Top Stories
Shedding Light on a Sunshine State Curse
January 16, 2023 · by Frank Jackson · Leave a Comment
The phrase “pitchers and catchers report” resounds throughout the land in the middle of February. All well and good, particularly if you live in Arizona or Florida, but if you are a college baseball fan, the simultaneous opening of the Division I season may be more meaningful. Some of the less heralded divisions start playing as early as late January – before Punxsutawney Phil is awakened from his sacred slumber for his annual augury. If you live in some snowbound burg at a northern latitude, the opening of college baseball season might elicit a “ho-hum” reaction. Thanks to the internet,... [Read the full story]
General
Bogo Baseball: When Double-Headers Attack
January 2, 2023 · by Frank Jackson · Leave a Comment
Zack Taylor (L), Rogers Hornsby, and Charlie Robertson (R) The number of seamheads who have ever attended a double-header is rapidly dwindling. Once a Sunday afternoon fixture on MLB schedules, the double-header is now a rarity, often a last resort in rescheduling a rainout. Better drainage, Doppler radar, and domed stadiums have resulted in fewer postponements, but in days of old the rainout was as common as April showers. In pre-expansion days when the season was 154 games, each team played 11 games at every opponent’s park, so an early-season rainout was easily rescheduled as part of a double-header... [Read the full story]
Features
Stories Over Stats
August 8, 2022 · by Austin Gisriel · Leave a Comment
While on our way to breakfast Saturday morning, the subject of former Oriole, now newest member of the Houston Astros, Trey Mancini, came up. All of Orioledom was sad to see Trey go, but happy that his first three hits for Houston were all home runs, including a grand slam. You don’t even have to be a baseball fan to know that Mancini had to sit out the 2020 season while undergoing treatment for Stage 3 colon cancer. I remarked that “Baseball needs more Trey Mancinis and fewer Alex Rodriguezes.” And therein lies the core problem with Major League Baseball. MLB seems to think that the sport... [Read the full story]
Hall of Fame
WAR and Win Shares and Charlie Blackmon
March 23, 2019 · by Michael Hoban · 1 Comment
It appears that WAR, in attempting to assign a single number to represent a player’s season, has a problem with fielding. And the problem is not so much with the player’s defensive WAR score – but rather with trying to COMBINE this score with the offensive WAR. A very good or very poor fielding score appears to seriously distort the player’s total WAR score. As an example, Matt Chapman had a great fielding season at third base in 2018 and his situation illustrates quite well why WAR does a relatively good job of evaluating his offensive value (oWAR) and his defensive value (dWAR)... [Read the full story]
Minors
Principal Park: Despite City’s Size, Ballpark Has Big Impact
June 30, 2018 · by Kevin Johnson · Leave a Comment
Minor league baseball a Des Moines, Iowa, staple at same location since 1947 Submitted by Steve Dunn Located at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers in Des Moines, Iowa, Principal Park and its two predecessors have hosted professional baseball since Friday, June 20, 1947. One of the more unique games in minor league history was played nearly 61 years later at Principal Park on Saturday, June 14, 2008. With widespread flooding in central Iowa, the Iowa Cubs and Nashville Sounds played a Triple A Pacific Coast League game that drew an official attendance of zero. “The only other... [Read the full story]
General
Bogo Baseball: When Double-Headers Attack
January 2, 2023 by Frank JacksonZack Taylor (L), Rogers Hornsby, and Charlie Robertson (R) The number of seamheads who have ever attended a double-header is rapidly dwindling. Once a Sunday afternoon fixture on MLB schedules, the double-header is now a rarity, often a last resort in rescheduling a rainout. Better drainage, Doppler radar, and domed stadiums have resulted in fewer postponements,... Read more of this article
From Chumps to Champs: Book Review
January 2, 2023 by Barry SparksFrom 1989-1992, the New York Yankees compiled their worst 4-year record (288-357) since 1913. Yet, they won the 1996 World Series and won 4 of 5 World Series from 1996-2000. From 1996 to 2012, the club played in every post-season but one. Author Bill Pennington explains how the Yankees made the dramatic transformation in Chumps to Champs. The Yankees... Read more of this article
When Jay Buhner Almost Became an Oriole
December 26, 2022 by Barry SparksIf not for Seattle Mariners teammate Ken Griffey, Jr., Jay Buhner might have become an Oriole following the 1994 season. Buhner, a 6-foot-3 outfielder, was known for his power, defensive skills and strong throwing arm. From 1991 to 1993, he averaged 25 homers and 85 RBI. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, he slugged 21 homers and drove in 68 runs. Although... Read more of this article
Live Man Walking
December 17, 2022 by Frank JacksonSome years ago, I was watching a Mets/Orioles spring training game in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As is often the case, I got into a conversation with a fan sitting next to me. He was an older gentleman, and since old-timers have a longer involvement with fandom, they are usually much better conversationalists than younger fans. Somewhere around the middle... Read more of this article
Seamheads Ballparks Database Updated, Includes 2022 Stats!
