God Bless you please, Jim Bunning

[Ct Yankee]

Prior to Jim Bunning being a US Representative and Senator (and politics aside), he etched his name into my heart and baseball into my soul.  On Father's Day (June 21) 1964, the visiting Philadelphia Phillies tabbed two outstanding hurlers to start vs. Casey Stengel's hapless New York Mets for the doubleheader - Jim Bunning and first time starter Rick Wise.  Two month old Shea Stadium, and its accompanying World's Fair, was a mere two miles from my brick two family hard along the Long Island Expressway in Elmhurst, Queens.  In the second game, Rick Wise recorded his first major win.  In the first game, which was my first MLB game in attendance, Bunning faced 27 Mets and set 27 Mets down.  So, my first game was a perfect game, the first perfect game in the National League in the modern era (20th century).  Something like that stays with you for a lifetime.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/232749228/hofer-former-senator-jim-bunning-dies-at-85/?topicId=27118122

[Pigmeat]

I heard that this morning.

I enjoyed him both as a player and politician, as he was one strangest guys to ever occupy the Senate.  He once was reputed to have told Mitch McConnell, "I've had tens of thousands people booing and throwing things at me more times than I can remember. Do you think I care what a piss-ant like you says about me?" There was no love lost between Kentucky's two senators.

[Josh]

He sounds like an ossum guy, could use more poly ticks like him right now.

[Pigmeat]

I always wondered if he got popped in the head by one too many low line drives during his baseball career after he got into politics? Kentucky isn't far from me, so he often made the local news. Bunning was always saying things off the cuff that made people go "WTF?" He was damned entertaining to watch from afar.