Danny takes the spotlight as we enter the second half of 2020. The main shot of him is after corralling a foul ball at the May 17th game between the Blue Jays and the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Next, he is posing in the outfield at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, followed by him and Michael at Washington’s Nationals Park. Finally, he stands on the balcony outside the top floor of the Newseum in Washington DC.
Author / admin
Fitbit 6: Week 22
Week 15 of working from home due to the corona virus was another disappointment. The week got off to a good start on Sunday, finishing 63 steps above goal. Monday fell off a cliff, finishing just shy of 2400 steps. Tuesday was better, but still bad, coming in at 3100 steps. Wednesday was another downer, ending the day with 3100 steps. Thursday was another good day, as I went out after work to meet up with Daryl and Val and ended up with 6300 steps. Friday was the low point of a low week, with barely 2100 steps. Saturday saw a slight improvement, but still finished with a sad 3000 steps.
Total steps: 27,720
Daily average: 3960
iTunes Top 200: #3
4 years ago, we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library. Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2020.
Today, we come to our penultimate entry, with the song with the third highest total of listens, 215, since my stats began in late 2007.
#3: Steam – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
iTunes stats: 215 plays, most recently on 10/16/2019
Previous ranking: #4
Originally written as a blues shuffle in the early 1960s, the song was recorded and released in 1969 by the then-fictitious band called Steam. It reached #1 for two weeks in December, finishing as Billboard’s final multi-week number 1 hit of the 1960s. The song got a second life in 1977, thanks to the South Side Hitmen and their organist, Nancy Faust. With the White Sox hitting the cover off the ball and finding themselves in a surprising first place, Faust started playing the song after home runs. Eventually, she also started playing it when the opposing pitcher was chased from the game.
The song became a hit once again, and Faust was awarded a RIAA gold record from Mercury Records to acknowledge her contributions. It was a mainstay at Comiskey Park and its successors until Faust’s retirement in 2010. Since then, the song is still performed, though not as often. The high play total is a result of the songs inclusion on all of my White Sox victory playlists.
Indians All Time Leaders – Through 2019
With baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Cleveland Indians.
The Indians, then known as the Bluebirds, were one of the charter members of the American League in 1901. After a few name changes, they settled on the Indians name in 1915. I’ve seen them play 52 times, including games 4 and 5 of the 2016 World Series and 2 games against the White Sox in their home stadium last September.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Victor Martinez | 6 |
| Jason Kipnis | 5 |
| Travis Hafner | 4 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Victor Martinez | 24 |
| Jason Kipnis | 21 |
| Michael Brantley | 20 |
| Carlos Santana | 20 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Grady Sizemore | 14 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 13 |
| Jhonny Peralta | 13 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Victor Martinez | 16 |
| Carlos Santana | 14 |
| Jason Kipnis | 14 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Victor Martinez | 4 |
| Jhonny Peralta | 4 |
| Jamey Carroll | 4 |
| Carlos Santana | 4 |
| Michael Brantley | 4 |
Triples Continue reading →
200 Things To Do In Illinois – United Center
Illinois celebrated its bicentennial as a state in December of 2018. To celebrate, the Chicago Tribune published the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, celebrating the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities. Now that the state is starting to open back up following the corona virus outbreak, I figured this was the second-best time to look through this collection and cover the ones I’ve done/eaten/seen.
We kick things off with one of the entries from the Sports category: United Center, from Chicago, IL.
Seeing the stars of the Bulls and the Blackhawks go to battle in the Madhouse on Madison is thrilling – or infuriating, depending on how the teams are doing.
But no trip to the Near West Side stadium is complete without genuflecting at a trio of statues commemorating former Chicago hockey and basketball greats Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Michael Jordan. You’ll find Hull and Mikita outside, while His Airness is enshrined in an atrium that opened last year.
I’ve been to the United Center 10 times, for 4 Bulls games, 4 Blackhawks games, a 2011 NCAA tournament game, and a concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. My first two Bulls games came in 1997, a month or two prior to Michael Jordan’s return to the team. My only game during the championship years came in November of 1997, when I saw Jordan and Bulls defeat the Hornets. 3 of the Blackhawk games came during their lean years, with just one coming during their championship runs. The NCAA tournament game saw the Purdue Boilermakers fall to VCU in a surprising upset.
Play Ball Part II
More details have come out regarding the upcoming truncated 2020 baseball season. Players will report for a second “spring” training by July 1, with most teams holding the camps at their home ballparks. One exception may be the Blue Jays, who are still looking for travel exceptions for players and opposing teams to be allowed into Canada. Most teams will kick off their 60-game schedule on July 24, with a handful of teams scheduled for national telecasts the day before.
