Positively POTUS

A few years ago, the Rangers had a minor leaguer called Benjamin Harrison. I saw him play a few games at Double-A Frisco (Texas League) and was rooting for him to make it to the Show. Since President Benjamin Harrison was the first President to attend a major league game (on June 6, 1892), it […]

Sam Bowens: Detoured on the Road to Stardom

In 1964, Brooks Robinson (.317, 28 HRs, 118 RBI) was voted American League Most Valuable Player and Boog Powell blasted 39 home runs. But the Oriole who captured the attention of teenage baseball fans in my neighborhood was 22-year-old rookie outfielder Sam Bowens. The 6-1, 200-pounder clubbed 22 home runs, tallied 71 RBI and batted […]

Walter Mitty On the Mound

In many MLB cities, these are good days for attending games if your team is hopelessly out of the pennant race. Out of the pennant race?  Yep, that’s right. Tickets are easy to procure, there’s more room to spread out around your seats, the post-game traffic is less, and the lines at the concession stands […]

An Open Letter to Rob Manfred

Dear Mr. Manfred: I’m sure you are gratified by the decision of the erstwhile Cleveland Indians to rebrand themselves the Cleveland Guardians. At the same time, I’m sure you are disappointed that the Atlanta Braves stood pat, so the winds of change are batting .500. The focus on Native American nicknames, however, has deflected a […]

Manny Mota Mojo

I’ve amassed a large collection of autographed baseball cards (around 3,000) over the years, but my policy has generally been to avoid paying for autographs and catch the players at the ballpark, on the practice fields at spring training, or at off-season fan fests, winter warm-ups, caravans, or whatever they call them. Recently, however, I […]

Aaron Judge in a Nationals Uniform?

No, I did not predict Josh Bell going to San Diego, but who did? In my defense, just about everything else about the generational trade of Juan Soto yesterday, went down remarkably close to my crystal ball projections on July 22.  One has to give DC General Manager Mike Rizzo credit for getting C.J. Abrams […]

Juan Soto Should Not Be Playing in DC in August

Yesterday on Sports Illustrated.com, Max Goodman proposed the following trade: Gleyber Torres, Nestor Cortes, Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez, and Ken Waldichuk for Juan Soto. Granted this is not Brian Cashman speaking on the phone to Mike Rizzo, who controls Juan Soto’s fate leading up to the August 2 deadline as much as anyone. But then […]

Weekending With Weirdos

Even if you’ve never been to Austin, Texas, you have likely heard the phrase “Keep Austin Weird.” If you haven’t actually heard anyone say it, you might have seen it on a bumper sticker, coffee mug, T-shirt, or some other trinket. Austin has long had a reputation for attracting genuinely creative folks (especially musicians) as […]

SNAFU and FUBAR: A Comedy of Errors

I’m sure I’m not the only baseball fan whose eyes have glazed over while contemplating the welter of statistics out there. Every time I encounter some new statistic, my usual reaction is “arrrghhhh, just what we need, another statistic and another acronym.” Now, however, I have had a change of heart. Why? Because I thought […]

Making a Federal Case Out of Cooperstown

The Federal League expired more than a century ago and lasted but two seasons (1914 and 1915), so its legacy is minimal. The eight franchises are little noted nor long remembered, though savvy fans may be aware that Wrigley Field, originally known as Weeghman Park (named after team owner Charles Weeghman), was built for the […]

A Grey Area of Professional Baseball

If you get a paycheck for performing a task, by definition you have lost your amateur status. Congratulations, you are a professional. But that status is not necessarily desirable. It’s no secret that MLB players are high-status and minor league players less so. Minor league ball encompasses different strata of status. Some minor leagues rank […]

Deconstructing the Juan Soto Horizon

Driving up to Baltimore yesterday morning I enjoyed listening to Jim Duquette opine on Juan Soto, Joe Girardi and a host of other baseball issues that dominated the day. The consensus about whether or not Soto gets traded is now one of those vastly complex scattergrams, a worm hole in which one could get lost […]

