Thirty-nine years?! Really? Every New Year’s Day I remember waking up on that holiday in 1973 to hear that Roberto Clemente had perished in a plane crash the night before. Books have been written about the great humanitarian heart that compelled that man to go with the goods to a crisis-ridden land. Poems have even been written about the emotion that unexpected passing drew out of grown men. (Tom Clark has a very interesting piece … continue reading Great Shot of the Great One: Roberto Clemente

I don’t know why just mentioning snow in a song makes it a “Christmas” song, but that seems to be the case. Several area radio stations in our area are featuring non-stop holiday music during these weeks leading up to the 25th. Personally, I like the music, but “My Favorite Things” from the Sound of Music just doesn’t qualify as a holiday tune in my book. Nothing against whiskers on kitten or warm, woolen mittens … continue reading One of Our Favorite Things

Yes, I know it! I am blessed, spoiled, favored, and a whole lot of other wonderful things because of my wife. And, NO, I am not in any sort of trouble so that I have to say these things. In fact, it is usually my friends and baseball customers who tell me this to my face. Why? Because my wife also likes baseball! She carries an understanding of the game, its history, players and nuances … continue reading A Shared Passion Involving Bats, Balls, Gloves and More!

Eventually those of us at MLB Memories hope to say we have been to all 30 MLB ballparks that are currently in operation. We stand at about 22 right now, but that number is always in flux as older stadiums are replaced by newer ones (Florida is due up next season). Even so, a large part of the fun is in visiting the various sandlots on steroids and NOT just checking them off our list. … continue reading Seeing “the K” Again for the First Time

During much of the 2011 baseball season fans across the nation have heard about the Kansas City Royals coming crop of franchise-altering prospects. And in these latter days of the campaign, several have been called up to KC so that the brass may see where they stand on the line of progress. During MLB Memories recent trip to the city of fountains we were able to see the first major league hits of the Royals … continue reading First MLB Hit: a personal moment shared by thousands

The reunion weekend for the Kansas City Athletics in 2011 involved not only the big banquet and first-ever award (given to Jerry Lumpe) on Friday evening, but also a special “Tribute to the A’s” hosted by the Kansas City T-Bones on Saturday night. It was a hot, muggy and wonderful evening shared by a full house at the T-Bones’ home ball park, and it even featured a Hall of Famer helping out with the grounds … continue reading From A’s to T-Bones: Kansas City Baseball

In recent years the coverage of Major League Baseball has become greater, more pervasive AND, at times, more invasive into the lives of the players. Several have written how the years have eroded the “gentleman’s agreement” between writers and players regarding what is on and off the record. While everyone is entitled to their opinion as to the merit of the “old school” type of baseball writing or that which fills the pages of newspaper … continue reading Baseball Players are NOT Always Bachelors

As mentioned previously here at MLB Memories, a special reunion of the Kansas City Athletics major league alumni was held in Kansas City at the end of July, 2011. The sponsoring group, the Kansas City Baseball Historical Society, maintains a beautiful collection of memorabilia, uniforms, and more that is currently open to the pubic at no charge. If you are in downtown KC, it is definitely worth the trip! Our last little collection of photos … continue reading A New Look at Some “Older” A’s (Kansas City, that is)

On the weekend of July 29-30, 2011, the Kansas City Historical Baseball Society (check out the link to their site found on our Home page) hosted a reunion of players from the Kansas City Athletics. Almost three dozen former players and personnel came for a terrific banquet of food, reminiscences and hilarity. Most of them stayed over for the Saturday night event, which as a “Kansas City Athletics” Night hosted by the Northern League Team, … continue reading The Kansas City Athletics are NOT forgotten!