Search the Community

The Washington Nationals' webpage Season opener, 9-7 in 10 innings. Amazingly, the score after regulation was 5-5 - that is a tense tenth inning. A classic Earl Weaver game: "pitching, defense, and 3-run homers." Look: 1) The Nats struck out *18* batters today, and gave up only 3 walks. 2) Error-free the entire game. 3) Anthony Rendon hit a 3-run homer. Strasburg fanned 10, and his BAA (batting average against) was .238. It's remarkable that his ERA after this game is 6.00. We've got to watch giving up the long ball. Box Score on cnn.com

Wow, look at this picture: <--- I'd tell you who they were, but if you don't know, you don't deserve to know. I won't mention this one, but at least be aware that it exists:

"The Man They Love To Hate: Why Is It So Easy To Dislike Bryce Harper?" by Tom Verducci on si.com I have not read this article yet, and I don't consider myself to be a rabid Nats fan, but it's a very good question: Why *is* it so easy to dislike Bryce Harper? From what (little) I've seen, I think he's perfectly likable, or at least likable enough. What's the problem?

Sadly, Tom Seaver has dementia. Tom Terrific, the Greatest Met ever, star pitcher of the '69 World Champion Mets, who surprised all of baseball with one of the most amazing upsets of all time, beating the Powerful Orioles in the '69 World Series, Seaver is usually described as one of the all time great pitchers in baseball. Yeah...so I was a Yankees fan growing up...but as the '69 Mets taught us--"Ya gotta believe"

Cant help it folks. I'm a Yankee fan but I gotta get behind the Mets here. Finally looks like they got a good team. Until Wright comes back and spoils it of course.

This Sports Illustrated article emphasizes the point I was trying to make above: Apr 6, 1992 - "Who's on Third?" by Tim Kurkjian on si.com

