This is a mans world, JHell58 returns to Skitz

THIS IS A MANS WORLD...

I am gonna lay out one of my personal opinions that is often unpopular or disagreed with among those who I have shared it with in the past. I do this with some trepidation, which is a big word indeed. Some folks just disagree and thats fine, I feel that few minds are changed by arguments.

That being said, I digress into the topic at hand. If you decide to disagree, feel free to scroll on down to the bottom for the Biscuit stuff!


GIRL POWER
Women should be in pro baseball.

1921 ideal of womens physical ability

As players, not just front office or umpires or trainers or presidents or all of the other ways MLB currently lets women participate in the game of baseball. There is no reason why a woman with dedication and an opportunity to develop her own skill set should be kept from having the same chance to play as a guy.

Lately it is an idea that has been gaining a few supporters, though its detractors have stuck to the same arguments they have used for years - sounding alot like the media and inside-baseball guys that said a black man wouldn't be smart enough to manage at the major league level.

Vague generalizations amount to prejudice when applied based on race or skin tone. When they are applied to gender, its called chauvinism. Neither is acceptable in todays society.



CASEY
Casey Candaele was a nine year veteran of the Astros, Expos and Indians. His career began in the mid 1980s and carried through the strike and into mid-1997 as a utility infielder and switch hitting replacement off the bench. Not a star by any means, his only appearance on MLB leaderboards is 9th place in the NL in triples in 1991 with seven.

Casey garnered four Rookie of the Year votes in 1987 and regularly played in 75 games or more a season in "The Show" along side some of the best players of that era. I think we can agree that this guy is major league quality, even in the steroid-laced years of the Bud Selig stewardship.

He didn't overwhelm me at the time, but people said something about his playing skills that surprised me and made me take notice.

His mom was even better.

CASEY'S MOM

Helen Callaghan

Known then as Helen Callaghan she was one of the best players in the womens league professionally, and the inspiration for a now-famous movie portraying the almost events of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Helen batted .287 in her rookie season, finished in the top three in the league in several batting stats, including homers. She would go on to be called the "Ted Williams of womens baseball".

She was that good.



NOT JUST LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Some other points I ran across in my cursory inspection of the history of baseball as concerns the "fairer sex" were less well known and came as complete surprises.



THE FIRST PRO PLAYERS

Bloomer Girls pitcher

A pair of teams consisting of women were paid for their games a full two years before the Cincinnati Redlegs would make waves by paying their players and *GASP* becoming professionals.

The Cinci Reds would have you believe they are the first professional team ever, anywhere, dating back to 1881. In fact the girls had beaten them to the bank, getting paid to play baseball as early as 1879.


LIZZIE
Lizzie Arlington wore bloomers to pitch for the Reading Coal Heavers in 1898. She would appear in several contests as a pitcher and at second base in regular minor league games not just exhibitions.

The Hartford Courant said of Arlingtons play "It is said that she plays ball like a man and talks ball like a man and if it was not for her bloomers she would be taken for a man on the diamond, having none of the peculiarities of women ball players." 

Lizzie even spit on her hands and wiped them on her uniform!




BABE

Babe Didrickson

Famous sports figure Mildred "Babe" Didrikson pitched for the Cleveland Indians in an exhibition game in New Orleans vs the Pelicans and later against the Dodgers and others.

Known as the "Greatest Female Athlete" in her era, the Port Arthur native succeeds in just about every sport there is. She is voted the best female in sports at age 20, and again at age 42 and three other times in between for a total of five.

Didrikson was a gold medalist at the 1932 Olympics, breaking her own world record in 80 meter high hurdles and winning gold in the javelin toss. She settled for silver in high jump due to a judging decision on her headfirst jump style .

Didrikson could have won more medals at the LA Olympics of 1932, as she was entered into five events but women were restricted to just the three she appeared in.


As a side note to her amazing career, her list of world records include the longest throw of a baseball by a woman at 296 feet. She pitches various exhibitions against major and minor league teams, appearing with the Philly A's and StLouis Cards.


