Bob Ford revisits the golden years of Ryan Howard and the Phillies as Howard has played his last game as a part of the franchise, marking the end of a glorious era. Ryan Howard had been overlooked and taken for granted while the Phillies were dominating the N.L. East and competing in the postseason consistently year after year. The World Series in 2008 was special and after that, the Phillies slowly declined and each player moved on from that team. Eight years later, Phillies fans say goodbye to the last player from that World Series team, and officially moving on to the future. Ford compares Howard to Mike Schmidt, both great players in Phillies’ history and each had their own decline that made Phillies fans realize how really special they were to the organization. (Bob Ford. September 30, 2016. Philly.com). Ford clearly used a technique in which he established an …show more content…
“Howard was never questioned before he lost his skills, and Schmidt was never embraced until after he did. Howard's obvious importance to the team's success far outweighed his many strikeouts when the Phils were winning. Schmidt was never given the same pass.” To finally convince the reader that Ryan Howard was a gift to the city of Philadelphia, he puts him in the same conversation as Mike Schmidt. He wants the reader to take away the great things that he did for the Phillies, and to give him a pass on the things Howard could not control. Everyone knows how important Schmidt was to this organization, and maybe fans have to realize what they had when they no longer have it, as then the appreciation comes wholeheartedly. Ford had to remind fans of what Howard used to be and how he was embraced by the city of Philadelphia, because Ryan Howard deserves to have a great legacy that should not be tarnished
Do you like Craig Kimbrel and the Atlanta Braves as much as I do? At the age of 4 Craig Kimbrel started off his baseball career. He didn’t play tee ball like most kids, he went straight to coach pitch. Between the ages of 4-12 Craig played with the Civic league team in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. He played in the Babe Ruth league from the age of 12-16. Growing up through baseball Craig’s positions were 3rd base and outfield, not pitcher. Kimbrel played high school ball for Lee High in Huntsville, Alabama.
first person about his struggles in the beginning of his baseball career, and how he miraculously turns his
Many considered Clemens’ best years the 13 seasons he was at the Red Sox. After 1996 he was not re-signed by the Red Sox because they felt he was in the twilight of his career. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays where he struggled a lot early on. Despite these early struggles, his career had a resurgence that many did not see coming. This resurgence is what caused the speculations of steroid use. After two years with the Toronto Blue Jays he won had the Cy Young award and the pitching Triple Crown both seasons. The triple crown is awarded to the pitcher that, at seasons end, leads the league in the three major categories: earned run average, wins, and strikeouts.
Albert Pujols said, “Baseball was an outlet for him to be able to do that, and he had some special talent to go through what he did and still set an example for others. You cannot replace it.”
Throughout the course of American history, there have been copious amounts of famous speeches, spoken by many different people. From political figures to sports players; these people have provided deep thoughts and great insights about who they are and the world we live in today. Being a sports enthusiast, a memorable speech comes to my mind. Lou Gehrig’s “farewell speech”, given on July 4th, 1939, to more than 62,000 fans at New York City’s Yankee Stadium, has become a cornerstone in the history of baseball in America. Lou Gehrig is considered one of the most under-rated sports players of all time. Gehrig played in the same era with greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. In Fact, Gehrig played on the same team and actually batted behind Ruth and DiMaggio. Gehrig’s nickname is the “Iron Horse,” which came about with Gehrig’s amazing consecutive games played streak. Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games, which stood as the consecutive games record until just recently broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. Gehrig died in 1941, at the age of 37. Though many famous speeches have been spoken throughout time, Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech has remained one of the most memorable speeches of all time, due to the way he captivated his fans with the use of rhetoric.
