He may only be known by one name, but Schoup was a star for my team in Major League II — he was the guy who was in trouble against the White Sox who made me use Vaughn to get the save.

Baseball card collectors might call him a common, but I call him reliable.

And I just call him Schoup.

You might know him as Kevin Hickey, a former Chicago White Sox (pre-Parkman so it’s OK) and Baltimore Orioles pitcher who played six seasons in the real major leagues before he became a star for us. He went 9-14 with a 3.91 ERA and 17 saves in his time in The Show.

Here’s the Chicago Tribune story reporting the news that he died this morning at age 56.

I’m not happy about it. I may move to England.

Or, I might go collect all of his baseball cards.

– Lou

If you haven’t tracked down the July 4 issue of Sports Illustrated — the annual “Where are They Now?” double issue — then you’re missing out on a whole lot of Major League action.

As in a seven-page feature on the cast and crew recalling moments from the past as reported by Chris Nashawaty.

You can find the story online via the SI website, but you don’t get the full impact without seeing the images and more.

Good job, Nashawaty — that’s reporter I’d not give a big ol’ shitburger to!

I dunnnoooooo … have I seen this before?

Not sure where I stand on Wild Thing these days, but apparently he’s done some autograph signing for us Major League fans to chase.

Will you feel like a winner when you find one? Or are you a bigger winner for going to one of his shows?

I’m not sure if I will. Then again, will he be around much longer? Sad to say it, but …

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Clearly that writer over there is obsessed with my team. Check out all of these stories he’s written. True fanboy, but a “journalist,” too. I need to send him a box of shitburgers. (I got some of his cards of my team back in the day.)

April 6 — Obsessed with Pedro Cerrano.

March 1 — Just read it.

Aug. 11, 2009 — Them’s some nice bats.

June 15, 2009 — Ricky Vaughn Bobblehead night.

April 23, 2009 — He can’t find our cards … help him out.

April 11, 2009 — First mention of Ricky bobbleheads.

Dec. 16, 2008 — More on those bats.

– Lou Brown

Remember last year’s bold preview? (Click here for it to pop up in a new window.)

As Yogi once said, it’s deja vu all over again.

The 20/20 interview has come and gone thankfully.

Not sure what to think other than the next possible Major League movie could end up being like stealing Jobu‘s rum … very bad.

Or, of course, it could be great.

Here are a few headlines about the next film … I’ll call it Major League 4 for sanity’s sake.

Feb. 21 — Hollywood Reporter

Feb. 22 — Entertainment Weekly

Feb. 23 — Hollywood Reporter and Hollywood Reporter

Feb. 25 — Hollywood Reporter

The notion of Wild Thing showing up in Major League 4 makes me a little uneasy — but not as uneasy as knowing Lou Brown has little chance as me making a cameo.

You can also forget landing one of these caps, either. They’re no longer made.

But I still want one.

But the notion of the movie happening lives on. Check this out.

By Joe L. Brown
For www.youhitlikeshit.com

CLEVELAND — Lou Brown, the gravelly voiced manager who led the Cleveland Indians to their first pennant in more than 40 years in 1988 has died after an ongoing battle with cancer. He was 70.

Brown, whose belief in calisthenics, sound un-flashy glove work and downright loathing of contract squabbles, kept him at the helm of the Toledo Mud Hens for 30 years, was hired for the job by General Manager Charlie Donovan, who had been promoted after the death of owner Donald Phelps.

Un-beknownst to Brown and Donovan, owner Rachel Phelps had intended to produce a team worthy of re-locating to Miami, but it was Brown’s daring managerial style and an eclectic mix of veterans and unknown talent like Willie Mays Hayes, Pedro Cerrano and Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn that led the Indians to the AL East title for the first time since 1954.

Brown’s Tribe defeated the New York Yankees in a playoff game on a bunt by catcher Jake Taylor, which meant the team finished with a 93-70 record in his dream season. Brown told reporters that “there are two or three potential all-stars” on his roster, but it was his managing of that talent that was vital for the Tribe’s success. One example? Brown discovered that Vaughn’s wildness was a result of poor eyesight, propelling the former California Penal Leaguer into one of the game’s greatest success stories.

Brown often admitted that he wasn’t “one for inspirational addresses” and he was known for wasting sports writers’ time when they irked him. One of his great thrills in life was a simple one, grilling burgers.

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Ok, enough of that … all that needs to be said is that the greatest manager of them all, Lou Brown, aka James Gammon, has died at age 70.

Read all about Gammon’s career for real by clicking here.

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All right people, we got 10 minutes ’til game time, let’s all gather ’round. I’m not much for giving inspirational addresses, but I’d just like to point out that every newspaper in the country has picked us to finish last. The local press seems to think that we’d save everyone the time and trouble if we just went out and shot ourselves. Me, I’m for wasting sportswriters’ time. So I figured we ought to hang around for a while and see if we can give ‘em all a nice big shitburger to eat!

LOU BROWN’S GREATEST LINES

“We’re outta towels and I’m too old to go diving into lockers.”

“It’s my kinda team, Charlie. It’s my kinda team.”

“Come on Dorn, get in front of the damn ball! Don’t give me this olé bullshit!”

“I dunno… let me get back to you Charlie. I got a guy on the other line about some whitewalls.”

“Forget about the curveball, Ricky. Give ‘em the heater!”

“Shut up, Dorn!”

“Nice catch Hayes, don’t ever fucking do it again.”

“You may run like Mays, but you hit like shit.”

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Additional stories:

The Los Angeles Times – Obituary

The Los Angeles Times — Blog item

Ocala.com — Obituary

Yahoo! Sports — Big League Stew

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Other links:

James Gammon on IMDB

You all know about home-field advantage but I know how good these guys are.

They may not have liked my team, but after Stephen Strasburg‘s struggles on Sunday it’s readily apparent that they don’t like him, either.

– Lou Brown

Sweet, ain’t it?

I whipped it up on my printer and might send some out to a few lucky fans.