Baseball Gameday

Right now I'm watching the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play the First Place Texas Rangers on MLB Game Day. This is a really cool little Macromedia Flash thingy.

Crap... Jeff Blum just homered on a line drive to right field in the top of the 5th off Rangers' pitcher Chan Ho Park... lucky it's only a solo shot... Texas 4 Tampa Bay 2... next three batters Crawford, Lugo, Huff are out on fly to right, SOS, ground to first...

Bottom of the 5th... Zambrabo pitching... Blalock [R] SOS after working count to 3/2 with three foul balls... Soriano [R] up... walks on 5 pitches... Fullmer [L] up... pick off attempt at 1B... called S... ball 1, outside high... foul... pick off attempt at 1B... ball 2 outside, high... ball 3, outside high... ball 4, outside, low... Soraino to 2B, Fullmer to 1B... Texiera [L] up... ball 1, outside... ball in play... GIDP... 3 AWAY...

Score: Texas 4 Tampa Bay 2

WOW, this is so cool... there is a screen capture in the extended entry if you want to see all the stuff that is on the screen.

Just look at all the information... there's stuff that you mouseover for more information too... mouse the batter and it displays in text what the batter has done in his ABs... mouse the pitcher and it tells you his stats for the game #pitches, S, B, SO, BB etc... if you have the sound on the radio going it would be almost as good as being at the ballpark!... some parts are better... cheaper beer... no line at restroom... farting / belching as you please... cussing and raising hell... pissing off the porch in your backyard... play by play announcers... the pleasure of using your mind to imagine what the game would look like at the ballpark or watching on TV... plus the advantage of all the graphics and statistics you refer to at a glance...

Too friggen cool!!!!

If I didn't have to do some other stuff tonight, I'd do play by play for you... I'll figure out a way to do that one night when I can put everything else aside...

Maybe I can do play by play when the Yankees play at Arlington or when Texas plays at Houston...

Maybe I'll go to the game in Houston when Roger Clemens is pitching... that would be sweet....

« You're cut off!

Greatest Hitters Ever Comment Party

I'm starting a comment party about baseball in general and the Greatest Hitters Ever!

I'll post date it to October 1 [just in time to start a Play-offs comment party] so it will stay at the top, under the last call party.

So, if you are a baseball fan, jump in and let's hear your 2cents on the topic at hand!!

Greatest Hitters Ever

Madfish Willie's Greatest Hitter Ever - #4 Stan Musial

Awards:
• 1943: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1946: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1948: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1999: Named to All-Century Team (OF)

After 22 years as a Cardinal, Stan Musial ranked at or near the top of Baseball's all-time lists in almost every batting category. The dead-armed Class C pitcher became a slugging outfielder who topped the .300 mark 17 times and won seven National League batting titles with his famed corkscrew stance and ringing line drives. A three-time MVP, he played in 24 All-Star Games. He was nicknamed "The Man" by Dodger fans for the havoc he wrought at Ebbets Field, and is still renowned for his skilled harmonica playing.

Did you know... ... that on May 2, 1954, Stan Musial hit a record five home runs in a doubleheader against the Giants, including two round-trippers off future Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm?

Here are his complete career statistics.

Here are his top 15 productive seasons according to the Madfish Willie Index:

Around The Horn...

Opening Day! WooHoo!!!

The real Opening Day where everybody plays, not the piece of shit exhibition baseball in Japan and Mexico and everywhere else! I have to say that all that other stuff really dilutes the impact and excitment of what used to be a special day every year. The Boys of Summer... enternally young... playing the game we love so much... one more time!

Kaz Matsui hits his first HR in the ML... in his first AB... leading off the game... on Opening Day. How many times has that ever been done? Wave the magic wand ---> This is only the second time in Major League history !

Bonds parks one and is one away from tying Willie Mays at 660 for #3 All Time Home Run list.

Randy Johnson is being weird because he thinks he is tipping his pitches. Damn... you throw the ball 100 MPH... just blaze away... they can't hit THAT heater even of they KNOW it's coming.

Todd Helton, my candidate for the Hitter's Triple Crown this year, went 4 for 4 in the Colorado Rockies opener! Who was the last Major Leaguer to hit for the Triple Crown, you ask? Carl Yaztremski, Boston Red Sox, 1968 !

In other Sports news:

The University of Connecticutt won both the Men's College Basketball Title & the Women's College Basketball Title this year. How many times has that ever happened? This is the first time ever !

The women's team just completed back-to-back-to-back championship seasons!

