Off the Beaten Basepaths #6: Leesburg, Florida

Off the Beaten Basepaths is a video series that takes you to little known baseball sites. Enjoy Episode 6 which will take you to historic Pat Thomas Stadium in Leesburg, Florida.

When It Was A Game

I suppose I sound like an old man in saying that I miss the game I grew up with as a boy. Where I once loved the game of baseball unconditionally, I have now developed a love/hate relationship with it. I realize I haven’t been as active on this blog as I’d first intended, but […]

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 […]

“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 […]

Scalding 50-Game Stretches in MLB History and How Teams Did Immediately Before and After

The story of the 2013 L.A. Dodgers is well known. After starting off with a 30-42 record, which left them last in the National League West on June 21 (9.5 games behind first-place Arizona), the Dodgers caught fire. From June 22-August 17, L.A. put together the best 50-game stretch in 71 years – 42 wins […]

Adding a P.S. to a 55-Year-Old Love Letter to Baseball

My Dearest Baseball, I found an old love letter written to you on October 8, 1958, by The Sporting News, one you should have taken seriously. In it, your old beau admits to flirting with a cute new thing named the National Football League. Indeed, that particular issue was the first time that a story […]

Touring The Bases With…Mike Hedlund

A native of Dallas, Texas, pitcher Mike “Red” Hedlund was signed as an amateur free agent right out of Arlington High School by the Cleveland Indians in 1964.  After only 25 minor league innings, the righthander made his major league debut on May 8, 1965 at the tender age of 18 and retired future Hall […]

Swing Time

Chris Davis was one tired looking hitter coming down the stretch. So was Manny Machado. Both have a reputation for being hard workers. No doubt fans of every team could name a hitter or two (or eight) who despite the hard work, slumped in September. I am starting to believe that it was because of […]

MO-ments: 21 Rivera Games

During the past 18 years, I had the opportunity to watch Mariano Rivera pitch on 21 separate occasions.  Listed below are the appearances ranked from least effective to most memorable: Game 21: June 28, 1996 at Yankee Stadium vs. Baltimore Orioles Mariano Rivera relieves Dwight Gooden in the seventh inning with the scored tied 2-2.  […]

Touring the Bases With…Gates Brown

This was originally posted almost four years ago and is being re-posted in honor of Gates Brown, who died yesterday at the age of 74. My good friend Bob Lazzari, award-winning sports writer with the Connecticut Valley Times and NY Sports Day, has offered us fantastic material featured at his web sites, Bob Lazzari On […]

Touring The Bases With…Greg Pryor

A two-time All-American at Florida Southern College from 1969-70, Greg Pryor became the first FSC Moccasin to make it to the major leagues when he debuted for the Texas Rangers on June 4, 1976.  Pryor was a sixth round draft pick of the Washington Senators in 1971 and spent parts of six seasons in the […]

Touring The Bases With…Gabe Kapler

Gabe Kapler was a 57th round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers in the 1995 amateur draft, then began a very successful minor league career that resulted in a late-season call-up in September 1998.  The righthanded slugger dominated the low minors at the ages of 20 and 21, hitting .300 with 45 doubles, 26 homers, […]

Astros Hit Bottom in July

The Astros picked up their first July win on July 3 and closed out the month with an 11-0 win over Baltimore on July 31.  However, they only won four games in between resulting in a 6-18 record for the month, the worst in the major leagues. The Astro finished the month with a record […]

View to a Thrill

Of the thousands who watched the Home Run Derby this past Monday, no one in Citi Field had a better view than George Carroll, who was directly behind home plate. And I mean directly behind home plate: Carroll was one of two catchers who most people saw all night long and probably never noticed. Carroll […]

Halfway Home and Competitive Balance is Winning With Pitching

The first half of the 2013 season is in the record books and surprises abound. Chris Davis is quietly on a pace to hit 62 home runs when most were predicting an end to the offensive surge of prior years. The Boston Red Sox team that unraveled under Bobby Valentine has vaulted to the lead in […]

Touring The Bases With…Jerry Reuss

Jerry Reuss, a 6’5″ southpaw, was drafted by his hometown St. Louis Cardinals right out of high school in the second round of the 1967 amateur draft.   After spending two years in the minors, the then 20-year-old made his major league debut on September 27, 1969 and tossed seven brilliant innings against the Montreal […]

Will There Ever Be Another All-Star Game In Washington, DC?

The Washington Nationals did an about face in their 2013 Rule 4 draft last week. For several years GM Mike Rizzo has pursued an aggressive draft strategy in which the team spent well beyond MLB recommended signing bonuses. If you were looking for a continuation of the Nationals spendthrift ways, look again. Jake Johansen was […]

Touring The Bases With…Billy Sample

The first major leaguer to come from James Madison University in Virginia, Billy Sample was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 10th round of the 1976 amateur draft.  The second baseman started his professional career with the Rookie League Rangers of the Gulf Coast League and batted .382 with an outstanding .505 on-base percentage […]

Kid Blogger’s Interview with Mets GM Sandy Alderson LIVE!!!!!