Versus the potent '34 Dodgers Didrikson allowed just one walk and a HBP in a single inning appearance, which was highlighted by a triple play. Before we assume the triple play saved her from giving up runs, its worth noting that the walk came after a bad 2-2 pitch called a ball by a rookie ump and the HBP was on a pitch the hitter had to lean into!



JACKIE

Jackie Mitchell

After her striking out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig became news, Commissioner Landis may have voided Jackie Mitchell's contract with the minor league Chattanooga Lookouts. Some say he did, some say he didn't, but either way she did not appear for the Lookouts again.

Mitchell would later pitch for the 1933 House of David barnstorming team, where she defeated the St.Louis Cardinals in an exhibition game.

Were the Babe and Lou tanking on purpose? Mitchell said of such accusations “Why, hell, they were trying, damn right! Hell, better hitters than them couldn’t hit me. Why should they’ve been any different?”

Struck out two thirds of Murderers Row and beat the Gas House Gang? Not bad!

Kitty Burke, Cinci Reds

KITTY
During a lull in the 8th inning of a game at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, singer/actress Kitty Burke came out of the crowd and picked up a bat, daring St.Louis pitcher Paul Dean to throw her a pitch.

The Cardinals hurler soft tossed her a fat pitch which she swung at, tapping out to first for a ground out and a roar of applause from the crowd.

Although the at bat wasn't official, it did take place in the middle of an inning, marking the first (unofficial) plate appearance by a woman in MLB.


LIZZIE MURPHY

Lizzie Murphy, barnstorming woman player, became the first person of any gender to play in the Major League All Star Game for both leagues, appearing at first base in 1922.  Murphy also played for Negro league teams and was the first woman to play for a MLB team in an exhibition game (with BoSox). Murphy had a successful 17 year career in baseball.

Women weren't banned from playing in Major and minor league baseball until 1952!

MODERN WOMEN PLAYERS
BORDERS

Ila Borders

Ila Borders, the first woman to start a professional game in modern history, touched 80 mph with her fastball.

BAKER

Baker, TB Rays

Chelsea Baker recently tossed BP for the Rays as they were preparing to face R.A.Dickey.

She plunked Longoria. The high-schooler learned her knuckleball from Joe Niekro. Already I'm a fan!



LOTS MORE LADIES TO LIST

Maud(e) Nelson

There are a TON more great role models for women in baseball - all to be admired for dedication as well as good play.

Toni Stone of the Negro leagues replaced Hank Aaron on the Clowns roster when the AAGPBL denied her based on race.

Maude Nelson scouted, managed, owned and played for her own team - earning her the label "greatest womens baseball figure" as she created baseball opportunities for women over 40 years in the game.

Alta Weiss, Myrtle Rowe, Ida Schnall and so many more great stories, perhaps a future blog post will have more space to revisit these inspiring women players!


MAYBE ITS JUST ME
I personally find it inexcusable that while Jackie is throwing the door open to the major leagues for black men, MLB owners are quietly shutting it on women.

I think that may be why I find it distasteful in some ways when teams tout their female executives, its not unlike showing how well behaved your best darkie is even though the only way he can get on the golf course is by carrying someone elses clubs.

Not to take away from the efforts of the hardworking women who have chosen their careers in baseball economics, its a tough job that I couldn't do.

YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH US
But for everyone saying "oh praise us for having a woman league president" or ballyhooing where women have advanced to hold the positions of general manager and other front office jobs... that just amounts to the same thing - it means "You can't play with us but we will let you help us out in the office".

Those first five words? Yeah I'm not sure thats legal and the rest of the sentence certainly isn't equality.


MO-BISCUITS PLEASE!

Jeremy Hellickson wore a #30 Silver Surfer shirt to mow down the Wahoos, striking out 11 at the park by the bay in his return to the Biscuits rotation.

@JHell58

As expected the Biscuits placed Joey Rickard on the DL. No replacement yet, unless you count Hellickson, who isn't officially on a rehab assignment.


In a continuance of the usual Southern league internet presence, the Rickard move was not seen on the SL transactions page thru Tuesday morning in spite of it being listed on the Biscuits website via the roster link. Way to help a blogger out, SouLea webmaster!.

