1924 All-Star Game: Senior Circuit Makes Short Work of Juniors In 6-1 Victory

SENIOR CIRCUIT MAKES SHORT WORK OF JUNIORS IN 6-1VICTORY Fifth Inning Circuit Clouts Highlight Tilt Vance Leads NL Mound Brigade In Brilliance CHICAGO, July 8.—In a contest celebrated for the All-Star debut of young Cubs catcher Charley Hartnett, it was a trio of Brooklyn Robins that propelled the National League to a relatively effortless victory […]

Maddux: A Dozen Memories

The 2014 MLB HOF class includes one of the greatest right-handed pitchers of all-time, Greg Maddux.  I had the privilege of watching “The Professor” pitch a dozen times in person.  Here are the games ranked in order of effectiveness. Game 12: May 8, 2006 at Petco Park (Chicago Cubs)  On this night, ‘Mad Dog’ was […]

My Nick News Appearance is Now on the Web!

Hey baseball fans! As I mentioned in a prior post, I was recently on Nickelodeon’s Nick News on an episode about Web Stars, and I now have a clip of the entire episode! If you want to check me out talking about how I first got started on Baseball with Matt and more, click here. If […]

Cecil Travis: The MLB Star Who Lost The Most Because Of WWII‏

CECIL TRAVIS, shortstop Born: Aug. 8, 1913, in Riverdale, Ga. Died: December 16, 2006 in Riverdale, Ga. (Age 93) Batted: Left Threw: Right Height: 6’1.5″ Weight: 185 Perhaps no major-league baseball star who served in the military paid a higher price for his service than Cecil Travis.  At the peak of his baseball career, Travis […]

The Coldest Game in World Series History

Hey baseball fans! Because the baseball regular season is in the spring and summer, the playoffs and World Series are forced to be held during the fall. Due to this, some World Series games can get very cold, but what is the coldest World Series game in history? The answer? Game Four of the 1997 […]

Rating the 2014 Hall of Fame Candidates Based on Win Shares

One of the first items of business in baseball each year is the announcement of players elected to the Hall of Fame.  This leads to lots of speculation and a little analysis prior to the announcement which is scheduled for January 8, 2014. Many systems exist for evaluating player performance.  One such system, the Win […]

The AL Counterpart to Ralph Kiner

Hey baseball fans and happy new year! When the name “Hank” is said in a conversation about baseball, many times the name is followed by the surname “Aaron.” However, there is another Hank who played baseball and is enshrined in Cooperstown. This Hank could be compared to Ralph Kiner: both players had pretty short Hall of […]

Cha-Cha Cha-Chas Into the Hall of Fame

Hey baseball fans! As some of you know, there are three Puerto Rican-born Hall of Famers in Cooperstown: Roberto Clemente, Roberto Alomar, and one other person. There are also three Hall of Fame position players who played for the 1962 San Francisco Giants pennant-winning squad: Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and one other person. The “one other person” on both […]

1923 All-Star Game: National League Claws Way To Victory In Front Of Record Crowd

NATIONAL LEAGUE CLAWS WAY TO VICTORY IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD Ninth Inning Rally Stuns Junior Circuit Williams Homers Twice, Traynor Belts Titanic Clout NEW YORK, July 10.—More than 75,000 patrons walked through the gates of Yankee Stadium today to watch the mid-summer battle between the American and National Leagues, and at least 25,000 more […]

“He’s A Great Humanitarian, He’s A Great Philanthropist”

It was early. I was at the House of Blues on a morning in late July ’96 representing my employer, the advertising department of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. House of Blues was to provide the AJC with a check for the ads they’d run with us that week. I was there for the check and to […]

The Terrific One

Hey baseball fans! Considering I just watched Anchorman 2 on the big screen, here is a little something about a famous Met who was born in the same state that Ron Burgundy reported the news (California). Ladies and gentleman, the Fresno, California native, Tom Seaver! George Thomas Seaver played with the Mets, Reds, White Sox, and […]

