The Baseball Digest Archives

October 1980

This particular issue was branded as a World Series Special and as such there were a lot more articles looking back in history than would be found in a standard issue of Baseball Digest. The article about Tony Kubek touches on the ground ball that struck him in the throat in the 1960 Series, but much of the content centers on his famous irascibility. That play kept an inning alive, which made Hal Smith’s game tying home run possible not to mention Bill Mazeroski’s series-winning walk off an inning later. Kubek was correct in that the Yankees’ loss shouldn’t be blamed on a freak bounce, but in defending himself he pointed more fingers than could be found on both hands. The issue also includes an article in which Willie Mays and Vic Wertz share their memories on what was arguably the greatest catch in WS history. In today’s episode of Chronological Context, this issue came out in 1980, or 26 years after The Catch. Were a similar feature to be written today, it would be about the 1998 World Series. I suppose they could have Mark Langston and Tino Martinez reminisce over an obvious third strike that was miscalled as a ball and then followed by a game-changing grand slam.

Speaking of bad umpire calls, the issue also included a look at some of the more controversial moments in World Series umpiring. The Don Denkinger/Jorge Orta moment was a few years in the future, but there were still several notorious incidents to choose from - Ed Armbister, J.C. Martin, Reggie Jackson sticking his hip out. This one stands out above all others. In 1970, home plate ump Ken Burkhardt had his back turned to the play so he did not see that catcher Elrod Hendricks tagged runner Bernie Carbo with his glove while holding the ball in his other hand. Burkhardt still called the runner out. I have to imagine that one of the other umps would have had a better angle on the play and mentioned it to Burkhardt, but the culture of the time would have considered that to be showing up your colleague. Times have changed.

Time for the editorial staff to act boldly. These Teams Will Thrive In The 1980’s! Free agency was already in full bloom in 1980, which meant that roster volatility was a thing. It’s little surprise that there were no real dynasties in this decade. The Dodgers were the only franchise that managed to win 2 World Series in the 1980’s and even those were 7 years apart. That makes it difficult enough to make long range predictions encompassing a two-year period; what about an entire decade? The magazine took a shot; making their decisions on such factors as organizational strength and minor league depth. How did they do?

The selections were the Expos, Phillies & Reds in the NL & the White Sox, Yankees & Brewers in the AL. The Phillies were the only one of these 6 teams that won a WS in the decade. By definition there is going to be a lot of 20/20 hindsight, after all with so much of the choices based on projecting prospects there are bound to be some guys that don’t pan out. So, the Expos look like a defensible choice - Tim Raines and Tim Wallach were among the prospects mentioned. In contrast, the certainty of the potentials of Bruce Berenyi and Paul Householder is why they were bullish on the Reds. The Yankees optimism was largely based on the reasonable belief that George Steinbrenner would spend money; what they didn’t count on was that his spending in this period was so impulsive and irrational that the team spent one of their rare decades without a trophy to show for it.

Finally, here is a recurring feature that the magazine ran that I’m surprised I haven’t come across until this issue. Cartoonist Gene Mack produced a series of drawings of classic ballparks that Baseball Digest would often reprint. This issue contained his rendition of Ebbets Field.

SNL Recap

I would’ve lost that bet. I’ve seen enough episodes hosted by alumni that I assumed Maya Rudolph’s third stint as host would have included multiple cameos from old friends. In fact, no surprise appearances were seen this week. Instead, the spotlight fully fell on Rudolph, the cast, and assorted mothers. This week’s episode won’t go down in the history books, but there were good vibes to be had all around and Rudolph is one who naturally lifts everything up a level with her very presence.

In lieu of a current affairs centered cold open (no Stormy Daniels jokes you sickos) the show celebrated Mother’s Day by having most of the cast appear with their mothers. This is something that SNL does quite frequently on the holiday, and so what if some of the moms read their lines stiffly? You’d have to have a heart of stone to hate on that. As a bonus, the Please Don’t Destroy guys were also included, but instead of their mothers they appeared with their fathers, or more precisely, actors pretending to be their fathers.

