Fungos

Got a few notes for you. First of all: last month’s trivia question asking who caught Hank Aaron’s 715th home run. The answer is Tom House, who was a teammate of Aaron’s in Atlanta, and caught the ball in the Braves’ bullpen. Afterwards, House ran in to present it to the new home run champion. In today’s environment, the person who caught that particular ball would probably auction it off to the highest bidder. House just wanted to be sure that Hank got it. After a decent seven year career as a pitcher, Tom House went on to be a very successful pitching coach with several teams, including a stint in Texas where he worked with a guy named Nolan Ryan. In his Hall of Fame acceptance ceremony, Ryan mentioned House as someone who was very important in his career. That’s a pretty good recommendation.

Baseball is a funny game. How can a team go 16-4 over a three week period, then lose 8 games in a row ? The roller coaster ride that is the Rangers season is sliding to a disappointing finish. I’ll have more to say about that in a few days.

From the lookalike department: Starting pitcher Merrill Kelly is a dead ringer for comedian/actor Chris Elliott. Look it up if you don’t recognize the name. And Ranger hitting coach Bret Boone doesn’t favor anyone in particular, but his grizzled, bemused visage would qualify him for the role of a comic sidekick in an old western movie. He might as well give acting a shot - the hitting coach job hasn’t worked out too well.

Kyle Tucker started out strong for the Cubs, but suffered through a slump later in the season and began to hear some jeers and heckling in Chicago. He should be used to hearing boos - he formerly played for the despised Astros. Speaking of Houston, they no longer play in Minute Maid Park. Their new name sponsor is Daikin, the world’s largest manufacturer of Air Conditioners. Do you think they would rig the system to blow air out when the Astros are batting and in when the opposition is hitting? Surely not - that would be cheating.

And while we’re talking about hot air blowing, it seems that the preseason anointing of Arch Manning as the best quarterback in the land was premature. Heisman Schmeisman. I like the kid, and he may become a great quarterback, but let’s let him get some games under his belt before he’s compared to Patrick Mahomes.

This edition’s trivia: Name the only four number one draft picks in baseball who are currently in the MLB Hall of Fame.

That’s one man’s opinion - what’s yours?