Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls
Niagara Falls, NY

These photos were taken earlier today from the New York side of Niagara Falls.  The photo above shows the Rainbow Bridge (top right corner) crossing into Canada, as well as several Ontario landmarks on the Canadian side of the falls.  From left to right, you can see the Niagara SkyWheel, the Sheraton Fallsvew Hotel, Casino Niagara, and the Niagara Falls Crowne Plaza.

This ship is called the Maid Of The Mist.  They run a boat tour where they get as close to Niagara Falls as possible.  We'll be going on this later this week.

The picture quality didn't come out that great, but here is a short video of the Falls.

This has been a pretty incredible vacation so far.  I'm looking forward to seeing the Falls from the Canadian side tomorrow.

Record And A Reuben

The Phantastic Phillies
Fleetwood Communications Company (1980)
There are a ton of baseball card and sports memorabilia shops in downtown Cooperstown.  We stopped at one called the On Deck Circle where I found an awesome vinyl record called The Phantastic Phillies.  These were produced in 1980 to commemorate the Phillies first World Series Championship in the franchise's then 97 year history.

 

The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) - November 7, 1980

These record albums were available at Kiddie City toy stores less than a month after Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson to clinch the deciding Game 6 of the 1980 World Series.  It was narrated by the great Harry Kalas and includes dozens of interviews and recordings from the radio broadcasts of games during the regular season and the post-season.

As if the record itself isn't awesome enough on its own, this one was autographed by six members of the 1980 World Champion Phillies.

Del Unser started in left field in Game 4 and appeared as a pinch hitter in Games 1 and 5.  He only had six plate appearances during the season, but he made them count by going 3-6 with two doubles and two RBI.

Right fielder Bake McBride hit the a three run homer in the bottom of the third inning of Game 1 for the Phillies first home run of the series.  He started all six games and bat .304 with a double, a homer and five RBI.

Bob Boone caught every inning for the Phillies during the 1980 World Series and was about as productive as a 9-hole hitter could be, batting .412 with seven hits, two doubles, four RBI, and four walks.  It was reported that his knees were so sore when he caught the final strike of the series that he could barely make it to the mound to celebrate with Tug McGraw and the rest of the team.

To this day, if you mention the name of this center fielder in a room full of Phillies fans, you can be guaranteed that at least one person will make the following statement in an almost reverent tone: "Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water, the other third is covered by Garry Maddox".  The Phillies Secretary Of Defense solidified his nickname by earning a Gold Glove in each of his first eight seasons, from 1975 to 1982.

Phillies second baseman Manny Trillo hit a career best .292 during the 1980 season and won the Silver Slugger while playing phenomenal defense.  His success continued into the post-season.  He was named the MVP of the National League Championship Series and his RBI single was the winning run in the pivotal fifth game of the World Series.

Keith Moreland was the Phillies backup catcher during the 1980 season, but he also got time at third base and in right field.  The versatile player didn't play any innings in the field during the World Series, but he started Games 2, 3 and 5 as the Phillies designated hitter and bat .333 for the series.

 

The man who sold me the record sweetened the deal by throwing in a free lunch at the Pioneer Patio Restaurant, which he also owns and operates.  I had a reuben sandwich, which was loaded with meat and absolutely delicious!

Drink Pepsi For Mas Beisbol

These Pepsi Cola labels were on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown.  They're from a 2006 marketing promotion in Venezuela that featured several players, including two former Phillies: Bobby Abreu and Freddy Garcia.

Forever Branded

Home Run Ball: #756*
National Baseball Hall Of Fame - Cooperstown, NY
This is the baseball that steroid user Barry Bonds hit off of Washington Nationals lefty Mike Bacsik on August 7th, 2007 to pass* Hank Aaron for most career home runs.  It was purchased at an auction by Ecko Unltd founder Marc Ecko who put the ball's fate up to a vote on the internet.  Fans could either vote to send the ball to Cooperstown intact, launch the ball into outer space, or burn an asterisk into the baseball before sending it to the Hall Of Fame.

More than ten million votes were cast, and the asterisk won with 47% of the vote.  So, here it will sit forever in a display case in Cooperstown, New York as a constant reminder that the 2007 home run record is fraudulent, and the true Home Run King is Mr. Henry Aaron... until someone breaks that record honestly, instead of using performance enhancing drugs to cheat the game.

