Yankee4Life

Johnny Podres In 1955, Podres ended the statement that Brooklynites asked after each season was completed. "Wait 'till next year!" was a rallying cry for those great Dodger fans of years past. In 1955, thanks to Podres, next year finally came. Only posting a 9-10 record for the year, Podres was still the game seven pitcher for Brooklyn at Yankee Stadium that year.He came through with a 2 to 0 win that gave Brooklyn their first, and only, championship. Johnny Podres stepped forward and led the Brooklyn Dodgers to a memorable triumph over the New York Yankees. He did it by pitching to two victories, the first one coming in the third game after the Yankees opened up with two straight victories, and the second coming in game seven with a sparkling, 2-0 shutout victory in the seventh game. This gave the Dodgers their first World Series. Podres won a white corvette from Sport Magazine. Although the left-hander went on to a noteworthy career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers that included two All-Star Game appearances, membership on five World Series teams and a .561 won-lost percentage during his 15 years in the big leagues, he is best remembered for his performance in the '55 series. After retiring from baseball with the San Diego Padres, he remained there for the next four years as a pitching coach. He joined the Boston Red Sox and spent five years as a minor league pitching instructor, before he joined the parent club as pitching coach in 1980. From 1981-85 he was a pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins and went on to serve four seasons as a minor league pitching coach for the Dodgers' organization. Podres has been with the Philadelphia Phillies since 1990. Podres has developed a reputation as an expert of the changeup, and has taught it to pitchers such as, Frank Viola, Bob Ojeda, John Tudor and Ramon Martinez. Johnny Podres has been involved with baseball for 40+ years and he has been impressive as a coach as well as a player.

All these guys you put in are wonderful additions to this. :p

Vida Blue As a 21-year old, Blue burst on the scene in 1971, winning the American League's Cy Young and MVP awards. The rest of his career was spent trying to live up to that standard. He managed to win more than 200 games, despite several contract battles, shoulder injuries, and a drug conviction. Showing rare good judgment, he declined several thousands of dollars in bonus money offered by A's owner Charlie Finley if the left-hander would legally change his name to "True Blue." Blue never won a World Series game (0-3, 4.04), and he was 1-5 in 17 post-season games. His shining moment in the post-season was a two-hit shutout of the Orioles in game three of the '74 playoffs, when he out-dueled Jim Palmer. Blue was also 0-for-13 with 12 K's at the plate in the post-season.

Jimmie Foxx Foxx was 6-foot and 195 pounds, but he seemed bigger, probably because he could hit the ball so far. He joined the AL's Philadelphia Athletics in 1925 as a catcher, but didn't play much during his first few seasons because Philadelphia already had the best catcher in baseball, Mickey Cochrane. In his infrequent appearances, Foxx showed that he could hit, and in 1929 he became Philadelphia's starting first baseman. He hit .354 with 33 home runs and 117 RBI. It was the first in a record streak of twelve years in which he hit 30 or more home runs and drove in 100 or more runs. Foxx had a .335 average with 37 home runs and 156 RBI in 1930, then batted .291 with 30 homers and 120 RBI in 1931, as the Athletics won their third straight pennant. In their three World Series appearances, Foxx hit .344, with 4 home runs, 11 runs scored, and 11 RBI. Philadelphia owner-manager Connie Mack began to dismantle the team in 1932 because of financial problems. The Athletics started to slide, but Foxx didn't. He led the AL with 58 home runs and 169 RBI, batting .364. Foxx lost two home runs that were hit in games called by rain before they became official, which kept him from tying Babe Ruth's famous record of 60 in a season. He was also deprived of the triple crown because the batting title was awarded to Dale Alexander, even though Alexander didn't have the required 400 at-bats for the season. In 1933, Foxx did win the triple crown, batting .356 with 48 home runs and 163 RBI. He won his second MVP award that season. Despite a pay cut, he hit .334 with 44 homers and 130 RBI in 1934. Foxx ended his career with Philadelphia by tying Lou Gehrig for the home run lead with 36 in 1935, when he hit .346 and had 115 RBI. Mack then sent him to the Boston Red Sox in a trade that brought $150,000 to the Athletics, along with two inconsequential players. Foxx was an immediate favorite among Boston fans. He hit .338 with 41 home runs in 1936. After slipping to a .285 average and 36 home runs in 1937, he won his third most valuable player award in 1938 with a .349 average, 50 home runs, and 175 RBI. He led the league in average and RBI, but finished second to Hank Greenberg in homers. After leading the league in home runs with 35 in 1939, Foxx hit 36 in 1940, then declined to 19 in 1941. He got off to a poor start the following season and was released. The Chicago Cubs picked him up, but he was no more successful there, and he announced his retirement. The Cubs talked him into coming back in 1944, when players were scarce because of World War II, but he played in only 15 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter. After appearing in 89 games for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945, he retired for good. He later coached and managed for a few years in the minor leagues. Known for drinking and for buying other people drinks, Foxx had little money left from his glorious baseball years. He suffered a heart attack in 1963 and choked to death while eating at his brother's house in Miami four years later. In 2,317 games, Foxx batted .325 with 2,646 hits, including 458 doubles, 125 triples, and 534 home runs. He drove in 1,922 runs and scored 1,751.

