Yuriy Boyko: a man obsessed with sports

One day Sports Hall of Fame will be necessarily opened in Kropywnytskyi city. And there is no doubt baseball will have pride of place there with its legendary «BioTexCom» baseball team and its coach Yuriy Boyko.

Being a schoolboy Yuriy Boyko decided sport would be his pain part of life. His parents were teachers – mother worked as a head teacher of the village school, and father worked as a teacher of physical education. In childhood Yuriy spent much time with his father in gyms and on stadiums, so in the seventh form he knew exactly what he wanted to do in the future – to be a teacher of physical education.

In Yuriy Boyko’s school-days he like most of his peers was fond of various sports. He was involved in section of athletics: track, jumping, shot put, javelin, discus throw; he also played basketball, volleyball, ice hockey, and snowshoeing. Yuriy liked and knew how to play football since 14 years old. He played for local rural adult team during championships that took place in the village. His love for sports wasn’t limited in only one direction.

– I was interested in all kinds of sports, from synchronized swimming to skating – says Yuriy Boyko.

– In those years, our family has subscribed on many sports newspapers and magazines. I read them all avidly. I was interested in any information about the race, teams, athletes, news, results and statistics. I knew all world records in athletics, in all disciplines and who made them. I was interested in everything related to sports. Football, hockey, and basketball results I got from TV and other information I learned from magazines and newspapers. During the Olympics I spent all my time watching TV. I watched all competitions. I knew all athletes of our national teams and rooted for them. I felt pride of the victory by our athletes. I was proud of the Soviet sports in general. Naturally, after school I had no other options – only Institute of Physical Education.

– Each student, in addition to common education, had to engage at least in one specialized sport section (these are daily trainings and games, in addition to classes at the institute). I chose football section. In those years football section at the faculty was led by Yuriy Makhno. He helped me to realize the importance of discipline in sports. I am very grateful to each of my coaches and teachers who developed in us desire to improve and develop. These people have engrained me the knowledge about many kinds of sports, which is very useful today in my teaching and coaching career.

-I worked as a physical education teacher and as playing- coach at the university football team. One day, the university dean invited me to organize baseball section. Of course, I was surprised: what is baseball? I rejected this offer because I didn’t see any point in it.

-In flight school baseball team was coached by my good friend Uriy Kovalskyi. He worked in the flight school as physical education teacher and also led the baseball section. He set the goal to organize college baseball teams in all universities in Kropyvnytskyi (former Kirovohrad).

In Soviet times there was a “tradition” to send teachers and researchers to gather the harvest in the farms. And thus I had to go to the farm for two months. Almost at the same time Uriy Kovalskyi invited me to go with him and Kirovograd baseball team to Khmelnytskyi. They participated in the final of the USSR Baseball Cup. Of course, I chose a baseball trip and that was the turning point of my life.

During that trip I liked baseball. The whole process of throwing and catching the ball fascinated me. At the end of the tournament I returned to Kirovograd with a clear purpose: to gather the team and train youth at the Institute of Agricultural Machine. Since that time baseball is my life.

Every day is a new opportunity

You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is. 

Daniel Sanchez extends Contract with Solingen Alligators through 2018

The German Baseball-Bundesliga club Solingen Alligators announced at the end of last week that infielder Daniel Sanchez has extended his contract with the team for two more years through the 2018 season. Playing for the northern division club since 2014 the Venezuelan with Spanish passport will spend the winter in Australia before returning to Germany in the spring. He won the German championship with Solingen in 2014. This year the Alligators lost to the Heidenheim Heidekoepfe in the quarterfinals. 

http://baseballua.com/en/2016/10/17/daniel-sanchez-extends-contract-with-solingen-alligators-through-2018/

Rubric: Bulls-eye Statements by Famous Baseball Players

     

      George Herman Ruth Jr. better known as Babe Ruth, was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed The Bambino and The Sultan of Swat, he began his MLB career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth established many MLB batting (and some pitching) records, including career home runs (714), runs batted in (RBIs) (2,213), bases on balls (2,062), slugging percentage (.690), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.164); the latter two still stand today. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.

