“It’s not that Espino was averse to coaches and managers, it’s that he did not really require them. His talent was so innate that only he himself could truly understand it…”

Hector Espino

I enjoy stories about the random player who maybe lost an opportunity or for some crazy reason made a choice which seemed odd at the time but did so for a purpose. And it seems like baseball and boxing toss out the best ones. No clue why. A guess would be it’s because both sports are really old and been a staple in the American landscape.

Have you heard of Hector Espino? Neither had I prior to two days ago. But a very interesting article from SB Nation writer Eric Nusbaum digs through the life of the great Mexican baseball player that, like the headline reads, is The Unknown Slugger and one “of the greatest hitters in baseball history, yet most Americans know nothing about him.”

Many believe Espino finished his career with somewhere between 755 and 796 professional home runs. He spent a short time in the United States, but went back home shortly after. Nusbaum does an amazing job of uncovering the possible reason why, not the reason many think, as to why he didn’t stay in Florida. He also goes through how the St. Louis Cardinals liked him so much after they won the World Series in 1964 with players still ingrained in the brains of fans like Brock, Gibson, Flood, and Boyer, that they offered Espino a $30,000 contract.

Can you imagine that guy hitting in that lineup? Wow…

Follow the link to read the entire article – THE UNKNOWN SLUGGER

Posted under Sports

* Take a trip with WGEM SportsCenter host, Josh Houchins, as he recaps the weekend in his own weird way. And make sure to follow him on Twitter.

* Stupid Orb. Thanks for ruining my day on wondering if we’ll have a shot at a Triple Crown for horse racing this year. I HAVE NO CLUE why I like those three races, but I do. It’s seriously the only races I watch all year. Now it will be just two. Sorry, NBC.

* There’s no chance in you-know-where that the Spurs shoot over 50-percent again in a game this series against Memphis. Isn’t that defense just too good? I also gave the Pacers no shot at being where they are right now. I’m only hoping for four more weeks of really solid pro hoops.

* I am always amazed by what high school athletes can do and continue to achieve. Monroe City’s Carly Spalding has had such an awesome career in multiple sports and she finished it this weekend at the state track and field meet. What’s crazy is as she cleaned up with more medals this weekend in track, scored over 1,000 points on the basketball court this winter, yet she’s going to college to play softball. Bravo.

* OK, St. Louis Cardinals fans, if you wanted to see the youngsters … here you go. I am interested in seeing how manager Mike Matheny and company react to the recent news of Jaime Garcia going down with a tear in his left shoulder. You only learn the character of a team (I usually use this line for a person only) in a time of turmoil. The Cardinals are still in first place, but if things start to fade as Pittsburgh and Cincinnati keep pace, watch the heat get turned up on all parties involved … including those swinging the bats.

* How are things different in America than England when it comes to sports? Well, let’s just say it involves a pig’s head. Wow…

* Nothing smacks you straight in the face like watching the wrestlers you idolized and mimicked as kids grow old and have massive problems. Jack “The Snake” Roberts is trying to get clean (Congrats!) and I guess at the same time have fun at Braves games. Well, his singing wasn’t the best (below).

* Justin Bieber is a tool.

* And for the first time in my life I will say I like what Kid Rock says here.

* I always enjoy a good wife-husband beer fight at Wrigley Field.

* And Finally, I headed to St. Louis on Sunday not just to watch the Cardinals beat the Brewers, but to watch the high school baseball team my sister teaches at play following the big boys. Major props to the Cardinals for starting this years ago and continuing it today. It’s such a memory not just for those playing, but for family and friends in attendance. Neat event … even if it was still a 90-degree day by 6 p.m. when it started. I’m still a tad tired.

–HOOCH

Posted under Sports

Every Friday on WGEM SportsCenter I toss out a new Top Ten.

* Top Ten Archive

TOP TEN Rules Broken With Producer Broc On Vacation…

10) Five minutes of unfiltered afternoon Internet search moved up to 10 minutes.

9) No mandatory push-ups when something bad is said about Liberty.

8) The bathroom is now free from 9:30-10:30.

7) He was right that the “Chug a beer every time Hooch messes up” game isn’t a good idea.

6) Everybody’s allowed to take a two-hour Hampy lunch.

5) Allowed to conduct chair races during commercial breaks dressed as Fast & Furious characters. Hooch is always Vin Diesel.

4) Hooch can cuss all he wants in the SportsZone! Nobody to yell “Filter.”

3) The channel can be changed from Judge Judy in the afternoons.

2) Sing-a-longs are encouraged!

1) Cosby Sweater Tuesday is now No Pants Thursday!

Posted under Top Ten

We see one-handed catches all the time in football. Grant Hill’s one-handed alley-opp in the 1991 title game against Kansas still stands out to me. But catching a bird while hunting in the field?