Win, Lose…or Draw? Romancing the No-Decision

Hall of Fame worthiness is a subjective if not downright arbitrary judgment. Why is this so-and-so in the Hall when that so-and-so isn’t? You probably have your favorite oversight, I have mine: namely, Tommy John. Now you might think I’m referring to his 288 victories or his eponymous status regarding Tommy John surgery (for the […]

Tommy Davis Was “A Magician With The Bat”

Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver called Tommy Davis “a magician with the bat.” In 1973, former Orioles third baseman and 10-time All-Star George Kell said, “Tommy is one of the game’s few remaining pure natural hitters.” Kell admired Davis’ ability to hit to all fields, torment both lefties and righties and adjust to situations. The […]

The Pittsburgh Pirates All-Time PNC Park (2001-2021) Team

In 2001, the Pittsburgh Pirates moved to their beautiful new home PNC Park and many baseball fans have called it the most beautiful ballpark in America. If only the ballpark had a team worthy of it. In the 21 seasons that PNC Park has been the Pirates’ home, only four have been winning ones and […]

Wee Willie Sherdel: Most Underrated St. Louis Cardinal?

John Coulson, author of Wee Willie Sherdel: The Cardinals’ Winningest Left-Hander, says the pitcher may be the most underrated St. Louis Cardinal of all time. Sherdel won 153 games for the Cardinals between 1918-1930. “That fact that Sherdel’s record has stood for all these years is amazing,” says Coulson. “The Cardinals have had some outstanding […]

The Little Giant’s Biggest Achievement

Mel Ott requires no introduction to crossword puzzle aficionados thanks to such clues as “Hall of Famer Mel _ _ _” or “NY Giants slugger Mel _ _ _” or “Baseball’s ‘Master Melvin’ _ _ _.”  Puzzle designers love prominent people with three-letter surnames. Muhammad Ali and Umberto Eco, among others, are neck and neck […]

From the Archives: The Battle For George Sisler’s Soul

In 1910, 17-year-old phenom George Sisler signed a contract with Akron of the Ohio-Pennsylvania League between his junior and senior years of high school. Sisler was a minor, however, and his father Cassius demanded that Akron void the contract. Sisler enrolled at the University of Michigan and began playing ball for the Wolverines. In September […]

Ballparks Database Update: More No-Hitters!

We at Seamheads.com are proud to announce another new update of the Seamheads.com MLB Ballparks Database! The database includes data through the 2020 season; three-year and one-year park factor LH/RH splits dating back to 1905; and every no-hitter from 1875-present. The following is what you’ll find on the updated no-hitters pages: No-hitters thrown in 2021 […]

From the Archives: “The Kid” Becomes ‘Grata’ Again

This is the third of a series of articles I wrote about infamous trades of the past in which a superstar player was dealt for multiple players of lesser talent or value. This was originally posted on March 18, 2008. December 10, 1984: Expos catcher Gary Carter to the Mets for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, […]

Home is More Than 90 Feet Away

Venezuelan minor leaguer discusses his native country’s troubles, the pandemic, and life’s other curveballs. Imagine trying to make the Major Leagues as a minor leaguer. It’s an arduous journey. The strenuous, incessant training, the long road trips, the extra-inning night games, the sacrifice. Looming above it all is the harrowing and likely possibility of failure: […]

Winter Ball: A History of Baseball, Cuba, and Race

In 2020, Cuban baseball players took center stage in the pandemic-shortened season. The Chicago White Sox won more than half its games twice in the 2010s. But they finished last season with a .583 winning percentage (roughly a 94 win pace over a 162 game schedule). The club made the playoffs for the first time […]

The Last Living Boston Braves Player and an Unexpected Find

When Del Crandall died on May 5, 2021, an era died with him. According to his obituary in the Boston Globe, he was the last living Boston Braves player. Crandall broke in with the Boston Braves as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in 1949 but had his best seasons after the team moved to Milwaukee in 1953. […]

Field of Fire

The White Sox needed this one. For about 102 years the White Sox have needed this one. The Sox got a two-run home run from All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the New York Yankees 9-8 in the “Field of Dreams” game in Dyersville, Iowa Thursday night, a […]

An Historic Trading Deadline–Can It Happen Again?

