Yesterday, it was mentioned that Clayton Kershaw has never had Tommy John Surgery after seventeen years in the league. It was my opinion that this occurred because Clayton made a conscious decision not to throw with maximum effort on each pitch. There was a time early in his career when he hit 97 to 98 MPH. In 2015, his average fastball velocity was 94.3 MP, and now it is right…
Many fans around today know little of the game of baseball’s history. Its past is filled with colorful characters. Some performed at levels today’s stars will never reach, especially on the pitching side of the game. It is a safe bet that no one ever approaches 511 wins. I would say 300 is out of reach in today’s game. Only two players in the history of the game have achieved…
The election for the Hall of Fame was held last week. Scott Rolen was the only player getting the requisite 75 or more percent of the vote. Todd Helton, former Rockies’ first baseman, fell short by 11 votes. There were some who questioned Rolen’s Hall worthiness. Today’s voters value players much differently than in the past. Had he played in the 1960s, Fred McGriff most likely would have gone in…
Within the past few days, 81-year-old Pete Rose wrote this letter to Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred: I became a baseball fan in 1963 when I was nine years old (FYI: I will be 69 next week!). I grew up near Dayton, Ohio (about 50 miles North of Cincinnati), and my father was a Cincinnati Reds fan. Therefore, I went to quite a few Reds games every year. “Charlie Hustle” (aka…
As the season passes the halfway point, Miguel Vargas is poised to make his debut in LA sometime in the next 30 days (that’s my opinion, not a fact). Miguel has made a lot of progress this year defensively. I think he can play an “above-average” Third-Base RIGHT ABOUT NOW, but he is blocked by Justin Turner and Max Muncy. So, he has recently taken up playing LF and while…
The other day I did not have a whole lot to do after I finished packing my bags for my trip to California, so I watched Eight Men Out again. The movie is about the Black Sox scandal. And I knew well before I had ever seen this film about the 8 players banned for life by Judge Landis for conspiring to throw the series. What I learned is that…
Earlier in the week I had a dialogue with MT and Bluto regarding the lack of confidence I have in RVS as a competent MLB Team Batting Coach. I have no doubts that his methodology can and does work for some, but each batter is different and needs a different approach. At least that is the way it used to be. I concede that the LAD method of hitting is…
Last week, Joc Pederson left the Dodgers as a free agent to join the Chicago Cubs, and prior to that, Kike’ Hernandez signed with the Red Sox. Both were very popular with Dodger fans. Kike’, the Banana Man to many, and a versatile player, had enthralled fans with his energy, and his sometimes flair for the dramatic. His best day as a Dodger was in game 5 of the 2017…
People are offended by team names and no matter what you name them, there is probably another group that is offended. I guess that right about now, you name a team based upon how few people you can offend. How about we name the Washington Football Team the Washington Generics? Oh wait, that would probably offend the Atlanta Brand Names.
I am old school. Never have claimed to be anything but. Baseball has been a part of my life, a big part, for over 60 years. LA was a minor league city until the Dodgers moved here in 1958. We played the game anywhere we could, usually on our school playground. Some played little league, others did not. I never really had any coaching until I played little league. Then…