MLB: Ripple Effect of Yoenis Céspedes Signing

The winter season is not usually associated with the MLB, but it is actually one of the most exciting times of the year in professional baseball. Every team in the league is attempting to build a stronger roster through trades and free agent signings. While the free agent market has been rather quiet so far […]

The Sunday Notes: Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016

So, 2015 is now a permanent part of our history as 2016 will take baseball shape this week when we find out who the writers voted into the Hall of Fame. If you will allow me this time around, instead of giving you a few links to read I thought I would share a few thoughts […]

2015 World Series Notes

The Kansas City Royals are champions for the first time in thirty years. Can you believe it? Wait, I’m channeling Joe Castiglione above. Still, what a great postseason run by the Royals. No deficit was too big and, in return, they wore teams out. When they needed starting pitching, Johnny Cueto tosses a two-hitter. Down […]

The Sunday Notes: 2015 World Series

Now that we have enjoyed baseball’s playoff appetizer, it is time for the main course, the 2015 World Series. The plucky Kansas City Royals host the New York Mets starting Tuesday night at Kaufman Stadium in what we hope to be a classic matchup. No deficit is too large for the Royals, who pound out hit after hit. […]

Should MLB Adopt the 154-Game Schedule?

New Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred recently suggested he was open to the idea of reducing the regular season from 162 to 154 games. The 154 game schedule is not a new idea. The American and National League adopted the format before the 1904 season, ensuring the eight teams in each league played their […]

Harvey vs. Scherzer is Like Deja Vu All Over Again

Tomorrow’s bout between the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers at Citi Field would most likely be ignored outside of New York and Michigan but for the anticipated match-up of two of the game’s best pitchers—24-year-old phenom Matt Harvey and 28-year-old all-but-guaranteed-to-win-the-AL Cy Young Award, Max Scherzer.  Granted the Tigers don’t have anything clinched yet, […]

The Baseball Historian’s Notes for July 15, 2013: Is it Time to Change the All Star Game?

Despite making his major league debut on June 3rd and only playing in 37 games, 23-year-old Los Angeles Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig received a huge surge of support to make this year’s National League All Star team. The outfielder has done his best Roy Hobbs impression by hitting a blistering .392 with eight home […]

The Legacy Agency, Inc. To Host First “Breakfast of Champions” Event During MLB All-Star Week

Emceed by the voice of the Yankees, Michael Kay, July 15 inaugural event to feature New York Mets and Yankees legends Bernie Williams, John Franco, Willie Randolph and Ron Darling discussing the baseball topics of the day FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Jul. 8, 2013 – NEW YORK — The Legacy Agency, Inc. (“TLA”), the athlete […]

The Baseball Historian’s Notes for April 14, 2013

The 2013 baseball season has gotten off to a rollicking start. From Yu Darvish’s near-perfect game to the exciting emergence of young players like New York Mets’ pitcher Matt Harvey, there has been a lot of good stuff for fans to digest. For all the fun baseball provides, the game also sometimes has a darker […]

How Is This as Handsome Reward for 19 Indy Grads? They Are on Pace to Top $37 Million in Majors

Does it pay for an aspiring major leaguer who goes undrafted or needs to re-energize his career to play in an Independent league? And how!  Think about earning salaries totaling more than $37 million for the regular 2013 season.  Pay is prorated for most everyone, of course, so if a player is only in the […]

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 […]

Breaking Down the 2012 N.L. Cy Young Race

Pitching in the National League this season has seen its fair share of surprises; both the good and the bad. Former stalwarts have seen injury (Roy Halladay) and inexplicable decline (Tim Lincecum), but into those voids have stepped other hurlers looking to establish their own legacies. The result has been some inspired pitching, contributing to […]

‘Cookie-Cutter’ Approach Out the Window As Mark Mason Develops Pitchers

Mark Mason has been unusually busy in recent days as interim manager of the Atlantic League’s two-time defending champion York (PA) Revolution while Andy Etchebarren recovers from his latest back surgery, but with that stretch ending he will slide back into concentrating on being a pitching coach with a record most people can only dream […]

The Broken Thumb of Fate, the Collapse of the ’64 Phillies

Frank Thomas and I have been faithful friends for nearly twenty years.  I am referring to the “Original” Frank Thomas who was a rookie for the Pirates in 1951 and an original New York Met in 1962; not to confuse him with the White Sox slugger of the nineties. I met Frank at a Pirates’ […]

Clearing The Bases

I was supposed to write this column last week, but ended up spending way to much time on another project, so I apologize, but here we are with news and notes from the National League.   New York Mets:  Well, 1B Ike Davis may have awoken from his season long slump.  His average is close […]

The Glory Days: First NL Expansion Draft

The New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s stocked their rosters with players selected in the expansion draft held by the National League on October 10 of 1961 at the Netherland-Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati. The Mets’ brain trust was headed up by general manager George Weiss and manager Casey Stengel, both of whom had […]

Comedian Bill Maher Reveals NY Mets Ownership Stake

Comedian Bill Maher reveals NY Mets ownership stake (via AFP) Comedian Bill Maher, a New York native and life-long supporter of the New York Mets, revealed that he has purchased a minority ownership stake in the Major League Baseball club. The 56-year-old television show host said he made the purchase months ago, but would not […]

Clearing The Bases

Today we are going to start a debate.  We are going to talk about fantasy players on the New York Yankees and New York Mets.  Rather than just talk about different players and why they are fantasy worthy, we are going to rank Yankee and Met players in the order of which they should be […]