If ever a Major League Baseball team traded eight players from its Major League roster in a single day, I can find no mention of it. And yet that is what the Washington Nationals did on July 30, 2021. The Chicago Cubs dealt nine on the same day, which was documented as the highest number […]

The Best Starting Pitching Staffs in the Last 100 Years: Part IV

From Part I: Pitching, pitching, pitching. You may have heard the saying, “You can never have enough pitching.” Of course, if you are going to have good pitching it begins with your starting pitching staff. Which starting pitching staff was the best ever? I considered and reviewed every team that made it to the World […]

The Best Starting Pitching Staffs in the Last 100 Years: Part III

From Part I: Pitching, pitching, pitching. You may have heard the saying, “You can never have enough pitching.” Of course, if you are going to have good pitching it begins with your starting pitching staff. Which starting pitching staff was the best ever? I considered and reviewed every team that made it to the World […]

Beholding the Beauty of the Not-Quite-Normal 2021 Season

The sun was surprisingly warm as we sat along the left field foul line, a dozen rows up from the emerald green field at Camden Yards. The crowd was sparse, socially distanced, but still keenly focused on the game set to begin on the field. There has been little to draw large crowds to Baltimore’s […]

The White Man’s Game

On any given evening in the summer, one can travel to the ballpark to see the game of baseball played by a unique diversity of talent. Whether the game is in a Major League park or a minor league one, the players out on the field might claim Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Mexico, Central America, […]

The Best Starting Pitching Staffs in the Last 100 Years: Part I

Pitching, pitching, pitching. You may have heard the saying, “You can never have enough pitching.” Of course, if you are going to have good pitching it begins with your starting pitching staff. Which starting pitching staff was the best ever? A few that come to mind right away were the Atlanta Braves of the ‘90s. […]

A Fond Farewell to The Baseball Gauge

Hello, friends and fellow Seamheads. As some of you have noticed our partner site, The Baseball Gauge, is no longer around. This has been in the works for a while, but only because our good friend and genius behind the goodness that was The Baseball Gauge, Dan Hirsch, has moved on to bigger and better […]

The Seamheads Negro Leagues DB: A Brief Introduction

In the wake of the recent announcement about MLB’s recognition of the Negro leagues, we prepared the following brief introduction to our work here. The Seamheads Negro Leagues Database is an in-progress statistical encyclopedia covering Black professional baseball players, teams, and leagues during the era of segregation. Our work was specifically commended by Commissioner of […]

Winter Ball: A History of Baseball, Cuba, and Race

In 2020, Cuban baseball players took center stage in the pandemic-shortened season. The Chicago White Sox won more than half its games just twice in the 2010s. But they finished last season with a .583 winning percentage (roughly a 94 win pace over a 162 game schedule). The club made the playoffs for the first […]

Negro Leagues DB Update: 1926 NNL Fielding & Pitching, 32 Home Runs for Suttles

We’ve added newly audited and expanded statistics for the 1926 Negro National League, including fielding statistics, complete pitching statistics, batters’ hit by pitch, and a handful of new games and corrections to the record. While I don’t think that counting stats are, by themselves, a particularly good measure of the quality of Negro league ballplayers, […]

State of the Game – Mike Port on Umpiring, Rule Changes and Analytics

Mike Port’s professional baseball career spanned more than four decades, from 1969 to 2011. When his aspirations to play in the big leagues ended with an injury shortly after signing with San Diego, he accepted a position in the Padres’ minor league system and worked his way up to the role of Farm Director. In […]

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