Baseball

In August 1988 the Phillies and Cubs nearly made history by playing the first night game at Wrigley in major league baseball history. However, after 3 1/2 innings the game was rained out, and the Cubs' game against the Mets the next night became the first official night game at Wrigley. Twenty years later, the […]

Mike “I’m not gay” Piazza wants out of South Beach. His condo is on the block for $4.9 million, quite a nice uptick for the 3,300-square-foot place he picked up in 2002 for $1.75 million. The three-bedroom unit has terraces and panoramic views and is designed with contemporary styling and limestone floors. Piazza and his, […]

Here's some fan video from the outfield bleachers at Wrigley Field during last night's Cubs-Astros game. The Chicago region was rocked by severe thundestorms, which stopped the game for over 2 1/2 hours in the 6th inning. Tornado warnings were issued and fans were ordered out of the bleachers and into the concourses. Wind gusts […]

Organizers at the 29th Annual National Sports Collector’s Convention say they are offering a record $25,000 if disgraced Chicago Cubs fans Steve Bartman shows up and signs an autograph at the event in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont. Bartman entered baseball lore and earned the ire of Cub fans everywhere on Oct. 14, 2003, when […]

The headline sums up basically what was accomplished in the American League’s 4-3, 15-inning, 4-hour-50-minute marathon win over the National League in baseball’s All-Star game. The happiest man in Yankee Stadium seemed to be Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who knows that if his team can make a repeat appearance in the World Series, […]

So tonight is the Showcase of the 2009 Yankees, whoops, I mean, the 2008 State Farm Home Run Derby. Eight of the biggest, meanest batters you’ll see will try to smash white balls as far as humanly possible. (Hey, mind out of the gutter you!) Representing the American League we have Josh Hamilton, Evan Longoria, […]

On Yahoo Sports there's an AP article headlined "A-Rod loses $200,000 in All-Star bonuses." It's a little misleading. When Alex Rodriguez signed his old megadeal with Texas it included clauses that would pay him $100,000 for making the All-Star team and another $100,000 if he led his league in fan voting. He opted out of […]

Somehow I missed this news: in January Major League Baseball announced that this year's Hall of Fame Game would be the last. The annual exhibition was held each year at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. The first one was held in 1940. Of course, the tradition started fading years ago. The game used to be played […]

The New York Daily News brings us this delightful tale of a tourism brochure printed up by the Queens borough president's office. In the brochure there's an item on Shea Stadium that says it was built in 1962. The paper notes that groundbreaking for Shea began in October 1961 and the stadium didn't open until […]

There is a first time for everything. John Odom was traded to the Laredo Broncos or the United League from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball league. For the stiff price of 10 baseball bats, a first in modern baseball. “They just wanted some bats, good bats – maple bats,” Broncos general manager Jose […]

Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester threw a no-hitter in a 7-0 win over the Kansas City Royals at Boston. What makes it more inspiring is that Lester came back after battling testicular cancer analaplastic large cell lymphoma two seasons ago. “Really, words can’t describe it right now,” Lester said. A diving catch by Jacoby […]

California baseball stadiums are tops when it comes to health code violations at their Major League stadiums, with Angels stadium in Anaheim topping the list, Conde Nast’s Portfolio reports. A major vermin violation forced the shutdown of one food stand in April 2007 [at Angels stadium]. A cockroach infestation was reported in the Stadium Club […]

I know I was a bit negative recently when I talked about Scranton, Pennsylvania in this post about the minor league hockey player who was arrested for streaking. So I thought I'd share some good news about the town. After the 2006 season the Phillies decided to move their triple-A affiliate, then known as the […]

I apologize for not being on the ball lately, I am actually on vacation in Colorado for a couple of weeks and my hometown, Yuma, CO, population 2500, is severely lacking in Internet connections. I wanted to throw my 2 cents in on the 22 innings game that I watched in its entirety from 8 […]

For the third time (at least) in the last three years the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox managed to take over four hours to play a nine-inning baseball game. Wednesday night's marathon, won by the Yankees 15-9, took 4 hours, 8 minutes, but that was nothing compared to the surreal scene last night […]

In 1993, when a young man named Miguel Tejada, from Bani in the Dominican Republic, signed a contract with Oakland, he told them his date of birth was May 25, 1976. He went on to become a four-time All-Star and won the AL MVP award in 2002. After the 2003 season he signed a six-year, […]

Some days at the ballpark, things go wrong. The pitchers are wild, the hitters are flailing, the weather is dreary. And then there was today at Citizens Bank Park: nary a cloud in the sky with temperatures in the mid-70s; a strong 7-inning performance from Brett Myers; homers from Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat […]

Johnny Cueto, the rookie sensation for the reds had a pretty amazing debut for the team against the Arizona Diamond Backs, when he walked no one and struck out 10 batters. How amazing is that you ask? 4,113 pitchers have made their debuts in the major league since 1956 and he is the only one […]

Justin Germano of the San Diego Padres has now had two starts, has a 0.00 ERA and has won no games. It would really be nice if his team could hit some runs and help him out. His next start will be next week against the Colorado Rockies. Brenton Metzler Justin Germano of the San […]

Jordan Schafer is writing the newest chapter in “Baseball for Dummies: Professional Edition.” The unfolding saga swirling around him will be summed up with his personal story, titled “How to Kill a Baseball Career.” Schafer, the No. 1 prospect for the Atlanta Braves despite not playing above Class A until this year, was suspended this […]