Ryan Brett is hitting his way onto the prospect list, Rotoworld.com ran a mention of his recent four hit game:

Cory Burns

Cleveland Indians scouts have been told to look at Rays minor leaguers, expect the stands at Riverwalk to be flush with Chief Wahoo's minions.

Cory Burns has indeed been handed the job of finishing the game for Bradys Boys. So far so good, excluding one bad game against the braves, Burns has been spotless in relief since his arrival. His headshot from MiLB was great, I had to include it!

This just in, Riccio Torres is still retired.

Bad Field a Bad Sign

ALLSTAR BREAKING

Little time left to vote for the Biloxi team name contest. Im hoping they become the Biloxi Shuckers. Other possible winners are Beacon, Shrimpers, Black Jacks, Schooners and Mullets. I know, they are all soo perfect, its tough to choose.

SKITZ-NEWS
BLANCO SUAVE INJURED
Joey Rickerd will hit the DL with a broken ankle, no word yet on who we get in his place.



HELLBOY BISCUIT AGAIN
Jeremy Hellickson will rehab with the Biscuits in Pensacola. This is exactly why MLB and MiLB don't have their AllStar Breaks at the same time, dudes gotta throw somewhere!

BAD FIELD A BAD SIGN

Mgrs refuse to play, call field unplayable

We likely wont get to see Hellickson, in part due to his rehab being finished and also thanks to the terrible playing conditions at Riverwalk Stadium.

In spite of the work that has taken place in the last two offseasons, the field looks worse than ever. It doesn't drain properly, causing at least one game to be canceled and the grounds crew is fighting a losing battle to maintain the grass there is.

Surely the holes in the turf surface mean the big club worries about an injury to their big-league investments.

REPLACE YOUR DIVOTS?
Its frustrating to see an organization like the Biscuits struggle with basic things like playing surface. This is a team that was one of the top brands in minor league baseball just a few short years ago, yet now we dont even rank among the top 50 draws.

But the Lugnuts do.

Check it out, I think you can click to enlarge, thanks to Billsportmaps.com for the info....

IF YOU DIDNT READ THE MAP
Its ok, I will sum it up...

The Michigan based sister club of the Montgomery Biscuits does pretty well at the turnstiles, but we struggle mightily outside of the chalk in the standard gauge of success - butts in seats.


DANGER- NUMBERS AHEAD
The magic number seems to be four thousand to make it onto Bobs map. The Lugnuts come in at #45, bringing in over 52oo fans a game.

Thats considerably more than the Biscuits, who are listed as getting 3900 per game last year and just miss the cut at #85. This year the SL website says we are averaging 4080 a game, but we are only a little more than halfway so I have guarded hopes the front office will try to restore some fan loyalty as they rebuild the brand.

Did I mention the Lugnuts are a Single-A team?

SAME MENU 
Someone at the park mentioned this so I looked and sure enough, the Lugnuts promotional schedule is pretty much a cut-and-paste version of our own.

In some ways I expect that, being that both clubs are essentially two sides of the same machine. There is Thirsty Thursday with postgame concert, Fireworks nights on the same schedule, Jimmy Buffet night, Dollar hotdog tuesday, Eat-A-Palooza. A Biscuit fan might be able to take their own magnet schedule to Michigan and plan for the same promotions!

Hopefully we can expect the Biscuits to step up for the 2015 season. Having the Biloxi Beermen (or whatever they turn out to be) will only be making a tough market more complex.

No, we don't need this!

JULY 11 1968 Mgm SP Bob Reed defeats Asheville 3-2, dropping the first place Ashville Tourists into a tie with Birmingham, who win on a Rollie Fingers two hitter against Savannah in the first of a doubleheader sweep for the Bham A's.


JULY 14 1893

Joe McGinnity ca 1894

Joe McGinnity is signed/sold to the New York Giants, is placed on reserve, and continues to pitch for Montgomery.

Montgomery fans aren't happy about it. He continues to pitch for the Montgomery team, but fans wonder about a system that would be designed to rob them of their best players at the whim of a manager in New York.



JULY 14 1920
Montgomery, AL

"Pensacola Gets the Last From the Greys - Visitors Triumph One Time, 5 to 4, Staple Umpires to Settle Any Disputes -
The Pensacola team, of the Southern League, for Colored, won the last game of the series from the Grey Sox yesterday afternoon 5 to 4. The game was a slow featureless affair except the good fielding of Mo(s)es for the locals.

