Question; what happens in six days?

Well, lets see here, todays is the 8th-9,10,11,12-oh yeah, yeah; Valentines Day. A day to remember that special sweetheart. A time for love. Romance is in the air.

Yeah, well…something else happens on the 14th, this year. Something big; Pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Baseball.

I love baseball, seeing a freshly mown baseball field, in the early morning light brings me peace.

I can deal with hearing about politics, and Britney, and gas prices, the decline of western civilization and even, steroids, Roger Clemens, and congressional hearings; I can come to terms with all of that, in my mind, with the simple knowledge that baseball is around the corner.

New season-new beginnings-baseball brings hope.

Great baseball site, baseball-reference.com. Go at it stat geeks.

Another great baseball site, baseball-almanac.com. Neat stuff, minor league baseball of the 20’s, stories and pictures and sure, mores stats.

Addie Joss was a Hall of Fame pitcher who pitched a perfect game on October 2, 1908 opposite another Hall of Famer Ed Walsh, accomplishing the feat with just 74 pitches. His 1.89 career ERA is second on the all-time list.

Look at what I found about Addie Joss (who I am related to, by the way) at the Almanac.

Addie Joss Benefit Game

Addie Joss was one of the great pitchers in baseball history. On April 14, 1911, Addie Joss died suddenly from an attack of tubercular meningitis at age 31. Addie was so well thought of that a benefit all star game was set up to raise money for his widow and children. The game, which took place at Cleveland’s League Park on July 24, 1911, was between Addie’s Cleveland Naps and the American League All Stars. The all star line up was a group of the games greatest including: Ty Cobb, Home Run Baker, Smoky Joe Wood, Walter “Big Train” Johnson, Hal Chase, Eddie Collins, Germany Schaefer, Tris Speaker, Sam Crawford and several other. The Naps had some legends on their side too, including Nap Lajoie, Cy Young and Shoeless Joe Jackson. The All Stars won 5-3 that day and the Addie Joss Benefit Game raised $12,914.00 for the Joss family.

Trivia Alert: Ty Cobb wore a Cleveland uniform during the 1911 Addie Joss Benefit Game as his Detroit Tigers uniform was lost in transit!

addie.jpg

“Contemporaries of 6′3″ Addie Joss admired him as much as almost anyone who ever put on a major league uniform. His untimely death from an attack of tubercular meningitis in April 1911 shocked the baseball world; Cleveland’s opener in Detroit was postponed due to funeral services in Toledo. So well thought of was Joss that the top AL players of the day formed an all-star team to play the Indians for the benefit of his widow.” - Ed Walton on the BaseballLibrary.com

BaseballLibrary.com, another wonderful site-book excerpts, columnists, blogs-stories; Baseball has better stories than any other game.

Bonus cool site-addiejoss.com. Neat place with pictures, bio info of Gentleman Addie Joss. Don’t know who put this together but says here…

I am especially interested in Addie Joss because we are related.

Hey, that means we are related too, somehow.

Get ready for baseball kids, it is the great uniter.

May you dream of the fields of green as you rest you weary soul this night.

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