The Daily Dose/August 11, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
GET OUT YOUR HISTORY BOOKS: We go through this every year on this date, either here, in the popular On This Date segment or – if we’re feeling particularly frisky – both. To wit: 115 years ago on August 11, 1907, Ed Karger of the St Louis Cardinals pitched a perfect game in the second game of a doubleheader against the Boston Doves. It is not listed among official baseball perfect games because the game only went seven innings.
We’re In For Some Dry, Technical Matter, Aren’t We?: This wasn’t Karger’s fault. This was the second game of a doubleheader and both teams had trains to catch and, as was the custom of the era, it was agreed beforehand that the game would only go seven innings.
Can You Clarify This Further For Us? This means that seven innings constituted a regulation game.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: We’ve long been of the opinion that Karger should be credited with a perfect game because he pitched the scheduled number of innings. It was a regulation, complete game, just like nine-inning perfect games are. Now, if the game had been scheduled for nine innings and only gone seven because of rain then, no, Karger would not be entitled to a place on the list because it wasn’t a regulation, complete game, it was a called game. Called games, as they should, have a separate listing in the record book.
But seven innings was a regulation game that day and we’ve never seen any reason why Karger should be penalized for this.
FunFact: The only umpire for the first game, Bob Emslie, had called it a day after the first game and fled, and Karger’s perfect game was umpired by two players, Fred Beebe of the Cardinals and Irv Young of the Doves. Players umpiring games were not completely unheard of back then, and Young was working his second-ever game while Beebe, who worked the plate, remains the only major league umpire whose only game was a perfect game.
The Bottom Line: If baseball isn’t going to include no-hitters for games scheduled for less than nine innings – like Madison Bumgarner’s last year – on the official list, then they shouldn’t count the wins and the losses, either. We’ll see you next year when we discuss this vital matter again.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – There are a couple of new uniform shirts knocking around the back office of the hotel. Today’s Diary.
The other shirt is short of gray-ish/white and looks like something you’d wrap a burrito in.
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1934 – The first federal prisoners arrive at the new maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island, off the coast of San Francisco. The initial roster of prisoners consisted of 137 men who were problems at other prisons. Previously, the facility had served as a US Army prison and Alcatraz closed in 1963 and is now a museum. Over the years 36 prisoners tried to escape, with 23 caught, eight dying, while five were never found.
In 1974 – Lee Trevino wins the PGA Championship, shooting a final round 69 to finish four under par and one stroke ahead of Jack Nicklaus at Tanglewood Park near Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was the first of two PGA titles for Trevino and his fifth of six major titles, including two US Open and two British Open titles. It was the fourth and final time Nicklaus had finished second to Trevino in a major and this remains the only major hosted by Tanglewood.
In 1990 – Mariah Carey is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second of four consecutive weeks with Vision of Love. It was the first chart single for Carey, her first of 28 Top 10 hits, and her first of 19 #1 songs, a mark that his second only the Beatles’ 20 in Hot 100 history. The song also went to #1 in New Zealand and Canada, peaked at #9 in Great Britain, was in its first of two weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboard’s 6th-biggest song of the year.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give happiness.
Thomas Jefferson
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Tim Keefe was 35-12 in 1888, with a 1.74 ERA and 48 complete games in 51 starts.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is Mariah Carey’s biggest hit on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!
