Lonely at the Top–Jeffrey Loria’s Vision for Baseball in South Florida

Jeffrey Loria’s lawsuit against the only two remaining season ticket holders in the Miami-Dade area has sparked a debate about the worst owners of professional baseball teams over the years. Charlie Comiskey was an early favorite in the race based on his penurious handling of payroll that some have argued was the reason for the […]

March Gladness: Further Thoughts on the World Baseball Classic

It isn’t always pretty, the timing stinks, the umpiring is spotty, the pitch count limits are a drag, many of the games are half-attended and God only knows what the TV ratings are, but I’d still rather watch The Kingdom of the Netherlands battle Chinese Tapei in the World Baseball Classic than one inning of […]

Cole Frenzel: Seeking His Opportunity with the New York Mets

The New York Mets face a bleak situation with their offense as the 2013 season nears. Other than third baseman David Wright and first baseman Ike Davis, they lack any above-average bats, but hope that help may be on the way courtesy of their minor league system. One player who could be in the mix […]

Clearing The Bases

The position of shortstop is traditionally weak, and this year is no exception.  The first 3-4 players are studs, next two I wouldn’t mind having, then everyone else is pretty much a dartboard throw, hoping they help me more than they hurt me.  What I mean by that is that if I take someone like […]

Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson and the 1946 Pennant

I’m currently in the middle of reading a handful of Jackie Robinson/Branch Rickey/Brooklyn Dodger themed books. The reason being is that I am pumped to see the movie “42” next month. After watching this trailer, how could you not get excited? Recently, one of the books went through Robinson’s 1946 season with the Montreal Royals […]

Underdogs, Yes, But Independent-Packed Team Spain Players Are Used to Fighting for Approval

Spain seems to be a long shot among the 12 teams remaining in the third World Baseball Classic, but there were plenty of smiles and expressions of hope when I tracked down several of the 13 current or former Independent Baseball players on the 28-man roster shortly before they left Florida for their first round […]

Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game…Without Getting Injured in a Bizarre Fashion?

I finally figured out how Cal Ripken Jr. managed to play 2,632 consecutive games for the Orioles. Evidently he didn’t wrestle his dog, take his kids shopping or shovel his driveway during the streak. “The Iron Man” was fortunate to stay relatively healthy, but he was also smart enough not to leave anything to chance. […]

Remembering Jennifer

This article first appeared on Seamheads.com on March 2, 2009, a little more than three years after my sister’s tragic death, and will be re-posted here every year on this day, her birthday, with slight modifications. My sister would have been 42 today. But for the senseless act of a coward who took her life […]

Tools of Ignorance

The essence of baseball is the matchup at home plate.  One man stands alone in a box against a battery.  The pitcher is the howitzer of the battery; firing from the heights at enemy hitters.  But nothing happens until the forward observer makes his call for fire.  That forward observer is the catcher.  They are […]

The One and Only Rube Waddell

Hey baseball fans! I recently reached out to Dan O’Brien (see pic below), the screenwriter of a play called Rube the Screenplay, a play that talks about a very famous pitcher in the Deadball Era named Rube Waddell. O’Brien also has a website called rubewaddell.net. Dan is a very nice man and a former Emmy award-winning producer and television […]

Taking a Look at Rick Reuschel

A few days ago I saw an article on High Heat Stats making one sabermetric case for Rick Reuschel as a viable Hall of Famer. So, I revisited a post I’d done on Reuschel a few years ago, and here is a reworking of the post. In July 1985, Sports Illustrated wrote: When the Yankees […]

My Top Opening Day Performances

Hey baseball fans!Happy Spring Training! Yes, I know it’s not the official start to the MLB season, but today I will be rating the top five Opening Day performances in MLB history. (Note that I originally posted this for Big Leagues Magazine, a really great online magazine that I write for. Hope you check it out.)Number […]

Damn (For All Time) Yankees

There are trailers running on the Internet for the upcoming Tom Cruise movie “Oblivion.”  Cruise plays a tough guy named Jack Harper which is quite a departure from Cruise’s previous film in which he played a tough guy named Jack Reacher. “Oblivion” is set in the dystopian future in which very little is left of […]

Charles Dexter–The Pretty, The Pretty Bad, and The Pretty Darn Heroic

When I first started work on this article I envisioned its title as “Charles Dexter—The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”, focusing on the events of August 23, 1904 and October 2, 1905. But when further research brought to light the events of December 30, 1903, I decided to change that title. Readers will see […]

Negro Leagues DB Update: Florida Hotel League, Cuban League, 1899 & 1900 Negro Leagues

We’ve just added the following to the DB: the 1916/17 Cuban Winter League, the 1917 and 1918 Florida Hotel League, and a handful of games from the 1899 and 1900 seasons, as well as new games for 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1912. In 1899 the Cuban X Giants came west to play the […]

Seattle Mariners’ Prospect Scott DeCecco Talks Baseball

The Seattle Mariners have done well in recent years developing young pitchers, with Felix Hernandez, Doug Fister and Blake Beavan among those who have come up through their system. One of the pitchers from last year’s draft they hope can do the same is left-hander Scott DeCecco. DeCecco was dominant at Middle Township High School […]

Earl Goes Out a Winner

Earl Weaver won his final contest, at least as much as it can be won. The Hall of Fame manager died aboard a cruise ship—it was an Oriole-themed cruise—on the day of the Orioles FanFest. I’m sure that the Baltimore Convention Center will see its share of tears, wept unashamedly by grown men who wouldn’t […]

Are Nationals Trying to Launch Death Star?

