Baseball Toaster: Bronx Banter : World Wide

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Alex:
Ray Negron part 1 2 3 4
Dad, Reggie and Me
Slaughterhouse Five
Way Out in Brooklyn
Heat Fave
Passing
Love, Death and Baseball

Cliff:
The Ugly Truth About the New Yankee Stadium
First-Half Review
2008 Draft Roundup
July Farm Report
2008 Campers
All-Star Game: 1977, 2008
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Alex:
Strikes and Gutters: A Year with the Coen Brothers: Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
My 20 Favorite Hip Hop Albums
Greatest Singles from Hip Hop's Golden Era (1986-1994)
Ten Neglected Hip Hop Classics

Cliff:
Tin Ear
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Clem Snide
Eminem
Sleater-Kinney

Bronx Banter Interviews

Roger Angell
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Howard Bryant: Part 1, Part 2
Ken Burns: Part 1, Part 2
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Malcom Gladwell
Bill James
Pat Jordan
Chuck Korr: Part 1 Part 2
Jane Leavy
Michael Lewis
Tim Marchman
Marvin Miller
Rob Neyer: Part 1, Part 2
Buster Olney: April 2003, Sept. 2004
Buck O'Neil
Joe Posnanski
Alan Schwarz
Joel Sherman
Tom Verducci

Excerpts

Juicing the Game by Howard Bryant Part 1 Part 2
Forging Genius by Steven Goldman Part 1 Part 2
How About That! by Stephen Borelli
The Crowd Sounds Happy by Nicholas Dawidoff
The Last Nine Innings by Charles Euchner
Clemente by David Maraniss
The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanaski
Glenn Stout and Richard A. Johnson:
Yankee Century: Part 1 Part 2
Red Sox Century: 1 2 3 4
The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball

Players

Major Leauge Roster:

Infielders:
J. Giambi BR BP E MLB
R. Cano BR BP E MLB
D. Jeter BR BP E MLB
A. Rodriguez BR BP E MLB
W. Betemit BR BP E MLB mi
C. Ransom BR BP E MLB mi
J. Miranda BR BC mi

Outfielders:
B. Abreu BR BP E MLB
J. Damon BR BP E MLB
X. Nady BR BP E MLB
H. Matsui BR BP E MLB mi
B. Gardner BR E MLB mi
M. Cabrera BR BP E MLB mi

Catchers:
I. Rodriguez BR BP E MLB
J. Molina BR BP E MLB
C. Moeller BR BP E MLB mi
F. Cervelli BR BC mi

Starting Pitchers:
M. Mussina BR BP BC E
A. Pettitte (L) BR BP BC E
P. Hughes BR BP BC E mi
C. Pavano BR BP BC E mi
A. Aceves BR E mi

Relief Pitchers:
M. Rivera BR BP BC E
J. Chamberlain BR BP BC E
D. Marte (L) BR BP BC E
J. Veras BR BP BC E mi
E. Ramirez BR BP BC E mi
B. Bruney BR BP BC E mi
D. Giese BR BP BC E mi
C. Britton BR BP BC E mi
P. Coke (L) BR BC E mi
D. Rasner BR BP BC E mi
S. Ponson BR BP BC E mi
D. Robertson BR BC E mi
H. Sanchez BC mi

15-day DL:
C. Wang BR BP BC E
60-day DL:
J. Posada BR BP E MLB
J. Albaladejo BR BP BC E mi
A. Brackman BC

Coaches:
J. Girardi (Mgr) BR BP BC
R. Thomson (Bench) BC
Kevin Long (Hit) BR
D. Eiland (Pitch) BR BP BC
B. Meacham (3B) BR BP BC
T. Peña (1B) BR BP BC
M. Harkey (Pen) BR BP BC

40-man Roster:
AAA
S. Duncan BR BP E MLB mi
J. Christian BR BP E MLB mi
I. Kennedy BR BP BC E mi
C. Wright (L) BR BP BC E mi
J. Marquez BR BC mi

Designated for Assignment:
B. Traber (L) BR BP BC E mi

Select Minor Leaguers:

AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees:
B. Castro BR mi DL
C. Basak BR BP BC E MLB mi
E. Duncan BC mi
N. Green BR mi
B. Broussard BR mi
M. Carson BC mi
C. Stewart BR BP E MLB mi
J. Brown BC mi DL
K. Igawa (L) BR BP BC E JB mi
M. Melancon BC mi
J.B. Cox BC mi
S. Strickland BR BC mi
S. Jackson BC mi
E. Milton BR BC mi DL
V. Zambrano BR BC mi DL

