Barry Bonds has broken the all-time record with the benefit of a
controversial technological revolution in the game, derided by traditionalists:
The Maple Baseball Bat.
Using technology and woodworking techniques pioneered by
Sam Bat, Bonds helped develop and popularize the bats that are just as responsible for the advent of the
Juiced Ball Era as, well, the other thing.
posted by Slap*Happy
on Aug 7, 2007 -
192 comments
"Van Lingle Mungo" written in 1969 by the nostalgic, baseball-loving jazz composer David Frishberg
[wiki].
[Rhapsody link to the whole song.]
Frishberg on meeting the ex-Dodgers hurler after whom he named his tune:
“Backstage, Mungo asked me when he would see some remuneration for the song. When he heard my explanation about how there was unlikely to be any remuneration for anyone connected with the song, least of all him, he was genuinely downcast. ‘But it’s my name,’ he said. I told him, ‘The only way you can get even is to go home and write a song called Dave Frishberg.’" Further elaboration:
The Baseball Analysts on "Van Lingle Mungo."
posted by kosem
on Jul 27, 2007 -
11 comments
"I like to think that baseball players are a pretty imaginitive bunch. I mean, these are guys who, when asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, said something nuts like 'baseball player' —
and then didn’t change their answer."
Bunt Cake: a webcomic for those of us who like baseball cards recontextualized and our humor depantsed and set on fire. Or something like that. [via
mefi projects]
posted by Terminal Verbosity
on Jul 17, 2007 -
37 comments
Baseball fans were treated on Sunday to the rarest gem in the sport, a confluence of chance and circumstance which had only occurred twelve times previously in modern major league history. If you blinked, you may have missed it. Colorado Rockies rookie shortshop (and subject of future trivia questions) Troy Tulowitzki turned an
unassisted triple play.
posted by edverb
on Apr 30, 2007 -
88 comments
"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." -
Jackie Robinson This Sunday April 15, 2007, Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the
breaking of baseball's color barrier. For
one day,
superstars and
managers throughout the
sport as well as
entire teams will be
saluting his memory by
wearing Robinson's
retired number 42.
Robinson is
honored for his
tremendous leadership both
on and
off the field (previously), he is
remembered for his
determination in
overcoming racial
prejudice and
hatred, and for his
post-career activities as a civil rights advocate. Perhaps the highest compliment is to say simply that
Jackie Robinson was
one of the
greatest players to ever
grace a
baseball diamond, but his contribution to baseball, and to
equality in America was far greater than statistics and pennants.
"
Mr. Rickey, do you want a ballplayer who is afraid to fight back?" "I want a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back!" See
The Jackie Robinson Story, starring the man himself.
(1:16:29, Google video)
posted by edverb
on Apr 9, 2007 -
20 comments
"We're offering a fan amenity. Fans can elect to choose it or not choose it. We are offering basic ballpark fare that most fans enjoy." An
all-you-can eat section at the
Dodger stadium for the coming baseball season. Quintessentially American.
posted by jaimev
on Jan 12, 2007 -
47 comments
The Harvard University Worklife Wizard , created by an international team of journalists, economists, and statisticians, is Barbara Ehrenreich's wet dream. It's also a fantastic resource that has flown pretty much under everyone's radar.
The Worklife Survey drives the constantly-revised, constantly-refined
Salary Comparison Tool, which is always hungry for more data about employment from around the world. And when they say they want data from everyone, they mean it-- there's even a
VIP Salary Checker that pits the wages of the Yankees against those of the Red Sox. (Plus if you take the survey, you can apparently earn a chance to win a trip to South Africa). Personally, I love the
Workplace Horror Stories (and there's a competition there too). I can't look at a nail clipper the same way now.
posted by yellowcandy
on Nov 20, 2006 -
26 comments
Baseball nerd fun: Type in which team's at bat, how many outs, which inning, how many on base, and the
Win Expectancy Finder will spit out the likelihood the team wins, based on actual game data from the periods 2000-2004, 1991-1998, and 1979-1990.
posted by ibmcginty
on Oct 26, 2006 -
12 comments
Baseball Race. "[A]n online application that allows you to view any Major League Baseball season, split by league or division (even wild card races), as an animated, date-by-date race between the various teams you choose."
posted by brain_drain
on Sep 11, 2006 -
22 comments
