Porking out at the Ballpark on Mother’s Day!

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 Some of the above pictures courtesy of  Fox Sports MLB’s Best Food List.

I just found out I’m going to the Oakland A’s – Detroit Tigers game on Mother’s Day so I went online to find out what’s for dinner!  My search found this great website  with such tantalizing food pictures I think I’ll conjure up some ballpark food for dinner tonight!

One of my favorite ballpark foods is the Primanti Brothers Sandwich at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.  When I was there the fans were lined up around the block for this one.  The special sandwich (pictured above) includes not only the roast beef, but also the salad and french fries  stacked high and part of the sandwich.

And someday I’m going to try those Rocky Mountain Oysters at Coors Stadium.  Or maybe I’ll watch someone else try them but it’ll still be an experience.

And for dessert it’s a toss-up between those yummy looking cupcakes at Safeco Field in Seattle and the  funnel cakes at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

If you don’t have plans for your mom, your kid’s mom or someone else that’s really special on Mother’s Day why not consider taking her to dinner at the Ballpark!  You’ll get to enjoy the camaraderie of some the greatest fans in all of sports, hopefully a great game and some really terrific food.

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Best Food at the Ballpark in 2012? ~ You Decide!

"Strasburg: Last year's version with butterflied hotdog on top"

I found a great little ditty this morning at the Washington Post.  The Nationals are going to highlight special food from the visiting team’s home town each time they play in Washington.   I recommend you take advantage of  San Francisco’s special food “Garlic Fries” this year, especially since the Giants will be playing at Nationals Park on the 4th of July, and not just because they’re our namesake, but because they’re really, really good!

But for sure you gotta love the special food presented by the Washington Nationals this year, honoring their special pitcher, Stephen Strasburg.  I hear it includes 12 pickles, representing the twelve strike-outs the Stras got in his first outing.   Great article written by Dan Steinberg, from the Washington Post.

Nationals Park introduces 8-pound ‘StrasBurger’

By Dan Steinberg, Washington Post  Posted at 02:06 PM ET, 03/12/2012

 

The new 8 lb. Strasburger includes fries and a coke! Courtesy "Yardbarker"

(Marvin Joseph – TWP.) As the baseball season approaches, you know what that means on this here blog: lots of updates on the concessions available at Nationals Park.

Our first update concerns the Red Porch, and a brand-new menu item that will get lots of attention from media and fans: The StrasBurger. Via my favorite friends in Nats PR:

Weighing eight pounds total (including toppings), the StrasBurger is a monstrous all beef burger (combination of ground brisket, chuck and short ribs). The burger is served on a large burger bun with our secret sauce, American cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, pickle chips and served with a cone basket of fresh cut fries and a pitcher of your choice of soft drink. This signature dish is the perfect entrée to share at this affordably-priced family restaurant.

In case you missed the key phrase, this burger WEIGHS EIGHT POUNDS TOTAL, which is a lot of pounds. Even if some of them are onion pounds. Every TV station in this market will have hosts merrily attempting to grapple with the StrasBurger next month. At least, I hope so.The Red Porch will also feature special food and beer pairings that will spotlight area brews, including those from Dogfish Head and Flying Dog. Any time I get to type “Dogfish Head,” I consider that a win.

Also, the Taste of the Majors stand — which has spotlighted a few items from other MLB cities — will now feature a special dish from the city of each visiting opponent while they’re actually in D.C. Those items will all be limited time only offers, obviously.  The list:

Atlanta:   Smothered Fried Chicken Platter

Baltimore:  Pit Beef Sandwich Platter

Arizona:  Dog Platter

Chicago:  Dog Platter

Cincinnati:   5-Way Cincinnati Chili

Colorado:  Mile High Burger

Houston:  Houston Nacho

Los Angeles:  Dog Platter

Miami:   Cuban Dog

Milwaukee:   Beer Brat Platter

New York (Mets and Yankees):   Coney Dog Platter

Philadelphia:   Philly Chicken Cheese Steak Platter

Pittsburgh:   Pitts Burger Platter

St. Louis:   BBQ Rib Platter

San Diego:   Fish Taco Platter

San Francisco:   Garlic Fries and Shrimp Platter

Tampa Bay:  Salty Dog Platter

Geez, this is all making me hungry!  Only 23 Days to Opening Day ~  See you at the ballpark!

