Meatpants
02-06-2002, 04:23 PM
Seriously, what hope do these kids have of NOT growing up to be complete idiots?
Sammy, Kerry ... it's a true Cubs love affair
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By Jim Caple
ESPN.com
When Dick (Night Train) Lane passed away last week, I couldn't help but think of Mike Veeck, the owner of several minor-league teams, who named his son after the NFL Hall of Famer. He explained the naming to me this way several years ago.
"We moved 17 times in the first 11 years of my life ... and in every neighborhood, you were the new kid, the untested commodity, and you were never picked for a team. But if you're named Night Train, I figure you have a lot better chance of being picked than if you were named Jim or Bob or Mike or Tony. 'Night Train? Cool name. How bad can the kid be?' "
And what did Veeck's then-wife think of naming her son Night Train?
Not only is Kerry Wood the Cubs' ace, but he's also the namesake for a young girl in Seattle.
"She was very understanding," Veeck said. "She refused to put Night Train on the birth certificate and insists on calling him William."
Veeck, however, still calls him Night Train.
I love that story and I think it explains a basic, genetic difference between men and women. Men want to name their children after ballplayers while women want to name them after soap opera characters. Alas, women usually win out on this issue, so we have a lot more kids named Kayla than Big Unit.
One friend of mine, however, did name his first child Seaver, though he failed to get Koosman past his wife for the second child. Another friend, Dan Lepse, beat the odds and has managed to name all three of his children for his beloved Cubs.
You have to understand about Lepse. His address has been in Seattle his entire life, but his soul has always been in the Wrigley Field bleachers. In fact, most people know him by his nickname, Sarge, after former Cubs outfielder Gary Mathews.
Sarge has occasionally wondered about how he could have the misfortune of choosing one of the very few teams that hasn't gone to the World Series during his lifetime, but he never questions his loyalty to the Cubs. He isn't that sort. You have a favorite team, you stick by them. Through thick and thin.
So when it came time to ask Tricia, the woman he loved, to marry him several years ago, he picked the only site that made sense. In front of Wrigley Field on Opening Day, 1993. "That was the first game Greg Maddux pitched in Chicago after he signed with Atlanta," he points out.
And when the two had their first child, they named her Samantha, though everyone calls her Sammy, as in Sammy Sosa. Sarge is quick to point out Sammy was born in 1997, a full year before Sosa became a household name. "We weren't just jumping on the bandwagon there."
When Sarge and Tricia had their next child, another girl, they named her Kerry, after you know who.
Yes, Sarge readily admits, Tricia is a wonderful -- and wonderfully tolerant -- woman.
"I think the smartest thing is I slid Samantha in there on her to start," Sarge said. "She knew the Sosa implications, but she liked the name. And once I slipped that in we had the theme set. Kerry was the toughest sales job. She says she will make my life miserable if Kerry Wood turns out to be a flash in the pan. But even if his injuries hold him back, I tell her that he still pitched what is possibly the greatest game in baseball history."
So Kerry has that to fall back on come junior high, which is nice.
Sarge faced an obstacle recently when Trish was expecting their third child, though. If the child was a boy, they would name it Ryne, but having already exhausted Samantha and Kerry, Sarge was struggling for a girl's name that fit into the Cubs theme. "I couldn't talk her into Ernestine or Fergie," he said. "And obviously Mordecai was out."
Some friends suggested Grace, but Sarge never liked the name all that much, and after Mark Grace signed with the Diamondbacks, he refused to consider the name any further. "Grace chose to chase a World Series ring rather than be honored in this fashion," he said. "And he'll have to live with the decision."
Friends wagered on possible names. Shawon? Kiki? Gabby? But Tricia surprised us all with an inspired name. She is a kindergarten teacher and she remembered the name of a former pupil that she thought would be perfect. She liked the name, it was distinctive and it fit the Cubs theme splendidly.
Thus, last week she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl the proud parents promptly named ... Addison.
Everyone seems to like the name, even those who have no idea what the address of Wrigley Field is. And why not? Addison is a very pretty name.
