Baseball notes

The World Baseball Classic is being aired today: Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela on ESPN at 1 pm, EST, Mexico vs. the US on ESPN2 at 4 pm EST. I was really excited about the concept of a real "world" series, and hope to catch part of this.

Seventeen people, including 12 players and 5 executives, were selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame from the Negro Leagues. One of them is Effie Manley, the first woman in the Hall. I've actually owned her biography, "Effie Manley and the Newark Bears" by James Overmyer since 1993, according to the inscription from a friend of mine, though I've only now begun to read it. Interestingly, Overmyer was on the panel that selected Manley.
12 players were selected, but they didn't select Buck O'Neil? He's been a tireless ambassador for the league, and is still alive to enjoy being in the Hall, unlike the ones who were chosen.

Popular former baseball player Kirby Puckett died yesterday. He played his whole major league career with my father-in-law's favorite team, the Minnesota Twins. He had some difficulties after his career was over, but remained a well-beloved player because of his great attitude, despite the glaucoma that shortened his career. On a totally selfish note, I hate it when people younger than I die, especially from something like a stroke.