High School Baseball Tonight for (3/8/2022)

4 Comments on “High School Baseball Tonight for (3/8/2022)”

1. High Point Central @ Dudley @ 6PM

2. Got the DUDLEY-HP Central start time adjusted, and that looks like it could be anybody’s game going into that one….Used to be real big when WG-NWG got together, but not sure how much of that is still left around/going on….Was seeing somewhere today that they were looking to move up the start time of NG-Ragsdale, from 6pm up to 5:30 due to the threat of rain…Western Alamance was also moving up their start times for JV and Varsity…JV was going with a Drop-Dead “stop time” of 6pm, and the Varsity for WA would begin their game at 6:30pm….

   For Dudley, I wonder how the young freshman pitcher that played backup QB for the Championship football team is doing??? Big, young kid….(Was his last name Torrain?, Nope it was Domaine Vann and Torrain is the head football coach at Morehead)And he/Vann should be Dudley’s top pitcher….Dudley’s 4×100 Track relay team is looking very strong too, with RJ Baker, Larry Monroe, Jahmier Slade and one more kid…If I were Dudley, I would have Baker out there running the bases on his OFF days from track……Why not??? Remember when Herb Washington, the track star used to run the bases for the Oakland A’s?????

   It worked for a while, and here is the skinny…And yes, the A’s had Herb Washington, the speedster, and Claudell Washington, the position player, who played outfield….If guy has speed, and you can teach him to run the bases, then he is gone….And there is no such thing as a 7-run home run, but you can steal home….Willie Mays Hayes did it several times…

   But I am short changing myself, back to that skinny on Herb Washington……
   Herbert Lee Washington (born November 16, 1951) is an American world-class sprinter who parlayed his speed into a brief Major League Baseball (MLB) stint in 1974 and 1975 with the Oakland Athletics.

   He was replaced in 1975 when the Athletics acquired a baserunning specialist who was also a position player. Washington returned to professional track, then became the owner/operator of numerous McDonald’s restaurants and a minor league professional hockey franchise. He held a number of executive posts on varied boards and organizations.

   More skinny on Herb Washington, and this is some pretty good stuff here…..
   Pro baseball career
   In 1974, Washington was tapped by Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley to become the team’s “designated runner”. Finley and Washington worked out a one-year $45,000 contract with a $20,000 signing bonus. The contract had an unusual clause requiring Washington to grow facial hair before the beginning of the season. Washington had difficulty growing a full mustache, so he used an eyebrow pencil to simulate full facial hair.

   Despite having no professional baseball experience, and having last played baseball in high school, Washington was a member of the Athletics 1974 World Series championship team. Finley announced that he would utilize Washington as a “designated runner” and that he did not expect Washington to develop other baseball skills. Washington received coaching on baserunning from Maury Wills. Though Washington’s teammates recognized his speed, he received a mixed reception from them because of his unusual background. Reggie Jackson said, “He’s a great athlete, but he’s not a baseball player.” Pitcher Rollie Fingers said that he thought the idea was “a little crazy” but that Washington “could run like crazy”. Bert Campaneris said that the team could count on Washington to steal a base when needed.

   Before the 1974 World Series, team captain Sal Bando said that he did not think Washington should be used in the World Series, noting that Washington might not have a second chance to make up for any mistakes committed during the series. Appearing as a pinch-runner for Joe Rudi in game two of the World Series, Washington was picked off first base in a crucial ninth-inning situation by Dodgers reliever Mike Marshall.

   Early in the 1975 season, Washington was released. Before the season, the Athletics had acquired Don Hopkins, a pinch running specialist who could also play in the outfield. The Athletics had also acquired a second pinch running specialist, Matt Alexander, just before Washington’s release.

   Washington played in 105 MLB games without batting, pitching, or fielding, playing exclusively as a pinch runner. He had 31 stolen bases in 48 attempts and scored 33 runs during his short career. Washington is one of only seven players to have more game appearances than plate appearances, presumably excluding starting pitchers who played primarily for the American League, and relief pitchers.

   Washington’s 1975 Topps baseball card is the only baseball card ever released that uses the “pinch runner” position label……

   **********Kind of funny, but remember when we used to know all of those baseball players names, and pretty much everything about them…Really not the case at all, anymore….**********

   ++++++++++Probably one of the best parts of the story right here:Washington had difficulty growing a full mustache, so he used an eyebrow pencil to simulate full facial hair.++++++++++

3. More on the earlier days of baseball…You would sit around the dinner table and talk about the name players back in the day, and the Oakland A’s had their fair share of those name players….Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, Bert ‘Campy’ Campaneris, Sal Bando, Claudell Washington, Vida Blue, Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter, Rollie Fingers…..Those names, were household names back in the day….Everybody, for most part, knew or had heard of those guys/names…Dick Williams(manager) too…

4. Dudley -10 HP Central -4
   Savoi Edwards – 4IP 0H 0R 8K’s 3BB’s WP
   Sam Francis 2-2 2 2bR’s 1RBI
   Domaine Vann 2-4 2b 2RBI’s 2R’s
   Hueston Gorham 2-3 3b 1RBI 1R 1BB
   AJ Lee 1-2 1RBI 1R
   Savoi Edwards 1-3 3B, 1RBI 1R

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