Rafael Devers: Boston Red Sox Third Baseman is in the Midst of a Major Breakout

The disappointing start to the 2019 season for the Boston Red Sox has dominated the minds of fans and followers alike. After all, coming off a magical 2018 campaign that saw a jaw-dropping 108 regular-season victories and an impressive jaunt through the playoffs that resulted in a World Series title leaves a bitter taste in […]

How Has Bryce Harper’s Contract Impacted Mookie Betts’ Quest for a New Deal?

The recent signing of free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper to a record-breaking 13-year, $330 million contract by the Philadelphia Phillies sent shock waves across baseball. Although the star slugger will continue making his home in the National League, the deal may have a surprising impact on the Boston Red Sox—specifically in their pursuit to retain their […]

Jalal Leach: A Giant Testament to Perseverance

When baseball players sign their first professional contract they have stars in their eyes and no doubts in their mind as they are certain they will play in the major leagues. Unfortunately, the majority of these young men see their careers end short of their goal. However, a small number make it, which is a […]

The Baseball Hall of Fame Case for Fred McGriff

Voting for the 2019 class of the National Baseball Hall of Fame is due shortly. As always, there will be much debate over who should and shouldn’t get in, and a wheelbarrow load of whys. Contributing to this muck and mire is the following discussion of a player who is sure to get some votes, […]

Lenny DiNardo: Memorable Boston Red Sox Pitcher Recalls His Career

Making it to the major leagues is tough enough on its own. Breaking through to baseball’s highest level and becoming part of a historically memorable team is even rarer. Left-handed pitcher Lenny DiNardo had a 94-game big league career, but he stretched it out over the course of six seasons. He also played a pivotal role on […]

Baseball Pioneers: True Stories of Guts and Glory as Told by Pioneering Men and Women of the Game- A Review

Baseball history hounds can never satiate their appetite for digging in deep and uncovering myriad layers of the game that fascinates them much like an Indiana Jones treasure hunt. The stories, the perspectives and the connections are endless… Endlessly fascinating. Another volume that has weighed in with some additional work is The Sweet Spot Presents […]

Former Pitcher Russ Ortiz Recalls His Baseball Career

Pitching is one of the most difficult endeavors in baseball. It was particularly daunting in the early 2000s, as offenses were operating at high-octane levels. That makes the career of Russ Ortiz all the more impressive, as the right-hander won 99 games in one six-year stretch on his way to a wildly successful 12-year major […]

Has Boston Red Sox Pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez Made the Leap?

The Boston Red Sox gambled they were making a shrewd move when they traded star reliever Andrew Miller to the Baltimore Orioles in 2014 for prospect left-handed pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez. Although he had flashes of promise over the ensuing three seasons, injuries and inconsistency made him into somewhat of an enigma. Now 25, the southpaw […]

Which Former Major League Players Have Become Stars in Korea?

Making it to the major leagues is a monumental task that is accomplished by a mere fraction of the players who are lucky enough to have professional careers. Getting there and staying there for any length of time is another matter altogether. For many, opportunity ends up being in other professional leagues. Many know about […]

Mickey Mantle’s Forgotten Twin Brothers

In baseball, it’s rare for a player to be deified to the level of former New York Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle, who could seemingly do it all on the field. However, few baseball fans are aware that he had two younger twin brothers, Roy and Ray, who also played professional ball, but never reached the same heights as the […]

Jackie Robinson: Revisiting an Interview With a Baseball and Civil Rights Legend

The age of the internet is a blessing in that it allows for the preservation of so many primary sources—the collection of video, audio and written materials from our past. This is particularly important to baseball history, where there is so much to keep track of. On April 14, 1957, legendary player and civil rights […]

2014 World Series Wrap-Up: The Baseball Historian Notes for the Week of November 2

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning the 2014 World Series! Although not all of the individual games were nail biters, Game 7 and the totality of the series made for great baseball. Giants’ pitcher Madison Bumgarner (Don’t call me Bumgardner) was this year’s player to use the Fall Classic as his personal coming-out […]

Arguably the Best Second Baseman of his Era

Hey baseball fans! There are three Hall of Famers from Puerto Rico. There was Roberto Clemente, the inspirational and excellent-hitting Pirate, Orlando Cepeda, the Baby Bull who played in St. Louis and San Francisco, and the most recently inducted Puerto Rican Hall of Famer, Roberto Alomar! Alomar played for mainly the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Indians in his […]

An Interview about the Cooperstown Concert with Music Producer Loren Harriet

Hey baseball fans! I recently had the honor of interviewing Loren Harriet, a producer of music and concerts for over two decades. Harriet has produced music for guys like former Yankee star Bernie Williams, current baseball pitcher Bronson Arroyo, horror writer Stephen King, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, Tom Kenny, and so […]

A Man Who Could Lead a Team and an Army

Hey baseball fans! A couple of days ago, it was Babe Ruth‘s birthday! However, considering I’ve blogged about him a number of times, today I will be telling you about one of his fellow Hall of Fame teammates. It’s not Lou Gehrig or Tony Lazzeri. It’s the Kentucky Colonel, Earle Combs! The Pebworth, Kentucky native played with just the Yankees […]

Baseball with Matt’s First Ever Analysis of a Poem

Hey baseball fans! I’m going to do something that I’ve never done before on Baseball with Matt: I’m going to analyze a poem! But don’t worry; the poem is about baseball. This poem is probably my favorite, because it captures the description of a player’s entire personality and career in only a few lines. I […]

The Pine Tar Game

Hey baseball fans! A while back, I got the chance to interview Graig Nettles, a Yankee great and a member of the 300 home runs club. What I did not mention in that post was something he did that helped create one of the oddest, most interesting, and controversial moments not just in the history of […]