Besides, Sheffield and Waveland were already taken.
Sammy, Kerry ... it's a true Cubs love affair
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Jim Caple
ESPN.com
When Dick (Night Train) Lane passed away last week, I couldn't help but think of Mike Veeck, the owner of several minor-league teams, who named his son after the NFL Hall of Famer. He explained the naming to me this way several years ago.
"We moved 17 times in the first 11 years of my life ... and in every neighborhood, you were the new kid, the untested commodity, and you were never picked for a team. But if you're named Night Train, I figure you have a lot better chance of being picked than if you were named Jim or Bob or Mike or Tony. 'Night Train? Cool name. How bad can the kid be?' "
And what did Veeck's then-wife think of naming her son Night Train?
Not only is Kerry Wood the Cubs' ace, but he's also the namesake for a young girl in Seattle.
"She was very understanding," Veeck said. "She refused to put Night Train on the birth certificate and insists on calling him William."
Veeck, however, still calls him Night Train.
I love that story and I think it explains a basic, genetic difference between men and women. Men want to name their children after ballplayers while women want to name them after soap opera characters. Alas, women usually win out on this issue, so we have a lot more kids named Kayla than Big Unit.
One friend of mine, however, did name his first child Seaver, though he failed to get Koosman past his wife for the second child. Another friend, Dan Lepse, beat the odds and has managed to name all three of his children for his beloved Cubs.
You have to understand about Lepse. His address has been in Seattle his entire life, but his soul has always been in the Wrigley Field bleachers. In fact, most people know him by his nickname, Sarge, after former Cubs outfielder Gary Mathews.
Sarge has occasionally wondered about how he could have the misfortune of choosing one of the very few teams that hasn't gone to the World Series during his lifetime, but he never questions his loyalty to the Cubs. He isn't that sort. You have a favorite team, you stick by them. Through thick and thin.
So when it came time to ask Tricia, the woman he loved, to marry him several years ago, he picked the only site that made sense. In front of Wrigley Field on Opening Day, 1993. "That was the first game Greg Maddux pitched in Chicago after he signed with Atlanta," he points out.
And when the two had their first child, they named her Samantha, though everyone calls her Sammy, as in Sammy Sosa. Sarge is quick to point out Sammy was born in 1997, a full year before Sosa became a household name. "We weren't just jumping on the bandwagon there."
When Sarge and Tricia had their next child, another girl, they named her Kerry, after you know who.
Yes, Sarge readily admits, Tricia is a wonderful -- and wonderfully tolerant -- woman.
"I think the smartest thing is I slid Samantha in there on her to start," Sarge said. "She knew the Sosa implications, but she liked the name. And once I slipped that in we had the theme set. Kerry was the toughest sales job. She says she will make my life miserable if Kerry Wood turns out to be a flash in the pan. But even if his injuries hold him back, I tell her that he still pitched what is possibly the greatest game in baseball history."
So Kerry has that to fall back on come junior high, which is nice.
Sarge faced an obstacle recently when Trish was expecting their third child, though. If the child was a boy, they would name it Ryne, but having already exhausted Samantha and Kerry, Sarge was struggling for a girl's name that fit into the Cubs theme. "I couldn't talk her into Ernestine or Fergie," he said. "And obviously Mordecai was out."
Some friends suggested Grace, but Sarge never liked the name all that much, and after Mark Grace signed with the Diamondbacks, he refused to consider the name any further. "Grace chose to chase a World Series ring rather than be honored in this fashion," he said. "And he'll have to live with the decision."
Friends wagered on possible names. Shawon? Kiki? Gabby? But Tricia surprised us all with an inspired name. She is a kindergarten teacher and she remembered the name of a former pupil that she thought would be perfect. She liked the name, it was distinctive and it fit the Cubs theme splendidly.
Thus, last week she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl the proud parents promptly named ... Addison.
Everyone seems to like the name, even those who have no idea what the address of Wrigley Field is. And why not? Addison is a very pretty name.
Besides, Sheffield and Waveland were already taken.