Video Archive 24
"Friendship is one mind in two bodies.'" -- Mencius, Chinese author
Scottie Pippen Dunks Over Ewing (5/20/1994)
We revisit the (eventful) 1994 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals for the second time in recent weeks for what may be the individual highlight of Scottie Pippen's great career.
The setup: halfway through the 3Q of Game 6, following a Bulls blocked shot, G B.J. Armstrong led the fast break. Armstrong dished to G/F Pete Myers, who then found Pippen cutting across the lane.
Knicks C Patrick Ewing, Pippen's Olympic teammate two years prior, tried to stop the inevitable.
He failed. For a moment, it seemed emotions might spill over as Pippen stepped over the fallen Ewing—an NBA no-no—but things simmered down fairly quickly.
Notes: As you see, Pippen received a technical on the play, presumably for taunting famed director/Knicks fan Spike Lee after the slam.
Overall, it was a tough night for Pippen (5-for-16, 13 points), but Armstrong's 20 led the way as Chicago won 93-79, evening the series at three games apiece. (New York would win Game 7, however.)
Gary Sanchez's Lucky Ricochet (5/29/2018)
During my long MLB fandom, few catchers have displayed worse ability behind the plate as Gary Sanchez (who, fortunately, is a force next to the plate). But for at least one specific play in 2018, Sanchez appeared to have his defensive act together.
On the play, Yankees CL Aroldis Chapman's high fastball eluded Sanchez's reach...can't fault him for that (or maybe you can but are choosing not to because Sanchez really needs this one).
Speedy Astro Tony Kemp took off from second base, but a fortuitous carom helped Sanchez make short work of him.
Notes: This was a huge play in a 5-5, 10th-inning ballgame. Kemp, who had been wild-pitched up to second base, was thrown out with dangerous OF George Springer batting. In the B10th, 2B Gleyber Torres singled off Brad Peacock, scoring 3B Miguel Andujar—who'd tagged out Kemp—to win it for the Yankees.
Cardinals/Reds Brawl (8/10/2010)
There's some backstory to this.
Seemingly unprovoked, Reds 2B Brandon Phillips let his true feelings about the St. Louis Cardinals be known in August 2010—in his mind they were "little bitches" who "whine about everything". Oh, yeah: he also "hated" them.
Evidently, he didn't think much of their reading skillz, either, because the next day Phillips—as if nothing had happened—came to bat and gave Molina's shinguard a friendly bat tap, as was his custom.
Molina, as one might guess, wasn't having any of it. Words flew and before you knew it, both rosters were on the field gettin' physical.
Notes: It's hard to spot in these angles, but Reds SP Johnny Cueto—the starter on this day—was among several players pinned to the backstop; Cueto began violently kicking, allegedly in self-defense, and caught Cardinals reserve C Jason LaRue in the head. LaRue was concussed and never played again.
No punches flew and no one was ejected, though both managers (Dusty Baker of CIN and Tony LaRussa of STL) were suspended two games and fined, and Cueto sat seven games. A few others were fined; St. Louis ultimately won the game 8-4, aided by a homer from Molina off Cueto.
Logan Morrison Hit By Foul Ball (9/5/2010)
Marlins rookie Logan Morrison's career could have been ended before it really begun. Toward the end of his first season in the bigs, he stood calmly on deck as infielder Emilio Bonifacio hacked away in the box. A foul ball caught LoMo clean in the face.
We remember what happened when ex-Cardinal Juan Encarnacion took a foul to the face as he stood on deck—his face was shattered and he never played again. Fortunately, Morrison's baseball story didn't end in that on-deck circle; he's still playing today (2020), in fact, and has enjoyed several fine years in MLB.
Notes: How was Morrison affected by the injury? He played a DOUBLEHEADER the next day, and recorded hits in 14 of his next 16 contests.,.lucky indeed.
The "Rodriguez" you see is then-manager Edwin Rodriguez. We also see teammates Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla and Wes Helms rush to Morrison's side.
Bonifacio was the 10th-inning leadoff batter. Facing Braves lefty Eric O'Flaherty, Bonifacio ended up tripling (on an 0-2 count) past LF Melky Cabrera; Scott Cousins pinch-hit for Morrison and supplied the deep walk-off hit—his first major league knock of any kind.
Kemba Walker's Premature Celebration (12/29/2016)
It was early-ish in the 2016-17 season, and Walker's Hornets faced off against the Miami Heat. Leading by seven with less than a minute to go, Walker appeared to rim in a three-pointer, which as you'll see, greatly pleased him.
Unfortunately, the basketball gods had other plans for the shot. Walker's celebration was a tad...premature.
Notes: Nicolas Batum is #5 passing the ball out to Walker. Justise Winslow "challenges" the shot. The Hornets went on to win 91-82, with Walker scoring 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting.
Billy Hamilton Evades Tag (7/11/2014)
Including all the various lists, there are upwards of 800 players in MLB at any given time. Of those 800, about 25 of them might give this sort of effort to avoid a first-inning tag in a scoreless game. And of that 25, Billy Hamilton is possibly the only dude who pulls it off successfully.
Facing Pittsburgh's Jeff Locke, the Cincinnati Reds speedster laid one down and took off. It wasn't the greatest bunt, and Hamilton should have been easy pickings for Bucs 1B Gaby Sanchez. Operative word: "Should".
Notes: We also see Pirates 2B Neil Walker charging in. The 1B umpire making the safe call was Manny Gonzalez.
As for Hamilton, he was soon driven home by a Zack Cozart double, and the Reds went on to win by one run (6-5)! Hamilton finished up with three hits, the one run, and an RBI.
Tony Pena's Fake Intentional Walk (9/5/1997)
When the old raise-the-arm-four-times intentional walk went away a few years ago, some people didn't like it basically because during an intentional walk, something "crazy" could always happen.
I argued, "Did we really NEED crazy things happening in a baseball game?" while admitting they were kind of entertaining...
...even when they went against my preferred team (the Giants).
Such was the case in late 1997 when my Giants hosted the then-NL Astros at Candlestick Park. With J.T. Snow on third and Marvin Benard on second, Houston made the decision to walk C Brian Johnson intentionally...or DID they???
Notes: Tony Pena is the catcher; John Hudek is the newly-entered pitcher. Though the trick play did secure a huge out, Johnson's teammate Darryl Hamilton soon came through with a two-run single. San Francisco went on to win 4-1, and 13 days later Johnson became an all-time Giants hero.
Ichiro's All-Star Inside-The-Park Homer (7/10/2007)
The great Ichiro Suzuki's Hall Of Fame plaque might need extra space to accommodate all the feats, milestones and records he racked up throughout his career (especially if it includes Japanese League accomplishments).
In any case, that plaque truly needs to mention Ichiro belting the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history. The stars aligned perfectly for Suzuki in the 78th Midsummer Classic—a quirky ballpark, a perfect carom, an inexperienced right fielder, and one of the fastest runners in the game.
Take a look.
Notes: That RF was Ken Griffey Jr. of the Reds, who shifted from CF that very season and might not have played AT&T Park's right field yet (I don't feel like researching at the moment.). Suzuki finished 3-for-3 and took home the game's MVP award, as the AL defeated the NL 5-4.
Suzuki's shot happened in the 5th inning with a man on; San Diego's Chris Young is the pitcher. To date, no other ITPHR have been hit in an All-Star Game.