       At age seven, Ruth was sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory where he learned life lessons and baseball skills from Brother Matthias Boutlier of the Christian Brothers, the school's disciplinarian and a capable baseball player. In 1914, Ruth was signed to play minor-league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Red Sox. By 1916, he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs, a feat unusual for any player in the pre-1920 dead-ball era. Although Ruth twice won 23 games in a season as a pitcher and was a member of three World Series championship teams with Boston, he wanted to play every day and was allowed to convert to an outfielder. With regular playing time, he broke the MLB single-season home run record in 1919.

       After that season, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee controversially sold Ruth to the Yankees, an act that, coupled with Boston's subsequent championship drought, popularized the "Curse of the Bambino" superstition. In his 15 years with New York, Ruth helped the Yankees win seven American League (AL) championships and four World Series championships. His big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only drew fans to the ballpark and boosted the sport's popularity but also helped usher in the live-ball era of baseball, in which it evolved from a low-scoring game of strategy to a sport where the home run was a major factor. As part of the Yankees' vaunted "Murderer's Row" lineup of 1927, Ruth hit 60 home runs, extending his MLB single-season record. He retired in 1935 after a short stint with the Boston Braves. During his career, Ruth led the AL in home runs during a season twelve times.

      Ruth's legendary power and charismatic personality made him a larger-than-life figure in the "Roaring Twenties". During his career, he was the target of intense press and public attention for his baseball exploits and off-field penchants for drinking and womanizing. His often reckless lifestyle was tempered by his willingness to do good by visiting children at hospitals and orphanages. He was denied a job in baseball for most of his retirement, most likely due to poor behavior during parts of his playing career. In his final years, Ruth made many public appearances, especially in support of American efforts in World War II. In 1946, he became ill with cancer, and died two years later.

Rubric: Bulls-eye Statements by Famous Baseball Players

Derek Sanderson Jeter  is an American former professional baseball shortstop who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter is regarded as a central figure of the Yankees' success of the late 1990s and early 2000s for his hitting, baserunning, fielding, and leadership. The Yankees drafted Jeter out of high school in 1992, and he debuted in the major leagues in 1995. The following year, he became the Yankees' starting shortstop, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and helped the team win the 1996 World Series. Jeter continued to contribute during the team's championship seasons of 1998–2000; he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1998, recorded multiple career-high numbers in 1999, and won both the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in 2000. He consistently placed among the AL leaders in hits and runs scored for most of his career, and served as the Yankees' team captain from 2003 until his retirement in 2014. Throughout his career, Jeter contributed reliably to the Yankees' franchise successes. He holds many postseason records, and has a .321 batting average in the World Series. Jeter has earned the nicknames of "Captain Clutch" and "Mr. November" due to his outstanding play in the postseason.

Jeter is considered to be one of the most consistent baseball players of all time.He played fewer than 145 games a season only three times in his career: when he dislocated his left shoulder on Opening Day 2003 (119 games), when he injured his calf in 2011 (131 games), and in 2013 when he struggled with a myriad of injuries (17 games). For his career, he averaged 204 hits, 113 runs scored and 21 stolen bases per 162 games. He is currently 6th on the all-time hits list in Major League Baseball history

Jeter is also known for his professionalism. In an age where professional athletes often find themselves in personal scandals, Jeter has mostly avoided major controversy in a high-profile career in New York City while maintaining a strong work ethic. Jeter is one of the most heavily marketed athletes of his generation and is involved in several product endorsements. His personal life and relationships with celebrities have drawn the attention of the media throughout his career. Teammates and opponents alike regard Jeter as a consummate professional and one of the best players of his generation.

Fight to the last ditch! And you will win for sure

It’s ok if you think baseball is boring. It’s kind of a smart person’s sport

Be smart and join baseball community!