⚾ Memories of Tug | Sports Daily Newsletter
And Sepp Straka captures the Truist Championship.
Frank Edwin (Tug) McGraw was known for a lot of things — his humor, his wit, his screwball — but not for his faith, Alex Coffey writes.
Still, the Phillies great was a devout Catholic who came to forge a close friendship with a local parish priest, Father Victor Eschbach. Both were born in 1944. Both had big personalities. Both loved baseball, cigarettes, and God.
Long before his 19-year playing career, the left-handed pitcher went to a Catholic high school, St. Vincent Ferrer in Vallejo, Calif. After he retired from the Phillies, he attended Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church in Fairmount. McGraw told Eschbach that he never would have made it to the big leagues if not for the Catholic Church.
Thanks to McGraw’s connection with Eschbach and the church, Phillies fan Phil Shank has a cherished memento from McGraw, who autographed a church bulletin for Shank in 2002, two years before the former reliever died of brain cancer. Coffey tells the story.
The Inquirer is running a series on the stories behind unique pieces of sports memorabilia. If you’d like to submit an idea, send an email to [email protected].
— Jim Swan, @phillysport, [email protected].
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It came down to the final hole of the Truist Championship on the Wissahickon Course at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Shane Lowry three-putted, making Sepp Straka’s winning putt less stressful. The 6-foot-3 Australian finished at 16-under par Sunday to take home $3.6 million from the PGA Tour Signature Event in Flourtown.
“It was an awesome experience to play in front of the Philly fans,” Straka said. “I think next year maybe the PGA is coming back here. [It is indeed.] So really looking forward to that opportunity.”
Justin Thomas finished tied with Lowry for second place and was equally upbeat about playing in the Philadelphia area. “I just wish we played more tournaments up here,” Thomas said. “The golf courses are great. You get an energy in the crowd and just feels [like] you have a lot of buzz.”
On Mother’s Day, the Cricket Club made moms feel right at home.
In April, Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long asked Rob Thomson whether he would consider giving Bryson Stott a shot at leading off. The Phillies manager said he would, and Stott has made the most of his chance. Since then, the second baseman has remained atop the order when the Phillies face a right-handed starting pitcher.
Through Saturday, Stott had a .455 on-base percentage in his first at-bat of a game, notching 10 hits and three walks.
“He’s really comfortable and that comes with experience and repetition,“ Thomson said. ”He’s really comfortable. And I think everybody else is too, where they’re at the moment. Right now it’s a pretty good thing."
Kyle Schwarber looked really comfortable at the plate on Sunday, as he hit two homers during the Phillies’ 3-0 win over the Guardians.
Next: The Phillies open a three-game series tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park (6:45, NBCSP). Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore (3-3, 3.07 ERA) is scheduled to face Cristopher Sánchez (4-1, 2.89).
The NBA draft lottery begins tonight at 7 in Chicago (ESPN) and the Sixers have a 10.5% chance of winning the first overall pick. (We won’t get into how lousy some No. 1 picks have been for the Sixers in the past.) They have a 64% chance of retaining a first-round pick, which would fall in the top six selections. Here’s the rundown on the draft lottery.
There are so many possibilities for the Sixers. Gina Mizell took five spins through Tankathon, an online draft simulator, and the Sixers landed in a different slot each time.
The Eagles turned some heads when they selected Jihaad Campbell, a linebacker, with their first-round pick in the NFL draft, 31st overall. Mike Mayock, for one, loved the move.
“I had him going No. 9 overall to New Orleans, so by definition from a talent perspective, that’s what I think of the move,” said Mayock, a draft analyst, former Raiders general manager, and Philadelphia native. “I think he is the future of what we’re going to see of off-the-ball linebackers in the NFL.”
Mayock had plenty more to say about Campell in an interview with Jeff McLane on our podcast, unCovering the Birds.
Worth a look
Union letdown: So close to a victory against the first-place Columbus Crew, they settled for a 2-2 tie.
Going to the dogs: Dollar Dog Night at Citizens Bank Park is a thing of the past. Here is how the newest hot dog promotion has been going.
On this date
May 12, 1910: Charles Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a no-hitter in a 4-0 victory against the Cleveland Naps. Bender finished his 16-year career with a 212-127 record and a 2.46 ERA. He joined the Hall of Fame in 1953.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Alex Coffey, Jeff Neiburg, Jeff McLane, Ariel Simpson, Scott Lauber, Gina Mizell, Gabriela Carroll, and Jonathan Tannenwald.
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Thanks for reading our newsletter. I’ll see you in tomorrow’s edition of Sports Daily. — Jim