By James Bailey
This year marks the 102nd anniversary of the Chicago Cubs’ last World Series championship. Suffice it to say, the game has changed nearly as much as the team’s fortunes since then, when they were the three-time defending National League pennant winners and had just won back-to-back World Series.
George R. Matthews recounts Chicago’s 1908 [...]
From the category archives:
James Bailey
By James Bailey
Now that the Mariners have locked up young ace Felix Hernandez for the next five years we can speculate where he might rank in franchise history by the time his $78 million contract expires after the 2014 season.
The club has seen its share of pitchers come and go over its 33-year history. Most [...]
To All My Fans … from Norm Who?, by Norm Miller
Double Play Productions, 2009
By James Bailey
Baseball readers first met Norm Miller when Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four” shook up both the game and the literary scene in 1970. Miller was something of a cutup–and slightly disgruntled by a lack of playing time–which made him a natural [...]
By James Bailey
Paul Richards bridged a baseball generation gap, working for managers like Wilbert Robinson and Connie Mack as a young player and passing the torch to current skipper Tony La Russa in his twilight years. His resume included stints as player, manager, general manager, scout and special assistant. He helped several Hall of Famers [...]
By James Bailey
Why is Jay Mariotti allowed a say in who gets in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Mariotti, the annoying loudmouth who writes for MLB Fanhouse, proclaimed Tuesday on ESPN’s Around the Horn that he wouldn’t vote for any of this year’s first-ballot players, and he’s also reluctant to vote for players who have [...]
{ 4 comments }
By James Bailey
The Cubs had to unload Milton Bradley. He was damaged goods in Chicago after incidents that led to his suspension at the end of last season. With two years left on Bradley’s three-year, $30 million deal, Cubs GM Jim Hendry had no choice but to move one of the worst contracts he’d signed [...]
{ 1 comment }
By James Bailey
It has been 100 years since the Mills Commission erroneously credited Abner Doubleday with starting what we know as baseball. By the time the Hall of Fame opened in Doubleday’s hometown 30 years later, however, the honor had shifted to Alexander Cartwright, who was enshrined in Cooperstown as a pioneer in 1938. His [...]
By James Bailey
When discussing the Hall of Fame credentials of some of the sluggers of recent years, such as Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmeiro, many writers seem willing to pardon their sins under the “everyone was doing it” clause. They argue that these players should be compared to others of their era, and [...]
By James Bailey
No position is subject to more turnover each season than closer. Every year new stars emerge while others fade into oblivion. This season we saw five men save 30 games for the first time in their careers. History says no more than three of them will repeat this accomplishment. Most clubs look to [...]
By James Bailey
Long before catchers actually had tools of ignorance, brave—or crazy—young men clamped their teeth around a chunk of rubber and crept up behind the batter to receive pitches barehanded. When their gnarled fingers split open or a foul ball collided with their skull they got back up and kept at it. Peter Morris [...]
