A Place In Cooperstown - Roger Maris

Here is a paper I wrote for my English Comp. class last month.  It was easy to pick the subject and I was proud to write something about a fellow North Dakotan.  I need to add to the paper to make it a really strong case, but was restricted to 1000 words max.  I’ll be sure to post the update when it is done.
 
I hope you enjoy it.

Luc     
                                                    
Abstract
In December 2014, the “Golden Era” committee for the Baseball Hall of Fame will meet, providing another opportunity for it to correct what has been wrong in the Hall of Fame for the past 43 years: the election of Roger Maris. In his 12 years in baseball, Roger played in 7 All Star Games, 7 World Series, won 1 Gold Glove, and became the single season Home Run King, surpassing Babe Ruth, a record that stood for 37 years and some say still stands today. Through Roger’s hard work and dedication to the game he put up stats that match others in the Hall of Fame, yet he is still not enshrined in Cooperstown, NY. This paper will break down two simple reasons why he should be voted into the Hall of Fame at the earliest possible chance, this December.

The lore of baseball is very much about the stories that come from it and the history that is re-lived by fans every April to October. Yet inside those stories are players that are judged by numbers. These numbers often decide how a player will sit upon the baseball shrine we call Cooperstown, “The Baseball Hall of Fame”. Although referred to as the Hall of Fame and not the Hall of Stats, writers often focus on just those stats and too often ignore the parts of the game that cannot be measured or judged by a number on a paper. This is the case for Roger Eugene Maris, who fully deserves his spot in Cooperstown, NY. Using Maris’ baseball lore and his stats, anyone can see exactly why this is so!
Roger Maris came from the hardworking community of Fargo, ND, where he helped his father lay railroad tracks. He was a multi-sport star at Fargo Shanley High School, and according to his official website that is run by his family (www.rogermaris.com), he went on to be a two time Most Valuable Player (1960, 1961), to make seven World Series’ appearances, more than any other player in the 1960’s, be nominated to seven All-Star Games, win one Gold Glove (1960) and become the single season home run king for 37 years, until a historic year in 1998 in which Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled it out to become the new home run king. (That year, Mark McGwire finished the season with 70 home runs to become the new king of the long ball.)

From 1998 until now, the 61 home run mark has been surpassed six different times by three different people: thrice by Sammy Sosa, twice by Mark McGwire and once by the current home run king Barry Bonds. Each one of these players has been implicated in the steroid era of baseball, which makes Maris’ accomplishment that much greater. His form of steroids was good hard work in the form of railroad ties.


So, take aside the fact that many still consider Roger Maris the legitimate home run king, after it has become well known that everyone to surpass him has been involved in performance enhancing drugs (PED’s). If you were to compare Roger’s stats to some individuals currently in Cooperstown, say, Bill Mazeroski, Phil Rizzuto, or Ray Chalk you would say that either Roger belongs in that group, or that group doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. In fact, Roger matches up or surpasses all these individuals in every category except stolen bases, yet he matches or surpasses each one of them in Runs Scored (R) and Runs Batted In (RBI’s). Knowing baseball is such a team sport, it can easily be realized that Roger was more important to his team than a player that moves from first base (1B) to second base (2B) without putting a run on the board. Roger was a major part of not only scoring runs himself, but using his bat to help his teammates score. But like I said, it’s the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Stats, and Roger separates himself from every one of these players by being the only player to surpass Babe Ruth, the greatest baseball player of all time, in single season home runs, cleanly.

So what is it that got these individuals into the Hall of Fame and overlooked the single season home run champ? Well, according to the rules laid out on baseballhall.org, the official Baseball Hall of Fame website, it was a 75% vote or higher from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) and in Bill Mazeroski’s case it was a 75% vote or higher from the Golden Era Committee members of the voting class. The Golden Era Committee is one of three committees that offer a chance to players that are no longer eligible according to the BBWAA voting laws, usually from not being an active player in the past 20 years. Although Roger was overlooked by the Baseball Writers, The Golden Era Committee has a chance to correct this omission to Cooperstown. This committee meets every three years with the last meeting in December of 2011, which would make this year its next scheduled meeting. It would be another insult to the game of baseball if The Golden Era Committee didn’t do its job and insert a ball player that has the baseball lore and stats, Roger Eugene Maris, into the 2015, Cooperstown, NY Hall of Fame Class.

