Jim Bouton has never been bashful. Neither was his brash best-seller, Ball Four, which reported on the off the field activities of baseball players in the 60s.

I spent a spring training rooming with Bouton in 1961 with the Yankees down in St. Petersburg, FL. And in 1964 I lockered next to him in Yankee Stadium, and admired his stance on many issues. He, for instance, was pushing the players to back bubble-gum manufacturer Bazooka, because they would be competition to the monopoly Topp’s bubble gum had at the time.

Bouton recently had an extensive interview in New (more…)

Bill Hongach, the bat boy for the Yankees in 1972 & 1973, has sent a letter to everyone that played for the Yankees and the New York Giants football team, with the intent of putting their stories, memories and recollections in a book prior to the demise of Yankee Stadium. (The 2007 season will be the last for the Yankkes in the current stadium, In 2008 they will move into the newly-built new stadium, next door to the current stadium.)

Accompaning the letter was an autographed photo of Hongach and catcher (captain-of-the-team) Thurman Munson. Munson’s comments on the photo…”To Hondo, The worst bat boy in New York Yankee history. Hope to see you next year. Thurman Munson.”

Here’s a portion of Hongach’s letter to former (more…)

The heir to Mickey Mantle…that was the heady talk describing Roger Repoz when he came up to the Yankees for the last month of the season in 1964. A big 6′3″ left-handed pull hitter, Repoz and I played several seasons together in the Yankees farm system. Yesterday, a call out of blue came in, “Bob, this is a voice out of the past, Roger Repoz.”

I always find it interesting how guys who may have only had one thing in common, (in many instances) playing professional baseball, can immediately recall with candor and laughter, games and situations that occurred 40 years ago! And to the man, agree that (more…)

San Diego real estate investor Jeff Brown says real estate investing is a lot like pitching. Paying attention pays off…timing is everything…just like (more…)

Doubledown Media, LLC, announced its newest magazine launch, The Players Club - a magazine by and for professional athletes launched in partnership with New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies All-Star outfielder Lenny Dykstra. The Players Club will be focused on providing athletes with the resources to make well-informed financial and lifestyle (more…)

Appearing on CNBC Cable TV this afternoon, Joe Torre, former New York Yankee skipper talked about his foundation that is educating kids about domestic abuse. Torre’s foundation, the Safe At Home Foundation, is celebrating its 5th Anniversary tonight with a gala dinner (more…)

If you are a New York Yankees fan, and especially if you thought baseball in the 1960s was the “Golden Era” for professional baseball, you will want to buy the new book written by William J. Ryczek, published by McFarland, titled, “The Yankees In The Early 1960s.”

It’s a gripping history of the New York Yankees over a decade which saw them go from the top of the American League to the (more…)

After reading the story about the University of Toledo athletic department’s barter arrangements, it occurred to me that a more comprehensive story could have been titled, “How bartering helps sports organizations survive and thrive.”

Bartering or trading for services is hardly new for our local universities, sports (more…)

The following story was written about the University of Toledo’s use of barter. I found it unusually interesting inasmuch as I attended the University for two years prior to my signing a bonus contract with the New York Yankees after my second year, back in 1960. The writer, Joe Vardon of he Toledo Blade did an exceptional job detailing all of the trades, and I would think the barter activities at the University are extremely helpful. Here’s the (more…)

Barry Bonds, soon to break Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record, is taking action after corporate advertisers have shunned him. The 43-year old player has established a licensing company to leverage his (more…)