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“TOP BASEBALL PLAYERS OF PAST 60 YEARS!” A Mathematical Study.

This is the third year we’ve published this study by Dr. Don Davis.  It’s one of our most popular blogs and we’re happy to be able to share it again with you.  Be sure to link to his website  for additional information, changes and criteria he used in compiling his study.

“2011 Baseball Players Mathematical Study, written by Don Davis, Department of Mathematics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA., and printed here with his permission.”

Pos’n	First team	Second team	Third team	Fourth team	Fifth team
P,1	Roger Clemens, 266.0	Tom Seaver, 181.1	Bob Gibson, 140.4	Juan Marichal, 107.9	Curt Schilling, 85.1
P,2	Randy Johnson, 202.1	Warren Spahn, 167.5	Sandy Koufax, 137.8	Gaylord Perry, 102.8	Phil Niekro, 84.9
P,3	Greg Maddux, 197.5	Bob Feller, 157.6	Robin Roberts, 136.5	Roy Halladay, 102.1	Johan Santana, 84.6
P,4	Pedro Martinez, 187.5	Steve Carlton, 143.5	Jim Palmer, 133.2	Fergie Jenkins, 87.2	Nolan Ryan, 83.7
C	Johnny Bench, 111.2	Yogi Berra, 92.9	Gary Carter, 75.6	Mike Piazza, 74.8	Ivan Rodriguez, 71.0

Veterans Day and Every Day ….. Thank You!

Arlington National Cemetery

“But the mainstay of the big leagues was the reservoir of 4-Fs – males of draft age who had been rejected on physical grounds by the Armed Forces. Not since harem attendants had gone out of style were men’s physical deficiencies so highly prized. Ulcers, hearing defects, and torn cartilages were coveted by team owners.” – Frank Graham, Jr. in Farewell to Heroes (1981)

This and the following list of Hall of Fame Members Courtesy of  Baseball Almanac.

Baseball Hall of Fame Members  who Served in the Armed Forces.

The Civil War
Morgan Bulkeley	United States Army
World War I
Grover Alexander	United States Army
Happy Chandler	United States Army

Update: 2011 MLB Payrolls & Individual Salaries.

Courtesy TTF Baseball

Here’s the 2011 update to our 2010 Major League Baseball listing published November 22, 2010.  This comes to us compliments of USA Today.  If you’ll click the individual teams, you can access the individual players salaries.  It will be interesting to note the annual salaries of the teams that make the playoffs;  in other words, did they get what they paid for?

 TEAM                          TOTAL P/R             AVG SALARY       MEDIAN

New York Yankees	$ 202,689,028	$ 6,756,300	$ 2,100,000
Philadelphia Phillies	$ 172,976,379	$ 5,765,879	$ 2,625,000
Boston Red Sox	$ 161,762,475	$ 5,991,202	$ 5,500,000
Los Angeles Angels	$ 138,543,166	$ 4,469,134	$ 2,000,000
Chicago White Sox	$ 127,789,000	$ 4,732,925	$ 2,750,000
Chicago Cubs	$ 125,047,329	$ 5,001,893	$ 1,600,000
New York Mets	$ 118,847,309	$ 4,401,752	$ 900,000
San Francisco Giants	$ 118,198,333	$ 4,377,716	$ 2,200,000
Minnesota Twins	$ 112,737,000	$ 4,509,480	$ 3,000,000
Detroit Tigers	$ 105,700,231	$ 3,914,823	$ 1,300,000
St. Louis Cardinals	$ 105,433,572	$ 3,904,947	$ 1,000,000
Los Angeles Dodgers	$ 104,188,999	$ 3,472,966	$ 2,142,838
Texas Rangers	$ 92,299,264	$ 3,182,733	$ 1,251,000
Colorado Rockies	$ 88,148,071	$ 3,390,310	$ 2,318,750
Atlanta Braves	$ 87,002,692	$ 3,346,257	$ 1,275,000
Seattle Mariners	$ 86,524,600	$ 2,884,153	$ 825,000
Milwaukee Brewers	$ 85,497,333	$ 2,849,911	$ 1,050,000
Baltimore Orioles	$ 85,304,038	$ 3,280,924	$ 1,425,000
Cincinnati Reds	$ 75,947,134	$ 2,531,571	$ 825,000
Houston Astros	$ 70,694,000	$ 2,437,724	$ 467,000
Oakland Athletics	$ 66,536,500	$ 2,376,303	$ 1,400,000
Washington Nationals	$ 63,856,928	$ 2,201,963	$ 1,050,000
Toronto Blue Jays	$ 62,567,800	$ 2,018,316	$ 1,200,000
Florida Marlins	$ 56,944,000	$ 2,190,153	$ 545,000
Arizona Diamondbacks	$ 53,639,833	$ 1,986,660	$ 1,000,000
Cleveland Indians	$ 49,190,566	$ 1,639,685	$ 484,200
San Diego Padres	$ 45,869,140	$ 1,479,649	$ 468,800
Pittsburgh Pirates	$ 45,047,000	$ 1,553,344	$ 450,000
Tampa Bay Rays	$ 41,053,571	$ 1,578,983	$ 907,750
Kansas City Royals	$ 36,126,000	$ 1,338,000	$ 850,000

