BIG PITCH,NO PUNCH

President Kennedy throws out the first pitch at Griffith Stadium in 1961 as LBJ follows the flight of the ball.

Library of Congress

WTHEN: NATIONAL PASTIME AND THE POWER OF THE PRESIDENCY $1.50

NOW:

WALKOFF

CONTENT4

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This paper is geared toward those who love allitera-tion, language and base-

ball lore throughout the ages. NOW FOR SOME TRIVIA:

Can you name the Philadel-phia A’s pitcher at left? A hint: He won 241 games lifetime and was inducted

into the Hall of Fame in 1948. Known as the “Squire of Ken-nett Square,” he also played for the Bos-

ton Red Sox and New York Yan-kees, with whom he enjoyed his greatest suc-cess, winning more than 20 games twice. For the an-swer, see

Page 5.

Who are we, and who’s he?

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Page 3 May 17-23, 2012 WALKOFF

BAMBINO BY THE NUMBERS

714Homers

94-46Pitching record

2213RBIs

.342Average

Library of Congress

BAM! On July 5, 1924, Yankees right fielder Babe Ruth chased a fly by the Senators’ Joe Judge — and ran right into the concrete wall. He was out for 5 minutes. The next day? He hit a home run.

Scheme to get your own dream team

Is Babe relegated to your DL?

Since 1961, Strat-O-Matic has cre-ated the most realistic simulation of statistically accurate baseball. No other game combines Strat-O-Matic’s realism, statistical ac-curacy and ease of play. No other game matches Strat-O-Mat-ic’s in-depth research — up to 1,500 hours to re-create a season. Getting Babe Ruth will empower your team. He changed baseball from a grind-it-out style to one of power and high scoring games.

Just pick up someone else! All-time fan-tasy baseball by Strat-O-Matic includes all the big names, from today and yesteryear. The Pirates’ Roberto Clemente, say, might make a great replacement — unless he’s

already on your starting squad. How about the Braves’ Hank Aaron or the Orioles’ Frank Roninson? Already taken? Then what about the Giants’ Mel Ott or Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki? Of course, there’s always Al

HOMER FRENZYIn the span of four seasons, three players

shattered Roger Maris’ record of 61 homers

Getting “juiced”pays off

BARRY BONDS

Mark McGuire

73Bonds, pictured, got

the record, but McGuire and Sosa

weren’t far behind. All were accused of

taking banned substances.

2001

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701998

661998

Sammy Sosa

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Volume X, No. 33(ISSN 1541-5228)Peter Erikson, PublisherWillie Mays, PresidentWillie McCovey, EditorA USA Today publicationPublished every every Wednesday. Periodicals Postage Paid at Mill Valley, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to USA Today Sports Weekly, P.O. Box 7001, Mill Valley, CA, 94941. Printed in the USA. Subscribe to Sports Weekly, your inside source for Baseball and Football.

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TRIVIAAnswer from Page 2: Herb Pennock. He played from 1912-1934.

Senators were a sorry sight

Library of CongressALL SMILES: President Harry Truman, right, in white hat, attends the first game of the season, at Griffith Field in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 1948. Truman, who also threw out the first pitch, watched as the New York Yankees defeat the lowly hometowen Senators, 12-4.

Bush butchered his words“I didn’t — I swear I didn’t — get into politics to feather my nest or feather my friends’ nests.”

–President George W. Bush

By Howard WilkinsonThe Enquirer

Page 5 May 17-23, 2012 WALKOFF

THEN: POWER OF THE PRESIDENCY AND ITS IMPACT ON BASEBALL

A ccording to the Baseball Almanac, Harry S. Truman went to the ball-park more than any other President

— even more than Franklin Roosevelt. A U.S. President had not attended a baseball game since April 14, 1941, and Truman knew that his attendance at games would symbolize peace once again. In total, Truman attended sixteen games and every one of them was in Washington. Meanwhile, Woodrow Wilson, below, was a serious fan and during his freshman year at Davidson College he played baseball. Wilson was the first President to ever attend a World Series and he never once used his Presiden-tial Pass — choosing instead to pay for every

game he attended! Some fast facts:

Six days after Japan surren-dered, Truman attended a game at Griffith Stadium.

On Sept. 8, 1945, Truman threw the first left-handed ceremonial presiden-tial first pitch in Major League history.

Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle each gave Truman an autographed bat after their

1961 record-setting season. During his tenure in of-fice, Truman was a regular at Griffith Stadium in Wash-ington, DC, attending more

games (16) than any other president. On April 18, 1950, Truman displayed a unique skill

Bushisms are unconventional words, phrases, pronunciations, malaprop-isms, and semantic or linguistic er-

rors that have occurred in the public speak-ing of former President of the United States George W. Bush and of his father,

By Bill SmithThe Enquirer

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Language & Baseball “I thought they said steak dinner, but

then I found it was a state dinner.”–Yogi Berra

Webline Odds & Ends

Photo courtesy SD DirkSTILL SLUMPING: Two-time Cy Young Award winneran Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, shown here pitching against the San Diego Padres in 2011, is 2-3 with a 5.89 ERA this season.

This is tough way to go, not that anyone around Chavez Ravine is complaining. Tim Lincecum keeps pitching very well against the Dodgers and keeps losing.

That’s a difficult combo to pull off, but the Giants’ two-time Cy Young winner has been pulling it off with great regularity.Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, Lincecum stumbled for one in-ning, and it led to a 6-2 Dodgers victory before an announced crowd of 33,993. In his last six starts against the Dodgers, Lincecum has a 2.52 ERA — and is 0-4. Lincecum has been having issues well beyond the Dodgers this season (2-3, 5.89 ERA) but seemed in control early Wednesday.With Chad Billingsley struggling with his command, the Giants opened an early 2-0 lead.

Freak mired in funkBy By Steve DilbeckLos Angeles Times

Fielder, Cabrera: Enough power for Tigers to take it?

Can the Tigers reach the postsea-son and win the World Series with three star players — and

little else? That’s a question Grantland’s Rany Jazayerli tried to analyze recently,

pointing out the stark differences between this year’s Tigers and the 1984 World Series-winning team. This year’s team has star pitcher Justin Verlander and star hitters Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. However, as Jazayerli writes, these three play-

ers cover up a multitude of shortcom-ings for the 2012 Tigers. One of those shortcomings, as you might guess, is the defense.Jazayerli writes: “They’re now playing a first baseman at third base, a third baseman (Jhonny Peralta) at shortstop, a DH (Fielder) at first base, and a left fielder (Ryan Raburn) at second base. Left fielder Delmon Young has the range of a fire hydrant, and apparently he has the personality of one.

TIGERSON TV

Watch the Tigers play Milwaukee tonight at 7:30 on Channel 55.

Dodger divorce? Never happened in Stengel’s day

The Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the most successful fran-chises in Major League Baseball,

ushered in a new era of ownership Wednesday while ending a dismal chapter of ownership under Frank McCourt, who baseball’s commissioner described as “looting” the club of $190 million to fund an extravagant lifestyle. Now Casey Sten-gel, pictured, who led the Dodgers to the 1916 National League pennant, can rest in his grave. At a news conference, a consortium of investors, including Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson, delivered a message to fans: “We are out to win. We are out to win for the fans. It’s a new day in Dodger Town.” On Tuesday, Guggenheim Baseball Management officially closed its $2.3 billion purchase of the club and Dodger Stadium from McCourt.

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White House photos by Pete Souza

HEAVY HITTERS: President Barack Obama talks with the Milwaukee Brewers’ Prince Fielder, left, and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Ryan Howard before the All-Star game in 2009.

In the war room, lockerroom

By Carl StewartBay Area News Group

WASHINGTON — Call it the Obama effect: A presi-dential visit can be good

advertising for restaurants and busi-nesses. Vermilion in Alexandria, Va., is one of the most recent establishments in the spotlight after President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, dined there on Valentine’s Day. “That kind of exposure has helped drive business without a doubt,” team general manager David Hammond said.

Dines on beef While the contemporary American restaurant – which changes its menu weekly based on local and seasonal availability – would not reveal what the

Obamas ate, the special four-course menu for the holiday included grass-fed beef “tartar,” Chesapeake rockfish and chocolate truffle tart. After the first family visited the Corcoran Gallery of Art in January,

“we definitely saw a spike in all areas including Web traffic, press interest and foot traffic,” museum spokesper-son Rachel Cothran said. ‘People’s house’ Interest in where and what Obama and his family do can be explained with one word: authenticity, accord-ing to George Washington University Professor Larry Parnell. Parnell said Americans can relate to Obama stopping at a burger joint, fill-ing out sports brackets and shopping at Petco with his dog. It also helps that he has heralded the White House as the “people’s house.” Meanwhile, the baseball that rolled through the legs of Boston first baseman Bill Buckner in the 1986 World Series was sold at auction for

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Carrying a big stick

WARMUP: President Obama tosses a few balls, above, and signs a base-ball, right, before the game.

Photos by Tom Jones

In wartime, Obama turns to pastime

A member of the New York Female Giants appears tiny next to the catcher from the Major League Giants in 1913.

