Monthly Archives: April 2013
The Seventh Inning Stretch
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
The story behind the Seventh Inning Stretch is not absolutely known. Here is an excerpt from an April 30, 2007 Yahoo! Voices article written by Beth Anderson Goldman, “The Origins of the 7th Inning Stretch,” as part of the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
As far back as 1869 there is a letter from baseball pioneer Harry Wright of the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings saying, “the spectators all arise between halves of the seventh inning, extend their legs and arms and sometimes walk about. In so doing they enjoy the relief afforded by relaxation from a long posture upon hard benches.”
Urban legends also surround this ritual, even including former President William Howard Taft. Despite the fact the precise moment when this tradition began cannot be pinpointed, fans and casual observers alike are familiar with this celebratory pause in action. Perhaps the most famous of all baseball announcers, within the realm of popular culture, was Harry Caray of the Chicago Cubs. Caray himself was almost as well-known as his trademark glasses, with that large, thick black frame. Will Ferrell perfected that impersonation for SNL viewers.
Harry Caray was iconic. As a tribute to the man and legend, I encourage you to travel back in time, stand up and stretch for a minute, while enjoying his rendering of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
Top of the Seventh
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
As noted earlier regarding the absence of a third inning, the bottom of the sixth has also turned out to be rather monotonous. Onward we continue to the top of the seventh.
There is an “it” factor with Kevin Costner. People are instantly drawn to him on the silver screen and are naturally curious about the characters he plays. Costner is convincing whether portraying an ex-Secret Service agent who was assigned to protect the President of the United States or a farmer in the cornfields of Iowa. Speaking of the latter, be sure to go see, “Man of Steel” on June 14th as Costner portrays Jonathan Kent. One of the first trailers released even featured a voice-over by Mr. Kent, in which he gives a few words of wisdom to his super son.
Click below and experience the pure power of the now famous, albeit perplexing, seven words that forever changed Ray Kinsella’s life. A “Field of Dreams” indeed!
James Earl Jones added his timber with a grand speech of his own.
Top of the Sixth
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
For twenty four Major League Baseball teams, today serves as Opening Day for the 2013 season. Despite the fact there will be 161 more games to follow, every team wants to start off the right way. A first game victory sets a good tone for the second game and so on and so forth. Winners always want to win and understand that it all begins with a great first pitch. The team that is on defense during the top of the first never wants to get behind early.
For some baseball teams though, bad karma can’t ever be broken. The following clip is not from a movie. However, I think most would agree the video below is a “pitch” perfect representation of the opening day for a particular organization.
The New York Mets host the San Diego Padres this afternoon.
Expect Bobcat Sightings in Pittsburgh
Quinnipiac is in the Frozen Four!
And no, this is not an April Fool’s joke.
Shortly after 9:00 p.m. on March 31st, the Quinnipiac University Men’s Hockey team dominated Union (N.Y.) 5-1 to qualify, for the first time in school history, for the Frozen Four. The final destination for the 2012-2013 campaign will be The Steel City. Entering the tournament as the number one overall seed, the Bobcats have met the high expectations thus far. Writing as a QU alum, it is somewhat surreal to watch the men in gold and navy perform with such excellence on national television. April 11th is their semifinal match-up versus St. Cloud State with a spot in the national championship on the line.
Making the SportsCenter Top 10 Plays has occurred before for a Quinnipiac athlete, like when one of its outfielders made an acrobatic over-the-fence catch about five years ago. A spectacular play this past weekend gave “the Q” yet another prized highlight for the prestigious list. How about #4!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 