Quote of the Day

"It was all I lived for, to play baseball."
-Mickey Mantle

On This Date in Baseball: June 8

1969 - New York Yankees' uniform No. 7 was retired on Mickey Mantle Day. A crowd of 60,096 came to Yankee Stadium to honor Mantle and watched New York sweep the Chicago White Sox 3 - 1 and 11 - 2.

1982 - 27 years ago today, the great Satchel Paige died.

On This Date in Baseball: June 8

1921 - Babe Ruth is arrested for speeding in New York, fined $100, and held in jail until 4 p.m.. Game time is 3:15, so a uniform is brought to him. He changes in jail and follows a police escort to the ballpark where he enters with the Yankees trailing 3-2. They rally for a 4-3 win.

1955 - The Dodgers send pitcher Tommy Lasorda down to Montreal to make room on the roster for Sandy Koufax.

1969 - Mickey Mantle Day in New York. With 60,096 fans on hand, Mantle's number 7 is retired. The Yankees then sweep a double header from the White Sox 3-1 and 11-2.

On This Date in Baseball: May 30

1925 - Rogers Hornsby is named manager of the Cardinals. He will be the only player-manager to win the Triple Crown, which he does by topping .400 for the third time in four years, hitting .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBI.

1935 - In his final major league appearance, Babe Ruth plays only the first inning of the opener of a doubleheader between the Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

1956 - Mickey Mantle hits one of the most memorable home runs in his career, in the second game of a doubleheader with the Washington Senators. The ball was still climbing when it caromed off the upper-stand facade, about 396 feet from home plate. Estimates are that the ball could have traveled more than 600 feet. It is Mantle's 20th home run of the season — no one else has ever hit 20 home runs before June.

Interesting Baseball Cards (Part I)

2007 Topps Derek Jeter #40

This card was all over the news last year when it came out.

From ESPN:

As President Bush smiled and waved from the stands and Mickey Mantle looked on from the dugout, Derek Jeter swung his bat. Talk about pressure.

The game never happened, of course. It was just someone's idea of a visual gag -- pulled off in a Topps baseball card through digital manipulation. "We saw it in the final proof and we could have axed it," Topps spokesman Clay Luraschi told The Associated Press. "But we decided to let it run, we wanted to print it. We thought it was hilarious." The card was changed when Topps issued a complete set at midseason.