Statistics generated from http://www.baseball-reference.com



 

References:
Crossman, M. (2011). When ’61 was about to meet 61. Sporting News, 235(3), 14. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=72887fc7-a288-43cf-9ef1-dbf057f3b3e0%40sessionmgr4004&vid=1&hid=4104

Give Roger Maris place in Hall of Fame. USA Today. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/ehost/detail?sid=12b19f28-855b-4fbb-aad8-05fff501f7d5%40sessionmgr4003&vid=1&hid=4104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=J0E253849430905

Reilly, R. (2005). Seeing 61 in a New Light. Sports Illustrated, 102(15), 92. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/ehost/detail?sid=0426e7c1-8b00-47a6-90de-c9212b2f3a10%40sessionmgr4002&vid=1&hid=4104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=16691780

Eastham, C (April 3, 2009) The 10 Least Deserving Baseball Hall of Famers. bleacherreport.com, 4, 7, 10. Retrieved March 13, 2014 from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/150177-the-10-least-deserving-mlb-hall-of-famers/

Eras: Golden. Baseballhall.org, retrieved March 13, 2014 from
http://baseballhall.org/hall-famers/rules- election/eras-golden

Hall of Fame Batting Register. Baseball-reference.com, retrieved March 13, 2014 from
http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_batting.shtml

Career Statistics. Rogermaris.com, retrieved March 15, 2014 from
http://www.rogermaris.com/career-stats.html

From Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali: A prophets message to a king.

I’ve spent this past week reading all about Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali or whatever name people choose to call him. Since 1964, he’s preferred his Muslim given name: Muhammad Ali. After Ali won the Heavyweight Title he found the courage to overcome those around him who recommended denying he was a Muslim to benefit his boxing career. It is possible that through this denial, along with the gross mistreatment of the black race around this time, Ali was pushed to the far end of the spectrum when it came to defend what he believed in. Right or wrong, in April of 1967 Ali took a stand.

On April 28, 1967, Muhammad Ali reported for his induction ceremony to the United States Army, but refused to step forward when his name was called. Ali had previously refused service citing that he was a conscientious objector due to his religious beliefs. As a practicing Muslim minister, he could not in good faith participate in the Vietnam War and remained true to his loud image by stating “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.”2 He announced to the world that he was a member of the Nation of Islam after winning his first World Heavyweight Championship in 1964, it was then that Cassius Clay was reborn to Muhammad Ali in the Muslim faith.

Because of his loud mannerisms and his cocky fighting style Ali was the type of fighter that a fan could either adore or detest. His refusal to fight for his country seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for many in the news. Many didn’t view his reasoning as just and felt the U.S. Justice Department was correct in its judgment that his reasons were political, and not religious.2 Ali held true to his beliefs and faced three years of exile in the boxing community which helped sway the masses in his undertaking.

As I read articles, watched interviews and was led through his life in Ali (2001) I wondered how I would have acted differently. I tried to look at the trials and tribulations of my life and I realized there is no comparison. I can’t possibly fathom being rejected over and over because of the color of my skin. I can’t imagine winning a gold medal for my country only to be told upon my return that I’m not good enough to eat at certain restaurants because my skin is darker then the owner’s skin. It was injustices such as this that Ali fought against that has allowed my generation to be free of such criticisms. Yet I wonder if being so loud for a message that was so anti-white was the healing agent? Wasn’t this message just as bad as the anti-black message that was also so strong at this time? Maybe it was the strength of the opposing forces that allowed a middle ground to find traction. Even as Ali changed his name from Clay, Harry Markson who was the president of the Madison Square Garden’s boxing program refused to use the name Muhammad Ali stating “we’ve made so much progress in eliminating color barriers that it is a pity we’re now facing such a problem, the heavyweight champion of the world preaching a hate religion.”5

