Hit By The Pitch

I was trading conversational emails yesterday with the Cartel Czar. Instead of talking about it, I’m just going to list the unedited commentary. It began with a note that Milton Bradley’s finger was not coming along very fast. This is probably a big problem for Bradley, a truly infamous hothead, because it may make it harder for him to give someone the finger. (Mark, I assume you’ll remember the Seinfeld in which George is driving with Dave Winfield (I think) and follows some guy for miles and miles because he thinks he gave him the finger, but it turned out his hand was in a cast.)

==>>Insert...Mark immediately emailed me that it was Danny Tartabull, not Winfield. The man is without doubt the all time expert in Seinfeld episodes. His baseball acumen, on the other hand...

Anyway, here is the conversation:

GD - Bradley has made no progress in his rehab and might have to undergo further tests. He even had problems batting right-handed - previously, he only had discomfort when batting left-handed

I now have intelligence that you were in fact at the batting practice on Monday and had full knowledge. I’m in the process of sticking pins in an effigy of Miguel Cabrera.

JP - We shipped Seth down to LA to examine him. I assume you knew he was injured, since he’s been on the DL for a month. :) He’ll be back. I’m glad they’re not rushing him.

Meanwhile, did you see the play Werth made last night? He scored from second base on a wild pitch!!! It was incredibly exciting. That guy is big and strong and fast. If he could have an injury free season, I’m telling you, he could go 25HR-15 SB.

GD - Josh, I was well aware of Bradley’s injury and had read some about his slow recuperation… just kidding. Us last placers have to get some fun out of this. I missed the play that Werth made but I know that he has speed as well as power.

JP - There is a famous play that Kirk Gibson made when he was on that Dodger team that beat the A’s (thanks to his homer in Game 1). ESPN did a 1 hour Beyond the Glory on that team. He scored from 2nd on a wild pitch to score the winning run in a game that completely energized the team. If you ever get to see that special, it’s really great, and I think you have an idea how I feel about the Dodgers.

GD - I have seen it, or at least the piece you’re talking about. I’m not a Dodger fan either… been a Giants fan forever. I’m still pissed that the umpire ruled that Dietz stepped into the pitch from Drysdale (that would have walked in a run and broken Drysdale’s scoreless inning streak).

JP - Bullshit call. At least the record was broken, though by a Dodger (Hershiser), and that same season too!

For those of you who don’t remember, in 1968 (the year of the pitcher), Drysdale was going for the consecutive scoreless innings record. In the ninth inning of a game against the Giants, with Drysdale going for his fifth consecutive shutout, the Giants had the bases loaded and no outs. He then hit Dietz with a pitch, forcing in a run and ending the streak. Unpire Harry Wendelstedt ruled that Dietz did not try to get out of the way of the pitch, and ruled that the pitch was a ball and that Dietz was still batting. No run. Drysdale then got out of the inning without giving up a run.

This was the end of the conversation for Wednesday. Then, in today’s paper, front page of the Sporting Green, they announced Dick Dietz’ death this week. How many of you had a conversation lately that included a reference to Dick Dietz? When I saw the article, I couldn’t remember who I had just discussed him with, but I just assumed that the person had already heard about his death. Not so. Here is my email this morning:

GD - It was so bizarre to read about Dick Dietz this morning after discussing him with you! I hadn’t heard about him in a long time until I read the Chronicle this morning. BTW, he’s one of my Lotto numbers: 2, 16, 24, 25, 27, 44. You’ll probably recognize the pattern.

Drysdale, gone 12 years now at the age of 57, was younger than some of the guys in our league. Dietz is now gone too. Wendelstedt lives on, having even played himself in not one but two pretty bad movies after 33 years and an NL umpire.

Truth is stranger than fiction.

==>>Postscript. Here is a followup email from Mark:

For those of you who were real Giants fan, they knew Dietz by his real nickname, not the “Mule” as listed in the paper, but “Cement Hands.”

Another little Dick Dietz trivia for ya. I caught my first foul ball off his bat at the Stick. Well, I really didn’t catch it. It was a screamer over the fence that hit this old man in the gut in the first row of the reserved seats. I happened to be walking by and a scrum ensued when he bobbled the catch. I got pushed into him and managed to wrest the ball loose from him. So sue me!

As they say in NY, I got your baseball acumen right here.