Thurman Munson Any Yankee fan who is knowledgeable about the history of his team can give you statistics about Thurman Munson, but to really appreciate him you had to see him play. The great statistics were just a part of who he was. Munson was the first Yankee captian named to the team since Lou Gehrig. That alone shows how special he was. Munson was a clutch player and for a catcher, had very good speed. In 1976, the Yankees broke a twelve year drought by winning the pennant. They lost to the Reds that year in four games but Munson was the only one who had a good series. On August 2nd, 1979, Thurman Munson died while practicing takeoffs and landings near his Canton, Ohio home. He was 32.

Speak for yourself.

Oh yes we can Mark.

That's true Kerry. I'm glad you realize that. I really don't care if basballfanatik9 makes a sig that says "I hate the Yankees" or whatever. We all know he's not a Yankee fan so that's just how it is. And there is a thing called freedom of speech. It's encouraged here in the U.S. As long as he doesn't have swear words in the sig and follows forum rules, he can proudly (at least in his opinion) say "I hate the Yankees."

Wesley Branch Rickey This man is another person many of you have never heard of but you know of his accomplishments just the same. Branch Rickey invented the farm system when he was the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. Before the farm system came about, minor league teams would sell their best players to any of the major league teams for the highest price. Rickey's system eliminated that and it proved to be so popular, every team copied this practice in no time. As an owner of the Dodgers in Brooklyn, he pioneered the use of baseball statistics. He was the first to hire a statistician. Also, Rickey introduced batting helmets to the major leagues. Before that, players would go up to bat wearing only their baseball hat. Rickey of course is best known for breaking baseball's long standing color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson to a Dodger contract in 1945. He sent Robinson to Montreal to play in 1946 and he promoted him to Brooklyn in 1947, helping the Dodgers win the pennant that year. Rickey was also a major league player. He played for the Browns and was a catcher. He didn't play long in the majors and he made it to the Hall of Fame as an executive and not a player.

That's a very good question timay. He hasn't been in here since Thanksgiving. We've been trying to get in contact with him, but we've had no luck so far. I sure wish he'd come back.

Well, let me clarify that. This forum, like all others in here will be moderated by the same team that moderates all the other forums. So Trues, MarkbtheYankee, McDiddy, Cartersyard, Snepp and myself will have access in there. The only non-moderators in there will be the people that make up the group. That's it.

According to Trues' rules, he states "Each user will be limited to ONE image in their signature with a dimension no greater than 475px x 125px." So you might have a sig that is kinda big. But it looks good. (Of course, if it was a Red Sox one I'd help you out and get rid of it right away)

That is all this is going to be about. Moose here understands the concept of the new forum. Now, if anyone who makes sigs does not want to be in this, there's no problem at all. If timay doesn't see the need for it, it's ok. Let him have his opinion. He isn't required to be in there or is forced to. I just threw out those group of names because each one of those people do sigs. I didn't want to exclude anyone. If you don't want access to this forum, make a post in here stating that or send a PM if you want. Ok?

It will be opened when Trues does the work on it. I hope it will be soon. You will have access to it like you have access to all the forums in here. But this forum will be a private one. So if you are not a sig maker, you will see the forum but you can't get in it.

