The Stars Are Out: July & August 2019

It's getting harder and harder to plan these Stars are Out posts at the end of every month. Lots of work goes into, uh, doing a whole bunch of them and not forgetting they're in the file.

I'm doing two months worth today, because it's Labor Day weekend and y'all deserve a treat.

Let's start with this guy, because football season's on its way- Will Shields is Kansas City Royalty, Nebraska Royalty (hence the colors), and, according to my dad, an insanely nice person to work with. It was Nebraska day at Kauffman, and they figured they'd get some guaranteed applause up in there, so Will Shields threw out a pitch. All class.

[For the record, Will Shields has seen this custom. Folks, it is incredibly scary when people who have accomplished things are looking down on your amateur work, but, since he approved, perhaps it'll be less scary in the future]

 Let's throw in some other sports stars. Anthony Davis is happy he didn't wait til New Orleans got a baseball team in order to do one of these. I'm sure he'll be fantastic as a Laker, but...knowing their luck with LeBron, I'd be slightly skeptical.

 This wasn't even a cross-town kind of thing- Giannis Antetokounmpo just showed up at Yankee Stadium because he's awesome, and they just let him do his thing. I don't blame them.

 This isn't cross-town either, as Landry would have to be pitching in LA. No, former 76er Landry Shamet is from Kansas City, so he's a hometown hero in a way, if you define 'hero' as 'guy who was traded for Tobias Harris'.

You want a hero? Here's Carli Lloyd. She's won two Women's World Cup Championships by now, she's the face of the sport, and she's from Philly. And she can rock some 80s blues. Gotta love all of that.

One last non-baseball sports guy: Ric Goddamned Flair. The Naitch. In the flesh. Throwing one out in Houston. I imagine there was a lot of 'WOOOOOOO'ing that night.

 Now onto some MLB team legends. For 90s Weekend in Miami, Antonio Alfonseca, one of the stars of the 2003 World Series squad, showed up to give a six-fingered wave to his adoring fans (which, in Miami, he's got some of), and threw one out. I do love those old-school Marlins vests.

Luis Castillo also threw one out, but...since his implication in a drug ring, I didn't think it'd be a good idea to post his.

 Now we're talking. One of the more likable outfield bats of his era, Dusty Baker, who wowed in San Francisco, Atlanta and Los Angeles, before becoming a pennant winner and 3-time manager of the year with the Giants, Cubs, Reds and Nationals. Glad they still love him in SF.

 And then there's David Cone. I dunno, man, you pitch a perfect game in New York and we love you for life. This was the 20th anniversary of said perfect game, and he showed up to commemorate. Good stuff.

And I can't not mention a worthy appearance from former Cubs whiz-kid fireballer Henry Rowengartner. Good to see he's still got his velocity. And all I could say is thank god Chet Steadman wasn't in attendance.

 Yes, some Hall of Famers did show up around induction weekend to thank the fans. Harold Baines, a guy I never thought would be inducted in, showed up with his kid, threw one out at Comiskey, and was all class.

And of course...Edgar Martinez, who's pretty much a deity in Seattle, albeit a humble one, got to come back to T-Mobile park and throw one out as well. He's gotta be loving this.

Now, let's get to some fringy pop-culture ones. James Holzhauer had a record-breaking run on Jeopardy, and captured the minds of a nation. Of course he's a Cubs fan. Of course he is. They've got to love him at Wrigley, though.

Also, while it's not rare for a Murray brother to throw out a first pitch at Wrigley, it's not everyday you see Joel Murray do one, one of the under appreciated greats. Joel's been making the rounds with Whose Live Anyway, with Greg Proops, Ryan Stiles and Jeff Davis, so he's clearly gotten some improv genes from the rest of his family.

Another Cubs first pitch came from Mexican movie star and recent US crossover favorite Eugenio Derbez, who's been in a few US movies like Overboard and the new Dora movie, but...I mean, like any of this is gonna top Instructions Not Included? I mean, come on.

And for one last Cubs one, here's music legend Mavis Staples. You may have heard her collab with Arcade Fire or Hozier, or...know about her fantastic career of singing soul and blues and such, which is even better. Another person that it's nice to know is a Cubs fan.

 A few more pop culture ones to round this post out. Rian Johnson's a fantastic director- he did Looper, and the less-beloved Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but he's a genuinely likable guy, and a Dodgers lifer. According to this photo, his first pitch may have missed a little.

 Tea Leoni's baseball bias may not be a factor here, but her character on Madam Secretary is, in fact, a Mets fan, and they got to shoot a scene from the show at CitiField, with her in character, which was nice.

And we end on Seinfeld. How the hell can I NOT end on Seinfeld?

Jerry Seinfeld is a huge Mets fan. I remember his excitement in 2015, for the 'Cespedes for the rest of us' stretch run. And here he is loving it all with Conforto. Gotta love him.

Hopefully the September ones of these won't come too far into October.

Hall of Fame Results 2019: One Insanely Satisfying Class

So...I was expecting a casually good turnout for this HOF class. But...this is unprecedented.

Not only did four people get into the Baseball Hall of Fame today, when I'd figured we'd just get a solid three, but...all four people are players I genuinely enjoyed watching, and very wholesome figures in my collection. Like, I knew we were getting into the years where i'd have a deeper connection with the inductees, but...not like this.

So let's start with the biggest surprise: Mike Mussina is now a Hall of Famer. I predicted he'd get at least like 73 percent this year, and I questioned whether he'd make it in this year, especially in a year where Halladay would probably be getting in. Apparently too much stellar pitching is never enough, and Moose got in with 76%, a close but important entry. Moose's thing was dominance, consistency, and stamina. He didn't have many down seasons, and he was very rarely injured, and he just stood there and threw fire. There's not much else to it, really. He's probably in as an Oriole, but I'd love to see him sneak in as a Yankee.

And then we have Halladay, which is one that I'm glad happened, even if I didn't think it'd be confirmed he'd be a first-ballot guy. Halladay pitched for my team and did more in four seasons than most Phillies do over an entire career (looking at you, Maikel). The no-hitters were a nice touch, but from 2000 to 2011, he was legitimately one of the most powerful pitchers in the game, and was one of the most impressive strikeout artists of his era. It's a shame he left us before he could see the results.

Edgar and Mo I saw coming, though. Edgar, because the fanbase wouldn't let him miss it this year, and because with Baines in, the era of the DH in Cooperstown had finally come. And Mo, because...dammit, he's Mariano Rivera. He's an iconic closer, and no one can dispute that. The unanimous numbers all but confirm that.

These are four names I'm happy made it to Cooperstown. An insanely deserving bunch, and a good chunk of my collection as well. I can't see the 2020 class coming especially close, even if Derek Jeter waltzes in with unanimous numbers as well.