“That’s the Way Baseball Go” On

The San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers held their season-ending rallies on Wednesday. What’s a baseball fan to do? How about reading about one of the two World Series participants? After an MVP-caliber regular season, Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton returned from injury to lead his team to the Fall Classic. So what if […]

They Are Two Stepping in Texas

There is dancing in Texas tonight.  The Texas Rangers played the best two teams in the American League and beat them both in convincing fashion to win the first American League Championship for the franchise after fifty years of frustration.  The anticipation of history in the making gave drama to a game that was decided […]

Cliff Lee Builds Drama With Every Pitch

When Cliff Lee poured three fastballs past Brett Gardner to end the eighth inning, it marked 122 of the best post-season pitches since Roy Halladay threw his no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. Lee did not have to finish this most recent of his numerous post-season gems. The Rangers busted the game open in the ninth […]

Lazzari’s Baseball Roundup 4

TRIVIA QUESTION: The 1987 Cincinnati Reds–who finished 2nd in the NL West under Pete Rose–had four players who hit more than 20 home runs apiece. How many of these players can you name? Answer to follow……….I used to think that a Steve Carlton slider was a pure thing of beauty–that is, until I saw a […]

Happy Aroldis Chapman Day

Since this past weekend, I started a post that is currently approaching 8,000 words.  I’m not quite sure what to do about it because it takes a rare breed to want to read that much about what I was thinking on Friday night. In the meantime, per friendly reader Osh’s request, let’s take a moment […]

Lazzari’s Baseball Roundup

In search of some great, late-summer reading? Check out A Bitter Cup Of Coffee by author Doug Gladstone. This terrific publication references the plights of 874 MLB players who were active between 1947 and 1979; due to rules prior to 1980, these players have received NO pension money for their service to the national pastime. […]

Surprising and Not-So-Surprising First Half

Now that we’re on the verge of the National League’s annual humiliation in the All-Star Game, it’s time to review the first half of the 2010 season. For some teams and players it has been business as usual, with baseball’s daily smorgasbord punctuated by a number of surprises, most recently the failure of the Evil […]

The All-Time Cincinnati Reds (a draft book chapter)

Who would be selected for a mythical All-Time Reds dream team roster? And how have others answered this fun question throughout the years?

Touring the Bases With…Milt Wilcox

Milt Wilcox, a righthanded hurler from Hawaii, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 1968 amateur draft, a draft that included Tim Foli, Thurman Munson, Bobby Valentine, Greg Luzinski, Gary Matthews, and Bill Buckner.  Coming straight out of high school, Wilcox began his career in the Rookie League before moving […]

Former MLB Hurler Dick Drago to Appear on “What’s On Second” Podcast

Former Major League hurler Dick Drago will appear on “What’s On Second: The Seamheads.com Radio Hour” on Monday, May 17 at 11:00 PM Eastern (8:00 Pacific).  Drago began his major league career with the expansion Kansas City Royals in 1969 after spending four years in the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system, where he went 50-41 […]

One More Opening Day

Joe Shrode is a father, and a 19-year youth baseball coach. He is the author of “Between the Lines: A Father, A Son, and America’s Pastime.” BTL goes beyond balls and strikes, hits and outs, and wins and losses. It’s about relationships. To see excerpts, visit www.btlfatherson.blogspot.com. One recent Saturday morning, I took the field […]

Straight To The Show

After pitching out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning of his major league debut, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mike Leake settled down and pitched seven innings, allowing only one run against the Chicago Cubs. Leake’s debut was a unique one; not only was it his major league debut, but the game doubled as his […]

Rambling on About My Glory Days – Ballplayers (Kids) Say the Darndest Things

One never knows when a ballplayer, young or old, will say something that makes your head spin, creates a comment that you don”t forget and teaches a valuable life lesson for the future. My second book was written because I believe sports provide many opportunities for parents to teach life lessons to their kids. Sometimes, […]

Jimmie Foxx Pitching in 1945: A Surprising Story

Back in July 1980, the Boston Globe recalled that Jimmie Foxx’s “final appearance in the majors was as a pitcher. “In 1945, when he was 37, Foxx had slipped badly and was hanging on by his fingertips with the Phillies. One day, Ben Chapman, Phils’ manager, came to Jimmie.” Chapman told Foxx, “We’re desperate. Would […]

« Previous Page