For those that love the game!

I just picked up a copy of the Dickson Baseball Dictionary - sound kinda' dull? All 957 pages of it. Think again - it is a great read for those who love the game.

Do you know what a "raisin game" is, or a "mush bag," or a "looney joe?" Ever heard of a "do-fer pitch?" It was a term used by Terre Haute, IN MLB pitcher, Tommy John, for a pitch that will work ("do-fer-awhile") until the pitcher gets something else going.

John is also known, of course, as the first player to come back and play in the majors after innovative ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction. The procedure was dubbed "Tommy John Surgery."

Back to words. If your interest has not yet been peaked, how about: a "needle nose," the "Rouge Hose," a "sliding dolly," or the guy who is "under the willow." I've thrown out some of the historic or unusual terms, but the book includes thousands of words from today's game as well.

There are over 18,000 individual entries and over 250 photos, providing a comprehensive history and fascinating incite into the world of baseball.

AND NOW WE KNOW!

Special thanks to Dave Murphy and his family for providing Danville Stadium memories and showing us a part of it's history not recorded or seen by anyone I know of for the last 65 years.

I just finished scanning 12 very special pictures that look to be postcards and are most certainly original pictures of the building of Danville Stadium. We now know that the "boss" of the project was Ernie Hayworth, that his crew included Joe Rodgers and Freemont Rodgers. We even know what they look like. We know that the picture we have, which we thought was the building of the stadium, is really a renovation to replace wooden beams with steel.

What a gift to the community and it's baseball fans and historians! Everyone come out tomorrow night and help us celebrate!

Blast from the Past

Wow - 65 years of stories and memories of teams and times at Danville Stadium. From those days long ago, we have photographs of the construction of the Stadium, the first team to play there - the Danville Dodgers, Sachel Paige standing on the field, and many, many other pictures that tell the story of it's history.

Today, we are lucky enough to live in a digital age where we can relive the action. In 1996, eight Danville Dans helped lead the LSU Tigers as they won the College World Series. Leading the group was Warren Morris, who won an ESPY award by hitting a walk-off home run called "The Shot Heard Round the Bayou." Check out -

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The other Dans on the team were: Tom Bernhardt, Patrick Coogan, Brian Dougherty, Chris Demouy, Tim Lanier, Keith Polozola, and Trey McClure.

Come help celebrate the 65th at the Danville Dans game on July 9th!

TWO MORE DANS GET MLB CALL

In this afternoons MLB Draft two more Dans were chosen. Austin Nola went to Toronto in the 31st round and Jason Nappi went to the Angels in the 42nd round! Congratulations Dans! More story to come.

DANS LAMM GOES IN 6TH

2009 Danville Dan, Mark Lamm (Vanderbilt)was drafted today by the Atlanta Braves in the 6th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. Congratulations Mark!

MAHTOOK GOES IN ROUND 1

2009 Danville Dan, Mikie Mahtook, has been selected in the first round (31 overall) of the major league draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Mahtook is the 5th Danville Dan to go in round one.

Congratulations Mikie from the Dans Family!

BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT

Cheer on Danville Dans (past or present) who made the NCAA Div. I NCAA Tournament. San Francisco, University of Central Florida, Austin Peay, Mississippi St., and Vanderbilt. Good luck Dans! The tournament begins with Regionals on Friday June 3rd.

Dans News Note

Minnesota Twin, Matt Tolbert (Dans 2001) caught the last out on a hard liner from Adam Dunn, to seal yesterday's no-hitter for Francisco Liriano against the Chicago White Sox. Matt had an assist or put out in all three outs in the 9th.

KING KATZ!

LSU sophomore first baseman/outfielder Mason Katz (Dans 2010) enjoyed a remarkable weekend series versus Kentucky, batting .727 (8-for-11) in three games with five doubles, one homer, six RBI and six runs scored.

