July, 2013, marks the first anniversary of my blog. First, I would like to thank each one of you for reading my postings and emailing suggestions for new postings. For those of you who have just started reading my postings, please use the archive feature to look at past postings. I am happy to announce …
After saying goodbye and thanking Rico Brogna for his talk on scouting to my class, I picked up my wife and we were off to West Point. I was scheduled to give a talk on batting streaks to Father Costa’s sabermetrics class the next day at 7:30 AM. Father Costa is a rare combination. He …
From 9 am on March 26th to 12 PM on March 27th, I had the privilege of spending time with two special people. One man, Rico Brogna, was a former Major Leaguer; the other man, Gabriel Costa, is a Catholic priest and mathematician. My 27 hour adventure begins with Rico Brogna’s visit to my baseball …
After retiring in 2001 as an active player, Rico spent a short time figuring out what a 32 year old retired ballplayer will do with the rest of his life. He continued his connection to Major League Baseball scouting for such teams as the Rays, Rockies, and Diamondbacks. He returned to his roots and coached …
After signing his contract with Detroit, it was off to Bristol, TN, the Tigers Rookie League affiliate. At the age of 18, Rico was forced to adapt quickly to living on a monthly paycheck of $250.00 after taxes. That year he appeared in 60 games batting .254. The next year he was off to Lakeland, …