baseball
Sabermetric analysis of all things baseball - on-and-off the field. Barry Bonds fan club.
Youth Baseball Pitching Instruction
In this day and age of advanced technology and analytical evaluation, it is very easy to be caught in a web of paralysis by over analysis. Many times I have witnessed the young ball player focused on data and information that contributes zero to the advancement of his feel for the art of pitching. This data overload has taken us away from the focus of winning baseball games and in a pitching sense, executing the next quality pitch. The advancement of technology has created an excellent way to analyze performance but it has not improved the concepts of coaching and instruction for youth baseball players, especially pitchers. The concept of analyzing performance is a good one, but the need to understand what the feeling of a particular motor skill or movement pattern that results in a positive performance should be the primary goal.
By James Rooney5 years ago in Unbalanced
Not Yogi
Everyone’s heard the famous Yogi Berra-isms, with their odd syntax and convoluted logic. Even things he didn’t say, but could have, are attributed to him. But amidst all the well-deserved acclaim for Berra, there is a forgotten man. He played second fiddle to Yogi on the field, and now in legacy. He broke the color line for the Yankees, a scant ten years after Jackie Robinson (the Yankees might have been late in hiring a black player, but that had nothing to do with the fact that their fan base consisted of corporate CEOs and Bronx italians...they probably just couldn’t find any talented black players in the 50s). He was number 32, the fairly-good Elston Howard.
By Sandy McKnight5 years ago in Unbalanced
Valuable Pieces Of Information For The Bat Nerds: Batting Cages
Considering the above topic, you would immediately have an idea that what's to be discussed centers around Baseball and Softball. Before diving in deep, let’s briefly take a glance at some background information.
By mckenziejack5 years ago in Unbalanced
Tips to Be a Successful Baseball Player
Becoming a successful baseball player, whether you are aspiring to be on a professional team or just playing for fun, takes a lot of hard work both on and off the field. Believe it or not, most of the hard work needs to be done off the field. Below are some of the best tips to follow to learn how to become a better and more successful baseball player.
By Robert Cordray5 years ago in Unbalanced
Tips to Stay Safe and Healthy When Attending a Baseball Game
Attending baseball games is something many people enjoy during the summer months. However, while you “root, root, root, for the home team,” you need to ensure you keep your own health and safety in mind.
By Paisley Hansen5 years ago in Unbalanced
The Longshot - Part 1
We begin in the clubhouse of the Wenatchee Tigers baseball team. A team who has finished in last place 8 season in a row and 20 losing seasons. Inside the room are four men are whom are seated around the table; Team Manager Stevie Ray, Public Relations Manager Jim Dank, Operations Director Ben Johnson, and Director of Player Personnel Mark Hastings. They are waiting for the new Owner Michael Lust to arrive for the team meeting.
By Michael Lust Productions5 years ago in Unbalanced
5 Basics to Launch Your Baseball Career
The game of baseball as we know it has been played in the United States for more than 150 years. It's played by boys and girls in backyards and sandlots. It's played by grown men and women on pristine grass diamonds and in stadiums large enough to hold the entire population of many cities. All you need is a ball, bat and mitt, and you're ready to take the field. Let's examine the basics to discover why baseball has been called America's National Pastime.
By Mikkie Mills5 years ago in Unbalanced
The Family Tree of Baseball Legend Hank Aaron
Henry Louis Aaron was born February 5th, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama to Herbert Aaron and Estella Pritchett. He was one of seven siblings and one of which, his brother Tommie, also went on to play professional baseball. Hank Aaron grew up on 666 South Wilkinson Street in Mobile, Alabama. His father worked as a ship fitter's helper, a person who works on ships when they come in for repairs, and made $900 a year (the equivalent of $16,923 today). Hank Aaron's family was very poor, to the point where Hank would make his own baseball bats and baseballs out of materials he found in the street. Hank first tried out for the Brooklyn Dodgers when he was just 15 years old. He did not make the team that year but a year later would join the Pritchett Athletics where he made $2 per game (the equivalent to $22 today). Later that year, he would join the Mobile Black Bears, an independent Negro League team, where he earned $3 per game (the equivalent to $33 today). In the fall of 1951, Hank signed a contract with the Indianapolis Clowns where he played 26 games as a shortstop with a batting average of .366, 5 home runs, 33 runs batted in, 41 hits, and 9 stolen bases.
By Bradley Greenland5 years ago in Unbalanced
Baseball Boys Recreates 1950’s Little Baseball in Mt. Vernon
Little League Baseball was born in 1939. By 1950, it made its way from Pennsylvania to Bruce Fabricant’s hometown of Mt. Vernon . In 1953, he got the call, and on a cold April morning, the Heritage Hills resident tried out. The times didn’t allot for a participation trophy, however. But finally getting the chance to play on a real field with adults - who could teach the game - easily made up for lack of metallic luster and the frostbite. In actuality, what he did get was much more important and is never far from what he is trying to document in Baseball Boys – a self-published novel on 1950’s Little League baseball in Mt. Vernon.
By Rich Monetti5 years ago in Unbalanced
Yankee Fan's Book on Mickey Mantle Brings a Personal Connection to Adoring Fans
The most recent book of note on Mickey Mantle was The Last Boy by Jane Leavy, and it doesn’t pull punches about getting into the more salacious aspects of the slugger’s life. However, a real intimacy goes as far as the author’s access. “She spent one night with him,” says Italian American Author Tom Molito of Pound Ridge, NY. But the release of his new book doesn’t put “the Mick” at a distance for all those that adored him.
By Rich Monetti5 years ago in Unbalanced
All the Egregious sins by MLB, Shoeless Joe Should No Longer have to Say in Ain't So for the Hall of Fame
Photo by Nicolas Henderson Joe Jackson was likely involved in a plot to throw the 1919 World Series. He, along with his White Sox cohorts, had to be suspended permanently for the survival of the game. But almost a hundred years later, can we lift the ban and give him a plaque in the hall. There’s simply far more significant wrongs, and the time is right enough to finally put Joe Jackson in the hall.
By Rich Monetti5 years ago in Unbalanced
Who wore number #25 on your team?
As a lifelong baseball fan, sometimes I'll think about some of the strange and seemingly coincidental facts about the sport that seem to not have a proper explanation. Things like: How did Stan Musial manage to hit exactly the same number of hits at away that he did at home? How weird is it that Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961? And how could the Giants only win a World Series on every other year between 2010 and 2014? One thought that has followed me since childhood and nobody else seems to realize is this: If there was a player that wore the number 25 on your team, he was probably the power hitter of your team.
By J.S. Vargas5 years ago in Unbalanced
