We're all familiar with A-Rod, Manny, Jeter, and Smoltz
Ortiz, Griffey, Thome will garner Hall of Fame votes
Stars are remembered for their spectacular career
Or for their remarkable achivements in one special year

But while we remember the stars of today
Sometimes I still long, for players of yesterday
Not the players who are part of baseball lore
But those who's fame fleeted, with barely a roar

And so I pay tribute to players of the past
They played in the "Show", but their fame faded fast
We can be grateful, they were given a shot.
They may be gone, but forgotten they're not

Cleon, Rusty, and Agee had them cheering at Shea
Blomberg, Gamble, and Kekich were just a subway away
Stennett, Cash, Gene Alley played hard every day
As did Bruce Kison, the Moose, and catcher Milt May

Luzinski had power, Willie Montanez had the style
Nate Colbert would hit the ball a country mile
An infield of Garvey, Lopes, Russell, and Cey
Kessinger, Beckert, Santo, and Hickman...man could they play

There was Joe Pepitone with his hair growing freely
In contrast to Dal Maxvill, Roy White, or Fran Healy
Dick McAuliffe played with grit, Willie Horton hit it far
Andy Etchebarren, and Curt Blefary...solid, but not stars

We had Rudi, Bando, Epstein, Tenace, and Blue
There was Jesus, and Felipe, and Matty Alou
Frank Howard would swing and a long ball he'd smash
We cheered with each pitch, from Frisella, and Blass

We cheered for John Milner, Doug Rader, and Lee May
And Norm Cash could hit as well as anyone today
Bill Freehan could catch, and Belanger could field
And we watched in horror, as Conigliaro never healed

The Royals had Cookie, Fred Patek, Frank White
Oliva, Bostock, and Hisle in Minny playing night after night
D'Acquisto, Gullet, and Ruthven all threw with precision
Bill Bonham and Steve Rogers, once losing twenty decisions

John Boccabella, Steve Renko, Ron Fairly, Boots Day
They played at Jarry Park, which is still standing today
Gorman Thomas, Mike Hegan, Darrell Porter, Johnny Briggs
All worked hard just to stay in the "Bigs"

We watched Don Mincher, Jerry Grote, Bill Sudakis, Paul Schaal
While Singer, Dierker, and Selma knew how to sling the fastball
Claudell Washington swiped bases, as did Bill North and LeFlore
While Willie Wilson and Bump Wills, would steal a few more

We can't forget managers, like Sparky and Weaver
And class guys like Gil Hodges, who managed Tom Seaver
Red Schoendienst, Gene Mauch, Murtaugh, and Ozark
While the Yankees turned to Billy when needing a spark

Joe Lahoud, Ray Culp, Petrocelli, and Lyle
Luis Tiant and Bill Lee, stayed in Boston a while
Ralph Garr, Mike Lum, and Earl Williams...were some of the Braves best
While Felix Millan and George Stone left Atlanta for the Mets

The Cardinals had a good one in Ted Simmons, man he could hit
While Al Hrabosky, the Mad Hungarian, was off his rocker a bit
Wilbur Wood, Carlos May, Bill Melton played in Chi-Town
While Rudy May, Tanana, and Steve Busby were mowing hitters down

There was feisty Lenny Randle who once punched his manager out
While Toby Harrah and Tom Grieve hit homers with little doubt
Bob Aspromonte, Don Hahn, Bruce Boisclair, and Dave Schneck
No pitcher feared the Mets, until Clendenon was on deck

Lee Lacy, Burt Hooton, Joe Ferguson, and Doug Rau
All played to win, and they all sure knew how
We loved watching Tito Fuentes, pounding his bat at the dish
While Jim Barr, Randy Moffitt, and Sam McDowell made hitters miss

We saw Mark "The Bird" Fidrych put on quite a show
When Kingman got ahold of one, we'd watch the ball go
Roy Smalley played shortstop, and did it with ease
While the great Bert Blyleven pitched into his forties

John "The Count" Montefusco threw hard and threw fast
Even though his Giants seem to finish near last
Ed Halicki, Bob Knepper, and Lynn McGlothen were on the same team
Going against the likes of JR Richard, Jerry Reuss, Claude Osteen

Kirkpatrick, Sundberg, and Bevacqua played for the Rangers
And when Abernathy came in to pitch, rarely was a lead in danger
Menke, Driessen, and Carroll played on the Big Red Machine
But were overshadowed by stars, thus rarely were seen

At shortstop in New York, was Buddy and Stick
And Murcer in centerfield, replacing the Mick
There was Horace, and Boswell, and Remy, and Grich
McNally and Cuellar really knew how to pitch

And so I pay tribute to those players of long ago
The ones you may have forgotten, after they left the "Show"
From Shamsky to Unser, from Trillo to Zisk
From Gentry to Tolan, from Borbon to Sisk

These players were beloved, back in the day
They may be gone from the game, but memories of them stay
So a special thanks to those players, and others not mentioned
I think back with respect, admiration, and affection.



Court Adjourned!

posted June 6th, 2008