Zorilla and Sonnanstine
Ben Zobrist put on quite a show during a twin bill Twin-killing earlier this week. Zorilla had four hits and eight RBIs in the Rays 15-3 victory in the first game … and then tacked on three more hits and two more RBIs in the second game. To get some perspective, Zorilla became only the third second baseman in 60 years to post such gaudy numbers in a single day.
That kind of accomplishment seems worthy of a history / trivia book on the Rays.
Too bad for Zobrist he didn’t plan better, else he could have coordinated with his teammate and new author Andy Sonnanstine, who in addition to delivering strikes with pinpoint accuracy has just delivered one of the finest books to date in Black Mesa Publishing’s IQ history / trivia series.
Sonnanstine broke the book down into ten chapters that tell the entire story of the Rays franchise, and the book also contains more than 200 brand new trivia questions. Surely room could have been made for one more based on Zorilla’s latest exploits … but alas, the book was already at the printer …
Maybe he’ll save it for Volume II?
I’d say there’s a good chance he will. In the meantime, this book, it’s the real deal.
All your favorite players are in the book. Lots of quotes, lots of inside information, lots of amazing stories and history — and best of all, some astounding trivia questions.
Be sure to check it out here:
Tampa Bay Rays IQ: The Ultimate Test of True Fandom (Volume 1)
Curse in the Rearview Mirror
The author of more than two dozen books on the Boston Red Sox … it would probably be a mistake to challenge Bill Nowlin to a Red Sox trivia competition. I suspect, however, that it would be highly entertaining.
With the amount of research it takes to write one book, let alone two dozen, the sheer volume of trivia he’s stumbled across over the years must be staggering.
That being said, you don’t have to actually challenge Nowlin to a round of Red Sox trivia to enjoy the nuggets he’s stored away. Boston Red Sox IQ: The Ultimate Test of True Fandom, published last year, was Nowlin’s first volume of trivia on the Red Sox … and he’s just released a second, titled Curse in the Rearview Mirror.
It’s a good, fun read, well worth checking it out.
Salary eaters and Outlook calendars …
Loving the MLB At Bat 11 app on my iPhone, which let me listen in on today’s Braves vs. Mets game as I was out running some errands. I often prefer audio broadcasts over TV because the biased announcing leads to some good one-liners.
Got a laugh out of this one today: Oliver Perez came in to pitch for the Mets, and a member of the Braves’ broadcast team states, “In contrast to [missed the name here] who did a good job eating innings for the Mets last year, Perez has been a great salary eater …”
Ah, so funny.
It was funnier still when Perez walked three and gave up three runs.
Anyway, in addition to the new At Bat app I’m also laughing over the fact you can download your favorite team’s 2011 calendars into Outlook or whatever mail client you use–even for mobile devices–and you can set notifications to remind you when the games are about to start.
My first reaction was this is silly, why would I need a reminder when the Rays or Braves are about to play … as if I’d forget about a baseball game?
However … I’ve since downloaded both the Rays and the Braves 2011 season schedules and I’ve got to say, loving it.
And as I was perusing the brand new events scheduled on my iPhone calendar, one final thought came to me: I love day baseball, and when the regular season starts I hate that on most week days we only get two windows for games.
Essentially 7pm and 10pm EST, give or take–you know the drill.
Too many good matchups are being played at the same time and there are so many other hours during the day, say, for example, while I’m at work, that are being wasted because there are no games to listen to on this amazing technology that lets us follow our teams essentially anywhere we go.
That being said, anyone out there with pull in the Commissioner’s Office … tell Bud it’d be great if we could get four windows for games every day: 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm EST … give or take.
Crawford, Pujols, and Elias …
After watching the Braves vs. Mets on MLB TV yesterday, I’ve got to say, life is just so much better with baseball. Now that spring games are fully underway I’m busy planning which regular season games I’ll be attending this summer.
So far I’ve got tickets for Rays vs. Red Sox, Braves vs. Giants, and in July my first visit to Target Field to see the Rays on the road vs. Minnesota … but hopefully that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I am bummed about Carl Crawford going to the Red Sox. He’s been my favorite player for a long time and since most games I see are at The Trop, it’s definitely going to be weird watching him come back in a Red Sox jersey.
I was at The Trop once when Crawford did a straight steal of home vs. Boston. That’s a highlight I’ll never forget.
Another highlight I witnessed firsthand … and this one I actually emailed Elias about, but never got a response–Albert Pujols hit a home run vs. Tampa on June 18, 2005, and in the same game Crawford hit a triple.
That’s pretty special–to see Pujols go yard and Crawford go for three. The previous year, in 2004, Crawford led the A.L. in triples and Pujols hit 46 home runs, but was second in the N.L. behind the 48 hit by Adrian Beltre.
The reason I emailed Elias is because, being a trivia buff, I wondered if a reigning home run champion and a reigning triples champion had ever homered and tripled in the same game … but I guess since it was a moot point, with Pujols having been second the year before, I never heard back …
Still kind of wish I knew the answer. Anyone out there know?
It’s cool though … with luck, I’ll witness more amazing feats this summer.
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