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Garlic Fries and Baseball: The Book

Update:  Now available at Amazon as Book and Kindle.

Finally it’s here!  My book’s been in the works since February and  it’s being published today.  It’s available for sale here first, and will be available on Amazon.com early next week and in Kindle form  soon thereafter.

The book’s a compilation of some of my favorite blogs, some in expanded form, with a few little ditties added in and formatted in such a way you’ll hardly recognize it!  I have to admit ~ writing a book is a great experience, but it’s much easier writing a blog!

Let me know what you think but please be kind.   This is my debut you know ♥   Ronni

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MLB Standings vs MLB Payrolls …. How do they measure?

Okay, so we’re maybe 25% through the 2011 Major League Baseball Season.  How is your team doing?  How is your team doing in relation to their total payroll?  In other words, are they getting what they paid for?

Here’s an interesting article published by Hayes & Taylor recently.  I’m always amazed at the amount of work some of these guys put into their daily blogs;  I mean who has time for this stuff?   In any event, this is a great chart and one of the better blogs and I wanted to share it with you.

“The Cleveland Indians are in first place in the AL Central. They have the fifth lowest payroll in all of baseball. Which got me thinking, how do the other teams in the MLB rank in the standings relative to their payroll. It turns out that the Indians aren’t even the best example right now.

The Tampa Bay Rays have the second lowest payroll in the majors. The are currently in first place in the power packed AL East. Ahead of the number one payroll in baseball the Yankees, the number three payroll in Boston and numbers 19 and 24 in Baltimore and Toronto. The Royals, Marlins and A’s are all over .500, and are all in the bottom ten payrolls in the league. Not to mention all are very alive in the playoff races.

If the season ended today, four of the eight playoff teams would come from the bottom eleven in payroll (Rays, Indians, Marlins, Reds). On the other side, only three would be coming from the top eight in payroll (Angels, Phillies and Giants).

What does this all mean? Talent wins in baseball and not always how much you pay for that talent. If money was how you win, the Yankees would win every year, but they don’t. That makes me very happy. I love to see underdogs win. I love the fact that some of the lower payroll teams won’t be trading away all of their talent this season to teams who will pay whatever it takes. Baseball is stronger than ever right now.

Click here to link to a chart that shows  where all 30 teams in major league baseball rank in payroll and where they are currently in the standings. Is your team over or under achieving?”

2011 Postseason Predictions!

The off-season flew by this year didn’t it?  When you’re playing into November, it doesn’t take long for Spring Training to arrive, and now here we are counting down to the season opener in two days! 

My friends over at “Diamondhoggers” have a little contest going to see who can come the closest to predicting the 2011 World Series winner!   Here’s my contribution to the cause.  Why not play along and see how you compare .  For sure I’m not making any wagers on my predictions since last years turned out to be a bust!    Maybe I’ll have better luck this year.  Good luck on yours!

