Jose Reyes returns to New York tonight as a member of the Miami Marlins. It will be weird to see the former Mets shortstop decked out in the silly art deco Miami uniform. This is not the first time in team history a star is returning to his former place of employment. The Mets have done […]
One of the early surprises of the season is the offensive output of Derek Jeter. Going into tonight’s matchup against Minnesota, Jeter is hitting a robust .366 with 2 HRs and 6 RBI. The slow bat that turned him into a below league average hitter the last couple of years has disappeared. I was ready to […]
On the second night of Passover, a simple dinner discussion that evolved into an argument between the Matzo Ball Soup and the Brisket was the impetus for this list. Going through the Internet to find any definitive list, this wonderful piece by the ubiquitous Jonah Keri from 2007 was discovered listing the Top 18 Jewish […]
Update 10 AM: Repoz from Baseball Think Factory has informed me the other Rose supporting is perennial backer Jack McCaffery of the Daily Times in the Philly area. Original Post Last night, I was joined by Marco Maturo, a member of the BBWAA who spent 40 years covering sports for Gannett, which included 7 years on the Mets beat […]
Great show tonight. I am kicking it off with former big league reliever Jim Mecir. Jim is a local product from Long Island. Hear him discuss his time with the Yankees in ’96 and the Moneyball A’s. Steve Keane of the Kranepool Society will discuss John Franco‘s induction into the Mets Hall of Fame. Finally, […]
I had an opportunity to chat with Steven Travers last night, author of a new book called “The Last Icon: Tom Seaver and His Times,” on my radio program. Never before has someone delved into the career of the man known as “The Franchise.” You all know about his accomplishments on the field, but Travers […]
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 […]
Back in November the Caribbean Journal ran this video about how there is an attempt to revive baseball on the islands of the Bahamas. There have been six big leaguers of Bahamian descent. The most successful is Andre Rodgers, a shortstop that spent 11 seasons in the big leagues in the late 50s and early […]
Barry Larkin was elected to the Hall of Fame earlier today with 86% of the vote. Although he had a tremendous career, I believe Larkin is a very good player that falls short of Hall credentials. It’s now time to put the Hall of Fame debate away for another year, but there is one last […]
The Baseball Hall of Fame will announce its 2012 inductees later today. Over the past month I have encouraged readers and listeners to vote in our own BBWAA-style ballot. Here are the results. Jeff Bagwell 61.7% Barry Larkin 57.7% Tim Raines 55.7% Edgar Martinez 43.6% Jack Morris 40.3% Mark McGwire 29.5% Alan Trammell 27.5% Lee Smith 26.8% Rafael Palmeiro 24.8% Don Mattingly 22.8% Bernie Williams 20.1% […]
In recent months I have discussed the dangers of long-term deals, specifically when it came to the Mets signing Jose Reyes. The years, more than the dollars, is usually the problem. Long-term contracts lead to teams paying premium dollars for players past their prime. The average annual value is often skewed because you have situations (see […]
It’s been nearly 15 years since the BBWAA elected to not enshrine someone in Cooperstown. During the 1996 election, Phil Niekro received 68.3% of the vote, followed by Tony Perez (65.7%), and Don Sutton (63.8%). Ironically, all three would be enshrined by 2000. I believe there is a good chance no one will be inducted by the […]
I will be keeping this up as a sticky until our January 8th Hall of Fame show where we will announce the fan selections. Remember, the actual Hall of Fame announcement will be on January 9th. Here is my Hall of Fame ballot - you can weigh in on the conversation by voting here.
The Winter Meetings ended Thursday afternoon, but the NBA picked up on the craziness with an evening of trade rumors and controversy. When Commissioner David Stern overturned the three-team deal that would have landed Chris Paul with the Lakers, it conjured up memories of a similar situation that occurred in baseball 35 years ago. On […]
David Brown of Yahoo’s Big League Stew caught up with Pete Rose earlier this week. Rose gave Brown a lengthy and honest interview that is a must-read for any baseball fan. Today, instead of managing in the big leagues, Rose spends his days signing autographs and attending dinners with baseball fans through his web business at PeteRose.com. When […]
