Blow Out the Candles -- September 30

Hall of Fame Whiz Kid, Robin Roberts was born in Springfield, Illinois on this date in 1926. The seven time all-star finished his career with 286 wins. In 1952 Robin racked up 28 wins. Denny McLain (31 in 1968) is the only man to reach this mark since.

"I never slept when I lost. I'd see the sun come up without ever having closed my eyes. I'd see thos base hits over and over and they'd drive me crazy."

"You don't have to make a big study of batters beforehand. When I have good stuff I throw four fastballs out of five pitches. When you take up a hitter in a clubhouse meeting, no matter what his weakness is, it's going to end up low and away or high and tight, and the curveball must be thrown below the belt. That's the whole story of pitching. Keep your life and your pitching real simple and you’ll get along."

Phil Rizutto was not the only ballplayer to appear on "What's My Line". In this 1957 episode Mr. Roberts appeared but not as a mystery guest. He has something in common with Forrest Gump.

"When I think of Robin (Roberts), there is definitely one word that comes quickly to mind -- class. He was a class act both on and off the field. He was definitely one of the most consistent quality pitchers of all time, and the way he lived his life was exemplary. Every young baseball player should model their life after  Robin." - Former Philadelphia Phillies owner Bill Giles,"

Brooklyn Dodgers hero Johnny Podres was born on this date in 1932. Johnny won two games in the the 1955 World Series against the rival New York Yankees including a 2-0 shutout in the 7th game. It gave the Brooklyn Dodgers their only WS Championship.

“He gave me a lot of confidence. I remember after the sixth game, Whitey Ford beat us and I said to Pee Wee Reese, 'Don't worry. I'll shut them out.' I was just kidding. But I didn't feel there was any pressure on me. If I beat them, great. If not, I wasn't supposed to, anyway. They were the Yankees. I slept good the night before. The Yankees probably figured I couldn't do it again and the Dodgers had never beaten them, so they weren't worried. Neither was I. There was no pressure on me.”

“A ground ball to Pee Wee, and they weren't Bums anymore.”

Happy Birthday to Fifth Dimension member Marilyn McCoo who is turning 68 today. When she sang the words "I love you Bill, I always will", to her husband Bil(ly) Davis Jr., she really meant them. Marilyn and Billy celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary this past July. Congratulations!

Fan Pack Fun 2011 -- St. Louis Cardinals

The Wild Card winning St. Louis Cardinals sent this nice fan pack.

Blow Out The Candles -- September 29

John Paxson turns 61 today. He is currently VP of Basketball Operations for the Bulls. He was an important role player on the first three Bulls Championships.

Here's the shot he's most remembered for:

"Great Balls of Fire"!!---Jerry Lee Lewis turns 76 today.

The Million Dollar Quartet

Cards from My Wife -- Second Pack

A couple of weeks ago my wife came home with two packs of cards for me.  The first was this.

The second was a pack of 2011 Allen & Ginter's.  That takes my total up to 6 cards.

Best ballplayer in the pack.  Not hard to choose since there are only two.

Best insert card.

 Best non-baseball player card on several levels-- The guy you never heard of is named "Guy" -- He's wearing eye black  (that's sponsored) to play beanbag toss -- Beanbag toss is now called "cornhole" -- Cornhole is a sport -- It can't help but remind you of Beavis and his alter ego "Cornholio" "I am the great Cornholio.  I need TP for my bunghole!"

I don't really care.

 I don't really care but the back says he has a "charming sense of humor".  Apparently the David Niven of Ping Pong.

 Could I have gotten a worse mini?

Blow Out the Candles -- Sept 27

Boston Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky is celebrating his 92nd birthday today.

“When you win you eat better, sleep better and your beer tastes better. And your wife looks like Gina Lollobrigida.”

Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt turns 62 today.

Career highlights and awards

World Series champion (1980)
1980 World Series MVP
12× All-Star (1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981,1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989)
8× National League Home Run Champion (1974,1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986)
4× National League RBI Leader (1980, 1981, 1984, 1986)
10× Gold Glove Award winner (1976, 1977, 1978,1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986)
6× Silver Slugger Award winner (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986)
3× NL MVP (1980, 1981, 1986)
5× NL Player of the Month (April 1976, July 1979, May 1980, August 1981, July 1982)
1983 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
4 home runs in one game (April 17, 1976)
Philadelphia Phillies #20 retired
Major League Baseball All-Century Team
Major League Baseball All-Time Team

"I don't think I can get into my deep inner thoughts about hitting. It's like talking about religion."

"If you could equate the amount of time and effort put in mentally and physically into succeeding on the baseball field and measured it by the dirt on your uniform, mine would have been black."

Canadian musician Randy Bachman is celebrating his 68th birthday today.

"Every night we all felt grateful to be there, stunned at the amount of people that are there, and stunned at their reactions. They go crazy; they know every lyric from eight years of age to eighty. It's unbelievable."

Singer, actor, writer, producer Shaun Cassidy is turning 53 today.