Part 2 of 3: The Yankees won a nail-biting 5-game (3-2) ALDS against the Orioles. In the ALCS, the Yankees pulled a Rip Van Wrinkle against the Tigers and were swept 4-0. This posting will revisit both series. The series against the Orioles had three games decided by one run and one game determined by two …
Part 1 of 3: Did the Yankees have a successful regular season in 2012? Their 95-67 record was the best in the American League. They either led the league or were tied for first place in their division from June 12 through the end of the season. They had a 10-game lead on July 18 …
To get up to speed on this posting please see my last posting. A brief summary is at a store in Naples, FL I met Ms. Root, whose father’s uncle was Charlie Root. He was the pitcher who in the 1932 WS pitched the ball that Babe Ruth supposedly pointed to the centerfield stands prior …
Recently my wife Tara and I took a short trip to visit our two granddaughters in Naples, FL. On the plane I was already thinking about my next post about the upcoming WS. As fate would have it my next post found me. On Thursday evening, we went to downtown Naples. We stopped at a …
We begin with the highlights. Miguel Cabrera accomplished the Triple Crown, the first since 1967. It was exciting because the home run title was in doubt until the last two games of the season. Seven no-hitters (last accomplished in 1991) The nameless Oakland Athletics came from 13 games behind on June 30 to win the …
I have a problem with the expansion of the roster in baseball from 25 to a maximum of 40 after September 1. This process is called the September Call-ups. In watching the Yankees against Tampa Bay on September 15, Tampa Bay was batting in the seventh inning. During that inning the Yankees used three pitchers while …
The embarrassment of the 2002 All-Star game which ended in a tie because both managers ran out of players led to controversial rule change making the All-Star game the deciding factor for awarding home advantage in the World Series. Before 2003 home-field advantage in the World Series was rotated between the two leagues. Starting in …
Baseball historians analyze the great baseball feats established by very special players. In my book “Sandlot Stats” I devote two entire chapters to two of these feats both accomplished in 1941. That year Ted Williams (.406) was the last player to bat over .400 for a season and Joe DiMaggio accomplished his 56-game hitting streak. …
The idea of the designated hitter was first suggested as far back as 1906 by Connie Mack. The real impetus came about from the pitching dominance in the late 1960s. In fact, Carl Yastrzemski led the American League in batting with a .301 batting average in 1968 and Denny McLain won 31 games in 1968. …
As the 2012 baseball season is gradually drawing to a close, fans are already speculating on the MVP Award and the Cy Young Award winners for each league. Both awards are voted on by the Baseball Writers of America before post-season play begins. The MVP Award has never been really defined and is left to …