Chris Martin: Former Boston Red Sox Prospect Reflects on Recent Trade and Career

When the Boston Red Sox acquired infielder Jonathan Herrera in a recent trade with the Colorado Rockies, they had to give up major league pitcher Franklin Morales and a prospect. That young player was pitcher Chris Martin, a hard-throwing right-handed reliever, who is on the cusp of making his major league debut. The 27-year-old Martin […]

Giving Thanks for Baseball This Holiday Season

It’s hard to find ‘Peace on Earth,” but if you look in the right place this holiday season, you will find baseball in about as cheerful and bountiful a spot as it has been in many years.  That aura of bonhomie is worth celebrating.  It has many origins, but certainly begins with the new found […]

Twins, Nationals Take Two of Independent Baseball’s Power Hitters in Ziegler and Peterson

With so much talk in the baseball universe about the lack of power hitting prospects, it is good to see that people in the Minnesota and Washington scouting departments have been paying attention. They have grabbed two of the best long-ball artists the Independent leagues have produced recently. The Twins stepped up to ink the […]

NJBM: Whitey Herzog

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 Whitey Herzog, one of the greatest managers in Missouri baseball history. If you want to read more about the man who invented Whiteyball, just click here. I hope you enjoy the post. […]

Nick Goody: The Pursuit of Mariano Rivera’s Legacy With the New York Yankees

The New York Yankees’ propensity for courting and signing high-priced free agents can sometimes obscure their farm system, which has delivered numerous players of great importance to the team over the years. Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and the recently departed Robinson Cano are all more recent examples of franchise cornerstones that were also homegrown. One […]

Willie Mays Aikens is Finally “Safe at Home”

It was October 18, 1980 and Kansas City’s slugging first baseman, Willie Mays Aikens, had just made history when he blasted his second homer of Game 4 of the World Series, becoming the first player to enjoy multiple two-homer games in the same Fall Classic.  Although the Royals lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in six […]

An Exception Well Worth Making

In case you were wondering what it would take to get me to return to my baseball blog, the answer, it turns out, was simple:  honor Roger Angell, the best baseball writer I’ve ever encountered. This past week, the BBWAA, for the first time, bestowed its highest honor, the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, on […]

Matt’s Anti-Dream Team

Hey baseball fans! A while back, I wrote a post about my favorite players of all time at each position, my Dream Team. Recently, I’ve realized that a team is not a team without a rival. So, I’ve compiled a list of players that are rivals with one player specifically on my Dream Team at the […]

Brian Garman: Getting to Know the Former Milwaukee Brewers’ Pitching Prospect

If you are left-handed and a pitcher, there may be a future for you in baseball. Especially if you have some talent. Milwaukee Brewers minor leaguer Brian Garman is finding that out as he works his way towards the major leagues. The 25-year-old southpaw attended Wapakoneta High School in Ohio before moving on and having […]

1922 All-Star Game: American League Routs Seniors In 11-2 Drubbing

AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUTS SENIORS IN 11-2 DRUBBING Junior Circuit Pounds Out 22 Safeties Williams Homers, Named Outstanding Performer PITTSBURGH, July 11.—The American League tallied in seven of nine innings today at Forbes Field and embarrassed the National League in front of 25,000 fans who were in full throat for the senior circuit before they realized […]

An Interview with Graig Nettles

Hey baseball fans! I have another interview today. This one is with All Star third baseman, Graig Nettles! But, before we get to the interview, let me tell you a little bit about one of the most familiar faces to Yankee fans from the 1970s. A native of San Diego, California, Nettles was a power-hitting third […]

Negro Leagues DB Update: 1927-28 Cuban League

Imagine a last-place team with no fewer than three future Hall of Famers on its roster, all in their prime.  That’s the story of the Cuba Baseball Club of the 1927/28 Cuban Winter League, which we’ve added to the DB.  Despite the efforts of Oscar Charleston (.350/.481/.567, a league-leading 32 walks in 34 games), Willie […]

