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Rickey Henderson

Hardball Passport Collects Ballpark Memories

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Players get box scores. Why not fans, too?


Scorecards. Scorebook magazines. How do you keep track of all the memories of the games you’ve attended?

Peter Robert Casey has a winning game plan in Hardball Passport. He’s developed web applications for baseball and basketball fans to track their game-going adventures. 

Peter has one cool past as a sports fan. Peter held community management and strategy roles with Team Epiphany [on the Nike Basketball account], Five-Star Basketball, and the New York Knicks, and spent five years on the brick-and-mortar side of community building at Columbia University’s Teachers College. 

In 2009, he became the first media-credentialed microblogger in college basketball history when I received a press pass to cover St. John’s University men’s basketball team exclusively via my personal Twitter account. 

I asked him for more details on the inspiration that’s driven him to create such insightful, fun apps. He replied:

“Below are the answers to your great Qs and attached is a copy of a photo of me at the United Center. This past fall, I saw all 30 NBA teams play a home game in 30 straight nights. Story here: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/hoops-junkie-30-day-nba-arena-journey-hits-final-stop-article-1.1539956

30 baseball games in 30 days next?!?
I need to go back into the archives and find one of me at the ballpark.

Q: What memories do you savor most over the first-ever baseball game you attended?

While I can’t definitively say this was the first game I’ve ever attended, one of the earliest games I remember going to was a Yankees-Royals tilt in ‘88 or ‘89 at the old Yankees Stadium with my travel baseball team.

We sat in the cheap bleacher seats while Bo Jackson (K.C.) and Rickey Henderson (N.Y.) were playing left field, and we were yelling for their attention. It was a personal highlight when they turned around and acknowledged us.

The Yankees lost, but it was amazing to get to see one of my childhood heroes, Don Mattingly, play in person for the first time. And you can’t forget hearing Bob Sheppard’s iconic voice announcing his name when he came up to bat. I’ll never forget that.

Q: In your baseball fan career, what experience do you have with in-person or through-the-mail autographs?

A: One of my fondest memories as a kid was getting Lenny Dykstra’s autograph during a scheduled signing session at the local video rental store. Remember those?

I also met Rich “Goose” Gossage and James “Catfish” Hunter at the same baseball card show and got their signatures. Talk about a great pair of baseball nicknames. Unfortunately, I was never successful with yielding through-the-mail autographs, though I definitely purchased a player address book when I was eight or nine in the Kings Plaza Mall (Brooklyn, N.Y.).

Q: As you’ve perfected Hardball Passport, what kind of input or feedback have you gotten from current or former baseball players/staff?

A: Hardball Passport Travelers love to log their old games and get their personal stats: Total number of games attended, ballparks seen, best performances witnessed and teams’ records for games they were at. Also, the box scores are instrumental in enabling fans to relive their own memories of going to the ballpark with their friends or family. That kind of feedback makes me smile.

The iterative requests have also been consistent: Fans want to log Spring Training games, the World Baseball Classic and have even more personal stats: Total ERA when they’re at the ballpark, who’s hit the most home runs or had the most strikeouts. The feedback has been terrific and very helpful.

Q: How can this blog’s readers learn more and stay informed about Hardball Passport?

A: Readers can learn more about Hardball Passport’s benefits and features here: http://hardballpassport.com/aboutus, and can stay informed about updates by following us on Twitter: @hbpassport. But the best way to get addicted to Passport’s nostalgia is to create an account. It takes less than a minute. I hope they love it.”

I do. And I hope that readers take Peter’s cue to look deeper at the history they witness every time they head to the ballpark. It’s not just “my team lost.” There before you are 50 uniformed men living their dreams. Someday, some of them might be delighted to know you witnessed one of the best days of their lives.

That’s Baseball By The Letters!

“The Autograph Card” Guys Provide Arizona Fall League ‘Graphing Update

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Interaction.

