Detroit vs Baltimore 1957

I've finished two APBA series since the last time I posted, so this summary and the next one will be shorter than usual.

This series pits the 1957 Detroit Tigers against the 1957 Baltimore Orioles.

 Game 1 - Location, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore

Both teams' aces were facing each other, Jim Bunning vs Connie Johnson. If you like pitching duels, this game did not disappoint. The Tigers beat the home team Orioles 2 to 1 on the pitching of Bunning, and a 2nd inning 2 run homer off the bat of first baseman Ray Boone. Both pitchers went the distance.

Game 2 - Location, Briggs Stadium, Detroit

This game turned out to be another low-scoring affair with the Tigers scoring single runs in the 1st, 2nd, and 6th to win 3 to 2. The Orioles scored their two runs in the 3rd and 5th. Paul Foytack got the win with Harry Byrd getting the save. Billy Loes took the loss for the Orioles. After Al Kaline singled in the first run in the 1st he got injured sliding into second and had to leave the game. He's out for 2 games.

Game 3 - Location, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore

Game 3 finally saw the Baltimore bats come to life. Baltimore scored seven runs off of Duke Maas and Luke Sleater. They tallied nine hits and 6 of them were extra base hits. The homerun came off the bat of the youngster Brooks Robinson. On top of the hitting they got a pitching gem from Ray Moore who only gave up one run in the ninth notching a four hit complete game. The Tigers lose Charlie Maxwell for 1 game.

My next one will see the 54 Orioles against the 54 Yankees. I'll write that one in a few days.

World Cup Disappointment

The World Cup is over for the US team. It was a terrible loss, 4 - 1 to the boys from Belgium. I'm not going to summarize the game, but I'm just going to offer a few insights into the world of the World Cup.

I was never a huge fan of futbol (Soccer), but after coaching it for the past 2 years, I've grown to like it. I'm going to share a few observations after watching the World Cup over the past few weeks.

1. The Argentina vs Cape Verde game was by far the most entertaining and fun game to watch. I've always loved cheering for the underdogs, and watching Cape Verde hang in there the whole time was pretty exciting.

2. There isn't any other sport where the referees can and do have a major impact on the outcome and results of the game. Yes, you still have to score goals but calling a penalty on one end but not the same penalty at the other end can give teams an unfair advantage.

3. There is way more flopping in the World Cup than in the NBA.  I've never seen a sport where so many players are constantly lying on the ground in mortal pain and then getting up and playing the rest of the game. 

4. The USA team played well except for the last game. I think they captured the love of America with how well they actually did. Most of those countries, that is their only game worth anything, this is not so in America. But they captured the hearts of America and hope they can advance further in 4 years.

5. In no other sport do you see the impact the stars have on a game. In the World Cup if your star doesn't perform you are probably losing. Messi, Mbappe, Haaland, Kane all have been making an impact and their teams are still winning.

There are my five observations from the world of the World Cup.