2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central – Chicago Cubs

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro Chicago Cubs (2010 record: 75-87) Notable additions: RHP Matt Garza, 1B Carlos Peña, RHP Kerry Wood Notable subtractions: 1B Xavier Nady The Cubs suffered through a disappointing 75-87 campaign and a fourth-place finish in the NL Central last season. They looked on as the other clubs in the division improved this […]

Clearing The Bases: Second Basemen

Today and tomorrow we shall go over the middle infield position, starting with our top 15 second basemen.  The position is certainly top heavy, but also hurt by major injury concerns to two of the better players in Chase Utley and Brian Roberts.  Neither one has been announced that they won’t be ready for the […]

Ballparks Database Updated!

Last month we rolled out the online version of the Seamheads Ballparks database, which contained descriptive information about every park ever used as a major league stadium, plus calculations of the impact on batting components for LH and RH batters beginning in 1950. Today we’ve released an update to the original data.   The latest detailed […]

John Thorn to lead Baseball Origins Committee

John Thorn, the Official Historian of Major League Baseball, will serve as chairman of the “Baseball Origins Committee” as his first official task in his new capacity, Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced today. Read the rest of the article at MLB.com.

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central – Houston Astros

Astros RF Hunter Pence Houston Astros (2010 record: 76-86) Notable additions: SP Ryan Rowand-Smith, 2B Clint Barmes, INF Billy Hall Notable subtractions: SP Felipe Paulino, IF Geoff Blum, RHP Matt Lindstrom It doesn’t appear the 50th-anniversary season for the former Colt-45’s will be much of a celebration. The team played pretty well last year after […]

20 Years in Baseball

There’s nothing quite like publishing a book a decade to put your life into perspective. I didn’t intend to become a compiler of quotations. It was an accident. Back in 1990, I was just out of college, semi-unemployed, and trying to make my way in LA. I was in between futile attempts at writing movie scripts, so […]

Maple Street Press Phillies Annual 2011 – The Phillies Fan’s Equivalent to Spring Training

Once the Super Bowl ends there are certain signs that I look for that tell me that baseball is close to starting again. The obvious first one is the date pitchers and catchers report, which appropriately fell on Valentine’s Day this year. The next is when the first game of spring is played in either […]

The Status of the Sendai-Based Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball

Here’s some of a story from the Daily Yomiuri on what’s happening with the Eagles following the massive damage to Sendai and the rest of Miyagi Prefecture in Friday’s earthquake and tsunami: After holding meetings on Sunday morning at their hotel, the Eagles held a somber workout at the Yomiuri Giants’ minor league facility in […]

Measuring a Pitcher’s Ace Factor

Below is a statistical collection of the seasonal performances of every starting pitcher between 1950 and 2010. Each pitcher’s season, represented by a blue diamond, was measured by a calculation that didn’t consider any of the usual suspects typically used in measuring a pitcher’s effectiveness, such as ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, shutouts, or even ground ball percentages, contact […]

Touring The Bases With…Julia Janssen

Julia Janssen is the Director of Marketing for the Lansing Lugnuts located in Lansing, Michigan. They have been affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays since 2005.  They are in the Midwest League.  Website: www.lansinglugnuts.com SEAMHEADS:  When did you discover your love for baseball? How did you wind up on your team? Julia Janssen: I’ve always […]

Just How Good was Jeff Bagwell?

Jeff Bagwell appeared on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year (2011).  He should have been a first-ballot inductee into the Hall.  Instead, he received only 42% of the vote.  This is a result that defies rational explanation and, unfortunately, only reinforces the perception that the BBWAA at times does […]

Canadian Black History Month Part Two: Jackie Robinson

We have just wrapped up Black History Month in Canada, and, interestingly enough, baseball played a major role in at least two of our nation’s many celebratory moments. A stamp was issued in honour of Ferguson Jenkins on February 1 and at the end of the month a commemorative plaque was placed on the Montreal […]

On Seeing Elvis in Florida

Bryce Harper’s appearance in right field at Osceola County Stadium Thursday night occasioned a rush of fans to the wall alongside that would have made Elvis blush.  A fan beside me said it, “The king is in the house again.”  The stadium is the Astros’ spring home, but the hero carrying the scarf of the […]

Six Decades of Baseball

__________ Six decades is a long time.    That’s a lot of baseball memories. Bill Lewers issues an important caveat at the beginning of his 378-page narrative:  he’s an ordinary fan.    For much of his life, he has watched baseball from the upper deck where he often sits alone (or so it seems), collecting memories […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central –Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen Pittsburgh Pirates (2010 record: 57-105) Notable additions: SP Kevin Correia, LF Matt Diaz, SP Scott Olsen, 1B Lyle Overbay Notable subtractions: SP Zach Duke The Pittsburgh Pirates’ current streak of 18 consecutive losing seasons is the longest such streak in history for any North American professional sports franchise. The drought […]

Hindsight is 20/20: Prospect Lists

Every off season, leading up to Opening Day, the talk amongst fans, blogs, and scouting services is Prospect Lists. It’s a passion for many because they want to know who will be the stars of the future, or they want to know if there is any reason to get excited about their favorite team’s future. […]

Only a Friend Would Know

Learned. The dictionary defines the adjective “learned” as “having much knowledge”; “acquired by experience.” Yep, I’d say 95 years of life qualified Elden Auker. This week, read the righty’s take on baseball’s biggest stars along with proud and humbling moments from his years around the game. “Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms“ by Elden Auker with […]

The Greatest Pitching Duels of the Century

Sticking to my policy of reviewing only books I can highly recommend, I bring you a gem by Jim Kaplan, long-time “Sports Illustrated” writer and author of a dozen previous baseball books, including a fine biography of Lefty Grove. His new volume, titled The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, and the Pitching […]

