October 4, 2023

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Cheap and Ugly in the Capitol

September 16, 2023 · by · Leave a Comment 

Calvin Griffith (AP Photo/John Duricka )   Upon Googling: “Cheapest Baseball Owners,” the first article led with the following description: “cheap, greedy, tight-fisted, miserly, penurious. A discussion of the penny-pinching figures who historically have ruled the game of baseball includes Charlie Comiskey—of Black Sox fame, Harry Frazee—who sold off Babe Ruth, and Calvin Griffith, who infamously told a crowd in the Twin Cities that DC was too Black for baseball.” There are so many jackasses who have owned baseball teams that one soon realizes what a fetid miasma of human depravity... [Read the full story]

General

A Star is Reborn: Satchel Paige in the Movies

September 19, 2023 · by · Leave a Comment 

You might be surprised to discover that Satchel Paige is included in the Internet Movie Database, the encyclopedic go-to source for film buffs. In fact, he has four credits, three onscreen and one behind the screen. The first is a formality, as the credit is for an unscripted TV role in the 1948 World Series, which was widely, though not nationally telecast. All the participants on the Boston Braves and Cleveland Indians got a screen credit.  A number of familiar names (e.g., Warren Spahn, Bob Feller, Johnny Sain, Lou Boudreau) are listed as well as some that have faded into obscurity.  Paige... [Read the full story]

Features

Gold Glove, Golden Memories: So long, Brooks

September 27, 2023 · by · Leave a Comment 

I have dreaded this day since I was old enough to truly appreciate the perspective that mortality brings. I just heard that Brooks Robinson has died. It must be true because something is gone inside of me. Maybe the last vestiges of childhood innocence that have hung around for these 66 years. Maybe the ultimate rejection of that fantasy that somehow Life will go back to the way it was, and once again we’ll be in the early morning of our hopes and dreams. Yes, this baseball player meant that much to a generation of Baltimoreans; a ballplayer about whom as Gordon Beard, a former AP sports writer... [Read the full story]

Hall of Fame

WAR and Win Shares and Charlie Blackmon

March 23, 2019 · by · 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 · 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

A Star is Reborn: Satchel Paige in the Movies

September 19, 2023 by

You might be surprised to discover that Satchel Paige is included in the Internet Movie Database, the encyclopedic go-to source for film buffs. In fact, he has four credits, three onscreen and one behind the screen. The first is a formality, as the credit is for an unscripted TV role in the 1948 World Series, which was widely, though not nationally... Read more of this article

Making the Game Fun Again

August 18, 2023 by

As the season loomed large in the late winter months, a friend who had prepared a paper on the impending changes in the rules of the game asked me to look it over. It was the first time I had truly registered the pitch clock and the other revision to the rules that had heretofore been sacrosanct. How could we live without watching Bryce Harper and his... Read more of this article

Weird, Weirder, Weirdest

August 6, 2023 by

The independent minor leagues are not as independent as they used to be.  A number of them (namely, the Atlantic League, the Pioneer League, the American Association, and the Frontier League) are listed as Major League “Partner” leagues.  According to MLB, “These leagues will collaborate with MLB on initiatives to provide organized baseball... Read more of this article

When Cash Was King of Comedy

July 15, 2023 by

Nolan Ryan debuted with the Mets in 1966 but he didn’t make a name for himself till he was traded to the Angels after the 1971 season.  He pitched his first no-hitter on May 15, 1973 against the Royals.  Two months later, he followed up with another one against Detroit.  It was not quite as impressive as Johnny Vander Meer’s back-to-back no-hitters... Read more of this article

Oh, Lord, Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz

July 1, 2023 by

For many years the gold standard of baseball writing was Roger Angell. Simple prose and honest story-telling, he left indelible images about a minor league pitcher who could not quit the game, begging his wife for just one last season of traveling small town America in search of some lost chalice. But my favorite was his article describing a game at... Read more of this article

