Two Pitchers With Similar Stats But Dissimilar Reputations
CURT SCHILLING Curt Schilling was selected out of Yavapai College in the second round of the 1986 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox. In July of 1988, Boston traded Schilling, along with outfielder Brady Anderson, to the Orioles in return for veteran pitcher Mike Boddicker. Ironically, Schilling made his major league debut just five…
A Nod to Kersh
Note: This is a guest column by my son, Jake Freedman Yesterday, the baseball world got news that was widely-expected: Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement following this season. Kershaw doesn’t throw as hard as the new generation, yet still has figured out a way to get guys out. With four kids and a…
Focus On The Process: From “Let’s Go” To Letting Go To Watching Him Go
An owner buys a team and hires a general manager. The general manager hires a field manager and together they go about building a championship team. Along the way there are hiccups and bumps, and wonderful and happy moments. The road is never straight, but the trials and tribulations — the journey — are what…
Don Mattingly Is a Hero and Nomar Garciaparra Is Not Much Discussed, and Yet Their Careers Numbers Are Shockingly Similar
Sometimes it is fun to look at two wholly different players and see how very similar they were. Today we will look at two guys who essentially played on opposite sides of second base*, one of whom stayed on the Hall of Fame ballot for 15 years, topping out at 28.2% of the vote; and…
Bryce Harper vs. Aaron Judge – Who You Got?
Bryce Harper became a sensation when he was 16 years old, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He forewent his final two years of high school (obtaining his GED) to enroll in junior college, making him draft eligible at the age of 18. He was selected 1/1 in the 2010 draft by the Washington…
In Boston, Brock Holt Is A Legend On and Off The Field
In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been nearly 21,000 players. Of those, 278 are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (which will increase to 283 this coming weekend), and scores more currently playing will be there some day. That leaves many, many players who have come and gone;…
40 Years After the “Rick Camp Game”
July 4th marked the 40th anniversary of what has colloquially become known as the “Rick Camp Game.” But, as you will see, it was a whole lot more than that. As is typical for a 4th of July game, this battle between the visiting New York Mets and the hometown Atlanta Braves, was scheduled to…
Let’s Give Some Love To The Career of Gary Sheffield
I played first base from the time I first held a mitt until my freshman year of college. And in all those years, there was never a time when I was holding a runner on first and a left-handed batter came to the plate, that I didn’t get just a little bit nervous. Less than…
The Savannah Bananas Are Something Totally Different
The Savannah Bananas are not for everyone. The Savannah Bananas are for everyone. Of course there is an inherent contradiction in those two statements, but they remain true. For certain baseball die-hards, those who lament the “Manfred Man” and the pitch clock and the ban on shifts, they will not like Banana Ball. But what…
In Celebration of Carlos Delgado’s Career
Over a 17-year career, former Toronto Blue Jay, Florida Marlin, and New York Met Carlos Delgado slashed .280/.383/.546/.929, which totals a 138 OPS+. Over those years, he won three Silver Slugger awards, was named to two All-Star teams* and was in the Top-10 in MVP voting four times. *In retrospect, only two is a crime.…