Jalopnik: baseball

Bernie Carbo Says The Cavalier Deals Are Great In Chicopee

Murilee Martin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

When you're going for a celebrity endorsement of your car dealership, you have to pay extra for a celebrity who will show some enthusiasm for your lineup of Celebrities and Sprints and/or enunciate clearly. In this case, Casey Chevrolet opted for the no-frills delivery of Red Sox hero Bernie Carbo. Can you feel the passion for that Celebrity Eurosport?

Beer, Bratwurst, Baseball, and Belvederes: Tailgate Party Madness With Adrian

Murilee Martin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:20:00 EDT

Last year, Belvedere Adrian brought two vehicles from his fleet of old Plymouths, plus his vintage Serro Scotty trailer, to a tailgate party before an Oakland Athletics game, and a good time was had by all. Last weekend, however, we figured we needed more Belvederes, so Adrian brought five of his favorite B-bodies, including the still-streetworthy Thunderhill 24 Hours of LeMons-bound '66. The Junkyard Boogaloo Boombox was there, the food was excellent, and the A's ended up crushing the Royals like cockroaches. Lesson learned: the more Belvederes, the better the party!

Cincinnati Reds Toyota Truck Giveaway Is A Bit Of A Sham

Travis Hudson — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Taking a cue from a similar Kansas City Royals promotion, Toyota has a giveaway going with the Cincinnati Reds for the upcoming baseball season. The promotion has a Toyota Tundra perched in the outfield. The deal is if a player smacks the Tundra with a home run, it will be given away to a lucky fan. The average baseball fan wouldn't know it, but there's a hell of a catch.

The car is 502 feet away from home plate and 65 feet above the field level. A little math by the folks at Red Reporter determined that on an average calm day the ball would have to be hit at 134.5 mph off the bat, which is damn near physically impossible. Furthermore, the folks did more math and determined that on a balmy 90-degree day, a strong right-handed hitter with a 15 mph tailwind could maybe get it to the truck. Way to go, Toyota. Earn those advertising dollars! [Red Reporter via Deadspin]

Tony La Russa Not Convincing in Field Sobriety Tests

bwojdyla — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:45:00 EST

Both Jalopnik and sister site Deadspin covered news of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa being a sleepy drunk driver back in March, but now we can see the video evidence. On November 28th, prosecutors in the case finally released the video from the cruiser and booking proceedings. Frankly, we're surprised that Mr. La Russa was able to walk a straight-ish line, hold up his foot for five-ish seconds, and recite the alphabet (ABCDEFGHIJKLMIZMNOPPQRSTUVZTVXYXZ) after two whole glasses of wine and a 6 a.m. wake up call. What kind of asshole restaurant serves wine that shoots you past 0.092 BAC after only two glasses anyway? We love that Ford product placement at the beginning too. Those viral marketers are clever ones.

SEMA 2007: Chevrolet Major League Baseball Silverado 1500 Lets You Look Even More Silly When You Play Wii Baseball

Ray Wert — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:01:05 EDT

Oh look, it's another Chevy Silverado here at SEMA. This one's got a baseball paint theme incorporating every major league team logo just in time to celebrate the time of the season when only two teams are able to continue to play ball. Because when a baseball uber-fan thinks about what kind of truck they want to drive, they totally think driving around in a truck that's got not only your team's logo on it, but is also decked out in every other team's logos. But, there's other fun in here — like real baseball bat ash wood trim and leather seats that look and feel like a real baseball. Doesn't that sound so very comfortable? Oh wait, here's the kicker — a wide screen TV connected to a real live Wii system. Because nothing says "real live baseball action" like a game system who's baseball game plays like a steroid-enhanced home run derby contest. While we go and throw up into our vomit bags that look and feel like a real baseball glove, check out the press release from Chevy after the jump.

