centerfield maz

John Costa Rizzo was born on July 30, 1912 in Houston, Texas . The six foot right handed outfielder was originally signed by St. Louis in 1930. He seven years in the minor leagues before having a fantastic 1937. That year he had over 200 hits, with 21 HRs & batted .358 at AA Columbus. He got traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates as a hot prospect in a multi player deal. Rizzo made his MLB debut in 1938, and had there been a Rookie of the Year Award at the time, he would have probably won it. He came in sixth overall in the MVP voting, setting a Pirate rookie record with 23 HRs that stood until Ralph Kiner came along. Rizzo hit .301, drove in 111 runs (3rd in the league) and would be in the NL’s Top Ten in hits (167) runs scored (97) slugging (.514) hit by pitches (5) & strikeouts (61). The outfielder also hit 31 doubles & nine triples making a big impression in the major leagues. Unfortunately for Rizzo, he woul...

Jeffrey Patrick Kaiser was born on July 24, 1960 in Wyandotte, Michigan. The six foot three inch, lefty attended Western Michigan University getting drafted by the Oakland A’s in the tenth round of the 1983 draft. Kaiser began his minor league career well going 8-1 at A ball, Medford in 1980. He was 12-10 at Modesto the following season and by 1985 was converted into a reliever. He first appeared with Oakland in 1985 pitching in 15 games posting a 14.58 ERA over 16 innings. Kaiser was traded to the Cleveland Indians the next year & spent four seasons pitching there in middle relief. He signed with the Milwaukee Brewers but was released, then signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1991. He saved two games there, but an ERA of 9.00 in ten games got him released again. The Cincinnati Reds gave him a shot but placed him on waivers after three games in April 1993, even though he posted his best ERA at 2.70. The New York Mets picked him up off waivers at the end of April 1993. He s...

  Mark Lemongello was born on July 21, 1955 across the river from Manhattan, in Jersey City, New Jersey. He grew up down near the Jersey Shore in Hazlet, New Jersey. The six foot one right hand pitcher, was signed by the Detroit Tigers as a free agent in 1973. His cousin is the singer Peter Lemongello , who in 1976 became the first singer to sell a million records through television marketing. His “Love 76” campaign flooded the six major television stations in the New York area with seventy to one hundred commercials a week. The commercials then ran the same way in Los Angeles & Las Vegas as Lemongello cashed in, big time. He became a popular crooner, playing Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show three times, Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall & New York's Lincoln Center. He was spoofed on Saturday Night Live by Chevy Chase & I remember as kids we made fun of his name all the time. Peter still sings around the country, & was recently billed in Branson, Missouri as ...

Christopher Anthony Denorfia was born on July 15, 1980 in Bristol, Connecticut. Bristol is now the home of ESPN studios. Denorfia was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds, out of Wheaton College in Massachusetts, in the 19th round of the 2002 draft. The six foot right handed hitting outfielder, made it to AAA by 2005, hitting .330 for Chattanooga. He would debut for the Reds that season, hitting a HR in second at bat, a pinch hit shot in an 8-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 18 games that September, he batted .263. In 2006 he began the season at Cincinnati, was sent down again where he hit .349 in 82 games at Chattanooga. He was back up again for the latter part of the season, hitting .283 with one HR & seven RBIs. At the end of the season, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for a player to be named later. In 2007 he had Tommy John surgery & did not play. He didn’t see much playing time in Oakland, batting .290 in just 32 games over two seasons (2008-2009). WBC:...

Ledell "Cannonball" Titcomb had a name made for 19th Century baseball. He was born on August 21st 1866 in West Baldwin, Massachusetts.  At five foot six inches, he is remembered as one of the shortest pitchers in baseball history. The left hander made it to the Philadelphia ball club in 1886 & 1887. Later that year he was sent to the New York Giants, pitching in the early days of the first Polo Grounds. At that time the Polo Grounds was located at 110th St. near 5th Avenue. Cannonball was the Giants opening day starter that year, as the went on to win first place as well as the leagues Championship. He went 14-8 with a 2.24 ERA on a staff that featured 35 game winner; Tim Keefe & 26 game winner; Mickey Welch. In 1888 he was second in the league in strike outs, behind team mate Keefe and it is believed this is how he got the nickname of Cannonball. Another team mate; Ed Crane was also referred to as Cannonball & they became known as "the Cannon ball ...