Good morning, all! I hope you had a tremendous weekend and all the moms had a terrific Mother’s Day!
Tuesday will mark a big day in the professional baseball world, as baseball returns to Worcester, MA. The Boston Red Sox AAA affiliate will play its first game in brand, spanking new Polar Park, a $100+ million facility constructed in Worcester and designed as a centerpiece for a downtown redevelopment project.
It is also a sad day for Pawtucket, RI, the venerable city that served as the Red Sox AAA and before that AA affiliates’ home for more than a half century. I broadcast many games from McCoy Stadium in that city and not only was the ballpark a fun place, but the people there were tremendous from the late owner, Ben Mondor to the Pawsox front office staff. I still remember having a long conversation in the bowels of that ballpark with Johnny Pesky, the ex-big league player, coach, manager and broadcaster. A lifetime .307 hitter, Pesky was as nice a person as you would ever want to meet. But as the saying goes, time marches on and in this case it marches from Pawtucket to Worcester.
Worcester has a rich, baseball history, so a return to the professional ranks is overdue. Worcester was once the home of a major league club in the 19th Century and was the city that launched Casey Stengel’s long managerial career. Yes, Tuesday is a big day, and I cannot wait to see a game there.
Did Medina Spirit win the Kentucky Derby?
By the time you read this, Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit may have been disqualified from winning the “Run for the Roses.”
As I put this newsletter together, word is breaking that Medina Spirit “tested positive for 21 picograms of the anti-inflammatory medicine” betamethasone, a topical steroid cream. In Kentucky, the legal limit is 10 picograms.
Denials as to the responsible party administering the steroid are flying in all directions. But the fact is, Medina Spirit, a 12-1 shot when the race was run on May 1, may be a longer shot to hold on to the victory. This will be an interesting story to follow.
Happy Anniversary Mets
Saturday, May 8, marked the 60th anniversary of the announcement that New York’s new National League franchise would be named the Mets. The field of 644 names offered by fans was whittled to 10 and Mets made the cut, along with Continentals, Burros, Skyliners, Skyscrapers, Bees, Rebels, NYBS, Avengers and Jets. Missing the cut were names such as the Islanders and Empires.
At the announcement, part of a big event to mark the occasion at the Savoy Hilton Hotel, M. Donald Grant, chairman of the new club’s board of directors, noted that headline writers would love the new name. Not to mention that Amazing Mets has a better ring to it than the Amazing Burros.
Well that is it for today. I am going to take a short break, meaning there will not be a newsletter this Wednesday, but I will return with a Friday edition. Have a great week, and thank you for your support.
SPORTSCASTER DAN