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 […]

Reviewing The Baseball Hall of Shame: The Best of Blooperstown

Let’s face it; for many of us baseball fans the game is not always about who won or lost. It’s about the story and the journey of our favorite teams and players, which are comprised of plays; the unusual, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Perhaps more than any other sport baseball has a […]

No. 10 Most Quotable Figure in Baseball History

In the first of a 10-part series, I’ll look at the ten most quotable baseball figures in baseball history. The list includes one owner, three players-turned-announcers, and five players-turned-managers.  So longevity has a lot to do with it. Late Show host David Letterman had enough quotes to crack the list, but since he’s not directly […]

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 […]

Humdingers and Head Scratchers

Why not start the new year with a jolt? From a man who mixes pot and pancakes, throws his own pitch (the Leephus), and has something to say about everything comes “Baseball Eccentrics.” Read Bill “Spaceman” Lee’s collection of anecdotes and one-liners because: 1. Lee presents his cast of characters as just that, men who […]

The Beacon of Birmingham

In the midst of a dark and all-too predictable world, Rickwood Field became a beacon. Birthed out of a conversation with Connie Mack, the ballpark started with a handful of rivals but outlasted each of them to stand peerless. Read Allen Barra’s “Rickwood Field: A Century in America‒s Oldest Ballpark“ because: 1. Similar to last […]

Rattled in the Clinches: Manager Pie Traynor and the Epic Collapse of the 1938 Pirates

On the evening of September 29, 1938, inside the funereal visitors’ clubhouse at Wrigley Field, a despondent Pie Traynor leaned back, fired up a cigarette, and prepared to lie through his teeth. His Pittsburgh Pirates had just lost three crushing games to the Chicago Cubs thanks to Gabby Hartnett’s famous “Homer in the Gloamin’” and […]

Surprising and Not-So-Surprising First Half

Now that we’re on the verge of the National League’s annual humiliation in the All-Star Game, it’s time to review the first half of the 2010 season. For some teams and players it has been business as usual, with baseball’s daily smorgasbord punctuated by a number of surprises, most recently the failure of the Evil […]