Baseball notebook: Tigers reflect on late Ernie Harwell
Last September, Ernie Harwell came to Comerica Park in Detroit for a formal farewell. It was Harwell’s voice that made him famous, and the Detroit Tigers were focused on every word.
Harwell addressed the team before that game, giving a stirring speech that is still remembered fondly in the clubhouse.
Manager Jim Leyland called it “priceless” and “fulfilling.” Shortstop Adam Everett was one of several players motivated and moved by Harwell’s talk.
“Nobody said a word,” Everett said Wednesday, the day after the Hall of Fame broadcaster died at age 92 after fighting cancer. “I don’t think anybody blinked the whole time. That’s how intense it was.”
The speech wasn’t so much “win one for Ernie” as it was about his thoughts on life and baseball, his appreciation of the game.
Tasers holstered
Philadelphia Phillies team security will apprehend fans who jump on the field, unless more force is deemed necessary, the team announced two days after police used a Taser on a teenager dashing through the outfield.
The team said it made the decision in consultation with the Philadelphia Police Department after an officer used his stun gun Monday night on a 17-year-old at Citizens Bank Park.
Steven Consalvi jumped onto the field at the top of the eighth inning of Monday’s game between the Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals and ran around in circles in the outfield, waving a white towel and dodging two security officers.
A city police officer chased him for about 30 seconds before his stun gun probe hit Consalvi.
3-D baseball coming
DirecTV and the Yes Network are planning to televise what they say will be the first Major League Baseball games in 3-D.
The Seattle Mariners’ home games against the New York Yankees on July 10 and 11 will be aired in five states, including Washington, and parts of Montana and Idaho.
Only viewers with 3-D TV sets will be able to watch in 3-D.
Clearing the bases
Injured Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins, a former National League MVP, is going to extended spring training next week, though it’s uncertain when he’ll begin playing in rehab games. … Atlanta right-hander Jair Jurrjens is headed to the 15-day disabled list because of a left hamstring strain.