Off the Beaten Basepaths #3: The Eastern Shore

Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the Delmarva Peninsula has a rich baseball history. Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx and Frank “Home Run” Baker were born there as were many other Major League ballplayers. An excellent musuem, the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame, is located in Salisbury. But there’s no sense reading about it, when you […]

Bill Veeck Day

Today is Bill Veeck Day. It is the day that Paul Dickson’s biography of Bill Veeck is officially released, the day “Sport Shirt Bill” is back with us once again. Like a bad penny, he has returned. It is something he himself said often, as he bounced between Wrigley Field and Comiskey, forever part of […]

How Hack Wilson’s Historic 1930 Season Avoided Knockout Punch

Lewis “Hack” Wilson enjoyed one of the most inspired seasons in baseball history in 1930. Playing outfield for the Chicago Cubs, he hit .356 with 56 home runs and a major league record 191 RBI. He had set the National League RBI record the year before with 159, but shattered that with his inspired play […]

A People’s History of Baseball: A Review

Baseball is steeped in the notion of myth and the existence of a narrative declaring the game to be a bastion of good and American wholesomeness. Such contrivances interfere with the study of history, making it difficult to find works associated with baseball that are able to push through such obstacles. With the publishing of […]

Baseball Gauge – Introducing our new version of Wins Above Replacement

In celebration of the new season, Seamheads.com and The Baseball Gauge are proud to announce our new Wins Above Replacement. The updated calculation has two major changes from our previous system. The first upgrade is our Fielding system, which now uses Runs Saved from Michael Humphreys Defensive Regression Analysis. This allows us to compare and […]

A Best Of Collection of Favorite Obscure Baseball Players

A year ago I started a project on my blog of asking people to name their favorite obscure baseball figure from the past: not exclusively players, but anyone employed by the game. The volume of responses (many came from the now-defunct Baseball-Reference blog) surprised me, and led me to start the project up again this […]

Negro Leagues DB Update: 1914 & 1915 Negro Leagues

New to the DB this week are the 1914 and 1915 Negro leagues.  The 1914 season in particular marks a turning point in black baseball history, as Charles Isham Taylor, former manager of the Birmingham Giants and West Baden Sprudels, arrived in Indianapolis to take over the A.B.C.s, bringing along with him his three ballplaying […]

Hall of Fame Honors Selig With Locked Door

When the press release was distributed by the Hall of Fame on August 18, it seemed like a cool thing–dedicating a library space to the archives of baseball’s nine commissioners. As the release put it, “Cooperstown will also now be forever celebrated as the archival home for the Office of the Commissioner following the Wednesday […]

This Daly On Baseball History

The Red Sox and Braves just collapsed this year.  Where they the worst collapses?  I’m a Red Sox fan and I’ve felt worse.  Maybe it is because the 2004 and 2007 World Series titles added a psychic cushion.  1977 and 2000 were probably the most disappointing Red Sox seasons for me.  I know that they […]

An Interview with Bob Kendrick: President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

One of the more under-appreciated elements of baseball history is the Negro Leagues. Barred from playing in the Majors, black players instead played at the highest level of competition in their own leagues. Legendary players like Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Rube Foster rivaled or exceeded the popularity and productivity of any stars in the […]

Graham Knight: The Ballpark Connoisseur

With all due respect, the best way I can describe Graham Knights’ website, http://www.baseballpilgrimages.com, is to call it “baseball porn.” It is a feast for the eyes and the senses, glorifying baseball and its stadiums. If you are a baseball fan and haven’t visited it before, you are missing out. The site is a shrine […]

A Chat with Baseball HOF President Jeff Idelson

Believe it or not, despite the fact that I have been an ardent fan of baseball for many years, I have never made a trip to the Hall of Fame. Located in Cooperstown, New York, The Hall of Fame is a shrine to America’s game, holding numerous artifacts, exhibits, and other holdings that represent the […]

Koufax or Ryan? Tough choice for Torborg

Don’t ask Jeff Torborg to choose between Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan. The only man to catch no-hitters thrown by both can’t make up his mind. A former back-up catcher for the Dodgers and Angels, Torborg caught a perfect game thrown by Koufax in 1965 and no-hitters thrown by Bill Singer in 1970 and Ryan […]

Gambling at the Hall of Fame: Part Two

Are you ready for the bizarre story I promised you last time, about gambling AT the Hall of Fame? If you haven’t read “Part One” please do so before reading this one. In it, I told about the Hall of Fame refusing to hire me in the mid-1990s because of my background as a Las […]

Seamheads.com to Debut “High & Tight” Minicasts

We at Seamheads.com are proud and happy to announce a new feature that we hope you’ll enjoy.  Starting on Monday, July 18, we’ll be adding “High & Tight,” a series of audio minicasts of approximately five minutes in length that will contain news, notes, scores, highlights, injuries and other baseball-related tidbits from around the major […]

The Clark Griffith Monument

In 1956 a monument was dedicated to Clark Griffith outside old Griffith Stadium just months after the former owner of the team and stadium died.  His passing was marked by every major newspaper, his funeral attended by every official of the game.  He was recognized as a giant of the game whose place in Cooperstown […]

Touring The Bases With…Norfolk Tides GM Dave Rosenfield

Dave Rosenfield is the General Manager for the Norfolk Tides located in Norfolk, Virginia. They have been an Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles since 2007 and are in the International League. They play at Harbor Park. (a) www.norfolktides.com Seamheads.com: This year marks your fifty-sixth consecutive year you have been associated with a professional club. Is […]

Seamheads.com Partners with The Baseball Gauge, Meebo.com

I’m proud and thrilled to announce that we at Seamheads.com have merged with one entity and formed a partnership with another that we feel will enhance your Seamheads.com experience while bringing you terrific new content from our friends at The Baseball Gauge and Meebo.com. Dan Hirsch, founder and sole contributor to The Baseball Gauge, has […]

