Category Archives: Baseball

No shock here, that’s for sure. I might have thought they’d have waited till the end of the season, and doing a twofer is slightly more unexpected than just giving the manager the heave-ho, but surely there’s no one in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

When was the last time a 110-year-old record was broken in major league baseball? The Texas Rangers rounded the bases at a dizzying pace and became the first team in 110 years to score 30 runs in a game, setting … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In thirty-plus years of attending live sporting events, I’ve seen my share of public wedding proposals done via Jumbotron, airplane banner, and the like. One of my best friends proposed to his wife by putting a message on the scoreboard … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Phil “The Scooter” Rizzuto, legendary Yankee shortstop and broadcaster, has died at the age of 89. In many ways, the Yankees were Rizzuto’s family. Excepting a three-year stretch in the United States Navy (1943-45) during World War II, Rizzuto was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Congratulations to Barry Bonds. I don’t care what anybody else says. This was a hell of an achievement. I for one plan to celebrate it. Well done, Barry. Well done. UPDATE: I agree with Matt Yglesias: [T]he day when MLB … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Congratulations to Barry Bonds for his historic feat yesterday, putting him just one step away from the top spot on the all-time home run list. Forget what pompous windbags like Richard Justice think. What Barry Bonds has accomplished is amazing, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I suppose this shouldn’t surprise me, but it still kinda does. While the rest of his former teammates were on the field with their wives and children as part of the Astros’ annual family day, third baseman Morgan Ensberg was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Astros legend Craig Biggio announced his retirement for the end of the season before yesterday’s game with the Dodgers, then added a little flourish during the game. They stood throughout Minute Maid Park in the sixth inning Tuesday night, focused … Continue reading → Continue reading →

For the good of baseball, I wholeheartedly endorse this possibility. Add Internet billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to the list of potential Chicago Cubs buyers. “I submitted an app,” Cuban said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Because Smoltz is out. Astros ace righthander Roy Oswalt is heading to the All-Star Game to replace Atlanta Braves righthander John Smoltz, who must skip the game because of right shoulder discomfort. Oswalt will join teammate Carlos Lee at the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Roy Oswalt is in the final vote for the MLB All-Star team. Help send Roy O to San Francisco for the big game by voting for him here (click on Vote Oswalt) by 5 p.m. on Thursday. Surely the gazillion … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Congratulations, Craig Biggio. For today, any questions about your pursuit of 3000 are irrelevant. You made it, and you deserve the glory that goes with it. See you in five in Cooperstown. Continue reading →

From my Inbox: The U.S. Army celebrates its 232nd birthday in the coming week (June 14) with commemorative activities at 20 sporting events across the country. Minute Maid Park will house the birthday festivities in Houston as the Astros play … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It was a beautiful day for outdoor baseball today. Unlike yesterday, which is when we originally had tickets to see Rice play TCU. When the start of the game got delayed from 6 PM to 8:30, I asked if we … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Sigh. As Barry Bonds nears his record 756th home run, he’s stockpiling quite a collection of souvenirs — bats, balls, helmets and spikes, pieces of baseball history perfectly suited for the Hall of Fame. Whether he’ll donate any of them … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Hank Aaron says he won’t watch Barry Bonds break his record. Aaron doesn’t plan to see the milestone homer in person, wherever it might happen. “No, I won’t be there,” he said. Asked why, Aaron said: “I traveled for 23 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yesterday, I discussed John Lopez’s column from Sunday, in which he introduced a racial angle to the effort by the Houston Dynamo to get a downtown stadium built. Among other things, Lopez said: [Astros owner Drayton] McLane, whose reputation among … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In the course of arguing that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig should attend Giants games as Barry Bonds makes his final assault on Hank Aaron’s home run record, King Kaufman makes the following assertion: Hank Aaron, by the way, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Holy mackeral! At the end of the seventh-inning stretch, Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard told fans to turn their attention to the box, where Clemens was standing with a microphone. As the video scoreboard in right-center showed Clemens, the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I love this story. It was one of the more forgettable home runs of Hank Aaron’s remarkable, record-setting career. But it was nonetheless historic, and the Brewers are going to great lengths this summer to commemorate it. The club has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It was sixty years ago today that Jackie Robinson officially broke the color line in baseball by making his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. There will be much to read and learn about this remarkable man and how he changed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a switch-throwing pitcher. The pitch was nothing remarkable: Pat Venditte, Creighton University’s temporarily right-handed pitcher, threw a fastball past a Northern Iowa batter for a called strike three. It was his next windup … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Since this was the very first thing my mother asked me about when I picked my parents up at the airport yesterday, the least I can do is blog about it. Extra Innings will return to cable television under a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Well, the glorious 2007 baseball season is officially underway, even if the folks who are DirecTV-impaired can’t enjoy it to the fullest. While Opening Day is always a time for hope and faith, I just want to say that recent … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t know if you’ve been following the controversy over Major League Baseball’s deal with DirecTV for exclusive rights to their Extra Innings package – suffice it to say that my parents, who live in a north-facing condo that provides … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn has passed away at the age of 80. To say the least, he was Commissioner during interesting times. In 1976, he voided the attempt by [Charlie] Finley’s Oakland Athletics to sell Vida Blue, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I nearly choked on my lunch today when I saw the Chron not only address the grievous shortcomings of Brad Ausmus as an offensive player, but try to make up for it by the use of Catcher ERA as a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One presumes that Barry Bonds’ pursuit of Henry Aaron’s record of 755 home runs will be a top story line this year. The question is how likely is he to actually get there? John Beamer of Hardball Times takes a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Believe it or not, Bud Selig will eventually step down as Commissioner of Major League Baseball. He says he’ll retire when his current contract expires in 2009. True or not (we’ve heard this before), sooner or later he’ll be a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The surgery to remove a brain tumor went well for former Yankee Bobby Murcer, but his prognosis is still grim. The tumor that was removed from Bobby Murcer’s brain during surgery last month was malignant. “As we begin a new … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The other high-profile public election in which trying to understand the way some of the voters think is enough to drive you to crystal meth happens today as well. I’m talking about the baseball Hall of Fame ballot, and in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Another thing that the new year will bring is the 2007 Hall of Fame balloting, and with it the conundrum about Mark McGwire. David Pinto has a sample of what the actual voters are thinking about McGwire, both pro and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Former Yankee center fielder Bobby Murcer is in Houston this weekend, but not for a good reason. Yankee legend Bobby Murcer is scheduled to undergo surgery [Thursday] in Houston for the removal of a brain tumor. Murcer, 60, a Yankee … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I had mentioned before that I was curious to see how Jeff Bagwell stacked up in Jay Jaffe’s rating system for the Hall of Fame. Well, here’s my answer. Short answer: Bags does even better than I thought, and I … Continue reading → Continue reading →