AA Trenton Thunder:
K. Russo BR mi
R. Peña BC mi DL
C. Malec BC mi
M. Vechionacci BC mi DL
A. Jackson BC mi
C. Curtis BC mi
E. Gonzalez BR mi
P.J. Pilittere BC mi
J. Jones BC mi
G. Kontos BC mi
J. Nuñez BC mi
B. Smith BC mi DL
A. Claggett BC mi
O. Perez BR BC mi
M. Gardner BC mi
K. Whelan BC mi
W. Arias (L) BC mi

A Tampa Yankees:
E. Nuñez BC mi
C.J. Henry BC mi DL
T. Battle BC mi
K. Anson BC mi
J. Gil BC mi
A. Horne BC mi DL
Z. McAllister BC mi
W. De La Rosa (L) BC mi
C. Garcia BC mi

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:
J. Snyder BC mi
M. Cusick BC mi
B. Suttle BC mi
A. Romine BC mi
J. Montero BC mi
D. Betances BC mi
J. Heredia BC mi
J. Ortiz BC mi
C. Heyer BC mi

Low-A Staten Island Yankees:
D. Adams mi
P. Venditte mi

Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees:
C. Joseph mi
C. Smith mi
K. Higashioka mi

Key:
BR = Baseball-Reference
BP = Baseball Prospectus
BC = Baseball Cube (past mL stats)
mi = MiLB.com (current mL stats)
E = ESPN (current splits, game logs)
MLB = MLB.com hit charts
JB = Japanese Baseball.com

The Recently Departed

2008 Yankees:
R. Sexson BR BP E MLB
M. Ensberg BR BP E MLB CLE mL
A. Gonzalez BR BP E MLB mi WAS
K. Farnsworth BR BP BC E DET
L. Hawkins BR BP BC E HOU
S. Patterson BR BC mi SD

Nady/Marte Trade:
J. Tabata BC mi
J. Karstens BR BP BC E mi
R. Ohlendorf BR BP BC E
D. McCutchen BC mi

2008 Campers/mLers:
C. Woodward BR BP BC E MLB PHI mL
J. Lane BR mi BOS mL
G. Porter BC mi WAS mL
J.D. Closser BR mi SD mL
S. Henn (L) BR BP BC E mi SD
H. Phillips (L) BR BC mi TB mL
S. White BR BC mi

2007 Yankees:
J. Torre (Mgr) BR BP BC LAD
D. Mientkiewicz BR BP BC E MLB PIT
A. Phillips BR BP BC E MLB mi CIN
J. Phelps BR BP BC E MLB STL
M. Cairo BR BP BC E MLB SEA
K. Thompson BR BP BC E MLB mi PIT
B. Sardinha BC mi SEA mL
W. Nieves BR BP BC E MLB WAS
R. Clemens BR BP BC E mi
T. Clippard BR BP BC E mi WAS
L. Vizcaino BR BP BC E COL $7.5m/2yrs
M. DeSalvo BR BP BC E mi ATL mL
M. Myers (L) BR BP BC E LAD mL
R. Villone (L) BR BP BC E mi STL
S. Proctor BR BP BC E LAD
J. Brower BR BP BC E mi CIN mL
C. Bean BR BP BC E mi ATL mL

2007 Campers and mLers:
E. Durazo BR BP BC E MLB mi
A. Cannizaro BR BP BC E MLB mi TB mL
A. Chavez BR BP BC E MLB mi LAD mL
K. Reese BR BP BC E MLB mi
R. Chavez BR BP BC E MLB mi PIT mL
O. Santos BC mi BAL mL
T. Pratt BR BP BC E MLB
T.J. Beam BR BP BC E mi PIT mL
B. Kozlowski (L) BR BP BC E mi Japan

Molina Trade:
J. Kennard BC mi

Abreu Trade
M. Smith (L) BR BP BC E mi PHI
C. Monasterios BC mi PHI
J. Sanchez mi PHI

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World Wide

2008-05-21 08:44

by Alex Belth

During and immediately after the War there was precious little work to be found in Belgium, so my mother's father, a man's man in the Ted Williams mold (although far more reserved), who had a considerable amount of wanderlust, moved his young family to the Congo, where my ma lived from the time she was three (1947) until she was a teenager. I learned about my father's family, from Russia and Poland respectively, mostly through the oral tradition, endless stories, and even some writings. But I learned about my mother's family chiefly through photographs and 8 mm home movies, a) because of the language barrier (they speak broken English, I speak broken French), and b) because they took an extraordinary amount of pictures. You can imagine how exotic it was to me as a kid to see photographs of my mom in Africa. "You grew up there and you wound up in the suburbs?" I used to kid her when I was a wise-ass teenager.

