Mental Edge Sports Psychology, LLC

Joe DiMaggio LIfe Magazine - August 1, 1949.

Magazine includes a variety of advertisements from 1949, articles about world politics, an article about Jackie Robinson, as well as a nice spread on DiMaggio.

Take note of. the times: Women's swimwear was measured to insure the lengths of their suits complied with local ordinances. How do you think that would go over here in 2024?

I've included several images from the issue.

Circa 1950s PM10 Willie Mays Pin

Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid," played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Mays was a five-tool player who began his career in the Negro leagues, playing for the Birmingham Black Barons, and spent the rest of his career in the National League (NL), playing for the New York / San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.

Born in Westfield, Alabama, Mays was an all-around athlete. He joined the Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948, playing with them until the Giants signed him upon his graduation from high school in 1950. He debuted in MLB with the Giants and won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951 after hitting 20 home runs to help the Giants win their first pennant in 14 years. In 1954, he won the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, leading the Giants to their last World Series title before their move to the West Coast.

Mays' over-the-shoulder catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series is one of the most famous baseball plays of all time. After the Giants moved to San Francisco, Mays went on to win another MVP Award in 1965 and also led the Giants to the 1962 World Series, this time losing to the New York Yankees. He ended his career with a return to New York after an early season trade to the New York Mets in 1972, retiring after the team's trip to the 1973 World Series.

Mays was an All-Star 24 times, tying for the second-most appearances in history. He led the NL in home runs four times and in slugging percentage five times while batting over .300 and posting 100 runs batted in (RBIs) ten times each. Mays was also at the forefront of a resurgence of speed as an offensive weapon in the 1950s, leading the league in stolen bases four times, triples three times, and runs twice; his 179 steals during the decade topped the major leagues.

Mays was the first NL player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season, the first player in history to reach 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases, and the second player and the first right-handed hitter to hit 600 home runs. Mays also set standards for defensive brilliance, winning 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards after their creation in 1957, still a record for outfielders; he led NL center fielders in double plays five times and assists three times.

A classic example of a five-tool player, Mays finished his career with a .302 batting average. At the time of his retirement, he held the NL record for career runs scored (2,062), and ranked second in league history behind Stan Musial in games played(2,992), third in home runs (660), at-bats (10,881), runs batted in (1,903), total bases(6,066), extra-base hits (1,323) and walks (1,464), fourth in hits (3,293), fifth in slugging percentage (.557), and eighth in doubles (523); his 140 triples ranked fourth among players active after 1945.

Mays also holds major league records for games as a center fielder (2,829), putouts as an outfielder (7,095), and ended his career behind only Ty Cobb in total games as an outfielder (2,842), ranking seventh in assists (188) and third in double plays (59) in center field. Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility and was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Sadly, Mays passed away on June 18, 2024, joining many other ballplayers who now suit up for the Field of Dreams.

RIP Willie

What's in a name?

Memorabilia: 1887 Allen & Ginter N28 Capt. Jack Glasscock

John Wesley Glasscock (July 22, 1857 – February 24, 1947) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for several teams from 1879 to 1895.

Nicknamed "Pebbly Jack," he was the top player at his position in the 1880s during the sport's bare-handed era. He led the National League in fielding percentage seven times and in assists six times; he was the only shortstop to lead in fielding percentage and total chances in a season three different times until Luis Aparicio matched him. Ozzie Smith eventually surpassed Glasscock's marks in the 1980s.

Glasscock also led the NL in double plays four times and in putouts twice. He won the 1890 batting title with a .336 average for the New York Giants and led the league in hits twice; in his final season he became the sixth major league player to make 2,000 hits.

He was the first player to appear in over 600 games as a shortstop, and ended his career with major league records for games (1,628), putouts (2,821), assists (5,630), total chances (9,283), double plays (620) and fielding percentage (.910) at the position. When he retired he ranked fifth in major league history in games (1,736) and at bats (7,030), seventh in total bases (2,630) and eighth in doubles (313).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Glasscock

Gorgeous George hit .340 in a Hall of Fame career!

Memorabilia: 1934 THE KNACK OF BATTING by GEORGE SISLER

George Harold Sisler (March 24, 1893 – March 26, 1973), nicknamed "Gorgeous George" was a first baseman and player-manager. From 1915 through 1930, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, and Boston Braves. He managed the Browns from 1924 through 1926.

Sisler played college baseball for the University of Michigan and was signed by the St. Louis Browns in 1915. He won the American League (AL) batting title in 1920 and 1922. In 1920, he batted .407 and recorded 257 hits, the record until Ichiro Suzuki had 262 in 2004. Sisler won the AL Most Valuable Player Award in 1922, finishing with a batting average of .420, the third-highest batting average by AL or NL players after 1900.