Greatest Hitters Ever

Madfish Willie's Greatest Hitter Ever - #5 Joe Dimaggio

Awards:
• 1939: American League Most Valuable Player
• 1941: American League Most Valuable Player
• 1947: American League Most Valuable Player
• 1999: Named to All-Century Team (OF)

Joe DiMaggio is remembered as one of the game's most graceful athletes — a "picture player" both at bat and in center field. Many rate his 56-consecutive-game hitting streak in 1941 as the top baseball feat of all time. "The Yankee Clipper" used an unusually wide stance in winning two batting championships and three MVP awards. In 13 seasons he amassed 361 homers, averaged 118 RBI annually and compiled a .325 lifetime batting mark. At Baseball's 1969 Centennial Celebration, he was named the game's greatest living player.

Did you know... ... that in 1933, eight years before his famed 56-game hitting streak, Joe DiMaggio fashioned a 61-game hitting streak with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League?

Here are his complete career statistics.

Here are his top 15 productive seasons according to the Madfish Willie Index:

Greatest Hitters Ever

Madfish Willie's Greatest Hitter Ever - #6 Rogers Hornsby

Awards:
• 1922: National League Triple Crown
• 1925: National League Triple Crown
• 1925: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1929: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1999: Named to All-Century Team (2B)

Perhaps the game's most consistent right-handed hitter, Rogers Hornsby captured seven batting titles — including six in a row — averaging better than .400 three times. A complete player whose passion for the game was shown both on and off the field, Hornsby's .424 mark in 1924 is a National League record for the 20th century and his career average of .359 is the highest ever in the National League. "The Rajah," a two-time MVP and Triple Crown winner, was the player-manager of the Cardinals' first World Championship team in 1926.

Did you know... that on September 13, 1931, Rogers Hornsby became the first big leaguer to connect for an extra-inning, pinch-hit grand slam, as the Cubs defeated the Braves in 11 innings, 11-7?

Here are his complete career statistics.

Here are his top 15 productive seasons according to the Madfish Willie Index:

Greatest Hitters Ever

Madfish Willie's Greatest Hitter Ever - #7 Barry Bonds

Awards:
• 1990: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1990: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1991: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1992: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1992: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1993: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1993: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1994: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1994 ESPY: Outstanding Baseball Performer
• 1994 ESPY: Male Athlete of the Year
• 1996: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1997: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1998: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 2001: National League Most Valuable Player
• 2002 ESPY: Moment of the Year
• 2002: National League Most Valuable Player
• 2002 ESPY: Outstanding Baseball Performer
• 2003: National League Most Valuable Player

Scouting Report

2003 Season
Though he again posted amazing numbers while winning his sixth National League MVP Award, it was a difficult season for Barry Bonds, who played most of the season knowing his father, Bobby, was dying of cancer. Bonds was on the bereavement list twice, including a second time when his father passed away on August 23. When he returned, Bonds openly talked about the tough times he was experiencing, saying he was having trouble sleeping. Bonds stayed overnight in a Phoenix hospital with a rapid heartbeat in early September.

Hitting
Although Bonds is approaching 40 years old, he has the bat speed of a man much younger. With his short, quick swing, he's still able to turn on inside pitches and drive them out of the park. As the years have progressed he's become an even more disciplined hitter, drawing an astonishing 523 walks the past three seasons. There was a time when Bonds' weakness was hitting against lefthanders, but that's no longer the case.

Baserunning & Defense
Bonds' days as a Gold Glove left fielder are over. He's bulked up over the years and has lost his agility and foot speed. However, he still can keep runners from taking the extra base with a quick release and intelligent positioning. He also cut his errors from the previous season from eight to two. Bonds no longer is an elite basestealer, but he was 7-for-7 last season, including the 500th of his career.

2004 Outlook
There seems no reason to believe Bonds can't continue his astounding pace, even though he'll turn 40 on July 24. He needs two homers to tie his godfather, Willie Mays, for third place on the all-time list. Bonds has to continue to remain patient at the plate; at times, it appeared he grew frustrated with the walks he constantly received, going into mini-slumps when teams did pitch to him.

Here are his complete career statistics.

