The Phillies Only Bright Spot in the 1930s

Hey baseball fans! Fun fact: all of the players who won the batting Triple Crown in the 20th century have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, before I knew this fun fact, there was one person who won the Triple Crown who I had never heard of. I researched this player and it turns […]

Being Christy Mathewson

Catching up with Eddie Frierson after a thousand one-man shows It’s a cold and drizzly night in L.A., and I have to meet Christy Mathewson at the Coffee Bean in ten minutes. I mean, I know it isn’t really him—Matty, Big Six, the Christian Gentleman, among other monikers—but something about Eddie Frierson has me unconsciously […]

The Best Tigers Team There Was

Hey baseball fans! Yesterday, it was my birthday! In honor of my birthday last year, I blogged about Alan Trammell, the only player born on my birthday who I think should be in the Hall of Fame. In honor of my birthday this year, I’m going to talk about the team that Trammell played for that […]

When It Was A Game

I suppose I sound like an old man in saying that I miss the game I grew up with as a boy. Where I once loved the game of baseball unconditionally, I have now developed a love/hate relationship with it. I realize I haven’t been as active on this blog as I’d first intended, but […]

1927 All-Star Game: Pitchers Dominate As National League Holds Off Junior Circuit

PITCHERS DOMINATE AS NATIONAL LEAGUE HOLDS OFF JUNIOR CIRCUIT Vance Fans Five AL Swatsmiths WANER BROTHERS LEAD SENIORS AT THE DISH WASHINGTON, July 12.—In what can be compared to a Shakespearean tragedy, some of the greatest sluggers to ever grace a ball diamond were forced to ply their trade in cavernous Griffith Stadium and the […]

Building a Better Mousetrap in DC

Traditional analysts give great credence to building the proper batting order, while statistical analysts regard it as a secondary consideration at best.  Examining the performance of individual ball players over a lifetime yields little evidence that batting order is significant.  Was Ted Williams a better hitter when he hit third or fourth in the lineup?  […]

ML”what would”B: Colin, Tom, Peyton, and Russell in the MLB? Part Two

Hey baseball fans! I just put up another ML”what would”B post on More Than a Fan. In every ML”what would”B alternative history post, I discuss what would have happened if a famous event in baseball history had gone differently than it did in reality. For my latest post, I wrote the second part of my two-part […]

Anticipating Something Better from DC in 2014

The expectations of baseball fans that begin to stir as the winter days slowly lengthen have a long, cruel history in Washington, DC. The collective winning percentage of all teams stretching back to 1901, when the Washington Nationals fielded one of the founding franchises in the nascent American League, is .458.  The new kids on […]

Derek Jeter’s Retirement Should Be Sad News to Fans of the Boston Red Sox

The countdown has begun for the end of one of baseball’s all-time legends. New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter announced on his Facebook page that he will end his illustrious 20-year major league career following the upcoming 2014 season. The decision will undoubtedly be a blow to many, but surprisingly, it should be very sad […]

Earl Pruess: The Browns’ “Moonlight” Graham

“Moonlight” Graham is a name which came to the forefront due to the book “Shoeless Joe” and subsequent movie “Field of Dreams.”  Graham, as most know, was a baseball player who got into one game for the New York Giants back in 1905 and never played in the majors again. Graham was not the only […]

An Interview about the Cooperstown Concert with Music Producer Loren Harriet

Hey baseball fans! I recently had the honor of interviewing Loren Harriet, a producer of music and concerts for over two decades. Harriet has produced music for guys like former Yankee star Bernie Williams, current baseball pitcher Bronson Arroyo, horror writer Stephen King, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, Tom Kenny, and so […]

A Man Who Could Lead a Team and an Army

Hey baseball fans! A couple of days ago, it was Babe Ruth‘s birthday! However, considering I’ve blogged about him a number of times, today I will be telling you about one of his fellow Hall of Fame teammates. It’s not Lou Gehrig or Tony Lazzeri. It’s the Kentucky Colonel, Earle Combs! The Pebworth, Kentucky native played with just the Yankees […]