Hey baseball fans!  I have another interview for you. It is with Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson. I actually got to interview him live at his office in Citi Field and the video of the interview is on YouTube. So, please click here to see me interview Sandy. I’m not sure that you all know about Sandy’s […]

Bill Deane’s Baseball Briefs

Inspired by Bob Davids’s “Baseball Briefs,” since the mid-1980s, I have compiled statistical and other tidbits of each baseball season, usually submitting them to BASEBALL DIGEST.  They typically publish some or all of them; my 2012 version (which they coincidentally entitled “Baseball Briefs”) appears in the current May/June issue.  Following are those which didn’t make […]

Lee Elia’s Rant: 30 Bleepin’ Years Later

WARNING: ADULT CONTENT BELOW (SERIOUSLY) For those who are not familiar with the history of Chicago baseball it will likely come as a surprise to learn that there was a time when Wrigley Field was not so cool, fun, and controversial. Thirty years ago Wrigley was considered by most to be a baseball cemetery.  The […]

The Daily Stream Saturday Version 4/20/2013‏

#BOSTON STRONG The Daily Stream — Saturday Version Hello fellow fisherman, it is time for The Daily Stream – The Saturday Version.  This week has been a fantasy week filled with mid level double starts and more than your fair share of bad pitching. Matt Cain owners, people that owned and started David Price, Brett […]

Giving Away Outs to the Braves

It wasn’t the newly arrived Upton brothers that crushed the spirits of 120,000 fans that flocked to Nationals Park this weekend. No, it was a team effort. The Atlanta Braves beat the Nationals in every aspect of the game. They outscored Washington 18-5 for the three game series. After Friday night it never really seemed […]

Misplaced Minor League Nomenclature

Many fans may not realize that the Frederick Keys, the Baltimore Orioles’ affiliate in the Carolina League who happen to be celebrating their 25th anniversary this season, are named for Francis Scott Key who is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery across the road from the ballpark. This is because nothing that the Keys do promotionally […]

She’s Not Pretty, But Has a Great Personality

I know pretty when I see it. There was lots of it last night at Nationals Park. But when my attention was drawn to the field where the Nationals beat the White Sox 8-7, well, let’s just say that when Davey Johnson described the Nationals’ win as “not pretty,” he was just being kind. It’s […]

Are 1800s Innings Pitched Totals Valid?

Should the enormous innings pitched totals of hurlers in the nineteenth century be adjusted based on the distance thrown? In order to compare eras, let’s take a closer look at the progression of distances from the pitching “box” to home plate since 1876. 1876-1880: 45 feet 1881-1892: 50 feet 1893-2013: 60 feet 6 in In […]

An Opening Act With A Bullet

Bryce Hapre and Stephen Strasburg made a compelling case on Opening Day to be considered the two best talents ever to play Major League Baseball in Washington, DC. Facing a depleted Miami Marlins roster, Stephen Strasburg seemed to hardly work up a sweat as he breezed through seven innings on eighty pitches without allowing a […]

We Declare Peace on War

The 2013 Major League Baseball season begins Sunday night. In preparation for another exciting campaign, the founders at 60ft6in.com has introduced a new pitching metric called Pitcher Evaluation ACE (PEACE). This new tool compares each pitching season to the average historical season. The structure of PEACE is similar to Factor12. However, adjustments have been made to account for […]

Springtimes Past and the Changes They Have Wrought

Watching Anthony Rendon play third base for the Nationals last week in Kissimmee, Florida reminded me of so many past Spring Training games. Osceola Stadium, where the Astros train in March each year, is one of my favorite places to watch major league baseball. It is the closest ballpark to Viera, FL where the Washington […]

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 […]

Can You Over-hype the Nationals?

Bryce Harper has put on 10 pounds to hike his playing weight for 2013 to 230.  I remember Jim Callis at Baseball America coming on our podcast a few years ago and quoting some scouts who believe Harper will one day have more of an Adam Dunn footprint than a Mickey Mantle one.  I don’t […]

My Top Five Baseball Families

Hey baseball fans!Matt Nadel here with another dose of baseball history. In today’s post, I will be telling you all who I think are the top five families in baseball 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 […]

An Interview with the First DH Ever

Hey baseball fans! I was recently invited to cover the AJHS Baseball Night charity event by Marty Appel, writer of Pinstripe Empire, one of my all time favorite Yankees biographies and baseball books! He also used to be the PR Director for the Yanks, so that’s also really cool. I will be interviewing Marty soon […]

Off the Beaten Basepaths #5: Lefty Grove’s Home Town

Lefty Grove was born in the mountain town of Lonaconing, Maryland which is the focus of this installment of Off the Beaten Basepaths. Lefty was the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1931 and his trophy resides in the George’s Creek Library in Lonaconing. It’s the only MVP trophy not in private hands or at […]

Feel It! The Heart of a Good Baseball Town is Beating Once Again

Baseball is part of the historic and cultural mosaic. You cannot unwind it from the larger picture and in Washington, DC, the rebirth of baseball’s winning tradition here is intertwined with a larger transformation taking place all across the length and breadth of this city, our nation’s capital. There have always been tourists tramping around […]

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