MetaFilter posts tagged with sports and baseball

Commie Ball

reenum — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:08:05 -0800

Cuban players have long been a mainstay in baseball. After Fidel Castro made it impossible for people to leave the island, the flow of players stopped to a drip. That changed with the defection of Rene Arocha in 1991. The potential to make big money has led to more defections. Joe Cubas is the most prominent agent working with these players. Michael Lewis recently wrote a great article in Vanity Fair about the lives of baseball players in Cuba and looks at the saga of defector Yuniesky Betancourt and his agent, Gus Dominguez. Players are still defecting.

Fading Away

reenum — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:13:01 -0800

Mark McGwire was one of the most feared sluggers in the game during his career. In 1998, the home run chase between McGwire and Sammy Sosa helped baseball recover from the 1994 strike. But, when a reporter found a bottle containing andro in McGwire's locker, some chinks in his armor began to emerge. The andro story wasn't enough to overshadow McGwire and Sosa's record breaking seasons. McGwire received many accolades, from having a highway named after him to having cameos on TV shows. After it became well known that baseball players had engaged in widespread steroid abuse from 1990 on, a public outcry began to overshadow the sport. McGwire was not immune to these allegations. The saga culminated with Senate hearings in 2005, where McGwire refused to discuss his alleged steroid use. After his Senate testimony, McGwire retreated to his home in California and refused to speak to the media. Once thought to be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, McGwire received only 23 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility in 2008. With his recent hire as the Cardinals' hitting coach, McGwire will attempt to repair some of his tarnished legacy.

The Curious Case of Matt Harrington

reenum — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:24:45 -0800

When people think of the pitfalls of the baseball draft, it is hard not to remember the story of Matt Harrington. Harrington was drafted in the first round of the MLB draft by the Rockies and the Padres in successive years, only to go back into the draft after failing to reach an agreement each time. As the years went by, his stock kept falling. Harrington's flirtation with the majors ended in 2004 when he was drafted with the 1,089th pick by the Yankees. Joe Posnanski wrote about Harrington's saga in 2006, saying that this was a parable about athlete greed. ESPN wrote a piece about it earlier this year, showing Harrington's rapid decline in draft position and struggles as a result of the negative publicity he received. Harrington currently works at Costco for $11.50 an hour.

Nails Goes to Wall Street

reenum — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:54:21 -0800

Lenny Dykstra was lauded for his heroics with the Mets and Philles. After his career, Dykstra became well-known as a post-career athlete success story. Then the truth started coming out... Dykstra's post career exploits included making stock picks and starting a high end magazine targeted towards athletes. Then, in April of this year, it all came crashing down. In separate articles from GQ and ESPN, Dykstra's financial empire was revealed to be a house of cards. Dykstra subsequently filed bankruptcy in July. For a copy of Lenny's petition, you can go here (Warning: This link is a PDF). Lenny only sees these events as a minor speedbump, and promises to be back on top in no time.

The regular people are in the 400s

yeti — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:09:54 -0800

"It began with a photograph. You've seen it. The new Yankee Stadium. The House Next To The House That Ruth Built. The picture showed the most expensive seats empty, with the rest of the stadium packed." Wright Thompson shares his experience splurging on a Legend Suite seat at the new Yankee Stadium. Yankees ticket prices over the years. The Onion's take on the slashed ticket prices in May.

Flip Flop Fly Ball - Sports infographics.

Ufez Jones — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:35:04 -0800

Flip Flop Fly Ball - Baseball infographics and other visual treats. Highlights: How tall is the Green Monster?, Assembling and dismantling the '86 Mets, and Wu-Tang Clan vs. E-Street Band.

The benches have been warned

kosem — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:59:48 -0800

At least one of these things is true, and possibly both: (a) This was the most tense game of baseball ever played; or (b) relations between Jews and the Klan have deteriorated dramatically since 1926. Bill Francis, a research librarian at the Baseball Hall of Fame, unearths a tantalizing newspaper clipping. No update as to how a cat named Flaherty ended up on the "Hebrew All-Star Nines" or, unfortunately, as to the result.

Not everyone is Magic Johnson

ThePinkSuperhero — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:42:26 -0800

How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.

Speaking of sports...

Grrlscout — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:35:08 -0800

The Guardian is knocked for six by American sport references in British media Creeping cultural imperialism? The effect of internet media from foreign news outlets? Or just Guardian handwringing about something no one else notices? Is British media alone in this trend?

Forgiving Buckner

Corduroy — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:44:57 -0800

22 years after letting a ball roll through his legs in extra innings to lose game six of the 1986 World Series, Bill Buckner returned to Fenway Park to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day. Here's a post on the Curse of the Bambino and the 2004 World Series The world has certainly not forgotten about Buckner. And as a bonus, here's an RBI Baseball reenactment of the final inning of game six, as well as a review of an album called Forgiving Buckner. Scroll down a little more than halfway.

When Sports Fans Go Mad

papoon — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 05:48:33 -0800

When Sports Fans Go Mad. Just in time for your NCAA Final Four weekend: a celebration of sports fans' best and worst pranks, taunts, and hijinks. This ain't no Brady Bunch episode. Some require the skills of a tattoo artist. Some are confusing. Some are about public humiliation. This one, however, really takes the cake.