Chasing The Dream

Hank Aaron: Chasing The Dream
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2013)
The Hall of Fame has an entire wing dedicated to the man who I believe to be the greatest baseball player who ever lived: "Hammerin" Hank Aaron.

Hank Aaron should have been the first person to be unanimously inducted into the Hall Of Fame.  He did get in on his first year of eligibility in 1982 when he was named on 97.83% of the ballots.  Quite frankly, I feel like the sportswriters who refused to name him on their ballots should have had their Hall Of Fame voting privileges revoked, because there is no valid excuse whatsoever to have not selected him.

When Aaron retired, he was the all-time home run king.  Many fans (myself included) argue that he is still the legitimate all-time home run king, as his achievements were earned, not accomplished as a result of steroid abuse.  Setting that aside, his career accomplishments tend to get overshadowed by the 755 home runs he smashed in his career.  Most of the fans I've spoken to over the years didn't realize that he was a member of the 3,000 hit club, let alone that he is the all-time hits leader for a right handed batter and the third most overall (behind only Ty Cobb and Pete Rose).  Here's a short list of Aaron's other achievements:

• Most hits by a right handed batter: 3,771
• Most intentional walks by a right handed batter: 293
• Most career extra-base hits: 1,467
• Most career RBI: 2,297
• Most career total bases: 6,856
• Most seasons with 100 or more runs: 15
• Most consecutive seasons with 150 or more hits: 17
• Most seasons as a member of the All-Star Team: 21
• Most All-Star Game appearances: 25  (there were two All-Star Games played per season from 1959-1962)

Hank Aaron's uniform (I don't remember what year or game this is from).

Hank Aaron's championship ring from the 1957 World Series.

The NL MVP award that Hank Aaron won in 1967.

Hank Aaron got his 3000th hit on May 17, 1970 off of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Wayne Simpson.  Simpson was an All-Star that season who went on to pitch for the Phillies in 1975.  Aaron has the third most career hits of all time, behind only Ty Cobb and Pete Rose.

Hank tied The Babe on April 4th, 1974 when he hit a three run homer off of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jack Billingham.

This was the last base Hank Aaron touched before passing Babe Ruth for the most career home runs of all time.  It took place on April 8th, 1974 in a game between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers.  Aaron's record breaking homer was hit off of Al Downing in the bottom of the 4th to tie the score at 3-3.

This is the ball Hank Aaron hit for his last career home run.  It was hit on July 20th, 1976 when he was the designated hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers.  It was hit off of California Angels pitcher Dick Drago, whose name sounds like someone who would challenge Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship in the 80's.

The Phillies at the Hall Of Fame

As usual, I took a ton of photos at the Hall of Fame.  Some of them came out a little dark or blurry, but they're not too bad overall.  These are the displays and artifacts from the Phillies and for players that spent part of their career in Philadelphia.

Pins and championship rings from each of the World Series that the Phillies appeared in from 1950 to today.

The 1932 NL MVP trophy awarded to Chuck Klein.  At some point, the bat must have broken off of the statue.  This display also has the ball that Klein hit for his 300th career home run in 1941.

These were worn in 1950 by the NL Champion Phillies (aka: The Whiz Kids).  The jersey and jacket belonged to Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts.  The cap was worn by 1950 NL MVP Jim Konstanty.  He was the first relief pitcher to win an MVP.

This display is centered around the Phillies of the late 70's and early 80's, including the 1980 team that won the first World Series Championship in franchise history.  I watched it as a baby sitting on my father's lap in State College, PA.

This is the uniform that Pete Rose wore on August 10th, 1981 when he passed Stan Musial for the most career hits in the National League.

Mike Schmidt's uniform - the greatest 3rd baseman to ever play the game, and the greatest Phillies player of all time.

Steve Carlton's uniform - one of the greatest left handed pitchers the game has ever seen, and my favorite pitcher of all time.

This is the glove that Steve Carlton used on July 6th, 1980 when he passed Mickey Lolich for the most career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher.

Steve Carlton's 1980 Cy Young Award.  He went 24-9 with a 2.34 ERA and 286 strikeout.  He also pitched 13 complete games in 1980, which is practically unheard of today.