To limit the amount of travel for each team, the reconfigured schedule would include 10 games against each team’s four divisional opponents, along with 20 interleague games against the corresponding division.
Several rule changes will be implemented during the season as part of the league’s health and safety protocols. The designated hitter will be used in both leagues, while team roster sizes will fluctuate from 30, when the season opens, to 26, after 4 weeks. The trade deadline will be August 31, while players must be on the major league roster by September 15 to be eligible for post-season play. Extra-inning games will see each half-inning begin with a runner on second base. In addition to the 40 man roster. teams will be allowed a taxi squad of 20 players, kept at an alternate site, to facilitate roster moves.
High risk players will be allowed to sit out the season while still getting paid and accruing service time. Players with high risk dependents will also be allowed to sit out, though their service time and payments will be on a case by case basis. Players on the 20-man taxi squad will not accrue service time, unless they are added to the major league roster. Also, a team of free agents may be set up in Nashville to keep in baseball shape should the need arise.
All in all, this will be the strangest season of baseball in my lifetime, and, possibly, of all time. Some of these rule changes will likely stick around, like the universal DH. Some, like the extra inning runner, are hopefully never seen again. Hopefully the season goes off without a hitch, avoiding a major outbreak of the corona virus that would shut down the season for a second time, and we can all get back to whatever passes for normal in 2021.
Fitbit 6: Week 21
Week 14 of working from home due to the corona virus was a nice uptick, coming 141 steps away from my best total since the world fell apart. The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, finishing with 3500 steps. Monday was a nice improvement, coming in at 7300 steps. Tuesday saw a decline, coming in with 4600 steps. Wednesday was another downer, ending the day with 4300 steps. Thursday was the low point of the week, coming in 41 steps shy of 2000. Friday, thanks to an unplanned day off due to Juneteenth being added as a company holiday earlier in the week, gave me an opportunity to go out for a morning walk, which put me over 8600 steps. Saturday used a trip out for breakfast outside under the tent to finish at 4000 steps.
Total steps: 34,410
Daily average: 4915.7
Pirates All Time Leaders – Through 2019
With baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates began life in 1887 as the Alleghenys, before taking on the Pirates moniker in 1891. I’ve seen them play 46 times, including a double header sweep in 2003, enabling the Cubs to clinch their first NL Central title and a work outing in 2008 against the White Sox.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Brian Giles | 3 |
| Jack Wilson | 2 |
| Nate McLouth | 2 |
| Carlos Garcia | 2 |
| Craig Wilson | 2 |
| Andrew McCutchen | 2 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Jack Wilson | 27 |
| Jason Kendall | 14 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 14 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Jack Wilson | 16 |
| Brian Giles | 10 |
| Nate McLouth | 9 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Jason Kendall | 12 |
| Brian Giles | 11 |
| Jack Wilson | 8 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Freddy Sanchez | 5 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 4 |
| Abraham Nunez | 4 |
Triples Continue reading →
iTunes Top 200: #4
4 years ago, we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library. Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2020.
Today, we move up to the fourth most listened to song in my library, with 175 plays since my stats began in late 2007. It is the top ranked instrumental and also the top ranked soundtrack entry.
#4: Klaus Badelt – He’s A Pirate
iTunes stats: 175 plays, most recently on 10/25/2019
Previous ranking: #1
Klaus Badelt was a relatively new composer when Hans Zimmer recommended him for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. That score earned him the ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Film. He’s A Pirate is the final track of the score, played at the beginning of the end credits.
Starting with the 2005 season, the White Sox incorporated the song into their game presentation, using it along with a string of highlights on the video board at the beginning of each game, leading into Thunderstruck as the team takes the field. The song remained in use through the 2012 season, when it was replaced with a generic sound-a-like that never really caught on. The song had a long run on my White Sox victory play lists, but has been removed in recent versions, which accounts for the drop seen here, from 1st place down to 4th.
Astros All Time Leaders – Through 2019
With baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Houston Astros.
The Astros began life in 1962 as the Colt 45’s, joining the National League along with the Mets, and became the Astros 3 years later. In 2013, they moved to the American League, becoming just the second team to switch leagues. I’ve seen them play 42 times, including game 2 of the 2005 World Series.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 7 |
| Carlos Lee | 4 |
| Morgan Ensberg | 3 |
| Mike Lamb | 3 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 30 |
| Morgan Ensberg | 19 |
| Brad Ausmus | 17 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 15 |
| Craig Biggio | 11 |
| Chris Burke | 11 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 26 |
| Morgan Ensberg | 12 |
| Mike Lamb | 10 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 7 |
| Mike Lamb | 6 |
| Hunter Pence | 5 |
| Chris Carter | 5 |
Triples Continue reading →