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Book 57 (of 52) – Like Mother, Like Daughter

Like Mother, Like Daughter – Kimberly McCreight

When her estranged mother goes missing, a college student starts her own investigation.  Learning more about her mother, her brutal upbringing as an orphan, her real job, and her strained marriage, she grows more sympathetic, and worried that she will never see her again.  The more she learns, the more she starts to recognize that the true story may be closer to home than she realizes.

Kimberly McCreight’s latest, Like Mother, Like Daughter, explores the mother/daughter dynamic and how those relationships change over time. McCreight has become a favorite since I first discovered her back in 2013 and I look forward to seeing what she does next.

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Ballpark Tour: Blue Jays

With the offseason underway, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we look at the Toronto Blue Jays, the lone team currently existing outside of the United States. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Rogers Centre.

Stadium Name: Skydome/Rogers Centre

Years in Service: 1989 – Present

Visits: 1

Following the Grey Cup game in 1982 at Exhibition Stadium, dubbed the Rain Bowl due to a torrential rainstorm, tens of thousands of people attended a rally at Toronto’s city hall chanting “We want a dome”.  After years of studies, they got their wish on June 3, 1989 when Skydome opened as the new home of the Blue Jays, featuring the first functional retractable roof in North America.

While the stadium quickly became an albatross for the province of Ontario, due to cost overruns and a recession, the Blue Jays became a force to be reckoned with.  The Jays won the AL East crown in 1989 and 1991, losing to the eventual World Series champions both years.  In 1992, they again won their division and became the first Canadian team to capture a World Series title.  They repeated as champions in 1993, becoming the first team to win back-to-back Series since the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

Since then, things have been relatively quiet for the Blue Jays.  In 2005, the stadium was renamed Rogers Centre, after the new owners of both the stadium and the team.

I attended my first (and, so far, only) game at the Rogers Centre in September of 2015 when I was visiting Toronto with my friend Hayley.  In addition to adding a new stadium to my resume, former White Sox ace Mark Buehrle was scheduled to start, so I was really looking forward to the game.  Sadly, Buehrle was bumped a few days due to a sore shoulder, so I ended up having to see David Price take on the Orioles.  He handled them with ease, picking up his 100th career victory.  I didn’t have the best seats in the house, sitting out in left field, but was in the shade, which was in short supply during a hot afternoon with the roof open.  I certainly hope to return one day.

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Beltin’ Bill Melton Says Goodbye

Bill Melton, the former White Sox third baseman and pre- and post-game host, passed away early this morning in Phoenix after a brief illness. He was 79 years old.

Melton became the first White Sox player to surpass 30 home runs in a season in 1970 when he launched 30 round trippers.  He replicated that effort the following year, becoming the first south sider to lead the league.  After a back injury in 1972, Melton worked to get back, but felt snubbed, first by his omission from the All Star team in 1973 and then by the 1974 acquisition of future-Hall of Famer Ron Santo.  A feud with broadcaster Harry Caray sealed his fate in Chicago and, after the 1975 season, he was traded to the Angels.  His 154 home runs still ranks ninth in franchise history.

Melton returned to the White Sox family in 1992 as a community relations representative.  He joined WGN in 1998 as an analyst for pre- and post-game shows.  In 2005, he moved over to Comcast SportsNet, performing the same role.  He retired in 2020.

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FB10: Week 45

After five weeks above the 30,000-step plateau, I fell under despite being on vacation for the week.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday as I finished just 4 steps away from 3600.  Monday saw a big improvement, going up to 5200 steps.  Another nice day on Tuesday left me with 4500 steps.  Despite a trip out to pick up turkeys on Wednesday, I finished 5 steps shy of 4400.  The Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday left me needing just 4 additional steps to get to 4200.  A drop-off on Friday left me 26 steps short of 3600.  Saturday was the low point of the week, leaving me 24 steps shy of 3200.

Total steps: 28,708

Daily average: 4101.1

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Book 56 (of 52) – Forgotten Witness

Forgotten Witness – Rebecca Forster

While testifying in Congress about the brutal attacks that caused Hannah to go on the run, Josie is accosted by a man who claims to know where “she” is.  As Josie tries to unravel his story and the clues he has left behind, she ends up in Hawaii where she quickly learns that the “she” in question is not Hannah, but Josie’s mother, who had disappeared when Josie was a teenager.  A botched job at covering up what was going on in Hawaii led to a government conspiracy and the truth of what happened to Josie’s parents when she was young.

