Back to the ’64 Phillies: Pitching Problems on the Horizon

Fifty years ago, the 1964 Phillies ended the month of May with a 25-15 record. They were in first place, only half-a-game up on the Giants and 2-1/2 ahead of the third-place Cardinals. The Reds–the fourth team to figure in the drama to come–were in sixth, 6 games out. As predicted by many pre-season analysts, […]

Drew Is Set To Return, But Who Wants Him?

Red Sox fans can credit the Stephen Drew signing as having turned around the season – even if most of them don’t want to see him play for the Red Sox. Actually, the Sox were still looking pretty lousy for a few days after they made the Drew announcement on May 20. For example, upon […]

My Trip to the Chasing Dreams Exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History

Hey baseball fans! I recently visited the new baseball exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Chasing Dreams exhibit, and I was able to vlog at the Museum. So, if you want to see the video of my trip, just click here. Thanks for watching the video. I hope you […]

How Baseball Teams Became Tribes

Prior to the middle of the 1970’s there was a separation in baseball between fans and teams. In the thousands of photos that exist of crowds prior to 1975, you will not see team hats and shirts on fans. Now, such a photo shows that fans are also in uniform. This change occurred in 1975 […]

Baseball Great Si Johnson Program Tuesday

“From Matthew Clifford, of Mendota, who is writing a book on Si Johnson (1906-1994), a professional baseball player from Sheridan, will be the guest speaker at the Sheridan Historical Society’s meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 3, in the society’s museum, 185 Robinson St.” Read the rest here.

Baseball Triple Doubles

From Twinstrivia.com: “The other day SABR member Clem Comley, who also follows basketball, wondered who the triple doubles leader might be in baseball history.  His search defined a ‘baseball triple double’ as a player who had 2 or more runs, 2 or more hits or 2 or more RBIs in a single game.  He used […]

What Would Farm Systems Do Without Indy Players? Atlantic League Team Loses 4 Hurlers in a Week

One has to wonder what the major leagues would do these days to keep their farm system rosters full if Independent Baseball teams were not available. The Somerset (NJ) Patriots have filled the equivalent of nearly one-third of a pitching staff all by themselves in the last week.  Four pitchers, including three starters, were purchased […]

Book Review: “Down to the Last Pitch”

The 1991 World Series was the first that I remember watching as a kid. My elementary school friend was rooting for the Twins, so naturally, I chose the Braves. While I was in awe of the spectacle and being able to watch the players that I knew from all of my trading cards, I knew […]

Chris Berset: Backstop Working to Catch on With the Cincinnati Reds

Catching prospects have a more daunting task in front of them than many other young players. Not only do they have to develop as hitters and defensive players, but they also have to become adept at handling pitching staffs and calling an effective game. Cincinnati Reds’ minor leaguer Chris Berset has put in the hard […]

My Favorite Moment in Baseball History

Hey baseball fans! I don’t know if I’ve ever shared this on Baseball with Matt yet, but I do have a favorite moment in baseball history. If you know what my favorite World Series of all time is, that should give you a clue. My favorite moment in baseball history is…Joe Carter‘s walk-off World Series-winning […]

My Top Five Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famers

Hey baseball fans! Previously, I’ve counted down my top five Hall of Famers from certain teams. So far, I’ve done the Red Sox and then the Cardinals. Today, I am continuing my trend of counting down my top Hall of Famers of a team as I count down my top five Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of […]

As Can-Am League Opens Season, A Former MVP Breaks Up No-Hit Bid

Perhaps it was an omen with the Can-Am League starting its season less than 24 hours later (Thursday) that a onetime Most Valuable Player in the league made news by breaking up a no-hitter in its companion league, the American Association. Nick Giarraputo, who won MVP honors while with the New Jersey Jackals (Little Falls) […]