Mason’s pinch-hit, two-RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 1 on Thursday highlighted an eight-run LSU rally as the Tigers rebounded from a 5-1 deficit and posted a 9-5 victory ... he started a first base in Game 2, going 4-for-5 at the plate with a school record-tying three doubles, two RBI and three runs scored ... in Game 3, he was 3-for-5 with two doubles, one homer, two RBI and two runs.

In four consecutive at-bats from the seventh inning of Game 2 through the third inning of Game 3, Katz collected three doubles and a home run ... LSU junior centerfielder Mikie Mahtook (Dans 2009) hit .429 (6-for-14) last week with two doubles, one homer, five RBI, five runs and four stolen bases.

Coghlan Takes two To Yard

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14154613&topic_id&c_id=mlb&tcid=fb_video_14154613

Cut and past this link to see highlights of former Dan, Chris Coghlan, hit two home runs against the LA Dodgers. Score at that point in last night's game - LA zero, Coghlan 2.

COLEMAN BANGS STRIKES IN DEBUT

The following is a story on Coleman's debut posted at MLB.com:

KANSAS CITY -- Royals manager Ned Yost wasted no time getting rookie Louis Coleman his first exposure to the big leagues. Just hours after his arrival, Coleman was brought in to pitch against Cleveland, relieving Sean O'Sullivan after a leadoff single in the Indians' seventh.

That was Yost's plan -- get through at least six innings with O'Sullivan, then go to Coleman, Aaron Crow and, if necessary, Joakim Soria. As it turned out, Soria was not needed because Coleman notched two shutout innings and Crow worked a scoreless ninth to get credit for the 3-2 victory.

Watch video and read more on MLB.com

"Both those kids came in banging strikes," Yost said. "That's key. If you're coming in late in key games, you've got to bang strikes."

Coleman, right in character with his Minor League strikeout credentials (16 in seven innings), struck out the first batter he faced, Adam Everett. He retired three batters in the seventh. In the eighth, he gave up two hits but got help when center fielder Melky Cabrera threw out a runner at the plate.

The ecstatic Coleman was oblivious to the weather conditions -- rain and temperatures around 50 degrees -- in his Major League debut.

"You always think of a sunny day, the wind blowing in, just perfect conditions," Coleman said. "But today it was raining, you had to make do. Still, it didn't feel like it was raining or that it was cold. It was a blast and everything I thought it would be. Like everybody says, it was a dream come true."

A walk-off victory made it even sweeter.

Yost was impressed by his latest rookie reliever.

"We got a real good view of him in Spring Training of how good he is, and he showed it again tonight in his Major League debut," Yost said. "No butterflies, just came in on the attack."

Dan Called up to Majors

Louis Coleman (LSU-Dans 2006) has been called up to the Kansas City Royals from AAA Omaha, bringing the number of Dans Alumni to play major league baseball to 19. GOOD LUCK LOUIS!

Note: In his first major league appearance, Louis pitched two shutout innings of relief tonight against the Cleveland Indians.

DANS ALUM NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU junior outfielder, and 2009 Danville Dan, Mikie Mahtook has been named SEC Player of the Week.

Mahtook led the Tigers to three wins in four games last week, batting .643 (9-for-14) with two homers, two triples, six RBI and six runs scored. He batted .636 (7-for-11) in LSU's series win over Ole Miss with two homers, one triple, five RBI, four runs scored and one stolen base.

Mikie launched two homers in the Game 1 victory, marking the fourth two-dinger game of his career. He also made a brilliant running catch in right-centerfield for the final out in Sunday's series-clinching win.

Mahtook, who is riding a 14-game hitting streak, is batting .515 (17-for-33) in SEC games.

DANVILLE SAYS GOODBYE TO THE DUKE

Area fans saw Dodger great, Duke Snider, hit a home run over the right field wall at Danville Stadium on June 20, 1947, when the Brooklyn Dodgers came to town to play their farm club, the Danville Dodgers. The Hall of Fame center fielder for the "Boys of Summer" died early today at the age of 84.