Clearing The Bases

We can’t have a surprise column without a disappointment column now can we?  Earlier this week we talked about our Top 9 pleasant surprises, and now we will visit the opposite end of the spectrum.  Maybe I’m a negative kind of person, but it seemed that there were quite a few players/teams I could put […]

Mets To Host 2013 All-Star Game

Mets to host 2013 All-Star Game (via AFP) Major League Baseball’s 84th All-Star Game will be hosted in 2013 by the New York Mets at their three-year-old ballpark, $600 million Citi Field, commissioner Bud Selig announced on Wednesday. The Mets previously hosted the mid-season event once before, in 1964 at Shea Stadium in the year […]

It Is Nail-Biting Time for Several Independent Players Although ’11 Standout Jerome Williams Is ‘On Track’

It appears 2011 Lancaster (PA) Barnstormers (Atlantic League) starter Jerome Williams could win that fifth starting job with the Los Angeles Angels after all even though his hamstring strain forced him to miss some 24 days of spring training. The 30-year-old, who also at one time hurled for Long Beach, CA in the Golden League, […]

A Book as “Terrific” as Its Subject

Like the “The Little Engine that Could,” Tom Seaver began a steep climb saying “I think I can. I think I can.” Seaver’s mom, Betty, grafted the story into her son’s DNA by reading it to him as a child. Seaver always thought he could do whatever he set out to do, and usually he […]

Forensic Career Bypassed as Indy Grad Jason Cooper Takes on New Opportunity With Pirates

Stanford University professors may not want to hear it, but one of their anthropological science graduates has given up an admitted “passion” for forensics to start on Phase 2 of a professional baseball career, this time as a front office rookie with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jason Cooper could see the handwriting on the wall within […]

Bobby V. is Coming to Town

Well, it’s happened. After two months of speculation and plenty of smoke and mirrors, the Red Sox are set to announce Bobby Valentine as their next manager. The world hasn’t come to an end; at least everything looks peaceful when I look out my window. I was not in favor of this move when I […]

Kevin Collins: Many Cups of Coffee

Kevin Collins grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts loving baseball. Like many children his dream was to one day play professional baseball for a living, and he was one of the lucky few to achieve that goal. Although he never became a regular player in the major leagues, he played parts of six seasons with three […]

Why Albert Pujols Will Stay In St. Louis

We heard it a lot. At the end of September and during every playoff series, we heard “this could be the last time Albert Pujols has an at-bat in a Cardinal uniform,” sometimes tweaked with the last home appearance. So much so that someone made a chart out of how he did in those situations. […]

Clearing The Bases

There was no column last week as I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and needed a few days to recover.  I’m back now and with the non-waiver trading deadline just 12 days away it seems prudent to talk about some of the players that might need to send a change of address to the post […]

Math v. March Madness

On July 27, 1975, a child was born in Washington Heights, New York. Four years later, his family moved to the Dominican Republic, and soon after to Miami, Florida. He grew up rooting for the New York Mets, and idolized Cal Ripken and Keith Hernandez. Like most children, he dreamed about becoming a professional athlete. […]

Clearing The Bases

Unless you have been living in a cave all week you have undoubtedly heard about the Yankees Jorge Posada’s decision to pull himself out of the lineup and refuse to play last Saturday versus Boston.  What you may not know are the details preceding this decision. When Posada first came up with the Yankees he […]

Clearing The Bases: 3rd Base

Clearing The Bases                                                                                                                                          March 22, 2011 By George Kurtz Outside of Shortstop, Third Base may be the toughest position to judge come draft time.  There are a bunch of interesting players here but what order to put them in is the big question.  Traditionally 3B is a power position, so you would like a player […]

Clearing The Bases: Shortstops

Today, or tonight depending upon when you are reading this, we will finish up our look at the middle infielders with a look at our top 15 shortstops.  There is not a lot to like here as this position has two outstanding players, then maybe three or four other players you wouldn’t mind having, then […]

When Twelve Weren’t Enough

Where were you on the afternoon of April 17, 2010? That afternoon the Cardinals and Mets embarked on a 20-inning game that lasted close to seven hours. On the way to their 2-1 win, I wonder if anyone on the Mets had epiphanies of Harvey Haddix. Haddix pitched a perfect game for 12 innings in […]

2011 World Baseball Coaches’ Convention to Feature Garciaparra, Leiter, Valentine

For Immediate Release Contact: Rick Orluk (o) 860.674.1770 (c) 860.670.2905 Rick_Orluk@GoldOrluk.com NOMAR GARCIAPARRA, AL LEITER, KEVIN LONG, AND BOBBY VALENTINE HEADLINE 2011 MOHEGAN SUN WORLD BASEBALL COACHES’ CONVENTION UNCASVILLE, CT – The 2011 Mohegan Sun World Baseball Coaches’ Convention will take place at the spectacular Mohegan Sun Convention Center in Uncasville, Connecticut, from January 20 […]

Evaluating the Mets’ Internal Rotation Options, Mejia/Perez in Mix to Replace Santana

The date was Friday, September 10, 2010. The New York Mets had just dropped an afternoon game against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies by an 8-4 score. Philadelphia’s ace Roy Halladay had outpitched rookie Jenrry Mejia to pick up his 18th win of the season. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley each homered. As did Carlos Beltran. The loss dropped the Mets to 69-72, three games […]

The Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic: Game One

With all due respect to the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers, the 2010 World Series wasn’t exactly one for the ages, although I’m happy for the city of San Francisco, the Giants and their fans. Don’t get me wrong, I commend both teams for their efforts, but the 2010 Fall Classic had me scouring […]

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