Today is 23 days, which is three weeks and two days of the omer: gevurah she’b’netzach. It’s not because he’s an Astro — because really, it’s only been half a season, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about him. Plus, he’s #21 in Houston! Rather, pitcher Zack Greinke (the second player profiled without a nickname — no, seriously, this year on Astros Players’ … Continue reading day 23: greinke
Today is 22 days, which is three weeks and one day of the omer: hesed she’b’netzach. First, go read the guest post for today by my former classmate Joey Glick. It moved me to tears. (And then come back.) Three-time Cy Young Award winner, six-time All-Star, four-time Golden Glove Award winner, three-time AL wins leader, two-time AL ERA leader, and three-time WS Champion? Eh. Secret … Continue reading day 22: cakes
Full Count is thrilled to share this guest post for Day 22 by Joey Glick. “A bunch of 12-year-old kids had their hearts broken this week.” So begins Andrew McCutchen’s open letter to America and to the players of the Jackie Robinson West (JRW) Little League team. Days earlier, Little League Baseball had revoked JRW’s 2014 US championship for playing ineligible kids from outside their … Continue reading guest post for day 22: cutch
Today is 21 days, which is three weeks of the omer: malchut she’b’tiferet. Get ready for a couple days of players from Steel City: Today’s pick is Pittsburgh shortstop Arky Vaughan, while tomorrow guest writer Joey Glick will highlight one of his favorite Pirates. As I researched the player to mark three weeks of “Full Count” on Omertime, I learned about Vaughan for the first … Continue reading day 21: arky
Today is 20 days, which is two weeks and six days of the omer: yesod she’b’tiferet. I got to know Boston’s Kevin Youkilis at exactly the right time, during the 2004 season. I was living in Raleigh, N.C., at the time, teaching Latin at a boarding school, and one of my fellow dorm staff was a serious Red Sox fan. We tried to get off-campus as much … Continue reading day 20: yooouuuk
Today is 19 days, which is two weeks and five days of the omer: hod she’b’tiferet. You know why I like Padres right fielder Tony Gwynn. Yep, it’s in part because he spent his whole career with one team. Plus, since most of his career coincided with my living in Houston and the Astros still in the NL, I often saw him play. (In fact, he … Continue reading day 19: mr. padre
Today is 18 days, which is two weeks and four days of the omer: netzach she’b’tiferet. How fast was Cool Papa Bell? “One time he hit a line drive right past my ear,” Satchel Paige said. “I turned around and saw the ball hit his ass sliding into second base.” How fast was Cool Papa Bell? “If he bunts and it bounces twice, put it … Continue reading day 18: cool papa bell
Today is 17 days, which is two weeks and three days of the omer: tiferet she’b’tiferet. Like yesterday’s pick, today’s played both college football and college baseball. But don’t worry: There’s no college football digression today (though there is a digression of another nature), mostly because his tenure wasn’t that memorable and because he played for the other “UT”. But his professional baseball career, 17 … Continue reading day 17: the toddfather
Today is 16 days, which is two weeks and two days of the omer: gevurah she’b’tiferet. For my money there’s really only one #16 who demonstrates true “strength through beauty,” and that is one of the greatest athletes of all time, Kansas City Royals outfielder Bo Jackson, a man who played both professional football and professional baseball simultaneously. Jackson ended up playing in nearly 700 … Continue reading day 16: bo (the player, not the parshah)
Today is 15 days, which is two weeks and one day of the omer: hesed she’b’tiferet. I swear, “Sandy Koufax didn’t play on Yom Kippur” is the baseball equivalent of “Abraham Joshua Heschel marched with King”: that is, a event that absolutely happened, was extremely significant at the time, and unnecessarily overshadows the commitment of many others. (You can experience my soapbox on the Heschel-King relationship here.) … Continue reading day 15: another jewish ballplayer
Omertime 