The visitors scored two runs in the second inning and two in the seventh and then again in the ninth. The locals scored four runs in the first frame, but after that the pitching of Arnold was more than they could solve.

 In view of the fact that the Pensacola team has charged bad umpiring against them in the two previous games John Staples, president of the Grey Sox, officiated as umpire and in the third inning he ordered Preston from the field for "beefing." This has been a great obstacle in the attendance at the park and the many fans who were present yesterday were strong in their belief that if all umpires would use their authority and get rid of the "beefers" the teams would draw much bigger crowds.

The Grey Sox will have an off day today and will take a good rest in to prepare for the fast New Orleans team that will play a double header Friday, at 2:45."

Do You Feel Lucky, Biloxi? Motters Revenge & Fallen Stars at Joe Davis Stadium

Biloxi likes to gamble, so how about ten grand a game?

Thats what the city will pay the team should the team have to miss home games due to an unfinished stadium. A pretty steep price, a situation team and league officials are probably keeping an eye on now that we are less than nine months from opening day 2015.

NO WORRIES

average Southern League owner

The owners in Biloxi don't sound worried, they probably are thrilled with the sweet deal of having a city funded ballpark being built and the chance to rake in ten grand a game if its not ready on time.

 WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
Architects estimate it will take until the middle of May next season to complete the park, but owners point to Pearl Miss where the stadium only took 11 months to complete.


uuuuh, okay, that doesn't make sense, but lets move on...

PRE-FAB PARK COMING TO BILOXI

It will look like this, maybe in May or June-ish.

"This one is pre-fab, 15 suites. The infrastructure and road work are good. Most of the site work is already done. So I feel pretty confident we'll be able to play ball in a reasonable amount of time." said Bennett, one of the teams part-owners.

it will look like this too

The Biloxi park is being prepped for construction and owners are taking contractor bids after firing the construction manager overseeing the project. They expect to choose the builder by the end of July.

THE BIG PAYOFF
The team will be charging the city ten thousand dollars for every missed home game, topping out at 70 thousand for the month of April. There may not be a cap for the month of May and beyond - however one of the build options is a 12 month building plan that would mean no baseball for Biloxi's new park until midseason. A very expensive option that would pay off bigtime for the team owners.

So if they miss a week of games, they might as well miss a months worth. But after the first months worth, then it REALLY gets expensive!

The Biloxi team will probably start the season on the road, but a ten game roadtrip won't help the city avoid hosting a baseball game until the 17th of May.

The city of Biloxi has plans in place to play games at other parks should the new one not be completed in time.


FALLEN STARS

On the flipside, look at how the Stars have fallen in Huntsville, even on the outside of the park!

2007 playoffs, Biscuits at Stars

2014 Joe Davis, the Stars logos gone

SOUTHERN LEAGUE LOSES PHONE
The Southern League twitter account has gone silent for months, since May  there has been not a single tweet from the "official" twitter of the SL. It sounds like someone lost the league phone and doesn't remember the twitter password.


MOTTERS REVENGE

On Monday the Biscuits unleashed the beast on the Braves, bashing home nine runs on a pile of hits to the delight of the home fans.

The only unhappy Biscuit was hitless Taylor Motter, who sat on the bench long after the game. He sat there after the players left the dugout. He sat there after the grounds crew rolled out the tarps. He sat there after the ushers had ushered.

His oh-fer hung heavy on a night that saw every one of his teammates getting hits. Motter sat on the bench as the music ended and lights were turned off, looking at the field where he would return on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Taylor Motter was who I told people to keep an eye on.

Amazing...

On Tuesday, Taylor Motter made me look like The Amazing Kreskin, as the Biscuit outfielder/shortstop put on a power display with two towering home runs - just missing a third on a ball hit so hard the ball was lopsided before it finally hit the railroad tracks.



DID YOU KNOW?
Between 1993 and 2003 Ozzie Timmons slugged over 170 home runs. The Biscuits current first base coach had over 300 career home runs combined between major league, minor league, independent and foreign leagues.