For the first post monologue sketch the show went with a reprise of one of the more memorable moments from Rudolph’s previous hosting stint - Beyonce on Hot Ones. The premise this time was that she needed to return because this was the one thing she ever attempted that she didn’t slay. It was OK; some of the names of the specific hot sauces were wonderfully absurd, and I loved the image of Queen Bey’s assistant pumping cocoa butter into her mouth in an attempt to cool her off, but it felt like too much of a retread.

My choice for Sketch Of the Week is the post-Update coffee commercial sketch. The ideal showcase for a host is if it appears to be tailor made for that specific performer. Few can portray a diva actress (who has never even tried coffee before starring in this ad) as well as Maya Rudolph. It was a little heavy on gastrointestinal jokes, but I make no apologies for indulging my inner 8-year old.

There were 2 decent enough correspondent pieces on Update. SNL may have ignored the trial this week, but they were not going to do the same with Kennedy’s brain worms. The only question would be if it would be Sarah or Bowen in the worm costume, and Sarah was the winner. That was followed by Heidi’s latest Update character, A Woman Who Insists She’s Not Mad.

The pre-filmed pieces have had a tendency to be stronger than the live ones, and there are a few good reasons why. Not only does the format allow the show to be more elaborate with costumes, scene changes, and set design, but the ability to do retakes means there is little danger of missed cues, obvious cue card reading, or yes, breaking. This week’s Mother’s Day themed film was a good one, with Rudolph as a mother whose preteen daughter constantly asks her to pick her up at sleepovers from which she wishes to leave early. Many of Rudolph’s excuses that are used to save her daughter from embarrassment were clever, (even devolving into tossing a handful of cicadas at Mikey’s face) and it got better when Kenan as the father joins in, lacking the same improv skill.

Maya Rudolph is a true pro; she worked very well with each of her co-stars, particularly Ego & Kenan. Even so, her star power so overwhelmed the proceedings that rather than bestow a cast member with my coveted Employee Of the Week award, I’ll give in to the spirit of the holiday and collectively give it to the SNL mothers. You raised some talented kids; good on you.

19 episodes down, 1 to go. Jake Gyllenhaal has the honor of hosting this year’s season finale. It will be the final episode for at least some members of the current cast; will any departures be announced before the show, or will any of the cast quietly leave - or be asked to leave - over the summer break instead? We shall see.

On a related note, the date for the 50th anniversary special is official. NBC will air a live 3-hour special on Sunday, February 16. Thinking back on how splashy and star-studded the 40 year celebration was, I can only imagine how much of a spectacle they have planned for #50.

TV Of the 21st Century - Flight Of The Conchords

Before proceeding, time to take attendance. Jemaine? Bret? Bret????

As The Sopranos was winding down its run, HBO heavily promoted its lineup of upcoming shows with a whiff of Please Don’t Cancel Your Subscription desperation. The ill-fated John From Cincinnati was the show most heavily featured in that sizzle reel. A bit further down on the list came the show starring what would become the world’s favorite musical duo from New Zealand, Flight Of the Conchords. This was the 2007 HBO premiere which had a lasting pop cultural footprint.

The titular FOTC were portrayed by Jemaine Clement (the cynical one) and Bret McKenzie (the dreamer) as a musical act unsuccessfully attempting to make it big in New York. They were “helped” by their inept manager Murray, who attempted to conduct that business from his office at the New Zealand consulate. Their sole fan was a woman named Mel whose devotion to the band bordered on stalkerlike obsession.

The show served as an introduction to American audiences for so many wonderful comedic actors. In addition to his seemingly constant presence on our TV’s in the succeeding years, Clement was one of the chief creative forces behind What We Do In the Shadows. McKenzie would go on to win an Oscar for his composing work on the Jason Segal/Amy Adams Muppets movie. Murray was portrayed by Rhys Darby, who is as reliable of a comedic supporting player as there is. The accent may have a lot to do with it, but Darby has the ability to make the most mundane statement sound hilarious. And above all, there was Kristen Schaal as Mel. This was the first sighting I can recall of her unique sensibility; one who straddles the line between sanity and outright derangement.