One of the biggest influences on the young Clay (Ali) was Malcolm X. The influence was so prominent the young Clay (Ali) that prior to being awarded the name Muhammad, he went by the name Cassius X. Malcolm X was a strict Muslim that believed in the core teachings of the Nation of Islam (NOI). He believed that the white man fought to keep the black man down, in social status, in politics, and every other aspect of everyday life.6 Malcolm was featured in a television special titled: Hate that Breeds Hate.5 One of Malcolm’s biggest influences was Elijah Muhammad who was the leader of the NOI. Malcolm considered Elijah a living prophet until Elijah asked him to cover up affairs with multiple women in the NOI that Elijah had partaken in. This went against everything Malcolm believed and created a rift between the two.

The fall out between Malcolm and Elijah caused emotional turmoil for Ali; a prophet and his mentor head to head with Ali stuck in the middle. Prior to winning the Heavyweight Title, Elijah had told Malcolm that Clay (Ali) would disgrace the Islamic religion with his dirty profession, yet after winning the title and realizing the potential of having such a public figure to spread the message of the NOI, he gladly courted Clay (Ali) and turned him away from Malcolm X. Elijah then went on to publically approve of Ali’s fighting lifestyle and even encouraged it. At a rally for the NOI he even said: “Clay whipped a much tougher man and came through the bout unscarred because he has accepted Muhammad as the messenger of Allah.”5 As our society takes a look back on history they realize a large part of Elijah’s new acceptance of boxing was also due to the large amount of money that was in the boxing community.

If ever there was a situation where an individual was being taken advantage of it was this. Malcolm X’s wife, Betty Shabazz, said that the couple was appalled by the change of heart in Elijah’s view of Ali. In “Sucker Punch” by Jack Cashill Shabazz stated that “out of nowhere, after the winning the title, they were breaking their necks, trying to get close to the champion”.5 Ali was quoted in the book as saying “Turning my back on Malcolm, was one of the mistakes that I regret most in my life.”5 Although Malcolm helped fuel the hatred in Ali he played a true friend even prior to fame and fortune.

Ali’s decision to not step forward for Uncle Sam, not only changed his life forever, but the relationship that sports and politics shared. No longer were the likes of Howard Cosell, the face of ABC sports, and Ian Woolridge, a British sports journalist with the Daily mail, reporting on sports alone, but now were discussing the politics of the Vietnam War and the draft. The press was using terms like “conscientious objector” and “Black Muslim” and was arguing with Ali over these matters in televised interviews. Ali adamantly infused the conversations stating: “It is not Black Muslim, it is Muslim Black”, referring to the fact that a person of black skin was no different from anyone else, but his religion separated him from others.7 The printing presses did not focus on Ali the boxer, they focused on Ali, a member of the Nation of Islam. They continually posted “Black Muslim” almost in defiance of Ali’s hatred of the term.

As a young man, Ali’s three year stand for his belief showed that an athlete had the platform to spread a message to the masses not seen before. He also showed, unbeknownst to him at the time, that trust must be allocated carefully as to not have one’s talents be taken advantage of. As Ali has matured, he has realized that focusing on hatred doesn’t benefit anyone. He has since placed his focus on his humanitarian efforts to feed the hungry around the world and fight the disease of Parkinson’s, not only personally but through his Charity: The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center at Barrow Neurological Institute, in Phoenix, Arizona.1 Ali was even invited to light the torch at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. You could say it was a perfect event to show how far we’ve come as a world, as a nation, and as individuals on issues such as race and equality. If only we could transition that growth into fewer wars.


 
References:
1. http://www.ali.com/legend_man_humanitarian.php
2. Maddox Jr., A. H. (2003, October 16). To be loyal or to be defiant — that’s the question. New York Amsterdam News. p. 12.
3. Stravinsky, J. (1997). The long reach of Muhammad Ali. Biography, 1(12), 50.
4. Saeed, A. (2011). ‘Worthy of all praises': Muhammad Ali and the politics of identity. Soundings (13626620), (47), 123-129.
5. http://www.wnd.com/2006/02/34736/
6. http://www.malcolmx.com/about/bio.html
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLam_GiQ2Ww
8. http://espn.go.com/abcsports/wwos/objector.html

McCarthy's Challenge

A short opinion piece I wrote about the New York Yankees loss of Lou Gehrig from a perspective of 1939.

