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The legendary Rickwood Area in Birmingham, Alabama, was the positioning of Main League Baseball on Thursday night time, and the Negro Leagues had been on the high of the agenda given the significance of the diamond to its historical past.
The Fox Sports activities panel of Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter and host Kevin Burkhardt mentioned the magnitude of the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants enjoying in Rickwood, particularly contemplating the lack of MLB Corridor of Famer Willie Mays on Tuesday night time, when he performed on the sphere with the Birmingham Black Barons.
Nevertheless, after we speak about nice gamers from the Negro Leagues, I at all times consider the nice Satchel Paige. He was a Black Barons pitcher to start out his skilled profession earlier than lastly breaking into the MLB late in his profession.
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Pittsburgh Pirates Barry Bonds, #24, batting towards the San Diego Padres. San Diego. (Richard Mackson/Sport Illustrated by way of Getty Pictures)
The panel was joined by Barry Bonds, the league’s all-time residence run chief, Mays’ godson, and Ken Griffey Jr. Jeter determined to ask Bonds a query.
“Inform me proper now, what would you do about Satchel Paige?” Jeter requested Bonds.
The person who launched 762 residence runs in his profession over 22 seasons did not hesitate. In truth, he was jokingly insulted, which Jeter would even ask.
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“Me?! Out,” he mentioned shortly, inflicting the remainder of the panel to chuckle. “You’ve got misplaced your thoughts, Jeter. Away. It is easy. Away. Examine it on ESPN.
“You need to imagine in your self. If I do not imagine in me, who will imagine in me?”
Griffey mentioned he would have taken a special route if he confronted Paige, a person who was rumored to hit 105 mph along with his fastball and persistently attain triple figures earlier than it turned widespread in right this moment’s trendy period .
Satchel Paige of the Monarchs, left, talks with Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays earlier than a sport in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri, in 1941. (Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Pictures)
“I am dragging,” Griffey mentioned, smiling. “We will the primary race.”
Paige was simply 20 years outdated when he broke out for the Black Barons in 1927 and boasted a 2.39 ERA over 20 video games (10 begins). It wasn’t till 1933 that the 26-year-old posted a league-best 1.94 ERA in his first All-Star season with the Pittsburgh Crawfords within the Negro Nationwide League II.
In 1948, on the age of 42, Paige made his debut with the then-Cleveland Indians, which stays the oldest debut in MLB historical past. Paige would earn a 2.48 ERA in 72.2 innings that season and adopted it up with a 3.04 ERA in 31 video games in 1949.
Nevertheless, the sweet-swinging Bonds seems like Paige’s warmth would not have fazed him.
Bonds’ profession statistics are scarred by his admitted steroid use. Nevertheless, he was nonetheless among the finest to ever step foot within the batter’s field, as his quick bat may ship a baseball flying nearly wherever in any ballpark.
Barry Bonds, left, was fairly assured when requested if he would hit one of many best pitchers of all time, Satchel Paige. (Getty Pictures)
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In fact, we’ll by no means know what that match would seem like in actual life, however it’s truthful to say that Paige would most likely be assured in his skills, similar to Bonds.
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Scott Thompson is a sports activities author for Fox Information Digital.
Barry Bonds offers a hilarious reply when Derek Jeter asks what would occur if he confronted Satchel Paige
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