Disclaimer: This is going to be a bit dark, but it’s kind of therapeutic for me to organize my thoughts into a written piece. So here goes.
The concept of time makes me anxious. I see old pictures of myself or home movies in which I’m running around the house chasing my little sister and I feel uneasy. The pictures and videos are cute, the associated memories happy and pure, but I can’t separate these relics of my past from thoughts of the terrifying and inescapable aging process. …
If your sleep schedule is the same as the residents of your local nursing home, you likely missed one of the biggest moves of the MLB off season. Nolan Arenado, the perennial all-star who wins a Gold Glove every year, was traded from the Colorado Rockies to the St. Louis Cardinals for a bunch of slapdick prospects. For the purpose of this piece, their names are completely irrelevant. The kicker, though, is that the Rockies sent $50 million in addition to their best player. Just a little care package to sweeten the deal, I guess. A small gift of $50…
The term “hallowed ground” has had every ounce of drama squeezed from it since Abe Lincoln first used the term in the Gettysburg Address (his exact words were “we cannot hallow this ground”). Since that point, the phrase has been used to describe any place that seems sacred, regardless of whether or not it meets the criteria for being “hallowed”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the “hallowed” gatekeeper, nor am I one to give much thought to literary clichés, but when a term reserved for only the most highly revered places is overused, it loses value. …
Bill: Welcome back ladies and gentlemen. For those of you who are just joining us on this beautiful June night, the Montreal Ex-Rays currently lead the Las Vegas Black Sox by a score of 17–14 as we head into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Joe: And it’s been quite the back and forth here in Las Vegas. The Ex-Rays are led by Bobby McDermott who is 5-for-6 with five homers —
Bill: And they weren’t cheap shots either, Joe, they were missiles. Statcast had the shortest one registered at 573 feet, with an exit velocity of around 134 mph…
In 1986, Bert Blyleven had a season that most pitchers would try to forget. His 4.01 ERA was the second highest of his 17-year career, and his 4.33 FIP was 1.42 higher than his lifetime mark of 2.91. For a starting pitcher who had been extremely effective throughout his big league tenure, Blyleven was very… average. But there’s one big, fat, ugly stain on his stat sheet from that year: 50 home runs allowed, the most ever in a single season.
His season-long performance, though poor by Blyleven’s Hall of Fame standards, wasn’t terrible. Aside from giving up a record…
Quick, I want you to name the first three MMA fighters that come to your mind.
Got it? Ok, good.
I’m willing to bet one of the names you came up with was Conor McGregor. I’ll admit that I steered you in that direction with the title of this piece, but the message stands: Conor McGregor is a bona fide superstar.
Mixed martial arts experts constantly laud his strength, precision, and versatility as a fighter. He has all the tools he needs to “bounce heads off the canvas”, as he likes to put it, and his early success was undoubtedly…
In 1999, Nike aired a commercial that changed the mentality of young ballplayers everywhere. The ad begins with Mark McGwire taking batting practice while beautiful women worship the slugger’s strength. Cy Young winners Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine attempt to get the attention of the women, but they’re transfixed on the flight of Big Mac’s ball.
The pitching legends determine that hitting home runs is the only way to stand out, so they launch into a classic training montage, complete with bootleg Rocky music. Eventually, they step into the box and start hitting the ball out of the park. Their…
The baseball world was divided yesterday.
Two nights ago, the Trenton Thunder came to the plate in the top of the ninth vs. the Hartford Yard Goats. They had yet to get a hit, and were losing 3–0. With 1 out, the Thunder’s center fielder laid down a bunt and reached safely to break up the no hitter.
The bunt sparked all kinds of controversy among baseball fans and players everywhere. Many agreed with the batter’s decision, while others were disgusted. Here’s the play:
Before I give my opinion on the matter, let me just say that I’m looking…
When you think of the great base stealers in baseball today, who comes to mind?
Dee Gordon has led the MLB in stolen bases three times in the last five years, and Billy Hamilton has been the runner up four times in that same span. These two are speed demons, no doubt, but both of their steals totals dipped significantly in 2018. Other than that, there are no true base thieves left.
In an age of analytics and uppercuts, the stolen base is becoming obsolete. Home runs per game (1.34) is at an all-time high, while hits per game (8.46)…
On June 12th, 2010, Daniel Nava made his Major League debut for the Boston Red Sox. He made history immediately, sending an 0–0 fastball over the right field wall for a grand slam. He finished the game 2–4 with 4 RBI’s and remains, to this day, the only player in baseball history to hit a grand slam on the first pitch he ever saw. This is not a story about Daniel Nava.
Since 1876, there have been 19,193 players who have been fortunate enough to appear in at least one big league game. Their debuts and subsequent careers range from…
