Roger Craig, Teacher of an Era-Defining Pitch, Is Dead at 93
Roger Craig, who pitched or managed in five World Series and changed the face of pitching in the 1980s as the guru of the split-fingered fastball, died Sunday. He was 93.
The San Francisco Giants, a team Craig managed for eight seasons, leading them to the National League pennant in 1989, announced his death on its website on Sunday. His family said Craig had a short illness, a Giants spokesman said.
For some, Craig was a figure in baseball trivia: He was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers in their final game before moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and five years later, in 1962, he threw the first pitch in the Mets’ history. He was the loser both times. He lost 24 games and then 22 for the dreadful Mets in their first two seasons, including 18 in a row in 1963. But he had his moments when backed by good-hitting lineups.
A lanky 6-foot-4 right-hander who, it was often noted, bore a remarkable resemblance to President Lyndon B. Johnson, Craig pitched in three World Series for the Dodgers in the 1950s and another with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964. In managing the Giants to the 1989 N.L. pennant, he implored his players to hustle with the mantra “Humm baby” and taught his pitchers to throw the split-fingered fastball.
Craig spread the gospel of the split, thrown with the same motion as a traditional fastball but able to confound batters because the pitcher gripped the baseball with his index and middle finger spread widely apart, and parallel to the seams instead of across them.
“The split finger is, simply, a fastball that you put an extra spin on so that it drops down in front of the batter so fast that he don’t know where it’s goin’,” Craig explained in a 1988 interview with Playboy. “Every pitcher with brains who wants to stick around wants to learn it.”
As the pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers, Craig taught the delivery to the right-hander Jack Morris, who helped propel the team to the 1984 World Series championship and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.
After leaving the Tigers when his salary demands were unmet, Craig taught the split-fingered fastball to the Houston Astros’ right-hander Mike Scott, who had sought his advice. Scott went on to win the 1986 N.L. Cy Young Award. As Scott once put it, “God bless Roger Craig.”
“Everyone was throwing that pitch,” Mike Scioscia, who caught for the Dodgers in the 1980s and later managed the Angels, told The Associated Press in 2011. “It was the pitch of the ’80s just like the pitch of the ’60s was a slider.”
Roger Lee Craig was born on Feb. 17, 1930, in Durham, N.C., one of 10 children of John and Mamie Craig. His father was a shoe salesman. He was spotted by a part-time scout for the Dodgers while pitching in high school, then signed by the team out of North Carolina State University in 1950. After pitching in the Dodgers’ minor league system and serving in the Army, Craig made his debut with Brooklyn in July 1955.
He had a 5-3 record over 21 games, 10 of them starts, then beat the Yankees in Game 5 of what became the only World Series a Brooklyn team would win. He pitched for the Dodgers again in the 1956 World Series, taking the loss in Game 3 of the seven-game series win for the Yankees.
A fastball pitcher early in his career, Craig developed arm problems that he attributed to throwing in cold and damp weather as the starter on Sept. 29, 1957, at the Philadelphia Phillies’ Connie Mack Stadium, in the final game the Dodgers played before moving to Los Angeles.
Craig was back in the minors for much of 1958 and for part of the 1959 season while rehabilitating from his injury. He never regained the speed on his fastball but when he returned to the Dodgers for good in 1959 he concentrated on getting ahead of batters in the count. That year, he revived his career as a control pitcher and had his best major league season, posting an 11-5 record while leading the N.L. in shutouts, with four, as the Dodgers won their first pennant in Los Angeles. He started twice in the World Series against the Chicago White Sox, with one loss and one no-decision in a game won by the Dodgers, who took the Series in six games.
Craig pitched mostly in relief before he was chosen by the Mets as their No. 3 selection in the October 1961 expansion draft, after catcher Hobie Landrith and infielder Elio Chacon. He was the sixth pick overall since the Mets alternated with Houston, the other new team, in the draft order.
The Mets traded Craig to the Cardinals before the 1964 season, and he won Game 4 of the World Series in relief as St. Louis beat the Yankees in seven games. He later pitched for the Cincinnati Reds and the Phillies and finished his career with a record of 74-98.
Craig began teaching the split-fingered fastball, a variation on a lower-velocity delivery called the forkball, when he managed the San Diego Padres in 1978 and ’79. The future Hall of Fame reliever Bruce Sutter had been using the pitch for several years with the Chicago Cubs, having learned it from their roving instructor, Fred Martin, when he was in the minors. While Craig did not “discover” the split finger, he proved especially adept at teaching it.
