My Top Five Most Underrated Hall of Famers in Baseball History

Hey baseball fans! With 205 baseball players in the Hall of Fame, not all of them are recognizable to baseball fans. Whether it’s because of the team they played for, the era in which they competed or another reason, some of the best baseball players of all time are not very prominent. With that being […]

My Interview with Andrew Mele, Author of The Boys of Brooklyn

Hey baseball fans! I recently had the honor of interviewing Andrew Mele, the author of the book, The Boys of Brooklyn. The book is about how baseball was very important to Brooklynites back in the days of Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider. It explains how a lot of baseball players from Brooklyn played in a park called […]

With Scherzer Leading the Way, Independent Hurlers Already Have Topped 2012 Major League Win Total With Lofty 69

One statistic regarding the pre-All-Star Game portion of the major league season may blow a few minds, including those in high powered front offices. To set the stage, I went back to last October when in this space I wrote that 17 pitchers with Independent Baseball experience combined for 67 regular-season wins, even without the […]

Indy Domination? It Was in This Eastern League Game With Mates Getting Win, Save and All Six RBI

Independent Baseball players who have had their contracts purchased by major league organizations seem to understand what a neat little fraternity they have.  They are in the minority on affiliated minor league rosters with the norm probably only a couple of hopefuls on a 25-man team. Longtime Can-Am League first baseman Chris Colabello knew all […]

The Clemens Verdict

The Clemens trial played out over the long weeks here in DC. Eight weeks is a lot of billable hours for a top tier criminal attorney. Roger Clemens may have been acquitted by a jury of his “peers,” but there are few in DC who show up for jury selection that could sustain an attorney […]

Jose Cruz, Jr.: Carrying On His Family’s Baseball Legacy

Talented baseball players who have fathers who played in the major are often viewed as the gold standard when evaluating player development. On top of their innate ability, the access to elite instruction and being exposed to what it takes to be a big leaguer puts them at a major advantage over other prospects. The […]

Jerome Williams (Three-Hit Shutout), Jered Weaver (No-Hitter) Strut Their Stuff With More Than 100 Others at MLB Doorstep

My intention this week was to talk up the fact more than 100 Independent Baseball players now populate the rosters of the top two levels of major league-affiliated minor league teams, and while I will get back to that point it is impossible to overlook the masterful shutout turned in by Jerome Williams, who still […]

The Fleeting Baseball Memories of Bill Whitby

For baseball players who get only a handful of games or less at the major league level, it must be terribly frustrating to wonder about the what ifs. Reaching the pinnacle of professional baseball for a few fleeting moments before it goes away forever is the ultimate in mixed emotions. Bill Whitby got to experience […]

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 […]

Touring the Bases with Bart Zeller

Bart Zeller is a former major leaguer, who recently coached the Joliet Slammers to their first ever Frontier League championship. Bart is a great baseball man who obviously loves managing and actually still plays himself, all of which you will read about. I believe you will enjoy the great insight Bart gives about independent baseball, […]

The Troubled Life of Rogers Hornsby: Part I

With his .358 career batting average, Rogers Hornsby rates as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. While the “Rajah” dominated on the field, his life was full of struggles and controversy. In particular, he was a regular in the legal system, constantly popping up in investigations and law suits. As the years […]

Win a Copy of the iOOTP App for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad!

My good friends at Out of the Park Developments have given us three free copies of their iOOTP app to give away to you, our loyal readers.  All you have to do to qualify is subscribe to our Seamheads Outsider Baseball Bulletin e-zine and you’ll be automatically entered into three drawings, to be held at […]

Major League Baseball’s Hypocritical Stance on Bullying

Bullying prevention has been a cause célèbre across the country during the past year. A number of bullying incidents caught on tape, and in some cases children committing suicide, brought a high level of attention to the subject. Like many other high profile entities, MLB became involved in the efforts to stop the bullying epidemic […]

Mark Simon: The Numbers Guru

Advanced baseball statistics are a growing movement that seems to expand on a daily basis in terms of new measuring tools and new adherents. For some reason, baseball, more than any other sport, has always been appealing to the masses when it has come to statistical analysis. People have come to want more than just […]

Many Indy Players in Running Two Weeks Before Openers

     The axe started dropping this week, sometimes unexpectedly, dashing the hopes of several former Independent Baseball players of being on Opening Day rosters with their parent major league clubs.  It does not have to be a forever disappointment, but a reality check at least for right now and their names will appear in minor […]

Baseball Isn’t Cool?