Opinion piece:

As baseball mourns its loss of Lou Gehrig and prays for him as he fights his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the Yankees of New York must push forward. The reigning world champions have a lot to make up for in the loss of their Captain. Even in a down year that we now believe is largely in part to the ALS disease he carries, Gehrig still hit .295 with 29 home runs and 32 doubles. What the team lost when Gehrig removed himself from the lineup can’t be measured simply with the numbers that are presented. The loss of a captain, a leader on both sides of the ball and in the clubhouse leaves the Yankees with a large hole to fill.

Joe McCarthy will have to rally the troops and find a way to get extra production out of the likes of Dickey and Rolfe. He’ll have to make sure the superstar Joe Dimaggio is focused on the game of baseball and not his celebrity status. He’ll have to convince Babe Dahlgren that he doesn’t have to replace the whole package of Lou Gehrig at first base, but he will have to take on a big part of that loss. Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing will have to do their part on the defensive side of the ball by keeping runners off the bases. If this team is to repeat as World Champions it will take everyone to fill that void left by the Ironhorse.

The game will go on, and I can think of no better way to honor the man that has claimed to be “the luckiest man on the face of the earth” just a few short days ago, then to honor him by sending him out with a championship on the last roster his name will ever be attached to.

Lucas Jacobson –
Full Sail University

The Irony of the Iron Horse.

 An article I wrote in May from a historical aspect of the day the New York Yankees celebrated Lou Gehrig. 

Article:
July 4th is a day that we proud Americans celebrate with grandiose explosions of fireworks laced with unimaginable color as they bloom like a peony on a glorious summer’s afternoon. What better place to be on an Independence Day than on a field of America’s pastime, baseball’s green pastures. Yet on this year’s celebration the game of baseball was brimming with sadness as it bid farewell to one of its icons.

For Yankee fans and the community of baseball this July 4th started on May 2nd, although we didn’t know it at the time. It was on this date that Lou Gehrig sat in Joe McCarthy’s office and requested his presence be removed from the Yankee lineup that he was chiseled into for the previous 2,130 games. A true testament to his strength, to Lou being as strong as Iron and fit as a horse. He realized after the previous game that his talents were no longer unwavering when his fellow Pinstripe Compatriots congratulated him on a play made that use to be routine and merited no boost to his ego. So on May 2nd Gehrig shuffled out to the Umpires as the Captain normally would, and presented them with the lineup card that was lacking one of its most cherished friends for the first time in 14 years. Lou’s name on that lineup card would be nevermore.

In the oncoming weeks the Ironhorse, as we’ve come to know him, visited doctors with the knowledge that the previous diagnosis of a Gall Bladder problems couldn’t be correct and eventually found out that his statuesque frame was carrying around a disease many of us have not heard of: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). As the knowledge hit the baseball community that has come to adore him, a realization set in that no person is safe. If this disease can take down a giant such as Gehrig then anyone would be fair game to its wrath.

New York sportswriter, Paul Gallico, suggested a day of recognition to honor Gehrig on July 4th and set the wheels in motion to cement July 4th in baseball history lore. As Gehrig stepped to the microphone he sat in silence, humbled by the 60,000 plus in attendance. The cheers, the applause forced the giant to fight back tears. As he began to speak the silence of the crowd was deafening and tension hung over the stadium as family, friends, and fans eagerly listened to their hero. “For the past two weeks, you’ve been reading about a bad break.” Gehrig started. “Today, I consider myself, the luckiest man on the face of the earth” As the prowess of the words hit the fans they struck Gehrig with a brief applause before he continued with “that I might have been given a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for, thank you”. The poise of Gehrig as he delivered his farewell to his fans ensured there was not a dry eye in the stadium. Fans and friends alike honored Gehrig with these tears in a show of support and appreciation of how much he has meant to so many over the past decade and a half. The game of baseball will surely be lacking without this hero playing his game on a daily basis.

-Lucas Jacobson
Full Sail University