March 14Mar 14 March 13, 1954 - Think today’s streaming madness has made baseball too hard to watch, or the MLB’s blackout rules are an anachronism? On this day, ABC made an ill-fated effort to televise a Spring Training game featuring the White Sox at the Phillies in Clearwater, Fla. ABC intended the game as a national Game of the Week presentation, while G.M. Frank Lane of the White Sox felt it would not be shown in MLB cities and the Phillies believed the game was only going to be broadcast back to Chicago. ABC proceeded with its broadcast prep, which would feature just a single camera, in the stands behind home plate. A hole was cut in the protective screen and the sole cameraman, from a local affiliate in Ft. Lauderdale, donned full catcher’s protective gear in case of foul balls getting through the opening. The resulting chaos — during the game broadcast, mind you — forced ABC to cut its broadcast off after the third inning, without any explanation for viewers. The White Sox won the game, 6-3. March 13, 2000 - Sox slugger Frank Thomas was again featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. A lengthy story talked about his career, the controversies and his desire to return to the top of the game. The caption stated, “Don’t Question My Desire. Frank Thomas Comes Out Swinging.” Thomas would have a spectacular season losing out on his third A.L. M.V.P. Award to the A’s Jason Giambi, who’d later admit to using steroids in grand jury testimony. Frank’s numbers in 2000 included a .328 batting average, 43 home runs, 143 RBI’s, 112 walks and a slugging percentage of .625. Despite those gaudy figures he didn’t lead the league in any single category that year.
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