MLB Searches for Talent, but Not in the Right Places

Major League Baseball works to develop replacement talent needed to keep the professional game going, basing its training centers in so-called academies built at places around the world where the administrators of the men’s game believe that talent can be nurtured. Those places include countries like the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Australia, and even Italy (the […]

Touring Target Field With Clark Griffith, II

The picture below shows the statue of Calvin Griffith that sits just outside the main gate of Target Field in Minneapolis and next to him is his son, Clark Griffith, II who was named in honor of family scion, Clark Griffith who took over the old Washington Nationals.  “I was a consultant on the statue,” […]

A Book Review of Battery Brothers by Steven Carman

Hey baseball fans! I have a book review in store for you today! So, I don’t always read fiction baseball novels, but Battery Brothers (see pic of cover below) by Steven Carman seemed like an interesting book to review as soon as I read the short summary on the back cover. Battery Brothers (published by Elephant’s Bookshelf […]

Long Island’s Blevins Has Done a Great Deal While Still ‘Fighting for An Opportunity’

Bobby Blevins has accomplished a great deal on the pitcher’s mound, including establishing the all-time record with 32 victories at LeMoyne College, playing a key role in the Long Island (NY) Ducks’ back to back Atlantic League championships and getting to take part in the Asia Series last November, but when you talk to the […]

The Winningest Manager in Red Sox History

Hey baseball fans! In my last post, I talked about the winningest manager in Yankee history, Joe McCarthy. So, in order to placate all the Bostonians, today I will be talking about the winningest manager in Red Sox history: Hall of Famer Joe Cronin. Cronin played for the Pirates, Red Sox, and Washington Senators from […]

GQ Explores How Little League Baseball Has Transformed One Of The Poorest, Deadliest Cities In America

…May issue on newsstands now Camden, New Jersey, is one of the poorest, deadliest cities in the United States. A once proud place now ravaged by addiction and poverty and guns and decay. It’s also a really unlikely place to start a Little League. But Little League here has not just survived, it’s thrived. GQ’s […]

The Milwaukee Tigers-Like the Sound of it?

As citizens of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we can look back and say what if. What if the Detroit Tigers had been transferred to Milwaukee. We would have rooted for Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Al Kaline, Mickey Lolich and Prince Fielder. (Well, we did cheer for him longer than Detroit fans had a chance to.) How close […]

The Best Yankee Manager in Yankee History

Hey baseball fans! The New York Yankees are not only famous for their great players and teams, but they also have had a slew of great managers. Some include Miller Huggins, Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel, Ralph Houk, Billy Martin, and Joe Torre. However, today I want to talk about the Hall of Fame Yankee manager […]

Surprising Parity in the NL East

Its lack of predictability makes baseball fascinating and the changing cast of heroes who step forward each game make it an everyman’s delight. The Atlanta Braves were supposed to be in big trouble due to the injuries of Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy. GM Frank Wren picked up Adam Harang and Ervin Santana and several […]

Nathan Winston Wants to Pitch Despite Prosthetic; Chris Martin Latest Indy Player in Majors

Longtime Independent scouting expert Nick Belmonte alerted me to a possible story when I ran across him in Florida in late February, then called a few days ago to explain that Nathan Winston, who had his left leg amputated when he was four because of a birth defect, had been a part of the intently […]

An Interview with Mets Legend, Mookie Wilson!

Hey baseball fans! On Saturday, I had the honor of talking with New York Mets’ 1986 World Series hero, Mookie Wilson, at a book store in Maplewood, New Jersey called Words (click here to go to the website for the store)! I only had the chance to ask him a few questions, because he was […]

How Bad Were the Astros in April

How bad are the Astros?  The numbers tell the story. April BAVG OBP SLG OPS W-L ERA 2011 .267 .311 .386 .707 10-17 5.06 2012 .257 .330 .376 .706 9-14 4.09 2013 .256 .314 .411 .725 7-19 5.55 2014 .210 .252 .358 .639 9-19 4.87 A comparison of the April performance with the last three […]

