60 Seasons, 60 Orioles - 1958: Gus Triandos

"They called me the slowest player of the decade, but it was more like the century. Of course, I thought I was runnin’ like hell – except that the scenery didn’t pass by too fast."  - Gus Triandos (Source: http://bsun.md/1n8GBHZ)

Gus Triandos was slow - but strong. In 1958, he had a career season, slugging 30 homers as catcher for the O's. He was named the starting catcher for the 1958 All-Star Game held at Memorial Stadium, which ended a streak of eight consecutive starts for Yogi Berra.

Towards the end of the season, Triandos caught a no-hitter by knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm. Triandos homered for the game's lone run. Speaking of Wilhelm, the photo above shows the oversized mitt that Triandos used to catch Wilhelm's knuckleball, and how that compares to the mitt he used against other pitchers. Later in his career, Triandos (catching for the Phillies) caught a perfect game by Jim Bunning in 1964.

In 1960, Triandos faced Dick Stuart in the television show 'Home Run Derby'. I remember watching reruns of this when I was a kid - either on ESPN or HTS, but I do not recall this episode. Fortunately, Hulu has the entire series available free to watch, including Gus Triandos vs. Dick Stuart (http://www.hulu.com/watch/166976). In a candid interview later in life, Triandos admitted he was embarrassed by his appearance on the show since he did not do as well as he hoped.

Gus Triandos would play for the Orioles through 1962, then was traded to the Detroit Tigers. He was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 1981, become the 5th Oriole to achieve that honor.

Other recommended links:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/triangu01.shtml
http://www.camdenchat.com/2014/1/1/5262244/orioles-top-40-greatest-gus-triandos
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/29/rip-gus-triandos/
http://www.hardballtimes.com/tht-live/remembering-gus-triandos/

2013-14 Winter on the Wasatch Bench

April Climate Summary

It was a wintry start to April, with 2.3" of new snow after the first two days. However a lengthy mild stretch had me thinking once again that winter was over. Once again I was wrong. A strong storm system that arrived on the 26th brought easily the rainiest day I have seen thus far in Utah. In its wake, colder air filtered into the region. A weaker shortwave arrived the evening of the 27th into the pre-dawn hours of the 28th, bringing rain changing to wet snow. I measured about 3/4" of wet snow early that morning. Later in the morning, the best lake-effect snow band of the season set up over the central Salt Lake Valley, however it did not reach my house. That band produced mainly graupel and rain, with some snow mixing down. Now that it is May 1st, I want to say winter is finally over now - hopefully the third time of saying that is the charm.

The cool down at the end of the month allowed for a monthly departure of only +1.63°F, as it was closer to +5 heading into the final week of the month. Average high was 58.9°F and average low was 40.7°F. For the first time in the 2013-14 cold season, temperatures at GFK were comparable to those here at the Wasatch Bench. This probably speaks to the fact, that although summers are hotter in Salt Lake City, the elevation difference allows for a slower transition into the warm season than many locations east of the Rockies. I will make sure I enjoy May, because after that it is game on for triple digit high temperatures each day. Having grown up in a warm and humid climate, I am interested to see how my body reacts to a hot and dry climate. I will be working outside a lot this summer, so I guess I should buy sunblock in bulk.

Day	CW8826 High	CW8826 Low	CW8826 Mean Temp.	SLC Mean Departure	Snowfall	12z Snow Depth	Wasatch Bench Monthly Snow
1	45	33	39	-1	0.2”	0.5”	0.2
2	45	30	37.5	-2	2.1”	0.5”	2.3
3	49	31	40	-2	0.0”	1”	2.3
4	53	37	45	3	0.0”	Trace	2.3
5	49	40	44.5	2	0.0”	0”	2.3
6	49	38	43.5	3	0.0”	0”	2.3
7	57	40	48.5	6	0.0”	0”	2.3
8	70	48	59	13	0.0”	0”	2.3
9	71	53	62	15	0.0”	0”	2.3
10	67	49	58	8	0.0”	0”	2.3
11	72	52	62	12	0.0”	0”	2.3
12	65	53	59	10	0.0”	0”	2.3
13	54	38	46	-4	0.0”	0”	2.3
14	54	30	42	-7	0.0”	0”	2.3
15	65	37	51	5	0.0”	0”	2.3
16	55	38	46.5	-1	0.0”	0”	2.3
17	70	42	56	3	0.0”	0”	2.3
18	69	52	60.5	6	0.0”	0”	2.3
19	68	48	58	8	0.0”	0”	2.3
20	66	52	59	9	0.0”	0”	2.3
21	73	45	59	7	0.0”	0”	2.3
22	71	36	53.5	6	0.0”	0”	2.3
23	50	34	42	-6	0.0”	0”	2.3
24	65	39	52	0	0.0”	0”	2.3
25	63	46	54.5	3	0.0”	0”	2.3
26	47	36	41.5	-9	0.0”	0”	2.3
27	48	37	42.5	-10	0.0”	0”	2.3
28	47	33	40	-11	0.7”	0.5”	2.8
29	51	34	42.5	-10	0.0”	0”	3.0
30	59	40	49.5	-7	0.0”	0”	3.0
April 2014	58.90	40.70	49.80	1.63	3.0”	N/A	N/A