General

Hardball Retrospective – 1916 Season Replay

September 19, 2016 by Derek Bain

In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team. Therefore, Babe Ruth is listed on the Red Sox roster for the duration of his career while the Indians claim Ray Chapman and the Browns declare George Sisler.... Read more of this article

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Planting the Flag

September 15, 2016 by Ted Leavengood

The Washington Nationals have all but clinched their third National League East title.  Their 1-0 win at Nationals Park last night over the Mets planted a flag square among the throng of New Yorkers there for the game. With a scant 16 games left to play in the 2016 season, the Nats have a 10 game lead over the Mets. In practical terms, if the Nationals... Read more of this article

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What Might Have Been: The Short, Brilliant Career of Charlie Ferguson

September 12, 2016 by Austin Gisriel

The Spring 2016 Baseball Research Journal featured an excellent article by Jerrold Casway entitled, “Bacteria Beat the Phillies which covered the careers and early deaths of Charlie Ferguson and Jimmy Fogarty due to typhoid fever and tuberculosis, respectively. Ferguson especially piqued my interest since he was born, lived, and is buried in Charlottesville,... Read more of this article

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Why the Mets Signing Tebow Pisses on the Idea of Fairness in Baseball

September 9, 2016 by Mickey Rowley

One of the best reads in baseball is not a sports article but a 1975 law review article entitled “Common Law Origins of the Infield Fly Rule” by William S. Stevens.  He connects the dots between common law and morality to baseball’s evolutionary attempts to be fair, evidenced with the 1890 infield fly rule preventing an infielder from having... Read more of this article

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Astros Remain in Wild Card Contention in August

September 3, 2016 by Bill Gilbert

The Houston Astros compiled a record of 16-13 in August bringing the season total to 71-62.  They have the 8th best record in the American League, 8 ½ games behind the Division Leading Texas Rangers and one game behind the Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles for the second wild card slot.  They have virtually no chance to win the Division but... Read more of this article

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Lazzari’s Vault: So Long, Mr. Harwell

August 19, 2016 by Bob Lazzari

The Detroit Tigers happened to be out of town this past May 4th–playing at the new Target Field in Minnesota. Soon came the seventh-inning stretch and a picture of a smiling Ernie Harwell graced the stadium’s bright, new big screen. The news was then announced–though many fans were already privy to the inevitable: the Hall of Fame... Read more of this article

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The Turbulent Life and High Times of Hank Thompson, Major League Baseball’s Third Black Player

August 17, 2016 by Doug Wilson

We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. Few players in baseball history ever embodied Gwendolyn Brooks’ classic poem–every single line– the way Hank “Machine Gun” Thompson did. Thompson was a talented ballplayer and a pioneer, the third black player ever... Read more of this article

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Regarding Prince and Cecil

August 13, 2016 by Tom Stone

In the latest of a flurry of retirement announcements, we’ve learned that Prince Fielder can no longer physically play major league baseball: he has had two spinal fusions, and that is the Doctor’s advice (ESPN story). Given his physique (5’11”, 275 pounds), I think most fans knew he wouldn’t play until he was 40 (Bartolo... Read more of this article

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Milt Pappas: It Wasn’t His Fault

August 10, 2016 by Doug Wilson

Milt Pappas: It Wasn’t His Fault Before we discuss anything else about Milt Pappas, know this: it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t help that the man for whom he was traded went on to hit 49 home runs, win the Triple Crown and MVP and lead his team to the World Championship–the very year of the trade. He was blameless that American... Read more of this article

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“Minor League: The Road to the Show” and Our 10-year Journey to Nowhere

August 10, 2016 by Larry Richards

It’s been brewing for a long time but I think it was this last email I received a couple of weeks ago from a very nice man who works in the office of Minor League Baseball that was the last straw. We met for about an hour and he really was perfectly cordial and attentive. I don’t have any idea what he’s up against or what his true agenda is so... Read more of this article

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