Mover and Shaker: Walter O’Malley, the Dodgers, & Baseball’s Westward Expansion

Walter O’Malley’s culpability for the Brooklyn Dodgers move to Los Angeles is thoroughly covered in this book as is the account of his struggles when he got to Los Angeles. Andy McCue covers this with an expert’s hand as he does with O’Malley’s Tammany Hall background, Los Angeles politics of the mid twentieth century and […]

This Pitching Amos Isn’t Too Famous

Hey baseball fans! Many Hall of Famers are unknown to most baseball fans because they either played in a completely different time period or they didn’t play on a popular team. One of these types is Hall of Fame pitcher Amos Rusie, a pitcher from the 1890s to the early 1900s who, for a part of […]

Major Leagues Still Grabbing Independent Talent With Arizona and Atlanta the Busiest

This week’s tip to Independent Baseball players hoping to attract a major league organization:  Reach out to the first Arizona Diamondbacks scout you can find. While all 30 major league organizations have at least one player who has been in an Independent league, the D-Backs are the most active in trying to utilize such talent.  […]

Gorgeous George Got the Job Done

Hey baseball fans! Probably the most famous streak in baseball history is Joe DiMaggio‘s 56-game hitting streak in the summer of 1941. But did you know that there are a couple other Hall of Famers’ hitting streaks that almost top DiMaggio’s? Wee Willie Keeler had a 45-game hitting streak and coming in at a close […]

Some Big News on the Baseball History Front

Hey baseball fans! As you all know, I love blogging about baseball history, no matter what the subject. I started blogging back in April 2012 and yesterday I actually put up my 250th career post!!  Thank you all for continuing to read and support my work. Well, a lot of you have asked me, what […]

April 25, 1901–Tigers 14, Brewers 13; Biggest Comeback Ever or Biggest Collapse Ever?

It was 113 years ago today that the Detroit Tigers staged the biggest ninth inning come from behind victory engineered in baseball. It still stands. The American League 1901 season was scheduled to open in Detroit on Wednesday, April 24, but intense rains just prior to game time prevented this. To make amends for this […]

Atlantic League Boss Reveals Start of Licensing, and Talks Of MLB Meeting and Expansion as 17th Season Launches

The unveiling of the Atlantic League’s 17th season–Independent Baseball’s 22nd campaign–begins in earnest Thursday night with the usual suspense because teams have such a short pre-season to sort through roster issues although the on-the-field interest could be rivaled this time around by some of the board room planning which could change the league’s business dynamics […]

A Girl Is Embarrassed

Smart American girls have traditionally been taught never to reveal that they might know more than boys do. Girls of Eleanor Roosevelt’s era concealed their education, if they had any, because they had been told that boys didn’t like educated girls, who might inadvertently reveal that they knew more than the boys did. It’s unsurprising […]

1931 All-Star Game: Trio Leads American League To Victory Over Nationals

TRIO LEADS AMERICAN LEAGUE TO VICTORY OVER NATIONALS Grove, Kress, Cronin Star For Juniors FERRELL BROTHERS FORM LATE-GAME BATTERY DETROIT, July 14.—In what can be described as a quick-paced and mostly clean contest, the American League edged the National League today at Detroit’s Navin Field by a count of 5 to 3, although the game […]

France Has Bonaparte, Hollywood Has Dynamite, and Baseball Has Lajoie

Hey baseball fans! All Hall of Famers have amazing statistics. But sometimes, a Hall of Famer is so great, that the team that he mainly played for was renamed after him. The only example of this in baseball history is the Cleveland Indians, who were called the Cleveland Naps from 1903-1914 because of none other […]

Book Review: “1954”

“1954” is the latest book from J. G. Taylor Spink Award recipient Bill Madden. Madden has covered Baseball for the New York Daily News for over 30 years and his most recent book, Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, was a New York Times Bestseller. As the title suggests, “1954” chronicles the 1954 Baseball Season. […]

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