The 2008 Hall Of Fame Veterans Committee -- Ballot Details

Rounding up some details about this year's HOF VC elections, both the pre-1943 and post-1943 ballots.

The Pre-1943 Ballot

Ballot composition: The ten candidates were selected by a Historical Overview Committee, appointed by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The 11 representatives of this committee, all longtime members of the BBWAA, included Dave Van Dyck, Bob Elliott, Rick Hummel, Steve Hirdt, Moss Klein, Bill Madden, Ken Nigro, Jack O'Connell, Nick Peters, Tracy Ringolsby, and Mark Whicker.

The electorate: The Hall Board has appointed 12 representatives to the VC subcommittee that will vote this ballot. This includes seven Hall Of Famers -- Bobby Doerr, Ralph Kiner, Phil Niekro, Robin Roberts, Duke Snider, Don Sutton and Dick Williams; and five baseball historians -- Furman Bisher, Roland Hemond, Steve Hirdt, Bill Madden and Claire Smith.

Chances for nepotism: Not much. Doerr was a teammate of candidate Ferrell for one season (1937, Doerr's rookie year) and candidate Stephens for four (1948-51). None of the other HOF voters on this subcommittee were teammates of, or managed, any of the candidates.

The Post-1943 Ballot

Ballot composition: Two lists were drafted to compile the ballot. The BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee (same 11-seat committee as above) selected 20 names. A Hall Board-appointed, second committee (six HOFers, identified representatives unknown) drafted a second list of five candidates. Merging these two draft lists resulted in 21 initial candidates. The living HOFers then served as a Screening Committee to reduce the final ballot to ten candidates.

The culled candidates: Ken Boyer (2007 review), Bert Campaneris, Rocky Colavito (2007 review), Mike Cuellar, Steve Garvey, Ted Kluszewski, Mickey Lolich (2007 review), Roger Maris (2007 review), Lee May, Minnie Minoso (2007 review), Thurman Munson (2007 review).

Of the players I've reviewed before, I support Boyer (after Santo gets in!) and Minoso, but I'm not hardline about either of them.

Of the others -- Campaneris, Cuellar, Garvey, Kluszewski, and May -- I haven't time (or need) to review them now. Garvey dropped off the BBWAA Hall ballot after the 2007 election, and I was glad to see his candidacy window expire, because he was always knocking around in the 20-25% range and, to the point, I don't think his career was Hall-worthy. In a general sense, I think the screening process did about the best it could in coming up with the ten candidate names, and bypassing these eleven others.

Results from both ballots will be announced on December 8, 2008.

The 2008 Hall Of Fame Veterans Committee Modern Era (Post-1942 Debut) Ballot -- Candidate Reviews

And now, a look at the ten candidates on the ballot. It turns out that all ten have been on previous Veterans Committee ballots as recently as 2007 (under a differently structured VC), so, since there are likely no reasons for me to deeply reconsider my reviews from then, I expect there won't be much new to say. Links to the 2007 reviews are provided.

I have added one feature -- living Hall Of Fame associates (mostly teammates, but also managers over the candidates or HOFers managed by the candidates, if applicable). Since the voting electorate for this ballot will be the living HOF members (currently 64 in number), it might be interesting to see who among them have direct experience with the candidates, and may automatically have their backs (or, if they didn't get along, may be ready with the long knives).

Last note, an asterisk (*) by one of a candidate's teams is the one I think would be represented on his plaque cap, should he be elected.


1. Dick Allen (reviewed in 2007)

Primary position: third base early in his career, first base later.
Playing career: 15 seasons, 1963-77 -- *Philadelphia Phillies 1963-69 & '75-76, St. Louis Cardinals 1970, Los Angeles Dodgers 1971, Chicago White Sox 1972-74, Oakland Athletics 1977.
Standout season: 1972 (.308/.420/.603, 90 runs, 156 hits, 28 doubles, 37 HR, 113 RBI, 19 SB, 199 OPS+.)
Other noteworthy seasons: 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1974.
Career highlight stat: 351 HR, 156 OPS+.
Honoraria and statistical crowns: 1972 AL MVP, 1964 NL ROY, seven All-Star selections (five starts), OBP twice, SLG three times, Runs once, HR twice, RBI once, walks once, OPS+ three times.

BBWAA voting: 14 ballots, peaking at 18.9%.
VC voting: 2003, 16.0%; 2005, 15.0%; 2007, 13.4%.
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (8): Lou Brock (1 season), Jim Bunning (4), Steve Carlton (3), Bob Gibson (1), Goose Gossage (3), Fergie Jenkins (2), Mike Schmidt (2), Don Sutton (1).
Managed by: Red Schoendienst (1 season).

Dick Allen could hit like thunder. That gets my vote.

Chipmaker's vote: Yes.


2. Gil Hodges (reviewed in 2007)

Primary position: first base.
Playing career: 18 seasons, 1943 & '47-63 -- *Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers 1943 & '47-61, New York Mets 1962-63.
Standout season: 1954 (.304/.373/.579, 106 runs, 176 hits, 42 HR, 130 RBI, 141 OPS+.)
Other noteworthy seasons: 1951, 1952, 1953.
Career highlight stat: 370 HR.
Honoraria and statistical crowns: eight All-Star selections, three NL Gold Gloves at first base (1957-59), games played twice. Member of two World Series champion teams (1955, 1959) and five other NL champions (1947, '49, '52-53, '56). Jersey #14 retired by the Mets.

BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 63.4% (on his final ballot).
VC voting: 2003, 61.7% (highest return); 2005, 65.0% (tied for highest return); 2007, 61.0%.
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (4): Dick Williams (5 seasons), Sandy Koufax (7), Tommy Lasorda (2), Duke Snider (16).
Managed: Nolan Ryan (4 seasons), Tom Seaver (4).

Baseball bonus points: Hodges was a manager for nine seasons with the Senators and Mets, bringing home the 1969 World Series championship to Queens. Once hit four homers in one game, 1950.

No matter how I look at Hodges, I just cannot see greatness. He's close, yes, but so have been a lot of other guys. The 1969 championship is a huge bonus, but this is a player ballot, so that doesn't really count; and besides, the rest of his managerial career was pedestrian. Granted there's only so much anyone can do with an expansion team, but his other Mets seasons were nothing special -- that 1969 team was lightning in a bottle. I consider Hodges to be, after Santo (whose case may be redressed this time), The Best Player Not In The Hall. It has to be someone, and Hodges is an ideal office-holder.

He likely will get a plaque someday, more on the basis of his entire career and contributions to baseball than for any one role. This happens, and I'm okay with it. But assessing him as a player, for me he falls just short.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


3. Jim Kaat (reviewed in 2007)
Primary position: left handed starting pitcher, though moved to reliever late in his career.
Playing career: 25 seasons, 1959-83 -- Washington Senators/*Minnesota Twins 1959-73, Chicago White Sox 1973-75, Philadelphia Phillies 1976-79, New York Yankees 1979-80, St. Louis Cardinals 1980-83.
Standout season: 1966 (25-13, 304.2 IP, 205 K, 2.75 ERA, 131 ERA+).
Other noteworthy seasons: 1962, 1973, 1974.
Career highlight stat: 283 wins.
Honoraria and statistical crowns: three All-Star selections, 1966 The Sporting News AL Pitcher Of The Year, 16 (!) Gold Gloves at pitcher (1962-77, 14 AL, 2 NL), wins once, complete games once, shutouts once. Three 20+ win seasons. Member of the 1982 World Series champion Cardinals, and three other postseason teams (actually a few more, but didn't play in October). If there had been separate Cy Young Awards for each league in 1966, he'd probably have won the AL award (Koufax got the single CYA). His 25 seasons played shared the record for longest career until Ryan surpassed it.

BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 29.6%.
VC voting: 2005, 53.8%; 2007, 63.4%.
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (8): Rod Carew (7 seasons), Carlton (4), Gossage (5), Reggie Jackson (2), Harmon Killebrew (15), Schmidt (4), Ozzie Smith (2), Bruce Sutter (3).
Managed by: Schoendienst (1 season).

Yes, he's got the big wins total, one verging tantalyzingly close to 300, hovering near John and Blyleven. This, however, is the only thing these three men have in common. Kaat never had any great seasons -- some very good ones, some average ones, some weak ones, but no great ones. (Blyleven had several.) And I'm not overlooking the collection of Gold Gloves, but that was never enough to convince the writers (not even 1/3 of them!) to vote for Kitty, so I cannot see that it would be a bigger deal today.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


4. Tony Oliva (reviewed in 2007)
Primary position: right field, moving to designated hitter for his last three seasons.
Playing career: 15 seasons, 1962-76 -- *Minnesota Twins 1962-76.
Standout season: 1964 (.323/.359/.557, 109 runs, 217 hits, 43 doubles, 9 triples, 32 HR, 94 RBI, 150 OPS+).
Other noteworthy seasons: 1965, 1968, 1971.
Career highlight stat: 1917 hits.
Honoraria and statistical crowns: 1964 AL ROY, eight All-Star selections, one AL Gold Glove for outfield (1966), three AL batting titles, slugging once, runs once, hits five times (two 200+ seasons), doubles four times. Member of the 1965 AL champion and 1969-70 AL West champion Twins. Jersey #6 retired by the Twins.

BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 47.3%.
VC voting: 2003, 59.3% (second highest return); 2005, 56.3%; 2007, 57.3%.
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (2): Carew (10 seasons), Killebrew (13).

Oliva was always at least very good but rarely great. He peaked early, and injuries wore him down -- which is too bad, but that's part of the game.

I line up Oliva right behind Hodges for being The Best Player Not In The Hall.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


5. Al Oliver (reviewed in 2007)
Primary position: center field, then left field, then first base.
Playing career: 18 seasons, 1968-85 -- *Pittsburgh Pirates 1968-77, Texas Rangers 1978-81, Montreal Expos 1982-83, San Francisco Giants 1984, Philadelphia Phillies 1984, Los Angeles Dodgers 1985, Toronto Blue Jays 1985.
Standout season: 1982 (.331/.392/.514, 90 runs, 204 hits, 43 doubles, 22 HR, 109 RBI, 150 OPS+.)
Other noteworthy seasons: 1974, 1976, 1978.
Career highlight stat: 2743 hits.
Honoraria and statistical crowns: seven All-Star selections, three Silver Sluggers (at three different positions – 1980 OF, 1981 DH, 1982 1B), one NL batting title, hits once, doubles twice, RBI once. Two 200+ hit seasons. Member of the 1971 World Series champion Pirates and five other division champion teams.

BBWAA voting: 1 ballot, receiving 4.3%.
VC voting: 2007, 17.1%.
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (7): Bunning (2 seasons), Carlton (1), Gary Carter (2), Jenkins (4), Bill Mazeroski (5), Gaylord Perry (1), Schmidt (1).
Managed by: Lasorda (1 season), Frank Robinson (1).

Baseball bonus points: after leaving Pittsburgh, Oliver wore jersey number 0 (yep, zero), in tribute to his last initial, for the rest of his career. Zero is quite an uncommon number in baseball, so this is worth mentioning.

Only had the one great season, at positions (outfield, first base) where great seasons really are necessary to be considered a serious candidate. Posted a lot of hits, sure, but so have other players. I really try not to put too much emphasis on career milestone numbers (while recognizing that the actual voters certainly do, in some cases), but for Oliver, even if he had reached 3000 hits (which he did not, note), I'm not sure I'd consider him Hall-class. Good player, but not a great one.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


6. Vada Pinson (reviewed in 2007)
Primary position: center field.
Playing career: 18 seasons, 1958-75 -- *Cincinnati Reds 1958-68, St. Louis Cardinals 1969, Cleveland Indians 1970-71, California Angels 1972-73, Kansas City Royals 1974-75.
Standout season: 1963 (.313/.347/.514, 96 runs, 204 hits, 37 doubles, 14 triples, 22 HR, 106 RBI, 27 SB, 142 OPS+.)
Other noteworthy seasons: 1959, 1961.
Career highlight stat: 2757 hits.
Honoraria and statistical crowns: two All-Star selections, one NL Gold Glove for outfield (1961), runs once, hits twice (had four 200+ hit seasons), double twice, triples twice.

BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 15.7%.
VC voting: 2003, 25.9%; 2005, 28.8%; 2007, 19.5%.
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (10): Johnny Bench (2 seasons), George Brett (2), Brock (1), Carlton (1), Orlando Cepeda (1), Robinson (9), Gibson (1), Killebrew (1), Tony Perez (5), Ryan (2).
Managed by: Schoendienst (1 season).

Good but not great outfielder. Good hitting, good defense, good teams, good seasons. All-around good -- but not great.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


7. Ron Santo (reviewed in 2007)
Primary position: third base.
Playing career: 15 seasons, 1960-74 -- *Chicago Cubs 1960-73, Chicago White Sox 1974.
Standout season: 1964 (.312/.398/.564, 94 runs, 185 hits, 33 doubles, 13 triples, 30 HR, 114 RBI, 86 walks, 164 OPS+.)
Other noteworthy seasons: 1965, 1966, 1967, 1972.
Career highlight stat: 342 HR (28th all-time when he retired).
Honoraria and statistical crowns: nine All-Star selections, five NL Gold Gloves at third base, OBP twice, triples once, walks four times. Jersey #10 retired by the Cubs.

BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 43.1% (on his final ballot).
VC voting: 2003, 56.8%; 2005, 65.0% (tied for highest return); 2007, 69.5% (highest return).
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (6): Ernie Banks (12 seasons), Brock (4), Gossage (1), Jenkins (8), Robin Roberts (1), Billy Williams (14).

Great player. Very good hitter with sustained seasons of greatness, excellent defense at a difficult position. Underappreciated in his own time, and still is today, though that iceberg appears slowly to be melting. Santo is, and I have no doubts about this, The Best Player Not In The Hall (eligible or not). And he deserves to lose that title. Just elect the man already.

Chipmaker's vote: Yes, absolutely!


8. Luis Tiant (reviewed in 2007)
Primary position: right handed starting pitcher.
Playing career: 19 seasons, 1964-82 -- Cleveland Indians 1964-69, Minnesota Twins 1970, *Boston Red Sox 1971-78, New York Yankees 1979-80, Pittsburgh Pirates 1981, California Angels 1982.
Standout season: 1968 (21-9, 258.1 IP, 264 K, 1.60 ERA, 186 ERA+).
Other noteworthy seasons: 1972, 1974, 1976.
Career highlight stat: 229 wins.
Honoraria and statistical crowns: three All-Star selections, two AL ERA titles, shutouts three times. Four 20+ win seasons. Member of the 1975 AL champion Red Sox and the 1970 AL West champion Twins teams.

BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 30.9% (on his first ballot).
VC voting: 2005, 25.0%; 2007, 18.3%.
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (12): Luis Aparicio (3 seasons), Carew (2), Cepeda (1), Dennis Eckersley (1), Carlton Fisk (8), Gossage (2), Jackson (3), Jenkins (2), Killebrew (1), Juan Marichal (1), Perry (1), Carl Yastrzemski (8).

Two genuinely great seasons and a bunch of above-average ones. A truly captivating pitcher to watch, no matter what he threw or whatever happened. If entertainment value was part of the Hall's criteria, he'd have been in long ago.

Love the man, El Tiante, but he's just not up there.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


9. Joe Torre (reviewed in 2007)
Primary position: catcher, third base for a bit, first base.
Playing career: 18 seasons, 1960-77 -- Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves 1960-68, *St. Louis Cardinals 1969-74, New York Mets 1975-77.
Standout season: 1971 (.363/.421/.555, 97 runs, 230 hits, 34 doubles, 24 HR, 137 RBI, 171 OPS+.)
Other noteworthy seasons: 1964, 1965, 1966, 1970.
Career highlight stat: 2342 hits.
Honoraria and statistical crowns: 1971 NL MVP, nine All-Star selections, one NL Gold Glove at catcher (1965), one NL batting title, hits once, RBI once.

BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 22.2% (on his final ballot, and right after he led the Yankees to their first championship in 18 years).
VC voting: 2003, 35.8%; 2005, 45.0%; 2007, 31.7%.
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (7): Hank Aaron (9 seasons), Brock (6), Carlton (3), Gibson (6), Phil Niekro (5), Schoendienst (1), Seaver (3).
Managed by: Yogi Berra (1 season), Schoendienst (6).
Managed: Wade Boggs (2 seasons), Niekro (2), Seaver (1), Smith (6).

Baseball bonus points: Torre is now in his 27th season as a major league manager, with the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees, and currently the Dodgers. Won one NL West title in Atlanta (1982) and had much more success with the Yankees (four championships, two other AL titles, ten total AL East titles, two AL wildcards) -- and by the time these ballots are voted, we'll know if he got the 2008 Dodgers into October as well. Once hit into four double plays in one game, each time erasing Mets teammate Felix Millan, wasting his four singles.

Quick aside, Torre managed Seaver, but it was very briefly. Torre was named player-manager of the Mets on 31-May-1977, Seaver was traded to Cincinnati on 15-June, and Torre played his last game on 17-June, getting his official release on 18-June. Seaver started three games under Torre. Of course, they had been teammates since 1975.

Torre was a very good player with one unquestionably great season (which was during his brief tenure as a third baseman). Catcher and 3B are tough positions, and that should cut him a little slack -- but I cannot support Torre for two reasons. One, he's not quite there, though if we squint just a bit and vote Yes there'd be little argument. Two, getting elected to the Hall as a player is not Torre's best destiny. As good as his playing career was, his managing career has been measurably better, and whenever he stands on the manager ballot he will be elected. Four championships (at least) will see to that. I cannot support Player Torre because Manager Torre deserves it more.

Chipmaker's vote: No -- but nominate him as a manager candidate, and I'll be foursquare behind him.


10. Maury Wills (reviewed in 2007)
Primary position: shortstop.
Playing career: 14 seasons, 1959-72 -- *Los Angeles Dodgers 1959-66 & '69-72, Pittsburgh Pirates 1967-68, Montreal Expos 1969.
Standout season: 1962 (.299/.347/.373, 130 runs, 208 hits, 13 doubles, 10 triples, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 104 SB, 100 OPS+, 165 games played.)
Other noteworthy seasons: 1963, 1965.
Career highlight stat: 586 stolen bases.
Honoraria and statistical crowns: 1962 NL MVP, five All-Star selections, two NL Gold Gloves at shortstop (1961-62), triples once, stolen bases six times (consecutive), singles four times. Member of three World Series champion teams (1959, '63, '65) and another NL champion (1966). Holds the major league season record for games played with 165, playing the entire 1962 schedule and the three-game playoff against the Giants. Famously held the modern era season record for stolen bases with 104 (since surpassed), breaking Cobb's 47-year-old mark.

