1928 All-Star Game: American League Embarrasses Nationals In Queen City Rout

AMERICAN LEAGUE EMBARRASSES NATIONALS IN QUEEN CITY ROUT Manush Poles Out Four Hits AL HURLERS HOLD SENIORS TO THREE SAFETIES CINCINNATI, July 10.—A gray Cincinnati day became even darker for National League supporters when American League sluggers knocked Dazzy Vance from the hill in the second inning with an eight-run outburst that effectively ended the […]

Through the Eyes of Patriots Fan: “Hip, hip, Jorge!”

Not only was it another beautiful evening at TD Bank park (8/17), it was also a game that featured fireworks during and after the game.  The Patriots sent veteran, and former major league pitcher Brad Thompson to the mound.  He gave up five hits and three runs in the top half of the first inning […]

‘Fun to Watch’ Double Play Duo Helps Spark ‘Relentless’ Wichita to 13 Wins in Last 14 Games

It is not always easy to find just a word or two that describes a successful baseball team, but Kevin Hooper says he has found himself frequently using “relentless” in describing the Wichita (KS) Wingnuts he manages.  I have a feeling a second word to describe the American Association team that has run off 13 […]

A Four Course Feast of Baseball Ignorance

The past couple of weeks have brought an even greater parade of baseball ignorance than usual from the professionals who play and report on the game. I started to write about one of them, but before I could fully digest that affront to my baseball taste, another one jumped out at me, followed by two […]

The Glory Days: Dramatic Homers Usher in the 1960s

A pair of monumental home runs ushered in the 1960s, and both blasts have been talked and written about ever since. Bill Mazeroski’s seventh-game homer was the first to end a World Series, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates victory over the New York Yankees. Various polls of fans and writers have ranked it the most dramatic […]

“Twilight Zone” At The World Series

I was going to write about Tony LaRussa’s “Twilight Zone” experience in Game 5 (“I keep calling for Motte. Where’s Motte? When I tell Derek Lilliquist he’s fired, will he think I said ‘your fly is open’?”) and decided to wait until the World Series ended, but after last night’s bizarre Game 6 I’d like […]

Wilderness Days Yield to Surge

Six years ago to the day, the Washington Nationals sat atop the National League East with a three game lead over the Braves. They would remain in first place in the summer of 2005 until July 26th. Since the end of July 2005, the Nationals have been lost in the wilderness, searching for team defense, […]

A New Beginning, The Same Ending

In all the hoopla surrounding the start of the season, perhaps I misunderstood.  I thought we were turning the page to 2011, not reliving 2010.  Yet, for one game at least, a lot of last year’s issues reared their head in St. Louis. It was extremely frustrating to see how many two on, nobody out innings […]

New Baseball Terminology

Last week my wife, Martha, and I came across the word atavism and neither of us knew the meaning.  I suggested that it meant “possessing the qualities of an ata.”  That was wrong.  We looked it up and discovered that it actually means “the tendency to revert to ancestral type.”  Kind of like what Brady […]

Who Were the Most Productive Offensive Players in 2010?

Numerous methods have been devised to measure offensive performance. The most common are batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average. Since none of these averages provides a complete picture by itself, a more comprehensive measure of offensive performance is useful. Such a measure would include the following elements: 1. The ability to get on base. […]

Inspiration in Baseball

Ben Ulene started the Double Play Foundation in December of 2009 when he was going through his closet and noticed how many old baseball jerseys he had accrued over his adolescence and that he no longer had use for. “I thought that there had to be some way that these uniforms could be used again, as each one had been used for only one 3-month season and then put away, ” Ben told me. It was at that moment that he decided to pass-on his once prized possessions to others who may not be as fortunate as himself. He named his cause, The Double Play Foundation (DPF) and told me it was because “just like in a double play where one batted ball is used to get two outs, one baseball uniform is being used twice, doing double duty.”