It comes with a good letter. For in-person autographing, fast and hectic becomes the norm. Good luck hearing anything more than a “here” or “thanks” from the signer.

I love how “The Autograph Card” products allow us to collect anyone’s autograph. That opens doors to conversations. Here’s an attractive, affordable item that anyone would love to sign.

The pair behind the idea do more than sell. They collect. They use it all the time. Here’s proof:

Thanks to Brian Flam for these 2013 AFL insights.

“When Graphing the AFL my #1 tip is also my top advice for all minor league graphing: Keep your eyes open! Some of my best Graphs over the last 10+ years graphing the AFL have come in the stands. The fact that many former players still work in the game in some for (Coaches, Scouts, Agents) along with the amount of former players who live in the area mean you never know who will be in the stands out in Arizona! This year we were fortunate enough to ink Rickey Henderson while he was watching the A’s prospects. We had seen him several times over the last few years, and we finally hit a day where he decided to pick up a pen.
 
But Rickey is an extreme case, there are many lesser known players (both Major and Minor League) in the stands at all AFL games. Especially if a player is related to a major leaguer keep an eye out for there relative, as we’ve seen many Fathers watching there children over the years. Some notable Fathers have been to watch games in recent years (Roger Clemens, Carney Lansford, Kevin Romine) some ‘big names, and some ‘not so big’.

Tom Lasorda, Dave Stewart, Eric Davis, and even Jenny Finch (Watching her husband pitch) have been spotted at AFL games.

Along with never knowing who you’ll see at a game, I can work in a plug: I always carry blank signature cards! This year my two favorite signature cards I had signed were: Richie Shaffer, Tampa Bay Rays #1 draft pick this past June. He didn’t have many ‘mainstream’ cards out (his lone card is a 2008 Team USA U-16 card shared with two other players). He was not only nice enough to sign for all that asked, he took the time to talk to each person, and came off as very genuine. Another of my favorites was Roland Hemond, he was the first recipient of the ‘Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement’ Award given by the Baseball Hall of Fame.”
 
It might be too late for Santa, so do it yourself. Refill your stockings with some gems from The Autograph Card.
 
Coming Friday: Collecting Ford Frick winners.

Oakland Pitcher-Turned-Teacher Bob Lacey Taught The 1980 Brewers A Lesson!

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That’s the exact autograph
you’ll get if you write
the hurler-turned-educator
today!

Pitcher Bob Lacey needed just one day to be a huge part of history.

A surprise starter on Oct. 4, 1980, he blanked the Brewers on seven hits. The game was a day of firsts. With thanks to http://www.retrosheet.org/, here’s the chance to relive what 9,116 in County Stadium witnessed.

“That particular game that I started against the Brewers was my first start and complete game shutout. The game set the (team) mark with 94 (complete games) for the 1980 season.

In the fifth, Paul Molitor hit a lined pea which Rickey (Henderson) picked up on a short hop to gun down Jim Gantner at the plate. What a great play.

Also on that game, Rickey stole bases 99 and 100. He became the first American League player ever to steal 100 bases.”

Notice that Lacey didn’t feel the need to add “Henderson” to his recap? As if baseball had any other Rickey who mattered in 1980?

Lacey led the league with 74 appearances in 1978. His actual workload was much more.

“I probably warmed up a good 100-plus games. Played long toss and pepper before the game to loosen up, and rested when I needed to.”

My last question revolved around his second career: school teaching. How rare is it for a former player to become an educator? Likewise, how does a student deal with the amazement of knowing that the teacher used to be a sports celebrity?

“Jim Cox and Larvell Blanks are both teachers that I see from time to time.

Kids think it’s cool.”

Kudos to the 1980 Topps Baseball Blog for a fine account of Lacey’s personality-filled Oakland years.

Tomorrow: Learn from Ford “Moon” Mullen of the 1944 Phillies, who went from infield to classroom.