Daubach Interesting Choice as Bryce Harper’s First Manager

     One of the charms of spring training that builds so much momentum for a baseball season is the great writing that emerges, and the memorable stories those in the baseball-writing business dig up.        Washington Post writer Dave Sheinin brought to the surface the fact Brian Daubach, who managed in the Can-Am League at […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL West – San Francisco Giants

2010 NL Rookie of the Year, Buster Posey San Francisco Giants (2010 record: 92-70) Notable additions: SS Miguel Tejada Notable subtractions: SS Edgar Renteria, INF Juan Uribe The offense: Catcher: Buster Posey Infield: Aubrey Huff (1B), Freddie Sanchez (2B), Miguel Tejada (SS) and Pablo Sandoval (3B) Outfield: Mark DeRosa (LF), Andres Torres (CF), Cody Ross […]

Ferguson Jenkins and Jackie Robinson: Canada Celebrates Black History Month

We have just wrapped up Black History Month in Canada, and, interestingly enough, baseball played a major role in at least two of our nation’s many celebratory moments. A stamp was issued in honour of Ferguson Jenkins on February 1 and at the end of the month a commemorative plaque was placed on the Montreal […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL West – Colorado Rockies

Colorado Rockies (2010 record: 83-79) Notable additions: RHP Matt Lindstrom, INF Jose Lopez, C Jose Morales, INF/OF Ty Wiggington Notable subtractions: 2B Clint Barmes, RHP Octavio Dotel, SP Jeff Francis, 3B Melvin Mora, C Miguel Olivo The offense: Catcher: Chris Iannetta Infield: Todd Helton (1B), Eric Young Jr (2B), Troy Tulowitzki (SS) and Ian Stewart […]

Clearing The Bases

Clearing The Bases                                                                                                                                          March 9, 2011 By George Kurtz Today we will go over our top 20 First Basemen.  This is a loaded position with some of the best hitters in the game.  Generally I like to wait to grab a 1B seeing as though the position is so deep.  That being said there will […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL West – Los Angeles Dodgers

Dodgers starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda Los Angeles Dodgers (2010 record: 80-82) Notable additions: C Rod Barajas, RHP Jon Garland, RHP Matt Guerrier, C Dioner Navarro, LF Marcus Thames, 2B Juan Uribe Notable subtractions: C Russell Martin, LF Scott Podsednik The offense: Catcher: Rod Barajas Infield: James Loney (1B), Juan Uribe (2B), Rafael Furcal (SS), Casey […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL West – San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres (2010 record: 90-72) Notable additions: SS Jason Bartlett, 1B Jorge Cantu, RHP Aaron Harang, 1B Brad Hawpe, 2B Orlando Hudson, CF Cameron Maybin, SP Dustin Moseley, C Gregg Zaun Notable subtractions: 2B David Eckstein, RHP Jon Garland, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, CF Tony Gwynn Jr., SS Miguel Tejada, C Yorvit Torrealba, RHP Chris […]

Clearing The Bases

It’s that time of year again where all of us fantasy players are gearing up for our fantasy draft.  Some of us may have already had a draft or two as some leagues like to get it out of the way early.  Personally I prefer drafting as late in spring training as possible so that […]

Aubrey Stewart: African-American Pitcher Killed in WWII

Aubrey Stewart was a semi-pro pitcher with the Piedmont Colored Giants who volunteered for military service in 1942 and became a victim of a WWII atrocity.

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL West – Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks (2010 record: 65-97) Notable additions: 1B Russell Branyan, LHP Zach Duke, RHP Armando Gallaraga, RHP David Hernandez, 3B Melvin Mora, OF Xavier Nady, RHP J.J. Putz Notable subtractions: 1B Adam LaRoche, 3B Mark Reynolds, RHP Brandon Webb Arizona is an organization that is floundering, always taking a step to one side and then […]

The Duke’s-Eye View

This has been a tough winter for baseball Hall of Famers. Sparky Anderson died in November, the seemingly indestructible Bob Feller left us in December, and now Duke Snider is gone. I never got to meet Snider, which I’m told was my loss. But he was the protagonist in one of my favorite Hall of […]

Starting Pitchers: Judging Their Careers

How do you judge whether a starting pitcher had a Hall of Fame career?  Obviously, there are many fans who will have different opinions on this question.  And many of the answers may be influenced by which team the fan supports.  But is there a completely objective way to answer this question? Yes, according to […]

Umpires: How Do They Impact Total Line Betting in Baseball?

Introduction I recently read an article about NBA referees and their ability to impact the over/under in total line betting. If more fouls are called, teams shoot additional free throws and play less than optimal defense. MLB umpires may also have the ability to impact the over/under in total line betting. If they call more […]

View from the Lone Red Seat

World Series 2007, Game 2 The lone red seat at Fenway Park offers a terrific view of the live action.   No wonder they named a radio show after it.   Views don’t get much better than this:  that’s what my son and I were thinking one windless October night as Curt Schilling took the field in […]

MLB Preview, 2011: Red Sox Rank Best in Positional Analysis of the AL East

A few weeks ago, I initiated a series of articles analyzing and ranking the starters for all of the clubs in the American League East. The series concluded with the belated publication of my analysis of the DH’s on Friday. So, now it’s time to rank the organizations within the division on the relative strength […]

2011 AL East Positional Analysis And Ranking: Designated Hitter

I am finally at the end of my series examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis. The players at each position have been ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in […]

A Composite Portrait of Barry Bonds Before He Reached the Majors

These items are pulled together from various articles in newspapers from 1974 to early 1986. They’re presented here to shed some light on Bonds’ early personality and the talent and power he displayed before reaching the majors, many years before the steroids talk began. In 1974, Barry Bonds’ father, Bobby, left the Giants for the […]

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