The Predecessors to Mariano Rivera

Hey baseball fans! Sadly (for Yankee fans) Mariano Rivera has finally called it quits after playing 19 seasons in the Bronx. In honor of him, I want to talk about other great relievers in Yankee history. Johnny Murphy Murphy was one of the first relievers in the live ball era and he did a pretty good job […]

The AL Counterpart to Ralph Kiner

Hey baseball fans and happy new year! When the name “Hank” is said in a conversation about baseball, many times the name is followed by the surname “Aaron.” However, there is another Hank who played baseball and is enshrined in Cooperstown. This Hank could be compared to Ralph Kiner: both players had pretty short Hall of […]

Cha-Cha Cha-Chas Into the Hall of Fame

Hey baseball fans! As some of you know, there are three Puerto Rican-born Hall of Famers in Cooperstown: Roberto Clemente, Roberto Alomar, and one other person. There are also three Hall of Fame position players who played for the 1962 San Francisco Giants pennant-winning squad: Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and one other person. The “one other person” on both […]

The Terrific One

Hey baseball fans! Considering I just watched Anchorman 2 on the big screen, here is a little something about a famous Met who was born in the same state that Ron Burgundy reported the news (California). Ladies and gentleman, the Fresno, California native, Tom Seaver! George Thomas Seaver played with the Mets, Reds, White Sox, and […]

NJBM: Whitey Herzog

Hey baseball fans! I just put up my latest post in the Kids’ Hot Korner section of New Jersey Baseball Magazine. This one is about Whitey Herzog, one of the greatest managers in Missouri baseball history. If you want to read more about the man who invented Whiteyball, just click here. I hope you enjoy the post. […]

Matt’s Anti-Dream Team

Hey baseball fans! A while back, I wrote a post about my favorite players of all time at each position, my Dream Team. Recently, I’ve realized that a team is not a team without a rival. So, I’ve compiled a list of players that are rivals with one player specifically on my Dream Team at the […]

An Interview with Graig Nettles

Hey baseball fans! I have another interview today. This one is with All Star third baseman, Graig Nettles! But, before we get to the interview, let me tell you a little bit about one of the most familiar faces to Yankee fans from the 1970s. A native of San Diego, California, Nettles was a power-hitting third […]

An Interview with the Mayor of Cooperstown

Hey baseball fans! I have another interview for you today! This interview is with someone who is very close to baseball, but does not currently have a job involving America’s pastime. Ladies and gentlemen: an interview with Cooperstown, New York Mayor Jeff Katz! But before I get to the interview, let me tell you a […]

If I Had a Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot 2014

Hey baseball fans! The 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is now announced with a lot of stars’ names on the list for the first time. However, there are only five players on the list for the first time that I think deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. So, without further ado, let […]

Turkey Stearnes Should Not Be Eaten on Thanksgiving

Hey baseball fans! Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have an amazing holiday. Anyway, I was looking at the nicknames for Hall of Famers and I found that one HoFer has the nickname (wouldn’t you know it): Turkey. So, without further ado, here is a little bit about Norman Thomas “Turkey” Stearnes! Norman acquired his unusual nickname at […]

An Allegorical Name to Remember

Hey baseball fans! There are only 24 pitchers with at least 300 career wins, but there are only two who have won exactly 300. However, I will not be talking about Lefty Grove. Instead, I will be talking about the other exactly 300-game winner: Early Wynn! Just like his name states (and it is the name that […]

Pitchers Who Can Hit? WHAAAAAAATTTTTT?

Hey baseball fans! Most pitchers in baseball history are meant for pitching (obviously). However, before the creation of the designated hitter rule in 1973, pitchers on every single team in the MLB had to have a pitcher somewhere in the lineup. Even though every American League team has to have a DH in the lineup […]

An Interview with Shoeless Joe Jackson (Sort of)

Hey baseball fans!I’m back with another interview! This time, it is with Shoeless Joe Jackson! I know what you are thinking: “How could you have gotten in touch with a ballplayer who died in 1951?” Well, my answer to you all is this: just like my Babe Ruth interview, a few days ago I sent in questions to Peter […]

ML”what would”B: What if Sandy Koufax Was Never Plagued With Arthritis?

Hey baseball fans! I just put up another ML”what would”B post on More Than a Fan. In every ML”what would”B alternative history post, I discuss what would have happened if a famous event in baseball history had gone differently than it did in reality. For my latest post, I wrote about what would have happened […]

The 2013 Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Inductees

Hey baseball fans! I recently realized that I never did a post about the 2013 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum inductees. Now these inductees are not people who you probably recognize. Why? Well, for the first time since 1996, no one got into the Hall of Fame via the Baseball Writers’ Association of […]

The Mad Dash

Hey baseball fans!As most of you probably know, the Boston Red Sox just won the World Series, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in six games. However, did you know that the Sox and Cards have squared off before in the World Series? Out of the 13 times the Sox have been to the Fall Classic, […]

So You Think You Can Name World Series Winners

Hey baseball fans! I recently posted a video on YouTube. The video is of me trying to name all of the winners of every single World Series from 1903 (the first ever World Series). To see if I succeeded or not, click here. I hope you enjoy the video and check back in a few days […]

The Man of a Great Hitting Class from Grants Pass

Hey baseball fans! The 1922 St. Louis Browns were one of the greatest teams in baseball history…. that didn’t make the playoffs. However, there were many bright spots on the team, one of them being the first player ever to hit over 30 homers and steal over 30 bases in the same season. I am […]

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