Whoa! Hey! I forgot about this! Sorry!

Yeah so it's been like 2 1/2 years since we posted on this thing. But never fear! The PIHOF still lives!

So, let's see, first off, the PIHOF now as a sibling on Facebook! If you spend 99% of your life on Facebook, then check out our little corner.

Second, let me introduce the newest inductee into the PIHOF. In Feb 2010, we got an email from Kim Barker:

"not to be weird contacting a stranger, but i ran across your blog on inky and had to share my autograph story. i too am a huge inky fan and went to an air hogs game last season, on inky bobblehead night.... (pic attached).

just had to share w/ a fellow follower who'd understand."

We exchanged messages and asked her to relate her Inky Encounter:

"he was actually pretty nice considering i was a little 'gaga' over him. im sure he gets that a lot, he wasn't very talkative, but still did it and didn't seem too badly irritated. my daughter (9) had one also, he signed both of them. and, as if that wasn't enough, i had to ask him if he'd pose for a pic w/ me. i think he almost rolled his eyes, but he did it anyway. :-) it was a great night for me. lol.

i grew up playing softball and so used to follow him w/ the rangers, thought he was the best player ever."

Because she shares our love of Inky and because she actually sent us mail, it has been decided that Kim Barker shall be the next inductee into the PIHOF!!! Congrats!

And finally, while trying to dust off the cobwebs, we noticed this silly little bit of internet goodness. Over at the website Acronym Geek, somebody (or some webcrawler) added "PIHOF" to their  database of acronyms. Does this make us legit or what?!!?! 

(There are 2 other PIHOFs out there: "Pirates in the Hall of Fame" and "Paper Industry Hall of Fame"... but those sound boring)

 

PIHoF Inductee: Cows

Back when Inky was playing for the Texas Rangers, we always enjoyed watching Inky run. He was a large man and wasn't known for speed (he averaged a stolen base about every 39 games/128 at bats), largely because he wasn't that speedy. In fact, we always felt like he ran in a way that resembled the source of the cheeseburgers that were probably a staple of his diet.

That's right, a cow. Hell, to this day when I see a picture of him in my head, thundering down the basepath, I hear a little cowbell clinking along. Sure it makes no sense... but neither does Inky's magical career.

Maybe I'm crazy... here, compare these pictures:

Moooooooooove!

So congrats to cows everywhere for being not only the role model for the GBPE's running style, but also the primary source of his fuel!

PIHoF Inductee: Casey McGrew of Wright State

On Friday, May 29th, I went to Game 2 of the NCAA Regionals that were hosted by TCU in Fort Worth. This was the first time TCU had ever hosted a Baseball Regional, so I was excited and bought tickets to all the games just to be sure I could see all the TCU games.
The first game was between Texas A&M and Oregon State. I wasn't interested so I gave my tickets to some Aggie fans. Game 2, however, was between my beloved Horned Frogs and the Raiders of Wright State (Dayton, Ohio). I had never heard of Wright State before this tourney but thanks to Casey McGrew, I'll remember them forever.
TCU had a 1 run lead going into the 3rd when #22, Jr. OF Casey McGrew came to the plate with two on. We had noticed the first time he came to bat (in the 2nd), but he has a really weird ritual before each pitch... I'm talking like crazy bird mating dance weird.
From outside the batter's box, he takes a big step with his left leg and stomps it firmly into the box. Then, he leans backward almost parallel to the ground holding the bat at his waist and parallel to his chest and face. He then comes back up and moves his shoulders in a circle and sets himself for the pitch. He does this before every pitch. Eventually the TCU fans started to notice and we started yelling "STOMP! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" in sync with his movements. It became really intense as McGrew was fighting off pitches and the at-bat just kept going and going.
And then, just when we were all having a grand old time mocking the kid, he smacked the heck out of a pitch and sent it over the right field fence for a 3-run homer and a 3-1 lead. Boy was there egg on our faces!
But, the Frogs scored 3 in the bottom of the 3rd and then never let up another run, eventually winning 6-3. We mocked McGrew every time he came to the plate, regardless of the statement he made in the third.
I hope he makes it to the majors one day, though. He's a solid player and an entertaining one as well.

I was hoping Wright State would win some games so that TCU could play them again and I could get some pictures or video of this guy's crazy ritual, but they lost their second game to the Aggies and were out of the tournament.

So, why is McGrew going to the PIHoF? Because he, like Inky, will be forever burned in my memory for 2 key things - hitting home runs and looking goofy while doing it it.

Congrats, McGrew!

Casey McGrew photo from the Wichita State Athletics Webpage:http://www.wsuraiders.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/mcgrew_casey00.html

Pete Incaviglia Signed Baseball

Here's my baseball that I got Pete Incaviglia to sign at the Fort Worth Cats Exhibition game.

I had forgotten to grab my Inky Rookie Card (you can buy them in bulk... comes out to about 5 cents a card) so I was kicking myself because it was pretty easy getting autographs that night. But, fate intervened and late in the game, while I was hanging out with Bucky the Usher on the third base side, a foul ball flew over to the pavillion nearby. There was NOBODY over there, not even those weaselly little kids that run amok for every ball that goes into the stands. So, I ran over and retrieved it. This was exciting for two reasons:
1) I had something cool for Inky to sign and
2) I had never retrieved a game used ball from a baseball game I was watching... not a pro game, not a college game, not even a high school game.

After the game, it was easy to access the path to the visitor's locker room and so when Pete passed by, I asked him to sign. He did and now I have Incaviglia's signiture.

If I had been paying more attention, I could have gotten the name of the player who hit the foul ball and I might've inducted him into the PIHOF. But I didn't, so I won't.

Pete at LaGrave Field

Earlier this week, the Fort Worth Cats had their first exhibition game of the 2009 season. It was against the Grand Prairie AirHogs, which, if you've been paying attention, are managed by the greatest baseball player ever*, Pete Incaviglia!

While everybody else on the team wore jerseys, Pete was laid back in his polo shirt. It seemed like Pete was really taking this seriously... as an exhibition game. I forgot my Topps rookie card this time out and realized I had nothing for him to sign if I got the opportunity. Fortunately, late in the game, a foul ball landed on one of the pavilion concourses on the third base side and there wasn't ANYBODY over there (except for me and a Cats employee named Bucky who had an interesting discussion for about 4 innings). So, I ran over and got it. This also is the FIRST EVER game used ball I have acquired at a game.

When the game ended and Pete and the boys were headed back to the dugout, I got him to sign the ball. YAY! Finally, I got Pete's autograph!

He's a little gruff and I get the feeling he's not much of a fan of fans, but hey... too bad, Pete. You'll just have to suck it up and enjoy the attention that is due the GBPE*!

Since I foolishly forgot my camera, I had to use my crappy mobile phone camera. These pictures were taken with the highest resolution available to me on this camera, which is apparently crummy X lousy mega pixels. I'm particularly enamored by the first one, which reminds a whole lot of another blurry photo of large mammal walking with arms swinging:

And so, because of the startling resemblance, I announce that Bigfoot has been inducted into the "Pete Incaviglia Hall Of Fame"! Congrats, Sasquatch!

Here are some bonus pictures of the visit to LaGrave field for the Fort Worth Cats v Grand Prairie AirHogs Exhibition game, May 4, 2009 (GP won 7-2...)

*Incaviglia is the Greatest Baseball Player Ever according to the Pete Incaviglia Hall of Fame voters which currently happen to be just me... and maybe Ray Grabeel. And come to think of it, Inky is actually my second favorite player, after Nolan Ryan.