After five years as a Tigers coach, Craig became the Giants’ manager with 18 games left in the 1985 season and remained with the team for seven more years. The highlight of his tenure came in was 1989, when the Giants won an N.L. pennant for the first time since 1962, although they were swept by the Oakland Athletics in an earthquake-delayed World Series. He retired after the 1992 season and had spent time on his Southern California ranch in Borrego Springs in his later years.
The split-fingered fastball remained a part of pitchers’ arsenals in the years that followed Craig’s retirement, but it gradually declined in popularity over concerns that it can put undue stress on a pitcher’s arm.
“We have lost a legendary member of our Giants family,” Larry Baer, the Giants’ chief executive, said in a statement. “Roger was beloved by players, coaches, front office staff and fans. He was a father figure to many and his optimism and wisdom resulted in some of the most memorable seasons in our history.”
He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; three daughters, Sherri Paschelke, Teresa Hanvey and Vikki Dancan; a son, Roger Jr.; seven grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren, the Giants said.
In looking back on his career, Craig shared wry memories of pitching for Casey Stengel’s Mets.
As he related it to CBS Sports in 2013, Stengel would tell him more or less the following: “Mr. Craig, I know you pitched nine innings today and won’t pitch again for four days, but don’t throw between starts just in case we’re ahead. I may need you to pitch an inning or two.”
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By: Richard Goldstein
Title: Roger Craig, Teacher of an Era-Defining Pitch, Is Dead at 93
Sourced From: www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/sports/baseball/roger-craig-teacher-of-an-era-defining-pitch-is-dead-at-93.html
Published Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2023 03:04:55 +0000
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The U.S. trials for both the world championships and Pan American Games teams were held over the past couple of days, with an all-around competition held on Tuesday, followed by a more relaxed situation where the athletes could pick two events. A couple of hours after the second day of competition concluded, the selection committee had two full teams ready to go, with the worlds team pretty strategically perfect, at least based on my very specific qualifications.
My impression of the first night was that many athletes looked exhausted and not quite up to the task, especially given how late in the day the competition was, and how long things dragged on, with each rotation taking around 45 minutes, double what these athletes are used to at elite meets.
The fatigue affected some of the best, including Simone Biles, who had some uncharacteristically weak form at various points throughout the night, which caused a fall on her van Leeuwen and some smaller mistakes on beam and floor. In her final event, Biles over rotated her Yurchenko double pike on vault, which ended up looking like more of a timer as she threw the skill to her back, but she nonetheless won the competition with a 55.700, down several points from what she showed she was capable of at nationals, but still enough to finish in first place and automatically qualify to the worlds team.
Coming closest was Shilese Jones, who had a very strong meet going up until bars. Actually, I’d Include bars as part of her strong meet, as the routine was excellent, and the mistake that ended up costing her a full point in deductions – a brush of her feet on the mat after her Pak salto – didn’t affect her rhythm at all to the point where it wasn’t noticeable to anyone watching. The view of her feet was cut off for the viewer watching on the stream, but while you’d still notice a flaw in the gymnast’s movements in most cases like these, Jones seamlessly continued into the rest of her routine and finished well. When her score came up as 13.5, it was shocking, but on the second day she came back sans foot drama, connected the Pak to van Leeuwen, increased her difficulty score to a 6.5 – third highest in the world – and scored a 14.75 total, once again proving what a threat she is for a bars medal.
Skye Blakely came into this trial as one of my three locks for the team along with Biles and Jones, and everything she did here to finish third all-around confirmed this opinion. Her floor still isn’t really usable, but she offers so much on bars and beam, both of which have been so consistent this season, and her vault is yet another solid Yurchenko double full, which the team might not need, though could use in a pinch if needed. She did have a fall on a bars release on day two, but with everything else she’s done there this year, this mistake changed absolutely nothing for me.
Rounding out the top five were Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong, though they would have been my next team picks regardless of where they had fallen in the all-around rankings. While they weren’t locks for me in the sense that there were a few other solid options and I wasn’t sure if the selection committee would match my brainwaves, they were the two I wanted most to round out the team, filling the roles of a strong multi-event specialist as well as a well-balanced utility player who might not be a top-scoring athlete on any event, but who is absolutely vital to the team thanks to her ability to step in anywhere and score nearly as well.