As it turns out, my mom and dad met in Addis Ababa, of all places. 1966. My father was there working as a production manager on a National Geographic Special on Africa. My mother was there with a group of friends, making a short documentary for graduate school about their trip from Northern Africa down to Ethipia.

Dig this. Which one you think is Ma Dooke?

And here's the old man, in full Elliott Gould mode:

So, where did your folks meet?

Comments

2008-05-21 09:17:01

1. Bob Timmermann

Mom and Dad met a wedding in St. Louis in 1953 I believe.

My mom's mom met her husband at a yeast factory in St. Louis in 1924.

My dad's mom and dad were likely fixed up in their small town in Illinois.

2008-05-21 09:25:16

2. murphy

ca. 1963, CYO dance, Rahway, NJ.

doomed from the start. : )

2008-05-21 09:28:14

3. Raf

My folks knew each other in the same village in Honduras; Triunfo de la Cruz

2008-05-21 09:37:57

4. standuptriple

Mom and Pop were both Army brats. My dad's younger sis and my mom were best friends growing up, but he never paid much attention to her until he returned from Vietnam.

2008-05-21 09:46:10

5. Shaun P

My parents met at a bowling alley in Rochester, NY, on May 17, 1973. My dad was there to bowl in a tournament. My mom was there to watch a friend bowl in the same tournament. You know, for all times I've heard that story, I've never asked what the name of the place was, or if it still exists.

By pure chance, my wife and I ended up having our first date on May 17th in 2001. A bowling alley was not involved, however, and we had known each other going back to our college days.

2008-05-21 09:53:25

6. ms october

my mom and dad met in iowa city at the university
the sort of unusual part is my mom is indian - from india and my dad grew up in detroit in a working class, mostly irish neighborhood - so that they met in iowa of all places is sort of funny (to us at least)

2008-05-21 10:06:10

7. Josh Wilker

My dad busted a move after a Cooper Union lecture on art and psychology.

2008-05-21 10:29:18

8. e double trouble

on a bus between New York and Boston (1968?)

2008-05-21 10:35:37

9. unmoderated

dad was a new jersey city boy looking for the country.

mom was a tiny upstate NY girl looking for the city.

hilarity ensued.

2008-05-21 10:44:16

10. Alex Belth

Cooper Union? Jersey City? Rahway? Iowa city? This is too much fun. Thanks for the comments.

2008-05-21 11:13:52

11. bobtaco

Blind date, Brooklyn, NY - New Year's Eve, 1966.

Engaged the day Robert Kennedy was shoot.

Honeymoon during the Moon Landing.

2008-05-21 11:14:38

12. SXMYanksfan

My folks met in Tortola (one of the British virgin Islands). My dad was on a sales call training that day. It was through the persuasion of his trainee in the field who pushed him to visit one more house to sell insurance to her parents (my dad was tired and wanted to go home for the day). After agreeing to go; my dad saw my mom at the house and "closed the deal". Oh, and he did also sell the insurance policy to my grandparents as well.

2008-05-21 11:17:14

13. ny2ca2dc

Me Ma met me Pa in college, at Fordham. Michael Kay was not a classmate. She met me current Pa in San Francisco, I think it was a blind date. When she first brought him around, he tried to impress my twin brother and me (about 8-9 years old at the time) by showing us electronics - resistors, diodes, lights and switches, etc. It totally worked.

2008-05-21 11:18:28

14. Start Spreading the News

My folks were an arranged marriage. They met in Delhi, talked for 30 minutes and agreed to marry. Engagement was 3 days later and the wedding a week later. This March was the 37 year anniversary.

2008-05-21 11:30:48

15. Repoz

Dad...Westies alcoholic turned Jersey fireman meets half-eyetalian babe in Hudson.

Grandparents better...Hell's kitchen prostitute gets pregnicized by drunky sailor, then marries top mob honchi...moves to Scranton to run gambling/prosti ops.

2008-05-21 11:38:47

16. JL25and3

14 Wow - they managed to arrange an Indian wedding in a week?

2008-05-21 11:40:35

17. AbbyNormal821

Barry & Phyllis met at a fraternity party 1960. It was a party that she almost didn't go to as she'd already been out 3 nights in a row as it was during the Christmas break. Her dad was somewhat annoyed with her for going, but that's what 16 year olds do, right?

Mom's best friend, Betsy met up with here and they were taking the bus to the party along with a few other friends. When she got to neighborhood where the party was, it was quiet, and dark (she told me it was Christmas Day evening, so all the stores were closed,e etc.)

