Results tagged ‘ Steve Finley ’
Hall Monitor: Playoff Pleasures
By Trevor Hayes
The regular season is done. That means October is upon us and there is no better time to see greatness than during Autumn’s Glory.
Busy at the Hall: With the regular season over and the postseason heating up, donations are rolling into Cooperstown. On Sept. 19, Bobby Abreu clocked his 20th homer of the season, giving him nine seasons with at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Only Barry and Bobby Bonds – at 10 each – have more 20/20 seasons. To commemorate the achievement, his bat is now in Cooperstown.
Also announced this week following his historic pitching performance on Wednesday, Roy Halladay’s jersey and a ball from the no-hitter will be making their way to join the artifacts from his May 29th perfect game and the items on display from Don Larsen’s 1956 perfecto – the only other no-hitter in postseason history.
Not to be outdone: Tim Lincecum of the Giants, whose 1.78 September team ERA is the lowest in the Divisional Era, proved his mettle yesterday. Like Halladay, pitching in his first postseason game, Lincecum was brilliant. The two-time Cy Young winner struck out a postseason record 14 Braves, as he tossed a complete game two-hitter. Lincecum’s mark tied Joe Coleman (1972), John Candelaria (1975), Mike Boddicker (1983) and Mike Scott (1986) for the major league record in a postseason debut.
Walking-off into infamy: Halladay threw his gem against the best offense in the National League, the Cincinnati Reds – a team which punched its first ticket to the postseason since 1995 in dramatic fashion last Tuesday. With the score tied at two, Jay Bruce smashed the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth into batter’s eye grass in left-center field at Great American Ballpark. The walk-off was the fifth game-ending home run to clinch a postseason berth.
The others include Steve Finley’s grand slam for the Dodgers in 2004, Alfonso Soriano’s first career hit that sent the 1999 Yankees on to postseason glory and the famous “Shot Heard Round the World” by Bobby Thomson for the 1951 Giants. The only Hall of Famer walk-off postseason clincher came from Hank Aaron, in the 11th inning for the 1957 Milwaukee Braves.
Trend Tracker: Twenty-year-old rookie Jayson Heyward drew a walk against Lincecum, one of just three Braves to reach base against the Giants ace. Heyward’s walk was just an extension of the 91 he racked up during the regular season – a number surpassed at his age by only Hall of Famers Mel Ott (113 in 1929) and Ted Williams (107 in 1939).
Also look for Tampa Bay catcher John Jaso. The lefty-swinging backstop only stole four bases this season, but batted leadoff 45 times in his 88 starts. Hitting .272 with a .380 on-base percentage, if the Rays stay alive, he may get a start there again. If he hits leadoff against right-handed Colby Lewis on Saturday, he would join just two other catchers to start in the one-hole in the postseason. The others are noted speedster Jason Kendall for the 2006 Oakland A’s and Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan for the 1905 New York Giants.
Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Timlin trying to go from Cooperstown to majors
By Samantha Carr
When he arrived in Cooperstown along with Hall of Famers and fellow former major leaguers for the Inaugural Hall of Fame Classic, Mike Timlin made it clear that he was the one player who was not retired.
“Nothing’s totally official,” said Timlin, who last played in 2008 with the Boston Red Sox. “I had my name out there in Spring Training, so something could happen this summer. If someone gives me a call that I would deem worthy to walk away from the family for a little while, it could happen.”
The Colorado Rockies made that call.
The 43-year-old Timlin signed a minor league contract with the Rockies and reported to the Pioneer League’s Casper Ghosts on a rehab assignment July 29. He threw two scoreless outings for the rookie-league level Ghosts before being promoted to the Rockies’ Triple-A club in Colorado Springs. He made his Sky Sox debut on Thursday night, pitching one-and-two-thirds scoreless innings against Nashville.
The Classic, which took place on Father’s Day, brought five Hall of Famers and more than 20 former major league stars to Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. Although Timlin’s team lost, he made an effort to get everyone who participated to autograph his jersey.
Timlin has played for the Blue Jays, Mariners, Orioles, Cardinals, Phillies and Red Sox in 18 big league seasons, has a 4.26 ERA in 46 postseason appearances with 41 strikeouts and is the all-time leader in relief appearances by a right-hander with 1,054. He got the save in the final game of the 1992 World Series for Toronto.
Fifteen years to the day later, he made an appearance in Game 1 of the 2007 Fall Classic, throwing one inning of scoreless relief for Boston. Timlin was part of World Series championship teams with Toronto (1992 and 1993) and Boston (2004 and 2007).
Samantha Carr is media relations coordinator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Kent, Timlin savor time in Cooperstown
By Bill Francis
Of the 26 former big league players who participated in Sunday’s inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame Classic, only two were in the big leagues as recently as last season. One says he’s retired for good; the other is willing to listen to offers.
