Selecting the All-Time Dominican Republic Team

The Dominican Republic has a proud tradition of sending talented baseball players to the States, with current stars such as Jose Reyes, Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre, Hanley Ramirez and Albert Pujols hailing from the Caribbean island nation. A total of 563 players born in the Dominican Republic have made it to the majors to date […]

Booming Batters

Hey baseball fans! Now that I’ve blogged about Proficient Pitchers nicknames (part one and part two), it’s time for the hitting nicknames. Here they are: The Splendid Splinter - Ted Williams Ted’s goal as a baseball player was that when he walked down a street, a dad would say to his son: ‘Son, there’s the best hitter that […]

Luck of the Draw: April 3rd, a day of Infamy

While December 7th is Pearl Harbor day and known as the “day that will go down in infamy for Americans, April 3rd is also a day of infamy in the hearts and minds of Atlanta Braves fans.  The question that might linger for many Braves fans is, what their baseball future might have been?  Especially […]

Proficient Pitchers – Part Two

Hey baseball fans! Here’s part two of my blog of the Proficient Pitchers greatest nicknames ever: The Rocket - Roger Clemens Clemens is called “The Rocket” for a reason. His blazing fastballs were a big part of why he won seven career Cy Young Awards, far more than any other player. Clemens is the only pitcher to start […]

Proficient Pitchers – Part One

Hey baseball fans! As I promised in my last blog about fielding nicknames, today I will be blogging about some of the best baseball pitching nicknames of all time.  I will be splitting this topic in two blogs, because I have many good pitching-related nicknames, so here’s blog number one: Dr. K - Dwight Gooden We all […]

Triple Milestones 2012

Offensive production in the major leagues was mixed in 2012.  The number of runs and home runs per game both increased in 2012 after reaching 20-year lows in 2011.  Batting average was the same as in 2011 but on-base average dropped to .319, the lowest figure since the 1980s.  However slugging average increased from .399 […]

Fabulous Fielders

Hey baseball fans! Like I promised you all last time in my Splendid Speedies blog post, I will be blogging today about some great nicknames in baseball history, this time pertaining to fielding abilities: The Vacuum Cleaner - Brooks Robinson The excellent fielding third baseman won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves in his career (second most all time) with the Baltimore […]

Indy Owner Pat Salvi Has Vested Interest in Unbeaten Irish And Colabello’s Major League Dream Comes True

While Notre Dame will not have any shortage of supporters when the Irish go after their first national football title since 1988 in the BCS Championship game January 7, it seems unlikely anyone will be more amped than Pat Salvi. In case the name escapes, Salvi is the successful Chicago attorney who along with his wife […]

Splendid Speedies

Hey baseball fans! Today I will be starting a series of blogs about the greatest nicknames in baseball history. Each blog will focus on a different baseball characteristic. This blog will be about the nicknames pertaining to speed: Commerce Comet - Mickey Mantle I know what you’re thinking: Mickey Mantle was speedy? Well, the answer is yes. […]

A 1978 World Series Cinderella Story

“One upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom, peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition.”  -Narrator at the beginning of Disney’s Cinderella.   The New York Yankee baseball club was not a tiny kingdom, nor peaceful.  Instead, it was the Bronx Zoo, a moniker coined by  Sparky Lyle and […]

Kid Blogger Interviews the President of the Baseball Hall of Fame

Hey baseball fans! I have another interview for you! This time, I interviewed National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum President Jeff Idelson! I talked to him a couple of days ago and he was a very nice and friendly guy. Click here to see the Hall of Fame’s website. Anyway, let me tell you a little […]

Santa, a Baseball Fantasy

The free agents were nestled all snug in their new beds, visions of the playoffs danced in their heads… Santa stood on the roof next to his reindeer and was about to jump to the chimney when the shiny new Louisville Slugger in his bag caught his eye. Santa took the bat out of the bag […]

Another Sip of A Bitter Cup of Coffee

In 2010, Douglas Gladstone wrote A Bitter Cup of Coffee: How MLB and the Players Association Threw 974 Retirees a Curve (ISBN: 978-1-59571-512-8). It’s a book outlining the plight of former major league players who lack the service time to qualify for a pension. He brought immediate attention to a subject that has been swept […]

Postseason Series Win Probability

I would have liked to add this in October, but I had some things to tweak and I wanted to make sure the 2012 data was included at launch. Thanks to Retrosheet, every single postseason play, game, and series is included. I’ve also added postseason tiebreakers. Before I get emails about the tiebreakers, I realize […]

The Ultimate Baseball One-Hit Wonder

Hey baseball fans! Today, you will read about the best example of a one-hit wonder in baseball history. Enjoy. Jim Konstanty had a very good 1950 season. The reliever for the NL pennant-winning Phillies went 16-7, had an ERA of 2.66, and collected 22 saves, earning him NL MVP honors. Some of the other players in […]

Kid Blogger Interviews MLB’s Official Historian

Hey baseball fans! I just received the answers to the interview questions that I sent to…. John Thorn, the Official Historian for Major League Baseball! Thorn was appointed Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball by the Commissioner on March 1, 2011. He has written books like “Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame” and […]

The Ignitor (Sic): Paul Molitor’s Misspelled, Misconstrued And Misunderstood Hall Of Fame Career

What have you been working on lately? An essay on the baseball player Paul Molitor. Paul Molitor. Hmm. Is he a Hall of Famer? Are you putting me on? In a 21-year (1978-98) career, he was one of the most consistent right-handed batters in baseball. The guy had 3,319 hits, still the ninth most ever […]

The Wampum Walloper

Hey baseball fans! Today, I will be blogging about a certain ballplayer who was very good at the major league level. He made seven All-Star Games in his 15-year career from 1963-1977. Ladies and gentleman, Dick Allen. Dick “Richie” Allen started his career with the Phillies. In 1964, technically his second year in the bigs, he […]

