The Daily Dose/August 11, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: One of the pleasures of columns like this is hopping up on your bully pulpit and pontificating on things important to you that others probably couldn’t care less about.
Strap It On, Here We Go: One thing we’ve consistently championed in this feature is the inclusion of Ed Karger’s 1907 perfect game for the St Louis Cardinals on the official list of major league perfect games. As noted below in our popular On This Date feature, he did this today in 1907 against the Boston Doves. The reason it is not included is the game, the second game of a doubleheader, only went seven innings by mutual agreement.
Do You Wonder Why You Don’t Get Invited To More Parties?: The reason both teams agreed to a seven-inning game was they both had to catch trains to Boston, where they were going to play each other some more.
Dry, Technical Matter: Recall earlier this season Madison Bumgarner of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitched a no-hitter in a game that was scheduled for seven innings. Baseball does not consider this an official no-hitter either and they really should.
This Is More Dry, Technical Matter, Isn’t It?: One, Karger and Bumgarner pitched regulation, complete games, games that went the scheduled number of innings, seven in both cases. Now, had either game had been scheduled for nine innings and shortened by rain then it would be proper not to include them because they were not regulation, complete games, they were called games and no-hitters in called games deservedly have their own, separate listing in the record book.
Dry, Technical Matter in 3…2…1: Two, both games counted in the standings. If you are not going to count achievements in the games, you shouldn’t count the games themselves.
The Bottom Line: Baseball should reorganize their record book to show two categories of perfect games and no-hitters: those that were regulation, complete games regardless of the number of innings and those that were not.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow lies to a caller on the phone. Today’s Diary.
…on the other hand, you don’t want to lie and advise him to book right now, so you fudge a little and say you still have “decent” availability even tho you’re so wide open you could handle a delegation from the Finnish ski team…You do, however and rather sensibly, advise him to book as soon as his plans are firmed up and if he gets the impression rooms are moving like hotcakes, well, I have no control over that.
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On This Date
The long march to today.
In 1962 – The Soviet Union launches Vostok 3, piloted by cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev. During his four-day flight, Nikolayev established that humans could work for extended periods in weightlessness and his 64 orbits established a new record. It’s sister ship Vostok 4 would launch the following day, marking the first time one country had simultaneous space flights. During this flight, Nikolayev also made the first television broadcast from space.
In 1907 – Ed Karger of the St Louis Cardinals pitches a seven-inning perfect game, a 4-0 victory over the Boston Doves in the second game of a doubleheader in St Louis. It was the fourth major league perfect game that went the scheduled distance and was the first of four that have gone less than nine innings. Of these four, Karger’s remains the only one that went less than nine innings for a reason other than weather.
In 1979 – Donna Summer is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the fifth and final consecutive week with Bad Girls. It was the third of four #1 songs for the Summer and her seventh of 15 Top 10 hits. The song also went to #1 in Canada, peaked at #14 in Great Britain, at #1 on Billboard’s soul and dance charts and was Billboard’s second biggest song of the year. Summer had written the song a couple of years earlier and her record company had wanted to give it to Cher, but Summer declined.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…peacemakers were often more cursed than blessed…compromise always infuriates those who believe in the exclusive justice of their own cause.
David Schoenbrun
Triumph In Paris: The Exploits of Benjamin Franklin
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The Indianapolis Hoosiers were in the National League from 1887-89. Before that, they had spent two seasons as the St Louis Maroons of both the Union Association (1884) and the National League (1885-86).
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many #1 songs did Donna Summer have in Great Britain? – Answer next time!
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