Skip directly to Part 1 Bottom of the 9th In the Preambulum, I made a bold proclamation: I said I was going to all-but prove to you that Brooks Robinson was the greatest defensive player ever to play baseball, at any position. My attempt to do so was to use the 1970 World Series - the thing that everyone remembers - to demonstrate just how great Robinson was. As of right now, a certain percentage of readers probably think I did a pretty decent job, while another group probably thinks I didn't prove anything - okay, the guy had a great World Series ... so what? That doesn't make him "the greatest defensive player of all-time, you hyperbolic fan-boy!" I also mentioned Aristotle's recipe for persuasion, translated to Yogi Berrish: "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and then tell 'em what you just told 'em." I have now written the first long-form piece of my entire life, spending dozens-upon-dozens of hours methodically attempting to convey to you the second part of that triptych. What I'm going to do right now is tell you what I just told you, but after five games of tossing you slow, hanging curveballs, it's now time for me to reach back, give it everything I've got, and deliver the heat, on this, my final pitch. I suspect I'll be the first person ever to say this, but I'm going to come right out and say it: Brooks Robinson had a sub-par defensive World Series, and all those "miraculous plays" you just saw were things he did as a matter of course. The difference between this World Series, and Robinson's 23-years playing 3rd base can be summed up by two things: 1) this was the first time he ever got true, national attention for something he did for his entire career, and 2) he had an offensive World Series that would have made Babe Ruth proud. *That* is why this is known as "The Brooks Robinson Series." Robinson had a .958 fielding percentage in this World Series, which for most people would have been excellent: Pie Traynor had a career fielding percentage of .947, and Mike Schmidt had a career fielding percentage of .951 - this would have been an outstanding five games for either of those two; for Robinson? It was below his usual standards. Robinson had a relatively high number of Chances-per-Game in this Series - more than his career average, but let's take a look at the 16 consecutive years in which he won his Gold Gloves (yes, he made all sorts of spectacular plays over that 16-year span, just like he did in this World Series - there was nothing new there): 1960 - .977 1961 - .972 1962 - .979 1963 - .976 1964 - .972 1965 - .967 1966 - .976 1967 - .980 1968 - .970 1969 - .976 1970 - .966 1971 - .968 1972 - .977 1973 - .970 1974 - .967 1975 - .979 Please look closely. In his *worst* year out of those 16 - ironically, 1970 - his season fielding percentage was .966: notably higher than his fielding percentage in this World Series. From 1955 through 1977 - 23 years - his career-average fielding percentage was .971. Brooks Robinson made 45% more Errors per Chance in this World Series than he averaged throughout his career - and this includes seasons when he was both 18- and 40-years-old. Not only that, but he got a chance to field only two bunts during the five games - one of which he let roll for a base hit, which he almost never did - and fielding bunts was one of his preternatural skills. He didn't tag a single runner, he had only one force-out on a double-play ball, and he could have easily been charged with a second error on Tommy Helms' infield single in Game 4. Robinson played in 9 post-season series, and this one ranks #7 in fielding percentage: 1966 WS - 1.000 1969 ALCS - 1.000 1969 WS - 1.000 1970 ALCS - 1.000 1970 WS - .958 1971 ALCS - 1.000 1971 WS - .920 1973 ALCS - .941 1974 ALCS - 1.000 Total - .972, just slightly higher than his career average. That one, seemingly innocuous, throw in Game 1, which was about three-inches too high, was so out-of-character for Robinson that it skewed his entire World Series down in terms of fielding percentage. The spectacular plays? He made those routinely - he made them *all the time* - they were not spectacular plays for Robinson, they were completely ordinary; it was his slightly errant throw that was the oddity. You've been groomed, over the decades, into thinking that Robinson had some sort of statistical anomaly in the 1970 World Series, but the numbers and films reveal otherwise: Robinson had a below-average World Series in terms of defense. In terms of offense? He was a tour-de-force (with due respect to Paul Blair, Lee May, and several others), and he pulled it off in front of the national eye. In 1970, left-handed pitchers Dave McNally (I have a friend who calls him "Dave McLucky") and Mike Cuellar each won 24 games. Both pitchers tended to throw sinking curves, low-and-inside to the 3rd-base side of home plate, forcing batters to hit ground balls to Brooks Robinson. In 1969, Mike Cuellar won 23 games with these slow, loping curveballs and screwballs, and he won the Cy Young Award: In 1971, the Orioles had 4 20-game winners. These pitchers' games - with the exception of the fantastic Jim Palmer - were molded to tempt hitters to direct the ball towards third base and shortstop (even Pat Dobson - formerly a power pitcher - had recently developed a slider with negligible lateral breakaway from right-handed batters, forcing ground balls to the left side of the infield). Regarding shortstop, In my analysis of Game 2, I referred you to a link which some of you may have glossed over. I need you to go there now, and really *read* it (here it is) - it will come very close to mathematically proving what type of range Robinson had, using Luis Aparicio as the constant, and different third basemen as the variable. Is it coincidence that during Robinson's tenure, the Orioles had two of the greatest defensive shortstops the game has ever known? Or was Robinson acting as a booster, rescuing both Belanger and Aparacio when they needed to go towards their right? The answer is pretty-well mapped out in the Aparicio analysis - please visit this link, read it carefully, and remember it well 2-3 paragraphs from now. In the crudest of terms, the baseball field can be broken into four