Kindred Blue
Baseball lore, columns, videos, comedy, poetry,
photos, history, a dab of Dodgers and more.
Tickets are free, and parking is no problem at all!
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
BASEBALL, THE NATIONAL HEART TIME
Friday afternoon traffic in Los Angeles... if you like crawling you are in for a real treat. By the same token, many are getting off work and looking forward to the weekend. Where is everyone going? In our cars, so often just one to a vehicle. Dodger Stadium was our...
AND NOW THE ANGRY LITTLE BIG BOY
Anger is not such a good thing. I mean, it can motivate. But, if you have enjoyed a beer, and it's the eighth inning. Your team is ahead. Life is good. A very fine pitching job by the starter, and someone comes in from the bull pen to simply keep things intact. ...
INTERVIEW WITH THE BASE BALL
In this unusual piece, our intrepid reporter managed to get an exclusive interview with a baseball, freshly made, and at a major league park. The ball is very unique because it is able to communicate, has a voice, and did not roll away. Following is the verbatim,...
CHAMP
We admire champions. To win a championship is a challenge, a respected feat. To the victor goes the spoils... Ladies and Gentlemen, the Champeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnn of the World! We salute all sorts of champions. Not just those who triumph in sports, but who...
A SMALL MONUMENTAL MOMENT
Fred is a good friend, many years, turning 60 years young in just a short while. Has been to countless baseball games, countless, but never managed to get a ball. That changed this past Sunday. I happened to take a quick break beginning of the fourth inning,...
HOT DOG!
BASEBALL IS MORE POPULAR THAN EVER
Talk about fake news! I keep hearing and reading that baseball's popularity is on the down swing. A number of teams are struggling for suitable fan attendance, the pundits insist. Well, those naysayers are very dogged, but not dogged enough. Here is proof positive...
THE FINE ART OF HECKLING
HeckleDepot.com. Give it a look. You have choices from Umpire heckles to Bull Pen heckles to General Heckles and even Fan Signs. HeckleDepot.com is proof positive the internet is a wonderful place to really educate those of us in need of a little bit of coaching....
BASEBALL, AND WHAT REALLY COUNTS
If you're a bit like me, it aggravates you no end if the manager takes the pitcher out, puts in a reliever, who then blows the game all together. Or, there are runners on first and third, one out, the hitter just needs a sacrifice fly, or even a soft grounder, to...
WINE AND BASEBALL – GLOVE AND BALL
Baseball has a lot in common with wine. Baseball and wine are like crackers and cheese -- very simpatico. For example, you go to a wine tasting, and you choose from a variety offered. A number of different types of wines are evaluated. Each has some benefit,...
OK, I AM MAKING A PITCH HERE
Stamina – the ability to endure, to keep going, to get a second maybe even a third wind. Nolan Ryan once threw 235 pitches in a game for the then-California Angels. It was not all that long ago, 1974. That was early in his career, and he went on to pitch for 27...
NOW THAT’S REALLY ODD!
Baseball has so many uniquenesses. Here are just a few in case you're at the ball park, or watching on the telly, or at a cocktail party and want to impress or at least amuse with your vast array of knowledge: Virgil "Fire" Trucks pitched in 1952 for the...
ABSOLUTE PROOF OF BASEBALL PURITY
In our judicial system, for a civil claim, you have a burden of proof to demonstrate the case by a preponderance of the evidence. This means "more likely than not", or roughly 51/49 in your favor. In many states 9 out of 12 jurors is satisfactory for you to prevail...
I JUST WANT TO GO HOME
So there's a famous book "You Can't Go Home Again", written by Thomas Wolfe but published after his death. Maybe that explains the title. The Beatles sang a very touching song "Two of Us", which originally was called "On Our Way Home..." It has such a sweet melody....