Baseball's visual delights through the lens of a lifelong fan.
Closing out Trenton's Season
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Nothing better than baseball on Labor Day -- today, I made my first visit to New Britain, Connecticut, home of the Twins' Double-A farm team. The lure was another chance to catch the Yankees' affiliate the Trenton Thunder. New Britain Stadium has seen several top Twins prospects blossom over the years, including current major league stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. But my focus today was on a likely future Yankee -- shortstop Eduardo Nunez. Fans getting autographs from this talented shortstop had best hold onto them -- in a couple or three years, they'll be able to say they saw Nunez before he was famous (and charging big bucks for his signature!). Both teams lined up on the field for the national anthem before the game. (Above) Nice to see the Twins train their prospects in the almost lost art of bunting. (Below) it's mascot time! Trenton 3rd baseman Marcos Vechionacci has spent several years in the Yankees' farm system. But with Alex Rodriguez only two years into a 10-year contract, his major league destination won't be the Bronx -- despite this impressive home run. It proved to be the Thunder's only score. I paid special attention to Eduardo Nunez today. Impressed when I saw him in spring training -- where he got ample opportunity to play while Derek Jeter was away with the US squad of the World Baseball Classic -- and again in my visit to Trenton, I snapped away during his at bats (even walking down to the field boxes for the best view). Back to young Mr. Nunez. Nice swing, good form. He hits the ball with authority, even though today he went 0-for-4 as Trenton lost 4 to 1. Trenton's loss the day before eliminated them from a chance at the playoffs. So this game rings down the curtain on the Trenton season.
...you share it with AJ Burnett . The well traveled righthander, who after seven years with the Marlins. spent time with the Yankees, Pirates, Blue Jays and Phillies, won 164 big league games and struck out more than 2500, but inconsistent control kept him from becoming an ace: he twice led the American League in wild pitches and once in hit batters. The Arkansas native earned a pair of World Series rings -- with the 2003 Marlins (while recovering from Tommy John surgery) and 2009 Yankees (where he set a record for hitting five batters in a post-season series). Also in the January 3rd birthday circle: longtime big league reliever Gary Lavelle , the late Phllies catcher Darren Daulton and utilityman Luis Sojo , who between his time with the Mariners and Yankees, made the post-season six times in 13 seasons. But among the 68 players born on this date who've played in MLB, Burnett was -- if you go by WAR -- the most productive of them.
September 2nd, 1955 : Whitey Ford takes a no-hitter into the 7th inning, while Yogi Berra adds two hits and Mickey Mantle crushes a three-run homer as the Yankees beat the Washington Senators 4-2 . It's also a big day for Billy Martin . Back from a year and an half of active duty in the Army, the shortstop goes 2-for-4 as the Yanks stay a half-game back of the league-leading White Sox. (They would regain 1st place on the 16th and go on to their 21st American League pennant. Martin would hit .300 over the final 22 games.) The Monument Park plaques are from a 2021 visit to Yankee Stadium. The image of Whitey and Yogi up top is from the 2012 Old Timers Day at the Stadium.
...you celebrate it with Bill Mazeroski , the first player to end a World Series with a walk-off home run. 65 years ago next month, leading off the last of the 9th in game seven against the Yankees, he crushed Ralph Terry's second pitch over the left field wall, giving Pittsburgh perhaps its greatest baseball moment. A gifted defensive player with more modest offensive skills, Maz remains one of the more controversial inductees of the Hall of Fame. A statue, depicting his joyful scamper around the bases following that 1960 home run, is one of several outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh. And below, Pablo Lopez , who earlier this season, added his name to the nearly 170 who have played for both the Yankees and Mets. The utilityman got into 24 games for Bronx Bombers -- highlighted by driving in the go-ahead run against the Royals on June 12th, His Mets tenure was microscopic -- he pinch ran for JD Martinez (and scored a run) in the September 1st, 2024 game against...
Nothing better than baseball on Labor Day -- today, I made my first visit to New Britain, Connecticut, home of the Twins' Double-A farm team. The lure was another chance to catch the Yankees' affiliate the Trenton Thunder.
New Britain Stadium has seen several top Twins prospects blossom over the years, including current major league stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. But my focus today was on a likely future Yankee -- shortstop Eduardo Nunez.
Fans getting autographs from this talented shortstop had best hold onto them -- in a couple or three years, they'll be able to say they saw Nunez before he was famous (and charging big bucks for his signature!).
Both teams lined up on the field for the national anthem before the game.
(Above) Nice to see the Twins train their prospects in the almost lost art of bunting. (Below) it's mascot time!
Trenton 3rd baseman Marcos Vechionacci has spent several years in the Yankees' farm system. But with Alex Rodriguez only two years into a 10-year contract, his major league destination won't be the Bronx -- despite this impressive home run. It proved to be the Thunder's only score.
I paid special attention to Eduardo Nunez today. Impressed when I saw him in spring training -- where he got ample opportunity to play while Derek Jeter was away with the US squad of the World Baseball Classic -- and again in my visit to Trenton, I snapped away during his at bats (even walking down to the field boxes for the best view).
Back to young Mr. Nunez. Nice swing, good form. He hits the ball with authority, even though today he went 0-for-4 as Trenton lost 4 to 1.
Trenton's loss the day before eliminated them from a chance at the playoffs. So this game rings down the curtain on the Trenton season.
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