Friday, December 19, 2014

#105 Javier Lopez



INTENT : adjective \in-ˈtent\
: showing concentration or great attention


15-year career (did not realize that) with the Braves, Orioles, Red Sox.

 Named Ponce, Puerto Rico's Athlete of the Year from 1984 to 1987.

Broke Todd Hundley's record for most home runs hit in a season by a catcher (41) in 2003.

Read about him: Javy Lopez and Gary Caruso: Behind the Plate: A Catcher's View of the Braves Dynasty, Independent Publishers Group, Chicago, IL, 2012.

3× All-Star (1997, 1998, 2003)
World Series champion (1995)
NLCS MVP (1996)
Silver Slugger Award (2003)
NL Comeback Player of the Year (2003)


Saturday, December 6, 2014

#104 Ryan Klesko



BUSTIN' : exhaust, wear out —used in phrases like bust one's butt to describe making a strenuous effort


Went to Westminster High School, a division rival to my high school Fountain Valley.

Became the first player to hit a home run in three consecutive World Series road games when he did so against the Cleveland Indians in Games 3, 4, and 5 of the 1995 World Series.

Played in 3 World Series winning it in 1995.

Klesko and teammate Barry Bonds were hunting together in Colorado at the time Bonds was notified he was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

1992-2007 Braves, Padres, Giants.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

#103 David Justice



DETERMINED : having a strong feeling that you are going to do something and that you will not allow anyone or anything to stop you


Like hooking up with Halle Berry and keeping her forever.

Oh, wait....

But his on the field determination had some positive results:
3× All-Star (1993, 1994, 1997)
2× World Series champion (1995, 2000)
NL Rookie of the Year (1990)
ALCS MVP (2000)
2× Silver Slugger Award (1993, 1997)
AL Comeback Player of the Year (1997)

Friday, November 21, 2014

#102 Chipper Jones



POISED : adjective
 marked by easy composure of manner or bearing


I traded my 1992 Stadium Club Draft Picks Chipper Jones rookie card for a Phil Nevin Draft Picks rookie card back in 1992 just after my brother-in-law and I had just pulled them from a few packs we each opened.
Smart move huh?


Sunday, November 16, 2014

#101 Marquis Grissom



EXCITING : adjective \ik-ˈsī-tiŋ\
: causing feelings of interest and enthusiasm : causing excitement


On July 28, 1991, caught Chris Gwynn's fly ball for the final out of Dennis Martínez' perfect game

Won the 2003 Willie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership.

Led the National League in stolen bases (1991, 1992)
2× All-Star (1993, 1994)
World Series champion (1995)
ALCS MVP (1997)
4× Gold Glove Award (1993–1996)


Sunday, November 2, 2014

#100 Tom Glavine



SKILL : noun
: the ability to do something that comes from training, experience, or practice


 Four-year member of the honor roll and the National Honor Society at Billerica Memorial High School, Massachusetts.

Drafted by both the Los Angeles Kings in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft (in the 4th round, 69th overall—two rounds ahead of future National Hockey League star Brett Hull and five rounds ahead of Luc Robitaille, both 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees), and the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball organization in the 2nd round of the 1984 amateur baseball draft.

That's impressive.

10× All-Star (1991–1993, 1996–1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006)
World Series champion (1995)
2× NL Cy Young Award (1991, 1998)
World Series MVP (1995)
4× Silver Slugger Award (1991, 1995, 1996, 1998)
Atlanta Braves #47 retired
National Baseball Hall Of Fame (2014)

Even more impressive.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Emotion Recap - Page 11


#91 Joe Carter - CLUTCH
#92 David Cone - WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER
#93 Alex Gonzalez - QUICK
#94 Shawn Green - BREAKTHROUGH
#95 Pat Hentgen - FIRING
#96 Paul Molitor - CONSISTENT
#97 John Olerud - WORKING
#98 Devon White - RELAXED
#99 Steve Avery - ATTACKING


Sunday, October 12, 2014

#99 Steve Avery



ATTACKING : verb \ə-ˈtak\
: to act violently against (someone or something) : to try to hurt, injure, or destroy (something or someone)


Just how many batters did Steve Avery plunk?

26 hit batters out of 6609 batters faced in 11 seasons.

I need a new definition for ATTACKING.

Friday, October 3, 2014

#98 Devon White



RELAXED : adjective \ri-ˈlakst\
: calm and free from stress, worry, or anxiety : not worried or tense

3-time All-Star (1989, 1993 & 1998)
7-time AL Gold Glove Winner (1988, 1989 & 1991-1995)
3-time World Series Champion
 All after he was traded away from the Angels with Willie Fraser for Junior Felix and Luis Sojo.
Good for you Devo.

I remember Devo in the outfield at Anaheim Stadium.  Relaxed, yes.  You'd think too relaxed.  But then he would just explode towards a ball that you wouldn't think he would reach and snag it on the run.  I always enjoyed watching him play.

