Happy birthday to "The Guy on the Phone"

Every once in a while I will get recognized and someone will say "you are the guy on the phone in Curse of the Bambino, right?"

This is referencing the wonderful HBO Documentary I was in and the story I told about Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, dialing the phone to rub the Red Sox win in the face of my uncle who is a big Mets fan.

My response is always "Yes, I told that story."

But if you saw the special and remember the story, I was NOT the guy dialing the phone. That would be my brother Ted who dialed after each pitch every number except the last one.

So in truth my brother is "the guy on the phone" in The Curse of the Bambino.
And today is his birthday.

Happy birthday buddy. I promise to call today... and every number including the last one.

For those of you who haven't seen it, here is my segments from the movie.

Happy Birthday to two guys close to starting their sports memories

I have a theory about sports fandom.

For the first 6 to 8 years of a sports fans' life, they sort of watch sports without understanding it. They may have a "favorite team" because their parents watch a team or kids in their class wear a hat or jacket, but they don't really follow the team.

Then somewhere between 8 and 10 years old, the fans start to truly follow a team. The ins and outs of the team... which players are good and which aren't. And this is around the time that a young sports fan develops their first favorite player. And whichever players they root for then will have a giant impact on their future perspective.

No matter what other players excel over the years, they won't compare to the players of their youth.

Think about it in your own life. When do you remember following a team and each player? When did you start really understanding a sports season and which are the first players you really rooted for?

I bet those memories were started roughly between your 8th and 10th birthdays.
For me it was my 7th birthday, but I was a freak.

So my kids turn 6 years old today. One son has declared himself a Giants fan. But when the Giants won the World Series, he was more interested in watching Toy Story.

He may regret not watching them win the World Series.

My other son claims to be a Dodger fan. But he has yet to sit and watch a Dodger game yet.

In a couple of years, their long term memories will be starting to form. And as a baseball nut, I can't wait to someday sit down with my buddies and watch ball games the way I did with my mom and dad.

But don't grow up TOO fast. I can't believe it has already been 6 years since I mentioned you two at the end of Reverse the Curse of The Bambino.

Happy birthday, buddies.

Born today

Some big names in baseball have called May 14th their birthday.


Hall of Famer Ed Walsh was born May 14, 1881.






Another Hall of Famer, Earle Combs (the Kentucky Colonel) was born on May 14, 1899.







Tony Perez, yet another Hall of Famer was born on May 14, 1942 in Cuba.









Dick Howser, the only man to ever manage the Royals to a World Series title, was born on May 14, 1936.







Dennis Martinez, El Presidente, was born on May 14, 1955.








Pat Borders, MVP of the 1992 World Series, was born on May 14, 1963.








Phillies Ace Roy Halladay, who is gunning for Cy Young #2 this year, was born on May 14, 1977.






And possibly the worst first baseman in the history of The Menlo School was born on May 14, 1972 in Willimantic Connecticut.

I'm glad to share a birthday with such good company.

Happy birthday to two friends and potential rivals

As I have written before, I have twin boys. I had hoped to raise two Red Sox fans, but living on the West Coast has conspired against me.

With absolutely no prompting on my part, my boy Matty declared himself a Dodger fan. And I must say looks good in Dodger blue.

My other boy Aidan, the one who made so many correct picks last October, has aligned himself with his grandfather and become a Giants fan. And the Orange and Black look good on him!

I hope this continues... the thought of twin brothers rooting for arch rivals is too delicious to pass up. (Especially as I can watch as an impartial Red Sox fan.)

When I mentioned my boys at the end of Reverse the Curse of the Bambino, they weren't even born.

Today amazingly they are 5 years old. And I have always claimed that you truly start following the ins and outs of a pro team when you reach 7.

We'll see in 2 years if they remain Dodgers and Giants fans.

Happy birthday buddies... your daddy loves you and can't wait to take you to many many ballgames.

Happy Birthday to the person who unwittingly made me a baseball historian

Since doing my Home Grown vs Acquired series, I've received a lot of a emails from people asking me how long I've been reading about baseball history.

The answer is since I was a kid. And I can thank a parent of mine for a great inspiration.

Oh I watched and talked a lot about baseball with my dad... but my love for baseball history comes from my mom. When I was a kid, I discovered a bunch of my mom's old baseball books about the Yankees of the 1950s.

And she had an old Baseball Encyclopedia dated back to 1955.

As a kid I devoured those books... I knew every World Series result by the time I was 10. I could recite the great feats of DiMaggio, Mays and Aaron when most kids just knew the local stars.

So if you think I am a little thorough in my research, then you can thank my mom for the original inspiration.

I have kept all of her books. I hope my kids discover them some day.

Happy Birthday mom!
You've created a monster!

A Twins Post

Four years ago today... March 5, 2005... with spring training underway and the Red Sox defending their first World Series title in 86 years...

My amazing wife gave birth to two beautiful boys and changed my life forever for the better.

I am so happy they were born when they were... if for no other reason that I was able to celebrate a Red Sox World Championship before they were born so I didn't have someone say "Have some dignity! You have children looking up to you!"

Now I want them to be Red Sox fans... my dad wants them to be Giants fans.

They'll probably be Dodger fans.

Well buddies, you are four years old and daddy loves you.
Last year we went to our first pro game, a minor league game. I think this year we need to go to our first big league game.

And I expect you to keep score!!!