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Showing posts from November, 2022

Remembering Christine McVie (1943-2022)

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 Longtime Fleetwood Mac singer Christine McVie passed away in hospital after a brief illness, she was 70 years old. The lovely Christine was a beautiful singer, songwriter, piano/keyboard player for Fleetwood Mac & in a solo career. Christine Anne Perfect was born in Lancashire, England on July 12th, 1943. Her father was a concert violinist & her mother a physic medium. Originally wanting to be an art teacher but she ended up in the music business. In 1968 she married Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie, by 1971 she became a full-time member. It wasn't until 1975 when Stevie Nicks & Lindsay Buckingham joined Mac as the group became one of the biggest rock bands of all time. McVie usually was overshadowed by the star of Stevie Nicks. In 1975 her biggest songs from the album- Fleetwood Mac, Over My Head & Say You Love Me, both reached the top twenty in the US. She also co-wrote World Turning with Lindsay Buckingham, as well as Warm Ways & Sugar Daddy on her own. In

Josh Smoker: Former Mets Reliever (2016 - 2017)

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Joshua M. Smoker was born November 26th, 1988, in Calhoun, Georgia. He grew up an Atlanta Braves fan in their glory years of the later part of the 20th Century. The six-foot two left-handed pitcher was signed out of high school as a first-round pick by the Washington Nationals in 2007, the 31st pick overall. He spent five years in the Nationals organization, getting plagued by injuries by 2012, making it to pitch in just six games that year with an ERA over seven. After his fastball lost most of it's velocity & he had two arm surgeries the Nationals released him. The next year he was out of baseball & then found himself pitching in an Independent League in the Mid-West at Illinois. In 2015 he signed as a free agent with the New York Mets. He pitched his way through the Mets minors, Savannah, St. Lucie & Binghamton going 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA. In 2016 he began the year at AAA Las Vegas & was t be another Mets pitching story getting to the big leagues. It seems

Mike Scioscia: Former Italian / American Player & Manager:

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Honoring Italian / American Ball Players Michael Lorri Scioscia was born on November 27, 1958, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. His father Fred was a salesman for a beer distributor & his mother Florence a schoolteacher. He went to high school in the Italian American neighborhood outside of Philadelphia near where Tommy Lasorda had grown up.  In 1976 Lasorda was involved in helping to recruit the young 17-year-old  catcher. After a scout spoke highly of him, Lasorda left a message for him to try out for the Dodgers while playing a road game in Philadelphia. In 1976 he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a first-round draft pick (19th overall). The six foot two, two-hundred-pound catcher batted left-handed but threw right-handed.  MLB Career: After five minor league seasons, he made the Dodgers big league team by 1980. That year Steve Yeager & Joe Ferguson both got hurt & the club had released veteran Johnny Oates. Scioscia made his MLB debut on April 20th, 1980, in

Ruben Tejada: Former Mets Short Stop Who Got the Rule Changed for Sliding into Second Base After Injury (2010 - 2016/ 2019)

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Ruben Dario Tejada was Born on October 27th, 1989, in Santiago, Veraguas, Panama. His father was a mechanic & his mother worked as a secretary. He also has a younger brother. As a youth he competed in the 2001 Little League World Series & then in 2006 the World Junior Championship. The five-foot eleven infielder was signed by the New York Mets in 2006 as an amateur free agent . He played for the St. Lucie Mets in 2007, moving on to AA Binghamton in 2008 where he hit .289. Mets Career: In 2010 young 20-year-old baby faced kid was invited to the Mets Spring Training  & made the club heading north to New York. Tejada e was the third youngest player in the league.  He debuted as a pinch hitter, in the second game of the season and then played out through the 10th inning at second base. On April 9th he got his first big league hit, coming against the Washington Nationals at Citi field. After that game he was sent down to AAA Buffalo rejoining the club in early June when L