1926 All-Star Game: National League Drubs Americans 11 to 5 In Sloppy Contest

NATIONAL LEAGUE DRUBS AMERICANS 11 TO 5 IN SLOPPY CONTEST Herman and Blades Star SIX-RUN FOURTH PUTS GAME OUT OF REACH ST. LOUIS, July 13.—In a game marred by slapdash fielding and a bushel of free passes handed out by American League hurlers, the National League, led by Pirates skipper Bill McKechnie, tied up the […]

A Frigid Nickname Doesn’t Necessarily Equal “Cool” Results

Hey baseball fans! Considering I am living in the middle of a snow-covered New Jersey, and today is a snow day, I want to talk about a very famous ballplayer in baseball history who had the nickname “Snow”. Fred “Snow” Snodgrass is not the best player of his time, but he is certainly remembered by all […]

An Interview with the Commissioner of the Israel Football League

Hey baseball fans! I have an interesting interview for you today that I just couldn’t resist doing. It is with the Commissioner of the Israel Football League, Betzalel Friedman! I know what some of you are thinking: they have American football in Israel? The answer is yes. So, before I get to the interview with the […]

An Interview with the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Hey baseball fans! I have an interview for you today! This interview is with the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri: Bob Kendrick! Kendrick has been involved with the Museum since 1993 and was officially named President in April 2011. Before we get to the interview, let me tell you a little […]

Ain’t No Cure for the Wintertime Blues

The snow is piled up and it hasn’t been above freezing since last weekend. What’t the cure for the wintertime blues? The Bob Davids annual SABR meeting in Rossyln, Virginia is about as good as it gets. The Bob Davids Chapter is the original SABR chapter, the largest and most active and this year’s meeting […]

Why I’m Looking Forward to the 2014 Boston Red Sox’s Spring Training

The cold temperatures do a nice job of breaking a man’s spirit. However, even frigid conditions can’t temper the excitement over the dawning of a new baseball season, which for Boston Red Sox fans will kick off on February 15th when pitchers and catchers report to camp in Fort Myers, Florida. From there, it will […]

1925 All-Star Game: Junior Loop Shames Nationals In 19 to 5 Beating

JUNIOR LOOP SHAMES NATIONALS IN 19 TO 5 BEATING Heilmann and Hale Contribute Four-Baggers in Fierce Assault RUETHER SUSPENSION UPHELD PHILADELPHIA, July 14.—As if the legion of walking wounded among American League players wasn’t large enough, junior circuit czar Ban Johnson dealt another blow by refusing to reinstate Washington Senators southpaw Dutch Ruether to good […]

A Simple Proposal For Instant Replay

Like most baseball fans, I’m quite intrigued by the possibilities of expanded instant replay starting this season. I wrote a long blog several years ago about the need for it, and I’m not going to go through all of those arguments again. I’m very happy to see that John Schuerholz, the chairman of the committee […]

Introducing SABR’s Baseball Games Project

One of the benefits of a membership in the Society for American Baseball Research is not just learning about the game, but also the satisfaction of sharing what you know with others.  The organization is offering its members yet another such opportunity with the SABR Baseball Games Project. This project is a spinoff of the […]

ML”what would”B: Colin, Tom, Peyton, and Russell in the MLB?