Before Earvin “Magic” Johnson and his group of investors took over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Dodgers organization was in one of their darkest times. During the time Frank McCourt and his ex-wife, Jamie, the fans appreciation and attendance was at it lowest point since 2000. The attendance for the Dodgers plummeted 17% from the year before. They also lost 200 million dollars that McCourt used to bankroll his lavish lifestyle. During the whole divorce between Frank and Jami, fans were calling for them to leave and sell the team. Before McCourt finally decided to sell the team, fans were playing to boycott McCourt during the season. On the day the fans found out that McCourt was selling the team, fans were joyous with approval on a number of fronts. One fan and lead sports columnist of the Los Angeles Chaves said “Take a hike, Frank. Don’t let Chavez hit you in the Ravine on the way out” (Moore, 2011). The buzz in Los Angeles after the team was sold changed so much after the team was bought. "Now we're here. And now, everyone is wearing caps again," Johnson said. "The jackets. The T-shirts are out. I work out at Gold's [Gym]. I'm there at 5 or 6 in the morning, and everyone is talking about the Dodgers. We want this to be the happening place again. We want people to come out. Well, you can't do that unless you win, and now everyone's coming" (Bryant, 2013).
The world is a very different place than what it was in the 1920’s; however, despite our differences, many things have stayed the same. No matter what, there’s always something to refer back to. Nearly one-hundred years ago, the 1920’s holds a great deal of historical events that changed the world. One of these historical events is when Babe Ruth changed the outlook on negro leagues and african american baseball players. Ruth could do many things that other people couldn’t in baseball. He in general was an amazing baseball player, but he also did something much more, something that would change the world’s views of not just him, but everybody.
rotten start” in life; he spent his childhood days on the streets and piers of
In 2013 he had an out of this world .423 OBP for the Cleveland Indians, a mark that is simply unheard of in this day in age. But he struggled in 2014 for the Rangers, not at all living up to the expectations that his big contract brought. Rangers fans were incredibly upset, and felt that they were spending their money in the wrong places.
With everything he had faced in his childhood; therefore, it prepared him for the changes he was going to make in the Major League when he entered it years later, Jackie s...
Tom Brady used perseverance, passion and sacrifice to be called the National Football League (NFL) greatest player of all time. Firstly, journalist for Business Insider Cork Gaines, shares that Tom had to use perseverance to overcome being denied for many teams. For example journalist for the business insider, shares that no teams wanted Tom Brady because he was slow and non-athletic. Tom answered back by going to a second string to a first string quarterback, and leading his team to their first super bowl win (Gains). Thus, this point proves that Tom used perseverance to ignore all of the negative critics. Secondly, Tom Brady had quite of bit struggle in his 2016 season and had to use passion to continue his legacy. Furthermore, A&E Networks
Finally, the ballgame begins, as the Red Sox take field led by the rookie pitcher Jon Lester, who is making his major league debut. Lester is now one my favorite Red Sox players because of this moment. The Red Sox ended up losing the game that day, but for me even though the Red Sox lost, I felt like I was in Heaven. I cherish this moment because it was my first Red Sox game at Fenway. I only get go to one Red Sox game a year if we can afford it. I know to cherish this moment, because to me this day is like Christmas, it only happens once a year. I love going to Red Sox games with Phil because it is time I am spend alone with him. I hope that I can go this year, to go back my baseball heaven, Fenway. To me this experience is important, because it taught me to cherish the moments, and not have regrets.
To embark, Yogi Berra was rejected many times before being the huge star that everyone knew. He was playing Triple A, then moved up to the MLB, and went back down to Triple A (Barnes, 2004) He was fired from being the Yankees manager because of losing in the World Series. He persisted and went back to the
"He was like a hunter stalking a bear, a whale, or maybe the sight of a single fleeing star the way he went after that ball (Malamud, 162)." Since he is young, Roy Hobbs has great ability and amazing talent in baseball. However, just like a tragic hero in Greek myth, those ones who fight for their honor, but fail because of their hubris or the desire of being such immortal and an aspects of not accepting the truth and reality, Roy Hobbs' hubris, ambition and a desire for fame and his fortune really tell that he is a tragic hero.
Unfortunately, each hitter left their offensive potency in Chicago; and no one was a greater example of this than Daniel Murphy. A cult hero against the Dodgers and Cubs, “Murph” was hotter than the flames of Hades. However, when the lights were at their brightest, Daniel Murphy played like, well, Daniel Murphy. A career .288 hitter with a high of 14 home runs, hit this season, Murphy went 3-20 with no long balls. The Captain, David Wright hit .208, Travis d’Arnaud batted .143 and Wilmer Flores was an abysmal