Time Out with TANY • Easter Edition

QUICK QUIZ

In Major League Baseball a total of 38 pitchers have thrown a nine-pitch, three-strikeout half-inning – also known as an immaculate inning. Of those 38 pitchers, two of them were Detroit Tiger hurlers. One was Billy Hoeft, who tossed his perfect inning on September 7, 1953, against the Chicago White Sox.

Name the other Bengal hurler who tossed an immaculate inning:  Jim Bunning, Denny McLain, Armando Galarraga, Max Scherzer, or Dan Rutkowski/

QUOTABLE QUOTES

 Boxing manager Al Braverman, on his use of a suspected foreign substance, “It’s not a foreign substance. It’s made right here in the United States.”

The Rev. John Casey, chaplain of the Philadelphia Flyers, officiating at the funeral of former player and assistant coach Barry Ashbee, who died at the age of 37 of leukemia, “The Lord has taken him to his place of rest. Let us hope it is a place where he will see nothing but great defensemen and that the ice will always be smooth.”

Former NFL head coach Bum Phillips, “To keep Greg Bingham out of a game, you’d have to cut off his head and then hide it. Just cuttin’ off his head wouldn’t accomplish anything. He’d just find it and try to play anyway.”

IDLE THOUGHTS

One of the most bizarre records in the history of Major League Baseball happened in 1952. Virgil Trucks, the fire balling righthander from the Detroit Tigers, won only five games while losing 19. But two of his victories were no-hitters, a feat previously achieved twice in the Big Leagues by Johnny VanderMeer and Allie Reynolds. Three others have since matched the feat.

Ric Brands of Saginaw made it into the collegiate record books as he boomed a 60-yard field goal for Alma College during a 44-7 victory over Franklin College of Indiana, on September 26, 1998. Brands, a 1995 Michigan Lutheran Seminary graduate, set a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III record for a kick without the aid of a tee. The use of kicking tees was discontinued in college football in 1988. The boot established a school and MIAA conference record while also becoming the first collegian from Michigan to reach the 60-yard mark. He became just one of just 11 kickers from any NCAA division to hit from 60 yards without a tee, and one of just 48 NCAA kickers to connect from 60 yards with or without a tee. Brands was also selected to the Division III All-America team in 1998.

In a display of frustration, Detroit Pistons guard Evan Fournier played a nice game in a recent loss to the Miami Heat, only to mar it with a postgame antic that has drawn a significant penalty from the NBA. The league slapped Fournier with a $25,000 fine for kicking the ball into the stands at the conclusion of the game. I saw a clip of the game and Fournier could probably give Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox a run for his money.

Welcome back to SportsCenter presented by ESPN Bet, for more of the Shohei Ohtani situation we go to our FanDuel MLB Insider Jeff Passan at our DraftKings Studio in Los Angeles brought to you by Caesar’s Sportbook. Jeff, how could something like this happen?

I am currently reading “Let’s Play Two – The Legend of Mr. Cub, The Life of Ernie Banks” by Ron Rapoport. It’s a good read and I was surprised to read that a couple of Major League teams tried to pry Banks – a life-long Cubbie – from owner Phillip K. Wrigley. The Cubs could have received Tommy Davis and Sandy Koufax from the Los Angeles Dodgers but Chicago turned them down. The Dodgers, who were still playing the in the Los Angeles Coliseum, wanted Banks’ bat for the short right-field fence. In 1960, the Milwaukee Braves put together a deal consisting of 11 total players – Banks and three other Cubs, for Warren Spahn, Joe Adcock, Lee Maye, and several others. But the deal fell through. In 1961 both the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox wanted Banks. The Bengals wanted Banks in the same batting order as Al Kaline, Rocky Colavito, and Norm Cash. One reporter said Tiger owner John Fetzer would have to give up one of his radio stations to get Banks. The trade, of course, never materialized.

If you are a Lifetime Voting Member of the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame you should have already received your ballot. I wasn’t too thrilled about the new categories that were on the ballot. Please don’t invent ways for people to get into a Hall of Fame. If they are an exceptional athlete, coach, or contributor, they’ll eventually make it in.

The University of Michigan has hired Florida Atlantic University’s Dusty May as their next head basketball coach, replacing Juwan Howard, who was given the boot after the regular season. May had a 126-69 career record at FAU, 60-13 the past two seasons with two March Madness appearances, including a Final Four run in 2023. Nothing against May, but I think Michigan kind of jumped the gun on this one. They should have taken their time and waited until the NCAA Tournament was over. I actually thought San Diego State University’s Brian Dutcher was a shoe-in for the job.

Prior to the NCAA Tournament, Greg Kampe was one of the best kept secrets in college basketball. Michiganders who are college basketball fans know of Kampe, the long-time Oakland University head basketball coach, but people around the nation sat up and took notice after the Golden Grizzles sent the University of Kentucky packing in the tourney. Oakland was then eliminated after losing a 79-73 overtime game to North Carolina State. Kampe is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan’s Hall of Fame. He attended Bowling Green State University where he played both football and basketball. Kampe was a kicker, punter and cornerback on the football team. In a 16-14 win over Southern Mississippi in 1975, Kampe broke the Mid-American Conference and Bowling Green record for average yards per punt with 57.5. A 77-yard punt in the game also set the BGSU record for longest punt. Kampe also has ties to Saginaw. His father, Kurt Kampe, was head football coach at Arthur Hill High School.

