The Roger Clemens’ perjury trial begins today and one wonders if he will continue to misremember while on the stand. It seems pretty obvious that Clemens got some kind of chemical boost to his career because he was mediocre in his last two-seasons in Boston

1995: 10-5, 4.18 ERA
1996: 10-13, 3.63 ERA

But in 1997 and 1998, while with the Toronto Blue Jays he was back to his old form:
1997: 21-7, 2.05 ERA
1998: 20-6, 2.65 ERA

From 1997 – 2007 Clemens went 162 – 73 (.689 Winning Percentage) with a 3.21 ERA. It is important to note that he turned 35 during the 1997 season. So while most pitchers find themselves reeling from the cruel hands of time and age. Clemens enjoyed a revival of his once prodigious talent.

Pitchers age like dogs, especially those in their thirties. The exception to this concept is  Nolan Ryan. Ryan turned 35 before the 1982 season and pitched 11 more seasons before retiring. He amassed a 147-118 record (.554 winning percentage) and had a 3.31 ERA during the 11-seasons after his 35th birthday. Good numbers but with the exception of a no-hitter or two he was shell of his former Ryan Express glory. He had his best season in 1984 when he went 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA.

Ryan’s post age 35 output  is less than Clemens. One must not forget that The Rocket won three Cy Youngs after the age of 35, in 1997, 1998 and 2001. In 2001 he went 20-3 with a 3.51 era.  He was dominate in an era where the batter had the advantage and it easy to surmise that he may have been chemically enhanced to do so. Most pitchers go down in their mid to late thirties and Clemens did not. Ultimately Clemens was named in the Mitchell Report.

“Mitchell Report”, is the result of former Democratic United States Senator from Maine George J. Mitchell‘s 21-month investigation into the use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) in Major League Baseball (MLB). The 409-page report, released on December 13, 2007, covers the history of the use of illegal performance-enhancing substances by players and the effectiveness of the MLB Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The report also advances certain recommendations regarding the handling of past illegal drug use and future prevention practices. In addition, the report names 89 MLB players who are alleged to have used steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. - Wikipedia

Interviews with José Canseco and trainer Brian McNamee stated that Clemens used human growth hormone, Deca-Durabolin, Winstrol, Sustanon, and possibly Anadrol, during the 1998, 2000, and 2001 MLB seasons, some of which he obtained through McNamee from Radomski. Radomski corroborated these allegations as far as to say that he sold performance-enhancing drugs to McNamee in amounts that were clearly for redistribution. Clemens declined interview. Mitchell, pp. 167–75

According to the Mitchell Report, Clemens used PED’s during two of his three Cy Young seasons. From what we know of pitchers in their mid to late 30′s , and their tendency to age badly, it is easy to surmise that The Rocket got an illegal shot in the arm and that all of his work is now suspect. Simply put, power pitchers don’t have career years after the age of 35 and to do so has to raise some red flags. The red flags have been raised and hopefully Clemens doesn’t misremember any facts during his trial.

The shenanigans of Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and all the rest who had ties, rumored and real to PED’s have ruined baseball for me. Yes, Sosa’s run in 1998 got me watching again but the end results: Congressional Hearings, The Mitchell Report, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens facing perjury charges, they turned me off to the sport.

I still follow the Cubs, and I am very impressed with Starlin Castro, but I am not overly involved. I haven’t watched a complete game in years and I last attended a game in 2008 in Oakland. In an effort to revitalize my former baseball love I am editing the record books.

Wikipedia has the following list of MLB’s career home run leaders:

1. Barry Bonds 762
2. Hank Aaron 755
3. Babe Ruth 714
4. Willie Mays 660
5. Ken Griffey Jr. 630
6. Alex Rodriguez 626
7. Sammy Sosa 609
8. Jim Thome 595
9. Frank Robinson 586
10. Mark McGwire 583
11. Harmon Killebrew 573
12. Rafael Palmeiro 569
13. Reggie Jackson 563
14. Manny Ramirez 555
15. Mike Schmidt 548
16. Mickey Mantle 536
17. Jimmie Foxx 534
18. Ted Williams 521
19. Willie McCovey 521
20. Frank Thomas 521
21. Ernie Banks 512
22. Eddie Matthews 512
23. Mel Ott 511
24. Gary Sheffield 509
25. Eddie Murray 504

The DPC List omits anyone that had ties to PED’s, whether or not they consented to the drugs is irrelevant, because as an adults you should be aware of what you are putting in your body. My MLB Career Homerun Leaders List is seven shorter than the acceptable list. I omitted Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield. With my revisionist history Thome moves up to 5th all time and Frank Thomas would be the 14th on my version of MLB reality.

