Film of the Washington Senators Winning the 1924 World Series Found!

Here’s a great article written by Mike Mashon that explains how eight cans of nitrate film were discovered in the rafters of a Worcester, Massachusetts garage and restored.  This is alleged to be the only known footage of the Washington Senators’ victory over the New York Giants in the 1924 World Series.

Memory of Mantle and Stadium’s Outfield Hill Part of Story for Independent’s Newest Team

Mickey Mantle helped put Joplin, MO on the baseball map in 1950 when he reeled off 199 hits and a Western Association-leading .383 average in only 137 games.  Old-timers in the city of 60,000 and market of 250,000 still talk about the feats of the 18-year-old. Joplin is officially back in professional baseball for the […]

Thanks, Paulie

Goodbye, Paulie. The final weekend of baseball’s regular season saw the last game of a legendary American Leaguer who was tough in the clutch, a perennial All-Star, a favorite among fans and peers and a World Champion. We’re speaking, of course, about White Sox slugger Paul Konerko. That Konerko’s farewell season played out in the […]

Astros Finish 2014 Season with 70 Wins

The Houston Astros compiled a record of 70-92 in 2014, an improvement of 19 games over their record in 2013.  Only the Los Angeles Angels with a 20 game improvement did better, and the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox won only one more game than the Astros in 2014.  But it could have […]

Adam LaRoche, Going Out With a Bang

The 2014 MLB Post-Season will profile many of the game’s most brightly shining stars, most of whom have come to regard the October stage as their own. Albert Pujols, now of the Angels, and Miguel Cabrera are cornerstone players who seem always to be playing in October. They are destined for the Hall of Fame […]

Is the Nationals Pitching Really the Best in the NL and Can It Carry Them to the World Series?

With the playoffs just one week off, it is time to trot out those post season axioms that truthfully only work in retrospect. A month from now in all sagacity we will be able to say how clear it was that the experience of the Tigers and Cardinals would play up. Or maybe it will […]

Wichita’s Job Is Done, Somerset Next as Indy Powers Try to Add Postseason Championships

It seems doubtful anyone would put up much of an argument that the two best teams in Independent Baseball this season, considering the level of play in their separate leagues, have been the Wichita (KS) Wingnuts and the Somerset (NJ) Patriots. Wichita has finished its quest, winning six of seven playoff games to earn its […]

The Ecstasy & Agony of Being a Red Sox Fan: A Review

Being a fan of the Boston Red Sox can be much more than just following the statistics and the standings. Some adherents see their moods and even their very outlooks on life impacted by the baseball team from Beantown. It’s a rite of passage and a birthright for many, and Stanley Harris has outlined his […]

All the Ghosts of Baseball Past Deserve Their Moment This October in Washington, DC

It was a compelling celebration of the moment for the Washington Nationals after after their 3-0 win over the Braves in Atlanta clinched a second NL East title in three years. But reflection is the default mental state for those of my generation and it was not long before I was thinking back on all […]

The Incomparable Tony Suck

Shakespeare once wrote: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” Conversely, a stinker by any other name would be just as foul. One of the worst baseball players of all time had a name that fit him like a glove. We’re talking about the […]

Is the .300 Hitter a Vanishing Breed?

In the year 2000, 26 players hit for both power and average to reach the Triple Crown milestones of 30 home runs, 100 RBIs and a batting average of .300.  In 2013, only three players reached all three milestones and in mid-season in 2014, three were on target for all three and six more were […]

In Praise of Timeless Bears

One of the greatest baseball movies and American comedies of all time has been largely laying low in tall outfield grass for 38 years. Despite its commercial success,The Bad News Bears is rarely mentioned on critics’ lists of classic movies. It’s high time it was put on the pedestal it deserves. Recently, I attended a […]

Atlantic League Honors Ken Shepard’s Memory And Bridgeport Pays Tribute to Its General Manager

Both the Atlantic League and the host Bridgeport (CT) Bluefish had already gone to extraordinary lengths to make Sunday’s Ken Shepard Day an memorable experience.  Extra steps were taken this week in light of the sudden death of the popular Bluefish general manager only nine days ahead of the event when kidney cancer claimed him […]

Closer By Committee in DC?

“Closer by committee” is used only to describe a dysfunctional reality. It has no upside, no silver lining and when spoken in early September, it can mean nothing good. So when Matt Williams announced that the Washington Nationals were relieving Raphael Soriano of his ninth inning duties, and seeking a new answer so late in […]

Rickey & Robinson: A Review

Announcer Vin Scully is the unquestioned dean of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball because of his work with the team for well over half a century. However, there is another person, just one other, who should be regarded in that same class, and that is writer Roger Kahn. Best known for his work as a Dodgers’ […]

Independent Baseball Ties Its Record With 40 in Majors After John Holzkom’s Meteoric Climb in 10 Weeks

Nearly 200 players have made their way to the major leagues after playing Independent Baseball although very few debuts have carried the significance of John Holdzkom’s first appearance, which came this week with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The fact the giant Californian struck out all three St. Louis Cardinals hitters he faced in the eighth inning […]

Astros Fire Manager after Posting Winning Month in August

In the final game in August, the Houston Astros rallied for 2 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 to post a record of 15-14 for the month, matching their previous best month in May.  The next day, Manager Bo Porter was fired by General Manager, Jeff Luhnow, […]

The ’64 Phillies and the Whiz Kids Precedent: Beware the Big Mid-September Lead

The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies are, of course, famous for blowing a 6-1/2 game lead with only 12 games remaining. Fourteen years earlier, the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies–known as the “Whiz Kids” because of their relative youth and inexperience at the big league level–held an even bigger 7-1/2 game advantage with only 11 games remaining and wound […]