I was watching live when Stamford’s A.J. Staton-McCray made an incredible block on Kansas guard Nicolas Timberlake on a breakaway. To the naked eye – and in replays – you could see Staton-McCray’s clean block which thwarted a slam dunk. However, he was called for a foul, sending Timberlake to the line for two free throws and changing the whole complexion of the game. Unfortunately, the play is not reviewable. The play actually reminded me of Tayshaun Prince’s blocked shot of Reggie Miller – which is often called the greatest block in NBA playoff history.

When Frank Lucchesi was managing the Triple-A Arkansas Travelers in 1963, he got thrown out of a game, left the ballpark, walked down the street, climbed a water tower, and watched the game from 150 feet above the field. Geez, talk about nose bleed seats.

In 1924, Saginaw High School football coach Howard Beatty asked the Grand Rapids newspaper to investigate a change that one of the officials in the Saginaw High/Grand Rapids Catholic Central game had placed heavy bets on Saginaw to win the game. The Grand Rapids paper carried a story reporting that several reports of this effect had been received in Grand Rapids from several sources. Saginaw High won the game 14-0.

The Saginaw Spirit (50-16-1-1) defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the regular-season finale for their 50th win of the season – the franchise’s best record ever. The Spirit icers now venture into the playoffs. They are already in the Memorial Cup Tournament by virtue of being the host team. But the team’s goal has and will always be to win the league championship.

Every time I turn around there’s another media report about LSU basketball standout Angel Reese. Reese, dubbed Bayou Barbie, has been called out for behavior during a number of games this year. Nothing huge. Just idiotic stuff like waving goodbye to an opponent who has fouled out of the game. Reese has made numerous headlines by dating Florida State basketball player Cam’Ron Fletcher. Reese recently split with Fletcher which made headlines across the nation. Her privacy went bye-bye last year in the NCAA Tournament when she dissed Iowa star Caitlin Clark by waving an empty ring finger in front of Clark’s face. Don’t feel too sorry for the media following her every move. She is reportedly making $1.7-millon in NIL money.

Several collegiate baseball programs this spring are remembering former Central Michigan University baseball standout Doug Wabeke by placing a “WABS” sticker on their batting helmets. His impact on the sport in the state of Michigan as a player, coach and umpire will live on. He coached the Grand Rapids Community College baseball team to NJCAA Division II World Series championships in 1996, 1997, 2003 and 2004. He was a solid shortstop and a two-time All-American at Grand Rapids Junior College before finishing his collegiate career at CMU. He played in the Minor Leagues with San Francisco, St. Louis and Pittsburgh from 1980-1984, climbing as high as Class AA. He began his 17-year GRCC coaching career in 1987 and served as co-athletic director in 1997. He reached 500 wins in 1998, his 11^th season. Wabeke was named to the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2022.

Whatever happened to Harlan Huckleby?

QUICK QUIZ ANSWER

Jim Bunning. Bunning pitched his immaculate inning on August 2, 1959, against the Boston Red Sox. The other Major League pitchers who have accomplished the feat include:

John Clarkston of the Boston Beaneaters (June 4, 1889)

Rube Waddell of the Philadelphia Athletics (July 1, 1902)

Pat Ragan of the Brooklyn Dodgers (October 5, 1914)

Joe Oeschger of the Boston Braves (September 8, 1921)

Sloppy Thurston of the Chicago White Sox (August 22, 1923)

Dazzy Vance of the Brooklyn Dodgers (September 24, 1924)

Lefty Grove of the Philadelphia Athletics (August 23, 1928)

Lefty Grove of the Philadelphia Athletics (September 27, 1928)

Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers (June 30, 1962)

Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers (April 18, 1964)

Bob Bruce of the Houston Colt .45s (April 19, 1964)

Al Downing of the New York Yankees (August 11, 1967)

Nolan Ryan of the New York Mets (April 19, 1968)

Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals (May 12, 1969)

Milt Pappas of the Chicago Cubs (September 24, 1971)

Nolan Ryan of the California Angels (July 9, 1972)

Bruce Sutter of the Chicago Cubs (September 8, 1977)

Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees (August 7, 1984)

Jeff Robinson of the Pittsburgh Pirates (September 7, 1987)

Rob Dibble of the Cincinnati Reds (June 4, 1989)

Jeff Montgomery of the Kansas City Royals (April 29, 1990)

Andy Ashby of the Philadelphia Phillies (June 15, 1991)

David Cone of the New York Mets (August 30, 1991)

Pete Harnisch of the Houston Astros (September 6, 1991)

Trevor Wilson of the San Francisco Giants (June 7, 1992)

Mel Rojas of the Montreal Expos (May 11, 1994)

Mike Magnante of the Houston Astros (August 22, 1997)

Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks (August 23, 2001)

Jason Isringhausen of the St. Louis Cardinals (April 13, 2002)

Byung-Hyun Kim of the Arizona Diamondbacks (May 11, 2002)

Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox (May 18, 2002)

Brian Lawrence of the San Diego Padres (June 12, 2002)

Brandon Backe of the Houston Astros (April 15, 2004)

Ben Sheets of the Milwaukee Brewers (June 13, 2004)

LaTroy Hawkins of the Chicago Cubs (September 11, 2004)

Rick Helling of the Milwaukee Brewers (June 20, 2006)

Buddy Carlyle of the Atlanta Braves (July 6, 2007)

Rich Harden of the Oakland Athletics (June 8, 2008)

Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners (June 17, 2008)