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

• East Division Champions ~  Boston Red Sox *
• Central Division Champions ~ Detroit Tigers
• West Division Champions ~ Oakland A’s
• Wild Card ~ New York Yankees

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

• East Division Champions ~ Philadelphia Phillies
• Central Division Champions ~ Cincinnati Reds
• West Division Champions ~ San Francisco Giants *
• Wild Card ~ Colorado Rockies

WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS ~ SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS OVER BOSTON RED SOX!

 

 

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Top Baseball Players of Past 59 Years!

“2010 Baseball Players Mathematical Study, written by Don Davis, Department of Mathematics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA., and printed here with his permission.”

(GFBB Note:  I found this  information fascinating and posted the 2009 study last August.  This is the 2010 updated version with a few variations.  You can view the entire study here:  http://www.lehigh.edu/~dmd1/baseball.html    It explains the  criteria used and the history behind the study as well as a wealth of other information related to it.  You can contact Dr. Davis directly for more information regarding the list@ dmd1@lehigh.edu )

Pos’n	First team	Second team	Third team	Fourth team	Fifth team
P,1	Roger Clemens, 266.0	Tom Seaver, 181.1	Bob Gibson, 140.4	Juan Marichal, 107.9	Phil Niekro, 84.9
P,2	Randy Johnson, 202.1	Warren Spahn, 167.5	Sandy Koufax, 137.8	Gaylord Perry, 102.8	Johan Santana, 84.6
P,3	Greg Maddux, 197.5	Bob Feller, 157.6	Robin Roberts, 136.5	Fergie Jenkins, 87.2	Roy Halladay, 84.1
P,4	Pedro Martinez, 187.5	Steve Carlton, 143.5	Jim Palmer, 133.2	Curt Schilling, 85.1	Nolan Ryan, 83.7
C	Johnny Bench, 112.9	Yogi Berra, 94.9	Gary Carter, 77.3	Mike Piazza, 76.6	Ivan Rodriguez, 72.7
1B	Albert Pujols, 158.9	Jeff Bagwell, 99.9	Eddie Murray, 91.6	Willie McCovey, 88.4	Harmon Killebrew, 80.8
2B	Joe Morgan, 140.6	Rod Carew, 100.5	Ryne Sandberg, 94.8	Jackie Robinson, 93.8	Roberto Alomar, 81.1
3B	Mike Schmidt, 184.1	George Brett, 120.9	Eddie Mathews, 112.2	Wade Boggs, 110.5	Brooks Robinson, 105.1
SS	Alex Rodriguez, 151.9	Cal Ripken, 121.6	Ernie Banks, 97.6	Robin Yount, 88.2	Derek Jeter, 83.4
OF,1	Barry Bonds, 270.7	Stan Musial, 208.6	Frank Robinson, 141.2	Al Kaline, 119.2	Reggie Jackson, 111.5
OF,2	Willie Mays, 243.2	Mickey Mantle, 208.3	Rickey Henderson, 138.4	Ken Griffey, 117.1	Pete Rose, 99.4
OF,3	Ted Williams, 219.8	Hank Aaron, 201.3	Carl Yazstremski, 131.8	Roberto Clemente, 112.1	Tony Gwynn, 97.1
DH	Frank Thomas, 101.0	Paul Molitor, 58.8	Edgar Martinez, 53.4

 

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“TEXAS CAN’T HOLD EM” ~ Game 1. Rangers and Pundits Lose!

Whodathunk it?  I had almost as much fun watching the sports pundits after the game than watching the game itself.  Well, almost.   The Giants had no chance, nada, zilch, zero, of beating Cliff Lee in game one of this World Series.  None!  I mean, after all, Cliff Lee had never lost a playoff game.  Won 10, Loss  0!  Whew, who wants to go up against those odds?   I almost believed it myself.  So after the game, when the pundits came slithering out from under the rocks, it was just a lot of fun to listen to their enlightened jibberish.   I believe it’s called “eating crow”?   As Joe buck said in his post-game commentary, “Don’t listen to us folks.  We don’t know anything!”  

The thing that puzzles me about the  Giants getting absolutely no respect before the game, and still now, even after the  game, is the  way they made it to the World Series in the first place.    This is a team of self-proclaimed misfits and oddballs, picked up from the trash heaps of other teams, a couple of rookies, and one helluva pitching staff.    In August, this team was 6 1/2 games behind in the NL West, but they scratched and clawed and fought off not only the San Diego Padres, but also a very good Colorado Rockies team to prevail.  They willed their way to the NL West Championship.    They were the underdog as they advanced to the NLDS against Atlanta, under the leadership of  Bobby Cox, destined to extend his career a few more games.   But, once again,  against the odds, the Giants won the National League Division Series against Atlanta!

