The Hour That the Ship Comes In

“And they will know that it’s for real, the hour that their ship comes in…”  Washington Nationals fans may be pinching themselves to find out whether they are dreaming–as in the old Bob Dylan song–but after wandering in the dessert for many years, a championship caliber organization is arriving on the rising tide of the […]

Ty Cobb, Babies and Puppies; Oh My!: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of March 8, 2015

With other sports and interests vying for their attention, it’s important to keep baseball alive with the younger generations. A great way to achieve this is through school teams—right from elementary school through college. Some programs have faded away over the years but in some rare instances there has been a revival, including at New […]

Minnie, Ernie and the Best and Saddest of Chicago Winters

It has been the best of winters and the worst of winters for Chicago baseball. The White Sox and Cubs spent the early part of the offseason stealing headlines from the Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks and competing with one another in the “Winter World Series” as both retooled their rosters and fueled talk of the […]

Should MLB Adopt the 154-Game Schedule?

New Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred recently suggested he was open to the idea of reducing the regular season from 162 to 154 games. The 154 game schedule is not a new idea. The American and National League adopted the format before the 1904 season, ensuring the eight teams in each league played their […]

Who Was a Better Hitter: Cobb, Ruth, or Wagner?

Hey baseball fans! There’s a question on my mind that I, for the longest time, was never able to figure out the answer. The question is who is the best hitter from the first Hall of Fame class? In case you don’t know, in 1936, the first three hitters inducted into the Baseball Hall of […]

Earl Weaver Teaches the Art of Umpire Arguing: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of March 1, 2015

Los Angeles Angels’ slugger Josh Hamilton has had a roller coaster career. The former first overall draft pick has fought through addiction to forge an abbreviated All-Star career in the majors. Unfortunately, word came down this past week that the 33-year-old had suffered a relapse with drugs and alcohol and is facing a lengthy ban. […]

Now Up, Matt LaPorta: Talking His Career and Life After Baseball

Baseball players who are fortunate enough to play in the majors seemingly have it all. They are at the top of their profession, can make a salary that if lucky can veer into Jed Clampett money, and get to travel the world.  However, baseball careers are just a fraction in length of a typical vocation, […]

Alex Rodriguez Undeserving of Record Cleansing For PED Use

Alex Rodriguez should be stripped of the 190 home runs hit over several seasons as punishment for failing drug tests. That is what Chicago Tribune columnist Philip Hersh believes. Why? Using the precedent of the International Olympic Committee stripping athletes who failed drug tests of medals, Hersh suggests in order to show the gravity of […]

Why Alan Trammell Belongs in the Hall of Fame

Hey baseball fans! Yesterday was my birthday, so you know what that means: an Alan Trammell post! For those of you who don’t know it, Trammell and I share a birthday (February 21st) and he’s the only person in baseball who I share a birthday with that should be in the Hall of Fame. So, […]

Actor Bill Murray, the Professional Baseball Player: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of February 22, 2015

One of the biggest story lines during spring training has and will continue to be the reintroduction of Alex Rodriguez to major league baseball. After being suspended for over a year for PEDs, the 39-year-old New York Yankees’ third baseman is attempting to salvage the remaining years of his career from the scandal pages, but […]

What Baseball Means To Me

It is springtime again in America. Yeah, tens of millions are digging out from mountains of snow to go to work, but the trucks carrying our summer obsession have safely reached their destinations in Florida and Arizona. Once unpacked, another baseball season will be upon us and it can never come too soon. For me, […]

Mickey Mantle and His Employment Agency: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of February 15, 2015

Baseball history remains a popular subject of study. Given the increasingly quicker pace of life and the availability of other sporting options for fan consumption, this may be somewhat surprising. But on second glance there should be no surprise at all. Baseball is the National Pastime for a reason. It is unsurpassed in having figures […]

The Buehrle Perfecto

Hey baseball fans! So in my last post, I talked about a catch made by Dewayne Wise that saved Mark Buehrle‘s perfect game. The reason that I bring this up is that, in this post I want to talk about said perfecto and tell you what happened. Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox pitched […]

Solving Major League Baseball’s Marketing Problem

The National Football League concluded another season with the most watched show in the history of American television, breaking a record held by last year’s Super Bowl and so on. Of course, 114 million pair of eyes on one whale of a football game means baseball is dying, right? Certainly, a sport dragging in $9 […]

Had ’em All the Way: The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates

Preface It was 1955 when my dad took me to Forbes Field to see my first major league baseball game. I was nine years old. Our family lived in North Carolina, and every year during Dad’s vacation week, we visited Indiana, Pennsylvania, which is about sixty miles to the east of Pittsburgh. Indiana was my […]

Hardball Retrospective – Sustained Mediocrity

About the Book 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. Consequently, Reggie Jackson is listed on the Athletics roster for the duration of his career while the Mets claim Tom Seaver and the Cardinals declare Steve […]

Remembering Charlie Hollocher’s Tragically Shortened Life and Baseball Career

There have been many talented baseball players during the 150-plus year existence of the game. Some have achieved glory and legendary status, while others have had circumstances impede their efforts. Shortstop Charlie Hollocher is a perfect example of this, as he was a star as a rookie in 1918, but out of the game by […]

When Life Gives You A Lemon, You Win A Lot of Games

Hey baseball fans! The baseball season is still a few months away, which puts me in a very sour mood. Speaking of sour, do you know who Bob Lemon is? If not, just read on and find out. Robert Granville Lemon pitched in the MLB from 1946-1958 with the Cleveland Indians. He would have played […]