BBWAA voting: 15 ballots, peaking at 40.7%.
VC voting: 2003, 29.6%; 2005, 32.5%; 2007, 40.2%.
Living HOF associates:
Player teammates (6): Bunning (2 seasons), Robinson (1), Koufax (8), Mazeroski (2), Snider (4), Sutton (5).

Baseball bonus points: Wills was a manager for parts of two seasons with the Seattle Mariners. Father of former major league player Bump Wills.

Wills revived the stolen base as a valuable offensive weapon, and the austere run-scoring of the 1960s was the perfect environment for such an effort. But his speed didn't boost his doubles or triples, and he wasn't much of a hitter, league average at best. Wills is more than a one-trick pony, but that one trick is most of his value, and that's not what the Hall looks to honor. Pioneer, maybe; player, no.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


Summing up...

My support goes to Allen and Santo, and I decline to support Torre simply because I consider a future manager-recognition plaque a better, and inevitable, honor for him.

If I could vote only for one, that vote goes to Ron Santo, without hesitation.

I'm not going to make any predictions about these candidates because this is the initial cycle of this particular ballot under the current Veterans Committee format. But I will publicly place a hope -- that at least one player gets inducted, and here my preference, clearly, is for Santo. HOFer Ryne Sandberg, at least, has publicly declared his support and his vote for Santo more than once, and his returns have been appealingly high, so maybe this time he finally gets the red carpet, gilded key, and most importantly, the bronze plaque.

This ballot will be voted later this year and results announced in December at the baseball winter meetings. If all 64 HOFers return ballots, 48 votes will be needed for election, and as voters are limited to no more than four candidates, crunching the math tells us that the maximum possible candidates that could be elected is five. I'm not expecting that many; if any do get elected, I'd guess it will be no more than two, and their names will be Santo, Hodges, or Oliva.

The 2008 Hall Of Fame Veterans Committee Modern Era (Post-1942 Debut) Ballot -- Introduction

The Baseball Hall Of Fame today announced the ten finalists for this December's Veterans Committee ballot for players who made their major league debut later than 1942. The Hall released some other details -- candidates that didn't make the final ballot, review committee members, voters -- that I'll get to as well. No surprises among the names, and I'll do a complete ballot review very soon, but I wanted to toss this out quickly.

The ten candidates:
Dick Allen, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, Al Oliver, Vada Pinson, Ron Santo, Luis Tiant, Joe Torre, and Maury Wills.

I'm certain I've reviewed most if not all of these men previously -- I'm not sure about Oliver -- but they amount to the usual suspects. I am very pleased (but not surprised) that Santo is here, as he is my perpetual sterling candidate, the one I really want to see elected (at long last). Among the others, I don't really see anyone who played at Hall level, though whenever Torre gets on the manager ballot I'll support his candidacy.

Full review coming, of course.

Hurricane Ike, at last

The big story in Texas, and of interest across the land, was Hurricane Ike, which finally made landfall (right into Galveston) around 2:00 am on Saturday morning. It was a Category 2, strong but not dreadnought, but the sheer size of the thing made it very dangerous -- the ocean swell was huge, both due to Ike's size and how long it had been poking along over the Gulf of Mexico.

It's breaking up now, as always happens once these things reach land.

Austin was reasonably well prepared -- plenty of evacuees from the coastal regions in town. Schools let out early on Friday, which I thought was an overreaction but not badly so. I never expected us to get more than wind and rain on Saturday.

Wind, we got -- nothing lashing, just consistent blowing all day, the trees shaking continuously.

But rain? Ha! It was to laff! Not a drop, though we were overcast most of the day. On toward evening, the clouds began breaking up, and we enjoyed the nearly-full moon for a while.

About 20 minutes ago, 11:30-ish pm, the rains finally fell, a good soaking but not fierce. I'm not even sure if this was some lagging outskirts of Ike, or a completely separate system, as rains are falling all over.

So glad I finally got the lawn cut.

The Mayor Of South Austin, Danny Roy Young, 1941-2008

Danny Young was an Austinite in the very fullest sense of the term. He was a musician, he was one of nature's talkers (about anything), and he ran a fun, warmly welcoming restaurant that delivered fine food with the friendliest service.

Sadly, his Texicalli Grille closed in 2007, and though there were mentions that it would reopen in a new location, it never did. Danny apparently enjoyed his retirement from the day-to-day bustle of running a restaurant, and I cannot blame him for that. I really enjoyed dining at the Texicalli -- I was addicted to a particular salad, but on the times I'd opt for a sandwich, I was always satisfied. And the Texicalli always used linen napkins, which is a nice and rare touch. There were no strangers at the Texicalli, nor mere customers -- everyone was a friend. The staff didn't bother bringing me a menu unless I asked, and a glass of ice tea always hit my table within a minute of sitting down. Danny talked to anyone and everyone, either greeting briefly if the place was busy or at length if he had the time, and he was always glad to see everyone. My folks once visited and we took them to the Texicalli, and Danny held court with them for at least half an hour. It was the first restaurant we visited after our daughter was born, and she slept in her carrier while Val and I ate.

We miss the Texicalli, and now we miss Danny as well. He died of a heart attack last week. The food and the music in the great beyond just got better, but life here, in Austin and parts elsewhere, is that much less for his leaving.

An appreciation.

The 2008 Hall Of Fame Veterans Committee Olde Tymers (Pre-1943 Debut) Ballot

Last year, the Baseball Hall Of Fame re-vamped the Veterans Committee, and tasked the new version with voting on four ballots. The third and fourth of these ballots get their first voting cycles this year -- one for players who made their major league debut before 1943, the other for those who debuted in 1943 or later. The Hall recently announced the ten-candidate ballot for the pre-1943 subcommittee. Let's have a look.


1. Bill Dahlen
Primary position: shortstop.

Playing career: 21 seasons, 1891-1911 -- Chicago Colts/Orphans (Cubs) 1891-98, Brooklyn Grooms/Bridegrooms/Superbas (Dodgers) 1899-1903 & 1910-11, New York Giants 1904-07, Boston Braves 1908-09.

Standout season: 1894 (.357/.444/.566, 149 runs, 179 hits, 32 doubles, 15 HR, 107 RBI, 42 SB, 136 OPS+.)

Other noteworthy seasons: 1896, 1898, 1899.

Career highlight stat: 1589 runs scored. Shortstop Range Factor of 5.79, above league average for his career.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: Played most of his career before the big awards were inaugurated. Led the NL in RBI once. Was in the Top Five or Top Ten many other times. Once hit two triples in one inning. Member of the 1905 World Series champion Giants, though he had an awful Series, hitting 0-15 with three walks and one run scored. Also a member of the 1899-1900 NL champion Superbas and the 1904 NL champion Giants, which refused to participate in a World Series.

BBWAA voting: one ballot, peaking at one vote (below 1%).
VC voting: never nominated, 2003-07.

Baseball bonus points: Dahlen was manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1910-13 (technically a player/manager for the first two seasons, but only put himself into four games, so he certainly wasn't abusing the privilege). Results were not impressive, finishing sixth or seventh each season, never getting close to a winning record.

Dahlen was a very good player at a tough position during an era when hitters went for singles and infield defense was difficult under the best of conditions. And it's good to see a real olde tymer on the VC ballot. But Dahlen's era has been pretty well picked over, and while he's not a bad candidate, I cannot see him as a Hall-class one. There's a lot of good to very good in his career record but not enough greatness. Others may disagree.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


2. Wes Ferrell (reviewed in 2007)
Primary position: RH starting pitcher.

Playing career: 15 seasons, 1927-41 -- Cleveland Indians 1927-33, Boston Red Sox 1934-37, Washington Senators 1937-38, New York Yankees 1938-39, Brooklyn Dodgers 1940, Boston Braves 1941.

Standout season: 1930 -- 25-13 (.658), 296.2 IP, 143 K, 3 saves, 1 shutout, 3.31, 146 ERA+.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1932, 1935.

Career highlight stat: 193 wins, .601 winning percentage.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: Two All-Star selections (but did not play either time). Finished second in the 1935 AL MVP voting. Led AL in wins once, innings pitched three times, complete games four times. Numerous other Top Ten finishes in desirable categories. Major league records for home runs by a pitcher in a career (37 of his 38 total) and in a season (9, 1931). Pitched a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns in 1931. Member of the 1938-39 World Series champion Yankees, though he did not play in either Series.

BBWAA voting: four ballots, peaking at 3.6%.
VC voting: 2003, 14.8%; 2005, 11.3%; 2007, 8.5%.

Baseball bonus points: Generally recognized as The Best Hitting Pitcher In Major League History (not named Ruth, anyway). Holds the career record for home runs by a pitcher with 37, including nine in 1931 (yes, Ruth hit hundreds, but very few while playing as a pitcher). Good enough that he was often used as a pinch-hitter. His 1931 batting season is worth including -- .319/.373/.621, 37 hits in 116 AB including six doubles, one triple, nine homers, 24 runs scored, 30 RBI, 151 OPS+. Career lines of .280/.351/.446, 38 HR, 208 RBI, 129 walks. Brother of Rick Ferrell, who is in the Hall Of Fame, though looking over his career record it is difficult to understand why.