Sigh-Inducing

Just when you start to believe in this team, to think that they’ve finally found that gas pedal on the team car, they stomp on the brakes.  A four game winning streak to get into first place?  Let’s follow that up with three losses against sub-.500 teams!  I feel like I’m a driving instructor. Of course, […]

Doing It The Hard Way

When I turned on the game a little late last night, I was well-pleased to see that the Cards had already been serious, putting up six in the top of the inning.  And even though Jaime Garcia allowed two runs of his own in the bottom of the frame, I figured the Cards were well […]

Cardinals Struggling In LA

You know, when the offense is clicking, you think things are just going to roll on forever.  However, even with an offense like the Cardinals’, when you take out a couple of pieces, the Jenga tower apparently falls down. Another game without David Freese or Colby Rasmus turns into a 1-0 loss.  Chris Carpenter deserved […]

Washington Is a Baseball Town (Again)

At the top of the seventh inning the crowd began the chant, “Let’s Go Stras-burg” to the same cadence that fans in DC have grown tired of listening to from Philly, Dodger, Red Sox and just about anywhere fans.  But this chant was all DC and it grew and built.  “Let’s Go Stras-burg” the entire […]

Strasburg in Syracuse Start Six: The Windup

It’s the fifth inning of Stephen Strasburg’s last minor league start. After Pedro Lopez flew out aimlessly to center, Strasburg himself reached out beyond the far side of the plate on an 0-2 count and slapped a ball back up the middle. Left fielder Boomer Whiting, a new call up for the Chiefs, then hit […]

Their Reputation Preceeds Them

You know that going into San Diego, it’s going to be a tough place to score runs.  The park is designed for pitching and the Padres usually take advantage of that with some pretty solid pitchers.  Last night was a textbook example of that. Even though Adam Wainwright deserved so much better, striking out 12 […]

Hall of Fame Killers

Any Seamheads reader should know by now that there’s a lot of good information at baseball-reference.com. In particular, in the Play Index. For instance: in the last decade, Miguel Tejada led the majors with 223 groundball double play, 28 more than runner-up Paul Konerko. That is only one ground ball short of Jim Rice’s 224 […]

Second Rate

After the sweep by the Astros, the Cardinals needed a series win to stay ahead of the Reds in the division standings.  It didn’t happen. Friday (4-3 win) Hero: Ryan Ludwick.  Three hits, including a two-run home run that proved to be the difference. Goat: Ryan Franklin.  Didn’t blow the save, but he did his darndest. […]

So Long, Mr. Harwell

The Detroit Tigers happened to be out of town this past May 4th–playing at the new Target Field in Minnesota. Soon came the seventh-inning stretch and a picture of a smiling Ernie Harwell graced the stadium’s bright, new big screen. The news was then announced–though many fans were already privy to the inevitable: the Hall […]

Redbirds Roll Through Weekend

It was a very busy weekend for me, but the Cardinals did a lot of working as well.  By now you know all about the games, but let’s take a quick look at Thursday through Sunday to get our Heroes and our Goats.  (If you want a more in-depth look, my Week that Was column […]

Another Rally By The Redbirds

You know, it’s kinda nice to see these comebacks.  Granted, I’d like to see them get a lead and then gradually increase it, but knowing that a team isn’t out of it is helpful. You have to give the Hero tag to Yadier Molina this time.  For the second straight night, he gave the Cards […]

Cardinal Comeback

First off, I want to say thank you to everyone who has expressed kind words over the Cardinal Blogosphere Guide.  I hope that it results in increased traffic for the blogs listed and that you can find another source of can’t-miss Cardinal writing. Perhaps it was just me, but it seems like if this was […]

Growing Up Is About Letting Go

It happened earlier than it usually does. Being a fanatical Red Sox fan, there’s usually five to seven times each season when I will just throw up my hands (after throwing up) and boycott all broadcasts of my team for the indefinite future. They tend to come in June when the pennant races normally heat […]

Spring flings from Florida camps

Leo Mazzone, pitching coach for the Braves during their entire 14-year string of divisional titles, tells a story about a mistake he made in 1991, the year the streak started. The usually-reliable Tom Glavine got into trouble, prompting a mound visit from Mazzone. Just a few minutes later, he indicated a slight injury, causing the […]

Rambling on About My Glory Days – Joe, You are Remembered

Curt Flood took a stance to help players and teammates and made his mark on baseball history. Some guys make their mark with great statistics, whereas others are remembered for other things. Players often take stances day in and day out for their teammates that are not as momentous or reported, but they are never […]

Memories of Billy Martin From Mike Pagliarulo, Rod Carew, and Rickey Henderson

Billy Martin’s death on Christmas evening 1989 provided the troubled finish to a melancholy year for baseball. As a way to look back on that day and Martin’s career, as well as the reasons why he had such an impact on baseball and the players he managed, here are some memories of the man. In […]