Catching Up With Seattle Mariners Prospect Willy Kesler

The Seattle Mariners are in full-blown rebuilding mode. With aging super star Ichiro in the twilight of his career, and a roster of young players like Felix Hernandez, Dustin Ackley, and Jesus Montero, the franchise is undergoing a rapid transformation. Not only have they been restocking many positions at the major league level, but they [...]

Ray Fosse: Un catcher que siempre recordaré. ( Ray Fosse: A catcher I’ll always remember )

A mediados de la temporada 1969-70, o quizás antes, apareció un receptor en la alineación de los Navegantes del Magallanes que poco a poco hizo olvidar el gran desempeño realizado por Walter Hriniak la campaña anterior. En esta oportunidad Hriniak tuvo dificultades con el pitcheo de la liga. El nuevo máscara, todo disposición, empezó por [...]

Interview with Baltimore Pitching Prospect Wynn Pelzer

Some people were born to do certain things. When Wynn Isaiah Pelzer was born in 1986, he was given the perfect name for a baseball pitcher. His name is the type of gift sports editors can only dream of, as headlines like “Pelzer Wynn’s Again” and “Pelzer Runs Wynning Streak to Ten” are ready made [...]

A Vote for the Expanded Playoff Format

Commissioner Selig is still determined to create a second Wild Card slot for the 2012 season.  No team may be impacted by a possible second Wild Card chance more than the Washington Nationals. The window for this innovation in 2012 may be closing, but as the spring reporting date looms just days away, how many [...]

Analyzing the 2012 Hall of Fame Vote

Barry Larkin was the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers this year.  Larkin received votes from 86.4% of the writers, well above the 75% required for election.  Larkin picked up 134 more votes this year, his third year on the ballot.  With a relatively thin incoming class of [...]

Glory Days of the 50s and 60s: Tito’s Big Year

Terry Francona, the man who managed the Red Sox to two World Series championships, is often called Tito. That’s because it was his dad’s nickname. And his dad was quite a hitter. So good that in 1959, he had the highest batting average in the major leagues. But he did not win the American League [...]

Can’t Buy Me Love

Most of the big name free agents this off season migrated toward the American League Danny Knobler pointed out a few days ago. The signing of Albert Pujols by the Angels and Prince Fielder by the Tigers, coupled with Yu Darvish landing in Texas signals a shift of power to the AL. But is it a [...]

Babe Ruth Arrested For Violating Child Labor Laws Prior to Historic 1927 Season

No athlete has ever come close to matching Babe Ruth’s larger than life profile. His exploits on the baseball diamond were perhaps matched only be his excesses and friendly and approachable nature off it. Before it became popular with athletes, Ruth was a frequent signer of autographs, particularly for the many children who idolized him. [...]

Why Baseball?

February is finally here. That means that pitchers and catchers report this month. That also means that it’s time to ask the annual question that many of us contemplate when we find ourselves giddy with the notion that there are ballplayers once again stretching and throwing in the Southern sun: Why baseball? What is it [...]

Fred Rico: Kansas City Royals Outfielder

Every successful baseball team needs “glue guys.” These are players who aren’t stars, but are just solid in all aspects of the game. Fred Rico was one of those players. While his ability propelled him to a brief stint in the major leagues, he was never able to stick as a regular. Born Alfredo Cruz [...]

Touring the Bases With Hall of Famer, Monte Irvin

Monte Irvin has had an extraordinary life and I had the privilege to talk to him about his long career in the game recently. He is 92—he will turn 93 on February 25th—and can look back over a remarkable period in our history, as he recalled,  ”It was a time when baseball was really king.” [...]

De Luque A Chapman, “El Querido Cinci” (From Luque To Chapman, “Dear Cinci”)

Cincinnati ha tenido en su rotación de abridores a un lanzador con algún ascendiente cubano en los últimos años, el derecho de Cayo Hueso Bronson Arroyo, que no habla español, sin embargo, sin revisar fuentes, creo que el último serpentinero antillano en actuar allí fue Osvaldo Fernández, que no pudo impresionar como debió porque, igual [...]