Ferrell was a very good pitcher and certainly a workhorse, winning 20+ games six times in an eight year span (1929-36). He mostly played on not very good teams (by the time of his Yankees tenure, he was nearly washed up) and never played in the World Series as a result. He definitely had good stuff (and was a very good fielder), but began losing it at age 29 and was done after 33. So most of his value is packed into those eight years, and while they were very good years, he never really rose to greatness, maybe bumping the underside but not grabbing hold. I think the writers, and the VC, got this one right. Not Hall class. I didn't support him in 2007 and I see no reason to change that opinion.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


3. Joe Gordon (reviewed in 2007)

Primary position: second baseman.

Playing career: 11 seasons, 1938-43 & '46-50 -- New York Yankees 1938-43 & '46, Cleveland Indians 1947-50.

Standout season: 1942 -- .322/.409/.491, 88 runs, 173 hits, 29 doubles, 4 triples, 18 HR, 103 RBI, 79 walks, 155 OPS+.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1940, 1947, 1948.

Career highlight stat: 253 home runs.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: 1942 AL MVP. Collected MVP votes in eight of his 11 seasons, finishing in the Top Ten four other times. Eight consecutive All-Star selections, including five starts. Led AL in games played twice. Held major league record for home runs by a second baseman until HOFer Joe Morgan surpassed him; currently fourth among 2Bmen. Member of six World Series teams, including five champions (1938-39, '41, '43, '48).

BBWAA voting: eleven ballots, peaking at 28.5%.
VC voting: 2003, 23.5%; 2005, 17.5%; 2007, 12.2%.

Baseball bonus points: Gordon was a manager for four different teams over five seasons -- the Cleveland Indians (1958-60), Detroit Tigers (1960), Kansas City Athletics (1961), and first year expansion Kansas City Royals (1969). He wasn't bad at it, brought the Tigers to second place in 1959, there really was nothing to be done with the A's in that era, and a brand new expansion team is typically a disaster. His overall record was almost breakeven (305-308, .498), not at all bad for the circumstances, but clearly this part of his baseball career isn't going to help him get a bronze plaque.

If there had been a Rookie Of The Year Award in 1938, Gordon surely would have won it. He burst into the big leagues and never slowed down, only taking time off to serve two years in the military during WWII. A short career but a brilliant one, at a position not noted (at the time, and still not so much today) for bringing a lot of offensive value to the diamond. Good fielder.

Chipmaker's vote: Yes (still).


4. Sherry Magee

Primary position: left fielder.

Playing career: 16 seasons, 1904-19 -- Philadelphia Phillies 1904-14, Boston Braves 1915-17, Cincinnati Reds 1917-19.

Standout season: 1910 -- .331/.445/.507, 110 runs, 172 hits, 39 doubles, 17 triples, 6 HR, 123 RBI, 49 stolen bases, 94 walks, 174 OPS+.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1907, 1908, 1914, 1918.

Career highlight stat: 166 triples (15th all-time when he retired, 27th now), .364 OBP, 136 OPS+.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: Won the "rates triple crown" (AVG/OBP/SLG) in 1910 in the NL, which is a pretty rare thing. Led in SLG one other time, games played once, runs scored once, hits once, total bases twice, doubles once, RBI four times. Member of the 1919 World Series champion Reds, though he didn't contribute much (one hit in two AB), and the White Sox weren't trying their best to win anyway.

BBWAA voting: seven ballots, peaking at 0.9% (never got more than two votes).
VC voting: never nominated, 2003-07.

Magee makes a good example of a philosophy I try to bring to Hall ballot reviews -- sometimes a man is underappreciated in his own time, and it takes a longer look, later on, along with improved analytical tools, to gain sufficient perspective on just what he did bring to the diamond. Given that the BBWAA voting gave him very short shrift, and previous VC voting didn't even consider him, it is fair to say that Magee has been overlooked.

That, however, doesn't mean he was a Hall-class player. Clearly he was very good -- Magee piled up doubles and triples, which more than compensated for his dearth of homers, part of which was a product of the times and ballparks. He certainly could hit and hit with inside-the-park power, which is generally what corner outfielders are expected to bring. He finished in the league Top Ten in desirable statistics often.

Magee also had awful timing inflicted upon him -- he went from the 1914 Phillies to the 1915 Braves, just missing two World Series appearances. The Phils won the NL in 1915, after he left, and the Braves in 1914, just before he arrived. He finally did get a wee bit of October time in 1919, his last time on the major league diamond; pity that Series is remembered for other, darker reasons.

Magee was a very good hitter (and a decent fielder) with surges of greatness. He wasn't an amazingly great player, but I think he merits a Yes vote here. He would stand well in Cooperstown.

Chipmaker's vote: Yes (though if I had to throw my candidates off the ballot boat, Magee would be the first to go).


5. Carl Mays (reviewed in 2007)

Primary position: RH starting pitcher.

Playing career: 15 seasons, 1915-29 -- Boston Red Sox 1915-19, New York Yankees 1919-23, Cincinnati Reds 1924-28, New York Giants 1929.

Standout season: 1921 -- 27-9, 336.2 IP, 30 complete games, 1 shutout, 7 saves, 70 K, 3.05, 139 ERA+.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1917, 1919, 1920.

Career highlight stat: .622 winning percentage (207-126).

Honoraria and statistical crowns: Led in wins once, games pitched once, saves twice, innings pitched once, complete games twice, shutouts twice. Numerous Top Ten finishes. Won 20+ games five times. Member of four World Series champion teams (1915, 1916, 1918, 1923, though he did not play in the first and last of these) and two other league champions (1921-22).

BBWAA voting: one ballot, peaking at 2.3%.
VC voting: 2003, 19.8%; 2005, 15.0%; 2007, 7.3%.

Mays was a good pitcher with a few very good seasons and flashes of greatness. A reasonably good hitter as pitchers go, and a very good fielder for his position. But he never sustained the greatness that the Hall seeks to honor.

Mays also carries around one of the heaviest spiritual anchors in the history of the game, that of being the man who threw the pitch that lethally injured Ray Chapman. It was an accident, I do think, and though Chapman obviously had the worse outcome, Mays had the unenviable task of living with it. It's understandable that no one really wants to go near him, with that event on his career record.

Anyway... I wasn't a Mays proponent in 2007, and I see no reason to change that now.

Chipmaker's vote: No (and, for me, it has nothing to do with Chapman).


6. Allie Reynolds

Primary position: RH starting pitcher.

Playing career: 13 seasons, 1942-54 -- Cleveland Indians 1942-46, New York Yankees 1947-54.

Standout season: 1952 -- 20-8, 244.1 IP, 24 complete games, 6 shutouts, 6 saves, 160 K, 2.06, 162 ERA+.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1947, 1951.

Career highlight stat: .630 winning percentage (182-107).

Honoraria and statistical crowns: Six All-Star selections (playing in two), AL MVP votes in five seasons, once finishing second and another time third. Led AL in ERA once, strikeouts twice, shutouts twice, numerous other Top Ten finishes in the good categories. Member of six World Series teams (1947, '49-53), all champions, and he was a strong contributor (7-2, 2.79 in 15 games, 9 starts). Threw two no-hitters in 1951, against Cleveland in July and Boston in September.

BBWAA voting: twelve ballots, peaking at 33.6%.
VC voting: 2003, 19.8%.

Reynolds was a good pitcher for most of his career but had only one truly great season, and I really like seeing great seasons rather than just looking at career summary stats. I'm also not big on pitcher's wins, but given that he only won 20 (and that time, exactly 20) despite having the powerhouse, repeat champion Yankees behind him, it rather underscores that Reynolds was not an elite level player. The Hall seeks greatness; the level of good that Reynolds delivered is an asset on the field but really does not measure up to what belongs in Cooperstown.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


7. Vern Stephens

Primary position: shortstop.

Playing career: 15 seasons, 1941-55 -- St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles 1941-47 & '53-55, Boston Red Sox 1948-52, Chicago White Sox 1953 & '55.

Standout season: 1949 -- .290/.391/.539, 113 runs, 177 hits, 31 doubles, 39 HR, 159 RBI, 101 walks, 138 OPS+.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1943, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1950.

Career highlight stat: 247 home runs, which was a lot coming from a shortstop.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: Eight All-Star selections (played in six), including two starts. AL MVP votes in nine different seasons, finishing in the Top Ten six times, peaking at third. Led in games played twice, home runs once, RBI three times, various Top Ten rankings. Member of the 1944 AL champion Browns.

BBWAA voting: never nominated.
VC voting: never nominated, 2003-07.

Stephens puzzles me. He was never nominated to the BBWAA Hall ballot, and in the 1960s, when he first would have been eligible, everyone got on the ballot. In the 1962 vote, 77 different players got at least one vote, and Stephens was not among them. I don't know how or why this happened. Clearly he has been overlooked by history, never to get on the ballot.

But he's not a better player now than then -- we just understand his career better. Stephens has a heap of All-Star selections and MVP votes, so certainly he was bringing something good to the diamond that contemporary writers and fans were seeing in a positive light. At the time of his retirement, he had the most home runs by a shortstop, and he held this mark by a huge margin (almost +80, going by career totals, strict position data not being available).