My respect for Hank Aaron is the basis of this list. In my mind he is the real home run king. So is Roger Maris, for the single season record.

DPC’s All Time Homerun List
1. Hank Aaron 755
2. Babe Ruth 714
3. Willie Mays 660
4. Ken Griffey Jr. 630
5. Jim Thome 595
6. Frank Robinson 586
7. Harmon Killebrew 573
8. Reggie Jackson 563
9. Mike Schmidt 548
10. Mickey Mantle 536
11. Jimmie Foxx 534
12. Ted Williams 521
13. Willie McCovey 521
14. Frank Thomas 521
15. Ernie Banks 512
16. Eddie Matthews 512
17. Mel Ott 511
18. Eddie Murray 504

Dear DPC2;

As you well know your Grandfather is a Chicago Cubs fan but ultimately he is a baseball fan. As such there are non-Cubs that he reveres. Mickey Mantle is one that we covered. But the greatest pitcher in his mind played for the Brooklyn/LA Dodgers. Sandy Koufax had a short career, like Gale Sayers and Bo Jackson, but his greatness in that short time span was timeless. He dominated the National League in such a manner that he made it to Cooperstown even though he only had four great seasons.

• 1963: 25-5, 1.88 ERA, SHO: 11 K’s: 306
• 1964: 19-5, 1.74 ERA, SHO: 7 K’s: 223
• 1965: 26-8, 2.04 ERA, SHO: 8 K’s: 382
• 1966: 27-9, 1.73 ERA, SHO: 5 K’S: 317 ”

Trying to hit him was like trying to drink coffee with a fork.” – Willie Stargell

 Arthritis in his throwing arm shut down his career but in those final four seasons he was the most dominate pitcher in the last half of the 20th Century. He also lead the Dodgers to a pair of world championships, 1963 & 1965.

What Koufax lacked in longevity he made up for in having four-seasons that will never be replicated. All the greater feat when one considers the amount of arm trouble that he was having at towards the end of his career.

Your Grandfather disagrees with my assertion that former Houston Astros pitcher J.R. Richard had a career similar to Koufax. Both pictures found glory in the later chapters of their respective careers and for four-seasons they were both unhittable. Richard’s career is starting to become obscure.

He pitched for the Astros from 1971 to 1980 and had a somewhat pedestrian career mark of 107-71 but from 1976 – 1980 he dominated the National League. Unfortunately he suffered a debilitating stroke in 1980 and his career was over. But four and half seasons he was dominate in a manner rarely seen in MLB.
• 1976: 20-15, 2.75 ERA, SHO: 3, K’s: 214
• 1977: 18-12, 2.97 ERA, SHO: 3, K’s: 214
• 1978: 18-11, 3.11 ERA, SHO: 3, K’s: 303
• 1979: 18-13, 2.71 ERA, SHO: 4, K’s: 313
• 1980: 10-4, 1.90 ERA, SHO:4, K’s 119

At 6’8” he was an imposing pitcher and in the last part of his career he teamed up with Nolan Ryan to form a formidable 1-2 punch. Richard was still developing as a pitcher when his career ended as his walks total were still dropping. From a 151 in 1976, to 98 in 1979. He had just turned 30-years old when he retired and was beginning to mature as a picture.

Like Koufax, it’s difficult to develop conjecture on where Richard’s career would have ended up without the stroke that derailed his promising career. But I can say that he would have been a dominate pitcher and his story would be better known. As opposed to now. Where he has been relegated to the obscure chapters of the baseball history books

Dear DPC2;

It isn’t a given that you will be a sports fan. But if you are I would like to share baseball with you in the same way that my Dad did with me. There is something inherently paternal in the national pastime. I can’t explain why exactly but the movie “Field of Dreams” does a pretty job of it, despite having Kevin Costner.

For each generation there is a certain player that captures the imagination and makes you think that all of the records will be broken and that you are a witness to greatness. You go out of your way to watch him play and even if he isn’t on your favorite team you root for his success because his work could be timeless and you want to remember the moments.

When I was growing up that baseball player was Ken Griffey Jr., a centerfielder for the Seattle Mariners.  He made his debut as a teenager and played alongside his father in 1989. The sky was the limit for him. His swing was perfect. He was quick around the bases and patrolling the outfield of the Kingdome. The game seemed easy for him and his debut baseball card, 1989 Upper Deck number 1, was iconic and I still have one.