So now the pundits had a ball!   I mean now the Giants had to face the Philadelphia Phillies, defending National League Champions, two years in a row, and World Series Champions only a year ago!   Their ace, Roy Halladay, as good as it gets, pitched a “no hitter” against the Cincinnati Reds,  enroute to the NLDS this year, and the Reds were no pansies.  To solidify the belief, earlier in the year Halladay had thrown a perfect game!   And it wasn’t just Halladay, they also had to face Roy Oswalt, a fastball pitcher who the Phillies acquired from Houston specifically for this reason, to dominate in the playoffs.   Again, Phillies fans lost a lot of money through their bookies over this series.   Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies and won the National League Pennant in 6.

So what’s it going to take?  Headlines all over the country projected the Texas Rangers to win the World Series.  Everywhere except in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Even the Los Angeles papers ….. (whoops forget it, that’s Dodger country, doesn’t count!  i.e., LA Times article today by “Bill Shaikin ~ San Francisco takes advantage of a less-than-sharp effort by the highly regarded left-hander on a night when Tim Lincecum is not exactly crisp.”)  Cracks me up, but you know what?  He’s right!   And that’s baseball folks!  And you know what else?   The SF Giants may NOT win the World Series.  But if they do, it will be because they WILLED it, and not because of anything the Rangers and pundits have to say.    Baseball, don’t you just love it?

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Best Players in Past 58 Years ……. A Mathematical Study!

Roger Clemens

Greg Maddux

Randy Johnson

Pedro Martinez

Johnny Bench

Albert Pujols

Joe Morgan

Mike Schmidt

Alex Rodriguez

Barry Bonds

Willie Mays

Ted Williams

Frank Thomas

I came upon an interesting study a few months ago.  It was written by Don Davis, Mathematics Professor at Lehigh University, Bethleham, PA.   There’s a lot of criteria used in determining different aspects of this study, but for the most part the players names are all recognizable and only a few to make the list are surprises.   The following table lists the top five All Star Teams, using 4 pitchers per team.    It also lists the overall rating percentage by player.   Take a look:

Pos’n	First team	Second team	Third team	Fourth team	Fifth team
P1	Roger Clemens, 266.2	Tom Seaver, 166.9	Bob Gibson, 129.2	Jim Palmer, 106.4	Johan Santana, 85.4
P2	Greg Maddux, 203.9	Warren Spahn, 160.5	Robin Roberts, 128.3	Gaylord Perry, 96.1	Tom Glavine, 84.8
P3	Randy Johnson, 202.4	Bob Feller, 143.7	Sandy Koufax, 126.0	Phil Niekro, 96.1	Curt Schilling, 80.7
P4	Pedro Martinez, 185.7	Steve Carlton, 140.7	Juan Marichal, 109.5	Fergie Jenkins, 91.7	Bob Lemon, 79.9
C	Johnny Bench, 115.5	Yogi Berra, 97.2	Mike Piazza, 82.2	Ivan Rodriguez, 77.7	Gary Carter, 75.5
1B	Albert Pujols, 145.4	Jeff Bagwell, 103.2	Eddie Murray, 95.2	Willie McCovey, 92.1	Harmon Killebrew, 86.4
2B	Joe Morgan, 140.3	Rod Carew, 94.5	Ryne Sandberg, 92.4	Jackie Robinson, 82.4	Roberto Alomar, 81.1
3B	Mike Schmidt, 173.2	George Brett, 119.2	Eddie Mathews, 111.7	Wade Boggs, 108.0	Brooks Robinson, 88.4
SS	Alex Rodriguez, 145.4	Cal Ripken, 113.6	Robin Yount, 93.0	Ernie Banks, 90.7	Derek Jeter, 81.6
OF1	Barry Bonds, 270.7	Stan Musial, 205.2	Frank Robinson, 145.3	Ken Griffey, 114.2	Tony Gwynn, 100.3
OF2	Willie Mays, 226.8	Mickey Mantle, 198.3	Rickey Henderson, 141.5	Al Kaline, 110.1	Pete Rose, 99.7
OF3	Ted Williams, 213.4	Hank Aaron, 195.6	Carl Yazstremski, 127.5	Reggie Jackson, 108.9	Roberto Clemente, 99.3
DH	Frank Thomas, 115.0	Edgar Martinez, 64.4	Paul Molitor, 62.4	David Ortiz, 43.4

