Last Rights and Bright Nights

Baseball fans mourn the passing of Hall of Famer Edwin Donald Snider, known as “Duke” who died this weekend at the age of 84.

As old as I now am I am still not that old that I got to see Duke play baseball even though he did play until 1964 (I was two.)

Snider hit 407 career homeruns, mostly as a Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodger. Ironically, although he spent his glory years as a Dodger, he ended his career with the hated Giants, in San Francisco by that time.

When I was a kid I was a huge Strat-O-Matic Baseball game player (still am from time to time.) One of my favorite teams to use was the 1953 season, a season in which Duke hit .336 and hit 42 homeruns. That Dodger team won 105 games and also featured Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson.

Snider was immortalized in the song “Talkin’ Baseball,” which also featured two other Hall of Fame centerfielders who played in New York in the same era, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

Snider was also known as “The Silver Fox” and “The Duke of Flatbush.” He played in 6 World Series and was an 8-time All Star.

I mentioned St. Louis Cardinal Jim Edmonds as one of the veteran players who was a non-roster invitee to camp this year. Surgery made a comeback highly unlikely for a centerfielder who made some of the most incredible catches we will ever see in baseball. And indeed, the recovery was too difficult and Edmonds retired this weekend.

Edmonds retires with 393 career homeruns and a lifetime .284 average, 14 homeruns and 11 points in average behind Snider.

Just as a note, Snider’s highest year in salary was roughly $50,000 (figures are difficult to confirm prior to 1985) while Edmonds best year was $12,000,000. Edmonds played in two WS and was a 4-time All-Star.

Great to see spring training games start. I thought it odd that the Phillies, in game #3, basically used their regular starting lineup against the Yankees in a loss yesterday. The only exception was that second baseman Chase Utley was out of the lineup. Utley had an MRI which revealed tendinitis in his right knee. Usually, there are at least a couple of scrubs in the mix, particularly so early in the season.

So after three spring-training games here are the top batting leaders…

49 guys are tied with a 1.000 average. These include players with such household surnames as Bard, Cozart, Chisenhall, Denorfia, Jaramillo, Pacheco, d’Arnaud and Sucre.
 
No where to be found in the top 50 are these apparently washed-up players with names like Pujols, Suzuki, Mauer and Jeter.

Of course I jest, but if one from the previous group of roster hopefuls does win a batting title this year, you heard about them here first.

I am back from Las Vegas and my first stage hypnosis show at the Bellagio in Sin City.
No sins were committed during the show (or prior to or after on my part) but I was approached by two young, and very hot, prostitutes at the Hilton (where I stayed) while strolling around after the show.
While I told them I thought it was funny that they were trying to get my attention (money) I still found it oddly flattering. It is one of the horrors of being a year shy of 50 years old since receiving the types of compliments they offered rarely come my way and they are so welcome to hear.

Technically, however, they did not count then either because they were given under false pretence!

About 30 minutes later I saw security escorting them out of the building. I did have half a mind to shout out, “WAIT, THEY ARE WITH ME!” partly because it would have been funny but partly because they were hot…really hot.

Ok, so how did the show go? It went great. I wish I could say that it was one of those shows which make people say, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” but it was simply a good show. My hosts and their guests had a great time and loved the show (real compliments this time) but it was one of those shows where no one wanted to volunteer at the beginning. Now, keep in mind that the show needs volunteers; I don’t hypnotize myself and do strange things. So it took a little longer for everything to happen, which just made it a “good” show for me.

The best looking girl in the room was one of the stars of the show and, as is usually the case, helps keep the attention and interest at a higher level and somehow, magically, it seems like it’s a better show to those that watch.

But now that I have had a taste of that, I want some more. Now I have to get my material in the right hands and land a regular show there. That is, as I have mentioned, my real final goal and destination. I would like a billboard please!

I did see a couple of other hypnosis shows promoted there; one at the Riviera and one at Planet Hollywood. But there are plenty of other places! Its time to push my agency out there to help make something greater happen or find another one that will.

The whole city is very enticing and exciting. I had been there once before for a couple of days and loved it. There was no difference for me this time. I drove down the strip a few times just people watching and building watching and I could see the excitement in people’s faces. It’s catchy, for sure.

But it is the desert out there and hot as hell in the summer. I’m not really a hot-weather fan so if I actually had a choice in the matter I would prefer a winter gig. But who am I kidding? I’d suck it up if I could get that billboard!