Since she and her friends were not familiar with the area that the party was in they were about to turn around and head back to their neighborhood when a young man approached them and asked if they were looking for the fraternity party and they said yes. He was kind enough to escort them to the party as he was going there too.

While at the party, mom's best friend is talking with this young man, who was hitting his head with a toy hammer (what a card!)

The record changed to a slow dance (it was a Paul Anka song, although mom can't remember the name, but it was very romantic. The man talking with mom's friend walked over to my mother and asked her to dance.

...as they say - the rest is history. They married December 26th, 1964 - ironically, four years and one day after the anniversary of when they met....aaaaaw!) Big brother Glenn born in '66 and my twin sister & I born in '68. They'll be married 44 years this year.

2008-05-21 11:55:57

18. AbbyNormal821

While at the party, mom's best friend is talking with this young man, who was hitting his head with a toy hammer (what a card!)

The record changed to a slow dance (it was a Paul Anka song, although mom can't remember the name, but it was very romantic.) The man talking with mom's friend walked over to my mother and asked her to dance. The dude was my dad....

2008-05-21 11:56:22

19. AbbyNormal821

...CRAP! Y'all didn't need to read this twice!

2008-05-21 12:13:42

20. Simone

My mother and biological father met during carnival in Trinidad, West Indies. Wild dancing and lots of alcohol were involved. I was born nine months later.

2008-05-21 12:13:58

21. Raf

13 Having dated women with children, I have found that if the kids like you, she will as well :)

2008-05-21 12:20:24

22. Schteeve

French class at Fordham.

2008-05-21 12:21:47

23. Schteeve

oh and they got married on the Day of Woodstock at st. pats cathedral.

2008-05-21 12:28:06

24. JL25and3

To get back to baseball for a second...I liked this quote from Jeter, reported at LoHud by Brian Heyman: Derek Jeter was asked after the game about the reeling Yankees possibly needing a team meeting. "We have meetings," the captain said. "People say things. Things have been said."

Good old Derek. Wouldn't say shit if he had a mouthful.

2008-05-21 12:34:00

25. Knuckles

Mine started dating in sophomore or junior year of high school. Class president and class secretary, wide receiver and art director for the yearbook, most likely to succeed and nicest smile/disposition/somesuch. Like a Mellencamp song or something.

They then proceeded to be very happy and successful, and produced some very good looking kids.

2008-05-21 12:42:41

26. joe in boston

Great topic Alex, as usual. Anything to get our minds off of this team of ours !

My folks met at GE - Schenectady, NY. (As my dad used to call it "Generous Electric").

Dad started in the mail room at 16, worked his way up to management. Met my mom (secretary) when they were both in their late 20s. Late, in those days, for marriage .... but it worked !

2008-05-21 12:49:28

27. randym77

My parents met in kindergarten at age 5. They still have the class photo in our family album.

They didn't actually start dating until they were 15, and sophomores in high school. My mom's father was kind of a jerk, and though my mother was very pretty, few guys dared to call her because of her father. My dad was the only who persisted. (He claims he chased her until he got caught.)

2008-05-21 13:51:29

28. Franl Leja

Where did Kei Igawa's parents meet? Why did they risk having offspring?

2008-05-21 14:34:30

29. Cliff Corcoran

I'm late to the party here, but my folks met as camp councilors during college. My mom was a suburban NJ girl who always loved nature, and my dad was a kid from the Staten Island projects who was looking to escape the city. Mom went to Montclair State. Dad went to Cooper Union. The camp was in Sussex County, NJ.

My dad met his second wife at a divorced-singles-type mixer. Ironically, they both hated the event. I think they actually met because they both left early and bumped into each other on the way out.

2008-05-21 17:42:47

30. Ken Arneson

My dad had just gotten out of the US military in the early 60s, and was visiting his sister in Kumla, Sweden. He went to a dance one night and met my mom. Because my dad spoke perfect Swedish but was wearing American clothes and shoes and eyeglasses, my mom thought he was a spy.

2008-05-21 17:44:40

31. Mr OK Jazz TOKYO

Way late as well but here goes. My Dad left the sticks of Addison,NY (near Corning) for the big bad NYC when he was 20. My Mom (whose parents were immigrants from India) left the Carbbean island paradise of Trinidad&Tobago for NYC when she was 22, the year was 1963. She took a job babysitting for a single mother (my dad's older sister, who was a Communist..long story..) My pop took one look at this "exotic, dark beauty" and thought "I've never seen a woman like that in Addison"...they married a year later.