Apparently June 12 is a pretty notable day in general baseball + Chicago history. And I’m not talking about the anniversary of the Bulls 1991 NBA Championship.
Let’s start with one we can laugh about in retrospect, seeing as 15 years feels like enough space.
Milton Bradley Forgets How Many Outs There Are
Brett mentioned this one in the Cubs Bullets this morning, but it still gets me every time. With ONE out in the top of the eight inning back in 2009, Milton Bradley caught what he THOUGHT was the final out of the inning. So he stood there after making the catch, frozen and a little cocky, before tossing the ball into the stands.
It was not the final out.
One run was going to score either way, but … yikes. In case you forgot, Milton Bradley had a lot of issues that season. After signing a three-year, $30M deal in January … Bradley (1) was suspended for making contact with an umpire while arguing a strike call, (2) got into a confrontation with Lou Piniella, (3) threw that ball into the stands, and (4) was suspended by GM Jim Hendry for the remained of the season following an interview with the Daily Herald. Milton Bradley, of course, had an even uglier stretch ahead of him, when he was later charged and convicted of domestic violence against multiple women.
The Cubs traded him that December and that was that.
“That’s a Clown Question, Bro”
Repeated at fraternities and high schools across the country, Bryce Harper delivered the ultimate quote of the last decade on this date in 2012.
But do you even remember what the “clown” question was? Basically, a reporter was trying to get Harper, then only 19 years old, to admit to drinking because he was above the legal drinking-age in Canada. But Harper wasn’t a totally doofus, and avoided that trap with five memorable words: “That’s a clown question, Bro.”
He was such a menace back then, I loved it.
Jim Edmonds Game-Tying Homer, Len Kasper Call
To be honest, I didn’t actually remember this moment, but it did happen on June 12, 2008, and it was a cool homer and a great call by Kasper.
It’s also fun to reminisce about that really amazing run Edmonds had with the Cubs in 2008, after signing a mid-season deal: .256/.369/.568 (136 wRC+); 1.5 WAR.
I remember it feeling so weird to root for Edmonds, the former Cardinal, but he made it impossible not to like him.
Likewise, this is one of the more fun calls from Len Kasper that I can remember (though he had his fair share of great ones).
“That’s deep to left. Back … back … back…HEY! HEY! HE DID IT! ATTA BOY, JIMMY! WOOOOOO! TIE GAAAAAME!”
“That’s for you, Jack.”
