Daily Dirt: Regulating raisins and Johnny Damon over Joe Morgan?

Daily Dirt for Sept. 22, 2021

Ahh … lunchtime as a school kid. Vol. 75 of the Daily Dirt should rekindle some memories during the first of today’s three thoughts:

1. This is for those whose moms packed their lunches as grade-school kids. How many of these items did you hope to find when you opened that little brown bag at lunch time?

A. Little Debbie Snacks: Personally, I have always hated Little Debbie anything. I’ve always been a Hostess guy.

B. Sun-Maid Raisins: You remember those little red cardboard boxes, the ones that had been a home to a few ounces of raisins since biblical times. My mom always told me to make sure I ate all of them. “They’ll keep you regular,” she said.

C. Plastic bag full of either Pringles or Bugles: I always hoped for the Pringles, and would try and trade the Bugles for a peanut butter sandwich.

D. Slim Jims: I have never eaten a Slim Jim in my life, and have no plans to start. My mom never knew those Slims Jims were either thrown away or traded for something far more edible.

E. Those slices of a processed dairy product labeled “American Cheese”: Hey, I still eat that stuff.

2. Here’s the second edition of the best MLB players who have worn certain numbers, thanks to sportingnews.com. We resume today with No. 11:

11: Barry Larkin. Honorable mention: Carl Hubbell, Edgar Martinez, Luis Aparicio.

12: Roberto Alomar. Honorable mention: Jeff Kent, Mark Langston, Dusty Baker.

13: Alex Rodriguez. Honorable mention: Omar Vizquel, Dave Concepcion, Lance Parrish.

14: Pete Rose. Honorable mention: Ernie Banks, Ken Boyer, Jim Rice. 15: Carlos Beltran. Honorable mention: Jim Edmonds, Red Ruffing, Dustin Pedroia.

16: Whitey Ford. Honorable mention: Dwight Gooden, Hal Newhouser, Ted Lyon.17: Dizzy Dean. Honorable mention: Todd Helton, Lance Berkman, Mark Grace.

18: Johnny Damon. Honorable mention: Joe Morgan, Gene Tenace, Andy Van Slyke. (Whoaaaa…. Johnny Damon over Joe Morgan?) PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Morgan only wore 18 from 1965 to 1971. For the rest of his Hall of Fame career, including his back-to-back MVP years with Cincinnati, Morgan wore 8. A Strat-O-Matic and Rotisserie Baseball God, although Rotisserie really didn’t take off until the twilight of Morgan’s fabulous career JRG

19: Bob Feller. Honorable mention: Tony Gwynn, Robin Yount, Billy Pierce.

20: Frank Robinson. Honorable mention: Mike Schmidt, Lou Brock, Don Sutton. 

3. Local race fans should note that World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR), east of St. Louis in Madison, Ill., has been granted a NASCAR Cup race for June 5, 2022. WWTR was given a date that had been the property of Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. WWTR was formerly known as St. Louis Raceway Park, Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park. The 1.25-mile track opened in 1967 and seats 78,000. The IndyCar series has raced there for six years.

Steve Fact O’ The Day
I bought my first pack of baseball cards in the summer of 1961. The first face I saw when opening that pack of Topps cards was Detroit outfielder Billy Bruton. 

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Eating raisins is the only thing that has ever made him regular.