Word: pitches
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...Athletics' lean years, Connie said repeatedly that he had his heart set on winning one more pennant (his tenth) before he quits. The A's undoubtedly won't make it this year, but at least they are acting as if they cared. They have pretty good pitching (Phil Marchildon, Dick Fowler, Bob Savage, Russ Christopher), mediocre fielding, and almost the weakest hitting in the league (Outfielder Barney McCoskey is the only .300 hitter). What can't be measured statistically is their hustle, a lot of it contributed by Rookie Ferris Fain and Shortstop Eddie Joost...
Author Adam suspected there might be a reason: "The standards which the BBC . . . has established in news may have something to do with this 'lingering pain'. It is enough that the pitch by the village dump is being disputed . . . that another medicine man has arrived . . . that his top hat and his line of talk are glossier, and that he nips in before those who have been there many a year, man and boy, have their samples unpacked...
...people in the stands seemed to be far more excited than Blackwell was when he shuffled out last week to start the All-Star game. Calmly, and with relaxed stance, 6 ft. 5. in. Pitcher Blackwell waited for his sign. Catcher Walker Cooper called for a fast, inside pitch. Blackwell rocked into his windup. As he let go, his long right arm snapped around as if he were cracking a snake-whip. His complicated delivery made it look as if he were about to fall down, but the ball plunked squarely into the catcher's mitt. Three pitches later...
Blackwell's fast ball is generally conceded to be slower than the 98.6 m.p.h. pitch that made Feller famous, and his curve doesn't bend so sharply. But he manages to hide the ball more expertly: it comes up at a batsman out of nowhere as "alive" as an eel and just as hard to get hold of. Besides getting extra leverage from his wide sidearm sweep, Blackwell's awkward motion keeps enemy batsmen loose at the plate-just in case one of his pitches gets out of control. The third man to face Blackwell...
...Sorry to Leave." By All-Star rules, Blackwell could pitch only three innings. The score was 0-0 when he left (the American League's veteran Hal Newhouser was matching Blackwell's fine performance). The only man to reach first base against Blackwell was Joe DiMaggio, who drove a single over second base. Ewell Blackwell left the game, said later: "I had plenty of stuff and I felt kinda sorry to leave...