An attack of sinusitis caused vision troubles that jeopardized Sisler's career, but he returned to playing in 1924, remaining in the major leagues through the 1930 season. After Sisler retired as a player, he worked as a major league scout and aide.

A two-time batting champion and career .340 hitter, Sisler led the league in hits twice, triples twice, and stolen bases four times. He collected 200 or more hits six times in his career and had a batting average of over .300 a total of 13 times throughout his career. Sisler was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Sisler

Lefty O'soul

Memorabilia: 1933 Goudey Lefty O'Doul with Autograph

Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul (March 4, 1897 – December 7, 1969) a Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues. He was also a vital figure in both the pre-war establishment and post-war revival of professional baseball in Japan.

Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul (March 4, 1897 – December 7, 1969) was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues. He was also a vital figure in both the pre-war establishment and post-war revival of professional baseball in Japan.

Born in San Francisco, California, in the Bayview neighborhood, O'Doul began his professional career as a left-handed pitcher with the minor-league San Francisco Seals of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He had some major-league success with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox from 1919 to 1923 as a reliever. He pitched for the Red Sox in one notable game at Cleveland on July 7, 1923, that would go down in the record books. Relieving for starter Curt Fullerton, O'Doul gave up 16 runs over 3 innings of relief, with 14 of those runs coming in the 6th inning alone.

Although errors committed by Red Sox fielders meant that only 3 of the 16 runs were earned, O'Doul set the major league record for most runs allowed by a reliever in one appearance, a record later equaled by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Johnny Stuart in 1925 and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Dutch Schesler in 1931 (although both needed 8 innings to allow 16 runs). Following the season, O'Doul developed a sore arm, which forced him to give up pitching.

After the 1923 season, the New York Giants returned O'Doul to the Pacific Coast League, where he was converted to a power-hitting outfielder. In 1927, he became the second of only four Pacific Coast League hitters to have hit 30 home runs and stolen 30 bases in a season (with the other three being Tony Lazzeri (1925), Frank Demaree (1934), and Joc Pederson (2014).

O'Doul returned to the majors in 1928, where he batted .319 as a platoon player. In 1929, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies and, teaming up with Chuck Klein, had one of the best offensive years in baseball history, leading the league in batting at .398 with 254 hits, 32 home runs, 122 runs batted in, and 152 runs scored. His hit total broke the previous National League record of 250 by Rogers Hornsby of the 1922 St. Louis Cardinals. The record was tied by Bill Terry in 1930.

After batting .383 with 22 homers during the 1930 season, O'Doul was traded to the Brooklyn Robins (now the Los Angeles Dodgers). In 1932, he batted .368 for Brooklyn to win another league batting title. After a slow start in 1933, when he batted just .252 through 43 games, O'Doul was again traded, this time back to the Giants. He rallied to hit .306 the rest of the way that season, but played just one more year before ending his career in 1934.

In an 11-year major league career, he played in 970 games, 34 as a relief pitcher and the rest as an outfielder, posting a .349 batting average with 624 runs scored, 175 doubles, 41 triples, 113 home runs, and 542 runs batted in. His on-base percentage was .413 and slugging percentage was .532. In seven seasons between 1928 and 1934, when he became a regular outfielder, he hit .353. O'Doul hit over .300 six times, missing only in 1933 when he hit .284 playing with the Dodgers and Giants. He had 200+ hit seasons in 1929, 1930 and 1932.[5] He had 6 five-hit games between 1929 and 1933, recording two each in 1929 and 1930 with the Phillies and one each in 1931 and 1933 with the Dodgers.

O'Doul then returned to the Pacific Coast League as manager of the San Francisco Seals from 1935 to 1951, later managing several other teams in the circuit and becoming the most successful manager in PCL history. One of his outstanding accomplishments while managing the Seals was developing the young Joe DiMaggio, who went on to a Hall of Fame career with the New York Yankees. O'Doul refused to take credit for DiMaggio's success, saying, "I was just smart enough to leave [him] alone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefty_O'Doul

“Hit em where they ain’t” - Wee Willie Keeler

Memorabilia: 1909-1911 t206 Willie Keeler

William Henry Keeler (March 3, 1872 – January 1, 1923), nicknamed "Wee Willie" because of his small stature, was a right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Superbas in the National League, and the New York Highlanders in the American League. Keeler, one of the best hitters of his time, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. One of the greatest contact hitters of all time and notoriously hard to strike out, Keeler has the highest career at bats-per-strikeout ratio in MLB history: throughout his career, on average he went more than 60 at bats between individual strikeouts.