“We love Ken Griffey, Jr. because he is everything we would like to be. He’s young, he’s good-looking, he’s got the best smile in the world, and he’s a heroic athlete. He is a shot in the arm for baseball. He is what this game needs right now. He is creating excitement and making headlines just by his presence. There hasn’t been anyone like that since… Reggie Jackson.” – Hall of Fame Outfielder Reggie Jackson

He started quickly in his rookie season of 1989 hitting 16-homeruns while still a teenager. For the five subsequent seasons he hit between 22 and 45 homeruns each year. In 1995 he injured his wrist but he came back and from 1996 to 2000 he averaged 49.8 homeruns. There was a sense that Griffey would surpass Hank Aaron MLB record of 755 career homeruns. His gifts were so immense that it seemed possible that he would go down as an all-time great. Unfortunately his health and by extension his career took a severe hit when he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 2000.

You can’t blame the Reds for the downfall of Griffey. Bad luck stung him and from 2001 to 2007 when he played 698 out of a possible 972, meaning that he missed over a season and a half with the Reds.  No longer was he The Chosen One. The one meant to break all the records. Instead he labored through the last half of his career as a shell of his former self. Yes, he ended up hitting 630-homeruns and had a greater career than most of peers but in a way it all seemed lacking. Maybe our expectations were too high. Maybe we shouldn’t have anointed him as the next great thing.

Regardless of reaching imagined goals Griffey was the best baseball player of my youth and the fact that he wasn’t mentioned in the Mitchell Report or never had his name sullied by PED accusations will make his accomplishments all the greater. The modern game has been destroyed by rampant PED use from supposed greats such as Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and all the rest. It was reassuring that a player such as Griffey could hit over 600-homeruns naturally.

“He should lead the league in everything. With his combination of speed and power he should win the triple batting crown every year. In fact, he should do anything he wants to do.” – Casey Stengel

He was supposed to be the next Joe DiMaggio. The next great New York Yankee and despite abusing his body Mickey Mantle will go down in history as an all time great. Like Griffey, Mantle made his MLB debut as a teenager and was anointed the next great thing. A rare athlete with speed and power (and a catchy name) he manned centerfield for the Bronx Bombers for 18-seasons, hammered 536 homeruns and won the 1956 Triple Crown but despite all of these great accomplishments it always seemed like he should have done more.

“On two legs, Mickey Mantle would have been the greatest ballplayer who ever lived.” – Nellie Fox

Unfortunately Mantle injured his knee early in his career and spent the rest of it, essentially, on one good leg. Considering the numbers he generated over his career it is a greater accomplishment that he did it with a bad wheel but baseball fans have a tendency towards conjecture and Mantle was an easy target.

A big facet of Mantle’s legend is the fact that manned the key outfield position, centerfield, for those great Yankee teams (where he won 7  World Series), his country boy charm ,(My former supervisor thought he was handsome) and the fact that his father ordained him to be a baseball player by naming him after Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane. He played on the biggest stage and lived large off it.

“(Mickey) Mantle’s greatness was built on power and pain. He exuded the first and endured the second.” – Roy Fitzgerald in the Boston Globe

Sadly Mantle never took care of himself during his career. He never rehabbed his early knee injury and he also liked to stay out late and party until dawn. This lifestyle likely damaged his career and it ultimately cost him life as he died in 1995, at the age of 63, from liver failure.

Your Grandfather is a Chicago Cubs fan but he still holds Mantle dear. In his den there is a 1956 Topps Mantle baseball card on his desk and on the wall there is an autographed picture and a framed jersey of The Mick. For his generation Mantle was the greatest.

When I was a kid he took me to Sacramento to a baseball card show. He wanted me to see Mantle in person. I consider that a very special moment because as I have gotten older I now realize what Mantle meant to a generation of fans

Mickey Mantle: 5’11 195 lbs. Born: 10.20.1931 – Throws: Right Bats: Both  -Centerfield – New York Yankees 1951 – 1968 , Games: 2401 Hits: 2415 HR: 536 RBI: 1509 AVG: .298 OBP: .421 SLG: .557

Ken Griffey Jr.: 6’2” 230 lbs – Born: 11.21.1969 Throws: Left Bats: Left – Centerfield – Seattle Mariners: 1989 – 1999, Cincinnati Reds: 2000 – 2008, Chicago White Sox 2008, 2009 – 20010 Seattle Mariners – Games: 2671 Hits: 2781 HR: 630 RBI: 1836 AVG: .284 OBP: .370 SLG: .538

Dear David Patrick;
Today, May 31, 2011, is your second birthday. You were born in Phoenix, AZ at Banner Good Sam Hospital to your parents Lindsey Fay Myers and David Castro a couple of years ago and now we all live in El Mirage. The last two-years have been a blur. You’re growing up more and more and each day you never cease to surprise us with what you are learning.