Now Pitching for the Royals, Clayton Kershaw

Much has been said about Clayton Kershaw’s historic season. From his 41 inning scoreless streak to his 206 ERA+, he’s been compared to Sandy Koufax and many other all-time greats. He’s having the kind of season that we haven’t seen since Clemens, Johnson, Pedro, and Maddux were at their peaks. Halfway across the country, the […]

Call-Ups Start With Edwards, Herrera, Axelrod; Some Thoughts on Who May Follow to Majors

Jon Edwards started the parade of Independent players getting a late-summer major league reward when the Texas Rangers added him to their pitching staff–and giving the young-but-determined Pecos League its first major leaguer–then the postseason-bound Los Angeles Angels added right-hander Yoslan Herrera (Lancaster, PA, Atlantic League) to their staff and Cincinnati did the same with […]

No One Can Survive Walking the Plank

Hey baseball fans! I’m currently on vacation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! I was supposed to stop off at Gettysburg, PA for a reennactment of the Battle of Gettysburg that took place during the American Civil War, but the reennactment got cancelled. So, in order to fill that void, I’m going to be talking about a Hall […]

How Are the Yankees Still in Playoff Contention?

Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman must be sorcerers. That can be the only explanation for the New York Yankees’ ability to hang around the periphery of American League playoff contention. Their rotation lost starters CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, and Ivan Nova for the season, and only recently got Michael Pineda back from the 60-day disabled […]

Who Is the Leading Candidate for American League MVP?

Whether you like the one-game wild card playoff or not, you have to admit one thing. It sure is doing its job. After the Angels routed the Athletics on 9-4 on Sunday night, Los Angeles reclaimed a one-game lead over Oakland in the American League West. Before the advent of the one-game playoff, this three-game […]

The Top MLB Prospect from New Jersey: Anthony Ranaudo

Anthony Ranaudo, 24, was born on September 9th, 1989 in Freehold, New Jersey. A budding prospect, Ranaudo achieved “The Dream” by being called up to the Boston Red Sox on August 1st, 2014 in order to make to his first career big league start against the New York Yankees, the team Ranaudo grew up rooting […]

Former Atlantic Leaguer Nearly Perfect in Class AA Game While Raben, Fox Continue Huge Displays of Power

Independent Baseball’s player contributions to Major League Baseball never cease to amaze.  Sometimes, it seems almost impossible to study a minor league box score without the names of one or more players popping up because they have spent time improving their skills in a non-affiliated league. One such event in recent days was nothing short […]

In the Moment in Washington

Ten wins in a row in the tenth season in a row? Are the numbers and stars aligning? Has anyone called the fortune teller yet, or maybe we should just “pinch ourselves and squeal and know that it’s for real, the hour that our ship comes in?”* Baseball returned to Washington, DC in 2005 and […]

The Toddfather

Hey baseball fans! The Colorado Rockies are a fairly new franchise when it comes to MLB teams, having only started competing during the regular season in 1993. With that being said, there is only one ballplayer who played a mile above sea level who has had his number retired by the Rockies: Todd Helton! In […]

MLB Power Rankings Update: Week 20

I guess you could say that a couple of things have happened since the last time we discussed these power rankings two weeks ago. The Los Angeles Angels have surpassed the Oakland Athletics, the Washington Nationals have doubled their lead over the Braves, and the Kansas City Royals went from being 4.5 games behind the […]

Giants in Position for Wild-Card Slot Despite Significant Slide

As of Monday afternoon, August 18, the San Francisco Giants hold the second National League wild-card slot, leading the next-closest teams by 1.5 games. What I find most interesting is that the Giants are still on pace to make the playoffs, despite potentially one of the sharpest within-season declines after a strong start, in the […]

The Underrated Squad: Part One

Today, I will be introducing a new series which primarily focuses on the underrated professional baseball player in the MLB! Over the course of the next year, we will construct a roster of twenty-five ( 25 ) underrated players that deserve more attention by not only the fans, but by front offices, scouts, and even […]

A Review of No No: A Dockumentary

On June 12, 1970, Pittsburgh Pirates’ right-handed pitcher Dock Ellis no-hit the San Diego Padres 2-0 while under the influence of LSD. For many, this type of incident would define a career or a life. Incredibly, this was just another moment in the fascinating story of Ellis, which is beautifully told in the new documentary […]

The Radio Guy and The Judge, Cookie and The Brat

We take for granted today that broadcasters on both radio and TV will dissect game situations, offer opinions on strategy, and feel free to second-guess managers and criticize players for mistakes–all of which helps to educate those of us listening at home (or in our cars) on the many nuances of a complex game. It […]

The Rare Emergence of Jordy Mercer: Is He Here to Stay?

League-wide, shortstops have notoriously been the least productive hitters of any position player on the diamond. This isn’t a new phenomenon though. They’ve been consistently under-producing offensively since umpires have been calling balls and strikes. Shortstop is undeniably one of the toughest positions to play at the Major League level. It requires an absurd amount […]

Book Review: The Last Best League

Every year, the top college baseball players gather about 70 miles southeast of Boston to hone their skills and showcase their talents in front of amateur scouts from all 30 Major League Baseball teams. This is the Cape Cod League, the most prestigious of all the college summer leagues, made of 10 teams that play […]

Where Washington Is Always in First Place

CBS reporter Sheryl Attkisson opined that in today’s world our best journalists could not bring the corrupt and crazed Richard Nixon to heel for the vast sins of Watergate. Perhaps, but for my money there is one department at The Washington Post that never lost its Woodward and Bernstein edge, where the ghost of Shirley […]

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