Are you kidding me?  Can you even begin to imagine a game with all of these guys on the same team?  What was particularly interesting to me is  that mathematically Roger Clemens is the highest rated pitcher and Barry Bonds is the highest rated batter.   These  ratings are through the 2009 season,  and personalities and private lives are not taken into account.   This is just  using good old fashioned baseball statistics.  

I found the study intriguing and spent a lot of time viewing the criteria used in coming up with the lists.  Rather than go into all the particulars here, you can view the study yourself @ Lehigh University   http://www.lehigh.edu/~dmd1/baseball.html  

 This information is being used with the permission of Professor Davis.

Today in history 1984 …..Pete Rose passes Ty Cobb’s single hits record.

The record at that time was 3,053.   Pete Rose has a lot of major league records.   He’s the all time Major League leader in hits (4,256), in games played (3,562) in at-bats (14,053) and in outs (10,328).   Rose went on to hit another 162 singles and still holds that record of 3,215.  Pete Rose is one of baseball’s most controversial figures after publicly admitting in 2004 that he had bet on baseball and on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds. 

On  August 31, 1989, after weeks of  legal wrangling, Commissioner Bart Giamatti permanently bans Pete Rose from baseball for his alleged gambling on major league games. Although the five-page document signed by both parties includes no formal findings, Giamatti says that he considers Rose’s acceptance of the ban to be a no-contest plea to the charges

But here’s what’s interesting.   Rose played from 1963 to 1986.  That’s 24 years.  And these records plus others listed below still hold.   We’ve seen lots of talent in the past 50 years and still, Pete Rose holds all these records.  Think of baseball greats like Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Cal Ripken, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Rickey Henderson, Carl Yazstremski, Ken Griffey, Brooks Rob inson, and on and on.   I guess that’s why I find this day in history interesting and just a little disturbing.   I’m thinking particularly of  Baseball’s Hall of Fame.  Take a look at the following records that Pete Rose holds today:

Major League records:

• • Most career hits – 4,256
  • Most career outs – 10,328
  • Most career games played – 3,562
  • Most career at bats – 14,053
  • Most career singles – 3,215
  • Most career runs by a switch hitter – 2,165
  • Most career doubles by a switch hitter – 746
  • Most career walks by a switch hitter – 1,566
  • Most career total bases by a switch hitter – 5,752
  • Most seasons of 200 or more hits – 10
  • Most consecutive seasons of 100 or more hits – 23
  • Most consecutive seasons with 600 or more at bats – 13 (1968–1980)
  • Most seasons with 600 at bats – 17
  • Most seasons with 150 or more games played – 17
  • Most seasons with 100 or more games played – 23
  • Record for playing in the most winning games – 1,972
  • Only player in major league history to play more than 500 games at five different positions – 1B (939), LF (671), 3B (634), 2B (628), RF (595)
• National League records:
•  
  • Most years played – 24
  • Most consecutive years played – 24
  • Most career runs – 2,165
  • Most career doubles – 746
  • Most career games with 5 or more hits – 10
  • Modern (post-1900) record for longest consecutive game hitting streak – 44
  • Modern record for most consecutive hitting streaks of 20 or more games – 7

The National Baseball Hall of Fame honors  persons who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving the sport.  The Hall’s Motto:  “Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations”.    I don’t know about you, but I don’t think history’s meant to be “selective”.   I don’t have a problem with the asterisk crowd ~ oh, okay, go ahead and put an asterisk by the name and list what you want,  but for pete’s sake (no pun intended) list the accomplishments as accomplishments, and the small stuff  if you must.   But fame is fame and if the Hall of Fame is to be truly a Hall of Fame shouldn’t it  include those records and achievements that are so substantial they remain as unbeaten records 26 years later?