quadrants: 1) the left-side of the infield 2) the right-side of the infield 3) the left side of the outfield, and 4) the right-side of the outfield. The Orioles were very fortunate to have Paul Blair in center-field, one of the greatest - if not *the* greatest - defensive center-fielder in history, because Brooks Robinson wasn't able to cover for the Orioles' outfielders. Likewise, how fortunate to have Davey Johnson at 2nd base, and the extremely underrated Boog Powell at 1st base - a man tailor-made to handle Robinson's bounce-throws to first, and who could stretch-catch as well as anyone I've ever seen, with his massive six-foot, five-inch frame - what a perfect combination this was. Back to the quadrants: In these terms, you could argue that Brooks Robinson was directly and indirectly responsible for fully 25% of the baseball field on defense, and he (with the help of two fantastic shortstops) changed the opponents' strategy, as he essentially removed that part of the field from consideration - the poor Reds had never experienced anything like this before, and even the best of scouting reports couldn't have prepared them for the hellish World Series they were forced to endure. Fifty years ago, there was scouting, but not advanced analytics dealing with shifts; yet somehow, Robinson was able - time-after-time - to be in the right spots, even when playing the line to protect against doubles, and the ball was often hit right to him - it's as if he had some type of sixth sense of where to be. Earlier on, I said that I loved Mike Schmidt, and I still do, but that was before I read this New York Times essay by baseball writer Tyler Kepner, which was published on Jan 25, 2018. In the article, Schmidt - who is inexplicably called "the greatest third baseman in major league history" - is quoted by Kepner as follows: "Don't let the hot corner concept fool you," Mike Schmidt, the greatest third baseman in major league history, said by phone on Thursday. "The third baseman's got his own little corner to protect, some down-the-line pop-ups and a couple of bunt plays here and there, but for the most part, a third baseman can go an entire game and never see any defensive action at all. The shortstop's got to be all over the place on the field. If you play shortstop, you can play anywhere on the field. Going from short to third, it's a walk in the park." It's a 3 AM walk in Central Park. Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Kepner need to be mindful that airline pilots can sit in the cockpit and play Scrabble while the plane flies itself on autopilot (until they're forced to land in the Hudson River); that policemen spend 99% of their time on patrol driving around, writing traffic tickets, responding to minor calls, and drinking coffee trying to stay awake while they're writing out an entire library's-worth of paperwork (and the other 1% making split-second, life-or-death decisions about whether someone needs to be saved, or killed, while the policeman's would-be executioner has planned out their malevolent course of action for days if not weeks); that soldiers overseas spend their days bored to tears in the desert, wiping sand off their burned, chafed skin (until a suicide bomb hidden in a vest comes walking their way in the form of an elderly lady seeking help). Have another look at the post-game interviews made by Tony Kubek after Game 5 - note in particular his interview with eight-time Gold Glove Award-winning shortstop, Mark Belanger - I only wish Belanger was still around so we could ask him what he thinks of Kepner's questionable descriptor (in an otherwise fine article), and Schmidt's humble and self-deprecating, but ultimately misguided, comments. And remember that over the course of the five-game, 1970 World Series, Brooks Robinson probably touched the baseball for less than 30-seconds, total. There's one more thing I can't reconcile about a third baseman 'going an entire game and never seeing any defensive action at all' - this doesn't mesh with the fact that in 23 seasons, Robinson played 2870 games at 3rd base, and had 9165 Chances - that averages out to over 3.1 chances per game. I apologize to my readers for bombarding them with the endless examples from the World Series, but hopefully it was a fun journey down memory lane, and it was the only means I had to demonstrate the greatness of Brooks Robinson - who is now 80-years old, and whose fans are, at this point, mostly deceased. I needed to show you extended examples of jaw-dropping footage from Robinson's five-game-long, third-base ballet in 1970, and then - and only then - remind you that this was nothing out of the ordinary, and that it went on for 23 years. How old were you 23 years ago, and what were you doing then? That's how long this sustained level of excellence lasted. Robinson won his final Gold Glove in 1975; the photograph up at the top is in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and was taken by photographer Walter Kelleher, twelve years before this World Series - in 1958. To those who say, "Sure, great defense, but barely above-average offense," Brooks Robinson had more hits than anyone in the entire American League during the 1960s. Really. Look it up if you don't believe me. Robinson had more hits during the 1960s than Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ernie Banks, Al Kaline, Carl Yastrzemski, Frank Robinson, and Harmon Killebrew - and Robinson won a Gold Glove every single year during the 1960s, as well as being the AL MVP (1964) and All-Star MVP (1966). Were Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, or Ted Williams a Top 5 defensive player for an entire decade? If you value defense as much as offense, then Brooks Robinson was one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the sport - assuming you believe defense is equal to offense, I'll go so far as to say that Robinson was one of the Top 10 greatest baseball players in the history of the sport - how could he not be? His defense was better than Hank Aaron's offense, and his offense was better than Hank Aaron's defense. How could anyone not rate him higher than Sandy Koufax, who only had four dominant seasons, and contributed nothing on