Farewell Dodgertown

Tommy Gnosis — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 05:37:54 -0800

Blue Heaven: a tribute to Dodgertown. [ESPN link via]. Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL became the spring training headquarters for the Dodgers and their many minor league teams in 1948. The site, which prepares the Dodger major and minor league clubs for the season, is being abandoned by the Dodgers for presumably less green pastures in Arizona. Voiceover narration is a bit maudlin, but the photographs are excellent.

Baseball win probabilities based on game situation

ibmcginty — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 19:45:34 -0800

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.

Pennant Race Visualizer

brain_drain — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:38:29 -0800

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."

Chris Creamer loves logos

kyleg — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 11:37:09 -0800

Chris Creamer's sportslogos.net is a vast archive of current and historical sports logos from leagues large and small, brand new or defunct. Some of my favorite retro logos involve mascots (often anthropomorphized) performing sports-related activities. Of course, some were retired for good reasons.

Deadball

caddis — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 13:45:56 -0800

We all have to go sometime. Frank Russo has an obsession, dead ballplayers. Some died in accidents, some were murdered, some couldn't take it anymore, and some were cursed. They were all human. (via HNT)

Cuz I got more hits than Sadaharu Oh.

bardic — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 14:18:59 -0800

Omedetou! Japan beat Cuba 10-6 to win the first World Baseball Classic. The team was coached by Sadaharu Oh, one of the great stars of the Japanese leagues (868 home runs to boot), and featured the talents of a few Japanese players who have made the jump to American ball--Ichiro Suzuki and Akinori Otsuka. Is the World Series now an outdated misnomer?

Busted?

dig_duggler — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 12:18:50 -0800

Sports Illustrated has an excerpt from the upcoming book Game of Shadows. The book claims to have detailed evidence of heavy drug use by Barry Bonds. Tom Verducci of SI (who has a Hall of Fame vote) has suggested this will keep him out of the Hall and is damning as the Dowd Report, which lead to a lifetime ban for Pete Rose. Would this provide any kind of closure to the steroid era? If Bonds does not sue, is that as good as an admission? And although his motives can be considered dubious, did Jose Canseco end up becoming a savior of baseball?

Go Sox Go!

wfrgms — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 21:51:56 -0800

88 years in the making. The Chicago White Sox have swept the series.

No, not that Bartman.

brain_drain — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 16:58:35 -0800

Searching for Bartman. A sports reporter’s account of his efforts to land an interview with “the most reclusive man in sports,” Steve Bartman. Bartman is the baseball fan blamed by many Chicago Cubs fans for preventing the Cubs from reaching the World Series in 2003 when he arguably interfered with a catch at a key point in the game. He received massive attention and ridicule after the incident, but never spoke to the media about it, except he released a short statement the day after the game.

Here piggy piggy......

wheelieman — Fri, 20 May 2005 11:05:48 -0800

Well today is the opening day of one of the most popular baseball leagues in the county. A big part of the league is the The Goldklang Group, (which is partly owned by Bill Murrary.) The president and owner of the Saints is marketing genius Mike Veeck, son of the late Bill Veeck. Smell the hotdogs and taste the beer but not in that order. (More peanuts and Crackerjacks await inside)

Bonds testimony

ibmcginty — Fri, 03 Dec 2004 07:28:52 -0800

Bonds said he unknowingly used steroids Following up on yesterday's article on Giambi's grand jury testimony, the SF Chronicle reports that Bonds admitted using steroids, but didn't know what they were at the time. Gary Sheffield said something very similar in October, and was not penalized by baseball, nor by public opinion. Meanwhile, the Yankees are reportedly trying to void Giambi's contract. What will the fallout be from the Bonds story?

Yankee Star Admits Steroid Use.

cpchester — Thu, 02 Dec 2004 03:12:08 -0800

Yankee Star Admits Steroid Use. Jason Giambi finally came clean. Will this lead to the confession of other baseball players? Barry Bonds - the heat is on. Or are you in "the clear"?

All is forgiven

anathema — Fri, 05 Nov 2004 09:08:41 -0800

To Whom It May Concern: This letter is to be considered an authorization to condantiques, a seller on Ebay, to offer on auction, for the Feinstein Foundation, the 1919 Original Ruth contract to the highest bidder which exceeds the reserve. All proceeds of this sale will go to charity.

A 'Curse' Born of Hate

Johnny Assay — Tue, 26 Oct 2004 20:13:13 -0800

The Unsettling Origins of the "Curse of the Bambino." As of this writing, the Boston Red Sox seem to have a good chance of breaking their 86-year championship drought, popularly attributed to a curse brought upon the Sox in 1920 when then-owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. But as Glenn Stout writes, popular wisdom (as usual) has it wrong. A fascinating article on how misplaced anti-Semitism, Henry Ford, and an influential sportswriter in thrall to baseball's controlling interests gave birth to one of the best-known pieces of baseball mythology. [via the SDMB]