The sixth entry of Rebecca Forster’s Josie Bates saga, Forgotten Witness, again takes things in a new, though not necessarily better, direction.  Josie is on her own for most of the book, battling against conspiracies and government agencies that seem bigger in scope than what we have read about in the past.  With the normal supporting cast sidelined, a whole new group of characters were introduced, and I wonder which, if any, will turn up again in the remaining entries of the series.

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Fifty Years Of Music – 2018

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 2018, the year I celebrated my 44th birthday.  A mere two of these songs are familiar to me today, with just one of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#100: Imagine Dragons – Believer
iTunes stats: 16 plays

The lead single from the band’s third studio album, it peaked at #4.

#71: Ed Sheeran – Shape of You
iTunes stats: N/A

The top song of 2017 returns for a second go around.

 

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Ballpark Tour: Braves

With the offseason well underway, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head to the suburbs of Atlanta to take a look at the latest home of the Atlanta Braves.  So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Truist Park.

Stadium Name: Truist Park

Years in Service: 2017 – Present

Visits: 1

In November of 2013, the Braves announced that they would be leaving their longtime home of Turner Field for a new stadium, opening in 2017.  Originally known as SunTrust Park, the stadium hosted its first regular season game on April 14, as the Braves battled the Padres.  The name changed to Truist Park in 2020 following a merger between SunTrust Banks and BB&T.

I made my first and only visit to Truist Park in 2021 while driving home from a trip to Florida.  The Braves were scheduled to battle the Yankees that night, so I decided to make an early stop on the drive home to take in another stadium.  My hotel claimed to be within walking distance of the stadium, which it was but they forgot to mention that it was all uphill.  After I managed to drag myself to the park, I headed to the upper deck, which were the only seats still available.  After snagging a couple souvenir cups, I left the game a little early for the hike back to the hotel.  Thankfully, that trip was all downhill.

Stadium Name: Braves Field

Years in Service: 1915 – 1952

Visits: 0 (or a handful, depending on your point of view)

From 1876 until 1952, the Braves made their home in Boston.  When they moved west to Milwaukee prior to the 1953 season, the stadium was purchased by Boston University.  The pavilion grandstand at the end of the right field line was retained as the seating core of a football, soccer, field hockey, and track-and-field stadium, as was the outer wall.  The stadium’s ticket office was converted into the school’s police station. The rest of the stadium structure was replaced by dormitories covering the former main grandstand; and the Case Physical Education Center, which houses Walter Brown Arena, home of the synchronized skating team.

Now known as Nickerson Field, I’ve made a few visits while in Boston to visit Angelina over the years and to see her skate at Walter Brown Arena.

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Book 55 (of 52) – The Life Impossible

The Life Impossible – Matt Haig

When Grace Winters, a retired math teacher from England, inherits a house on Ibiza from an old colleague she hadn’t seen in decades, she embarks on a new adventure.  Following a letter left for her by her old friend, her worldview, and life, are changed forever, helping to ease her guilt over the life she has lived and the so-called mistakes she made along the way.

The Life Impossible, Matt Haig’s follow-up to his 2020 smash The Midnight Library, follows a similar theme.  Instead of looking at the regrets of the roads not taken, this time he tackles letting the guilt of the things we did do shut down our ability to enjoy life.  I’ve never taken a look at his backlog of works, so I may have to that one of these days.

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2025 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

Last week, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2025, with the results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 21st, and induction taking place July 27th.  With Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, and Joe Mauer as the electees last year, the new ballot contains fourteen holdovers along with another fourteen newcomers.

On Friday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and see who may be thankful come January.

Carlos González

I don’t foresee a long run on the ballot for the long-time Rockie.

Curtis Granderson

Granderson was a very good player for a very long time, but I don’t see him getting any serious consideration.

Félix Hernández

Hernández looked to be a shoo-in for Cooperstown early in his career, but his last dominant season came in his age 28 season, and he was done by age 33.

Adam Jones

The Oriole standout had a nice career, but not a Hall of Fame career.

Ian Kinsler

Falling one hit shy of 2000 for his career, Kinsler will probably just get this one shot on the ballot.

Russell Martin

A four-time All Star, Martin had a very nice career but will need to purchase a ticket if he wants to see the inside of the Hall of Fame.

Brian McCann

Despite seven All Star appearances, McCann likely isn’t going to see much support

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