When I saw that “GQ” was publishing an article proclaiming the “25 Coolest Athletes of All Time” I knew two guys would top the list: Joe Namath and Mario Andretti.  Putting Namath on a list of cool athletes is like putting Bill Gates on a roster of rich people.  It’s just instant.  No thought required.  […]

The Sweet Swing of a Slugger

Nowadays, it’s difficult to think of baseball players without talk of steroids, performance enhancers, or at least strength training. More than a century ago, however, raw skill and equipment formed a power-packed duo that dictated a player’s success. “Sweet Spot: 125 Years of Baseball and the Louisville Slugger” by David Magee and Philip Shirley is […]

A ‘Strasburg Was Here’ Doubleheader

Game One Friday, August 27, 2010 Syracuse, N.Y. “The greatest powers of the physical environment slam into the resilient forces of life, and nothing much happens.” E.O. Wilson, The Diversity of Life              It’s the first day of the New York State Fair, and I’ve dropped my sister off for a concert by her favorite […]

The Famous Names of Not So Famous Players

Through the years a number of baseball players have became so well known that their fame transcended the game. Everyone knew who Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle were, even people who were not baseball fans. Then you have the players whose names attracted attention for other, more unfortunate reasons. Johnny Grubb, John Wockenfuss, […]

The story of Joba Chamberlain: Frustration, frustration and more frustration

Believe it or not, Yankee fans can be frustrated too. Hard to believe considering they have won 27 championships and are in the playoff race year in and year out. But occasionally, Yankee fans find something to complain about, something to criticize. And once you get Yankee fans going, there is no stopping them. This […]

The Third Sunday in June

As a child, I didn’t know the date of Father’s Day. I knew my friend Bob couldn’t come out and play because his family celebrated with his dad. I’d walk past his house anyway, hoping he would see me. When he didn’t come out I would hang out in the tree house; or ride my […]

Recent Indy Grad Rene Rivera Only Hitter to Take Stephen Strasburg Over the Fence

Rene Rivera is one of only a dozen and a half baseball players in the Independent leagues who has had his contract purchased by a major league organization in this still young season. The stocky catcher has a unique distinction, though, not only among the privileged group that has moved one step closer to the […]

Sweet or Oh So Sour

Black and white. Cut and dry. Or, in the case of aspiring baseball players from San Pedro de Macorís, red and blue. There is a wide disparity between those who reach the high levels of professional baseball and those who do not. That’s the setting we are exploring in Mark Kurlansky’s new book, “The Eastern […]

Write-In Campaign Adds Pressure on Selig?

Latino advocacy organization Presente.org is ramping up the pressure on Bud Selig with a write-in campaign to take the All-Star Game out of Phoenix in response to the Arizona Hispanic profiling bill.  After huge protest marches several weeks ago, the write in campaign provides a time-honored, American tradition to keep the pressure on Commissioner Selig. […]

The 21st Century Hall of Famers

Here is an interesting question.  How many of the “great baseball players” of modern times have fans of the game been able to see during the 21st century (since 2001)?  Let’s first take a look at this question for position players and then for pitchers. The Position Players At the end of the 2009 season, […]

Derek Jeter Named New York’s Top Shortstop by MSG Panel of Experts

From MSG Network: Last night on the fifth episode of MSG’s “The Lineup: New York’s All-time Best Baseball Players,” it was time to decide who would lead New York’s greatest infield at the shortstop position. The five nominees were Travis Jackson, Derek Jeter, Pee Wee Reese, Jose Reyes, and Phil Rizzuto. The show’s panel, which […]

SABR Partners with Tout Wars

Leading fantasy baseball players will now play for The SABR Trophy The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is pleased to announce a partnership with Tout Wars, the high-profile fantasy baseball experts league. With SABR’s support, the writers and experts who play in Tout Wars’ three leagues will now compete each year for The SABR […]

Remembering Gene Conley

Yes, the current NBA campaign continues to progress while baseball players now filter into spring training; this overlapping of seasons reminds us of a unique, special individual who once graced both the hardcourt AND the diamond professionally: Donald Eugene Conley. Gene Conley loved sports as a kid–partaking in every athletic event one could imagine while […]

Two Atlantic Leaguers May Be Vying for Same Job In Los Angeles Angels’ Outfield

If we allow ourselves to dream once in a while why not conjure up a scenario where two former Independent Baseball players are competing for the same job in the major leagues. I cannot say that is the case because it is not possible to get all the way into Mike Scioscia’s head.  But this […]

John McCain Flip Flops With Your Safety

John McCain, who spent millions of taxpayer money chasing after baseball players he believed were taking steroids, has once again buckled under pressure from the real distributors of steroids and other illegal substances—the nation’s supplement makers. McCain, the self appointed champion of cleaning up sports, introduced a bill just last month that would have required […]

Book Review: “The Baseball Talmud”

Howard Megdal’s The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-By-Position Ranking of Baseball’s Chosen Players was a joy to read, even for an Agnostic like me.

The Top 40 Pitchers of the 20th Century

Bill James’ WIN SHARES system is the ultimate baseball statistic currently available to judge exactly how good a season a player had. That is the view of Dr. Michael Hoban -retired mathematics professor and serious baseball analyst. And that is why the professor has used WIN SHARES in his new book to create a new […]

The Top 100 Position Players of the 20th Century

Bill James’ WIN SHARES system is the ultimate baseball statistic currently available to judge exactly how good a season a player had. That is the view of Dr. Michael Hoban -retired mathematics professor and serious baseball analyst. And that is why the professor has used WIN SHARES in his new book to create a new […]