Happy Birthday to me (and my blog).

27 years ago today I was born in Long Beach's Memorial Hospital. Which means I share my birthday with the awesome man below (it's ok to be jealous (and if you don't know who that is, you suck as a person)).

 Addition to the "Shat," I also share the same birthday as the man who "helped" the Dodgers win Game 4 of the 1988 World Series, Bob Costas. Leading the World Series against the A's 2-1 thanks to a miraculous game-winning home run by a crippled Kirk Gibson in Game 1 and a 3-hit shutout by Orel Hershiser in Game 2, the Dodgers came in to Game 4 hobbling. Already missing Gibson, the Dodgers also had to do without their only remaining power hitter, Mike Marshall, due to an injury as well. This meant that the Dodgers' entire starting lineup had 6 fewer home runs (36) than the A's top power hitter, Jose Canseco (42) and only 4 more than Mark McGwire (32) who was also on the A's that year. Costas (who was the on-field reporter for the World Series that year) in noting the stark contrast between the two clubs, dubbed the Dodgers as having "one of the worst lineups in the history of the World Series. Unbeknownst to Costas, the Dodgers were in the clubhouse watching the television broadcast, when Costas disparaged the weak Dodger lineup. Outraged, Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda used Costas's words to create a spark, leading the team in chanting "Kill Costas!" before the team took the field. As a result, in spite of playing with a diminished lineup, the Dodgers managed to scratch and claw out a 4-3 victory (Lasorda would later personally credit Costas with helping his team during the post-game interview). And with Orel Hershiser pitching the next day, the Dodgers 6th championship was virtually clinched that night.

It is also roughly 1 year since I created this blog. I originally meant write and manage to get my thoughts about baseball out in the world as well as being able to let friends keep track of me as I moved back home from college. For one reason or another, I never had the motivation to post anything I wrote down. However, a few friends have given me strong encouragement lately to do so. So as informal as it is, I felt like this would be a good way to start off. Anyway, I intend to devote this blog as much to my thoughts on baseball and other things as much as I will to things that are going on with my life. I hope you enjoy what I write, and I will promise to post regularly from now on.