Users, Cheaters, Six-Time Losers, and the Search for Dignity

June 25, 2023 by

(Author’s Note: This story is the sequel to “Hank Aaron and Bob Dylan: Searchin’ High, Searchin’ Low For Dignity,” posted 4/16/23) In the spring of 2005, Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts held a fundraiser in a posh Buckhead home, not far from the Georgia Governor’s Mansion. Since the Center for Puppetry Arts was an advertising account... Read more of this article

Williams Failed to Work His Magic with Rick Reichardt

June 4, 2023 by

Editor’s Note: Rick Reichardt is one of 16 players featured in Barry Sparks’ book, The Search for the Next Mickey Mantle: From Tom Tresh to Bryce Harper, published by Sunbury Press. Rick Reichardt was coming off a disappointing 1969 season. The 6-3, 210-pound outfielder for the California Angels batted .254 with 13 homers and 68 RBI. Signed... Read more of this article

A Most Memorable Memorial Day

May 27, 2023 by

Connie Mack’s “Iron Curtain” Infield (Boston Globe June 1, 1948) In the United States Memorial Day has traditionally marked the beginning of summer.  Typically, MLB used to accommodate the fans celebrating the holiday by scheduling double-headers.  Weather permitting, fans would respond en masse.  In fact, Memorial Day 1948 set... Read more of this article

Hank Aaron And Bob Dylan: Searchin’ High, Searchin’ Low For Dignity

May 26, 2023 by

Someone showed me a picture and I just laughed Dignity never been photographed Or so Bob Dylan says in “Dignity,” a song he wrote in 1988 after learning of the death of basketball great Pete Maravich. Dylan has a point. Dignity isn’t an item or commodity that can be replicated and mass-produced. It’s a quality of fortitude and bearing, guiding... Read more of this article

A Salute to the Senior Class

April 25, 2023 by

I recently came across an article about Art Schallock, the oldest MLB veteran still living.  Art debuted in 1951 with the Yankees and just turned 99 years old.  Perhaps a rousing rendition of “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” should accompany “Happy Birthday.” MLB has not had a centenarian alumnus since Eddie Robinson died in 2021.  Robinson... Read more of this article

More Posts From General

Features

Gold Glove, Golden Memories: So long, Brooks

by

I have dreaded this day since I was old enough to truly appreciate the perspective... 

Cheap and Ugly in the Capitol

by

Calvin Griffith (AP Photo/John Duricka )   Upon Googling: “Cheapest Baseball... 

Making the Game Fun Again

by

As the season loomed large in the late winter months, a friend who had prepared a... 

Stories Over Stats

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While on our way to breakfast Saturday morning, the subject of former Oriole, now... 

Aaron Judge in a Nationals Uniform?

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No, I did not predict Josh Bell going to San Diego, but who did? In my defense, just... 

More Posts From Features

Hall of Fame

WAR and Win Shares and Charlie Blackmon

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It appears that WAR, in attempting to assign a single number to represent a player’s... 

The BBWAA “Report Card” for the 21st Century

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The CAWS Career Gauge (CCG) has ranked all of the outstanding players of the modern... 

WAR and JAWS – Exaggerating Fielding Value

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In an earlier post, I pointed out that Matt Chapman’s WAR value for 2018 (8.2)... 

A Problem with WAR = Defensive Value

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My primary research interest has always been determining which players had the best... 

The Four CAWS HOF Benchmarks for Pitchers

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In 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

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Minor league baseball a Des Moines, Iowa, staple at same location since 1947 Submitted... 

Max Watt: The Boston Red Sox’s Power Pitching Prospect

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Scouting is an integral part of professional baseball. Teams employ and send out... 

Suns’ First Pitch Thrown By Suns’ First Pitcher

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The Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League asked the retiring sheriff of nearby... 

An Interview with Boston Red Sox Prospect Nick Longhi

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Growing up rooting for a baseball team, and striving to get into position to one... 

Carroll enjoys staying on his grind

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ROCHESTER, NY – More than a decade has passed since Brett Carroll roamed... 

More Posts From Minors

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