Lee Lowenfish

The Orioles' thrilling season continues on its merry way.  After being embarrassed 13-1 in the opening Fri June 23 game of a three-game home series against a Seattle Mariners team hovering around .500, they came from behind to win the next two games, 6-4 in 10 innings and 3-2 in Sunday's rubber match. 

 

If the 6-4 game Sat. game had been played during the post-season, a wider audience would have called it a classic.  Even though the Birds managed the dubious distinction of "running for the cycle" - 4 men were thrown out on the bases. 

 

Red-hot Anthony Santander hit a tying homer (did the same thing on Sunday and made a sensational catch) and Aaron Hicks, finding new life after trying times with the Yankees, hit a go-ahead homer.  But Yankee castoff Mike Ford, the undrafted slugger from Princeton, hit two long home runs, the second one tying the game with two out in top of the ninth off the huge Oriole closer Felix "The Mountain" Bautista. 

 

Julio Rodriguez, last year's AL Rookie of the Year, also homered and kept the game close by a sensational robbing of a two-run homer off the bat of Ryan O'Hearn.  O'Hearn is a KC Royals castoff who has stepped in productively for the injured and struggling Ryan Mountcastle who might be in danger of being Wally Pipp-ed although the farm system has younger, possibly more talented players than O'Hearn waiting in the wings.

 

The game was won in bottom of the tenth by a two-run homer by defensive replacement Ryan McKenna. It has been that kind of year for the Orioles - major contributions from unlikely members of the roster.  

 

Sunday's game-winning hit came off the bat of third-string catcher Anthony Bemboom who blooped the ball over second baseman Jose Caballero who kicked it towards the tarp and fleet shortstop Jorge Mateo scored all the way from first base on the error. 

 

Baltimore enters the last week of June 4 1/2 games behind Tampa Ray but only two in the loss column. They immediately host another even more surprising team the Cincinnati Reds who rolled off 12 wins in a row before losing two close games to the NL East leaders Atlanta Braves. 

 

The Reds have caught the nation's attention because they have been downtrodden for so long.  Some impressive rookies led by shortstop-third baseman Elly de la Cruz have fueled the surge and the return of future Hall of Famer Joey Votto will undoubtedly help.  Votto is one of the most thoughtful and team-oriented players in MLB and I hope he stays healthy now (but not too healthy against the Orioles). 

 

Maybe the most encouraging development this weekend was the solid seven-inning starts by young Oriole starters Dean Kremer, the first dual Israeli-American citizen in MLB history (and the last Oriole remnant of the

Manny Machado fire sale of 2018), and Kyle Bradish obtained as a minor leaguer in a trade for the fading

Dylan Bundy (last seen pitching for the Mets' Triple-A farm club in Syracuse).  

 

Nothing like the feeling of hope for one's team and the inevitable anxiety - can't have one without another - as summer moves on. On the local NYC high school baseball scene, congrats to Tottenville of Staten Island and Hunter of Manhattan's East Side for their triumphs at Yankee Stadium on June 12 in the AAA and AA divisions. 

 

More next time on the law suit brought by older MLB scouts against the MLB hierachy that may have committed age discrimination violations by severing many experienced veteran scouts. As I stressed in my new book BASEBALL'S ENDANGERED SPECIES, there is no substitute for the informed opinions of those who have worked in the trenches trying to evaluate and project the success of aspiring young players. 

 

The saddest entry this post focuses on the passing last week of two outstanding pitchers and baseball personages, Roger Craig, 93, who died on June 4, and Dick Hall, 92, who died on June 18. 

 

I will never forget Craig coming up with Don Bessent in the middle of the 1955 season to help the Brooklyn Dodgers win their only World Series. After winning another ring with 1959 LA Dodgers, Craig went on to become an anchor on early Mets staffs. 

 

He managed the San Diego Padres in 1978 and 1979 and later became a great pitching coach for the 1984 world champion Tigers. He managed mainly contending SF Giants teams from 1985-1992, losing the 1989 "earthquake" World Series to the Oakland A's.