CHEVROLET MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SILVERADO
The only thing missing from this home-run Silverado is the apple pie - because the baseball and Chevrolet are covered. The Silverado 1500 crew cab is decked out in a baseball theme - with a paint scheme that incorporates all major league team logos - to support Chevrolet's ties to Major League Baseball. It is also a fan's dream, with a power-lifting tonneau cover that rises to reveal a wide-screen television monitor that not only brings in the game, but is connected to a Wii gaming console. Inside, the Silverado features real baseball bat ash wood trim and uniquely trimmed leather seats that have the look and feel of a baseball - including the stitching.

Vehicle highlights:

• Silverado 1500 crew cab
• 6.0L V-8
• Multi-color, MLB-inspired paint scheme incorporating all team logos
• Power-lift tonneau
• Wide-screen TV with Wii gaming console
• Bose Surround Sound system
• Leather-trimmed interior with baseball stitching, color and feel
• Ash wood (baseball bat material) trim
GM Accessories features (production and concept):
• Chrome mesh grille
• Twenty-two-inch chrome wheels
• Hard shell tonneau cover
• DVD headrest system
• Ground effects kit

# # #

Really Short Commute: Yankees Datsun Bullpen Car!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:30:00 EDT

The well-heeled New York Yankees fan might choose to drive a pinstriped Rolls-Royce, but what if you don't got more louie than Phillip Rizzuto, yet still want to show off your pride that Steinbrenner's warriors are still hanging on in the playoffs? Well, you could get an early 70s Datsun ~~B210~~ 1200 and recreate the bullpen car used by the '72 Yanks! Back in the day, when Nissan was trying to make a name for itself on these shores, they made a deal with the Yankees (and LA Dodgers) to use the ~~B210~~ 1200 as bullpen cars. We're just hoping that some Fu-Manchu-mustachioed pitcher with a head full of greenies used the car to do some donuts on the outfield- hey, the legendary Nissan L engine deserves no less! [YankeeTradition.com]

BOOOO! Phillies Fan Passes Out On Audi Gas Pedal! BOOOO!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 17:45:27 EDT

So you've taken yourself out to the ball game and spent nine long innings boo, boo, booing for the home team, but instead of peanuts and Cracker Jack you've bought 19 cold foamers (the better to wash down that pint of Granddad you smuggled past stadium security). Whoa, little too much buzz! Well, better stagger out to the parking lot and rest for a while in the Audi... where you start the engine and promptly pass out with your foot wedged on the gas. The good news is that some fellow Philadephians rocked the brotherly love and shut off your engine before it spun all the bearings; the bad news is that they filmed the incident and posted it online for the world to see. – Murilee Martin

Related:
Drunk Dad Passes Out While Pumping Gas [internal]

DUI Day Afternoon: Now It's Tony La Russa's Turn!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:57:06 EDT

We're just overwhelmed by the drunk-driving stories today, folks. Now it's time for multi-World-Series-winning baseball manager Tony La Russa to pose for grainy mugshots and mutter not-quite-apologies at the inevitable press conference. This one bums me out a bit, being an A's fan and all; La Russa always seemed to have more class than this. Damn, can't these guys afford taxis? – Murilee Martin

Cardinals manager charged with suspicion of DUI [SI.com]

The Detroit Tigers Lose The World Series, But David Eckstein Wins A Brand New Corvette Z06

Ray Wert — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 01:50:09 EDT

Yeah, it's no surprise to most that I'd be a bit upset over the outcome of the World Series — that should be obvious to even the most casual observer of this site or, ya know, others. Still, I'm proud of my little Tiger team that could — they went farther than anyone expected. But, while watching the post-game, I did happen to notice that Chevrolet has completely taken over the game of baseball. Above you'll see a quick camera snapshot of the screen as 31-year-old Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein, receives both his MVP trophy and a bright yellow Chevy Corvette Z06. (Kudos to that, I'm sure, need to go to Corvette PRanista Travis Parman — who we've no doubt wheeled that 500+ hp beast onto the field himself.) Yup, the husband of Ashley "That 70's Show" Drane now finally has "my first car I can call my own from the beginning." What the hell's this dude been doing with his paycheck over the past five years — I thought selling out was a prerequisite. Hell, as you can see from the other pic we took below the jump — it's probably a rule in MLB. – Ray Wert

Little big man: Eckstein named World Series MVP [ESPN.com]