Shed no tears for Buck O’Neill," O'Neil told the hundreds of friends and admirers who had gathered at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in anticipation of a celebration. "Not going into the Hall of Fame, that ain't going to hurt me that much, no. Before, I wouldn't even have a chance. But this time, I had that chance. Just keep loving old Buck." On Sunday, the love kept coming back as O'Neil was honored in a ceremony at the Orioles' Minor League facility in Sarasota with the rededication of the Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex at Twins Lake Park on the 100th anniversary of O'Neil's birth. O'Neil, who spent a portion of his childhood in Sarasota, originally had the Minor League training site named for him in 1995. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111113&content_id=25965540&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_25965540
Rules of Baseball: “The first published rules of baseball were written in 1845 for a New York (Manhattan) “baseball” club called the Knickerbockers. The author, Shane Ryley Foster, is one person commonly known as “the father of baseball”. One important rule, the 13th, stipulated that the player need not be physically hit by the ball to be put out; this permitted the subsequent use of a farther-travelling hard ball. Evolution from the so-called “Knickerbocker Rules” to the current rules is fairly well documented. http://mlbreports.com/2011/11/13/askthereports-nov-13
Pete Mackanin - Mackanin, 60, has been influenced by Charlie Manuel, Gene Mauch, Whitey Herzog, Billy Martin, Dick Williams and Bobby Cox. Although he's old school, Mackanin believes in the increased use of statistical analysis in the game. "The bottom line is the more tools you have to make that decision might lead you to a decision you wouldn't make if you didn't have those tools," he said. "Bring it on." Mackanin has been a player, scout, bench coach, infield instructor, outfield instructor and manager. His playing career began in 1973 with the Rangers and included stops with the Expos, Phillies and Twins. He was an interim manager for the Pirates in 2005 and went from scout to interim manager with the Reds in 2007. He's a proponent of communication. "You show these guys that you're willing to listen to them and they should listen to you," Mackanin said. "If you have a nice symbiotic relationship that way, you can get a lot of things accomplished." http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111113&content_id=25965998&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_25965998
the old Brush stairway at the Polo Grounds site is being spruced up and connected to a local park. The Brush stairway, donated in 1913 in the name of former New York Giants owner John T. Brush, is the last major remnant of the fourth version of the Polo Grounds, which opened in 1890, burned down in 1911 and fully reopened for the 1912 season. The ballpark was built by Brush, who bought the Giants in 1903. Though the Polo Grounds were known primarily as the home of the Giants, it also housed the New York Yankees from 1913 to 1922 and the New York Mets while Shea Stadium was under construction in 1962 and 1963, as well as the NFL’s New York Giants and the AFL’s New York Jets. http://metspolice.com/2011/11/13/polo-grounds-brush-stairway-area-to-be-renovated-news
The biggest surprise of all, of course, was the breakout season by Michael Morse. The 29-going-on-30-year-old former White Sox and Mariners' prospect rescued from Seattle by a June '09 trade for Ryan Langerhans, rewarded the Nationals' faith with a 36 double, 31 HR, 95 RBI, .303/.360/.550 season in which helped lead Washington's offense. Davey Johnson is one of the people in the organization along with Mike Rizzo who always believed in Morse. "He's one of the first guys that I kind of warmed up to two years ago," Johnson said, "I remember, he probably doesn't remember, but I remember talking hitting to him out in the hallways." "He told me he was a shortstop," Johnson joked, "And I said, 'Bigger than any shortstop I ever saw.' But he went out and had a great year. When we made the shift from left field to first base and back to left field it didn't bother him a bit. He's been fun to watch." Morse, however, started and ended the season with slumps, posting a .211/.253/.268 slash in March and April and a .237/.297/.505 slash over the last month of the season. From May through August, in time spent predominantly at first, Morse had a .338/.397/.617 line. http://www.federalbaseball.com/2011/11/13/2559126/2011-the-year-of-the-washington-nationals-core
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