But that is really only the smallest of footnotes, to his literally jaw-slacking career -- both in terms of his brilliance, across decades, and the notion that he was still a dominating pitcher in the majors, in his late 40s. We salute you, Mr. Paige:
. . . .In 2010, sportswriter Joe Posnanski, writing for Sports Illustrated, named Paige as the hardest thrower in the history of baseball. He based this, in part, on the fact that "Joe DiMaggio would say that Paige was the best he ever faced. Bob Feller would say that Paige was the best he ever saw. . . . Hack Wilson would say that the ball looked like a marble when it crossed the plate. Dizzy Dean would say that Paige's fastball made his own look like a changeup. . . .
Paige was a right-handed pitcher, and at age 42 in 1948, he was the oldest major league rookie while playing for the Cleveland Indians. He played with the St. Louis Browns until age 47, and represented them in the All-Star Game in 1952 and 1953. He was the first player who had played in the Negro leagues to pitch in the World Series, in 1948, and was the first electee of the Committee on Negro Baseball Leagues to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, on February 9, 1971. . . .
And this morning, I am feeling very fortunate to be about 1,100 miles away from the foot of snow now falling in the former home of the Chicago American Giants -- for a time, Mr. Paige's Negro League club. . . smile.
नमस्ते
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