Mount Virtus

"Happy to come back to Michigan, but I miss the mountains!"

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Home Archives for Baseball

5/9/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

Wow! Curtis Granderson and Tigers A Leap Ahead of Last Place Indians

I have a friendly rivalry going this season with blogger Civil Sense from The Colorado Index. Today seemed like a good a time as any to point it out. Baseball is a long season, but his Cleveland Indians have slipped to the worst record in the Major Leagues after back-to-back home shutout losses to my Detroit Tigers. Tonight's 4-0 victory was great, but the finish couldn't match the 1-0 thriller on Friday -- when Tigers ace Justin Verlander carried his two-hit shutout into the ninth inning. Grady Sizemore came to the plate with one on and one out when ... well, watch for yourself: Yep, that's my boy: Curtis Granderson. And my Detroit Tigers a game out of first place and six games ahead of Cleveland. Ouch, Civil Sense. Ouch. (It … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, My Life, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: ace, Baseball, blogger, Civil Sense, Cleveland Indians, Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers, finish, friendly rivalry, Grady Sizemore, Justin Verlander, long season, Major Leagues, ninth inning, ouch, plate, shutout, thriller, victory, worst record, YouTube

3/15/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

Hugo Chavez? Say It Ain’t So, Magglio

A mildly disturbing story that makes me wish sometimes we could keep the world of sports / entertainment separate from the larger political world. From an ESPN article about my favorite baseball team's All-Star right fielder and a loathsome, repressive dictator:President Hugo Chavez came to the defense of Magglio Ordonez on Sunday, slamming Venezuelan baseball fans who booed the major leaguer at the World Baseball Classic. Chavez lamented that his friendship with Ordonez prompted catcalls from the mostly Venezuelan crowd during the team's 3-1 victory over the Netherlands in Miami on Saturday, saying the fans who booed the Detroit Tigers slugger "have no shame."... Ordonez, one of Venezuela's biggest baseball stars, appeared in a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, PPC, Sports and Leisure, World Events Tagged With: All-Star, Baseball, booed, catcalls, constitutional amendment, crowd, defense, Detroit Tigers, dictator, eliminate, entertainment, friendship, game, Hugo Chavez, loathsome, Magglio Ordonez, major leaguer, match, Miami, mildly disturbing, Netherlands, Opening Day, outfielder, political world, President, proposal, repressive, right fielder, slugger, Socialist, softball, sports, stars, state television, story, television ad, term limits, Venezuela, vote, World Baseball Classic

11/26/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

What I’m Thankful for #19: Baseball and the Legendary Ernie Harwell

This is one in a series of daily posts I conceived of writing many weeks ago while the election still raged on, as I looked for something to write about of more lasting value. The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving seemed perfectly appropriate for it. Just in case you wondered, the topics introduced are not necessarily in any particular order. I hope the series is of some small encouragement to you, even as my site traffic takes a dive. America's pastime. Come November, the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd seem distant memories. But hope springs eternal in the heart of the baseball fan. For the 19th and penultimate edition of this thankfulness series, I want to express my gratitude for a game - yes, but not just any game. And … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: alma mater days, backyard, Baseball, baseball cards, baseball fan, baseball initiates, bat, board game, character, cheating, collecting, college, color, Colorado Rockies, column, creed, democracy, Detroit, diehard fans, disease, enjoyment, Ernie Harwell, excerpts, faith, family room, game, Game 3, gratitude, group outing, Hillsdale College, Hillsdale Daily News, hope springs eternal, local league, memorable, memories, nostalgia, November, organized, pennants, penultimate, race, radio, roar of the crowd, Rockpile, scoreboard, series, Sherco, special, special impressions, thankfulness, Thanksgiving, The Game for All America, Tiger Stadium, Tigers, top row, trading, World Series

11/20/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

What I’m Thankful for #13: Thoughtful Surprises

This is one in a series of daily posts I conceived of writing many weeks ago while the election still raged on, as I looked for something to write about of more lasting value. The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving seemed perfectly appropriate for it. Just in case you wondered, the topics introduced are not necessarily in any particular order. I hope the series is of some small encouragement to you, even as my site traffic takes a dive. This is an easier kind of surprise to write about than "the surprises God sends my way". And it's quite a surprise that I'm even writing about it. Yesterday, out of the blue and completely unexpected, a co-worker gave me a very thoughtful gift: a baseball autographed by future Hall-of-Fame relief pitcher … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Baseball, Branch Rickey Award, co-worker, Denver Rotary, Detroit Tigers, free agent, generosity, Hall-of-Fame, Mrs. Virtus, relief pitcher, surprises, thankfulness, thoughtful, Trevor Hoffman

7/9/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Sad Days: Demolishing Tiger Stadium

As a baseball sentimentalist and lifelong Detroit Tigers fans, this is painful to read:A much bigger swath of Tiger Stadium is coming down today as efforts to save part of it keep amping up. A ragged hole the size of a baseball diamond is now gashed into the north end of the stadium, near the corner of Trumbull and Fisher Freeway West service drive. The historic stadium is a scene of massive back hoes and smoke from the crumbling cement and iron within the chain-link fence area where demolition is taking place. Beyond the hole, the blue and orange seats can be seen and the grass field itself still looks inviting and green. It also looks like one more big swing from a wrecking ball is all it will take for the left field bleachers … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Baseball, classic ballpark, Detroit News, Detroit Tigers, sentimentalism, Tiger Stadium

7/1/2008 By Ben 7 Comments

Baseball with Fred Barnes

It was my privilege to spend time with Fred Barnes - executive editor of Weekly Standard and co-host of Fox News Beltway Boys - at yesterday evening's Colorado Rockies game. Thanks to Tom Roche of Roche Constructors, Inc., for generously providing an extra seat in his guest suite (which included a nice spread of baseball-friendly food and fixings), and to my Independence Institute colleague Amy Oliver for inviting me along. It was the first time to Coors Field for Fred Barnes, an avid fan of baseball, most especially (and regrettably) of the Boston Red Sox. Fred Barnes has been a guest of the Independence Institute in the Denver area for the past several days - centered around his keynote speaking appearance at Saturday's ATF Party. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, National Politics, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Amy Oliver, ATF party, Baseball, Colorado Rockies, Coors Field, Fred Barnes, Greg Maddux, Hillsdale College, Independence Institute, politics, Roche Constructors, San Diego Padres, Tom Roche

5/2/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Would Katie Casey Still Want to be Taken Out 100 Years Later?

Obscure question: What special connection does the name Katie Casey have to baseball aficionados today? Well, it was 100 years ago today (May 2, 1908) that America's universal musical standard Take Me Out to the Ball Game was published. Jack Norworth penned the words; Albert von Tilzer the unforgettable melody. To clear up the connection, Norworth's and Van Tilzer's Tin Pan Alley creation was written to be sung by a young female character:Only a handful of fans realize that the two verses of the song are about Katie Casey (later changed to Nelly Kelly), a girl who was mad with baseball fever as she asked her young beau to take her to a ballgame rather than a show. This faint whiff of romance added to the song's success on vaudeville, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Albert von Tilzer, Baseball, centennial, Jack Norworth, Katie Casey, Take Me Out to the Ball Game

4/6/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Nope. Sorry.

I don't want to talk about the Detroit Tigers ... or the Colorado Rockies. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Baseball

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About Me

Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

Recent Posts

  • Top Books I Read in 2020
  • The All-New Christmas Music Countdown: Bigger, Better and Brighter Than Ever
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