I have no clue if it’s real or fake, but no matter what it’s pretty cool. Oh, and back-up QB Colt McCoy is at the end. Your guess is as good as mine.

Posted under Sports

Maybe something that’s ugly or pretty is truly in the eye of the beholder, but I think everybody will agree that every uniform the Arizona Diamondbacks seem to use are always hideous.

But what team does have the best and worst uniform in Major League Baseball?

ESPN SportsNation is tackling the question right now and we hit it up this morning in ELAM Heating & Air Conditioning’s ”Tuesday Best” segment.

BEST FIVE MLB UNIFORMS

* Chicago Cubs — They have the ability to go classic with the pinstripes (Marissa Miller makes it look even better), and simple with road grays.

* Chicago White Sox – The bold “SOX” is a lot better than the old fat-head guy holding a bat.

* New York Yankees — Pinstripes. Duh.

* Pittsburgh Pirates – Black and rich yellow can turn heads. The cut-off sleeve look hits for them.

* St. Louis Cardinals – The logo is different than on the hat as the birds on the bat will always be classy.

MOST UNDERRATED MLB UNIFORM

* Houston Astros — They needed something fresh and as they moved to the American League and now was the time. Don’t associate the team’s on-the-field ability with its look.

WORST FIVE MLB UNIFORMS

* Arizona Diamondbacks — They have gone through so many different looks that it’s even hard now to remember which one they are sporting now. Maybe the problem is “D-Backs” and “DB” can be made fun of so easily.

* Colorado Rockies – Just wear the black ones all the time.

* Miami Marlins — The new logo reminds me way too much of something Will Ferrell donned as member of the Flint Tropics.

* San Diego Padres — If we knew what their actual team colors were I think it would help.

* Texas Rangers — Did they change the motto to “Everything is more boring in Texas!”

MOST OVERRATED MLB UNIFORM

* Los Angeles Dodgers — I get it that six World Series titles and 21 NL pennants says the uniform shouldn’t matter because it’s classy and a lot of greats have worn it. But when you’re stuck with only blue and white as the team’s colors, lack of creativity is staring you right in the face.

Posted under Sports

* Take a trip with WGEM SportsCenter host, Josh Houchins, as he recaps the weekend in his own weird way. And make sure to follow him on Twitter.

* Major League Baseball has screwed a lot, and I mean A LOT, of things over the years but a few it has perfected involve clothing and accessories. For Jackie Robinson Day it still encourages players to all don No. 42, while on Mother’s Day Sunday you see pink all around the park. From bats to shirts to shoes (above), men wearing pink with red socks (which is a severe fashion faux pas) seems to matter little.

* Speaking of moms, thanks to the Herald-Whig for letting me play along in this weekend’s question.

* Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller had one of the best games I can recall in a long time. It was a performance you cannot script, as nobody says they want to allow an opening hit and then retire 27 straight hitters. But given the fact he did makes it that much better.

* Awesome graphic on what happens to the golf balls at No. 16 at Sawgrass.

* For some reason I trust George Clooney more than many nowadays to provide a solid movie watching experience. So, despite Gravity looking like a long, drawn-out film centered around an accident in outer space, it could be played off extremely well like 127 Hours.

* How do you fix the St. Louis Blues? I know “fix” may be a strong term since they weren’t that bad this season, but some changes need to be made. First and foremost is an offensive piece. If that means lining up someone better next to David Backes or seeing if one of the youngsters can do it, then give it a whirl. Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote a solid piece on it.

* Hahahaha… Lee Westwood may be one of my favorite golfers, but watching him totally whiff on a ball never gets old.

* And Finally, are you ready for some of the best TV episodes ever? Oh, because Game of Thrones is just getting good.

–HOOCH

Posted under Sports

Every Friday on WGEM SportsCenter I toss out a new Top Ten.

* Top Ten Archive

TOP TEN Surprising Plot Twists In The New Iron Man Movie…

10) More about his father and why he goes by Roger Sterling on some show called Mad Men.

9) The high price of iron these days causes Tony Stark to sell everything for scrap.

8) Thirty minutes in the middle has Ben Kingsley reprising his role as Gandhi.

7) Major dispute on whether to put a bathroom in the Iron Man suit or not.

6) Learn why the second film was originally titled Iron Man: When Nature Calls.

5) The bad guy’s only wanting to be loved … like his famous brother.

4) Oh, and the bad guy’s name is Billy Ripken.

3) Does Iron Man’s Facebook status say “Single” or “In a Relationship?” Hmm…

2) Stark retires to become WalMart greeter and Jimmy Butler takes title role.

1) Actually been Iron Woman the entire time.