offense? If, one day in the future, defense is considered equal to offense, I'd like to make the immodest proposal that Brooks Robinson may have been the greatest baseball player ever to live. I can't take anything away from Babe Ruth's pitching records - coupled with his hitting, they're just absurd - but if you accept that Robinson was the greatest defensive player ever, can you name me five other players who have such a combination of defense and offense? Willie Mays, maybe? Who else? Robinson was not a truly great hitter - and he'll say exactly the same thing - but he was as good at offense as the all-time greats were at defense. He was - he just was. If Bill Russell in basketball, why not Brooks Robinson in baseball? Allow me to end this with some quotes about Brooks Robinson from his peers: "He was the best defensive player at any position. I used to stand in the outfield like a fan, and watch him make play-after-play. I used to think: 'WOW! I can't believe this!'" - Frank Robinson "I will become a left-handed hitter to keep the ball away from that guy." - Johnny Bench (NB - The definition of cruelty) "We kind of laughed at the fuss everyone made - we'd seen him make those kinds of plays for years." - Dick Hall "He charged everything. He reacted as the ball was coming off the bat, sometimes as it was coming to the bat!" - George Brett "He could throw his glove out there, and it would start ten double plays." - Sparky Anderson "If we had known he wanted a new car that badly, we all would have chipped in and bought him one." - Johnny Bench, on Robinson winning the 1970 World Series MVP Award "He plays third base like he came down from a higher league." - Umpire Ed Hurley (1955) "Brooks Robinson belongs in a higher league." - Pete Rose "Brooks never asked anyone to name a candy bar after him; in Baltimore, people named their kids after him." - Sportswriter Gordon Beard From John Eisenberg on baltimoresun.com, quoting catcher Elrod Hendricks, a rookie just up from the Mexican league, witnessing Robinson in 1968: "Early in the game, Oakland's fleet Bert Campaneris pushed a bunt between the mound and third as a runner on first sprinted for second": "Where I'd come from, that was a hit. Brooks was on it instantly, and without even looking, threw to second for a force. Then, there was a throw to first, double play, inning over, in half a second. I was sitting in the bullpen and my mouth fell open. I went, 'You've got to be kidding me! I don't believe what I just saw!'" - Elrod Hendricks "I once saw Robinson and crew turn a bunt into a double play. They practiced a play where Belanger would cover third as Robinson charged and threw to him for the force. Belanger then threw to first for the double play. I swear I saw this, probably in 1970 or 1971." - Baseball Fan Mike Hummel "Before every pitch for years and years, he was on his toes, ready to move, instantly alert. He always got ready as if he knew the ball was coming to him. Whenever a new guy would join the bullpen, he'd watch Brooks for a game or two and say, 'Holy cow! He's as good as they say!' We'd say, 'Just watch him. He treats every pitch like there are two outs in the ninth.' - Dick Hall "I used to collect baseball autographs in the '80s and '90s and would sometimes go to the Negro League reunions and ask the player to compare certain guys from the Negro League to guys from the MLB. They almost always ranked the Negro League players (Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Ray Dandridge, Buck Leonard, etc.) above guys from the MLB. But when it came to Brooks Robinson, they almost unanimously conceded that there was no one in the Negro Leagues as good defensively as Robinson. That was a pretty strong testament to how good Brooks really was." - Baseball Fan and Autograph Collector Matthew Berkowitz "He was the best third baseman I ever saw or played with. The guy made exceptional plays every day. He made them so often you didn't get excited about it, because you came to expect them. I'm not talking about good plays. I'm talking about exceptional plays." - Frank Robinson "I'd like to be like Brooks, the guy who never said no to nobody, the ones that everybody loves because they deserve to be loved, those are my heroes." - Manager Earl Weaver, on why he tore-up his written speech, cried, and ad-libbed on "Brooks Robinson Day" in Baltimore "In, Out of Uniform, the Epitome of Grace" - Thomas Boswell, 1983 <--- You need to read this, because Thomas Boswell is still active, and is one of the foremost baseball experts in the world. Finally, from legendary sportscaster Dick Enberg, who left us in Dec, 2017, during his induction speech into the Baseball Hall of Fame: "I loved acknowledging the subtle arrogance of Hall of Famer Rod Carew's drag bunt. The sleight-of-hand of Brooks Robinson magically reducing a double into 5-3 putouts. The towering arc of a Ted Williams monster shot deposited in the bleachers high. The classic confrontation of the best hitter against the best pitcher, and the immaculately executed bullet of a double play." - Dick Enberg One day, Major League Baseball will make available films of numerous games, instead of the select few that are available now - hopefully they'll be colorized and digitized. Then, and perhaps only then, will people see just how immortal Brooks Robinson truly was, day in, day out, for 23 breathtaking years. and that there are things which simply cannot be derived from a stat sheet. Then, and only then, will everyone realize that there has never been, and can never be, another Brooks Robinson. This is probably the only long piece I'll ever write in my lifetime, and I've left my blood and guts all over it. Even if you don't agree with its basic premise, please at least be aware of this: "Baseball Great Brooks Robinson Sells Multi-Million Dollar Norman Rockwell for Charity." Watch also this Heritage video about Robinson donating 100% of the proceeds of his memorabilia auction to charity. To Mr. Robinson, should you ever see this, and wish to thank me: You already thanked me, fifty years ago. I respectfully ask Rawlings Corporation to consider renaming the "Rawlings Gold Glove Award," the "Rawlings Brooks Robinson Gold Glove Award."

