked away for us. "Kids, open this when the time comes. Sort through it. Relive what you can. Enjoy what you can. Discard what you will..."., mom repeated on a number of occasions, with that cadence for...
NATIONAL BASEBALL CARD DAY
https://www.topps.com/blog/in-stadium-giveaway-dates-for-national-baseball-card-day/
SPITTING IMAGE
“That is soooo gross!” “What?” “He’s spitting! Yuck! Do you know unsanitary that is?” “I don’t think he’s worrying about that – it’s just a nervous thing – or he’s chewing gum or, you know...” “Ewuuu, did you see that loogie?!!” Yes, spitting and...
KISS SCAM?!?!?!
Our intrepid research team (ok, yes, that would be me) has discovered that the kiss cam dates from California in the 1980s when big screens became part of the baseball parks and well... the rest is history... or her story... or well.... See, baseball may...
THE STRICKEN FAN
(or Eustress, Birging and Corfing) "How's the patient doing?" "Well, it's wait and see... Bed rest, fluids, flowers, distraction, humor, and patience. More patience than you can imagine!" "Do we finally have a diagnosis?" "Yes, his team lost the world...
SIGH… YOUNG
The video below is a slice of history, to be sure. When the moderator reveals who this is to the panel, and talks about his utterly remarkable accomplishments (back-to-back wins in a double header, I mean, and a whole lot more), well, one of a kind to be...
ETERNAL BASEBALL
"Is there baseball in heaven?" he asks. She replies, demurely, "I ain't goin' otherwise!" Fans are often referred to as "the faithful". Many consider their ballpark of choice to be a Cathedral, Temple, or similar place of worship. Although there is...