centerfield maz

Robert Thomas Walker was born November 7th 1948 in Tampa, Florida. The six foot one right handed pitcher attended Eastern Florida State College getting drafted in the first round (9th overall) of the 1968 amateur draft by the Baltimore Orioles. In 1971 Rule 5 draft, he was drafted away by the Montreal Expos. On August 4th, 1971 he pitched one of the best minor league games ever, throwing a 15 inning no hitter striking out 11, as his Dallas Fort Worth Spurs, beat the Albuquerque Dodgers. His manager that day was Cal Ripken Sr. There was only one longer minor league no hitter, it lasted 17 innings in 1909. Walker debuted in April 1972 with Montreal Expos. He would spend three seasons with the Expos, mostly as a relief pitcher, making just 8 starts in 1974. His best season came in 1973 when he went 7-5 with four saves posting a 3.63 ERA, striking out 68 batters walking 42 in 91 innings. After that season he was thought to possibly replace Mike Marshall in the closers role ...

34 years ago (1983) I saw my first concert, it was Iron Maiden on the "Piece of Mind" Tour at Madison Square Garden. 34 years later, I see Iron Maiden at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Who would have thought? This is the sixth Maiden show I've been to through the years. I always carry the 1985 Iron Maiden "World Slavery" Tour patch, I bought then, with me at each new show. Iron Maiden is a musical family, only the fans & the band understand it. Never receiving  any radio, media air play or exposer, but still the band has sold over 90 million records & have toured performing nearly 2500 shows selling out all over the world. Probably due to the tremendous art work of the band's mascot Eddie, almost everyone at an Iron Maiden concert wears an Iron Maiden t-shirt. I had to buy the Brooklyn Eddie logo shirt! Now as us fans have gotten older, it's amazing how many families with children are at these shows. It's also amazing how m...

It is a sad day in Gotham, as Adam West, star of the classic sixties tv show Batman has passed away. For me as a child, it was Batman, my favorite super hero. Yes the comic books but mostly the campy tv show that aired daily & was a part of my childhood as much as anything else I enjoyed. I was Batman on Halloween, I played Batman with my friends, I made believe my bicycle was the Bat Mobile. I collected memorabilia, Batmobiles, comic books, action figures, trading cards, clothing, everything was Batman. Batman was my hero but years later I realized why I loved those episodes featuring Batgirl so much! Some of my best memories of childhood were running to the tv set to catch Batman's cliff hangers at my grandmothers house. Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel. Unfortunately I can remember running for my Batmobile, having to get back before the commercials ended, but I didn't make it. I fell flat into the door, splitting my head on the bottom bock, getting rushed to Jac...

Philip Francis Linz was born on June 4, 1939 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was a utility infielder who got signed by the A.L. New York club in 1957. In the minors he hit well, batting .321 in 1960 at Greensboro in the Carolina League. The next year he won the Texas League MVP Award batting .349 playing short stop for Amarillo. Linz came up to the majors in 1962 batting .287 with 8 doubles & six steals in 71 games. He didn’t play in that year’s World Series, but got a chance to see action in the next two World Series while on the losing end. In the 1964 Series he replaced the injured Tony Kubek at short stop, getting to bat in the leadoff spot. He went 7-21 with two solo HRs in the Series, one coming off St. Louis’ Bob Gibson in the 9th inning of Game #7. Ironically Linz only hit 11 HRs in his entire seven year career spanning 519 games. The Harmonica Incident: Linz is famous for what is known as “the harmonica incident”. He was playing harmonica to the tune of “Mary Had...

Gary Apple was born in Troy, New York & is a graduate of Syracuse University. He began his sports work in the late 1980's for a CBS station in St. Louis & covered the University of Missouri basketball. He moved on to the West Coast working in Los Angeles from 1990-1995 as a sportscaster on both KTLA & KTTV. He also worked on the nationally broadcast Prime Sports' Press Box. Apple came to New York in the late nineties as the WCBS TV covering sports for seven years. In 2003 he received praise by the NY State Broadcast Association for best sportscast. Apple would also serve as the Jets pre season side line reporter, a host for CBS Sports Desk & made appearances on the CBS Early Show. In upstate NY he won an Associated Press Award for Best Sports reporting.  Apple also worked as an NBA TV studio host, reported for ESPN's Baseball Tonight & as an anchor for the MSG Network. He arrived at SNY in 2006, doing Sports Nite highlight show ...

Stephen Michael Palermo was born October 9, 1949 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Palermo attended Worcester State College and enrolled in the Umpire Development Program in 1972. It took him only five years to get to the major league level. He was one of the first A.L. Umpires to not use the large outside chest protector that the N.L. umps had stopped using years before. A.L. umps hired prior to 1977 were grand fathered in & were not required to use the inside chest protectors. Palermo was the third base umpire who signaled “fair ball” when Bucky Dent hit his famous HR during the 1978 A.L. East playoff game at Fenway Park. His father a Red Sox fan told him why couldn't you call it foul. Palermo said because it was like 20 feet fair. His dad, a true fan, responded "so". He would go on to umpire in the 1980, 1982 & 1989 ALCS, as well as the 1981 ALDS. He covered first base for the 1986 All Star Game held at the Houston Astrodome. His only World Series was in 1...

On September 22nd 2015 Yogi Berra passed away at his home in New Jersey, he was 90 years old.  Yogi certainly lived a good life, a better one than most will ever know. Through it all he stayed humble & maintained a dry sense of humor. These qualities made him loved. Berra had a rich history with the Mets & upon his passing many Mets old & new remembered him fondly.   In 1973 Yogi Berra led the Mets to an NL Eastern Title with an Amazing September stretch run. In the NLCS they beat the Mighty Cincinnati Reds & then went to a seventh game of the World Series but fell one game short of the Worlds Championship, losing to the Oakland A's club who won three straight titles. The 1973 Mets are maybe the most beloved Mets team for centerfieldmaz. The Mets had a moment of silence for Yogi Berra before their game at Citi Field. The club issued the following statement. "Yogi Berra was a baseball legend who played a key part in our history. He was k...