1929 All-Star Game: Junior Loop Wins Second Straight All-Star Tilt
March 29, 2014 by Mike Lynch · 2 Comments
JUNIOR LOOP WINS SECOND STRAIGHT ALL-STAR TILT, REGAINS LEAD IN SERIES Combs, Foxx Lead Swatsmiths TEAMS COMBINE FOR 17 RUNS AND 32 SAFETIES ST. LOUIS, July 9.—The Americans and Nationals battled to a 5 to 5 tie through four and a half frames before the juniors pushed four more across the dish in the bottom […]
Off the Beaten Basepaths #5: Lefty Grove’s Home Town
February 17, 2013 by Austin Gisriel · 5 Comments
Lefty Grove was born in the mountain town of Lonaconing, Maryland which is the focus of this installment of Off the Beaten Basepaths. Lefty was the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1931 and his trophy resides in the George’s Creek Library in Lonaconing. It’s the only MVP trophy not in private hands or at […]
The Greatest Pitching Duels of the Century
March 10, 2011 by Gabriel Schechter · 4 Comments
Sticking to my policy of reviewing only books I can highly recommend, I bring you a gem by Jim Kaplan, long-time “Sports Illustrated” writer and author of a dozen previous baseball books, including a fine biography of Lefty Grove. His new volume, titled The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, and the Pitching […]
Strat: ’94 Expos Dominate Fall Classic, Sweep the ’31 A’s
February 10, 2011 by Mike Lynch · Leave a Comment
The 1994 Montreal Expos will go down in history as one of the ultimate “What If?” teams after jumping out to a 74-40 record through their first 114 games, a .649 winning percentage, 105-win pace and a possible date with destiny before a work stoppage kept them from finishing what they started. Thanks to the […]
The Anatomy of a Hall of Famer
February 5, 2011 by Mike Lynch · 6 Comments
It’s been a month now since Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were introduced as the two newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I think both deserve it. I also think Blyleven should have been a Hall of Famer a long time ago, but that’s neither here nor there. He’s finally in and […]
Just How Good was Bert Blyleven?
January 10, 2011 by Michael Hoban · 3 Comments
Bert Blyleven is in the Hall of Fame at last!! It took fourteen years on the ballot to do it but the writers finally saw the light. This was a true victory for sabermetrics – as recognized in the following clip from the Associated Press. “The great curveballer won 287 games, threw 60 shutouts and […]
Lazzari’s Baseball Roundup 2
September 8, 2010 by Bob Lazzari · Leave a Comment
TRIVIA QUESTION: The 1990 Philadelphia Phillies–who finished 4th in the NL East under manager Nick Leyva–were led in victories by a starting pitcher with a measly total of just TEN. Can you name this former left-handed hurler? Answer to follow……….I have a new nickname for Bill Hall of the Boston Red Sox: “The Pendulum.” WHY? […]
Dousing the Flames
May 26, 2010 by Sam Miller · Leave a Comment
My, have the one-time accessories known as pitchers evolved. You see, when baseball began, pitchers served as a launching pad for batters’ rockets. Standing 50 feet from their counterpart, only a few moments snuck by before their rockets went up, up and away on contact. As recently as 1980, relievers milled around in the shadows. […]
Another Great Story Bites The Dust
February 27, 2010 by Gabriel Schechter · Leave a Comment
At the 2008 SABR convention, baseball historian Norman Macht gave a fascinating one-hour presentation on the pitfalls of accepting great stories as true simply because they sound great. He discussed several classics, including one involving Lefty Grove that was attested to by several eyewitnesses, all of whom happened to be mistaken because the events detailed […]