Stephens was no Honus Wagner, but in the annals of shortstops, he deserves to rank not too far behind the Dutchman, both at the time of his retirement and up to today. Somewhat similar to Gordon -- short career, but brilliant.

Chipmaker's vote: Yes.


8. Mickey Vernon (reviewed in 2007)

Primary position: first baseman.

Playing career: 20 seasons, 1939-43 & '46-60 -- Washington Senators 1939-43, '46-48, & '50-55, Cleveland Indians 1949-50 & '58, Boston Red Sox 1956-57, Milwaukee Braves 1959, Pittsburgh Pirates 1960.

Standout season: 1953 -- .337/.403/.518, 101 runs, 205 hits, 43 doubles, 11 triples, 15 HR, 115 RBI, 63 walks, 149 OPS+.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1946, 1954, 1955, 1956.

Career highlight stat: 2495 hits, .359 OBP.

Honoraria and statistical crowns: Seven All-Star selections, including four starts. AL MVP votes in five different seasons, with three Top Ten finishes, peaking at third. Two AL batting titles, led in doubles three times, numerous Top Ten finishes (except in homers -- peaked at eighth, once). A bit player on the 1960 World Series champion Pirates, though he didn't play in that postseason. Still holds the major league record for most double plays participated in defensively, with 2044.

BBWAA voting: fifteen ballots, peaking at 24.9% (on his final ballot).
VC voting: 2007, 17.1%.

Baseball bonus points: Vernon was a manager for the second, expansion Senators for two seasons and part of a third, 1961-63. They were a disaster, something of a tradition for both expansion teams and Washington baseball. There's only so much even a brilliant manager can do in such situations, and it certainly doesn't improve Vernon's candidacy.

Vernon had a very long career -- twenty seasons, plus two years away in military service, is rare in any era. As a first baseman, he needed to bring power, and though he played in tough home parks (mainly Griffith Stadium in Washington, a notoriously difficult hitter's park), he really didn't bring enough power often. A few great seasons but not nearly enough. Durable is good, greatness is much better. I didn't support him in 2007 and am going to repeat that here.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


9. Bucky Walters

Primary position: RH starting pitcher, though he started out as a third baseman for his first four seasons.

Playing career: 19 seasons, 1931-48 & '50 -- Boston Braves 1931-32 & '50, Boston Red Sox 1933-34, Philadelphia Phillies 1934-38, Cincinnati Reds 1938-48.

Standout season: 1939 -- 27-11, 319.0 IP, 31 complete games, 2 shutouts, 137 K, 2.29, 168 ERA+.

Other noteworthy seasons: 1940, 1944, 1945.

Career highlight stat: 242 complete games (in 398 starts).

Honoraria and statistical crowns: 1939 NL MVP. MVP votes in four other seasons, including finishing third and fifth. Six All-Star selections, including one start. Led in wins three times, ERA twice, innings pitched three times, strikeouts once, complete games three times, shutouts once -- including the pitcher's triple crown (wins, ERA, K) in 1939. Member of the 1939 NL champion and 1940 World Series champion Reds.

BBWAA voting: thirteen ballots, peaking at 23.7%.
VC voting: never nominated, 2003-07.

Baseball bonus points: Walters was manager of the Reds for part of 1948 and all of 1949, finishing seventh both times. He's not on the ballot as a manager candidate (good call, that), and this doesn't at all improve his baseball record, but it is worth noting.

It's a good thing Walters got moved to the mound, because he was no hitter at all and not particularly distinguished at fielding the hot corner (his lifetime .243/.286/.344 is pretty good for a pitcher, but for a 3Bman, that's ugly). A couple of great seasons, definitely a big part of the Reds winning the NL in two consecutive seasons, but there's a lot of mediocre or league-average seasons mixed in as well. If Walters had sustained a few more very good seasons -- not 1939 level, but better than what he did do -- I'd be inclined to support his candidacy. Given what he did do, I cannot. That MVP Award and All-Star selections are the right amount of honors for him.

Chipmaker's vote: No.


10. Deacon White

Primary position: catcher through 1879, third baseman after that, but also played right fielder, first baseman, and even pitched twice.

Playing career: 20 seasons, 1871-90 -- Cleveland Forest Citys (National Association) 1871-72, Boston Red Stockings (NA) 1873-75, Chicago White Stockings (Cubs) 1876, Boston Red Caps (Braves) 1877, Cincinnati Reds 1878-80, Buffalo Bisons 1881-85 (National League), Detroit Wolverines 1886-88 (NL), Pittsburgh Alleghenys (Pirates) 1889, Buffalo Bisons (Players League) 1890.

Standout season: 1877 -- .387/.405/.545, 51 runs, 103 hits, 14 doubles, 11 triples, 2 HR, 49 RBI, 191 OPS+ (in 59 games).

Other noteworthy seasons: 1873, 1875, 1876, 1879, 1884.

Career highlight stat: 2066 hits (in 1560 games).

Honoraria and statistical crowns: Rates triple crown (AVG/OBP/SLG) in 1877. Another batting title in 1875. Led in hits once, triples once, RBI three times, plus numerous Top Ten finishes in various positive stats. Member of six league champion teams (Red Stockings 1873-75, including the amazing 71-8 team in '75, White Stockings 1876, Red Caps 1877, and Wolverines 1887).

BBWAA voting: never nominated (no surprise, given the era in which he played).
VC voting: never nominated, 2003-07.


Baseball bonus points: White was a player/manager, very briefly, in 1872 and 1879, compiling a 9-11 record. Just tossin' it in there. White also holds the distinction of recording the first ever major league hit, doubling to lead off the top of the first on 04-May-1871.

To me, White is a perfect candidate for the pre-1943 debut ballot -- it should be used to unearth, evaluate, and recognize really olde-tymers, not guys who just scrape by the ballot cutoff by virtue of debuting in, oh, 1940 or so. Of these ten candidates, six debuted in 1927 or later, so the BBWAA ballot certainly has had its chances at them, as well as the various iterations of the VC; not that they're not worthy of evaluating again, certainly they are (even those whom have been rejected decisively, multiple times), but the pre-1943 ballot is the only doorway left for the 19th century men. White dates back to the very beginnings of major league baseball, having played in the 1871 National Association.

White's positional versatility is something rarely seen, certainly not today (maybe Craig Biggio). The game was different back then, at least how it was played and approached (the parts about hit the ball, catch the ball, throw the ball, score runs is still the same). White wasn't a great fielder anywhere, but he made up for it with his bat. The man could HIT. Seasons were shorter back in White's era -- he only played 100+ games in four seasons, and for the first time in 1884 -- but he made the most of them. Rate stats tell us what counting stats cannot, due to lack of opportunity, and White's rates are very impressive indeed, often rising to the level of greatness I think belongs in the Hall. I don't think there are many unearthed gems left in the deeps of baseball history, few injustices where men have been overlooked, but here is one of those few.

Chipmaker's vote: Yes.


Summing up...

My votes would go to Gordon, Magee, Stephens, and White.

I'm not going to make any predictions about the voting for these candidates because this is the initial cycle of this particular ballot under the current Veterans Committee format. But I will publicly place a hope -- that at least one player gets inducted, and here my preference would be for Gordon or White first.

This ballot will be voted in December at the baseball winter meetings, with the results announced a day later. The Hall will have a second VC ballot to announce sometime soon, that of players who debuted in 1943 or later, and here I hope that Ron Santo gets named on the ballot and then, long overdue but still a welcome result, gets elected as part of the Class of 2009. I'll review that ballot when it is announced, and as for Santo -- we'll see.

The Road Trip, part 22 and last

Day 21 -- Van Horn to Austin, home at last

While Val was outside prepping the car, Carson awoke, sat up, and asked, "who put me in this hotel?"

On the road again, the very tail end of the Rockies finally petered out in west Texas, leaving little more geography than shallow plateaus and long valleys, through which I-10 plowed placidly. We cruised along, making good time, a little over 450 miles to make on the day. The terrain was repetitive and, other than stopping for gas, we had little interest in anything but getting home to Austin.

And then we approached mile 285 (I-10 counts upward going east). Somewhere around here, we spotted wind turbines to the north, atop the ridges and plateaus, and most of them were in service, spinning languidly. At first glance, I counted 18 turbine towers.

Then we spotted more to the south, a bit more distant.

And then, passing around one ridge to the north, we spotted more turbines. MANY more. We quickly abandoned all intents of counting them -- this wind farm was MASSIVE. Ridge after ridge, plateau after plateau was topped with multiple turbines, most rotating. We saw more to the north, where the ridges happened to be closer to the highway, but there were plenty to the south as well. At a guess, we saw over 300 towers, and no doubt there are more of them further distant, beyond the sightlines of the interstate.

Wow. We buy green wind power through the Austin power utility. It costs a bit more today, but locks in our rate for 15 years, and it almost certainly is coming from this huge wind farm. I thought it a beautiful thing to see. And, clearly, it is growing. As we drove along I-10, we saw several components going the opposite way -- two turbine blades, one spindle nose cone, one blade rotor, two spindle housings, and probably we missed other parts as stretches of highway went behind rock formations. Seeing the parts up close, driving by, gives a better sense of scale than the working turbines in the distance, and they are huge.