Hey baseball fans! I just put up another ML”what would”B post on More Than a Fan. In every ML”what would”B alternative history post, I discuss what would have happened if a famous event in baseball history had gone differently than it did in reality. For my latest post, I wrote the first part of the two-part […]

Radio Games

The bitter cold in the dead of winter in most parts of major league baseball’s North American empire brings to mind how nice it would be to cozy in and listen to a game on the radio. Cold winter nights are a time to gather around and embrace stories, after all, and every baseball game […]

Baseball with Matt’s First Ever Analysis of a Poem

Hey baseball fans! I’m going to do something that I’ve never done before on Baseball with Matt: I’m going to analyze a poem! But don’t worry; the poem is about baseball. This poem is probably my favorite, because it captures the description of a player’s entire personality and career in only a few lines. I […]

Analyzing the 2014 Hall of Fame Vote

The Baseball Writers Association of America elected 3 players to the Hall of Fame this year, Greg Maddux (97.2%), Tom Glavine (91.9%) and Frank Thomas (83.7%).  It was the largest class since 1999 when Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount were elected.  In addition, a veterans committee earlier elected managers, Bobby Cox, Tony Larussa […]

The Pine Tar Game

Hey baseball fans! A while back, I got the chance to interview Graig Nettles, a Yankee great and a member of the 300 home runs club. What I did not mention in that post was something he did that helped create one of the oddest, most interesting, and controversial moments not just in the history of […]

Watching the Money Flow

One of the many things missing in the discussion about the new contract for Clayton Kershaw–a mere $30 million annually–is how much money the Dodgers have to throw around. The money the Dodgers got from Time Warner for media rights last season–reputed to be $7 billion over 25 years–gives the old Brooklyn franchise $280 million […]

Lance McCullers Jr.: Houston Astros Prospect Taking Up the Family Business

Make no mistake about it. The Houston Astros may have lost 111 games in 2013 but they are definitely a franchise on the rise. Led by an overhauled front office and an impressive farm system that has been getting better by the year, the team will be back in contention in short order. One of […]

If Not Jack Morris, Then Who?

The sabermetric question that remains with Jack Morris left out of the Hall of Fame Jack Morris supporters frustrate the sabermetrically inclined because he is a symbol of the anecdotal evidence they have fought hard to eliminate from their analytic process. One of the first rules of sabermetric analysis is raw statistics of players from […]

Seattle Could Fly Before It Could Swim

Hey baseball fans! The Seattle Mariners were created in 1977 and were placed in the AL West division and have remained there ever since. However, did you know that there was a team prior to the Mariners that played Major League Baseball in Seattle? Did you know that they only played there one season (1969) […]

Statement of MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark regarding lawsuit filed against the MLBPA by Alex Rodriguez

New York, NY, Monday, January 13, 2014 … Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director, Tony Clark, today issued the following statement regarding the lawsuit filed by Alex Rodriguez against the MLBPA. “It is unfortunate that Alex Rodriguez has chosen to sue the Players Association. His claim is completely without merit, and we will aggressively […]

MLBPA statement regarding the “60 Minutes” appearances of MLB and Anthony Bosch

New York, NY, Sunday, January 12, 2013 … The Major League Baseball Players Association today released the following statement regarding MLB’s decision to appear on “60 Minutes” and to authorize Tony Bosch’s appearance on “60 Minutes.” It is unfortunate that Major League Baseball apparently lacks faith in the integrity and finality of the arbitrator’s decision […]

The Predecessors to Mariano Rivera

Hey baseball fans! Sadly (for Yankee fans) Mariano Rivera has finally called it quits after playing 19 seasons in the Bronx. In honor of him, I want to talk about other great relievers in Yankee history. Johnny Murphy Murphy was one of the first relievers in the live ball era and he did a pretty good job […]

Congrats to two great Braves for the HOF nod

Congratulations to Former Braves Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux for being selected to the HOF. Growing up as a Braves fan, I really enjoyed watching them pitch for “my” team. I remember watching Maddux pitch for the Cubs when I was in graduate school in Kentucky and was in awe of his great control of […]

Big Frank – Hall of Famer

Frank Thomas, probably the greatest player in Chicago White Sox history, is headed to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, a validation of his talent, work ethic, durability and character. Thomas hit .301 over his 19-year career, the first 16 of which he spent on Chicago’s South Side.  He won two American League […]

« Previous Page — Next Page »