Happy birthday to "The Guy on the Phone"

Every once in a while I will get recognized and someone will say "you are the guy on the phone in Curse of the Bambino, right?"

This is referencing the wonderful HBO Documentary I was in and the story I told about Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, dialing the phone to rub the Red Sox win in the face of my uncle who is a big Mets fan.

My response is always "Yes, I told that story."

But if you saw the special and remember the story, I was NOT the guy dialing the phone. That would be my brother Ted who dialed after each pitch every number except the last one.

So in truth my brother is "the guy on the phone" in The Curse of the Bambino.
And today is his birthday.

Happy birthday buddy. I promise to call today... and every number including the last one.

For those of you who haven't seen it, here is my segments from the movie.

Born today

Some big names in baseball have called May 14th their birthday.


Hall of Famer Ed Walsh was born May 14, 1881.






Another Hall of Famer, Earle Combs (the Kentucky Colonel) was born on May 14, 1899.







Tony Perez, yet another Hall of Famer was born on May 14, 1942 in Cuba.









Dick Howser, the only man to ever manage the Royals to a World Series title, was born on May 14, 1936.







Dennis Martinez, El Presidente, was born on May 14, 1955.








Pat Borders, MVP of the 1992 World Series, was born on May 14, 1963.








Phillies Ace Roy Halladay, who is gunning for Cy Young #2 this year, was born on May 14, 1977.






And possibly the worst first baseman in the history of The Menlo School was born on May 14, 1972 in Willimantic Connecticut.

I'm glad to share a birthday with such good company.

Happy Birthday to the person who unwittingly made me a baseball historian

Since doing my Home Grown vs Acquired series, I've received a lot of a emails from people asking me how long I've been reading about baseball history.

The answer is since I was a kid. And I can thank a parent of mine for a great inspiration.

Oh I watched and talked a lot about baseball with my dad... but my love for baseball history comes from my mom. When I was a kid, I discovered a bunch of my mom's old baseball books about the Yankees of the 1950s.

And she had an old Baseball Encyclopedia dated back to 1955.

As a kid I devoured those books... I knew every World Series result by the time I was 10. I could recite the great feats of DiMaggio, Mays and Aaron when most kids just knew the local stars.

So if you think I am a little thorough in my research, then you can thank my mom for the original inspiration.

I have kept all of her books. I hope my kids discover them some day.

Happy Birthday mom!
You've created a monster!