The Last Act of the Notorious Howie Spira. The conventional shorthand for what George Steinbrenner did wrong, in press accounts of the mudslinging-and-extortion scandal, is this: The Yankees owner had an "association with Howard Spira." It made Spira sound menacing—this known gambler, this criminal element. He was the embodiment of the Yankees owner's dark side: Steinbrenner the Nixon bagman, the convicted-and-pardoned felon. Under questioning in court, Steinbrenner described their relationship in ominous terms. Did Spira "destroy" him? "As far as baseball is concerned, yes," Steinbrenner said. "He did a very good job."
posted by auto-correct
on Oct 29, 2011 -
2 comments
Who was the worst defender in the history of baseball? A commenter in a baseball-fever thread compiles
a list of the bottom 100 career dWAR figures of all time -- in other words, the 100 players who cost their teams the most wins with the glove. (
Joe Posnanski on the WAR metric, for those unfamiliar with it.) The list is an interesting mix of players whose bats allowed them to stay in the game for years despite terrible glovework (Bernie Williams, Manny Ramirez, Dave Winfield) and players who were so bad in the field that they managed to rack up a lot of negative dWAR in shorter careers (Chris Gomez, Dean Palmer.) Toby "Stone Fingers" Harrah is #14 with a -10.9 dWAR. Dick "Dr. Strangeglove" Stuart just misses at -6.1. Some active players have a chance to finish high on the list:
Ty Wigginton is only 33 and has already bumbled away enough balls in 2011 to "improve" his ranking from 24th to 15th.
Worst of all time? No, it's not the Captain -- Derek Jeter is #2 on the all time list with -13.4 dWAR. Can you guess the "winner"?
posted by escabeche
on Aug 30, 2011 -
85 comments
The recently retired Manny Ramirez was one of the most inscrutable players in recent history. Ben McGrath of the New Yorker attempted to figure out Ramirez's motivations in
this 2007 piece.
posted by reenum
on Apr 11, 2011 -
32 comments
Today, Deadspin
leaked financial documents detailing the finances of several MLB teams, including a few that are getting revenue sharing money. They show that several of MLB's "poorest" franchises turned a profit due to these cash infusions.
[more inside]
posted by reenum
on Aug 26, 2010 -
56 comments
Dallas Braden had a
rough childhood. A problem child in the tough neighborhood of Stockton, California, he was raised by his mother and, after she died, his grandmother, both of whom he credits for turning his life around. Today, on Mother's Day, in front of a small home crowd and his grandmother,
Dallas Braden pitched the 19th perfect game in Major League Baseball history and the second in as many years against the white-hot Tampa Bay Rays. This also happened to be 42 years and 1 day after the A's only other
perfect game, by Catfish Hunter.
[more inside]
posted by dirigibleman
on May 9, 2010 -
47 comments
"I think clearly it's going to be Tuiasosopo today, he's swung the bat well the last few times and he's got an opportunity to play. I expect him to hit his first big league home run today."
Mariners television analyst Mike Blowers makes a goofy pregame prediction...
that comes true.
posted by starman
on Sep 30, 2009 -
50 comments
FreeBaseballRadio.com is a site that was created to help find internet broadcasts of live baseball games. Specifically those that are available for free.
posted by acro
on Aug 6, 2009 -
18 comments
In 2003, Major League Baseball ran a testing survey to see if they had a steroid problem.
They did, but the names of the 104 players testing positive were kept secret. Today, one of the names was revealed:
Alex Rodriguez.
posted by Stylus Happenstance
on Feb 7, 2009 -
115 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
There's an excellent
two part dialog between
Bill Simmons and
Malcolm Gladwell on ESPN's Page 2 this week. The two cover a wide variety of topics such as writing, how a kid with no TV from the middle of nowhere in Canada can be a sports fan, the NFL, the economics of sports, and everyone's favorite NBA GM Isiah Thomas.
posted by togdon
on Mar 3, 2006 -
13 comments
Rafael Palmeiro suspended for steroid use by Major League Baseball The first big name MLB player to be suspended for violating the leagues steriod policy testified to Congress about use of the drug in baseball after being named a user in Jose Canseco's book. "Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Rafael Palmeiro and I am a professional baseball player. I'll be brief in my remarks today. Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never. The reference to me in Mr. Canseco's book is absolutely false. I am against the use of steroids. I don't think athletes should use steroids and I don't think our kids should use them. That point of view is one, unfortunately, that is not shared by our former colleague, Jose Canseco. Mr. Canseco is an unashamed advocate for increased steroid use by all athletes."
posted by batou_
on Aug 1, 2005 -
61 comments
MLB's All Porn Mustache Team Cue: Funky bassline and Wa-Wa guitar.
Is it just me or does Jeff Kent's 'stache (bottom of the page in the honorable mentions section) look like more peach fuzz than manly man style?
Who did they miss?
posted by fenriq
on May 26, 2005 -
30 comments
Tony Gwynn knows full well how costly a baseball strike could be Baseball still has not recovered from the strike of 1994, especially in Montreal. The Expos were in the driver's seat for the National League East title when the strike hit in August of 1994. Before the 1995 season began, the Expos had traded several key players to lower expenses. Now the team is on Commissioner Bud Selig's contraction list for Major League Baseball. If the players union go out on strike this year, it could deal a fatal blow to the sport that was once was America's national pastime.
posted by jasonbondshow
on Aug 24, 2002 -
20 comments
Expos declare independence from MLB.
"The grim, bleached-blonde visage of Richie Sexson will serve as a warning to all opponents who attempt to subvert the revolution or phone the bullpen," said Expos second baseman/People’s Minister of Security Jose Vidro.
Few humor sites on the web are truly funny, but The Spitter has a high batting average.
posted by Holden
on May 8, 2002 -
3 comments
Obviously Bud Selig is lying to Congress. There's no way anyone believes that MLB lost $232 million last year despite attendance being up and quality being high. But the question is, what is the punishment for a man like Selig blatantly perjuring himself to our representatives? Can he go to jail?
posted by tsarfan
on Dec 7, 2001 -
26 comments