Happy 85th birthday to one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived, if not *the* greatest: Willie Mays!

Ted Williams is the only person who can claim - along with Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb - to be the greatest hitter who ever lived. Here are some statistics which are so mind-boggling that they simply do not compute: * Williams had a lifetime batting average of .344 - the highest of any player with more than 302 home runs. * Williams had 521 home runs. * Williams missed 3 seasons in the prime of his career due to WWII. The three years before, he batted .344, .406 and .356; the three years after, he batted .342, .343, and .369. * Missing those 3 seasons cost him at least 100 home runs - he would have hit 625 for his career. * Even more remarkable than the above? His *career* on-base percentage was .482. That is not a misprint. * Perhaps even *more* remarkable? Not once did he ever have 200 hits in a season. See for yourselves. How can that be? I guess it's because he walked so much (he had 20-12 vision). There are *three people* on that list of *525-different 200-hit seasons* named Williams, none of which is Ted. * If Williams had played 20 years earlier, I might be able to comprehend these numbers, but he was a *generation* after the big-numbers hitters of the 1920s. * His batting average, his home runs, and his walks - in my mind - make him a perfectly legitimate choice for the moniker: Greatest Hitter of All-Time.

I cannot stop laughing at this video. Mario Elie jaws at Danny Ainge, and Ainge (a major-league infielder) pegs Elie with an out-of-bounds pass.

I remember reading about this as a kid, and just did a search on it - the internet is amazing.