In the latter role, Wong was the clear winner for me. She came into this season for the first time at the U.S. Classic in August, finishing second all-around, and then surprised to win all-around bronze at nationals with even-keeled and solid performances on every apparatus across both days of competition. Wong, who stuck with her Florida coaches this year instead of going back to GAGE, has been at a level we’ve never quite seen from her – maybe not gymnastically, exactly, as we’ve seen her look strong before and with higher difficulty in some areas, but in terms of her confidence and the joy she’s bringing to every performance.
I’ve always been a fan of built-in alternates for teams, and while everyone is calculating numbers and putting together spreadsheets showing the top-scoring teams, I’m keeping scoring potential in mind, but also always making room for someone who adds value in a different way. It’s not super often that teams need to replace higher scores with a more consistent low score, but two very recent examples include Biles being forced to withdraw from the team final in Tokyo and Blakely’s bars being considered too much of a risk at last year’s worlds, where Wong – who only competed on vault in qualifications – was able to come in and put up a steady score for the team. With only five athletes on a team and three scores needed for each event in the final, not having a trusted backup is a scary prospect.
Between classics, nationals, and trials, Wong hit 18 out of 18 routines. She also only won a single event medal, with her silver on vault at the U.S. Classic. So there’s a massive pro, but also a massive con, but is it really a con? Does everyone on every team really need to be an individual medal contender, or is there room for those who bring a different skillset to the mix, especially when the big scores are more or less covered by other athletes and the alternative would be another specialist with high-scoring potential but an inconsistent history? Not to mention that the top all-around athletes shouldn’t be required to compete all four events in the team final, and Wong is the best option to provide relief for Biles on bars and Jones on beam or floor, for example.
If Wong proved herself ready for a spot all summer, Roberson’s done it all season, going back to her fantastic performances on vault, beam, and floor at the Winter Cup in February to her multiple 14+ scores on floor in international competition – her 14.15 at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge, 14.1 and 14.067 at Pan Ams, and 14.066 at the Cairo World Cup are the top four international scores out of over a thousand international floor scores seen in the entirety of 2023 so far – to a domestic summer season that saw her win all-around bronze at the U.S. Classic before becoming the vault champion at nationals. In my eyes, she didn’t need to do much more at trials to show her readiness, but she did it anyway, finishing first on vault and second on floor.
While I was convinced, however, my concern was that the selection committee wouldn’t be, especially when the experienced Jordan Chiles made a strong case for herself on vault and bars despite looking a bit shaky elsewhere. Experience helps in situations like a world championships meet, and Chiles was a standout last fall, putting up four excellent scores to help the team win gold in the final before going on to win medals on vault and floor. Then there were a couple of other gymnasts with standout events, like Zoe Miller on bars and Kaliya Lincoln on vault, beam, and floor, both of whom put absolutely everything into Tuesday’s all-around competition with Lincoln’s score a career-best, as well as Jade Carey on vault, where the reigning world champion excelled, scoring a 14.8 for her Cheng on day two.
Roberson and Wong were my picks to round out the top all-arounders with both a specialist and the opposite of that, but I saw the value in selecting others as well, and felt like this team could have gone several different ways. But it seems the committee and I were on the same page for once, with Roberson and Wong joining the expected Biles, Jones, and Blakely trifecta, while Kayla DiCello – who kind of quietly slipped into seventh all-around here despite a fall on bars – was named the alternate.
DiCello was also picked to compete at the Pan Am Games, along with Chiles, Lincoln, Miller, and first-year senior Tiana Sumanasekera, who won this year’s Pan Am Championships all-around title back in May. Carey was also offered a Pan Ams spot, but turned it down due to a personal conflict and will instead compete at the Swiss Cup, while Alicia Zhou, Eveylynn Lowe, and Nola Matthews earned non-traveling alternate spots for Pan Ams, and Katelyn Jong previously earned an individual spot for Pan Ams by winning the Junior Pan Am Games title in 2021, though she was injured while training vault on Tuesday, so it’s unclear whether she’ll be able to compete or not.
I understand that Carey or Miller could have added more to the team’s scoring potential than some of those who were selected, and that there are very valid arguments for other combinations of athletes, but I love the strategy the selection committee ultimately went with, even if it was by coincidence if they ultimately just went with the all-around rank order from Tuesday’s competition. Either way, what stands out most about this team is that it wasn’t just the right team based on one night, but it was also the right team based on the months of tests that preceded the trial competition. This group of athletes is exactly who I would have selected after nationals, and the potential they have for success in Antwerp is nothing short of tremendous.