Here are his top 15 productive seasons according to the Madfish Willie Index:

Greatest Hitters Ever

Madfish Willie's Greatest Hitter Ever - #8 Jimmie Foxx

Awards:
• 1932: American League Triple Crown
• 1932: American League Most Valuable Player
• 1933: American League Most Valuable Player
• 1933: American League Triple Crown
• 1938: American League Most Valuable Player

A fearsome power hitter whose strength earned him the moniker "The Beast," Jimmie Foxx was the anchor of an intimidating Philadelphia Athletics lineup that produced pennant winners from 1929 to 1931. The second batter in history to top 500 home runs, Foxx belted 30 or more homers in a record 12 consecutive seasons and drove in more than 100 runs 13 consecutive years, including a career-best 175 with Boston in 1938. He won back-to-back MVP awards in 1932 and 1933, capturing the Triple Crown the latter year.

Did you know... that Jimmie Foxx holds the record for most walks in a big league game with six on June 16, 1938?

Here are his complete career statistics.

Here are his top 15 productive seasons according to the Madfish Willie Index:

Greatest Hitters Ever

Madfish Willie's Greatest Hitter Ever - #9 Henry Aaron

Awards:
• 1957: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1958: National League Gold Glove at RF
• 1959: National League Gold Glove at RF
• 1960: National League Gold Glove at RF
• 1999: Named to All-Century Team (OF)

"Hammerin' Hank" Aaron earned his nickname by clubbing 755 roundtrippers over his 23-year career. Not only did he raise the bar for home runs, but he also established 12 other major league career records, including most games, at-bats, total bases and RBI. Aaron played the infield but gained recognition as an excellent outfielder, winning three Gold Glove awards. He earned National League Most Valuable Player honors in 1957, and appeared in a record 24 All-Star Games. A quiet and effective leader, Aaron is now an executive with the Braves.

Did you know ... that Hank Aaron, a former member of the Negro American League's Indianapolis Clowns, was the last Negro league player to also play in the major leagues?

Home Run Facts: Aaron and brother Tommie rank first in homers by siblings (768); he combined with Eddie Mathews to hit most homers as teammates (863); he and Mathews are the only teammates to hit 400 homers each as teammates (442 for Hank, 421 for Eddie); hit 385 in home parks, 370 on the road; hit 185 homers in Milwaukee County Stadium as a Brave, 10 as a Brewer; hit 190 homers in Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium; he hit exactly 400 solo homers (53%); 242 two-run homers (32%); 97 three-run homers (13%); 16 grand slams; hit two homers in a game 61 times (3rd, behind Babe Ruth and Willie Mays); hit three homers in a game once (6/21/1959); hit 14 extra-inning homers; one inside-the-park home run (1967); three pinch-hit home runs (1962, 1966, 1973); hit 534 homers off right-handed pitchers (71%); 221 homers off left-handed pitchers (29%); victimized 310 pitchers in 32 ballparks; hit three homers in the World Series and three more in the 1969 National League Championship Series; blasted two All-Star game home runs.

Here are his complete career statistics
~ Check out the career rankings at the bottom of the table! WOW!

Here are his top 15 productive seasons according to the Madfish Willie Index:
~ Hammering Hank was the model of consistancy... check out the rank grouping and the year after year of similar stats.

Greatest Hitters Ever

Madfish Willie's Greatest Hitter Ever - #10 Willie Mays

Awards:
• 1951: National League Rookie of the Year
• 1954: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1957: Gold Glove at CF
• 1958: National League Gold Glove at CF
• 1959: National League Gold Glove at CF
• 1960: National League Gold Glove at CF
• 1961: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1962: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1963: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1963: All-Star Game Most Valuable Player
• 1964: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1965: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1965: National League Most Valuable Player
• 1966: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1967: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1968: National League Gold Glove at OF
• 1968: All-Star Game Most Valuable Player
• 1999: Named to All-Century Team (OF)

"I never saw a fucking ball go out of a fucking ballpark so fucking fast in my fucking life." - Leo Durocher (1951)

"I don't make history. I catch fly balls."

Actually, Willie Mays did both. When Willie Mays joined the New York Giants in 1951, black players were still a rarity in the major leagues. Before Willie Mays, the typical baseball scout's report on a talented black player would mention the player's color first, his ability second. When scouts described young Willie Mays, they mentioned his remarkable skills first.

For 22 seasons, Mays astonished fans and fellow players with his hitting, his running and his unsurpassed fielding. As sportswriter Arthur Daley put it, he "could do everything and do it better than anyone else, (and) with a joyous grace." In the 1950s and '60s, fans couldn't get enough of Willie Mays. In the first flush of his fame and popularity, he would get up early to play stickball in the street with the worshipful children who gathered in front of his Harlem boarding house.