Raphael Soriano became one of the elite late inning pitchers with Tampa Bay in 2010 when he posted 42 saves and a 1.73 ERA. At the end of that season, the Yankees signed him for two years as the ostensible heir to Mariano Rivera–no small complement. Atlanta’s Craig Kimbrel might be the best and Fernando […]

Starting Pitchers and Hall of Fame Numbers

Jack Morris’ Hall of Fame candidacy has generated a discussion about HOF numbers for pitchers which I feel is very useful – partly because it raises the question of whether there is a “sabermetric” way to objectively measure a starting pitcher’s career performance. Here is how the CAWS Career Gauge suggests it may be done […]

Anomaly, Or Not To Be

This inquiry began when my good friend Dan Heaton sent me an article from the New York Times about the game-winning patterns of World Series winners. The geekish article told us, for instance, that apart from sweeps, the most common pattern is for the winning team to win Games 1, 3, 4, and 5. That has […]

Negro Leagues DB Update: 1915/16 Cuban League & Florida Hotel League

This week we’ve added two leagues from the 1915/16 winter season—the Cuban League and the Florida Hotel League—along with the 1907 Southern Championship contested between the Birmingham Giants and San Antonio Black Bronchos. In Cuba, due to a labor dispute, the old Cuban National League was no more, replaced by a player-led league, the Cuban […]

Kid Blogger Interviews Curt Schilling

Hey baseball fans! I have another great interview for you today! This interview is with the should-be Hall of Famer……Curt Schilling! You probably already know who Curt is, but in case you don’t, let me tell you a little bit about him. The Alaska-born Schilling played from 1988-2007 with the Phillies, Astros, Diamondbacks and Red […]

The Good Old Days: An Out Of Control Series In St. Paul

As the American Association 1904 season winded down the second place Milwaukee Brewers (79-59) entered the territory of the first place St. Paul Saints (89-46) on Saturday, September 10. The Brewers had just fallen completely out of the pennant race, having dropped their last five games in Minneapolis. Even before the game at St. Paul’s […]

Ray Peters: The Modern Moonlight Graham

“Moonlight” Graham, best remembered as the tragic figure in the movie Field of Dreams, was a real baseball player, who really did get into only one major league game in his entire career without recording an at-bat. Unfortunately he is just one of many players whose major league career was measured in hours instead of […]

Eleven Standouts in the Career Sub-70 Home Run Ranks

This set of 11 retired players who were active after the dead ball era ended is not exactly a sequel to my earlier list of players with under 400 career homers, but it works on the similar idea that less is more for some hitters. It enforces Mark McGwire’s 70-homer season in ’98 as the […]

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 […]

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 […]

A Tribute to Marvin Miller

Marvin Miller died at age 95 yesterday. More than the compelling change Marvin Miller wrought in baseball and American sports as a whole, he should be remembered for the courage the man brought to every part of his public life. The New York Times eulogy credits Miller with creating the modern professional athlete as “pop culture […]

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 […]

2012 MLB Season Now In the Books: Time To Hand Out Some Awards

The STAY AT FIRST Award:  Jose Tabata of the Pirates.  He tried to steal 20 bases this season and was thrown out TWELVE times—a success rate of just 40%.  When this guy reached first base, coach Luis Silverio should have provided Tabata cement shoes in order for him to run NOWHERE. The PETE ROSE/GEORGE BRETT […]

Any Way You Look At It, Mike Trout Is The 2012 AL MVP

WAR, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing; at least within the confines of this article. While they aren’t the end-all, be-all, I am a major proponent of advanced baseball stats because I believe they greatly enhance the understanding of many components of the game. Not everyone agrees, and traditionalists prefer more time-honored metrics like batting average, […]

Another Yankee Miracle in the Works‏

STAR STUDDED LINE UP AT “HURRICANE SANDY” BENEFIT CONCERT AT TILLES CENTER ON NOVEMBER 29TH AT 7:30 PM WITH JOSE FELICIANO AND LONG LIST OF TALENT November 10, 2012 (Brookville, NY). Music Power NY will host a benefit concert November 29th at 7:30 PM at the Tilles Center at LIU-Post in Brookville. The money raised will be used to directly […]

Baseball Folly Struck Out

They stopped playing baseball games for awhile last night, and I’m not very happy about that even though I was rooting for the team that won. Now we’re plunged The Void and, in this part of the country, facing the latest storm of the century. The wind is picking up outside my window, and my […]

Higher Education: The Chicago Cubs College of Coaches

An old proverb states that two heads are better than one. During the early part of the nineteen sixties, Cubs’ owner, Philip Wrigley took it a little further. He felt that eight heads were better than one. Wrigley decided to employ eight rotating managers. There would be four on the major league staff and four […]

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