November 26, 2022 by Mike LynchWe are proud to announce another new update of our Seamheads.com MLB Ballparks Database, created by Seamheads.com co-founder Kevin Johnson. The database includes data through the 2022 season; three-year park factor LH/RH splits dating back to 1905; and every no-hitter from 1875-present. The following is what you’ll find: Descriptive data that... Read more of this article
Dealing With a Decade Of Depression
November 21, 2022 by Frank JacksonShibe Park circa 1929 (Associated Press) Given the economic storm warnings that have been posted of late, I can’t help but wonder how they will affect the Good Ship Major League Baseball. It’s not as though we haven’t had economic ups and downs before, but now, depending on your financial guru, we are on the verge of…a cyclical downturn,... Read more of this article
The Curse of Rocky Colavito 2.0
November 13, 2022 by Frank JacksonMake a list of the all-time strangest – not necessarily the worst – trades and Frank “Trader” Lane’s 1960 deal involving Rocky Colavito and Harvey Kuenn will probably be on that list. At the time Rocky and Harvey were as intertwined in the sports pages as Rocky and Bullwinkle were on the tube. Colavito, age 26, was in his prime. He debuted... Read more of this article
The Shemp Syndrome
November 5, 2022 by Frank JacksonRelativity doesn’t begin and end with Einstein. I don’t think he was a baseball fan anyway. Also, I don’t think he was a movie fan, but if he was, I suspect he was not a Three Stooges fan. He probably never heard of Curly, Larry, or Moe, much less Shemp. But Shemp is all about relativity – and not just because he was a relative (a brother) of... Read more of this article
Positively POTUS
October 29, 2022 by Frank JacksonA few years ago, the Rangers had a minor leaguer called Benjamin Harrison. I saw him play a few games at Double-A Frisco (Texas League) and was rooting for him to make it to the Show. Since President Benjamin Harrison was the first President to attend a major league game (on June 6, 1892), it seemed fitting that someone with the same name would one... Read more of this article
Sam Bowens: Detoured on the Road to Stardom
October 18, 2022 by Barry SparksIn 1964, Brooks Robinson (.317, 28 HRs, 118 RBI) was voted American League Most Valuable Player and Boog Powell blasted 39 home runs. But the Oriole who captured the attention of teenage baseball fans in my neighborhood was 22-year-old rookie outfielder Sam Bowens. The 6-1, 200-pounder clubbed 22 home runs, tallied 71 RBI and batted .263. Why were we... Read more of this article
More Posts From General
Features
Stories Over Stats
by Austin GisrielWhile on our way to breakfast Saturday morning, the subject of former Oriole, now...
Aaron Judge in a Nationals Uniform?
by Ted LeavengoodNo, I did not predict Josh Bell going to San Diego, but who did? In my defense, just...
Dear MLB: Your Problem is Relevancy, Not Boredom (although that’s easily fixed, too.)
by Austin GisrielDear Major League Baseball, Much has been written recently about your “boredom...
NORMALIZING NEGRO LEAGUE STATISTICS
by Kevin JohnsonMost baseball fans are familiar with the concept of ‘normalizing’ statistics....
Major League Equivalencies for The Negro Leagues
by Kevin JohnsonMajor League Equivalents (MLEs) are a series of calculations designed to take non-major...
More Posts From Features
Hall of Fame
WAR and Win Shares and Charlie Blackmon
by Michael HobanIt appears that WAR, in attempting to assign a single number to represent a player’s...
The BBWAA “Report Card” for the 21st Century
by Michael HobanThe CAWS Career Gauge (CCG) has ranked all of the outstanding players of the modern...
WAR and JAWS – Exaggerating Fielding Value
by Michael HobanIn an earlier post, I pointed out that Matt Chapman’s WAR value for 2018 (8.2)...
A Problem with WAR = Defensive Value
by Michael HobanMy primary research interest has always been determining which players had the best...
The Four CAWS HOF Benchmarks for Pitchers
by Michael HobanIn a previous post re Koufax and Kershaw, I mentioned one of the benchmarks created...
More Posts From Hall of Fame
Minors
Principal Park: Despite City’s Size, Ballpark Has Big Impact
by Kevin JohnsonMinor league baseball a Des Moines, Iowa, staple at same location since 1947 Submitted...
Max Watt: The Boston Red Sox’s Power Pitching Prospect
by Andrew MartinScouting is an integral part of professional baseball. Teams employ and send out...
Suns’ First Pitch Thrown By Suns’ First Pitcher
by Austin GisrielThe Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League asked the retiring sheriff of nearby...
An Interview with Boston Red Sox Prospect Nick Longhi
by Andrew MartinGrowing up rooting for a baseball team, and striving to get into position to one...
Carroll enjoys staying on his grind
by Paul GothamROCHESTER, NY – More than a decade has passed since Brett Carroll roamed...
More Posts From Minors