Baseball vs. football. Hmmm… In baseball they don’t have “bombs”, but they gladly support a “sacrifice”; the object of baseball is to “go home”; baseball doesn’t allow tackling, but it’s OK to tag people on the beautiful diamond (as opposed to the “frozen tundra” or gridiron).
Hawai`i has a vaunted history in both professional baseball and football, but here’s a shout out to Baldwin High School and Major League baseball alum, Kurt Suzuki, recently named the manager of the Los Angeles Angels. Suzuki’s been working with the Angels as the general manager’s special assistant, but now the 42-year old takes the helm (with a one-year deal) to try and turn around a recently-hapless franchise that hasn’t sniffed post-season play in 11-years. Nowhere to go but up!
Baseball Almanac currently counts 49 Hawai`i-born players who’ve made it to “the show” (Major League Baseball). Did you know that renowned knuckleballer Charlie Hough- who pitched until the ripe old age of 46- was born in Honolulu? In his late-1980’s prime, Kaiser High pitcher Sid Fernandez was so popular with the New York Mets that the Mets were voted as Hawai`i’s favorite MLB team in a local newspaper poll (by far) over West Coast darlings the L.A. Dodgers and S.F. Giants (plus the Angels, Mariners, Padres, and A’s)?
Fernandez, Suzuki, Ron Darling, Milt Wilcox, Shane Victorino, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (this season) are among locally born big leaguers who’ve played in or won the World Series. Pitcher Jerome Williams (Waipahu HS) wore a puka shell necklace while on the mound- a gift from his mom who’d passed away two years prior to his MLB debut. Chicken skin… Mike Lum (Roosevelt HS), just 21 when he broke into the bigs, played for 15-years, once pinch-hitting for Hammerin’ Hank Aaron.
Kolten Wong (Kamehameha Hawai`i HS, UH-Mānoa), who won two fielding Gold Glove awards, just recently retired after 11 glorious MLB years. Kirby Yates (Kauai HS), a 2024 All-Star, was most-recently with the L.A. Dodgers until his season ended when he was placed on the injured list in September.
One can wax poetic forever about baseball- just chat with local legend Pal Eldredge… Ask “who’s on first”, compare nicknames- “Mr. October”, “Dizzy” Dean, “Blue Moon” Odom, “The Babe”, “The Say Hey Kid”, and… well, I’m outta room. Here’s wishing the best for Kurt Suzuki; let’s hope he hits it outta the park managing the Angels.
Think about it…