Steve Carlton's 3000th strikeout ball. He struck out Expos rookie third baseman Tim Wallach on April 29, 1981 to reach the milestone.  Wallach went on to be a five time All-Star.  Carlton won the game that night to begin the 1981 season with a 4-0 record.

Pete Rose left the Phillies to sign with the Montreal Expos in 1984.  This is the cap he wore on June 29th, 1984 when he passed Carl Yastrzemski for most games played in a career.  It was Pete's 3,562nd career game, and he played 1st base for the Expos against his old team, the Cincinnati Reds.

This is the bat that broke my 13 year old heart when Joe Carter hit his walk-off home run against Mitch Williams in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series to give the Toronto Blue Jays the championship over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Three of the six Houston Astros who pitched a combined no-hitter against the Yankees on June 11, 2003 would go on to play for the Phillies.  Roy Oswalt started the game for the Astros.  Brad Lidge came in to pitch the 6th and 7th innings, and Billy Wagner came in to finish the game in the 9th.

Jose Mesa is the Phillies all-time saves leader.  In his 20 year career, he pitched for the Orioles, Indians, Giants, Mariners, Phillies, Pirates, Rockies and Tigers.  His 300th career save came with the Pirates on April 27th, 2005, but his final career save (#321) came in his second run with the Phillies on August 5th, 2007.

This is the helmet Carlos Ruiz was wearing when he won Game 3 of the 2008 World Series.  His hit in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded was the first walk-off infield single in World Series history.

West Hazleton's own Joe Maddon was the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series.  Normally, I would have been rooting for a dude from my hometown in the World Series, but he ran into the buzzsaw that was the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies. 

This is the jersey that Cole Hamels wore when he started Game 5 of the 2008 World Series on October 27th.  For the first time in the history of the World Series, the game was suspended in the 6th inning due to severe rain.  The game resumed on October 29th with JC Romero taking the mound in relief.

Brad Lidge wore this cap when he earned the save on October 29th, 2008 to give the Phillies their second World Series Championship in franchise history.  Lidge was perfect in 2008, going 48 for 48 in save opportunities throughout the season and the playoffs.

Eric Bruntlett had the 15th unassisted triple play in the history of the game on August 23rd, 2009.  If that isn't cool enough on it's own, it happened in the bottom of the 9th against the Mets to shut the door on a bases loaded rally, and Pedro Martinez was the winning pitcher for the Phillies against his former team.

Cliff Lee won the first game at the new Yankee Stadium on April 16, 2009.  Three and a half months later, the Indians traded him to the Phillies, for whom he would pitch Game 1 of the 2009 World Series at Yankee Stadium and one again mow down the Yankees.

On the left is Cliff Lee's cap from Game One and Game Five of the 2009 World Series.  Lee won both games against the Yankees.  On the right is a baseball thrown by Roy Halladay during his perfect game against the Marlins on May 29, 2010.

This is the jersey that Phillies ace Roy Halladay wore when he pitched the second no-hitter in post season history.  It happened on  October 6th, 2010 in the NLDS against the Reds.  He came within one walk of pitching two perfect games in a single season.

This is the bat Jim Thome used to hit his 587th home run to pass Frank Robinson for 8th place on the all-time career home run list on September 11th, 2010.

Wilson Valdez became a cult hero in Philadelphia on May 26th, 2011 in a game against the Reds.  He started the game at second base just after 7 pm on May 25th and went 3-6 with a walk in 18 innings.  With the score tied 4-4, Valdez was brought in to pitch the top of the 19th when he retired Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Carlos Fisher (and hit Scott Rolen with a pitch for good measure).  Raul Ibanez hit a sac fly to score Jimmy Rollins in the bottom of the 19th to give Wilson Valdez the win with one scoreless inning pitched.  He was the first position player to start a game in the field and end the game as the winning pitcher since Babe Ruth started a game in left field for the Yankees against the Philadelphia Athletics on October 1st, 1921.  He was brought in to pitch in the 8th inning.  Unlike Valdez, Ruth gave up 6 runs on 9 hits and allowed the A's to tie the game.  Ruth was the winning pitcher thanks to a Johnny Mitchell RBI single in the bottom of the 11th.

Last, but not least, I found this Phillie Phanatic plastic mask in the Hall of Fame.  I'm not sure what year it's from, and this particular mask has no special significance, but no look at the Phillies is complete without the greatest mascot in the history of professional sports.