Triple Milestones 2013

This is the final examination of players who during the 2013 season achieved the triple milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2013.Offensive production in the major leagues was down in 2013.  The number of runs and home runs per game both decreased in 2013 after a slight increase […]

Arguably the Greatest Single Game Performance by a Player in MLB History

Hey baseball fans! Like I said in my post about pitchers who can hit, pitchers can smack the long ball. But was there ever a pitcher who hit a homer and pitched a no-hitter in the same game? The answer is yes, there were actually three, but only one pitcher pitched a no-hitter and hit two homers in the […]

Statement of former MLBPA Executive Director Donald Fehr regarding HOF vote‏

In the first half of the 20th Century, no single person was more important to Baseball than was Jackie Robinson. In the second half of the 20th Century, that recognition unquestionably belongs to Marvin Miller. I had the honor and privilege to work with and for Marvin for the last 6 ½ years of his […]

Statement From MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark regarding Hall of Fame Expansion Era Committee election results

New York, NY, Monday, December 09, 2013 … The following statement was issued today by Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark regarding the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Expansion Era Committee election results. “Words cannot adequately describe the level of disappointment and disbelief I felt when learning that once again […]

They May Not All Be Like Scott Kasmir, But Independent Baseball Has Another Crop Within Reach of Majors

Not everyone will end up with a $22 million contract as Scott Kazmir has only a year removed from working his way back through Independent Baseball and the winter leagues, but a new crop of players who have taken the same route over the last nine months is making it appear others could follow the […]

An Interview with the Mayor of Cooperstown

Hey baseball fans! I have another interview for you today! This interview is with someone who is very close to baseball, but does not currently have a job involving America’s pastime. Ladies and gentlemen: an interview with Cooperstown, New York Mayor Jeff Katz! But before I get to the interview, let me tell you a […]

If I Had a Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot 2014

Hey baseball fans! The 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is now announced with a lot of stars’ names on the list for the first time. However, there are only five players on the list for the first time that I think deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. So, without further ado, let […]

“Pages From Baseball’s Past” Is a Real Treat For Fans of All Ages

I’ve known Craig Wright for a few years now and have known of him since I read The Diamond Appraised when it came out almost 25 years ago, so I was thrilled to hear that he wrote a new book.  I’m also well aware of Wright’s work at his website “Pages From Baseball’s Past,” so […]

1921 All-Star Game: Players, Crowd Honor Chapman Before American League Earns Decisive Win

PLAYERS, CROWD HONOR CHAPMAN BEFORE AMERICAN LEAGUE EARNS DECISIVE WIN Teams Combine for 18 runs and 29 hits Speaker, Sisler, Gardner Lead The Way CLEVELAND, July 16.—A stirring tribute to the memory of Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman, the popular player felled by a Carl Mays pitch last August, was the highlight of today’s All-Star […]

The Greg Maddux Anomaly, Part I: Not a K-Man, But Dominant Nonetheless

Greg Maddux, in his first year of eligibility, is among the headliners on the 2014 Hall of Fame ballot.  Even among Hall of Fame pitchers, there are very few whose dominance on the mound is so vastly superior to the average pitcher every year for at least five years running that they count as epic. […]

Turkey Stearnes Should Not Be Eaten on Thanksgiving

Hey baseball fans! Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have an amazing holiday. Anyway, I was looking at the nicknames for Hall of Famers and I found that one HoFer has the nickname (wouldn’t you know it): Turkey. So, without further ado, here is a little bit about Norman Thomas “Turkey” Stearnes! Norman acquired his unusual nickname at […]

Thanksgiving Pardons and the Washington “Americans”

In 1937 the  Boston Redskins professional football team moved to Washington and began to play their games at old Griffith Stadium, where baseball was still king. The Redskins, as they are unfortunately still known, were owned by George Preston Marshall who earned opprobrium in many circles for refusing to integrate his football team and using […]

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