Ernie Banks Leaves A Powerful Legacy

Ernie Banks, one of the brightest personalities in Major League Baseball history, passed away Saturday, January 26 at the age of 83 from a heart attack. Best known for his sunny optimism and the catch phrase “Let’s play two,” the Chicago Cubs icon is hardly remembered outside of Chicago for his graceful glove at short […]

Bernie Carbo, Ripped Pants and Selling Chevrolets: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of January 25, 2015

The legacy of baseball is built brick by brick with the contributions and passion of its players and contributors. One of the greatest was Chicago Cubs shortstop and first baseman Ernie Banks, who sadly has passed away at the age of 83. “Mr. Cub” began his career in the Negro Leagues but gained his success […]

Out of the Park Baseball 16 – Officially Licensed by MLB.com, Available in March 2015!

Pre-Order Now! Save $5, Get Early Access Plus a Free Steam Key, and a Chance to Win a $500 MLB.com Shop Gift Certificate! That’s right: Out of the Park Baseball 16 is the first entry in our 16-year-old series to feature official MLB.com and Minor League Baseball licenses! That means as soon as you launch […]

2014 Featured Bad Offense in MLB

Offensive levels in Major League Baseball fell in 2014 to levels not seen in a generation. Are we on the verge of another pitching boom? The answer is, not really. The simplest statistic to measure, batting average was .251, the lowest number since 1972. On Base Percentage, .314, also hit a 42-year low. Slugging percentage, […]

The Hot Stove in Washington Is Red Hot

Fans in DC woke today to an embarrassment of riches when it was announced that Max Scherzer has agreed to terms and will be the mainstay of the Nationals rotation going forward for the next 7 years. The Washington Nationals inserted themselves again into the 2015 hot stove discussions just when everything seemed the quietest. […]

Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises

Would your favorite baseball team make the playoffs if player X had not been traded? Imagine your team’s roster from any particular year. Remove all of the players that your team acquired through trades and free agency. Would you be able to field a competitive team? All right, let us re-populate the roster with every […]

Ken Griffey, Jr. Gets a New Job: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of January 18, 2015

The 2015 baseball season is nearly here. The reporting dates of pitchers and catchers are literally just a month away. Once those players start arriving in camps, things start happening rapidly. But until then, there is still much work to be done around the majors. Although many free agents have signed their new deals, there […]

Analyzing the 2015 Hall of Fame Vote

The Baseball Writers Association of America elected 4 players to the Hall of Fame this year for the first time since 1955, Randy Johnson (97.3%), Pedro Martinez (91.3%), John Smoltz (82.9%) and Craig Biggio (82.7%).  All four easily surpassed the 75% required for election. Of those on the ballot who were not elected, Mike Piazza […]

An Interview with Boston Red Sox Prospect Nick Longhi

Growing up rooting for a baseball team, and striving to get into position to one day have a professional career are two very different things. However, occasionally, players can have their cake and eat it too, as prospect Nick Longhi is not only looking like a good bet to make some noise as a pro […]

Fidel Pitches Into Extra Innings in Dramatic Win

Fidel Castro is throwing one last pitch and it is proving to be his best. Regardless what political prism one sees the island of Cuba through, there is no denying that it has been the home of some great baseball over the years, so the new diplomatic initiative by the Obama administration promises new access […]

Trevor Hoffman’s Hall of Fame Status Anything But Certain

Ken Griffey Jr. and Trevor Hoffman are the headline first-timers next year on the Baseball Writers of America Hall of Fame ballot. Griffey Jr. is a slam dunk. Hoffman is not. The long-time San Diego Padres closer locked down saves for the better part of sixteen seasons, compiling a whopping 601 in his 18-year career. […]

Where do the Current Hall of Fame Snubs Rank According to WAR and JAWS?

With the 2015 Hall of Fame election results recently announced, we saw Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio get elected. Many commentators and voters are becoming increasingly vocal about the system, most notably complaining that because voters can only choose 10 players, some high quality candidates are being artificially kept from getting […]

JFK, The Catcher: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of January 11, 2015

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has four new members. This past week, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio all received the requisite amount of votes to establish their permanent residency in baseball’s most exclusive museum. These are all extremely worthy candidates but the voting process is still in great need of […]

Where does Derek Jeter Rank among All-Time Shortstops?

Now that his long and outstanding career is over, many are asking the fun question: where does Derek Jeter rank among all-time Major League shortstops? Answering this question is not easy, and not only because it is always difficult to compare players from across the 140+ years of MLB history. No, the first question we […]

Satchel Paige, Western Movie Star: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of January 4, 2015

Now that we have eased into 2015 a new baseball season is on the horizon. Spring training will literally start next month. You can practically taste it it’s so close. With the days shorter, darker and colder, anything that offers a glimmer of hope to ball being played again on a regular basis should be […]

Rating the 2015 Hall of Fame Candidates Based on Win Shares

One of the first items of business in baseball each year is the announcement of players elected to the Hall of Fame. This leads to lots of speculation and a little analysis prior to the announcement which is scheduled for January 6, 2015. Many systems exist for evaluating player performance. One such system, the Win […]

Why John Smoltz is a No-Brainer Selection for the Baseball Hall of Fame

Nobody has ever been unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Even those like Babe Ruth and Willie Mays, whose production and legend place them in a totally different stratosphere, didn’t receive 100 percent support for their enshrinement. Thus, the annual ballot typically has a number of candidates whose merits are the fodder for […]

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