Friday, September 26, 2014

#97 John Olerud



WORKING : noun \ˈwər-kiŋ\
:  the manner of functioning or operating :  operation —usually used in plural <the inner workings of the government>
:  an excavation or group of excavations made in mining, quarrying, or tunneling —usually used in plural

WORKING : adjective \ˈwər-kiŋ\
: having a job
: of or relating to a person's job
: suitable to be worn while working

What??
OK Skybox morons, we're talking about John Olerud here and not a single one of those definitions is adequate, let alone the stupid word you picked for him!
JOHN.... F...... OLERUD!
Hello??

I would have picked something like, say 
 constant, dedicated, devoted, devout, down-the-line, fast, good, loyal, pious, staunch, steadfast, steady, true, true-blue, dependable, dutiful, reliable, responsible, solid, tried, tried-and-true, trustworthy, trusty; unfaltering, unhesitating, unwavering; determined, intent, resolute; confirmed, dyed-in-the-wool, inveterate, sworn; ardent, avid, enthusiastic, fervent, fervid, gung ho, impassioned, passionate, serious

maybe.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

#96 Paul Molitor



CONSISTENT : adjective \kən-ˈsis-tənt\
: always acting or behaving in the same way


As in consistently AWESOME!



Sunday, August 31, 2014

#95 Pat Hentgen



FIRING : the act or process of one that fires


Okay, that's NOT a clear definition for the use of this word for Pat Hentgen.

As in firing a cannon I suppose.

3X AL All-Star (1993, 1994 & 1997)
AL Cy Young Award Winner (1996)
2X AL Innings Pitched Leader (1996 & 1997)
2X AL Complete Games Leader (1996 & 1997)
2-time AL Shutouts Leader (1996 & 1997)
15 Wins Seasons: 4 (1993, 1996, 1997 & 2000)
20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1996)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1993& 1995-1997)
Won two World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays (1992 & 1993; he did not play in the 1992 World Series)



Friday, August 22, 2014

#94 Shawn Green



BREAKTHROUGH : noun, often attributive \ˈbrāk-ˌthrü\
: a sudden increase in knowledge, understanding, etc. : an important discovery that happens after trying for a long time to understand or explain something

Shawn Green was always one of those below the radar guys to me.  I knew he was good in bits and pieces, but after checking out his stats on baseball-reference.com and reading his bio on Wikipedia I was blown away.  This dude was AWESOME!  Here's his overview from Wikipedia:

Shawn David Green (born November 10, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball right-fielder. Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star. He drove in 100 runs four times and scored 100 runs four times, hit 40 or more home runs three times, led the league in doubles, extra base hits, and total bases, won both a Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award, and set the Dodgers single-season record in home runs. Green was also in the top five in the league in home runs, RBIs, intentional walks, and MVP voting.

Green holds or is tied for the following major league records: most home runs in a game (4), most extra base hits in a game (5), most total bases in a game (19), most runs scored in a game (6), most home runs in two consecutive games (5), most home runs in three consecutive games (7), and most consecutive home runs (4). He hit his 4 home runs, 5 extra base hits, and 19 total bases against the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002. Green broke the record of 18 total bases (4 home runs and double) set by Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves (vs. Brooklyn Dodgers) in 1954.

At the time of his retirement, he was one of only four active players with at least 300 home runs, 1,000 runs and RBIs, 400 doubles, a .280 batting average, and 150 stolen bases. The others were Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Gary Sheffield, each of whom was at least two years older than Green, with at least 1,400 more at bats (though in each case, the other three had considerably more home runs and, in the case of Bonds, far more doubles and runs scored too).

Green was noted for his smooth swing. He was also known for the strength and accuracy of his arm; he had 14 assists from the outfield, for example, in 1998.

Green was one of the best-known Jewish major league ballplayers,[1] and the most prominent one with the New York Mets since Art Shamsky played right field for the 1969 World Champion Mets.[2] Of Jewish major leaguers, only Hank Greenberg, with 331 home runs and 1,276 RBIs, has more major league home runs and RBIs than Green.[3][4] Green opted to miss games on Yom Kippur, even when his team was in the middle of a playoff race.[5] Green was arguably the best Jewish baseball player since Sandy Koufax, although his stats (especially his home runs) declined in his last years.[6] Shawn Green retired on February 28, 2008.


Saturday, August 16, 2014

#93 Alex Gonzalez



QUICK : adjective \ˈkwik\
: fast in moving or reacting

13 year career with Toronto, Chicago Cubs, Montreal, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia.

Nothing real notable though.

Led the AL in sacrifice hits (16) in 2000.
Led the league in double plays  as a SS (120) and Assists as a SS (509) in 2001.
Led the league in fielding % for a SS in 1997 (.986) and 2003 (.984).

Booted the potential double play ball in the top of the 8th inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS that allowed the Florida Marlins' 8-run inning to continue, which ultimately led to the Cubs losing the NLCS.

Okay maybe a few notable things.

Monday, August 4, 2014

#92 David Cone



WINNER : noun \ˈwi-nər\
: someone or something that wins a contest, prize, etc.


Winner, winner!  Chicken Dinner!

Friday, July 25, 2014

#91 Joe Carter



CLUTCH : \ˈkləch\ adjective
able to perform well in a very important or critical situation especially in a sports competition

396 home runs, 1445 runs batted in
 First player to record 100 RBI for three different teams in three consecutive seasons.

