Baseball Beyond Borders

Between 1998 and 2012, the international players participating on teams in MLB increased from approximately twenty to twenty-seven percent. After finishing their careers, a fraction of them had opportunities to be full or part time employees in the front offices of American or National League (AL or NL) teams. Some former ballplayers decided to become […]

View to a Thrill

Of the thousands who watched the Home Run Derby this past Monday, no one in Citi Field had a better view than George Carroll, who was directly behind home plate. And I mean directly behind home plate: Carroll was one of two catchers who most people saw all night long and probably never noticed. Carroll […]

Boston Red Sox Pitching Prospect Matt Spalding is Looking to Make His Mark

The more advanced prospects of the Boston Red Sox have received a lot of attention this spring. While it is certainly an impressive group, the team also has a lot of valuable young players in the lower levels of their minor league system. One of those rising players is right-handed pitcher Matt Spalding, who just […]

Cole Frenzel: Seeking His Opportunity with the New York Mets

The New York Mets face a bleak situation with their offense as the 2013 season nears. Other than third baseman David Wright and first baseman Ike Davis, they lack any above-average bats, but hope that help may be on the way courtesy of their minor league system. One player who could be in the mix […]

iOOTP12 for Apple

iOOTP12 for Apple (sorry, Android fans, you’ve got at least another year to wait before partaking) is the Kate Upton to OOTP13’s Sofia Vergara: whereas the latter has endless curves, you sure as hell won’t mind spending hours with the slimmer, compact version. Kate (uh, I mean, iOOTP12) is well worth the price of admission, […]

Hi Bithorn: Puerto Rico’s Baseball Pioneer

More than 225 players who were born in Puerto Rico have played major league baseball, representing a staggering amount for such a small country. Their successes were paved by right handed pitcher Hiram “Hi” Bithorn, who was the first of them to debut, with the Chicago Cubs in 1942. Bithorn is not well-remembered today because […]

Can Dan Duquette Save the Baltimore Orioles?

Media reports indicate that the Baltimore Orioles are on the verge of naming Dan Duquette as their new general manager. This may prove to be one of the better decisions that embattled team owner Peter Angelos has made in some time. The Orioles have been amongst the laughing stock of baseball for the majority of […]

Catching up with Bob Zupcic

The first professional athlete I ever met was Ted Williams, when I was about 9 years old. The experience was extremely disappointing, given how profane and cranky Williams turned out to be, even to a little kid like myself. The second professional athlete I met was Bob Zupcic, when I was about 12 or 13 […]

Any Fish’ll Bite If You Got Good Bait

The Nationals continue to make notable progress in building their minor league organization.  Rated consistently in the bottom tier since the move from Montreal in 2005, the system is on the rise, but an acid test awaits. GM Mike Rizzo wants to trade for a starting pitcher. The rumor mill has the Nationals looking at […]

The Yankees’ future is grid-locked

Remember a couple of months ago when Stephen Strasburg was ready to advance to the majors? The anticipation was as high as ever before: Nationals Stadium was sold out within hours of the announced date of his debut. It seemed as though the world of the Washington Nationals was waiting for the future to thrust […]

Former MLB Hurler Dick Drago to Appear on “What’s On Second” Podcast

Former Major League hurler Dick Drago will appear on “What’s On Second: The Seamheads.com Radio Hour” on Monday, May 17 at 11:00 PM Eastern (8:00 Pacific).  Drago began his major league career with the expansion Kansas City Royals in 1969 after spending four years in the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system, where he went 50-41 […]

Book Review: Joe Cronin, A Life In Baseball

One of the perks of being a baseball bloggers is, at times, you get a chance to get a free baseball book on the off-chance that you’ll write about it to an audience that may care what you have to say.  I’ve had four or five of these opportunities come directly to me, but this […]