An outfielder by trade, Timmons played one game at first base with the Seattle Mariners in 1999, his only other 1b appearance was in one game in Japan.

Now he is at first for every game

GetAway Day Blog - July 8 2014

Ah getaway day, when a team knows it has a bus ride on the back end of a tuesday night game. Already players, coaches, managers, broadcasters and fans are looking around to see - who do we play next, when do we come back, where are we in the standings?

Questions, questions, questions spill from the mind of the fan today - questions that can only be answered in time. Until then we can only blog about it.


YA NEVER KNOW WHO
you will see at the park - this weekend we had the league prexie and the Braves GM at the games.

The league prez got away from me this time, I wasn't aware she was there until after the 8th inning and she was fully protected in a secure bunker suite where it was tough to lob pointed questions. But you wont get away so easy next time!

Frank Wren is there a little less on business, his son Kyle is on the double-A Braves squad. He was in the crowd on a good night, he got to see Kyle steal home, which has to make a dad proud at any level.

LOHMAN INJURED
Braves 1b Seth Lohman fouled a ball off his thumb, breaking it. He was wearing a splint Monday and said a DL trip was forthcoming. The Braves will deploy Barret Kleinkenecht at first base for the time being.

Lohman breaks thumb on Sunday

THE "ROUND ABOUT" WAY
As a questionable call was made by the umpires, Braves manager Aaron Holbert runs out to argue. On the skippers way there, the Braves shortstop waves him off, admitting there isnt a chance for the call to be overturned. Mgr. Holbert never stops jogging and veers around the pitchers mound and heads back to the dugout.

I told first base coach Ozzie Timmons thats whats called a circular argument!

MAKE IT OFFICIAL ALREADY!

With the league brass in town, I figured it was a good sign for our AllStar game next year. I asked and was told that an announcement could come after the 2015 Southern League schedule comes out. That should be in the next ten days or so, and it would likely coincide with the Biscuits announcement.

|RAMSEY DEALT
Matt Ramsey is traded to Miami for Dominican prospects, now we will face one of our own best relievers when the Jacksonville Suns come to town in a few weeks.

RP Stowell

So who do we get to fill that spot?
Your guess is as good as mine - could be another look at Kevin Brandt. He was here and pitched in a few games that went badly. Ryan Garton has good stats for promotion, Marcus Jensen has a great ERA but gives up alot of hits.

Demotion from Durham is also an option, guys struggling or having crappy numbers there could be sent to the GumpSkitz for an ego boost.

This list of Bull-Shits could include reliever Doug Mathis, starting pitchers Nate Karns or Enny Romero, all of whom are having bad seasons at triple-A.

Or perhaps the roster is being left with a hole open. ready to fill if/when the Rays make a deal. 

WHATS COMING UP
 One more home game left with the Braves then its off to Pensacola for a week.... where I hope we sweep their obnoxious fans into the bay. The Wahoos are a middle of the pack team, unfortunately the Biscuits are bottom feeders.




We are last in Batting Average, hits, RBI's, Runs Scored, and next to last in OPS. Simply put, we have trouble hitting the ball and scoring runs. Not sure we need deep Saber-metrics to make that analysis.

 NO SWEET RETURN
When the Biscuits return home they will face the Jackson Generals of the North Division. Loaded with prospects, Dj Peterson, Victor Sanchez, Tyler Pike, Ketel Marte, Julio Morban, Patrick Kivlehan, Neon Leon Landry, this team can be fun to watch. Not so fun to play against, but we should enjoy seeing the prospects.

STORMY WEATHERS
Did you know Casey Weathers, former big league pitcher, is on the roster at Port Charlotte? Me neither! The numbers aint great, but hes been pitching for the StoneCrabs since the middle of June. Just another Vandy alum in the Rays minor league chain!

July 9, 1906 
Southern Association/ At Montgomery, AL
Birmingham Barons 7, Montgomery Senators 0. 

Kaiser Wilhelm

Irving K. Wilhelm of the Barons pitched a perfect game, the first in Birmingham franchise history.

"Kaiser" Wilhem still holds the minor league record for consecutive scoreless innings - a staggering total of 72 innings without allowing a run.