The wind farm finally appeared to end after at least 25 miles along the highway.

We broke for a late lunch, then made our final push. Finally leaving I-10, with about 110 miles to go, our last road into Austin was Route 290. This winds through Texas Hill Country, through historic (and touristy) Fredericksburg, where we picked peaches, and Johnson City. Along the way is the Lyndon Baines Johnson National Historical Park, the ranch of the former president, now complete since the mansion was handed over to the National Park Service after the death of former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson in 2007. The park officially opens on August 27, 2008, the 100th birthday of the late president. We haven't visited since before Lady Bird died, and so haven't seen the mansion. Maybe some day soon, but certainly not today. Home awaits.

We reached Austin at last, and of course -- and especially being a Friday evening -- the traffic immediately got wretched. I had wan hopes of getting to our post office to pick up the mail, but we missed it by 15 minutes. I made a quick stop for a gallon of milk, a necessity for sure, and made the final turns toward home. Not 100 feet from our driveway, we encountered one of our favorite neighborhoodies, Miss Ruth, who walks about several times daily, treating pets and wild animals on her travels. (Twilight knows her on sight and is an unabashed mooch for kibble.) We spoke a few minutes, general catching-up, then, at last, pulled into our driveway and parked,. Ruth joined us and talked some more. Twilight mooched kibble by acting cute. Central Texas got some rain while we were away (including today), and the withered lawn we had left behind was deep green if not quite lush. I'm going to have to pull out the mower sooner than I expected.

Val and I unloaded everything into a heap in the living room, turning the Civic back into a passenger car again. Still have to take the roof racks off, and it needs a good washing and has earned an oil change soon. Final tally: 3601 miles, almost all in the service of the trip, getting from here to there and back again. Incidental side trips were few. Good little Civic!

Unpacked, kids bathed, one by one we drifted off to sleep. In a rare turn of events, I was the first one down.

And that was our summer road trip. Nothing drastic, nothing transformative, just a good time, fun, with interesting but mercifully uneventful journeying, flexible (we didn't execute at least half of our original plans, but that was fine by all), and more relaxing than not, seeing a generous amount of the large and varied place that is America.

(General note: now that the text is complete, I'll be going back, adding pictures (we have over 1500 to sort through), links, and some basic editorial cleanup. So this entire series will end up richer in detail, but I hope you've enjoyed it so far.)

The Road Trip, part 21

Day 20 -- Tucson to Van Horn, Texas

With a long driving day (and possibly a night) ahead of us, we bade our good-byes, took some pictures, and hit the road around 10:00 am, which for us is getting a move on rather early. Bruegger's was the site of our final stop in Tucson, taking a late breakfast with Aunt Mary, who gave the kids a ride in her convertible for some last-minute fun. And then, we departed, heading a few miles south to get on I-10, which would take us most of the way home.

We did stop in Willcox (Exit 340 -- this is important if anyone wants to also make this stop, as signs are sparse, and if you miss it eastbound, turning around is difficult for several miles) at Stout's Apple Mill for some of Val's fondly-remembered apple pies. Both the standard and Dutch (crumbly sweet crust) versions were quite yummy, and we picked up some syrups for gift-giving, including apple pie syrup, which is made from the pan drippings created by pie baking.

We crossed out of Arizona and into New Mexico, though the terrain hardly changed. Most of this state passed by under and beside us with little interest -- we had many miles to go and wanted to get home. (Not even Carlsbad Caverns tempted us much.) The one feature of note in New Mexico was the trains -- very long, and a lot of them, chugging along just north of the highway, moving things westward (at least the trains we saw were going that way; perhaps the eastbound trains run at night). Mainly our route was flat, straight, and long.

New Mexico gave way to Texas in the late afternoon, and we were back in the home state at last. Our travels took us through five total -- Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, so that's 1/10th of the Union electorally. Of course, these are some of the big ones -- in New England, one can hit all six within one dedicated driving day.

We pulled off for dinner, finding a Golden Corral -- not great, but the buffet style serving means that there will be something the kids will like. I reviewed our road atlas -- of nearly 900 miles to go, we'd knocked off just over 300. The plan for driving through the night was not looking promising. The kids needed some energy draining time, and Val asked our waitress if there was a park nearby. She gave us sound and simple directions, and as sun was setting, we drove off and found the park. Carson and Amie both took to the playscapes (Carson also ran around in general, loving the chance to really stretch), while I ducked back into the car -- sunset is mosquito time, and I had already been bitten. Even under darkening skies, the playscape was crowded with little ones, but eventually families began leaving, and I called time for our needs as well. Fed and exercised, Amalie and Carson settled in, and we got back on I-10 for the drive through El Paso. We saw a gigantic hillside light star -- only one, of course, as befits the Lone Star State -- just north of the highway as we traversed the city, which was quite pretty.

Looking south, Mexico is right across the way, and the lights over the border are dense -- and stay right up to the border for quite some distance. Even after the highway took us beyond El Paso and the American landscape went dark to our right, the Mexican side remained well-lit for miles.

We motored on. I spotted a shooting star (isn't there a meteor shower around this time of year?), which is always a cool sight.

Not far past Sierra Blanca, the highway closed down, all traffic funneled into a truck inspection stop. We waited, clueless to what it was about, and as always happens in such lines, it moved smoothly until the truck right before us, when everything delayed for an extra five minutes. Finally that cleared, and it was our turn. It was US Customs, doing their job late at night. "Are you all US citizens?" the agent inquired. "Yes," I asserted, and offered to provide our passports (we had brought them against vague notions of visiting a border town while in Tucson, but never really pursued it). He declined and waved us through, and we were back on our way.

A while later, cruising along, my attention suddenly was commanded by the mighty blast of a train whistle! Just to our left, another freight (yes, traveling east -- they do run at night) had snuck up on us, and the whistle was alerting a fast-approaching crossing, lights flashing and bells clanging (there was, however, no traffic there to benefit from this son et lumiere performance). It was beautiful -- not only was there this massive engine and train pounding along the prairie tracks, but the moon was rising above it. The image was a nocturnal fantasy. We paced the train for several miles, but then it slowed and we began pulling away, heading into the night.

We pressed on. Now into our third state of the driving day, we also crossed our second time zone line -- Arizona, which doesn't bother with Daylight Savings, was a Pacific clock; New Mexico and the extreme west end of Texas, Mountain; and now we were back in Central. Our internal clocks told us it was 10:00 pm, but the cell phones read midnight; two hours, gone. The kids had been asleep for a few hours, and I was feeling stiff. Val was prepared to drive, but I considered that unfair to the kids. They needed a bed to stretch out. We pulled off in Van Horn, Texas, and took a room for the night. Both kids were transferred to bed without a twitch, Val and I unloaded the minimum bags needed for the morning, and we settled in for our last night on the road, just under halfway home.

The Road Trip, part 20

Day 19 -- Tucson one more day

A kick-back morning, preparing for the long drive home (nearly 900 miles). We're sort-of thinking of doing it in one long stretch, Val and I switching off and sleeping in the car, but we'll see. That can work, but it is non-trivial.

Eventually the kids woke up, bounced on the trampoline (fun, but gets the feet very dirty), and played with the dogs. Much of this "playing" entailed feeding them Milk Bones. In particular, Princess, a 120-pound female mastiff, can munch them down like drinking water.

Later in the day, Val borrowed a pickup from Mary and took the kids to the Tucson Children's Museum, where they had plenty of hands-on fun. I didn't go and so cannot give details, but did see the pictures, and it looked like a typical kid's museum, let them have fun while sneaking in bits of science and technology and history and so on. They came back happy and tired, and that's the breed standard for a good museum.

I did a bit of shopping, restocking what we had depleted from the house and making ready for the last car journey, and then waded into the laundry. We never get away from this, even on the road, and while we can only build up so much -- because we only brought a finite supply of clothes with us -- there's also car blankets and pillow cases to throw in, so it's not exactly a quick exercise. (The primary back seat blanket, upon which the kids sit, really takes a beating.)

The Road Trip, part 19

Day 18 -- Tucson, and into the Sonoran Desert

A big day, a special day -- we're heading back over the Gates Pass to the desert valley to visit the other point of interest, the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. This is one of the best museums in the world, and very little of it is kept inside buildings -- most of it is a large swath of the desert landscape, with paths and signs and displays where necessary, and modest fences to keep selected wildlife from running off (the plant life tends to stay put). However, visitors are definitely out in the wild, walking the living desert, which is a rich, diverse, and fascinating ecosystem.

We arose and headed out early, in hopes of catching some of the critters in their active states. Desert animals are no fools -- they know to doze during the heat of midday.

Our first stop was at a local Bruegger's Bagels, where bagels and cream cheese and coffees and milk bottles were obtained. Fortified, we struck out, this time pulling over at the rest stop atop Gates Pass -- we needed to get the kids dressed, and took the opportunity to observe a saguaro up close. We finished crossing into the valley, and soon found our way to the Desert Museum.

