A Weekend in the Colonies

My wife’s Uncle Leo never left the comforts of Brooklyn except on rare occasions. His world began in Bensonhurst and extended no further than an occasional trip to Atlantic City. When my wife and I got married in Atlanta in 1982, Uncle Leo flew into Hartsfield International where I met him as he left the […]

Clearing The Bases

Tonight’s column isn’t going to deal with the fantasy relevance of Major League Baseball, but more of some of the rules I would like to change if I were the commissioner.  I wrote a similar column last season and I’m happy to say that Bud Selig listened to one of my suggestions and moved a […]

Get Well Soon Mariano Rivera from Mariners Nation

I vaguely recall seeing the young Rivera pictured above for the first time during the 1995 playoff series with the Yankees. Rivera did not become the closer for the Yankees till 1996 but he did see action in games 2,3 and 5 of that thrilling playoff match-up that was perhaps the highlight of my many […]

If I Ran Baseball-Interleague Edition

Recently a few managers have come out against interleague play, stating the uniqueness has worn off, and that interleague play is tired.  I disagree.  I think it’s great that some interleague “traditions” have stuck around, like Cubs/White Sox, A’s/Giants, and Marlins/Rays.  Ok, so maybe Marlins/Rays isn’t the most exciting matchup, but it’s still the battle […]

St. Louis vs. Cincinnati

How exactly did we get here?  How did we come from St. Louis and Cincinnati having just a passing thought in each other’s minds to a knockdown, dragout rivalry between the two squads and the two fan bases?  And, honestly, why is there such a rivalry, Johnny Cueto notwithstanding? The history of Cardinals and Reds […]

Scenes and Quotes From San Francisco and the Giants Clubhouse After Winning the 1962 Playoff

A while ago I hunted down the San Francisco Chronicle from the day after the Giants beat the Dodgers to win the 1962 N.L. pennant. It’s been overlooked by the World Series that followed, but the race was a thriller that nearly matched 1951’s, and was the start of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry in California. To […]