Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 7/31/2008

7/31/1979:
Baltimore first baseman Eddie Murray, destined to hit more grand-slam homers than any other switch hitter in history (19), clinches a 9-5 victory for the Orioles over the Brewers at County Stadium with a ninth-inning four-run wallop off Reggie Cleveland. It's the fourth grand-slam hit by the Orioles in the last nine days, Pat Kelly, John Lowenstein and Lee May all found the range starting July 23, and before the year is out Doug DeCinces, Rick Dempsey and Billy Smith will also clout Baltimore grand slams. This would help to explain, in part, why the Orioles emerge as American League champions.

Birthdays:
Curt Gowdy b. 1919
Hank Bauer b. 1922
Vic Davalillo b. 1936
Evonne Goolagong Cawley b. 1951
Kevin Greene b. 1962

1990:
The indefatigable pitcher Nolan Ryan won his 300th career game as the Texas Rangers beat the Brewers, 11-3, at Milwaukee's County Stadium.

"Four thousand eight hundred ninety-six and two thirds innings after his first major league win, a shutout for the Mets, Nolan Ryan has become larger than life. ... Like the budget deficit, though, he should have been a national fixation long before the numbers got so gaudy." -Steve Rushin, August 13, 1990

Packers Fact:
The Packers obtained quarterback Brett Favre for a first-round draft choice in 1992 from the Atlanta Falcons.

POETRY

This beautifully illustrated anthology is emphatically not a celebrity showpiece, and, like the best children’s books, it is not for children alone. Kennedy’s choices show a thoughtful, intelligent organization, a true love of poetry, and a broad range that covers classics (Wallace Stevens, A. A. Milne, Lewis Carroll, e. e. cummings, and many, many more) as well as nonsense rhymes and lesser-known beauties translated into English. Muth’s watercolors glow and shimmer. Truly a book to treasure and share through the generations.

A FAMILY OF POEMS: MY FAVORITE POETRY FOR CHILDREN, by Caroline Kennedy; illustrated by Jon Muth (Hyperion, 2005)