centerfield maz

(A break from baseball) as a huge fan of the Odd Couple original TV series, as well as Happy Days it is with sadness we learn of the passing of one of TV's greatest all time character actors: the Great Al Moliaro............ Umberto Francesa Molinaro was born on June 24th 1919 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In English his name translates to Francis Albert Molinaro which he became known as Al. He was one of ten children born to Italian immigrants, who were prominent in the Italian Community of Kenosha. His father owned a restaurant / tavern & helped fund hundreds of Italian immigrants in coming legally over to America. After getting married he moved to California & worked as a collection agent as well as a realtor. A real estate investment that became a large retail shopping mall made him wealthy enough to peruse his dream as an actor. In the sixties he had minor roles on Bewitched (1971 episode- Bewitched, Bothered & Baldoni. where he plays a guide in Rome), Green Acr...

Christopher Adrian Collabello was born on October 24th 1983 in Framingham, Massachusetts. He grew up in Rimini Italy, located on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. His mother Silvanna was originally born in Rimini & his father Lou played baseball in Italy for seven seasons. In 1984 he was part of Team Italy's baseball team. Collabello went to high school in Massachusetts & attended Assumption College there but was not drafted by any MLB team. He began a baseball career in the Independent Cam Am League from 2005 - 2011. In 2012 he signed with the Minnesota Twins as a free agent playing at AA New Britain. In 2013 he was the AAA Player of the Year hitting .352 with 24 HRs & 76 RBIs in 89 games. He had a short stay in the big leagues with the Twins that season as well. He made his MLB debut in May of 2013 & hit .194 in 55 games at that level. He started getting offers from the Korean Baseball League but did not want to give up his dream to pla...

James Ray Tatum was born on October 9th 1967 in Grossmont, California.  He is the only player to ever come from Grossmont. The six foot two, right hand hitter was signed by the San Diego Padres in the third round of the 1985 amateur draft. In 1992 he was selected by the Colorado Rockies as the 44th overall pick in the expansion draft. Tatum spent seven years in the minor leagues, before getting a big league promotion, missing all of 1989. At AAA Denver in 1992 he hit .329 with 36 doubles & 101 RBIs, earning himself a September call up. In 1993 he played a career high 92 games & led the majors with 17 pinch hits, but hit just .204. In 1996 he played for the Boston Red Sox (two games) & San Diego Padres at the big league level. Tatum played 14 years in the minor leagues, hitting .292 with 1318 hits 22 HRs  275 doubles & 152 RBIs. In 1998, Tatum signed as a free agent with the New York Mets. Tatum debuted on Opening Day as a pinch hitter in the Mets 1-...

Richard William Marquard was born on October 9, 1886 in Cleveland, Ohio. Marquad was the son of an Ohio engineer. He grew up making a name for himself pitching on the sandlots of Cleveland. He pitched in organized ball until he was 18 years old, against his parents' wishes he signed a contract with the New York Giants who out bid his home town Cleveland Indians. He earned the nickname "Rube" because he looked like the great pitcher Rube Wadell. The six foot three inch, pitcher threw left handed but batted right handed. He was tall & so skinny, one paper commented, that he looked like the number one on that mound. He arrived with the Giants in late 1908 just in time to witness the famous “Merkles Boner” game from the bench. He made his debut a few days later at the Polo Grounds. He hit the first batter he faced, walked the next two & then gave up a grand slam HR. It was not a good start & the fans let him have it. He was quickly labeled "the $1...