KKKerry cubsfaninfla baseballfanatik9 Moose Timay WhoisKarimGarcia Tribetime26 KcCityStar Disengage Disastros NYM91 So far, that's all I got. I'll check back in when Trues makes the forum. I'm beat because this cold is beating the hell out of me. Goodnight now.

Ok everyone, I just got an e-mail from Trues and he liked the idea of a private sigmakers forum for you guys to talk about your work and whatever has to do with it. The only people that will have access to this forum are the moderators of the forum and the sigmakers. I got a short list of people who are in this right now: KKKerry cubsfaninfla baseballfanatik9 Moose Timay WhoisKarimGarcia Tribetime26 KcCityStar I know darn well I am forgetting people, please forgive me. I got this terrible cold right now and I don't feel well. Anyone that should be in this, you guys will decide. If you want to vote someone in this forum, go right ahead. Then I'll give them access to it.

Carl Furillo Any New Yorker on this board that has relatives that followed baseball in the 1950's will know of Carl Furillo and remember him fondly. Furillo was a "gamer", before that word was used to describe baseball players who played the game hard for nine innings each and every day. He was Brooklyn's regular right fielder and was a fan favorite. About Furillo Furillo played his entire 15 year career with the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, taking part in seven World Series and finishing with a career batting average of .299. He hit 192 home runs and had 1,058 runs batted in. His best season was in 1953 when he led the National League in batting with a .344 average. He won the title despite being sidelined with a broken finger incurred in a brawl. Furillo had been hit by a pitch from the New York Giants' Ruben Gomez, and then charged the Giant manager, Leo Durocher. We hated the Giants,he recalled years later. We just hated the uniform. Furillo batted over .300 in four other seasons and drove in 90 or more runs for the Dodgers six times. He was one of the star players for the Dodger team recalled in The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn and was a member of the only Brooklyn team that won the World Series, in 1955. Furillo, who was raised in Lower Alsace Township, Pa., near Reading, started playing baseball as an outfielder for the Pocmoke City in the Eastern Shore League at a salary of $80 a month. He fought his way up through the Dodger organization, where he acquired the name Reading Rifle for his fine throwing arm. Pee Wee Reese, the former shortstop for the Dodgers, recalled a few years ago how the sign for Abe Stark's clothing store at the base of the right-field wall promised a free suit to any batter who hit it on a fly. But Furillo played right in front of it,said Reese. Nobody ever hit it. In 1959, Furillo, then 37 years old, played only 25 games in the outfield, but he delivered a game-winning hit in the World Series to help Los Angeles defeat the Chicago White Sox. His pinch-hit single in the seventh inning of Game 3, coming with the bases loaded, drove in two runs to break a scoreless tie. The Dodgers went on to win that game, 3-1. The following season, however, Furillo was released after suffering a torn calf muscle. It was a heavily publicized incident that left him bitter. Furillo wanted to finish his 15th season so he would qualify in the players pension fund and receive $285 a month compared to $30 a month less if he left when the Dodgers wanted him to leave. But the slugger who had smashed 192 homers over 14 years had only two hits in 10 times at bat. After being released, he sued the Dodgers, saying his release was illegal because he had a baseball-related injury. A court awarded him back pay, and later he said he was blackballed from baseball coaching and scouting jobs.

Not yet. If this goes down, you will be in it. This is strictly about the discussion of making sigs, tips on how to do it, questions for Kerry or anyone else, a place to show your unfinished work, etc.

Yes, seriously. I think that was a great job.

I love it.

Heck yeah. In fact, I would need a list of people that would be considered to be let in. I know of a few, but I don't want to miss anyone. I respect the sig making that goes on in here and I want to do everything I can to help it along.

No, nothing like that. I am going to ask Trues the next time I see him to make a new forum that only the sig makers can get access to. People like baseballfanatik,Tribe time, you, Kerry (of course). This would be a place where you can go to talk among yourselves about the sigs, how to make them, questions you have or tips. It would be a restricted area just for the sig guys in here and mods. But I have to get his approval.

I'm working on an idea now, I just have to get through to Trues to get his approval.

Ok everyone.......step back from your keyboard, take a deep breath or take a break and grab a drink. Calm down now. Ok? Ok, back to the X-box. :)

Just keep working at it and try your best. It's a gift to play this game and to play it professionally would be a thrill. Never stop working. It's good you live in Florida so you can play all year if you want.