Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/30/2012

(Wow, three Cubs facts this week!)

3/30/1992:
The Cubs trade George Bell to the White Sox for Sammy Sosa and Ken Patterson. it doesn't look like much at the time, but the Cubs strike gold with this transaction. Bell is still a productive hitter in 1992, while Sosa is a struggling youngster who seems to be regressing in his development. In 1991, with the Sox, Sosa hit only .203 with 10 homers in 316 at bats and struck out 98 times while drawing only 14 walks. He is only 23 when the Cubs acquire him, however, and he becomes one of the best players of his generation. Bell plays only two more seasons after being traded for Sosa, mostly as a designated hitter.

Birthdays:
Ripper Collins b. 1904
Willie Galimore b. 1935
Jerry Lucas b. 1940
Dave Ellett b. 1964
Toby Gowin b. 1975

STRANGER THAN FICTION

The true story of James Annesley reads like fiction. No wonder Robert Louis Stevenson helped himself to the details of his life when he wrote Kidnapped. Annesley was neglected by his father, declared illegitimate by his uncle, and finally kidnapped by cronies of his uncle and shipped to America as an indentured servant. Does Annesley make it back to Ireland to reclaim his earldom? Find out via swashbuckling history at its best.

BIRTHRIGHT: THE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED KIDNAPPED, by A. Roger Ekirch (Norton, 2010)