Besides the gifts that we all got you, and you seem to like the tool kit and Dinosaur train toys, I wanted to let you know what world you were born into in 2009. What people were watching and of course who were the great teams from your birth year. I also included the birthday that you share with many famous folks.

You make me a better a person and I have no idea what my life would be like without you. Without further adieu the important things that have happened on your birthday, May 31st.

• May 31 is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 214 days remaining until the end of the year.
• 1929 – The first talking cartoon of Mickey Mouse, “The Karnival Kid”, is released.
• 1990 –  Seinfeld premiers
• 2005 – Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was Deep Throat.
• 1930 – Clint Eastwood, American film director and actor is born
• 1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer is born
• 1943 – Joe Namath, American football player is born
• 1948 – John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) is born
• 1964 – Darryl McDaniels, American musician (Run-D.M.C.) is born
• World No Tobacco Day (International) is also May 31
From the year you were born the 2009 Champions
• World Series Champions – New York Yankees
• Stanley Cup Champions – Chicago Blackhawks
• Super Bowl Champions – New Orleans Saints
• NBA Champions – Los Angeles Lakers
• BCS – Florida Gators
• NCAA Basketball – North Carolina

Top Ten Grossing Movies from 2009
1. Avatar
2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
3. Ice Age
4. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
5. 2012
6. Up
7. Twilight: New Moon
8.Sherlock Holmes
9. Angels & Demons
10. The Hangover

I was born on April 16th, 1978 in Chicago, Illinois and with my birthday coming up I figure I should do a bit of research into the year and day I was born.
Courtesy of Wikipedia:

1978:

• Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes into the ocean near Bombay, killing 213.
• January 15 – The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos, 27-10, to win Super Bowl XII.
• February 1 Hollywood film director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France, after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
• Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured in Pensacola, Florida.
• March 1 – Charlie Chaplin‘s remains are stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
• March 6 – American porn publisher Larry Flynt is shot and paralyzed in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
• April 10 – Volkswagen becomes the second (after Rolls-Royce) non-American automobile manufacturer to open a plant in the United States, commencing production of the Rabbit, the North American version of the Volkswagen Golf, in New Stanton, Pennsylvania with a unionized (UAW) workforce (the plant closes in 1992.)
• May 5 – Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds gets his 3,000th major league hit.
• May 20 – Mavis Hutchinson, 53, becomes the first woman to run across the U.S.; her trek took 69 days.
• May 28 – Indianapolis 500: Al Unser wins his third race, and the first for car owner Jim Hall.
• August 26 – Pope John Paul I succeeds Pope Paul VI as the 263rd Pope.
• October 2 – The New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox 5–4 at Fenway Park to clinch the AL East after being 14 games out of first place only two months earlier. The Yankees would eventually go on to defeat the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers and win the World Series.
• October 14 United States President Jimmy Carter signs a bill into law which allows homebrewing of beer in the United States.
• October 16 – Pope John Paul II succeeds Pope John Paul I as the 264th pope. He is the first Polish pope in history.
• October 17 – The New York Yankees clinch their 22nd World Series championship, defeating the Dodgers 7–2 in Los Angeles and winning the Series 4 games to 2.
• October 20 – The first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held as a protest march and commemoration of the Stonewall Riots.
• November 18 – Jonestown incident: In Guyana, Jim Jones leads his Peoples Temple cult in a mass murder-suicide that claims 918 lives in all, 909 of them at Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Congressman Leo J. Ryan is assassinated by members of Peoples Temple shortly beforehand.
• November 27 – In San Francisco, California, Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White.
• December 11 Lufthansa heist: Six men rob a Lufthansa cargo facility in New York City‘s John F. Kennedy International Airport. April 16:
• April 16 is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 259 days remaining until the end of the year.
• 178 BC – The calculated date of the Greek king Odysseus‘ return home from the Trojan War.
• 1862 – American Civil War: A bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia becomes law.
• 1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
• 1919 – Gandhi organizes a day of “prayer and fasting” in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British.
• 1941 – Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians throws the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, beating the Chicago White Sox 1-0.
• 1943 – Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD.
• 1945 – The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz).
• 1972 – Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• April 16th Births
• 1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor and filmmaker (d. 1977)
• 1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)
• 1928 – Dick “Night Train” Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
• 1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)
• 1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
• 1952 – Bill Belichick, American football coach
• 1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor
• 1971 – Peter Billingsley, American actor

It’s kinda sad and even a bit ironic that I consider myself a Chicago Cubs’ fan and yet I didn’t watch a single baseball game last season. Which in hindsight is probably a good thing because I loathe the San Francisco Giants to a degree that is better suited towards public enemies and other villains of the United States.