 

Craig was a renowned teacher of the split-fingered fastball, the pitch du jour of the 1980s. He looked like a more avuncular and kinder former President Lyndon B. Johnson. His signature phrase will be remembered as "Humm baby!" but he was more importantly a wise dispenser of wisdom learned in his home state of North Carolina.  

 

Dick Hall was a lanky young outfielder-third baseman on Branch Rickey's young Pittsburgh Pirates teams in the 1950s before his conversion to the mound.  He blossomed as a relief pitcher for the Orioles in the 1960s winning two World Series rings in 1966 and 1970. 

 

The only Swarthmore graduate who made the field in MLB history (Larry and Lee MacPhail made the Hall of Fame as executives), Hall became an accomplished accountant and a persuasive advocate for the game.  

 

Hall grew up near NYC in Haworth NJ and I met not long ago one of his neighbors who remembered the sound of Hall's practicing his throwing on a cushioned wall or maybe a barn near my friend's house.  The sound of ball on wall night after night became the percussive musical background of my late friend's youth.    

 

In closing let's also cross fingers that the recent termination of several TCM (Turner Classic Movies) executives doesn't lead to a diminuition of that valuable cable channel's programming of classic films.

 

There have been a lot of layoffs at TCM recently, and chief executive David Zaslav is trying to dampen criticism by saying he believes in the station.  For now, my favorite show on TCM - Eddie Muller's Noir Alley Sat at midnight, rebroadcast at 10A Sun - remains on.  Even if the Noir formula grows tiresome and predictable, Eddie's intros and outros are must-see watching.

 

That's all for now. Next post comes from Chautauqua where I'm teaching a class from July 3, 5-7 on "Can Baseball Survive the 21st Century?"   Always remember:  Take it easy but take it, and stay positive, test negative.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Summer officially began on June 20 and heat waves are arriving real early this summer all over the country. So let's cool off for a moment and reflect on how important grinders are to any winning sports team. 

 

Let's lift a glass to the Indiana Pacers' backup point guard T. J. McConnell, who at the age of 33 kept the Pacers alive throughout their surprise playoff run to Game 7 of the NBA finals, a run that fell just short against the new champion Oklahome City Thunder.  (Late NBA commissioner David Stern dreamed of NBA finals ending on July 4th - this year it came close, Su June 22.) 

 

The undrafted McConnell superlatively backed up All-Star Tyrese Halliburton until Tyrese's injuries finally proved too much for Indiana to overcome.

And how about T.J. wearing his sister Megan's uniform top on his way to one of the early games of the final round. Megan plays for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA, and their father, Tim, coached his son at Chartiers Valley HS 10 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.  He was a visible presence at most of the games. 

 

Turning now to MLB, here's a toast to some special baseball grinders.  Athletics' centerfielder Denzel Clarke has pulled off this month two of the most remarkable catches I've ever seen. First, at home in the A's temporary base in Sacramento, he sprinted to left center chasing a rare outfield smash by Orioles utilityman Jorge Mateo. Averting the wall at the last moment, Clarke stretched out to make a brilliant backhand catch. 

 

A few days later, on the road in Anaheim against the Angels, Clarke outdid himself with a spectacular catch leaping over the center field wall to bring back a sure home run. 

I said to myself, "He must be a gymnast," and sure enough his mother was a star gymnast in Toronto and later a track star and now a track coach. Afterward, Denzel credited his mother for her coaching and inspiration. 

 

Another tip of the cap to Jake Mangum, the switch-hitting outfielder and 29-year-old rookie for the Tampa Bay Rays who, before games on Mon June 23, is hitting .318 with 1 HR, 23 RBI 15 Runs scored in 148 AB - he has also pilfered 10 SB.  He is a solid defender as well. He was drafted in the 4th round in the 2019 draft by the New York Mets.

I don't consider myself a very good talent evaluator - my most recent book BASEBALL'S ENDANGERED SPECIES (University of Nebraska Press, 2023) is a homage to those unrecognized pros who really know the craft of scouting - but I am proud that I spotted Jake as a comer at the 2019 New York-Penn League championship game. 

