Jan

4

In the times of Madoff and Isreali wars, baseball comes to mind…

Hank Greenberg's brilliant quotations and play after his war duty is quite impressive to me. All aspects of his self discovery and play should be studied in depth. I am sure others have said it before but he said it best: "baseball is a game of percentages stacked against you."

I've never heard "against you," but as a hitter or trader nothing could be better stated. His return in 1945 after being worn by war both psychologically and physically, then with out play or training for 4 years, was difficult and inspiring. I loved his first homer in July of '45. All his teamates pulled a joke on him and ignored him when he came back to the bench. He didn't know how to react and when he sat down they all burst out laughing and congratulated him.


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2 Comments so far

  1. Steve Leslie on January 5, 2009 7:55 am

    Hank Greenberg is a remarkable man. He was one of the first Jewish baseball superstars and a man of his religious convictions. He like Sandy Koufax refused to play during Jewish holidays. At 6'4" he was an imposing figure. He was a right hand power hitter. He hit 58 homeruns in one season in 1938 with 5 games to play. He failed to hit one more the rest of the way. He also challenged Lou Gehrig's RBI total of 184 with 183 on the last day of the season. He also served his country by fighting in World War 2 even though he was excused from service due to his age. He decided to voluntarily re-enlist. He really only played a bit less than 10 seasons interrupted by injuries and military service.

    Bob Feller was one of the most brutal pitchers ever to toe the rubber. Greenberg stated that when Feller had his best stuff, he was unhittable. He was then asked why would Feller throw anything else but fastballs, his reply was " I don't know maybe he gets bored."

  2. Steve Leslie on January 5, 2009 10:11 am

    You bring up Mr. Greenberg who served in WWII even though he did not have to reminds me of others who likewise served their country in the military. During WWII more than 90 per cent or 500 of major league ballplayers who were on pre-war rosters served in the armed forces. 35 of whom went to the baseball Hall of Fame. Some were fitness trainers but many saw major combat:

    Bob Feller served in the Navy for 4 years.
    Ted Williams served in WWII and Korea
    Yogi Berra in Normandy
    Warren Spahn in the Battle of the Bulge and was injured.

    Pete Gray played for the roster depleted St. Louis Browns despite having one arm. This is chronicled in the movie A Winner Never Quits. Pitchers and catchers report for spring training in 40 days. If you are in Florida look me up, we will go to a game. Teams in my area are the Nationals, Mets, Astros, Braves.

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