"The Duke of Flatbush" hit .295 with 407 career home runs, played in the World Series six times, and helped bring the Brooklyn Dodgers their only World Series Championship. Snider still holds the Dodgers all time home run record at 389, hitting at least 40 home runs in five different seasons. The eight-time All-Star was one of “Dem Bums," deeply loved by the fans of the Borough of Brooklyn.

In Dodger blue, Snider wore No. 4 and was regarded as one of baseball’s best center fielders in a time considered by many, the golden age of baseball.

Danville Stadium and the Danville Dans join the baseball nation in sending condolences to “The Duke’s” wife Beverly, and their family and friends.

DANS HELP SPUR LSU TO 3-0 START

BATON ROUGE - A pair of three-run homers by junior Mike Mahtook (Dans 2009)and sophomore Mason Katz (Dans 2010) fueled the No. 15 LSU baseball team past Wake Forest, 9-1, to complete the series sweep on Sunday in Alex Box Stadium.

With the win, the Tigers (3-0) have now swept all three home-opening series at the new Alex Box Stadium. LSU swept Villanova to open the season in 2009, and won three-straight against Centenary to start the season in 2010. Mahtook notched home runs in each of the 3 games.

DANS ALUM NAMED PRESEASON SBC PITCHER OF THE YEAR:

Arkansas State junior starting pitcher and 2009 Dans alumni, Jacob Lee, has been named Sun Belt Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

Lee also earned a Preseason All-Conference nod. He is the top returning pitcher for the Red Wolves from last season, whose pitching staff ranked third in the Sun Belt Conference.

Jacob is coached by Tommy Raffo.

COLLEGE BASEBALL SEASON KICKS OFF WITH A BANG!

Dans alumni began the college season yesterday when St. Leo (FL) defeated Valdosta State with a 19 run barrage.

2010 and 2011 pitcher Aaron Brandt pitched 5 innings, earning with win, allowing only 2 hits and striking out 8. 2010 Alumni, Anthony Santa, blasted a home run over the left field wall, and 2008 Danville Dan Frank Rawdow (a Mississippi State transfer) went 4 for 6. 2009 and 2010 Dan catcher Jason Hamm went 2 for 5 in the win.

Great start Dans! The college baseball season kicks off in full force on Feb. 18th

DAN ALUM NAMED ALL-AMERICAN

2009 Danville Dan, Mikie Mahtook, was named Friday to the 2011 Baseball America magazine first-team preseason all-American squad. The designation is the 2nd preseason honor for Mikie, who was named to Collegiate Baseball 2nd team in December.

A native of Lafayette, LA, Mahtook hit .335 for the LSU Tigers last season with 19 doubles, four triples, 14 homes, 50 RBI, 68 runs and 22 steals. Last summer, he helped lead the U.S. Collegiate National Team to the silver medal at the World University Championships in Tokyo.

DANS ALUM NAMED TO PRESEASON LIST

Brett Huber (Dans 2009) has been named to the preseason watch list for the Stopper of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA).

Huber was named an All-SEC selection and freshman team selection a year ago before claiming Freshman All-American Honors. The Ole' Miss right-hander posted 12 saves and a 2-0 record for the Rebels last year, along with 54 strikeouts, walking only 19 batters.

Established seven years ago, the Stopper of the Year award is presented annually to the top relief pitcher in the nation. Nominations for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award were made by baseball sports information/media relations contacts. The final awards will be released Wednesday, June 1, prior to the start of NCAA regional tournament competition.

Baseball loses old friend!

Notes from Jeanie - everyone I know has lots and lots of memories of Bob Kay. He was just one of those guys whose stories were so rich and rare, his sense of humor so keen, and his interest in others so great, you just knew he would be with us forever. And in a way that's true. My favorite time spent with Bob, no doubt, was a trip to Indianapolis, before the Stadium's 50th Anniversary, to meet with Earl Conklin, one of the original Danville Dodgers. By the time we got there, my cheeks ached from laughter! It was a memorable day, listening to those two reminisce about the early days at the Stadium. Baseball is timeless and Bob is timeless as well.