We arrived just about 9:30, later than I would have liked but still early enough to catch a tour. Docent Jim was just about ready to go, so we queued up with a few other visitors and took in the first mini-lecture, on rattlesnakes, the most hazardous animal in the desert. On we went, Jim noting various plants and telling about their uses, along with another mini-lecture on saguaros (other docents man small, portable lecterns with visual aids -- hands-on toys, which always improve a given lesson). Part of the primary trail travels through an artificial underground, detailing the geographic makeup and some of the subterranean life, but soon we were back in the sunshine (the weather was clear and, no surprise, sunny). There were custom pens for some of the larger desert fauna, most resting as the day's heat mounted (one, a mountain lion, was completely sacked out and sound asleep -- typical cat). Before we realized it, Docent Jim had led us through the Desert Museum for 90 minutes, and it was his time to leave us to our own explorations.

We were staying well-hydrated, having brought water bottles, which we refilled at need as water fountains were located. Drinking eventually demands payment, though, so while the ladies sought out a restroom, Carson and I took up station on a shaded bench to wait. I pointed out a very tall saguaro not 30 feet away, and told Carson it might be 100 years old, maybe even 200. He grasped this readily, and promptly engaged each and every passerby to look at the big cactus, and that it was maybe 100 years old! Honestly, it was like he was auditioning to be a museum docent, he approached the topic with such enthusiasm. Carson speaks to strangers with great ease, which is one thing (of many) I admire about him, because I don't know from where he got that talent.

We wandered on. I was disappointed that we could not visit the javelina area, which was on a trail temporarily closed -- the story given was that a wild javelina -- a desert boar -- had entered the grounds and had not yet been removed. Ah well, there was still plenty to see. We reached the main aviary, wherein the birds had just been given their lunches, seeds and chunks of fruits and vegetables. The birds are accustomed to humans, and can be closely approached (as long as we stay on the paths). There is even a parrot within, which can speak "hello" in that parrot way.

We broke for lunch, having reached the restaurant at the right time, then visited the art gallery, where the kids did some coloring (printed outlines of desert critters are provided). Finally back to the museum, we observed more animals, fish (water is not plentiful, it is a desert, but where water does flow brings a new dimension to the ecosystem), a second aviary of just hummingbirds (about the size of my finger, and very acclimated to humans -- I got to about six inches away from one, with the camera), and back around to the entry building at last. The sun was high, well into the afternoon, and just before we left we found a display gallery of lizards and other crawlies, so we spent some time in there as well.

We departed some time after 3:00 pm, around six hours at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, and completely well worth the entire visit. My black tee-shirt had a huge salt stain wide around the collar -- a mark I earned, and though I had sweated healthily, I was still quite dry. The desert air wicks away moisture incredibly fast.

One last bit about the Desert Museum -- Amalie's given middle name is Sonora, in honor of the desert Val grew up near. We asked Amie how she liked "her" desert, and she said it was great. I agree.

Heading home, Val navigated us to a much-desired tortilla take-out joint, St. Mary's, where we obtained early dinner foodstuffs -- tortillas, red chile filling, green chile filling, and a piece of tres leches cake. The last time we had visited, which was in 2000, it was near closing time and St. Mary's had been sold out of tres leches, so this time I was very glad to get to try it -- and later on, when I did, it was superb, sweet but not overbearing, moist (soaked, really), yet still firm. The tortillas we made were excellent too.

Carson didn't make it home -- fell asleep in the car. We put him to bed and, amazingly, he stayed down the entire night, sleeping over 13 hours. The desert is just a bit too much for our young man, but this was seen as a good thing. I was drained, too -- when I hit the sack, I slept like a rock.

Our plans had called for getting to El Paso before Thursday and putting Val and the kids on an Amtrak train from there to San Antonio, while I drove I-10 and picked them up. We were enjoying Tucson enough that we dumped this idea and stayed an extra day (not to mention, saved a lot of money). Maybe some other time.

The room Amalie and Val had been staying in was reclaimed by its renter, who came back to town just before classes began at the University of Arizona, just down the street. So Amie had to move. The house is huge -- depending on how it is set up, it can have as many as eight bedrooms -- so Aunt Mary started clearing the storage room, which needed it anyway, and Val and Amie helped. They went at it for hours -- as stated, it needed clearing -- but eventually Amalie had a new home/nest/castle (she decorates vigorously) in which to sleep for two nights. I went down long before they finished -- Val told me they were up until 2:00 am at least -- but when I did see it, I was impressed. The amount of detail was great, even for Amie -- dollhouses, tea tables, dollies and plushes, all over the place. The girl has a real knack, an eye for detail.

The Road Trip, part 18a -- At Last, A Ballgame

Night 17 bonus -- I go to a ballgame!

Throughout our travels, baseball has been in short supply, though the XM while driving or the MacBook whenever I can get on the Web have kept me updated with most of the news. But, neither the Rockies in Denver nor the Diamondbacks in Phoenix (where we never really approached) had favorable schedules. Oh, I could have made an effort, but I've been to Coors Field before, and I'm at the point where I either want massive convenience or a never-before-visited ballpark if I'm not going to see the Red Sox live.

Tucson, however, does have a minor league team, the Sidewinders, the AAA-level affiliate of the Diamondbacks. The park is about six miles from the house, a quick and simple drive, the team was in town, and I was cleared to go forth and enjoy myself -- so I did.

Tucson Electric Park, opened in 1998 and the spring training home of the Diamondbacks and the White Sox, is a nice little park, I think. Roomy seating, wide walkways, excellent sightlines. The outfield grass was rather scruffy, but it is near the end of a long season. Everything else was very nice for a ballpark, and I was glad to be there.

I shelled out $9 for a reserved seat behind the home dugout, but would have been fine had I bought a $6 general admission ticket, as the park was nowhere near full. Announced attendance was 1600 or so, but it looked like maybe half that many people were actually there. I moved about freely, and walked a full circuit of the park in the middle innings. Taking up an outfield position near one of the bullpens for a few batters, I could hear the relief pitchers talking about the sorts of things young men discuss in groups. The concessions were ballpark standards, nothing fancy or unusual but served quickly and hot (a benefit of the small crowd -- no lines). I partook of a few hot dogs and some soft drinks, which isn't a very good dinner, but an appropriate one for the setting.

Tucson Electric Park, a perfect evening's distraction. That cloudbank in the distance? Thunderstorm. (Full-sized.)

Ballgame! The Sidewinders took on the Portland Beavers and won, 4-0, but the game wasn't really close -- the Beavers never made any serious threats, and after the home team got two runs in the first on a homer, it was just a matter of playing nine innings. I was pleased to see several attempts at stealing bases, some successful, some thrown out with deadly accuracy.

The park lived up to the "Electric" part of its name thanks to a distant thunderstorm past left field, wherein lightning frequently lit up the storm clouds for the first half of the game. Later, the moon, just past full, rose over right field. The weather was perfect -- mid 80s once the sun set, light breezes, dry (the storm never approached the ballpark).

The game ended routinely, no surprises, no rallies. It was over in under 2 1/2 hours, and that was that. I collected my program, tossed my trash, had another look around the field and park, and took my leave. Some 15 minutes later, I was back at the house, and it wasn't even 10:00 pm.

I love baseball, and in some ways, the minors are even more fun than the big leagues.

Box score: Tucson 4 - Portland 0.

The Road Trip, part 18

Day 17 -- Tucson

Ah, a down day, no long travels -- Tucson is out last major stop, and we've set up camp, as it were. The dogs (four of them) have accepted us as house guests -- Amalie feeding them dog biscuits generously has no doubt sped up the process -- and our schedule is all our own.

But there are things we want to do in Tucson, so we cannot kick back for too long. Eventually fed and showered, we set out to visit Old Tucson Studios, east of the city (past the Tucson Mountains, which aren't a patch on the Coloradan Rockies). Built decades ago for movie making, the place took root as an attraction in its own right, and even though it burned down a few years ago, it has been rebuilt, a testament to its success.

A few miles west of Tucson, the road climbs up Gates Pass, a tiny and very twisty climb but nowhere near the steep, towering challenges we met in Colorado. Plus, the mountainsides are peppered with saguaros, so the view is quite scenic. Once over the crest, the Sonoran Desert spreads out broadly before the viewer, which is just lovely. This is no land of barren dunes -- the desert is quite alive, green from the bounty of rain this year, the plant life fulsome and tenacious. And, as noted, the prickly pear cacti alone are laden, almost overburdened, with dark, red fruits. The desert has had a very good year.

Old Tucson Studios is easy to find -- it's one of only two points of interest in the desert valley -- and we arrived about 11:00 in the morning, the heat mounting but not yet withering. The flies were the toughest challenge, just everywhere, almost constantly. Val and Amie took a horse ride (additional fee) first thing, and enjoyed it -- but mercy, the flies near the corral were the worst! I couldn't get away fast enough. The studio buildings are a bit shabby, though it seems suiting to an old west simulacrum, and overall the place is agreeable fun. There's a few live performances -- Carson and I saw a "magic elixir" (snake oil) show, which was mostly predictable but delivered with enthusiasm by the players, and later we all caught a stunt show with shotgun blanks and an explosion (I had to explain to the kids that, while the bangs were real, there were no bullets -- the actors pretended to dodge the ricochets, it's all part of the fun). Later we panned for gold (didn't find any, but the sluice was plenty full with iron pyrite, fool's gold, and the kids brought home many pieces), and finally had to leave as we had committed to picking up Mary's younger girl, Kylene, after school.