In a freaky turn, Wilhelms streak was unknown until it was threatened in 2004 by a minor leaguer who pitched 54 straight scoreless. At that point it was thought Wilhelm had a streak of just 53, but a check of the records showed that three innings were missing and the record hadn't actually fallen.

Later it was realized that Wilhelm was promoted to the major leagues during the streak, when he returned to the minors he tossed another 13 innings before being scored on to total 72 innings without allowing a run.

I find it amazing that a guy who played his last game in 1921 can come back and retake his pitching record from a kid in the next century! Now THATS tough old school baseball!

JULY 9 1920 
Montgomery, AL
"Grey Sox Will Play Birmingham Stars -
The Montgomery Grey Sox and the Birmingham All Stars will clash this afternoon at 4 o'clock in the first game of a three game series.

Sam Streeter

The Grey Sox are in fine shape having had a two days rest after taking four straight games from the Atlanta team and they state that they are ready to hand the Birmingham aggregation the same dose.

The Grey Sox have in the last few weeks showed some great improvement and have showed several times their ability to come out of a tight place, and the team in general has been improving with the stick. Since the signing of Mason the team now has four strong pitchers in Myles, Mason, Streeter and Young.

There will be games today, Saturday and Sunday and these games should prove very interesting for the fans. All three of these games will start at 4 o'clock."

Patriotic Skitz-O-Matic! Reinforcements, Paterson Derby, History

Patriotic Skitz-O-Matic!

On Friday the Biscuits return to Riverwalk, after a ten day road trip that saw them seeing Stars in Huntsville and wrestling the Smokies in Tennessee. Struggling to cling to a .500 winning percentage, Bradys Boys have slipped in the standings after taking a beating from the top teams in the North Division.

REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE

Not sure if they were marching in or on horseback, but we did get some help.

To start off, its addition by subtraction to send "Snapback" Moore and Angel "of Death" Sanchez to greener pastures.

As a bonus we get Kes Carter, first rounder who gets to show off what he can do in centerfield. We get to see catcher Jake DePew, who hit his first homer in Double-A on Tuesday. Both will offer welcome rest to regulars at worst and quality play at best. Nice!

IT BURNS US

Crazy World, ain't it?

Now we add pitcher Cory Burns to the mix. Burns has major league experience, 17 games with the Padres in 2011 and 10 appearances with the Rangers in 2012. With over 110 career saves in the minors, the Biscuits would appear to have a new closer, at least until Durham needs a long relief man.

I see this as a positive sign, that the parent club has listened to the manager and gotten a player we need. A rarity, but hopefully this is a step towards rebuilding the Biscuit bullpen.

MALMO OUT, SUAREZ IN

Malm

First Baseman Jeff Malm was sent to Hudson Valley, I guess the Renegades needed him. Malm was getting squeezed by Cameron Seitzer's hogging of playing time at first. Jeff will likely be back pretty soon.

Suarez

In Malm's place we get Albert Suarez. AJ retuns to Montgomery where he made two starts last season. Suarez has been stellar in his three starts for Charlotte this year, and was due to be promoted after spending three seasons in the Florida League.

Biscuit Rotation a Rotating Door
A constantly fluid situation, the starting pitchers for the starters for the next series are likely Floro, Garvin, Albert Suarez, Victor Mateo and Mike Colla.

Who knows if we can expect to see any more Jimmy Patterson starts, with over 130 career games JP has only been called on for 13 starting assignments. Jim has a 4.17 ERA this year, which matches his ERA for Montgomery last year.


LOGISTICS A PROBLEM FOR PATERSON ALLSTAR DERBY?

The home run derby at the AllStar in Chattanooga was held at historic Engle Stadium, the original home of the host Lookouts.

When I suggested to team officials that Montgomery would enjoy a similar opportunity at historic Paterson Field, I was told that "logistics" would be the biggest obstacle.

The team would need permission from the Southern League office, which they could probably get - I mean, Chattanooga got it right?

No, apparently the issue is the facilities.

WHATS THAT MEAN?

Not so much the clubhouse or the dugouts, though they are old school small. Not the ticket office, which could function easily with a couple laptops and printers. No concern about the rest rooms, frankly old Paterson has cleaner toilets than some others I have seen in newer parks in the league!

