centerfield maz

June 8th 1968: Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 5th 1968. The New York Senator was a very popular figure and a candidate for President nomination in the 1968 election.  His funeral mass was set at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York & a train then took his body to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. The President declared Sunday a National Day of Mourning, MLB Commissioner William Eckert stated that no MLB games would be played until after the burial, but he did not suspend play except for games in New York & D.C. The AL New York club were home & postponed their afternoon game. The Chicago Cubs & Washington Senators called off their home games & in Houston the first game of a double header was called off.  Future Mets Rusty Staub & Bob Aspromonte both Astros at the time, refused to play on the National Day of morning (as did other MLB players around the league) & were fined by the cl...

Former Mets star Edgardo Alfonzo managed the 2019 Brooklyn Cyclones to a New York Penn. League Championship. His coaching staff included former Met, Endy Chavez.  After maintaining just above .500 into August, they won key games against Staten Island, Aberdeen & Hudson Valley to get into the playoffs for the first time in seven years.  In their first 14 years of baseball, the Cyclones posted winning records. In 2001 they were co champions with the Williamsport Crosscutters.  The final championship game was to be played on September 11th, but the game was canceled due to the 911 terrorist attacks. They would those three times in the final championship round & five times in the first round, making the playoffs nine times in thier nineteen seasons. 2019 First Round Playoff: In 2019 they defeated the Hudson Valley Renegades, affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, two games to one in the first round of the playoffs.  In Game #2, Nathan Jones, Matthew Alla...

Michael Anthony Napoli was born on October 31st, 1981 in Hollywood Florida. The Italian American would play at catcher, first base & in the outfield, as well as DH.  He was drafted out of high school in Pembroke Pines, Florida by the Anaheim Angels.  In 2004 at A Ball he hit 29 HRs with 118 RBIs getting promoted to AA in 1995 where he hit 31 HRs with 99 RBIs. By 2006 he was on the Angels roster as their main catcher taking over from Jose Molina. Napoli entered the major leagues with a HR in his first career at bat, coming against the Detroit Tigers. Overall in his rookie year he hit 16 HRs with 13 doubles in 94 games, although he only batted .228. By 2008 he brought his average up to .273 and would hit twenty HRs.   Napoli began a string of hitting 20 or more HRs in each of the six seasons. He competed for the catching job with Jeff Mathis, although Napoli was a far better hitter than Mathis, manager Mike Scioscia preferred a better defensive ...

Robert Brown Thomson was Born October 25, 1923 in Glasgow, Scotland. His father came to America working as a cabinet maker, and moved the family to Staten Island, New York shortly after. Bobby grew up in a large family of five brothers & sisters. He eventually earned the nick name the “The Staten Island Scot” while attending Curtis High School. there he was a top athlete playing soccer & baseball. His father was a Brooklyn Dodger fan, taking little Bobby to his first MLB game at Brooklyn's Ebbetts Field.  His older brother bought him a baseball glove & taught him to play the game. The tall six foot two right hand hitter tried out for the Brooklyn Dodgers but they hesitated on signing him. In 1942 he was signed by the New York Giants. Sadly his father passed away shortly after and never saw him play at the big league level. He played in 34 games in the low minors in 1942 before joining the military, serving three years in the Air Force during World War II. He...