Author: Dan Freedman

BROADCAST BLUES (Playoff Edition) A few months ago I wrote how I felt that baseball broadcasters (save for Vin Scully) were hurting the game. They were making it considerably less enjoyable for fans to experience the experience while watching on television or listening on radio. I was brought back to that sentiment – in the…

TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS Anyone who knows me, knows that I have an undying love of the Boston Red Sox.  (Not for nothing, being a Red Sox fan can better be described as a “close to dying” love.)  Anyone who reads me, knows with absolute certainty of my love of the game of baseball.  So, as we…

THE VOICE OF GENERATIONS In the world of psychology, it is a given that the sense of smell is the most evocative of prior experiences.  Who am I to dispute the science?  But if sense of smell is number one, for me, the sense of hearing is a close second.  I can hear a horn,…

RACISTS IN OUR MIDST Colin Kaepernick is on the cover of this week’s Time Magazine.  Did he win a Super Bowl, or save a drowning baby?  No.  He merely took a knee.  A small gesture, no larger or physically more significant than raising a gloved hand to the sky.  But sometimes small gestures have a…

I have previously written about the excitement and anticipation of sitting in the stands watching a no-hitter.  How the crowd holds its collective breath on every pitch; how the fielders focus their attention just a little more; how the manager wears a hole pacing the dugout. For those of you paying attention to my prior…

WHO’S THE BOSS You agree to guarantee an employee nearly 10% of your company’s valuation.  You – and your industry – put that employee on a pedestal, and for good reason, as by all verifiable measures, that employee is the best in the world at what he does.  Some fear that that employee verges on…

NO HITTER NO MORE A little over a year ago I wrote about what I truly love about baseball, the two strike pitch.  Nothing can really top that. However, last night at Dodger Stadium, I witnessed a close second.  In July of 1991, on a hot Sunday afternoon, I was lucky enough to watch “El…

A-ROD NOT THE VILLAIN The rain cleared, the game ended, the chanting stopped, and the door closed.  Last Friday night, A-Rod said goodbye to the Bronx; and the Bronx said goodbye to one of the most polarizing athletes in the history of the sport. Love him or hate him, A-Rod had a storied (steroid?) career. …

MOUND BALL Before he took some flak for assaulting/accosting a fan the other night, Joey Votto took some flak for denying batting gloves to a kid sitting behind the dugout at AT&T Park.  Votto’s told the kid that he was sitting in the front row, he is elite, and didn’t need the swag.  We can debate the…

MORALITY vs. IMMORTALITY The Mets won their first pennant in 15 years last season.  They had high hopes for this year.  And then the cornerstone of their franchise – and their infield – went down with a season-ending injury.  What is a contender to do? The Cubs haven’t won a playoff game since 2003 (cue,…