"Willie Mays and his glove. Where triples go to die." - Los Angeles Dodgers Executive Fresco Thompson

Fans argue to this day about which was the greatest of his many spectacular catches. One thing all baseball lovers agree on: Willie Mays was one of the most versatile, virtuosic players of all time.

Did you know... that Willie Mays was the on-deck batter when Bobby Thomson hit his famous pennant-winning home run, "The Shot Heard 'Round the World," on October 3, 1951?

Here are his complete career statistics

Here are his top 15 productive seasons according to the Madfish Willie Index:

Greatest Hitters Ever

Madfish Willie's Greatest Hitter Ever - #11 Mickey Mantle

Awards:
• 1956: American League Triple Crown
• 1956: American League Most Valuable Player
• 1957: American League Most Valuable Player
• 1962: American League Gold Glove at OF
• 1962: American League Most Valuable Player
• 1999: Named to All-Century Team (OF)

Mickey Mantle ranks among the leading home run hitters in baseball history. Mantle hit 536 home runs, as a switch hitter, in regular season play. He spent his entire major league career with the New York Yankees, from 1951 through 1968, and played center field for most of his career. Towards the end of his career, he played first base.

Mantle led the American League in home runs four times. He was named the most valuable player in the American League three times. Mantle hit 18 World Series home runs, which is probably a record that will never be broken. Unlike most sluggers, he had great speed. However, various leg injuries reduced Mantle's base running effectiveness during the 1960's.

Did you know... that Mickey Mantle was named after future Hall of Fame catcher Gordon "Mickey" Cochrane?

Here are his complete career statistics

Here are his top 15 productive seasons according to the Madfish Willie Index:

Baseball Quotes

Bob Uecker

• "Anybody with ability can play in the big leagues. But to be able to trick people year in and year out the way I did, I think that was a much greater feat."


• "If a guy hits .300 every year, what does he have to look forward to? I always tried to stay around .190, with three or four RBI. And I tried to get them all in September. That way I always had something to talk about during the winter."


• "In 1962 I was named Minor League Player of the Year. It was my second season in the Bigs."


• "I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $3,000. That bothered my dad at the time because he didn't have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up."


• "People don't know this but I helped the Cardinals win the pennant. I came down with hepatitis. The trainer injected me with it."


• "The biggest thrill a ballplayer can have is when your son takes after you. That happened when my Bobby was in his championship Little League game. He really showed me something. Struck out three times. Made an error that lost the game. Parents were throwing things at our car and swearing at us as we drove off. Gosh, I was proud."


• "I had slumps that lasted into the winter."


• "I led the league in 'Go get 'em next time.'"


• "I set records that will never be equaled. In fact, I hope 90% of them don't even get printed."


• "Career highlights? I had two. I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax and I got out of a rundown against the Mets."


• "When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes."
  
• "When I looked at the third base coach, he turned his back on me."


• "Wait until it stops rolling and pick it up." On how to catch a knuckleball.


• "I hit a grand slam off Ron Herbel and when his manager Herman Franks came out to get him, he was bringing Herbel's suitcase."


• "Sporting goods companies pay me not to endorse their products."


• "Baseball hasn't forgotten me. I go to a lot of Old-Timers games and I haven't lost a thing. I sit in the bullpen and let people throw things at me. Just like old times."

Baseball Quotes

Bob Uecker

• "Anybody with ability can play in the big leagues. But to be able to trick people year in and year out the way I did, I think that was a much greater feat."


• "If a guy hits .300 every year, what does he have to look forward to? I always tried to stay around .190, with three or four RBI. And I tried to get them all in September. That way I always had something to talk about during the winter."


• "In 1962 I was named Minor League Player of the Year. It was my second season in the Bigs."


• "I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $3,000. That bothered my dad at the time because he didn't have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up."


• "People don't know this but I helped the Cardinals win the pennant. I came down with hepatitis. The trainer injected me with it."


• "The biggest thrill a ballplayer can have is when your son takes after you. That happened when my Bobby was in his championship Little League game. He really showed me something. Struck out three times. Made an error that lost the game. Parents were throwing things at our car and swearing at us as we drove off. Gosh, I was proud."


• "I had slumps that lasted into the winter."


• "I led the league in 'Go get 'em next time.'"


• "I set records that will never be equaled. In fact, I hope 90% of them don't even get printed."


• "Career highlights? I had two. I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax and I got out of a rundown against the Mets."


• "When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes."
  
• "When I looked at the third base coach, he turned his back on me."


• "Wait until it stops rolling and pick it up." On how to catch a knuckleball.