In 1892, after beginning the season playing his second year with the Plainfield Crescent Cities of the Central New Jersey League, he joined the minor league team in Binghamton, New York, and he was called up to the New York Giants at the end of the season. After a trip back to the minors because of an injury at the start of the 1893 season, he returned to the Giants later that year. Initially a third baseman, he later moved to the outfield. He quickly established himself as a star, and played until retiring in 1910.

Keeler's advice to hitters was "Keep your eye clear, and hit 'em where they ain't"—"they" being the opposing fielders. His .385 career batting average after the 1898 season is the highest average in history at season's end for a player with more than 1,000 hits (1,147 hits). He compiled a .341 career batting average, tied for 11th with Bill Terry and Pete Browning as of 2022. He hit over .300 16 times in 19 seasons, and hit over .400 once. He twice led his league in batting average and three times in hits. Keeler had an amazing 206 singles during the 1898 season, a record that stood for more than 100 years until broken by Ichiro Suzuki. Additionally, Keeler had an on-base percentage of greater than .400 for seven straight seasons. When Keeler retired in 1910, he was third all-time in hits with 2,932, behind only Cap Anson and Jake Beckley.

He was one of the smallest players to play the game, standing 5 feet 4½ inches and weighing 140 pounds (64 kg), resulting in his nickname. Keeler was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He appeared as number 75 on The Sporting News' list of the "100 Greatest Baseball Players". In 1999, he was named as a finalist to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Having played his last game in 1910, he was the most chronologically distant player on both Top 100 lists.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Keeler

Hall of Fame Multi - Signed Baseball from Yankees Old Timers Day mid 70's.

Memorabilia: Baseball Signed by Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Sandy Koufax, Wh**ey Ford, Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Lou Brock, Early Wynn, Bobby Doeer. Additional signatures include: Rocky Colavito, Ray Fosse, Bobby Richardson, Joe Garagiola, and Robert Merrill (Sang the National Anthem at important NY Yankees games).

The “M & M” Boys!

Memorabilia: Mickey Mantle & Roger Maris Co-signed 1977-79 Sportscaster 5 x 7 Photo Card

The "M&M Boys" were the duo of New York Yankees baseball players Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, who were teammates from 1960 to 1966. They gained prominence during the 1961 season, when Maris and Mantle, batting third and fourth in the Yankee lineup respectively, both challenged Babe Ruth's 34-year-old single-season record of 60 home runs.

The home run lead would change hands between the two teammates numerous times throughout the summer and fueled intense scrutiny of the players by the press. Maris eventually broke the record when he hit his 61st home run on the final day of the season, while Mantle hit 54 before he was forced to pull out of the lineup in September because of an abscessed hip. Maris and Mantle still hold the single-season record for combined home runs by a pair of teammates, with 115.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%26M_Boys

The "Frenchman" was considered by many to be "the best second baseman in the history of baseball."

Memorabilia: Signature and 1909 t206 Nap Lajoie To***co Card

Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "the Frenchman," played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics (twice), and Cleveland Naps between 1896 and 1916. He managed the Naps from 1905 through 1909.

Lajoie was signed to the National League's (NL) Phillies in 1896. By the beginning of the 20th century, however, the upstart American League (AL) was looking to rival the NL's supremacy, and in 1901, Lajoie and dozens of former National League players joined the AL. National League clubs contested the legality of contracts signed by players who jumped to the other league, but eventually, Lajoie was allowed to play for Connie Mack's Athletics.

During the 1901 season, Lajoie set the all-time American League single-season mark for the highest batting average (.426). One year later, Lajoie went to the Cleveland Broncos, where he would play until 1915 when he returned to play for Mack and the Athletics. While with Cleveland, Lajoie's popularity led to locals electing to change the club's team name from Broncos to Napoleons ("Naps" for short), which remained until after Lajoie departed Cleveland and the name was changed to Indians (the team's name until 2021).

Lajoie led the AL in batting average five times in his career and recorded the highest number of hits four times. During several of those years with the Naps, he and Ty Cobb dominated AL hitting categories and traded batting titles with each other, most notably coming in 1910, when the league's batting champion was undetermined until well after the last game of the season and after an investigation by American League President Ban Johnson.

Lajoie, in 1914, joined Cap Anson and Honus Wagner as the only major league players to record 3,000 career hits. He led the NL or AL in putouts five times in his career and in assists three times. He has been called "the best second baseman in baseball history" and "the most outstanding player to wear a Cleveland uniform." He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nap_Lajoie

Who knew that the St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles?

Memorabilia: St. Louis Browns partial schedule from the 1948 season.