The No. 8 Most Quotable Figure in Baseball History

There are few nicknames in all of sports better than Mr. October. The very nature of the moniker keeps Reginald Martinez Jackson in the conversation of the best Big Game performers, and his status in the lexicon of Great Yankees is assured. Coming out of Arizona State, Reggie was drafted 2nd overall by the Kansas […]

Math v. March Madness

On July 27, 1975, a child was born in Washington Heights, New York. Four years later, his family moved to the Dominican Republic, and soon after to Miami, Florida. He grew up rooting for the New York Mets, and idolized Cal Ripken and Keith Hernandez. Like most children, he dreamed about becoming a professional athlete. […]

Starting With Three Losses: A Historical Perspective of The Olde Towne Team

A long, cold, wet winter that still hasn’t completely transformed into spring here in the Pacific Northwest was made much more palatable by the thought of All-Stars Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Bobby Jenks wearing Boston’s carmine hose for the first time, not to mention veteran reliever Dan Wheeler, who wrapped a 2.36 ERA for […]

DC Opening Day Always a Historic Moment

Opening Day in Washington today was notable for the absence of two persons, the first being President Obama.  Starting with President Taft more than a hundred years ago in 1910, they have been there. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon–so many have been there throwing out the first pitch in Washington, DC and the renewal of that […]

Fearless forecast for 2011 flag chases

The first rule in making baseball predictions is to expect the unexpected. Don’t go with last year’s winners, popular favorites, or big-money ballclubs. Unless they deserve it, of course. Now that we’ve gotten past the obvious rules, there are the string of unknowns that can pop up anywhere during the course of a 162-game schedule, […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL Central – Kansas City Royals

Royals Designated Hitter Billy Butler Kansas City Royals (2010 record: 67-95) Kansas City is one more year away from beginning their slow, inexorable climb up the standings. While Royals fans have heard similar promises for years, their patience is finally (mercifully) about to pay off. GM Dayton Moore and his front office staff have developed […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL Central – Cleveland Indians

Indians CF Grady Sizemore Cleveland Indians (2010 record: 69-93) If there is little reason to buy a ticket in Houston, there is even less reason to buy a ticket in Cleveland. The Indians did very little this winter in terms of improving the roster… and since everyone else in the division is as good or […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL West – Texas Rangers

  Rangers LF Josh Hamilton Texas Rangers (2010 record: 90-72) The Texas Rangers won their first American League pennant, but eventually lost the World Series to the San Francisco Giants. Their drive to the Fall Classic was spurred by an MVP season from LF Josh Hamilton, a Rookie-of-the-Year campaign from closer Neftali Feliz, and all-star […]

2011 MLB Pre-Season Preview: AL West – Oakland Athletics

Athletics staff ace, Brett Anderson Oakland Athletics (2010 record: 81-81) The Oakland Athletics finished last season with a .500 record after three consecutive losing seasons. They were able to do so thanks largely to an excellent young rotation, a good bullpen and a solid defense. Little of what they accomplished was owing to their offense […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL West – Los Angeles Angels

LA Angels right fielder Torii Hunter Los Angeles Angels (2010 record: 80-82) The Angels had a rough off-season. It pales in comparison to the one suffered by the NY Mets (the Madoff effects, a lawsuit, a loan from MLB, cleaning house in the front office, etc), but it was bad nonetheless. The team failed to […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: AL West – Seattle Mariners

Staff ace, Felix Hernandez Seattle Mariners (2010 record: 61-101) Many pundits believed the Mariners could win the American League West last season – I am numbered among those people. The joke was on us. Instead of making a run at the Angels and the Rangers, the Mariners turned in one of the more disappointing efforts […]

Gonzalez’ Agent Encouraged After Negotiation Session With Red Sox

John Boggs, the agent for Red Sox 1B Adrian Gonzalez, arrived in Fort Myers yesterday afternoon. He didn’t waste any time getting down to business, as he met earlier today with Theo Epstein and Ben Cherington to discuss a contract extension for A-Gon. After the meeting, he said he would be “extremely surprised” if the […]

FEATURES OF THE BALLPARKS DATABASE

Besides the basic field dimensions and batting event factors, there are some other features of the ballparks database that I’d like to highlight: Starting with the index page, you’ll see that the default order is number of games played in the stadium.   Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are at the top.   This can be an […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL East – Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies 1B Ryan Howard Philadelphia Phillies (2010 record: 97-65) The Phillies entered the new year as one of the handful of teams with a legitimate claim to the designation as the best team in baseball. They entered the free agent fray towards the end of the process and lured southpaw Cliff Lee away from both […]

Is Marco Scutaro Clearly The Starting Shortstop For The Red Sox In 2011?

Red Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro There was an excellent article about Marco Scutaro in today’s Boston Globe. Columnist Nick Cafardo crafted an insightful story in which he detailed the shortstop’s health issues last season, providing a considerable amount of behind-the-scenes information that fans had not previously known. But does that mean Scutaro should be the […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL East – Atlanta Braves

Braves 3B Chipper Jones The Braves begin the new season without long-time manager, Bobby Cox, who stewarded the team to a succession of fourteen consecutive division titles (from 1991-2005, absent the strike-shortened 1994 season), five World Series appearances and a world championship in his 20+ years at the help. The 2011 season will usher in […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL East – Florida Marlins

Florida’s enigmatic shortstop, Hanley Ramirez Florida Marlins (2010 record: 80-82) The Marlins finished 2010 with an 80-82 record, in third place in the National League East, and it appears they’re destined to finish the upcoming season in much the same position. They won’t be able to compete with the Phillies and it is unlikely they’ll […]

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