Category Archives: Baseball

VEECK AS IN WRECK.

VEECK AS IN WRECK. Nick gave me Bill Veeck’s autobiography VEECK AS IN WRECK with the story of Eddie Gaedel. At the end of the first chapter, Veeck lists some of his accomplishments in baseball. For example, from 1947 to … Continue reading

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THE MIDGET WHO BATTED IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES.

THE MIDGET WHO BATTED IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES. Bill Veeck is best known for arranging for a midget to come to bat in a major league game. For those of you who aren’t baseball fans, you should know that the … Continue reading

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WHY NOT LET FIELDERS BLOCK EVERY BASE?

WHY NOT LET FIELDERS BLOCK EVERY BASE? In one of his annual BASEBALL ABSTRACTS, Bill James urged that catchers not be allowed to block the plate. He pointed out that blocking the plate was not logical. After all, players are … Continue reading

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REDUCING INJURIES AT HOME PLATE.

REDUCING INJURIES AT HOME PLATE. Buster Posey, Sn Francisco’s young star catcher, is out for the year with a broken leg. It happened while he was blocking the plate, as catchers are expected to do. (For those of you are … Continue reading

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HU’S ON FIRST.

HU’S ON FIRST. Chin-lung Hu is a utility infielder who has been playing in the majors from time to time from 2007 with the Dodgers and this year with the Mets. Here are his stats from fangraphs. He has 190 … Continue reading

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ROOMS WITH “FLOW.”

ROOMS WITH “FLOW.” We discovered when we were finally moving from our starter house six years ago that new houses were being built to provide “flow.” (I don’t know whether this is still true after the financial events of the … Continue reading

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A PICKOFF PLAY AT THIRD BASE!

A PICKOFF PLAY A THIRD BASE! In a recent White Sox-Tampa Bay game, Joe Maddon, the Tampa manager (and a very good manager), tried a pickoff play at third base. I had never seen one before, and neither had the … Continue reading

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A PROPOSAL FOR A BASEBALL RULE CHANGE.

A PROPOSAL FOR A BASEBALL RULE CHANGE. Minnesota’s second baseman had his leg broken recently by a baserunner trying to break up a double play. Without question, what the baserunner did was legal and consistent with what baserunners do as … Continue reading

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THE PERSISTENCE OF THE HOME TEAM ADVANTAGE.

THE PERSISTENCE OF THE HOME TEAM ADVANTAGE. I have long thought that television and instant replays would have improved refereeing because fans and sportswriters and league officials are able to review the calls. In fact, I have wondered how extreme … Continue reading

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WHITE SOX IN BASEBALL, PACKERS IN FOOTBALL (COMMENT).

WHITE SOX IN BASEBALL, PACKERS IN FOOTBALL (COMMENT). Nick commented that he watched the the Packer victory over the Bears in a bar with a number of Bear fans who seemed to be puzzled that he was a fan of … Continue reading

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