The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team in St. Louis, Missouri from 1902 to 1953. The team was a member of the American League. Following the 1953 season, they relocated to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Orioles. The Browns never won a World Series and they only won the American League once (1944).

It wasn't until 1954, when Bill Veeck purchased the team; they changed their nickname from “Browns” to "Orioles" to distance themselves from past failures associated with being known as 'the Browns.' Since then, they have become two-time World Series champions and are known simply as Baltimore Orioles

“Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.”-- A popular saying from the 1948 baseball season.

Memorabilia: Checks endorsed by Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain

Johnny Sain was a three-time All-Star who teamed with Hall of Famer Warren Spahn to make up one of baseball’s most fabled pitching tandems.
The poem appeared in the wake of a four-day gap (Sept. 7-10) when no games were played, more than likely the result of inclement weather. With no games to write about, sportswriters often wax creative.

First, we’ll use Spahn,
Then we’ll use Sain,
Then an off day,
Followed by rain.

Back will come Spahn
Followed by Sain
And followed,
We Hope,
By two days of rain.

One suspects the Braves’ other starters were less than enthusiastic about Hern’s little ditty. Certainly, none came close to having the season that Johnny Sain had in 1948, and none had the career that Warren Spahn had. But that doesn’t mean they were a bunch of humpty-dumpties.
First, let’s examine how good Spahn and Sain were in 1948 and beyond. Sain started 39 contests in 1948. He led the league in victories (24), complete games (28), and innings pitched (314.2) and had a 2.60 ERA. He had four 20-victory seasons in his career, but 1948 was the best.
Later, he distinguished himself as a reliever (26 saves for the Yankees in 1954) and a pitching coach (A’s, Yankees, Twins, Tigers, White Sox, and Braves from 1959 to 1986).

Spahn won 20 or more games 13 times during his lengthy career. His 1948 season (15-12, 3.71 in 257 innings pitched), however, was a bit of a drop-off from 1947, his first 20-win season, when he went 21-10 and led the league in ERA (2.33), shutouts (seven), and IP 289.2. Spahn was 27 years old in 1948, but his career was just getting revived. league left-handers) He pitched till age 44 and won 363 games (still a record for a major inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.

Given the extensive use manager Billy Southworth made of Spahn and Sain in September (Sain went 8-1 in nine starts and Spahn 4-3 in eight starts), Hern’s admiration is understandable. While Southworth surely wanted to get Spahn and Sain as many starts as possible during the stretch run, he took the risk of wearing out his two aces. The rotation was upset by seven double-headers in September, yet Spahn, Sain, and the other starters responded by going 15-5 after Labor Day.

https://tht.fangraphs.com/the-spahn-and-sain-refrain-reconsidered/

Is Babe Ruth the greatest to ever play game of baseball? Many say so!

Memorabilia: G. H. Ruth Signed Check dated Jan. 3rd, 1946. The check is made out to Consolidated Edison of N.Y. Inc. in the amount of $6.05.

George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) played Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.

At age seven, Ruth was sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory where he was mentored by Brother Matthias Boutlier of the Xaverian Brothers, the school's disciplinarian and a capable baseball player. In 1914, Ruth was signed to play Minor League baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Red Sox. By 1916, he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs, a feat unusual for any player in the dead-ball era. Although Ruth twice won 23 games in a season as a pitcher and was a member of three World Series championship teams with the Red Sox, he wanted to play every day and was allowed to convert to an outfielder. With regular playing time, he broke the MLB single-season home run record in 1919 with 29.
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After that season, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees amid controversy. The trade fueled Boston's subsequent 86-year championship drought and popularized the "Curse of the Bambino" superstition. In his 15 years with the Yankees, Ruth helped the team win seven American League (AL) pennants and four World Series championships. His big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only drew fans to the ballpark and boosted the sport's popularity but also helped usher in baseball's live-ball era, which evolved from a low-scoring game of strategy to a sport where the home run was a major factor. As part of the Yankees' vaunted "Murderers' Row" lineup of 1927, Ruth hit 60 home runs, which extended his own MLB single-season record by a single home run. Ruth's last season with the Yankees was 1934; he retired from the game the following year, after a short stint with the Boston Braves. In his career, he led the American League in home runs twelve times, retiring with a then record 714 home runs.

During Ruth's career, he was the target of intense press and public attention for his baseball exploits and off-field penchants for drinking and womanizing. After his retirement as a player, he was denied the opportunity to manage a major league club, most likely because of poor behavior during parts of his playing career. In his final years, Ruth made many public appearances, especially in support of American efforts in World War II. In 1946, he became ill with nasopharyngeal cancer and died from the disease two years later. Ruth remains a major figure in American culture.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth