The “All-Small Hall” Team Part Two

Hey baseball fans! Today, I’m going to continue where I left off in my last post and talk more about the “All-Small Hall” team. In the last post, I talked about my pitcher and catcher, but now, it’s time to talk about the right side of the infield, the first baseman and second baseman. First Baseman: […]

When Will Baltimore Be Forced to Quit Stealing TV Revenues in the Mid-Atlantic?

It is easiest to steal money when no one is watching. And so Peter Angelos has had easy pickings for almost a decade as he took TV revenues away from the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) that broadcasts games for the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals on local cable outlets. Television revenues are the name of the game […]

Introduction to the “All-Small Hall” Team

Hey baseball fans! Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to tell you about my “All-Small Hall” team. I know what you’re thinking: what in the world is the “All-Small Hall” team? Well, my ASHT consists of players who were small in stature, but very big in terms of their performance. My restrictions on […]

Where Have All the Hitters Gone?

With major league teams reaching the season’s mid-point by playing their 81st game of the season, it’s a good time to take a look at hitters that are on target for the triple milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs and pitchers on target for 20 wins, 200 strikeouts and […]

Atlantic League Record-Holder Welcomes New ‘LHP’ Son, Discusses Recent No-Hit Teammate Scarpetta

Therecord-holder for career mound appearances knows a great deal about wake-up calls for players coming into the Atlantic League because he has seen a lot of them the last 10 years although, if I may try to interject a little humor, Ross Peeples has learned about a different type of wake-up alert the last 20 […]

Astros Remain Competitive in June

After posting their first winning month in May since September, 2010, the Astros didn’t quite duplicate the feat in June with a 12-15 record.  The strong finish in May carried over to the beginning of June as the team started the month with a record of 7-5, including a streak of winning or splitting 7 […]

I Didn’t Know That Mites Could Play Baseball

Hey baseball fans! The Chicago White Sox were not the best team in the 1950s, but they did have Hall of Fame shortstop Luis Aparicio. Then again, the ChiSox had another Hall of Fame middle infielder: Nellie Fox! In case you don’t know who he is, let me explain. Jacob Nelson “Nellie” Fox was an […]

50 Years Ago: The ’64 Phillies–Mauch Loved to Sacrifice

The ’64 Phillies passed the first real test as to their competitive mettle on the Fourth of July weekend by sweeping three straight from the Giants with first place at stake. Their one-run victory in the concluding game showcased Gene Mauch’s managerial proclivity to emphasize small ball tactics (sacrifice bunts, hit-and-run plays, productive outs) to […]

The Duke (or El Duque) of New York, Not the Duke of York

Hey baseball fans! The 1998 Yankees are considered one of the best teams of all time, winning 114 games and, eventually, the World Series. They had a great offense, but they also had excellent starting pitching. Guys like Andy Pettitte, David Wells, Hideki Irabu, and David Cone propelled the Yankees to a season for the […]

Touring The Bases With…Barry Lyons

A Mississippi native who starred at Delta State University, Barry Lyons was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 25th round of the 1981 amateur draft, then by the New York Mets in the 15th round of the 1982 amateur draft.  He signed with the Mets and began his professional career in Single A where […]

Oh, Yes! The Four-Man Rotation Is Alive With Tagert’s American Association Team

The four-man rotation is not dead.  Far from it. Greg Tagert, who has his defending champion Gary (IN) SouthShore RailCats atop the American Association’s Central Division, has long been a proponent of having only four starting pitchers, which has to have him respected by old-school baseball people since virtually all of the professional baseball universe […]

Goodbye, “Mr. Padre”

Dear Mr. Gwynn: I dislike writing pieces like this–about legends taken from this world much before their time; I guess it remains (and always will) a cold reality in a very unfair world. Sometimes, words just aren’t enough, y’know? However, I’ll give it a try. When I first learned of your death last week at […]

The Chicken Man Sure Could Hit

Hey baseball fans! One of my favorite things about baseball is the quirky superstitions that some players had. Click here to read my post of some of the greatest baseball superstitions of all time. One of my favorites on that list is Wade Boggs‘ tradition of eating a plate of fried chicken before every game. […]

The Coolest Gerbil That Wasn’t a Pet: Don Zimmer

Hey baseball fans! Recently, former baseball player, manager, and coach, Don Zimmer, passed away. Considering I have never talked about him, here is just a quick biography on Zimmer. So, Donald William “The Gerbil” Zimmer (he was called that because he resembled a gerbil) played in the MLB from 1954-1965 with the Brooklyn/LA Dodgers, the […]

Was Mt. Rushmore’s Italian American Chief Carver Chiseled Out of Fame Because He Didn’t Play Baseball?‏

Was the obscure Italian American immigrant who served as chief carver of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial from 1933 through 1940 possibly denied posterity because he didn’t play baseball? That’s the interesting, albeit controversial, question posed in author Douglas J. Gladstone’s new book, Carving a Niche for Himself; The Untold Story of Luigi Del Bianco […]

Whether It Is a Pete Rose Appearance, Community Pride Or Anti-Bullying Efforts, Independents Bring Dividends

Pete Rose’s one-day managerial stint provided the biggest national publicity bump in some time, but if one is willing to look just a bit beneath the surface of the baseball games themselves it is easy to find all sorts of positives emerging in communities with Independent Baseball teams. We will see all sorts of flag-waving […]

An Interview With Shadow Senator Paul Strauss

Hey baseball fans! I have an interview for you today! It’s with Washington, D.C. Shadow Senator Paul Strauss! I know what you’re thinking: what in the world is a Shadow Senator? Well, the District of Columbia is not a state, but the residents of Washington, D.C. want it to gain Statehood. So, Shadow Senators (of […]

Robin Roberts: I’m Talking About the Pitcher, Not the Newscaster

Hey baseball fans! The Philadelphia Phillies are in last place in the NL East right now, but they don’t have too much to sob about: they have a couple of great stars like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. This theme of playing badly, but having great players on the roster has been very recurring for […]

Ted Williams, My Father: A Review

The legacies of baseball players are largely represented in popular culture by their statistics and the retelling of their greatest physical feats. Rarely is the curtain truly drawn back to permit a full view of the person who exists beyond the diamond. Not all compelling baseball books have to be about the player’s career. An […]

A Legacy for the Man Who Ended Joe DiMaggio’s 56-Game Hitting Streak

It is July 17, 1941. The Cleveland Indians are playing the New York Yankees and the Tribe’s manager, Roger Peckinpaugh, brings Jim Bagby into the game in relief of Al Smith in a precarious situation in the eighth inning.  Smith has pitched well, though he trails 2-1 to the Yankees. Then in the top of […]

Laredo’s Travis Denker Putting Up Stunning Numbers; Pete Rose Luring the Media for One-Day Managerial Role

Travis Denker is putting up such gaudy offensive numbers this season as if there is no tomorrow. He won’t turn 29 until August, not exactly ancient the way major league organizations are snapping up 30-somethiing Independent players these days, nevertheless, if you have only had 37 big-league at-bats in a 12-year pro career it probably […]

Book Review: Rally Caps, Rain Delays and Racing Sausages by Eric Kabakoff

Hey baseball fans! I recently read the book “Rally Caps, Rain Delays and Racing Sausages: A Baseball Fan’s Quest to See the Game from a Seat in Every Ballpark” by Eric Kabakoff and I wanted to share my thoughts with you about it. (Note: I will be referring to the book as RCRD&RCABFQTSTGFASIEB for short.) […]

Which College World Series Teams Play Moneyball the Best?

Nearly all discussion of the Moneyball/sabermetrics revolution in baseball has centered on MLB. As part of this revolution, teams such as the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A’s have enjoyed success over roughly the past decade with data-based approaches to the game that emphasize certain principles. These principles include getting on base (with walks being […]

It Pays To Play

Source: Sports-Management-Degrees.com

My Trip to Rogers Centre, Home of the Toronto Blue Jays

Hey baseball fans! I recently went on a vacation with my family to the city of Toronto, Canada. Yes, we went to the CN Tower and Niagara Falls, but my favorite part of the trip was getting to see the Blue Jays play at Rogers Centre against the Cardinals. If you want to see the […]

Plunking Ortiz Was a Continuation of Price’s Fall Last Fall

So, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price was finally fined last week for hitting David Ortiz and Mike Carp, forcing Red Sox fans to put down their torches and pitchforks, at least for now. The question for fans should be, has this phase passed, or will this be just an early part of Price’s “Possessed […]

No Chance: ’39 Yankees and ’06 Cubs Dominated the Scoreboard

Through Sunday, the Oakland Athletics have scored an average of two runs more per game than their game opponents. With still over 60 percent of the schedule yet to be played, the A’s are very unlikely to sustain that pace. Should that happen, however, they would be in the close-in suburbs of the exclusive neighborhood […]

An Interview with 1988 World Series Champ, Tim Leary

Hey baseball fans! I have another interview for you today! It’s with former pitcher and member of the 1988 World Series-winning Dodgers, Tim Leary. Leary played for the Mets, Dodgers, Yankees, Mariners, Brewers, Rangers, and Reds in a 13-year career from 1981, 1983-1994. He won 78 games and lost 105. Leary’s best year was in […]

NJBM: Hideo Nomo

Hey baseball fans! I just put up my latest post in the Kids’ Hot Korner section of New Jersey Baseball Magazine. This one is about Hideo Nomo, one of the greatest Japanese ballplayers in MLB history. If you want to read more about the man who changed many careers of Japanese baseball players forever, just […]

Henry Aaron: A Superstar Who Spans the Generations

For those of us who have lost our dads, Father’s Day is tough. While it can mean spending time with our own children, it also reminds us of a hole in our lives that can’t be filled. Sometimes, the best we can do is to cherish memories of the good things that we shared with […]

David Peralta, Jason Lane Debuts Highlight Busy Week of Indy Players Getting to Major Leagues

David Peralta would seem to have the greatest upside of four former Independent players promoted to the major leagues since the left-handed outfielder, who was playing in the American Association (Amarillo, TX) only 11 months prior to his major league debut with Arizona, has not even reached what normally is prime time for a baseball […]

Ryan Zimmerman Is Playing for the Urgency of Now

After Stephen Strasburg signed with the Nationals late in the summer of 2009, he was introduced to the Washington fan base in a ceremony at Nationals Park. There on stage to greet him was Ryan Zimmerman, the face of the team. As Zimmerman posed for pictures welcoming the young pitching phenom aboard, he was one […]

Don Zimmer Passes Away At Age 83

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—After 66 years in professional baseball, Rays Senior Baseball Advisor Don Zimmer passed away today BayCare Alliant Hospital in Dunedin, Fla.. He was 83. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Jean (“Soot”), his son Thomas, daughter Donna, and four grandchildren: Beau, Whitney, Ron and Lane. Over the course of his […]

An Interview with Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall

Hey baseball fans! I recently had the chance to interview President and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Derrick Hall! Derrick was a really nice guy and I want to show you what answers he gave in response to my questions. But before I get to that, let me tell you a little bit about Derrick. […]

Did the Astros Turn the Corner in May?

Led by George Springer, Jose Altuve, Dallas Keuchel and Chad Qualls, the Houston Astros posted a record of 15-14 in May, their first winning full month since September, 2010.  Included was a 7-game winning streak in which the Astros outscored the opposition 39-12.  The first 6 games in the streak were started by 6 different […]

« Previous Page — Next Page »