The 1984 Fleer Baseball Card Set

My baseball card addiction began in 1984. I picked up a few packs of 1984 Fleer cards at a Little League game, and I was hooked. Each pack contained 15 cards, along with a team logo sticker. I’d just started to appreciate the game of baseball, and the cards brought me closer to the game. [...]

Seth McClung: Baseball’s Big Red

Calling Seth McClung a big right-hander is an understatement. Listed at 6’6 and 280 pounds, and possessing his trademark fiery red hair, “Big Red” has always cut an intimidating presence on the mound. Coming out of Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, West Virginia, he knew that he possessed a lot of talent in his [...]

Buster Keaton versus Adalberto Martínez (Resortes)

Ambos destacaron como excelsos actores cómicos. Uno a principios del siglo veinte en plena época del cine mudo, el otro en la famosa edad dorada del cine mexicano. Sus cualidades sobre el escenario dejaban sin estómago a más de uno, más allá de eso pudiera hablarse de un relativo punto común que comprobé hace unos [...]

Glory Days of the 50s and 60s: Offseason Transactions

Transactions make the offseason fun. Until free agency came along, we watched for trades and waited for the blockbuster variety. Of course, those deals still pump life into baseball’s winter – the rumors alone provide plenty of drama – but now there are also signings and those rumors as well. Nobody liked trades more than [...]

Offseason blues.. and a Tribute to McDonough

Most of us are stuck in this limbo right now of baseball purgatory. It’s a scattered mixture of anticipation for the upcoming season, haunted by continual days that lack game play. For the most part though, we have all started our count downs and planned our spring training vacations, while continually checking our spots on season [...]

Les Mueller: The Man Who Threw 370 Pitches In A Game

Although he only appeared in 26 major league games, right-handed pitcher Les Mueller made quite an impression. Big things were predicted ever since he was a lanky high school sensation from Illinois. As a senior in 1937, he averaged 18 strikeouts per game, which were 7 innings each. Many teams were interested in him, but [...]

Una Pregunta Controversial Sobre Martin Dihigo (A Controversial Question About Martin Dihigo)

Si el cubano Martín Dihigo hubiera podido jugar en Grandes Ligas, ¿Estuviera en Cooperstown? Este tipo de aseveración no solo es controversial, sino comprometedora de la capacidad de justicia de quienes vemos cualquier asunto relativo al beisbol, más allá que una respuesta tan fácil como “por supuesto que sí”. Al circuito sepia del beisbol americano [...]

Manuel “El Pollo” Malpica fue un héroe del deporte Venezolano‏ (Manuel “El Pollo” Malpica was a Venezuelan sports hero)

En la presente temporada del Bèisbol profesional de Venezuela se acordó la creación de un premio para el mejor receptor de la temporada.  la junta directiva de Liga  distinguirá al con el premio MANUEL POLLO MALPICA al receptor más destacado de la Zafra.El premio MANUEL “POLLO” MALPICA rinde un merecido homenaje a uno de los [...]

Gaylord Perry: Moon Man

This year is the 40th anniversary of the last time human beings set foot on the moon.  Why haven’t we been back since?  Maybe we should blame Gaylord Perry. One of baseball’s great urban legends is that Perry, a Hall of Fame pitcher from 1962 to 1983, once said a man would walk on the [...]

The Business of Baseball

Such current, popular, and reputable publications as Business Week, Forbes and Fortune, and the former Financial World contain annual financial data and other information about Major League Baseball (MLB) and the league’s franchises. Based partly on what these magazines published on professional sports, there are economists and various organizations that research and perform studies, and [...]

OOTP 13 Available for Pre-Order!

OOTP 13: We Hit it Out of the Park With Our Best Baseball Sim Yet! Reserve Your Copy Now For Just $34.99 and You Could Win an iPod Touch! When Baseball Prospectus gave OOTP 12 an A- rating, they said the game “is as close to the front office experience you can get without having [...]

The Winter of My Discontent

It has been more than a month since I felt like writing anything about baseball. The musings, daydreams, and historical diversions that usually fill the off-season void have not been sufficient to overcome the ravages of reality enough for me to celebrate anything with words. Oh, I’m having a fine winter on a personal level. [...]

Fenway 1912: Glenn Stout’s Fascinating History of Fenway Park and the 1912 Red Sox

Fenway Park is one of the most historic and well known landmarks in all of baseball and Boston. Despite its modern notoriety, the home of the Red Sox is the oldest major league stadium still in play, and is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary later this spring. Professional sport venues typically have lives that [...]

After Six Indy Division Titles and Two League Championships, Brendan Sagara ‘On Cloud Nine’ With Marlins Job

Hawaiian native Brendan Sagara had barely gotten his first managerial job after nearly a decade building a successful resume as a pitching coach in four different Independent leagues, but he knew he had to give up the opportunity to lead Na Ikaika Koa Maui when the Miami Marlins offered him a job. “It (minor league [...]

The Impact of Prince Fielder in Washington

Prince Fielder was always one of the impact players in this year’s free agent class, but he is still out there and according to the “industry analysts” the table continues to tilt increasingly toward Washington as his landing spot. This morning Adam Kilgore in the Washington Post summarized the case, saying he is “Washington’s to [...]

Hi Bithorn: Puerto Rico’s Baseball Pioneer

More than 225 players who were born in Puerto Rico have played major league baseball, representing a staggering amount for such a small country. Their successes were paved by right handed pitcher Hiram “Hi” Bithorn, who was the first of them to debut, with the Chicago Cubs in 1942. Bithorn is not well-remembered today because [...]

2012 World Baseball Coaches’ Convention: Learn From The Best

The 2012 Mohegan Sun World Baseball Coaches’ Convention – January 19 – 21 – takes place at the spectacular Mohegan Sun and will feature another blockbuster presenter line-up. You can be sure that we’ll have some of baseball’s top coaches and instructors on board to help you become a better coach. From Cal Ripken, Jr. [...]

A Book as “Terrific” as Its Subject

Like the “The Little Engine that Could,” Tom Seaver began a steep climb saying “I think I can. I think I can.” Seaver’s mom, Betty, grafted the story into her son’s DNA by reading it to him as a child. Seaver always thought he could do whatever he set out to do, and usually he [...]

Glory Days of the 50s and 60s

Oh, for the good old days when Major League Baseball meant two leagues, 16 teams and a playoff format spelled WORLD SERIES. That’s right … the best team in each league, best-of-seven, and Shazzam! Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t go around talking about walking five miles to school in two feet of snow. [...]

El Juego De Beisbol Lo Cambio Lena Blackburne (Lena Blackburne Changed The Game of Baseball)

Russell “Lena” Blackburne fue un jugador de cuadro que actuó ocho años en el período 1910-1927 para los Medias Blancas de Chicago, los Rojos de Cincinnatti, los Bravos de Boston y los Filis de Filadelfia, se le puede considerar fácilmente, sin ofender a nadie, de “nada del otro mundo” ni, posiblemente, de este tampoco. Después [...]

Factores Que Se Oponian A Branch Rickey (Factors That Were Opposed Branch Rickey)

Chet Brewer, de larga trayectoria en casi todo el Caribe, estuvo contratado a principios de los 30′s por un club de Ligas Menores, pero el Comisionado de ese circuito anuló la firma del pitcher negro. Jimmy Claxton, otro pitcher, perforó la barrera racial por dos meses con el Oakland Oaks de la Costa del Pacífico [...]

Integration And What If Bill Veeck Did Buy the Phillies In 1943?

One of the things I enjoy most about baseball is reading about the history of the game ranging from entire books revolving around a single memorable moment, to those about a well-known or infamous era of the game. With baseball’s extensive history you can easily find yourself getting caught in a specific genre where you [...]

Greg Swindell: Representing the Best of Texas

Texas is best known for producing great beef and the best football in the world, but they have another commodity that they export with similar regularity; pitchers. Highlighted by the likes of Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux, the Longhorn State has had 431 pitchers appear in a major league game. One of the [...]

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