I'm taking this moment to tip my cap to Milt Pappas, surely one of the most underrated, underappreciated players in MLB history. Pappas is best-known for "the main player in the Frank Robinson trade." That's fine, but why did the Reds want him so badly? Look at his stats: a career record of 209-164. 13 seasons with at least 12 Wins, a 3-time All-Star, and the NL leader in shutouts in 1971. This gentleman is worth remembering; not as fodder for Frank Robinson, but as a winner of 54% of his games over the course of his 17-year Major-League career - he won between 12-17 games in 13-out-of-14 seasons - how many players in Major-League history can say they won 12+ games in 13-out-of-14 seasons? Probably less than 50. In a sport where 10% means a lot, Milton Steven Pappas was well-above average as a Major-League pitcher - easily in the top-half of all pitchers measured over the course of history. Don't ever forget: If it wasn't for Milt Pappas, the Orioles might not have gotten Frank Robinson (think about that for a moment).

In doing research for the 1970 World Series, I learned that Emmett Ashford was the first black umpire ever to officiate a World Series Game (I've updated my post about Game One of the World Series to reflect this fact.) Not only that, Ashford was the first black umpire ever to be in Major League Baseball - working from 1966-1970. Feb 7, 2011 - "Ashford Broke Barriers behind a Mask" by Danny Wild on milb.com (note milb, not mlb) Incredibly, Chuck Meriwether became the second black umpire in the American League - in 1993. In 2008, the donrockwell.com community was three-years old, and Barack Obama won the Presidential election. That same year, a pair of black umpires would work a major-league game for the first time. When I was younger, I thought affirmative action was demeaning and unnecessary; I could not have been more wrong. How is Emmett Ashford *not* in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Oct 10, 2009 - "Chapman Students Want Black Ump in Hall of Fame" by Doug Irving on ocregister.com

There are several nice pieces about readers favorite ballplayers. Mine was "the Mick". Mickey Mantle. I know I share that memory and perspective with many many of a certain age and time. In fact Bob Costas who gave the "official" eulogy at Mickey Mantles funeral used these words: You can read the eulogy here You can see it on video here: In the late 1950's and early '60's television had been around for a while but the volume of sports broadcasting was limited, sports broadcasts were simply rare, but living in the New York area we got to watch the Yankees and we got to watch the Mick. Nobody ever filled out a uniform so well, took a more powerful swing, and crushed more tape measure home runs than the Mick. At those moments when the meat of the bat hit the center of the pitch it was bye bye baseball!!! He looked damn good doing it: the All American boy. Mickey played at a time with phenomenal outfielders: Mantle and Mays in Center Field. Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, and Al Kaline in Right Field; all of them were sublime outfielders who were awesome 5 skill players. They are the ones that come to my mind. You might suggest others. As the 60's evolved and more baseball hit TV one got to watch more of them. Each was spectacular. Mantle always looked the best doing the same things as all of them. He was naturally strong and incredibly fast. He was timed at 3.1 seconds batting lefty from Home to First, still considered the fastest time in baseball. He did that with injured legs. And he crushed home runs. Crushed them. If you search on the web for "who hit the longest home runs" you'll find two articles referencing 10 long home runs. One is exclusively about Mantle's 10 longest. The other is a Sports Illustrated article featuring long home runs by a variety of players. Mantle is first on that list...and they reference two of his mighty shots. He could club them. Mantle's career was annually short circuited by injuries. He was injured in his rookie year in '51, and it is suggested he played with a torn ACL ever after. He was timed at 3.1 seconds to first after that injury and other leg injuries. Recently Mickey Mantle came to mind for me on several fronts. Albert Pujols just passed Mickey on the all time home run list. Pujols now has 540. Mantle has 536. Pujols is 16th on the list of all time home runs and Mantle now 17th. Above them are at least 6 cheaters who are tied to steroids. On a list of who hit the most home runs per at bat. Mantle is tied for 15 at one every 15.11 at bats. Above him are ranked at least 5 known steroid cheaters. Besides Pujols passing Mick, a short while before my old town classmates had a reunion. It was fun and relaxing. Among the "jockish" guys I heard more than once, phrases such as this" "crushing the ball like the Mick". One guy had posted a nice FB picture of him hitting a golf shot. Responses included...."you look like the Mick". Mickey Mantle and making the perfect swing go hand in hand and is deeply imprinted in a generation's mind. Mickey Mantle was beyond sports. He was truly mythological. I suppose he ranks with the first TV Superman; The Adventures of Superman. It ran from '52 to '58. That roughly coincides with the start of Mantle's and Mays' careers. What wonderful synchrocity At the start of that show Superman would be described: Faster than a speeding bullet (I reference 3.1 seconds to first one more time ). More powerful than a locomotive (I think of that as more of a football basketball analogy: Jim Brown, Earl Campbell in football and Charles Barkley come to mind). Able to Leap tall buildings in a single bound (Mickey Mantle could put baseballs at the top or over huge stadiums.) Mickey Mantle was the living sports analogy to Superman. Now we learned way later in life that Mick was a drunk, a philanderer and womanizer, he was not great with his wife and kids, and had flaws up the kazoo. Regardless as a child and a teenager Mick was a one and only idol...for myself and I suppose millions. Here is to you Mick. Take another swing at a pitch....the greatest swing in the history of baseball.

