Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds Deserve Hall of Fame Induction

Chances are Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are not going to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame next summer in Cooperstown, NY, but they deserve the honor. The argument against Clemens and Bonds is valid. They, allegedly, juiced. Both men faced action in court and both beat perjury raps. If you are […]

Dwight Gooden Goes Back to the Future: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of December 21, 2014

2014 is nearly in the books. Outside of the mad dash that is the remainder of the holiday season, another year is done for all intents and purposes. It was another great 12 months for baseball, as the game continues to be as popular as ever before. Whatever you celebrate (or don’t), have a relaxing and […]

Winter Work as Important for Holdzkom and Delabar As for Future $200,000,000 Man Scherzer

Max Scherzer is going to sign a new contact any day now which may be worth as much as $200 million.  If everything breaks just right in the new season, two other onetime Independent Baseball hurlers could earn $1 million between them for their work in 2015, yet these winter preparatory months seem every bit […]

One More Independent Star Gets Big Pact in Far East; Colabello Gets Fresh Start With Toronto

Add one more acclaimed Independent grad to those heading to the Far East for a nice payday. Left-hander Ryan Feierabend (York, PA, Atlantic League) has signed with the Nexen Heroes in Korea for what The Korean Herald reports is $300,000, including a $30,000 signing bonus, with another $80,000 possible in options. Like southpaw Kris Johnson […]

Who Were the Most Productive Offensive Players in 2014?

Numerous methods have been devised to measure offensive performance.  The most common are batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average.  Since none of these averages provides a complete picture by itself, a more comprehensive measure of offensive performance is useful.  Such a measure would include the following elements: The ability to get on base. The […]

Mantle, Mays and Klinger From M*A*S*H: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of December 7, 2014

Baseball lasts through the years not just because of the championships and the statistics, but also because of the memories. The game has produced so many enthralling stories that it will remain its own significant chapter in the story of America. The best way this is all preserved is by historians of the game, and […]

Reviewing the 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

The 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was recently released. As usual, it’s loaded with candidates for enshrinement next year in Cooperstown for their contributions and achievements in baseball. Some have more compelling cases than others, but they all had distinguished careers and made their mark on the game in some way. Let’s do a […]

Hall of Famer Ed Walsh’s Time in Milwaukee

Hall of Famer Ed Walsh’s brief stay in Milwaukee is not well known Not surprising, as it is a small, small chapter in the successful career of the Big Spitballer. But as he is a Hall of Fame pitcher, I think it merits some paragraphs. Walsh first appears on the 1919 Milwaukee radar on February […]

Was Joe DiMaggio Overrated?: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of November 30, 2014

Best wishes to those who celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. Hopefully nobody was done in by that extra slice of pie or sneaking another spoonful of stuffing before it hit the fridge. The moment Americans woke up from their food-induced comas, the holiday shopping season commenced. Neatly wrapped presents are not the only things being bought, […]

Pokey Reese Perseveres: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of November 23, 2014

Baseball free agency kicked off in high gear with catcher Russell Martin inking a lucrative long-term deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. The signing not only indicates that the Jays are in it to win it in 2015, but that there should be plenty of cash flowing around over the next few months. It used […]

Triple Milestones–2014

Offensive production in the major leagues continued to decline in 2014. The number of home runs per game decreased in 2014 and batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average dropped to the lowest levels in over 20 years. Year Runs/Game HR/Game BAvg OBA SLG OPS Triple Milestone Hittters 1990 8.51 1.58 .258 .324  .386 .710 […]

Southern Maryland Growth, Including Possible Local Investor, Next Targets as Opening Day Partners Shifts Priorities

With their recent sales of both the Lancaster (PA) Barnstormers and the Sugar Land (TX) Skeeters now history and with Brinks trucks of money safely tucked away in that both deals are believed to have been for the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars, it would be very easy to see Opening Day Partners […]

Alvin Dark and the Persistence of Racial Stereotypes

It was inevitable that Alvin Dark obituaries after he passed away on November 13 would include the controversy provoked by a pair of Long Island (New York) Newsday columns in the midst of the 1964 pennant race in which, as manager of the competing San Francisco Giants, he was quoted as saying that “Negro and Spanish-speaking players […]

The Time Babe Ruth Fought a Wall and Lost: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of November 16, 2014

Baseball has always stood strong when one of its own passes away. This was proven during the untimely death of St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Tavarez during the World Series last month. Tavarez and his girlfriend were killed in a horrific car accident in his homeland of the Dominican Republic. However, the most recent update […]

The Tragic Death of Brad Halsey: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of November 9

The days of baseball players spending their entire careers, or at least healthy chunks of it with the same team, are over. While free agency is certainly a good thing for the business of the game and the bank accounts of players and agents, it’s a stark difference from the way things used to be. […]

Cuban Sports Officials ‘Understand’ the Cultural Goals As Quebec’s Michel Laplante Builds Unique Baseball Experience

Michel Laplante remembers all too well how difficult it can be when a baseball player is thrown into a new culture without knowing the language.  He saw it every day during his playing days and again when he became manager of the Quebec Capitales, with the norm being Spanish-speaking players in English-speaking environments, or those […]

Negro Leagues DB Update: 1926 Eastern Colored League

The newest addition to the Negro Leagues DB, the 1926 Eastern Colored League (the Negro National League and World Series will arrive later), showcases the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants’ breakthrough season. After three years of playing .500 ball in the ECL, Dick Lundy (.355) and company rode the arms of Claude Grier (12-7, 3.21) and […]

2014 World Series Wrap-Up: The Baseball Historian Notes for the Week of November 2

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning the 2014 World Series! Although not all of the individual games were nail biters, Game 7 and the totality of the series made for great baseball. Giants’ pitcher Madison Bumgarner (Don’t call me Bumgardner) was this year’s player to use the Fall Classic as his personal coming-out […]

John Lennon on Charlie Finley: “I Just Didn’t Particularly Like Him”

Well, He Hands You A Nickel, He Hands You A Dime . . . Such was the way Maggie’s brother treated workers in Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm,” but Charles Oscar Finley doled out considerably more to the Beatles in 1964: $150,000. Charles Oscar Finley longed to be adored, if not loved, though he acted despicably at […]

Lengthy Conference Call a New Step As Independent Leagues Try to Help Each Other

While Independent Baseball has 22 seasons of history since the modern version of the non-major- league-affiliated game started (1993), most every decision has been made by individual leagues.  Some type of governing body has been discussed from time to time, and the Independents have held a few offseason gatherings to exchange ideas and hear from […]

2014 World Series Observations

We will probably never see another World Series pitching performance like we saw with Madison Bumgarner this year.   Even If the Royals win the World Series, Bumgarner of the Giants should be the MVP. (written after game 6).   Every great pitcher has an occasional bad game (ask Clayton Kershaw).  I thought Bumgarner was […]

Frank White’s Breakup with the Kansas City Royals: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of October 26

In less than a week’s time another baseball season will be finished. A new World Series champion will be crowned and major league teams will press forward with hard decisions about how to bring their 2015 plans to fruition. The lull following the Fall Classic is always a withdrawal-inducing time for baseball fans. However, it’s […]

So, How’s My Book Doing?

Hey baseball fans, As a lot of you know, I’ve written an A-Z baseball history introduction book called Amazing Aaron to Zero Zippers, which is being published by Summer Game Books, and for which Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer, wrote the foreword. I’m donating all of my book proceeds to four baseball-related foundations: ALS, Turn […]

Boston Red Sox: The Prospects That Got Away

The Boston Red Sox have developed an excellent reputation in recent years for their ability to identify, scout and draft/sign top-notch amateur talent. As a result, current key contributors like Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholz and Xander Bogaerts are all products of their player development system. Despite such strong examples, the organization hasn’t nailed every player […]

Dave Roberts Stealing the Hearts of Boston Red Sox Fans: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of October 19

The 2014 World Series matchup has been determined with the surging Kansas City Royals taking on the battle-tested San Francisco Giants. The Royals are making the most of their first playoff appearance in 29 years while the Giants will now have appeared in three of the past five Fall Classics. Some don’t think that it’s […]

The Best Average Postseason Attendance in All of Minor Leagues Belongs to the Atlantic League

Chalk this one up to the Atlantic League. Its average attendance for postseason games was the best in the United States, topping all 14 National Association leagues.  The 13 Atlantic League playoff games averaged 4,145 fans, led by a whopping 7,483 on one occasion at Somerset, NJ.  Affiliated baseball’s two Triple-A leagues, the International and […]

Steve Gerkin’s Pickle of a Career

You never know what can happen to a player when he’s called up to the majors. He could go on a hot streak, like Bob “Hurricane” Hazle, who hit .403 for the Milwaukee Braves in 155 plate appearances in 1957, or Duster Mails, called up to Cleveland in 1920 and proceeded to go 7-0 with […]

2015 MLB Free Agent Predictions

Although the 2014 MLB postseason is still being battled out on the field, many teams have started looking towards next year. Once this season concludes, the gates to the free agent market will swing open and allow interested bidders to rush in like early birds at a swap meet. Here is an early list of […]

The Real Story of Donnie Moore: The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of October 12

Baseball’s postseason is a magical time of year. Of the fortunate teams that make it to the last leg of the season, legends will be made and history written from the intense competition that determines the annual champion in the World Series. The 2014 League Championship Series are currently being waged and have already created […]

Fifty Years Ago Today, Ron Taylor Transformed a World Series, Then Transformed His Life

By Ron Taylor and Jim Kaplan Fifty years ago today, a Cardinal reliever named Ron Taylor transformed a World Series that itself transformed baseball. On October 11, 1964, the Cardinals were down, two games to one, against the heavily favored Yankees, and apparently headed for a third loss. Cardinal starter Ray Sadecki allowed the four […]

The 300th Post on Baseball with Matt!!!

Hey baseball fans! This is my 300th post on Baseball with Matt! I’m so happy that I’ve done so many fun things in my blogging career and it’s all thanks to you: the viewers. To celebrate number 300, I put up a vlog on YouTube in which I talk about the blog, my book that […]

The Post Mortem in DC

The Washington Nationals looked like amateurs playing the San Francisco Giants. It is sad, but it is true. The front office of the Nationals will spend the next few months trying to understand what happened and just why the team that had done so well in the regular season sputtered and faltered in the playoffs. […]

Lining Up the 1995 Mariners and 2014 Royals

For Seattle Mariners fans, the clear sentimental favorite in this year’s playoffs is the Kansas City Royals. There is no overwhelming, uncanny sense of deja vu when you compare the 2014 Royals to the 1995 Mariners, but there are some key similarities between the two teams that explain the simpatico feeling between M’s and Royals […]

The Baseball Historian’s Notes for the Week of October 5

The major league playoffs are underway as the days grow shorter and the weather becomes more temperamental. As another season hurtles towards an unknown conclusion, a cornucopia of baseball historical happenings has sprung up over the past week. *The Library of Congress recently made an extraordinary find—previously unseen film footage of the 1924 World Series, […]

Nationals vs. Giants (1933)

The last time the Nationals and the Giants faced off in the post-season was in 1933. Of course, Washington was in the American League and playing in Griffith Stadium … the Giants were in New York playing at the Polo Grounds … they met in the World Series … and they were on opposite trajectories. […]

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