Baseball Starts And “Surprise” I Cite It

Surprise, or as Jim Nabors’ “Gomer Pyle” (ode to the Bears Mike Pyle “over the ball,” as the team’s center) would say, “surprise/surprise,” as I cite baseball begins today, with two exhibition games, one at Surprise Stadium, in Surprise, Arizona.

In that game, the two teams that share the facility, the Kansas City Royals (today’s home team, on Sunday Texas will be the home team when they play again) and Texas Rangers will meet.

Texas, the big league team that has gone the longest without ever winning a title, ( 61 completed seasons, having begun play as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961 and oh the heartbreak of the 2011 World Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals and David Freese’s great play) is now managed by Bruce Bochy, who guided the Giants to 3 titles, the first of which in 2010, ended a 56 year/ 54 completed seasons title drought, as their last crown before 2010, came in 1954, as the New York Giants.

Speaking of the Giants and Surprise Stadium, one week hence, Giants’ “supporter deluxe” and a key member of the New York Giants Preservation Society, Steve Rothschild will throw out the first ball, at a game between the Giants and the Bochy managed Texas Rangers.

The Royals start 2023 with two titles and with the only other Kansas City major sports league team, the Chiefs, having just won a third crown, meaning they “held” the Lombardi Trophy.

Claude Osteen helped turn the ’65 World Series in the Dodgers’ favor as he won game 3 at home, to cut the Minnesota Twins (the original Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961) W.S. lead to (2-1).

In ’61 Osteen was traded by the pennant winning Cincinnati Reds to the first year Senators in September.

In return, the Reds received pitcher, Dave Sisler, the son of the great player George Sisler.