Who has a better career W-L record, Mike Mussina, or Tom Seaver? <--- These are links to their stats. Surprise! Every pitcher who has over 100 more victories than losses is in the Hall of Fame ... except for Mike Mussina. I know, I know: "Most overrated statistic there is." I don't buy it. Expect Moose to be inducted this decade, preferably with an Orioles' cap. We miss you, Mike. Even here in Northern Virginia, we miss you. New York is a bigger audience, but between Baltimore and Atlanta, you were *it*.

You might be right; unfortunately, they weren't yet "my Orioles," as I was only 5 years old - the only reason I wish I was 5-10 years older than I am is so I could remember the 1966 World Series. Orioles by decade: 1966: World Series Champions with Frank Robinson 1970: World Series Champions with Brooks Robinson 1983: World Series Champions with Cal Ripken, Jr. 1990s: Peter Angelos 2000s: Peter Angelos 2010s: Peter Angelos I wish I could live to see a cage match fought to the death between Dan Snyder and Peter Angelos, the only rule being that both of them have to die before it's over. Have any two people done more to damage the morale of their respective cities? Maybe Bob Irsay, but not too many others that I can think of. Think about Jack Kent Cooke, Ted Leonsis, and the Lerner family and how much they're loved by Washingtonians. Hell, even Abe Pollin, despite being a terribly unsuccessful owner, was at least loved and respected (let's not forget he's largely responsible for Verizon Center). Sports-team owners have three functions: 1) Hire experts 2) Write checks 3) Stay out of the way Snyder and Angelos are micro-managing control freaks, and don't have the strength of character to remove their personalities from their failed endeavors. Sorry to hijack this thread; I just got immensely pissed off thinking about how these two *ruined* two of the greatest franchises in the history of American sports.

I wish I'd gotten a chance to see the great Mariano Rivera more than I had - for me living in the DC Suburbs, he was always "that guy up in New York who never loses." Some people that have really studied his cutter say it may be the single greatest pitch in MLB history.