Baseball Notes for December 10, 2012

If you happen to follow many baseball writers on Twitter, chances are your timeline was blowing up this past week. With MLB’s winter meetings taking place in Nashville, Tennessee, there was a lot of activity, as more free agents were taken off the market. Heck, there was even some trading going on. It was all […]

Touring The Bases With…Sergio Romo

As some of you may know, I’ve had the opportunity over the last few months to contribute to “49ers Insider,” a digital magazine from the San Francisco Chronicle. Between this gig and my day job, it’s limited my time and energy to write for Baseball: Past and Present, though it’s given me something cool to […]

Rays Complete Seven-Player Trade With Royals

Shields, Davis Traded to Kansas City; Rays Acquire Top Prospect Wil Myers ST. PETERSBURG, FL—The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired four prospects—outfielder Wil Myers, right-handed pitcher  Jake Odorizzi, left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery and third baseman Patrick Leonard—from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right-handed pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis as well as a […]

Baseball with Matt’s First Seamheads Post

Hey baseball fans! Matt Nadel here from Baseball with Matt. I’m a 13-year-old 8th grader from Springfield, NJ who loves video games, chocolate ice cream with rice krispies, and especially baseball. My favorite team from the 21st century is the Yankees. But I also love the whole history of the game, including the great old timers, […]

Latest Rash of Player Sales (10 in Two Weeks) Reinforces Some of Independent Game’s Best Attributes

Even though there is an urge this early to focus on spring training because of so many promotions to 40-man major league rosters and earlier-than-usual non-roster invitations, truth be told the big story right now is the rash of signings of Independent players to affiliated contracts. This corner can pinpoint 10 such signings to major […]

Some of the Best Players After the Dead Ball Era With Under 400 Career Homers

The players who are in the 500-home run club used to be guaranteed a place in the Hall of Fame. The offensive boom of the last two decades cheapened membership some, but they’re still guaranteed either fame or notoriety, and sometimes both. This list of retired players who hit mostly or entirely after the dead […]

The Most Impressive Man I’ve Ever Met

In the early 1990’s I started working on a book about the early years of Marvin Miller’s tenure as the director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. My focus was on how Miller convinced a generation of ballplayers that: (A) owners weren’t the benign sportsmen they were believed to be; (B) although players were […]

Michael Ynoa: High Expectations, 40-Man Rosters, and the Agonizing Burden of Waiting for Greatness

The legend of right-handed pitcher Michael Ynoa began the moment he signed a then-record $4.25 million contract with the Oakland A’s in 2008 as a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic. Because of recurring injuries, he has pitched only a total of 39.2 innings in the five seasons since landing that landmark deal, assuming the identity […]

Baseball Notes For November 26, 2012

More moves and rumors are starting to come in now that the baseball offseason is in full-swing. It’s always interesting to see the jostling that takes place, as teams seek to set their 2013 rosters, while battling other teams for resources. Despite Thanksgiving dominating this past week, there was still a flurry of activity that […]

1887 Metropolitans: Death Comes To the Mets

In 1887, the Mets were coming off their second straight seventh place finish. Unlike in 1886, when management allowed a strong finish in 1885 to lull them into complacency, many changes were made in the team for the new season. Gone were longtime Mets Steve Brady, Chief Roseman, and Charlie Reipschlager. Veteran Candy Nelson was […]

More Awards to Hand Out: Historical Edition

Yesterday my buddy Bob Lazzari handed out a bunch of awards for the 2012 season, which motivated me to try to match his list with historical achievements.  The following covers the period from 1900-2012 (sorry 19th century fans, but that era is not one of my strengths) and some of my choices are subjective, but […]

Should Cooperstown Welcome Al Oliver?

Before starting this article, I would like to say,  I am sure we all know some fans that become very passionate when one of their favorite players is not in the Hall of fame.  Sometimes the so-called  “bubble” players eventually make it.  A case in point would be the Cub’s Ron Santo; unfortunately he gained […]

Chatting With St. Louis Cardinals Pitching Prospect Nick Greenwood

It’s hard enough to succeed as a professional baseball player, but imagine if it’s not even your favorite/best sport. That’s what faced St. Louis Cardinals left-handed pitching prospect Nick Greenwood, who grew up loving soccer and baseball before finally having to choose one sport. Greenwood was a soccer star for Xavier High School in Middletown, […]

The Political Reality of Building a 19th Century Ball Park

Many baseball magnates of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century had difficulties building their ballparks. Much of this was political. Even though ballparks were not built with public money, public officials could hinder—or stop—construction with zoning regulations and the placement of streets through the area where the baseball men were planning to build. […]

Oy Vey! Members of The Tribe Don’t Receive Pensions and Health Insurance from MLB‏

Like a lot of Jews, I’m of the opinion that you can’t have justice for yourself unless other people have justice as well. As you may know, my book, A Bitter Cup of Coffee, tells the true story of why nearly 900 retired ballplayers, all of whom played between 1947 and 1979, don’t have pensions. […]

A Glimpse of Eddie Mathews in 1989

In a 1991 book called Stolen Season, journalist David Lamb describes his solo journey by RV through the U.S. on a tour of the minor leagues in 1989. Lamb, a devoted fan of the Milwaukee Braves in the late ’50s as a boy in Boston, which the Braves had left a few years earlier, caught […]

Memorial Stadium Love Affair

David Stinson, a friend, and author of the novel Deadball, recently took me on a trip to Baltimore to visit some interesting and little known baseball sites. We visited the spot where once stood Union Park, home of the National League Champion Orioles. This was the team of John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson whose graves […]

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