Jeff Kent was a slugging second baseman who captured the 2000 National League MVP Award, while Mike Timlin a stalwart relief pitcher who helped four teams win World Series titles. Between the pair of baseball veterans are 35 seasons and almost 3,400 games of major league action.
According to Kent, who ended last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers with 377 career home runs, including his record-setting 351 as a second baseman, he’s ready for the next phase of his life.
“I’m 41 now and my desire to compete is going out a little bit,” Kent said before the Classic. “I’ll probably always think I could compete, but at what level I don’t know. It’s time for the younger kids to start taking on the game.
“I think the last 10 years of my career I played the game a lot better in my mind than I did with my body.”
For Timlin, 43, while he sees the writing on the wall, he’s unwillingly to completely concede his playing career has come to an end.
“Nothing’s totally official,” said Timlin, who played the last six seasons with the Boston Red Sox. “I had my name out there in spring training, so something could happen this summer. If someone gives me a call that I would deem worthy to walk away from the family for a little while, it could happen.”
Both players have been generous over the years about donating artifacts from their careers to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
“They’re probably collecting dust in the basement,” joked Kent, who donated, among other things, the bat he used to hit his 278th homer as a second baseman, breaking Ryne Sandberg‘s former career mark. “It’s neat that I was a part of history for the 17 years that I played.”
Among the Timlin artifacts in the Museum – which like all artifacts are kept in climate-controlled environments – are the spikes he wore when he made his 1,000th appearance as a pitcher.
“It’s an honor just to be asked to have something in there,” Timlin said. “I know my career numbers are not going to put me in there with a plaque on the wall, so it’s nice to actually have something in there that is part of me.”
Timlin’s last visit to Cooperstown was with the Red Sox as a participant in the 2005 Hall of Fame Game.
“My mom passed away from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease), so I took a picture with Lou Gehrig‘s first baseman mitt,” Timlin said. “That was pretty neat.”
This was Kent’s first visit to Cooperstown, but with the career he’s had he could one day find himself with a Hall of Fame plaque of his own.
“I’ve never been a baseball historian, so because of that I’ve never really been able to compare myself to anybody else. I never got caught up in the history of the game because I felt like that might erase some of my competitive nature,” Kent said. “I always competed for the moment rather than competing for the past or competing for the future. When you know that history about me, for me to think about where I stand within baseball history, I have no idea.”
But Kent did admit to some curiosity after being around some of the Hall of Famers as part of the Hall of Fame Classic.
“I’m learning more about the intrigue, the specialness, the mystery of the Hall of Fame and the classiness of these players that are in the Hall. And to say that I can be a part of that in the future I appreciate,” Kent said. “I’ve always tried to separate myself from things I can’t control. I played the game and I played it right and hopefully that’ll stand up for itself. We’ll see.
“Being able to say that I was one of the better players is an honor in itself whether somebody votes for me or not.”
And with his long career possibly having come to an end, Timlin can look back with a certain wide-eyed awe.
“God’s blessed me tremendously just to do what I’ve done,” he said. “It has been awesome.”
Bill Francis is a library associate for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Getting Excited for the Classic
By Samantha Carr
I work at the Baseball Hall of Fame and am surrounded by some of the greatest baseball minds and scholars in the world on a daily basis. But the other night when I was watching a ballgame on TV and had a question, I still picked up the phone and called my dad.
The bond we have was only strengthened over the years as my father coached me in Little League, just as he had my brother and sister before me. He never missed a game in high school or college and was always there to give me advice on my swing. Although my playing days are behind me, my dad is still always there for me to fix my computer or find out why my car is making that funny noise. Now that all of his kids are coaches, you can still find him at the diamond, showing his support and sharing tips.
Baseball runs in my family. My dad’s father loved the game and his older brother does too. My dad passed that love on to us. This Father’s Day, my family is coming to Cooperstown to celebrate Dad and watch some legends of my childhood, and his, compete at Doubleday Field.
We are excited to watch Phil Niekro dazzle hitters again with his knuckleball, and see Bob Feller prove that at 90 years old, he’s still got it. Not to mention the chance to meet Brooks Robinson, Fergie Jenkins and Paul Molitor. It will be fun to see a few players who just recently retired like Jeff Kent, Mike Timlin and Steve Finley – and I know my dad will be happy to see some Yankee greats like Mike Pagliarulo and Kevin Maas.
People are always in awe of my job because I get to work in baseball and meet some legendary players. But June 21st will be pretty special this year – because I get to share it all with my dad.
For tickets to the June 21 Hall of Fame Classic, call 1-888-Hall-of-Fame weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Samantha Carr is the media relations coordinator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Recent Comments