Photo courtesy Library of Congress

Long and short of itNew York doubled up on Giants in 1913

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Fort Wayne Daisies player Marie Wegman, of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, “argues” with umpire Norris Ward in Opalocka, Fla., in a 1948 game. The 6-foot-2-inch Wegman, 22, Cincinnati, played second base. She played for the Rockford, Ill., team the year before.

Glamour gamble paid off

Phil Wrigley contracted with Helena Rubenstein’s Beauty Salon to meet

with the players at spring train-ing. After their daily practices, the women were required to attend Rubenstein’s evening charm school classes. The prop-er etiquette for every situation was taught, and every aspect of personal hygiene, mannerisms and dress code was presented to all the players. Each woman received a beau-ty kit and instructions on how to use it.

The “Belles of the Ball Game” delivered such a high level of play that, at the league’s peak in 1948, they drew more than a million fans to the stands.

WOMEN’S BASEBALL: 1913, 1943-1954

Dorothy “Dottie” Schroeder was the only woman to play all 12 years in the league, starting at age 15.

Page 11 May 17-23, 2012 WALKOFF

PRESIDENTS: Predominantly big fansby throwing out a ceremonial pitch right-handed and then left-handed. Although the quality of both pitches is unknown, it still represents a unique feat in bipartisanship. President Woodrow Wilson missed the Washington Senators Opening Day games in 1918 and 1919 due to the United States actions during World War I. On April 23, 1919, Army Chief of Staff General Peyton C. March became the first General to throw out an Opening Day pitch during a Major League baseball game. Did you know that President Wood-

row Wilson was the first President to attend a World Series? Do you remem-ber who was playing during the 1915 World Series? On April 12, 1945, with the death of FDR, Truman was thrust unexpectedly into the presidency, but soon adjusted to the awesome responsibility. The end of World War II, the use of the atomic bomb, the establishment of the United Nations and the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall plan, and the beginning of the Korean War are just some of the momentous events he would preside over during his eight years in office. You don’t have to be a diehard fan to appreciate the start of the baseball

season. For the winter-weary, Open-ing Day is a sign that spring has finally sprung. It’s also a day when baseball history is made. These Opening Day facts will get you in the mood to hear those immortal words for the first time this year: “Play ball!” Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born Dec. 28, 1856. in Staunton, Va., to the Rev. Joseph Ruggles Wilson and his wife Janet (Jessie) Woodrow Wilson. He had two older sisters, Marion and Annie, and a younger brother, Joseph. Tommy Wilson, as he was called, was just over a year old when his family moved to Augusta, Ga. He would live there until his early teens when the Wilson family moved to Columbia,

S.C. Young Tommy spent most of his childhood in the South before and during the Civil War. While in Georgia, his father served as a chaplain in the Confederate Army and his mother helped set up a hospital in their church. Perhaps this close experience with war led Wilson to work so hard for peace while president. Wilson briefly attend-ed Davidson College and transferred to Princeton University. He attended the University of Virginia Law School and later received a PhD from Johns Hopkins University. He was one of our best educated presidents and was known as a scholar, orator and author of many books on government.

BUSH: Magnificent at malapropisms“I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions. I can’t answer your question.”

–President George W. Bush

Library of Congress

FASTBALL: President George W. Bush throws out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York.

George H. W. Bush. The term has become part of popular folklore and is the basis of a number of websites and published books. It is often used to caricature the two presidents. Common char-acteristics include malapropisms, the creation of neologisms, spoonerisms, stunt words and gram-matically incorrect subject-verb agreement. Bush’s use of the English language in for-mal and public speeches has spawned several books that document the statements. The first, Bushisms/President George Herbert Walker Bush in His Own Words, was released in 1992. A poem entitled “Make the Pie Higher,” composed entirely of Bushisms, was compiled by cartoon-ist Richard Thompson. Various public figures and humorists, such as Jon Stewart of The Daily Show and Garry Trudeau have popularized some more famous Bushisms. Linguist Mark Liberman of Language Log has suggested that Bush is not unusually error-prone in his speech, saying: “You can make any public figure sound like a boob, if you record everything he says and set hundreds of hostile observers to

combing the transcripts for disfluencies, mala-propisms, word formation errors and examples of non-standard pronunciation or usage... Which of us could stand up to a similar level of lin-guistic scrutiny?” Nearly a decade after George W. Bush said “misunderestimated” in a speech, Philip Hensher called the term one of his “most memorable additions to the language, and an incidentally expressive one: it may be that we rather needed a word for ‘to underestimate by mistake’.” All those jokes and cartoons and websites about his gaffes, bungles and malapropisms? We’ve been unknowingly teasing the afflicted.