Maris and Mantle, 1961

As I watched Albert Pujols hit his 30th home run of the year last night, I couldn't help but think back to 1961 and how different everything is today. Back then, the M&M boys, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, were chasing down a 34 year old home run record established in 1927 by the Babe. Albert crushed two home runs last night off of the 5-time former Cy Young Award winner, Randy Johnson. Unfortunately, this effort came in another Cardinal loss.

It wasn't like that very often for Mickey and Roger back in 1961. The Yankees were winning frequently and the question wasn't whether or not they would win the AL Pennant, but when they would clinch. Although the Detroit Tigers had a respectable season with 101 wins, they still finished 8 games behind New York.

The home run record chase was a classic battle between two teammates throughout the year. They batted 3rd and 4th in the powerful Yankee lineup, which also included three catchers (Elston Howard, Yogi Berra and John Blanchard) who each hit 20 or more home runs and a first baseman (Bill Skowron) who hit 28. I would imagine that Albert would be tickled pink to have that kind of protection.

In the end, Mickey got hurt and wound up with 54 home runs and Roger prevailed by beating the Babe's record with 61. Throughout the year, the home run race was actually a miserable experience for Roger. Mickey was the face of the Yankees and Roger, who had just been traded to the Yanks prior to the 1960 season, was to many of the fans an outsider and they didn't want an outsider breaking the Babe's record. Out in the sticks, we never heard anything about the constant hounding from the press and the fact that Roger's hair was falling out or that the fans were pulling for Mickey and not Roger. Nowadays we hear the very minute that Khalil Greene goes on the disabled list for something called Social Anxiety Disorder.

In 1961, television was beginning to bring the world and baseball into our homes. The role of the media in all aspects of our lives began to change forever. Prior to this change, our connection with the game was through the box scores in the local newspapers. We couldn't wait to get the paper to check and see if Roger or Mickey had hit another home run. If you didn't live in a metropolitan area with a Major League team, if you were out in rural America, the newspapers brought you the news. If you were lucky and had a television back then, or had access to a TV on a weekend, you might get to see the Game of the Week. I remember watching games with my Dad and my brother with Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese calling the play by play. For an 8-year old to see something like that back then was a wonderful experience.

Now, I turn on Fox Sports Network Midwest every evening and catch the Cardinals pre-game show, the ballgame and then the post-game show. And if I think that I may have missed something, I can log onto MLB.com and get every single statistic that I could ever need. Now as I try to remember those days back in 1961, I struggle to imagine how we could have ever survived like that.

Fortunately, I was invited to attend last years' Cardinal game on the 4th of July with some very good friends. It was kind of a strange night for a 55 year old man to be sitting there watching as Albert hit his 300th career home run. The experience of attending MLB games has always been fascinating to me, but that night game last year on the 4th of July just seemed so colorful and so alive. As we struggled back in 1961 to get the TV antennae turned to the right position so that we could get a clear, black and white picture of the Game of the Week, we thought we were in hog heaven. But last year as this old guy was sitting in a ballpark with this huge electronic scoreboard, sitting in a sea of red shirts and red jackets, sitting way up above these great Major League ballplayers and directly across from the beautiful St. Louis Arch, which rose so magnificently above the outfield wall, I sat and watched as the fireworks shot high above the stadium. My, my, my... how my life had changed.

I sincerely hope Albert breaks Roger's record and I'll be right there watching...if not at Busch, at least on FSNMidwest.

Oh yes...Speaking of fireworks; be careful out there. Remember ... when you hand some kid a sparkler, you are handing them a metal stick that is burning at a temperature hot enough to melt gold.

This past March 8th, 4 year old Sciona Smith was rushed to the Memorial campus of the Western Maryland Health System and was treated for second-degree burns to 11 percent of her body. The injuries covered her chest down to her navel. Her mother recalled that tragic night. "It was a beautiful day and we had a cookout. At night, we got out sparklers and the kids were playing with them. All of a sudden, Sciona's shirt flamed up. It was horrible. I never would have expected this to happen. I grew up playing with sparklers and my mom said she grew up playing with them."

Think about this for a minute or two...she was letting her 4 year old daughter play with a metal stick that was burning at temperatures exceeding 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and she didn't see a problem.

Last year the Indiana State Health Department Released a Fireworks Injury Report which included 111 injuries between June 30th and July 6th. The 2008 report states that 62.3 percent of the injuries to youth occurred with an adult present. This does not surprise me at all. Many adults do not treat fireworks with proper respect and are as naive about the inherent dangers of handling fireworks as the children.

I'll leave you with a story of a little baby who was horribly burned by fireworks. In Montgomery County, near Houston, TX, on July 4th of 2007, this baby was in her blanket 30 feet away from where the fireworks were being shot. One of the aerial projectiles went sideways instead of upwards, landed on this baby's blanket and set it ablaze. The baby suffered second and third-degree burns on her arms and legs. Do you find it hard to believe that there were adults present? Not hard for me.

I've made a career out of working with energetic materials that detonate or deflagrate and I've witnessed up close their devastating effects, so please, for the sake of your families and friends, be careful and be safe.