It seems the concern would be more about the food preparation areas, or so I was told.

SUSPICIOUS?
I think there is a chance that is not really the case, as we are talking about the Biscuits here. The team that is a front for selling ballpark food service catering carts -  having the game at Paterson would be an ideal chance to showcase the versatility of their product to a wider audience of potential customers than any other game.

Not to mention they are missing a chance to charge for the Derby as a separate event!

WHAT IS IT THEN?
Likely the killing blow to having the AllStar Home Run Derby at Paterson Field? No luxury suites with air conditioning for a June game. The bottom line would be hurt by not having the suites, so thats the deciding factor.

HISTORY TIME!

 The longest game in Biscuits history happened last night - 16 innings and 5:15 to play the Smokies. Not bad, plus we won, but not the longest in Montgomery history. It came up about eight minutes and three innings too short!
 The longest game....

A Tie? Dang, and I felt like we were just about to score!

JULY 4 1920
Montgomery, AL

"Grey Sox Win Opener From Atlanta Team -
Mason Lets Visitors Down With Three Widely Scattered Hits Sunday -

In a slow long drawn out game, the Montgomery Grey Sox yesterday captured the opening game of a series with the Atlanta Crackers, at Southette Park. Mason pitching for the Grey Sox was practically unhitable, holding the Atlanta team to three widely-scattered hits and shutting them out.
The two teams play a double header today.

Besides the pitching of Mason, the other features of the game were the timely hitting of Shortstop Cunningham and Catcher Williams of the Grey Sox and the fielding of the First Baseman Cunningham of the same team.

The Grey Sox team is composed of the best negro base ball players in the South, and put up a splendid article of base ball. An overflowing crowd witnessed the game."


JULY 6 1904
Southern league umpire Dan Pfenninger mobbed at a game in Bham.

A veteran umpire on southern diamonds, Dan Pfenninger is known as an ump who will call a forfeit if a team or its fans become unruly.

Known as the Dean of Southern league umpires, Vinegar Dan was recognized as having a quick wit - once when a hitter griped to about a called third strike saying "You missed that one, Dan" Pfenninger replied "Well I just saw you miss two, so I guess I'm having a better day than you are"



JULY 5 & 6 1906
Montgomery Senators pitcher Will Breitenstein shuts out Nashville on two hits. His victory is short lived, as Barons starter Irving Wilhelm pitches a perfect game on the next day, against Montgomery!


Vinegar Bill Breitenstein is a Southern circuit hurler who along with his more successful older brother Ted, spent a combined 16 summers toeing the rubber in the south after the turn of the century. Ted threw a No-Hitter in 1898 for Cincinnati on the same day that Jim Hughes tossed a NoNo for Baltimore - the first time two no hitters were thrown on the same day in MLB.

Bill Breitenstein wins 11 and loses 11 for Montgomery and Shreveport during the 1906 season.

JULY 6 1920 
Montgomery, AL
"Montgomery Wins Fourth Straight - 
Atlanta Proves Easy for Local Colored Team; Birmingham Comes Next - 

The Montgomery Grey Sox of the Southern Colored League won their fourth straight victory over Atlanta yesterday, 6 to 5.

The features of the game was the hitting and the pitching of Myles for the locals. The visitors scored on him in the second, but after this inning he held them in check until the ninth when the visitors staged a rally and scored three runs, but the locals scored in their half of the ninth and won the game.

 The Grey Sox are still tied with the Knoxville Giants for first place in the league standing and if Knoxville lost yesterday the locals will take first position. The Knoxville team is rated as the fastest team in the league but they are having a hard time in keeping the lead.

The Giants went down to defeat before the Birmingham Black Barons Saturday, but won a double header from them yesterday. The Grey Sox will have two days off and then they will meet the Birmingham Black Barons for games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all of these games to start at 4 o'clock.

The Birmingham aggregation is composed of Cubans, eleven of whom do not speak the English language, and the general report is that they are a fast, hard hitting bunch of players."


JULY 7 1906
Leroy "Satchel" Paige is born in Mobile, Alabama.