Over the weekend, I was in Kansas City with my dear friend and brother, Bob Kendrick, to celebrate Buck O’Neil’s 107th birthday. Whenever Bob and I get together, we tell many of the same Buck stories; I think that helps us keep him alive. This time, we told those stories for a whole bunch of…
Month: November 2018
Baseball 88: Carlos Beltran
One reason I’ll never be a true sabermetrician — there are many reasons having to do with intelligence and understanding of stats, this is only one — is that I can’t help but root for outcomes. I’ll usually begin a “study” (using that term loosely) with the hope of proving something that I believe to…
Shadowball 89: Old Hoss Radbourn
Charles Radbourn was a mean and brilliant pitcher more than a century before he became a mean and brilliant Tweeter. He was a mean and brilliant pitcher in a time when both of those things meant something entirely different than they do today. Old Hoss was born in 1854, the same year the Republican Party…
Today’s Era Ballot
Will have a lot more to say about this later, but for now, here’s who is on the 2019 Today’s Era Hall of Fame Ballot:
The Baseball Exploration Survey
I’m conducting a survey as part of the Baseball Exploration Project. It will probably take 10 to 15 minutes to fill it out. I have had people say that it’s fun. I think it’s fun. But no promises. I’d appreciate you taking it, though. I have to tell you that I’m really excited about where…
Baseball 89: Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey defied words, which was why his death on Wednesday left so many struggling to explain him. McCovey was a quiet man, humble, an exemplar of the gentle giant. But as a hitter? As a force of nature? “You had to be there,” Ray Ratto finally concluded. “Just trust me on that.”
The Baseball Exploration
Well, I promised that I would always try to find new ways to thank you for your support and friendship here at JoeBlogs — thank you again, by the way — so today, I’m announcing another new series. I think you’ll like it a lot, but I will admit, it is little bit hard to explain — I’ve already had a hard time getting people to really understand what this will be. So, bear with me.