I suspect many of our readers have never heard of Zach Britton, despite him pitching up I-95 for the Baltimore Orioles. An equal number of readers may be wondering why I'm starting a thread on him. As it turns out, Britton is the owner of some fairly impressive feats: * He was an All-Star in 2015 and 2016 * He was the American League Saves leader in 2016, with 47. Upping the "Impressive" factor ... * He is the all-time American League record holder in Consecutive Saves with 60. Apr 15, 2017 - "Britton Ties AL Record with 54 Consecutive Saves" by Dhiren Mahiben on mlb.com * He is the only American League pitcher to hit a home run this decade. [Oops, I'm wrong about that]: Jul 21, 2015 - "Nathan Karns Hits First HR by American League Pitcher in 4 Years" by Eric Stephen on sbnation.com

Albert Pujols might be one of those all time greats whose historical stats might take a "hit": specifically his batting average. Just checked him out. As of last year his career average is .302. For the Cards during his first 11 years his average was .320. Over the last 7 years for the Angels his average is .260 and it keeps trending downward. He is one of those few players over time that I like to watch from time to time. During his first decade his hitting exploits rivaled that of the greatest players in history. Injuries, age, and advanced defensive alignments are combining to turn him into one of the most overpaid, under performing players in the game. (Nevertheless I still like watching him) Check back on this in a year or two. Pujols might drop out of that impressive group of players.

Great article on Brett chasing .400

Only once in MLB history have both teams thrown nine-inning no-hitters: On May 2, 1917, Fred Tony and Hippo Vaughn dueled through 9 entire innings, with both pitchers completing the regulation game with no-hitters, and the score locked at 0-0. In the 10th inning, Vaughn threw a single, and then an error put runners on 2nd and 3rd. At-bat was none other than Jim Thorpe, who hit the ball back to Vaughn, and the play at home was botched (Vaughn didn't want to throw to 1st because "Thorpe ran like a racehorse.")

"Sandy Koufax" is the answer to one of my favorite baseball trivia questions: "Which Hall of Fame pitcher had a career record of 36-40 exactly halfway through his career?" Of note: Koufax's 1965 World Series is the one where he took off Game 1 for Yom Kippur; yet he still managed to start 3 games, and win Game 7 on 2 days rest. In 1966, in his last regular-season game, he threw over 200 pitches. I take no pride whatsoever that he lost the last game he ever pitched to the 1966 Orioles. None whatsoever. Nope. No sir. And the thing is ... I'm being truthful here because he only gave up *1* earned run - Willie Davis made 3 errors in 2 plays by losing pop flies in the sun, and a 20-year-old Jim Palmer pitched a 4-hit shutout.

"Willie McCovey: Giants Legend Dies at 80" by Steve Kroner and John Shea on sfchronicle.com

A little backstory: When a post asked which MLB baseball players approached a .400 batting average since Ted Williams last accomplished that...I thought of George Brett. Brett did get close, finishing one magic season with a .390 BA. Brett of course was a great baseball player, a hall of famer and fun to watch and follow. Brett played for the Kansas City Royals during their best period from the mid 1970's to the mid 1980's when they were one of the best teams in the major leagues, played in many playoffs, and made and won a World Series. But wait...While Brett was the star of the team he had an excellent high quality teammate in a fellow named Willie Wilson. Do any of you recall him? Willie Wilson was the fastest player in MLB during those years, made some all star teams and had a long successful baseball career, primarily with the Royals. Before Willie Wilson made it to MLB he was one of the all-time storied athletes in New Jersey high school team sports. I knew of him because he competed in the little conference of teams my town played in: The Suburban Conference in Northern NJ. The members of this conference were smaller schools in Northern NJ. The high school classes probably had between 150-300 students each. These were small, suburban schools. They were not known as incubators for super star athletes. Willie Wilson was the exception. For two years running he was All-State in both football and baseball and was also a tremendous basketball player. He dominated that conference, let alone was a super star in the state from among high school athletes. Reportedly he was the most recruited high school football player in the nation that year. Wilson spurned college football, was a high draft choice with MLB and within a few years made it to the big leagues for a long career. Go back to Willie Wilson's high school career and you can find the following video of his football highlights. Catch the following video. Its precious. Do you recall Thanksgiving day football games with your town's biggest rival??? Not only is the video precious but the comments take you back to those hallowed high school days........

"How Babe Ruth Became the Model for the Celebrity Athlete" by Jane Leavy on si.com