Similar to The Monkees, the show would generally pause twice per episode to burst into song; sometimes incorporated directly into the plot, and sometimes as elaborately produced fantasy sequences. It helped that for all the comedic absurdity, the songs were often extremely catchy. It’s not for nothing that McKenzie would go on to win that Oscar years later.

As the above clip shows, with Sutton Foster appearing in early episodes as the object of Bret’s affection, FOTC often had a surprisingly high number for such a low profile show of cool guest stars from both the musical and comedic fields. They made friends and fans in all the right places. Of course Clement’s frequent collaborator Taika Watiti popped in once, but he wasn’t alone. Everyone from Kate Pierson to Aziz Ansari to Daryl Hall to Patton Oswalt among others appeared on the show at some point during its run.

Jeramine & Bret’s on-stage act as FOTC existed for years before HBO signed them to do the series, but the show itself only lasted 2 seasons + a concert reunion special which ran a few years later. It took a lot of work to come up the songs & conceive the musical sequences so it’s no surprise that they could only extract a limited amount of blood from that stone. It may not have a lot of quantity, but boy was there a lot of quality.

Originally aired on: HBO

Currently streaming on: Max

Roger Corman 1926-2024

Despite his reputation as a schlockmeister, it is no exaggeration to call Roger Corman a giant of American film. As a director or producer, he cranked out an endless output of ultra low budget movies well into his old age. In doing so, he served as an important mentor for so many important figures both in front of and behind the camera.

He didn’t specialize in just one genre; his output consisted of all types. Achieving his first big success with a series of adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe, he also dabbled in biker flicks, action movies, cheapo sci-fi, women’s prison movies, teenage exploitation, thinly-veiled reimagining of bigger budget successes, etc. His biggest contribution came with the stunning number of talented people to whom he gave their first big breaks, starting with a young Jack Nicholson. Just look at these words he shared about Corman when he was awarded an honorary Oscar a few years ago.

That’s nothing compared to the number of directors who served apprenticeships under Corman’s watch. Francis Ford Coppola. Martin Scorsese. Peter Bogdanovich. Jonathan Demme. Ron Howard. James Cameron. All of them directed some of their earliest work on Corman’s dime. All went on to greater things, and all were generous with their praise towards Corman. Coppola and Demme even went so far as to cast Corman in cameo roles in Oscar winning movies.

He was much more than a purveyor of cheap B-movies. His companies distributed foreign films to American audiences, so he has a peripheral connection to such international masters as Kurosawa, Fellini, and Truffaut. Corman made it to the ripe old age of 98. His legacy will live on for generations to come.

On the other end of the age spectrum was former major leaguer Sean Burroughs, who died late last week at the shockingly young age of 43. This one hits a lot harder than most other tragically young deaths, and not just because of the circumstances - there are conflicting reports of the precise chain of events, but it seems that he collapsed at his son’s Little League game. The son of former AL MVP & #1 draft pick Jeff Burroughs, Burroughs first gained national attention as the star of back-to-back LLWS championship teams. The focus on him during those telecasts was not simply due to his lineage, he looked like he could have stepped out of the cast of The Sandlot; prodigious power for a child of that age combined with a baby fat filled physique, he was almost the Platonic ideal of a Little League baseball player. His professional career didn’t pan out, but he did play in the major leagues in 7 different seasons, which is a major accomplishment no matter how you look at it. It’s difficult for me to reconcile the image I have of him as that little cherub with the reality that he died much too young. Always remember to heed Warren Zevon’s sage advice - enjoy every sandwich.

Closing Laughs

Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend and that we are all fully refreshed for a brand new week. See you all again on Wednesday.