This season I am going to try to do better and watch a game or two. I put in for time off at work to attend the All Star Game, which is conveniently hosted at Phoenix’s Chase Field. For the sixth straight season though I skipped Spring Training and all of our local Cactus League games. Conveniently the Padres and Mariners share a stadium with 15-minutes of my house and yet I ignored the chance to relax and watch the Boys of Summer get ready for the 2011 campaign.

In all honesty I have been turned off from baseball since the Barry Bonds and BALCO fiasco and the Book, Game Of Shadows, helped fuel my disdain for the sport. I know athletics are never innocent and pure but during the Bud Selig era baseball took on all the pageantry and athletic honesty of a Ric Flair match. I need my heroes to be somewhat honest. I need them to play sorta straight. I realize that they are men and will father 11 children by 10 women (thank you, Travis Henry) but at least giving me a semblance of fair play. The steroid era robbed baseball of its innocence and without some semblance of purity the game died for me.

Apparently though, the game has been cleaned. Men are being test for Performance Enhancing Drugs. Suspensions are handed out for abusers and no one has hit sixty-homers in a season since Bonds slugged* 73-homeruns in 2001 to set an MLB record.

I need to move on. The game is better now and the players aren’t fueled by HGH, steroids and assorted amphetamines. The game isn’t as innocent as Field of Dreams but if it emulates the Odyssey in The Natural then maybe I can home to a sport I used to love.

Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were the only inductees for the 2011 MLB Hall of Fame. It is the opinion of this scribe that while Alomar was definitely worthy of baseball’s greatest honor, Blyleven, like Don Sutton before him, should only be allowed in Cooperstown if he buys a ticket.

These are trying time for the Hall of Fame voters because they are in the quagmire of the steroid era and speculation will greatly out weigh stone cold facts on who used what and who was clean. Admitted steroid user Mark McGwire received 19.8% of the voters love. While Rafael Palmeiro, another PED user, received 11%. To be inducted the player must receive votes on 75% of the ballots

It has been my hope that Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly would make their way to Cooperstown but both players fell quite short of the glory, 12.6% and 13.6% repsectively. Because of the steroid era in baseball these two nice guys stats are subplanted by hyper-inflated numbers put forth by sluggers that used PED’s and other concoctions from a cheaters chemistry set.

Courtesy of SI.com:
Roberto Alomar 523 90.0

Bert Blyleven 463 79.7

Votes – Percentage

1. Barry Larkin 361 62.1
2. Jack Morris 311 53.5
3. Lee Smith 263 45.3
4. Jeff Bagwell 242 41.7
5. Tim Raines 218 37.5
6. Edgar Martinez 191 32.9
7. Alan Trammell 141 24.3
8. Larry Walker 118 20.3
9. Mark McGwire 115 19.8
10. Fred McGriff 104 17.9
11. Dave Parker 89 15.3
12. Don Mattingly 79 13.6
13. Dale Murphy 73 12.6
14. Rafael Palmeiro 64 11.0
15. Juan Gonzalez 30 5.2
16. Harold Baines 28 4.8
17. John Franco 27 4.6
18. Kevin Brown 12 2.1
19. Tino Martinez 6 1.0
20. Marquis Grissom 4 0.7
21. Al Leiter 4 0.7
22. John Olerud 4 0.7
23. B.J. Surhoff 2 0.3
24. Bret Boone 1 0.2
25. Benito Santiago 1 0.2
26. Carlos Baerga 0 0.0
27. Lenny Harris 0 0.0
28. Bobby Higginson 0 0.0
29. Charles Johnson 0 0.0
30. Raul Mondesi 0 0.0
31. Kirk Rueter 0 0.0

T.R.O.Y. Ron Santo

I don’t plan on dying anytime soon but I feel that if I have a Bucket List I can steer my life towards experiences that could lead to a better and possibly more interesting Life In The DPC. This is by no means a complete list, I worked on it while on my lunch break at work, but it is a starting point.