• "I hit a grand slam off Ron Herbel and when his manager Herman Franks came out to get him, he was bringing Herbel's suitcase."


• "Sporting goods companies pay me not to endorse their products."


• "Baseball hasn't forgotten me. I go to a lot of Old-Timers games and I haven't lost a thing. I sit in the bullpen and let people throw things at me. Just like old times."

Stengelese

Former New YOrk Yankee and New York Mets manager, Casel Stengel, became known as "The Ol' Perfesser," holding forth in bars until all hours of the night with what he called "my writers." The key to his charm was the highly developed art form that came to be known as Stengelese, a personal jabberwocky of rambling double-talk, gibberish, non sequiturs, and catch phrases that left his audience alternately amused, bewildered and mildly better informed.

Famous Casey Stengel Quotes About Drinking & Baseball

• "The trouble is not that players have sex the night before a game. It's that they stay out all night looking for it."
• "We are in such a slump that even the ones that are drinkin' aren't hittin'."
• "They say some of my stars drink whiskey, but I have found that ones who drink milkshakes don't win many ball games."
• "Look at him (Bobby Richardson) - he doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, he doesn't chew, he doesn't stay out late, and he still can't hit .250."
• "I got players with bad watches - they can't tell midnight from noon."
• "I came in here and a fella asked me to have a drink. I said I don't drink. Then another fella said hear you and Joe DiMaggio aren't speaking and I said I'll take that drink."
• "Don't drink in the hotel bar, that's where I do my drinking."
• "Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It's staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in."

Greatest Hitters Ever

I've completed my analysis for the title of Greatest Hitter Ever.

UPDATE:
I've updated my list of suspects to include Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Jimmy Foxx, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodiguez. Let me know if you think anyone else deserves to be added to the list.

To determine the winner of this title, I used the formula described below and used the top 15 productive years of each hitter's career.

Here are some interesting tidbits from my research...

Top 10 best hitting seasons ever:

1. Ted Williams, 1941, 37 HR, 120 RBI, .406 BA, 145 BB, 27 SO [681]


2. Barry Bonds, 2002, 46 HR, 110 RBI, .370 BA, 198 BB, 47 SO [677]


3. Babe Ruth, 1921, 59 HR, 171 RBI, .378 BA, 145 BB, 81 SO [672]


4. Ted Williams, 1949, 43 HR, 159 RBI, .343 BA, 162 BB, 48 SO [659]


5. Babe Ruth, 1931, 46 HR, 163 RBI, .373 BA, 128 BB, 51 SO [659]


6. Lou Gehrig, 1934, 49 HR, 165 RBI, .363 BA, 109 BB, 31 SO [655]


7. Babe Ruth, 1923, 41 HR, 131 RBI, .393 BA, 170 BB, 93 SO [642]


8. Lou Gehring, 1936, 49 HR, 152 RBI, .354 BA, 130 BB, 46 SO [639]


9. Babe Ruth, 1920, 54 HR, 137 RBI, .376 BA, 150 BB, 80 SO [637]


10. Babe Ruth, 1930, 49 HR, 153 RBI, .359 BA, 136 BB, 61 SO [636]

Top 10 Seasons:
Babe Ruth: 5
Lou Gehring: 2
Ted Williams: 2
Barry Bonds: 1

Top 25 Seasons:
Babe Ruth: 8
Lou Gehring: 6
Ted Williams: 4
Rogers Hornsby: 2
Barry Bonds: 2
Jimmy Foxx: 2

Top 50 Seasons:
Babe Ruth: 11
Lou Gehring: 9
Ted Williams: 9
Rogers Hornsby: 6
Barry Bonds: 3
Jimmy Foxx: 3
Joe DiMaggio: 3
Todd Helton: 3
Stan Musial: 2
Mickey Mantle: 1

Greater Hitters Ever

I've been doing some research on who is the greatest hitter in baseball history. I started my quest after looking at Rogers Hornsby's batting averages. Damn... that man could hit!

Well, how would you go about determining who is the greatest hitter? Not some long drawn out mathematical equation that only a fucking rocket surgeon could understand... a straight-forward approach that the everyday fan can understand.

Here's my thinking...

The greatest hitter would have to hit Home Runs.
The greatest hitter would have to have a lot of RBIs.
The greatest hitter would have to hit for a high Batting Averages.
The greatest hitter would have to accumulate a lot of Bases on Balls.
The greatest hitter would have to have very few Strike Outs.

