Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Armando Benitez

The Biggest Save of John Franco’s Career

Saturday, January 28th, 2012

Earlier in the week I talked about why John Franco deserves to be in the Mets Hall of Fame. It wouldn’t be complete unless we remember what Franco called the “biggest save of his career.” Franco was a huge part of the 2000 team that won the National League pennant. If not for Franco’s 10th inning work […]

Watch: Mike Piazza on MSG Celebrity Row

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

During last night’s Knicks-Nuggets game at the Garden, Mike Piazza appeared at halftime with Jill Martin on the MSG Network. You can watch the segment below, but some of the highlights were Piazza saying he and Johnny Bench are tied as “the best hitting catchers of all-time,” how he would like to go into the […]

Newark Baseball Appears on the Brink

Friday, July 15th, 2011

Every Friday I take a look at what is going on with Independent Baseball. Today, I took at look at the Newark Bears and wonder if there still is a future for this troubled Can-Am League team. Baseball in Newark has a rich tradition that dates back to 1902. There were the Newark Indians, Newark […]

Mets Historically Don’t Get Value in Deadline Sales

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

So you’re a proponent of the Mets trading their best assets? Send Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and Francisco Rodriguez to the highest bidder? Excited about the possible return? Don’t get too excited, because historically the Mets have never been good sellers at the deadline. Take a look. 1992: The Mets sent David Cone post trade […]

Evaluating the History of Mets - Yankees Trades

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Yesterday, Howard suggested the Mets and Yankees swap Mike Pelfrey for Joba Chamberlain. It got me to thinking about the history of these teams making deals. It’s rare when they get together, and when they do, it’s never been a blockbuster in the form of what Howard suggested. Let’s take a look at all the […]

Remembering a Classic Yankees Brawl

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Kevin Rozell of “Zell’s Pinstriped Blog” has video of a bunch of classic Yankees brawls. This post is appropriate after what happened in Florida between the Nationals Nyjer Morgan and Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad. See one between Darryl Strawberry and Armando Benitez below. To check out more go to Kevin’s site.

Atlantic League: How Do the Stars Fare in MLB?

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Last year NYBD was at the Atlantic League All Star Game and asked some of the participants the difference between independent ball, specifically the Atlantic League, and big league ballplayers. Some of the answers from the managers ranged from mechanic flaws, consistency, to organizations just not having room for a particular individual. For those that […]

Atlantic League All Star Game Recap

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

The game MVP was Steve Moss (Bridgeport). He went 2 for 2 with a 2 run homer. Esposito with a 1-2-3 inning to close it out.  Liberty Division wins 7-1.Randy Leek (Long Island) the winner, and Jesus Sanchez (York) the losing pitcher. CLICK HERE FOR THE BOXSCORE Local kid Joe Esposito (Long Island) in to close […]

K-Rod Quietly Having Great Season

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

I suspect it will be virtually impossible to be a closer in New York for a generation at least. The culprit is Mariano Rivera, of course, and his seemingly endless run of perfection. As a result, the mere mortals that try to hold down the same job across town seem like poor custodians of late […]

What’s the Fastest Pitch Ever Thrown?

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Last night Kevin Burkhardt interviewed Indians Hall of Famer Bob Feller during the ballgame. Feller is known to tell it like it is and tout his accomplishments, however I had to do a double take when he claimed he threw a pitch at 107.9 mph back in the mid forties. It got me thinking what […]

What If Ken Griffey Jr. Became a Met?

Monday, June 7th, 2010

I wrote about the plight of Ken Griffey Jr. a couple of weeks ago. It was sad to see him bumbling to the sunset of his career in the town where he became a baseball legend. A few days ago Tyler Kepner of the NY Times did a nice profile of Junior, a man he […]

Watch: Top 10 Baseball Brawls

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Found this courtesy of our good friend Michael Baron of Metsblog. Top Ten Baseball Fights - The best video clips are right here

Benitez and Alfonzo Sign With Newark

Friday, March 26th, 2010

The Newark Bears announced the signing of Armando Benitez and Edgardo Alfonzo yesterday. It’s been 10 years since the duo starred for the NL Pennant winners. Alfonzo last played in the big leagues in 2006. In both 2007 and 2008 he was a member of the Long Island Ducks. Benitez played for the Bears last […]

Unlikely NY Playoff Heroes

Friday, October 16th, 2009

You got my prediction for the series so now it’s about time to “play ball”. Each Friday I am going to start to look back on famous events and players in New York baseball history. Some I may interview, others I may research, and there will be some that I add my own personal experience. […]

Only Matchup That Matters is Rivera vs. Fuentes

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

We will hear about the Angels running game, pesky offense, and their ace John Lackey over the next few days. When you break down both teams they are very even in many areas. They both are great offensive teams. Anaheim relies more on speed versus the Yankees with the long ball. The Yanks middle relief […]