Posted under Top Ten

* Take a trip with WGEM SportsCenter host, Josh Houchins, as he recaps the weekend in his own weird way. And make sure to follow him on Twitter.

* Joakim Noah had one of the best weekends imaginable. Maybe the dumbest thing to do in sports today is guarantee something. Why? Because the media (and Internet) has that clip saved for later use to make you look like a fool. But, on the occasion it comes true … you could be seen as a stud. And how things are going right now in Chicago with Derrick Rose, that city needs a true fan favorite. Thanks, Noah.

* Oh, and nothing against LeBron James, but I will let Kevin Durant take a last-second shot for my team any day. I understand it’s hard to measure basketball savvy, but I don’t feel there’s another guy in the game today that understands every moment like Durant.

Thanks, Verrazano, for wasting my money. Dumb horse.

* I have watched a lot of dumb movies in my 31 years, but Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter may just take the cake. I was almost insulted that they portrayed Confederate soldiers as vampires. Too dumb to even make sense.

* Placed my first, and most likely ever, bet on a pony this weekend via my cousin who was in attendance for the Kentucky Derby. My horse (right) came in 14th. Learned you don’t make your pick until Saturday morning. Whoops…

* Quincy has always been a soccer town, that I know. But I have never considered the outlying areas as such. Yet, now we have Hannibal, Canton, and Macomb doing good things at the high school level. It’s fun to see.

* And speaking of Rose and the Bulls, I truly think he’s in a lose-lose situation due to the fact if he comes back, his play will never live up to the fans’ expectations and if he doesn’t play, he’s just not on the court so the accusations can fly. Good luck with that one.

* I wish Pearl Jam had a connection to the Arizona Cardinals so they could make a Sunday of it like Metallica did this weekend in San Francisco.

* Fighting in hockey rocks.

* I’m not sure how it’s doing it, but TBS has some of my top 30-minute comedies on right now with Men at Work and Cougar Town.

* And Finally, some performances in Season 3 of Game of Thrones have been amazing, but last night’s episode, “The Climb,” had a few that stood out. Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell steals every scene she is in. Rose Leslie (as Ygritte) makes me stare at the screen due to she’s amazing to look at. And Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger) and Conleth Hill (Lord Varys) seemingly want to dominate every scene each is in together, which is just like their characters who want to have and obtain more power than necessary.

– HOOCH

Posted under Sports

Every Friday on WGEM SportsCenter I toss out a new Top Ten.

* Top Ten Archive

TOP TEN Reasons To Watch Quincy’s Dogwood Parade Live On WGEM TV…

10) New 3-D TV makes it feel like the Shriners are driving their cars right into your living room!

9) Easier to live tweet an event by just watching from home.

8) You can mute it and listen to DJ Hampy’s radio call. “Here’s the QHS band … SPLASHDOWN!”

7) You don’t need medicated shots to watch the Green Parrot girls on TV.

6) It’s always sunny and above 70 when sitting in your recliner.

5) The rain and humidity always does wonders with Rich Cain’s beard.

4) Ever sense the incident of ’99, not allowed to walk the parade in underwear and wife beater T anymore.

3) You throw yourself cash at home instead of candy.

2) Seeing road apples is a heck of a lot better than smelling road apples.

1) Means you get another day of Natalie Will in the morning. Duh!!

Posted under Top Ten

Instead of trying to see which team moves up or down the most after a mere few games, I decided to create a set of rankings after each month.

All records through May 1

1) Atlanta Braves (17-10)

Justin Upton just had one of the best Aprils of all-time.

2) Boston Red Sox (19-8)

3) Texas Rangers (17-10)

4) St. Louis Cardinals (16-11)

5) Oakland Athletics (16-13)

6) Colorado Rockies (17-11)

7) Baltimore Orioles (16-12)

8) Milwaukee Brewers (14-12)

9) Kansas City Royals (15-10)

10) Pittsburgh Pirates (16-12)

11) New York Yankees (17-10)

12) Detroit Tigers (15-11)

13) San Francisco Giants (16-12)

14) Arizona Diamondbacks (15-13)

15) Cincinnati Reds (15-14)

Pujols + Hamilton = below average so far.

16) Los Angeles Dodgers (13-14)

17) Washington Nationals (14-14)

18) Tampa Bay Rays (12-15)

19) Philadelphia Phillies (12-16)

20) Cleveland Indians (12-13)

21) Minnesota Twins (12-12)

22) Chicago Cubs (11-16)

23) Chicago White Sox (11-15)

24) New York Mets (11-15)

25) San Diego Padres (10-17)

26) Seattle Mariners (13-17)

27) Los Angeles Angels (10-17)

28) Toronto Blue Jays (10-18)

29) Houston Astros (8-20)

30) Miami Marlins (8-20)

Posted under Sports