 

Mangum's Brooklyn Cyclones were playing the Red Sox' Lowell Spinners for what turned out to be the last New York-Penn League championship game. An early single drove in the game's first run and his leadoff single in the bottom of the 7th started the game-winning rally as the Cyclones came from behind to win the franchise's only championship, 4-3.  After the game, Mangum endeared himself to me when he said with the team down a run late in the game, he forgot about all the information those drunk on analytics feed players day in and day out.  "I just decided to play baseball," meaning he knew that he could beat the pitcher so he said to himself: Just get a hit and start a rally which he did.

 

It has been a long road towards the majors for Mangum who at 29 is old for a rookie.  He lost the 2020 season to the pandemic (as did all minor leaguers), then hurt his back and the Mets traded him to Miami in 2022. The ever-astute Tampa Bay Rays traded for him after the 2024 season (righthanded reliever Calvin Faucher is in the Marlins bullpen as of now so the Rays didn't pull off an outright heist).  

 

Mangum hails from Mississippi and he is part of a third generation of athletic royalty in two sports. His grandfather John was an offensive tackle for the Boston Patriots in the old AFL, his father also named John played 9 years of defensive halfback for the Chicago Bears, and his uncle Kris had a 10-year career as a Carolina Panthers tight end.  Jake played four years for the SEC powerhouse Mississippi State Bulldogs and became known as the Mayor for his school loyalty and passion for the game.

 

As a senior, Mangum mentored freshman Jordan Westburg who when healthy for the Orioles - which unfortunately like most of the 2025 team he has not been - should be a core player in Baltimore for years to come.  Like virtually everyone who has played with Mangum, Westburg is thrilled about his fellow Bulldog's belated arrival on the MLB scene.  His lack of power kept him pigeon-holed for too long so here's hoping he continues his fine play because Jake Mangum is a grinder of the first order.

  

And now for some TCM tips - the baseball movie list is short but here are some worthy mentions:

Tu June 24 145P "Alibi Ike" (1935), the final film in Joe E Brown's baseball trilogy inspired by Ring Lardner's story. Footage from the 1932 World Series is used, Olivia

  DeHavilland is Joe E's love interest, William Frawley is Brown's manager and the underappreciated Ruth Donnelly smooths out some of the issues in the Brown-Olivia 

  romance.  Earlier in 1935 DeHavilland and Joe E Brown were also in Hollywood's lavish "Midsummer Night's Dream" but "Alibi Ike" made the screens first.  

Sa June 28 6P "Field of Dreams" (1989) with Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones, a film that has been called the first male tearjerker. I think the biggest fantasy in the film

  is Costner and Jones go for concessions at Fenway Park and three people wait on them and there is no line. 

Fri Fourth of July:  4P "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" (1949) Busby Berkeley directs female baseball owner Esther Williams and Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra

   8P "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1943) Michael Curtiz puts Casablanca out of mind and directs James Cagney as George M. Cohan with Walter Huston/Joan Leslie

There are also great Noirs at end of June, many of them on one day.

Sa June 28 145P "The Killers" (1946) the one Hywd film based on his work that Hemingway liked with Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner

    8P "Double Indemnity" (1944) Billy Wilder directs Stanwyck/Fred MacMurray/Edward G. Robinson

    10P "Chinatown" (1974) Roman Polanski directs Jack Nicholson/Faye Dunaway who didn't get along off set but it probably aided the final product

Su June 29 1230A, repeated at 10A  "Sorry, Wrong Number" (1948) A classic scary Noir Alley with Barbara Stanwyck  

 

GET WELL SOON WISHES to Angels manager Ron Washington, 73, who is out indefinitely with some circulatory issues.  His intensity and unabashed old school beliefs

   have made the Angels watchable though they obviously have holes in the lineup and on the mound.  Sure hope he is back in uniform soon.

 

Always remember - Take It Easy But Take It, and Stay Positive, Test Negative.