The legendary Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, was the positioning for Major League Baseball Thursday evening, and the Negro leagues had been prime of thoughts given the diamond’s significance to its historical past.
The Fox Sports panel of Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter and host Kevin Burkhardt mentioned the magnitude of the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants taking part in at Rickwood, particularly contemplating the loss MLB Hall of Famer Willie Mays on Tuesday evening, as he performed on the sphere with the Birmingham Black Barons.
However, when talking of nice gamers from the Negro leagues, the nice Satchel Paige is all the time somebody who involves thoughts. He was a Black Barons pitcher to begin his skilled profession earlier than ultimately breaking into MLB late in his profession.
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Pittsburgh Pirates Barry Bonds, #24, at bat towards the San Diego Padres. San Diego. (Richard Mackson /Sports Illustrated by way of Getty Images)
The panel was joined by the league’s all-time house runs chief Barry Bonds, Mays’ godson, and Ken Griffey Jr. Jeter determined to direct a query at Bonds.
“Tell me proper now, on the spot, what would you do towards Satchel Paige?” Jeter requested Bonds.
The man who launched 762 homers in his profession over 22 seasons didn’t hesitate. In truth, he was jokingly insulted Jeter would even ask.
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“Me?! Gone,” he stated rapidly, to which the remainder of the panel began to snigger. “You have misplaced your thoughts, Jeter. Gone. It’s easy. Gone. Read about it on ESPN.
“You gotta consider in your self. If I don’t consider in me, who gonna consider in me?”
Griffey stated he would have taken a unique route if he confronted Paige, a person who was rumored to hit 105 mph along with his fastball and persistently hit triple digits earlier than it turned frequent in at this time’s trendy period.
Satchel Paige of the Monarchs, left, talks with Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays earlier than a recreation in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1941. (Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)
“I’m drag bunting,” Griffey stated smiling. “We gonna race to first.”
Paige was simply 20 years previous when he broke out for the Black Barons in 1927, proudly owning a 2.39 ERA over 20 video games (10 begins). It was not till 1933 when the 26-year-old posted a league-best 1.94 ERA in his first All-Star season with the Pittsburgh Crawfords within the Negro National League II.
In 1948, at age 42, Paige made his debut with the then-Cleveland Indians, which stays the oldest debut in MLB historical past. Paige would earn a 2.48 ERA in 72.2 innings that season and adopted it up with a 3.04 ERA in 31 video games in 1949.
However, the sweet-swinging Bonds has a sense the warmth from Paige wouldn’t have fazed him.
Bonds’ profession statistics have been scarred on account of his admitted steroids use. However, he was nonetheless among the best to ever step foot right into a batter’s field, as his quick bat might make a baseball fly nearly wherever in any ballpark.
Barry Bonds, left, was fairly assured when requested if he would hit one of many biggest pitchers of all time, Satchel Paige. (Getty Images)
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Of course, we’ll by no means know what that matchup would appear to be in actual life, however it’s honest to say Paige would possible be assured in his talents, simply as Bonds is.
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