Article by Lauren Hopkins
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By: Lauren
Title: Why the U.S. Worlds Team is Perfect and Exactly What We Wanted
Sourced From: thegymter.net/2023/09/22/why-the-u-s-worlds-team-is-perfect-and-exactly-what-we-wanted/
Published Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2023 04:57:49 +0000
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Did you miss our previous article…
https://mansbrand.com/kathryn-bernardo-puts-healthcare-workers-at-the-forefront-in-seoul-2/
Kathryn bagged the award for her role as medical nurse Ali in the series 2 Good 2 Be True, and dedicated her win to the real healthcare workers
Over the years, Asia’s Superstar Kathryn Bernardo has played a number of iconic roles that fans will always remember. In 2010, she won the hearts of many as the young Gretchen Barretto in Magkaribal, and in 2019, with a number of successful projects under her belt, she showed a new side of her acting prowess as Joy in Hello, Love, Goodbye. Before we all say hello to Philo, the actress closes the chapter of Nurse Ali from 2 Good 2 Be True by receiving an award at Seoul International Drama Awards.
RELATED: 5 Times Kathryn Bernardo Proved She’s a Fashion Chameleon
Making meaningful success
Yesterday, the 27-year-old artist honored her well-beloved character in the series. In her speech, she emphasized the value of health workers, as well as awareness on Alzheimer’s Disease.
The actress said, “It’s always been more than just [sharing a] love story to our audience, but also spreading awareness about Alzheimer’s disease, and educating people about those who struggle with it, and how we can offer them the best support they need. This project made me appreciate our nurses and our healthcare workers so it was really more than just another TV show for me.”
During its air, 2 Good 2 Be True simultaneously premiered on Netflix and ABS-CBN’s other online and television platforms. In the show, Ali, played by Bernardo, took care of Ronaldo Valdez’s portrayal of Lolo Sir. In the series, he was experiencing the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
Looking back on the role
The 130-episode run of the show was a success, with the audience applauding the team for the heavy research on medical procedures exhibited in the series. In one of the scenes, Kathryn conducted the F.A.S.T. method to confirm the stroke of Valdez’s role. Besides the factual portrayal of the procedure, viewers praised the actress’s expressive restraint playing Ali. According to some reviews, this was a factual portrayal of the health workers’ reality in their attachment to their patients.
2 Good 2 Be True also starred the actress’ on and off screen partner, Daniel Padilla. The actor played Eloy, Lolo Sir’s estranged grandson and Ali’s love interest. Besides their established chemistry over the years, the love team’s relationship with Ronaldo Valdez’s character won the hearts of fans. In a tribute to the veteran actor, Bernardo referred to him as “the lolo I never had.”
Apart from her role as a persistent nurse, Ali was also well-beloved for being a determined dreamer and a hardworking family member. To some KathNiels, the comedic side of Alison Fajardo was also a throwback to Chichay. The latter was from the series Got 2 Believe.
On September 27, the actress will deliver a darker, more mature character as Philo in her newest film, A Very Good Girl.
Congratulations to Kathryn Bernardo for her well-deserved recognition at the Seoul International Drama Awards!
Featured Image: STAR CINEMA (via Instagram)
The post Kathryn Bernardo Puts Healthcare Workers at the Forefront in Seoul appeared first on MEGA.
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By: Chlarine Gianan
Title: Kathryn Bernardo Puts Healthcare Workers at the Forefront in Seoul
Sourced From: mega-onemega.com/kathryn-bernardo-puts-healthcare-workers-at-the-forefront-in-seoul/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kathryn-bernardo-puts-healthcare-workers-at-the-forefront-in-seoul
Published Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2023 10:17:15 +0000
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The success of interim agreements — and the money left on the table not being able to give Oscar fare a proper campaign — could be enough to convince AMPTP members to finalize negotiations with the WGA and SAG.
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Title: For Studios’ Bottom Lines, Awards Season May Be Stronger Than the Strikes
Sourced From: www.indiewire.com/awards/industry/will-awards-season-end-strikes-1234907380/
Published Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2023 19:00:00 +0000
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Did you miss our previous article…
https://mansbrand.com/pr1-mathiasen-seeking-out-bronze-driver-for-2024-program/
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