The drive back over the pass was quick, Carson fell asleep, and I stayed at the house with him as Val and Amie went to pick up Kylene. Carson ended up napping for almost five hours -- desert air and heat can really drain a little guy.

The Road Trip, part 17

Day 16 -- Holbrook to Tucson

Best Westerns are pretty good as quick in-and-out, one-night hotels right off the highway go. The one in Holbrook had a breakfast bar, nothing fancy but definitely served the need. Walking back to our room, I showed Carson how to check under vending machines for coins, and happened to spy two pennies in the filth under a Coke machine. We couldn't reach them, but a plastic knife came to the rescue, and soon two very dirty coins were ours. I made sure Carson washed them, and his hands.

Packed up and ready to move on, we first stopped at the Wigwam Hotel. A bit of old Rte. 66 runs through Holbrook, adorned with all sorts of old, schlocky signs and facades along the way. The Wigwam was the inspiration for the Cozy Cone hotel in Cars, and the parking lot has over a dozen vintage models (in various states of disrepair), so for Carson it was a treat and a half. (This road trip really was not meant to be an homage to Cars, but it rather turned out that way. The bluffs and cliffs in Utah are, with just a whiff of imagination, dead ringers for some of the car-shaped bluffs in the movie.) The lobby building wasn't scheduled to open until 3:00 pm, much too late to stay in hopes of buying a souvenir shirt, so we hopped back in the car and drove off.

But not far. Just outside of Holbrook is a huge store of souvenirs and petrified wood. We had picked up a coupon at the hotel for a free half-pound of petrified wood, and how could we resist? There were all sorts of raw and polished rocks -- semiprecious stones, petrified wood, fossils, meteorites. Unfortunately, there was a display of toys (not for sale) mounted high on one wall, which included two in-package Hot Wheels cars. Once Carson spotted those, he forgot about everything else. I told him they were not for sale, Val told him they were not for sale, the store clerk told him they were not for sale -- yet he had a very, very hard time letting go of hopes of buying the two cars. Val finally distracted him enough to select a few pretty stones, and we were off again, but dang, his near-addiction to toy cars really gets in the way sometimes.

The next town was Snowflake, where Jenny used to live (she was a teacher then); I hadn't been there since 2000, Val since 2003, and now it is showing many signs of growth. Immediately south is Taylor, and then there's a bit of a drive to Show Low -- very pretty, tall pine country. A few years ago, in 2002, there was a huge fire (the Rodeo-Chideski Fire) in the area. Dickie Joe ran a salvage company at the time, and when the fire was out he arrived to get to work. Dickie Joe prefers renting a room to taking a hotel, and Jenny (up in Snowflake) had one available. They hit it off, were married in late 2003, and now spend half their time in western Colorado. Life can take interesting turns.

It was 76 degrees in Show Low, Val noted from a bank signboard.

Out of Show Low is a long stretch on ridge tops and along canyons, until finally the road, Rte. 60, twistily climbs down the canyon walls above the Salt River. Near-hairpin turns finally reach a bridge, still high above the river; it looks fairly new, and the old span, now closed to traffic, runs alongside. The trek back up out of the canyon is equally or more challenging -- yes, paved roads, but tighter hairpins, steeper grades, and windy. Eventually we crested the canyon entirely, and were on our way into desert lands. It was obvious that this part of Arizona had had excellent rains this year -- it was very green, and Val (who lived in Tucson for several years) could not remember seeing the region so verdant. And, at last, we sighted the iconic Arizona flora -- the saguaro cactus.

These massive desert plants grow only in Arizona, a very small bit of eastern California, and Mexico, a region known as the Sonoran Desert; nowhere else. Despite its longtime use as the graphic shorthand for "American desert", they do not grow in Texas, or New Mexico, or Nevada, or Utah. They are magnificent, some truly towering, others with enough limbs and offshoots to look almost tree-like. They can live for many decades, perhaps centuries when conditions are right, and in some places are quite plentiful, dotting the hillsides and arroyos. The kids were delighted to see them, and they brought a smile to my face too. Val, an Arizonan from way back, is a bit more jaded to their appearance, but they are unmistakably Arizona's own.

We pulled over in Globe to take a break from the road, and to beat the heat, Val requested a stop at the local Dairy Queen. Again we scored -- the good DQ variety, vanilla and chocolate, with chocolate, cherry, or butterscotch dips (why the Austin franchises settle for only vanilla with chocolate dip is a mystery to me; popular, sure, but the different flavors are so worth having available). Refreshed, we saddled up, tanked up, and headed on down the road.

I was leading a small platoon of four or five vehicles as we entered the town of Mammoth, closing on Tucson, when suddenly I spotted an object in the road. I swerved a bit to avoid it, braked, and pulled into the first driveway, about 100 feet along. I hopped out and trotted back, hoping that the other cars had missed it as well. They had! With no other traffic in sight, I stepped out into the lane and picked up a rather frightened box tortoise, completely pulled into its shell. By this time the kids were closing on me, coming down the sidewalk -- I showed them the tortoise, which was just starting to think about poking out its head. Amalie and Carson were both pleased that Daddy had saved a "turtle". I walked it back into the roadside scrub and set it down, telling the kids to stand back and just watch. Soon it poked out head and limbs and began crawling away, but the kids kept a watchful eye on it until Val could ready the videocam. Silly tortoise got itself stuck under a scraggly bush, and though I'm sure it would have gotten out easily, I extracted it for better viewing. Then I stepped over to a prickly pear cactus, bedecked with fruits (a clear sign of the generous seasonal rains), plucked one (and they are prickly), squished it, and put it right before the tortoise. After a few moments analyzing the situation, the tortoise began munching the pear with obvious enthusiasm. We watched it for another few minutes, hoping it wouldn't go back toward the road, wished friend tortoise the best, and were back on the road to Tucson.

A rare event for us, reaching our destination before sundown -- we tossed aside the Google map and let Val's memory be our guide. She was visibly excited to be back in Tucson. Though Val hasn't lived in Tucson in over 16 years, the parts she remembers haven't much changed, and we soon found our next rest, the home where she and her family used to live, now inhabited primarily by sister Mary and her two daughters.

Joyous greetings given, we dragged in our bags and, finding my quarters for the stay, I dropped on the bed and took a late but much-needed nap. I almost never feel tired while driving, but it does wear me out when I'm done for the day.

From 76 degrees in Show Low, it had hit 100 in Tucson earlier in the day, though was down into the 90s when we arrived. That's one thing about dry heat country that doesn't get enough mention -- when the sun goes down, the temperature drops appreciably, as there's little humidity to hold it back. So the evenings are pleasant and cooler.

The Road Trip, part 16

Day 15 -- Bedrock behind us, on to, um, Holbrook, Arizona, as it turned out

Time to leave Bedrock at last, and head toward Tucson, we took to the road at 1:30 in the afternoon, having spent the morning doing laundry and packing and saying good-bye. By now we had dumped the Grand Canyon from our plans, for several reasons. One, Val and I have seen it and the kids are still a bit young to appreciate it in depth. Two, the Durango-Silverton train was plenty of train fun, and demonstrated that the kids don't have the attention span for a long train ride. Third, it wouldn't be a cheap stop, what with driving to Williams, taking a hotel for two nights, and the train tickets. Plus we stayed longer in Bedrock than we'd planned, so maybe in a few years, but not now. We adjusted our driving route to take us more directly toward Tucson.

Getting out of Colorado was, of course, twisty and uphill. We did spot one deer ahead on the road, but he scampered off into the trees.

Crossing into Utah, the roads were not appreciably straighter until we reached high desert territory. We saw many wind-sculped rocks and mesas and buttes, and even one arch right by the road (Wilson Arch, I've since learned). But the boy was dozing and there were miles to go, so we didn't stop. To our surprise, though we expected a long, hot drive, we actually got a good bit of rain along this stretch and again in Arizona -- monsoon season, Val calls it. It certainly broke the heat nicely.

We did stop once in Utah, to top off the gas tank. This was, easily, the highest price we paid for fuel the entire trip, over $4.50/gallon.

Motoring on into Arizona, the land changed little -- high desert and barren bluffs. It would have been very dry but for the storm system overhead, which occasionally slashed us with rain or provided entertaining, distant thunderbolts. Small towns clearly embraced the fundamental geologic theme of the region -- Rock Point, Rough Rock, Round Rock, Window Rock, Flat Rock. Val (naturally) spotted one coyote scurrying through the roadside scrub (I did catch a glimpse).

We finally reached I-40, our last major road for the day, and turned west for about 30 miles to Holbrook. Jenny had suggested we stay at the Wigwam Hotel, another Route 66 era relic, which places its guests in stereotyped teepees. A nice thought, but it was getting on toward 9:00 pm and, rather than search for the Wigwam, we simply pulled into a Best Western. As on other nights afield, I set out to forage the local restaurants for dinner; an Italian place provided spaghetti, meatballs, salads, and a pizza. Thus sated, and the kids having burned off energy by jumping on the beds, we dropped off, one by one.

Brief Interrupt

We are home -- arrived yesterday, Friday 22-August, Day 21 of the road trip. I will be finishing the series, plenty of notes, but just getting settled back in at the ol' homestead (walking in, I briefly wondered if I'd ever been here before...) has been commanding our time. Plus Amalie begins first grade on Monday, so there was some supplies shopping that needed doing.