MLB and St. Patrick’s Day: 5 Quick Looks
Mar 17, 2014; Kissimmee, FL, USA; Houston Astros grounds crew worker with a green hat and beard to celebrate St. Patrick
Saint Patrick was the patron saint of the Emerald Isle. His holiday, St. Patrick’s Day, has been a celebration made official in the early 17th century.
Every year in spring training for some time now, various MLB clubs sport green in their uniforms to get into the mix for a holiday many North American’s have embraced whole-heartedly.
While it’s mostly just fun and games on the surface, Irish heritage has played a large role in the history of MLB and thus a culmination of what the game has came to represent this day in age.
1. Significance of the Oakland Athletics
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It may seem odd, but the Oakland A’s are presently the only team in MLB to regularly incorporate the color green into their uniforms. Fellow AL West counterpart, the Seattle Mariners, come close with their “northwest green,” but this color is closer to aqua than anything and is not focal point of the clubs color ensemble as green is with the A’s.
In 1960, Charlie O’Finley purchased an interest in the franchise (then the Philadelphia Athletics) and changed their colors to kelly green, Fort Knox gold and wedding gown white.
But well before all this, the organization has much deeper ties to Irish American ancestry. One of the more influential builders of MLB in the 19th and 21st centuries was a man named Cornelius McGillicuddy Sr., better known as Connie Mack.
Mack was born in 1862 in East Brookfield, MA, to Irish immigrants Michael and Mary McKillop McGillicuddy as one of seven children. He began his playing career in 1886 with the Washington Nationals but was never really much of a catcher as a player. Instead he is more renowned for his creative innovations to the game and his legendary managerial career. Mack retired as a player in 1896 after having been a player-manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates for three seasons.
It was in 1901 when Mack began his historic career with the Philadelphia Athletics. He managed them for 50 seasons until 1950 and as a result is the winningest manager all time in MLB buy close to 1000 games. All said, Mack won five World Series Championships, spent a tremendous 71 years involved in pro baseball and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1937, well before his career came close to an end.
In 2008, Mack was an inaugural inductee to Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame. Two of Mack’s direct descendants, his grandson and great grandson, both went on to be politicians in the United States House of Representatives.
2. Patrick Joseph Donovan
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Better known as Patsy Donovan, would probably have to be the most prolifically documented Irish-born player to ever play Major League Baseball.
Born in Queenstown, Ireland on March 16, 1865, Donovan debuted in 1890 with the Boston Beaneaters. Playing for several teams until his retirement in 1907 — most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals — Donovan compiled a lifetime batting average of .301 with a .348 OBP, 2256 career hits in 8172 plate appearances and 518 steals.
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Despite being one of the premier hitters of his time and 160th overall on the career hits list, Donovan is not enshrined in Cooperstown.
Donovan’s greater impact on the game came more subtly after his playing career came to an end. Becoming a scout for the Boston Red Sox in 1909, through an acquaintance he was instrumental in bringing Baltimore born George Herman Ruth to the Red Sox in 1914. Later on, he finished his baseball career coaching high school baseball for the Phillips Academy in Andover. While there, he coached the 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush in baseball, before Bush eventually went on to captain Yale’s baseball team and play in the College World Series.
The Irish Baseball League has an award known as the Patsy Donovan award that is presented annually to league’s hitting champion at the conclusion of every season.
3. Nolan Ryan
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With such a rich history of Irish American backgrounds in the country’s existence, it’s only logical to assume that some very influential and great players with Irish ethnicity have been part of this classic game.
In terms of a WAR basis, Nolan Ryan posted a number of 81.8 which ranks 58th overall. There are probably other great players with Irish bloodlines in their person, but because Ryan (derived from Rian) is both a given and surname directly of Irish origin it makes sense to pay homage to the Ryan Express on this day. Anglicized as Ryan, the original meaning behind the name loosely is believed to translate to “chief” or “king” in Gaelic Irish.
One of the finer pitchers to ever play the game, Ryan’s 5714 strikeouts rank first in MLB history by a significant margin to Randy Johnson‘s 4875. Ryan was notorious for his velocity as well as career longevity, having played well into his forties as a 46-year old with the Texas Rangers in 1993. He also holds the career record for most no-hitters with seven, but despite a lifetime ERA of 3.19 and all of his prestigious accomplishments, the right-hander never won a Cy Young Award.
4. MLB’s “Unofficial” Holiday
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Irish American actor Will Ferrell suited up for the Cincinnati Reds recently, along with nine other teams, to raise money for charity. Oddly enough, it was a team named after a specific color not at all associated with green who first donned green uniforms in spring training, thus making it the unofficial holiday of MLB.
Mar 14, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) skates during warm-ups wearing a commemorative St. Patrick
Cincinnati Reds GM Dick Wagner was the architect behind the Big Red Machine of the 1970’s. Despite German ancestry, the GM was thinking outside the box in terms of publicity when he made his squad wear green in a spring training contest on March 17 in 1978.
Since then, the tradition has gained notoriety with a number of clubs wearing green uniforms on this day in order to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day. Even the NHL and NBA have followed suit by donning green uniforms in support of this day.
5. The Green Monster
Apr 21, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; An American flag is unfurled over the Green Monster before the baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
All right, all right. I’m reaching a bit on this one, admittedly.
The city of Boston is widely regarded as having some of the closest and most significant ties to Irish American ancestry. The Boston Celtics come to mind, as do the high frequency of Irish pubs that cover the streets of Beantown.
The Dropkick Murphys, an American Celtic punk band that has gained an international audience was formed in 1996 in Quincy, a city just south of Boston. They band’s song “Tessie” is kind of an unofficial anthem for the Red Sox and the group has performed live at Fenway Park before.
From a sports perspective, the Green Monster at Fenway park is one of the more iconic baseball structures in American sports culture. Fittingly, it also happens to be green.
The wall was part of the original structure of the stadium which was first used in 1912, making its popularity over a century old. It stands 37 feet and two inches tall, making it the second tallest wall amongst all in existence at the pro baseball level, minor league stadiums included. Seats atop the Green Monster were installed in 2005, allowing fans to have a birds eye view of the action below while being in close proximity to the playing surface.