5-time AL All-Star (1991-1994 & 1996)
2-time AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1991 & 1992)
2-time League At-Bats Leader (1989/AL & 1990/NL)
AL RBI Leader (1986)
30-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1987, 1989, 1991-1993 & 1996)
100 RBI Seasons: 10 (1986-1987, 1989-1994, 1996 & 1997)
100 Runs Scored Seasons 1 (1986)
200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1986)
Won two World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays (1992 & 1993)

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Emotion Recap - Page 10


#82 Alex Rodriguez - BLAZING
#83 Will Clark - MR. INTENSE (still lame)
#84 Benji Gil - WATCHING
#85 Juan Gonzalez - EXPLOSIVE
#86 Rusty Greer - CALCULATING
#87 Dean Palmer - ALERT
#88 Ivan Rodriguez - WIRED
#89 Kenny Rogers - HUMMIN'
#90 Roberto Alomar - SMOOOOTH OPERATOR


Sunday, July 13, 2014

#90 Roberto Alomar



SMOOTH :  adjective \ˈsmüth\
excessively and often artfully suave :  ingratiating <a smooth operator>


"No need to ask
He's a smooth operator
Smooth operator, smooth operator
Smooth operator"
- Sade

Sunday, June 29, 2014

#89 Kenny Rogers



HUMMIN' : to run smoothly


20-year career.

Played for the Rangers on 3 separate occasions.

Pitched 14th perfect game in MLB history (vs the Angels)

 Suspended for 20 games and fined $50,000 for the "Camera Incident" (prior to a game vs. the Angels)
I'm seeing a trend here.

In his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame in 2014, he received a single vote and dropped off the ballot.

That's actually kinda sad given he had a decent career.
Maybe the camera incident sealed his fate with the media.


Friday, May 30, 2014

#88 Ivan Rodriguez



WIRED : adjective
: very excited or full of nervous energy


I like Pudge  a lot don't get me wrong, but I remember watching him go from a relatively little guy, to a very bulky guy, then after the steroids scandal broke to an almost a sickly looking guy.

Always left me wondering.

One of the best catchers ever.

Always dug it when he picked off a runner at first by throwing behind a batters back.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

#87 Dean Palmer



ALERT : adjective \ə-ˈlərt\
: able to think clearly and to notice things


For some reason I often confuse Dean Palmer for Lee Stevens,
also thinking that they both played for the Angels and Rangers.
Not so though.
Palmer - 14 years Rangers, Royals, Tigers
Stevens - 11 years Angels, Rangers, Expos, Indians

He began playing in the minors at age 17, and hit the majors at age 20.

In 1992 Palmer became the first Texas ballplayer to ever homer in the first three games of a season.

He led the league in strikeouts in 1992 with 154.



Friday, May 9, 2014

#86 Rusty Greer



CALCULATING : adjective \-ˌlā-tiŋ\
: carefully thinking about and planning actions for selfish or improper reasons


Not!
If Skybox had done their research they would not have chosen CALCULTING for Rusty Greer.
Second only to Nolan Ryan in every North Texans heart is Rusty Greer.
The guy gave everything he had both on the field and off, to the team and to the fans.

Born Thurman Clyde "Rusty" Greer III

Made a diving catch of Angel Rex Hudler's fly ball to protect a perfect game by Kenny Rogers. 
(He made a lot of catches like that)

9-year career with the Texas Rangers (.305/119HR/614RBI/.979FLD)

On August 11, 2007, the Rangers inducted Greer into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

#85 Juan Gonzalez



EXPLOSIVE : adjective \ik-ˈsplō-siv, -ziv\
: tending to get angry very easily


And then taking it out on pitcher Charles Nagy (20 for 54, 6 HR, .370)

Fastest Player to hit 200 Home Runs AL (766 games)
Fastest Player to hit 300 Home Runs AL (1,096 games)
Is currently (2012) the fastest player to reach 1,000 RBIs (1,158 games) since Ted Williams (1,138 games) did it in 1949.
Became the first player since Vern Stephens in 1950 to drive in 400 runs in a 3-year span; he drove in his 400th on August 22, 1998.

"I concentrate more when I see men on base." 

 Averaged 37 HR and 117 runs batted in per season between 1991 and 1999

 Jose Canseco claims to have given steroid injections, and has been named in the Mitchell Report 

3-time All-Star (1993, 1998, 2001)
2-time American League MVP (1996, 1998)
His 434 career home runs ranks 37th on the all-time list
6 Silver Slugger awards (1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001)
2-time American League Home Run Champion (1992, 1993)

I always enjoyed sitting in the stands above left field in Arlington watching him play.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

#84 Benji Gil



WATCHING : verb \ˈwäch, ˈwȯch\
: to look at (someone or something) for an amount of time and pay attention to what is happening

Benji did a lot of watching from the bench mostly as a utility player never appearing in more than 130 games in a season.

 First Mexican native to be picked in the first round of Major League Baseball's amateur draft.

Won a World Series with the Anaheim Angels in 2002, batting .800 (4for5).