My formula is add HR, RBI, BA, BB, subtract SO to arrive at a total number. Rank the hitter's totals by year.

Count the number of times the hitters placed in the top 50 and the hitters' placement in those rankings.

I was thinking about adding Runs Scored, but that is not a function of pure hitting. Also, by adding that stat to the equation, it would skew the results in favor of the Home Run hitter. The HR would be counted as a Run, HR, RBI. I'll leave Runs Scored out of the equation unless anyone has any other ideas about modifying the formula. [The only adjustment would be to maybe do RBI less HR for a true RBI total - that way the HR totals aren't weighted]

Also, I didn't really want to include the down-side of the careers where someone has diminished skills, hanging on too long, etc. I wanted the comparisons to be based on their outstanding seasons over a period of at least 15 years.

I have several candidates on my list that meet the requirements for power and average: Ruth, Gehrig, Hornsby, Mays, Williams, Aaron, Bonds, Musial.

Starting tomorrow, I will profile the stats of the sixth greatest hitter of all time and shine a spotlight on some of the more outstanding features of that player's career.

Each day I will profile another player until we reach Madfish Willie's Greatest Hitter of All Time!

Baseball Quotes

Today's baseball quotes: Statistics

My favorites from this list are:

"Statistics are the lifeblood of baseball. In no other sport are so many available and studied so assiduously by participants and fans. Much of the game's appeal, as a conversation piece, lies in the opportunity the fan gets to back up opinions and arguments with convincing figures, and it is entirely possible that more American boys have mastered long division by dealing with batting averages than in any other way."
~Leonard Koppert in A Thinking Mans Guide to Baseball (1967)

"They both (statistics & bikinis) show a lot, but not everything."
~Toby Harrah [Infielder]

"When I negotiated Bob Stanley's contract with the Red Sox, we had statistics demonstrating he was the third-best pitcher in the league. They had a chart showing he was the sixtieth-best pitcher on the Red Sox!"
~Bob Woolf [Agent]

Go check out the rest!

Triple Crown

The hitting Triple Crown has only been achieved 16 times in MLB history. Two players, Rogers Hornsby & Ted Williams, completed the feat twice. So, only 14 players have ever won the hitting Triple Crown!

Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox, was the last triple crown winner in Major League Baseball in 1967.

This guy has some interesting ideas about changing the current requirements for the Triple Crown. I can tell he is not a die-in-the-wool baseball fan. He's full of shit! Don't believe a word he has to say!

Every year I follow the stats with interest to see if anyone has a shot a being a triple crown winner. Last year Albert Pujols gave it a hellava run, finishing with 43 (T4), 124 (T4), .359 (1) after petering out a little at the end of the season.

Of current players, it looks to me like Pujols has the best shot at achieving the feat. He hits for average and power and is good with men on base.

Todd Helton has a shot too. If Colorado were in the AL, he would have 2 [6] seasons: 2000 at 4,1,1 and 2001 at 2,1,3. He plays in a hitters' park and gets lots of at bats. His main malfunction is that he is in the same league as Pujols, Bonds, Sosa, Walker.

Bonds won't do it because his RBI totals will always be affected by the number of walks, intentional or not, he accumulates.

A-Rod won't do it because he hasn't hit for high average since 96 when he led the league with a .358 BA. Also, he's moving out of a hitter's park at Texas and into Yankee Stadium, not known for being friendly to right-handed pull hitters. He will have a tougher time hitting his usual 40 HR this year because of that.

Is there anyone else in the AL that is capable of the Triple Crown? I can't think of anyone right off the top of my head. Carlos Delgado perhaps?

Other past near misses in the past with top 5 finishes in the stats in their league:

Who's On First?

Anybody know anythiong about Fantasy Baseball and setting up a league?

I'm gonna start up blogging again in a couple of weeeks... around the start of baseball season. I was thinking about running a fantasy league. If you have any info or links that I could look at, ket me know.

Also, I'll be tracking a couple of teams all year... maybe one or two in each league... Texas Rangers (or maybe not) because I used to live about three miles from the stadium, although they have shit for pitching every year... you give me some of your favorite teams and I'll let you know what I think.

I'll also track some individual players: Albert Pujols, Todd Helton, A-Rod... Need some interesting pitchers... maybe Rocket Man, Schilling, Maddox on the way to 300, Pedro's ERA.

I also like to look at the all time stats and try to predict when someone might break a record and compare todays stars to those of yesteryear.

Anyway, someone give me some input and ideas for a league name.

See ya later...