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The Angel of Doom was the face of baseball?An ESPN host said so.
The news broke on Memorial Day that baseball’s most controversial umpire, a designation you really have to earn, was retiring after negotiating a settlement with MLB. It went viral in better than record time. And it happened days after The Athletic published a deep and nuanced dive into the man versus the too-well-earned professional rep.
Goodbye and Good Riddance to Angel Hernández
Umpires are supposed to be anonymous, impartial arbiters who serve as the policemen of the game. For the most part, that’s true, though long-time umps like Al Clark (26 years in the majors) insist the men in blue are actually the third team on the field — and worth watching as they communicate with each other and take different positions depending upon game situations.
Baseball’s First G-Man, Part Two
Henry Fitzgibbon, the first Director of Security for Baseball, excelled at avoiding publicity, despite the tabloid-friendly substance of his work. Jerome Holtzman, one of the deans of sports writing in Fitzgibbon’s time, said of him in 1972: “He’s a wonderful private eye, just shuffles around, always watching and saying nothing, though if you’ve known him for two or three years, he might give you a ‘hello.’”
35 Years Ago This Week, The Ending Came At Last For Mike Schmidt
In 1973, Art Garfunkel released the beautiful ballad “All I Know,” and one of its final refrains has always touched me:. I am quite sure that the end for the greatest player in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies franchise and the greatest third baseman in the history of the game, Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, certainly did pass too slow.
Baseball Season Hits Memorial Day Marker
It’s official: we’re at the Memorial Day weekend milestone in Major League Baseball. We’ve had two months of surprises and disappointments, with many more to come. With the National League East settling into a two-team race between the Phillies and Braves, the other three teams will be active traders at the deadline (that means you, Pete Alonso)
Baseball’s First G-Man, Part One
On April 21, 1970, Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Major League Baseball, sent a bulletin to all 24 clubs:. “I am seriously concerned by fan disturbances on the field this season, including fans coming on the field and also pelting the players, umpires and the field in general with thrown objects. It is absolutely imperative that these disturbances be controlled. Crowd control procedures should be reviewed by every club immediately.”
Struggling Braves Will Have Much Smaller All-Star Game Contingent
Last year, the Atlanta Braves sent a club-record eight players to the All-Star Game. It’s not going to happen again. Far from it. Newly-acquired starting pitchers Chris Sale, a seven-time All-Star in the American League, and Reynaldo Lopez, a reliever returned to the rotation, are virtually certain to go. Maybe veteran lefty Max Fried, who pitched seven hitless innings in Flushing this season and just went the route with a 9-2 three-hitter at Wrigley Field.
Schaumburg Boomers: Minor League Club Trying To Stand Out In A Major Market
It's imperative, when you're a Minor League Baseball franchise, to go way outside the box with your promotions. With over 200 Minor League Baseball teams in the United States, you've got to make major waves by being original in order to get noticed by the media and publicity industries.
Reviewing the start to the 2024 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland A’s are a mess off the field. The ownership’s twenty-year record of failure to build a new stadium in Oakland resulted in the decision to bolt for Vegas, but they couldn’t even do that right. Instead, the team is limping up Interstate 80 to Sacramento for an announced three-year stint in a Triple-A ballpark. Color me skeptical that the team will move into a sparkling new stadium in Las Vegas in 2028.
Long, Heated Rivalry Between Braves and Mets Grows In Intensity
It’s not Giants vs. Dodgers, Red Sox vs. Yankees, or Cubs vs. Cardinals but Braves vs. Mets has grown into a pretty significant rivalry. As a rabid Braves fan who also happens to be a lifelong resident of Northern New Jersey, I’ve had a first-hand view: at the Polo Grounds, Shea Stadium, and CitiField.
The 1924 World Series Win Belongs to D.C., Not Minnesota
On August 11, the Minnesota Twins plan to commemorate the 1924 World Series victory of the Washington Senators. Why? Well, I don’t blame you if you’ve forgotten that the Twins’ franchise began in D.C. in 1901 as the Washington Senators, an original member of the American League.
Promoting A New Book Means Making Multiple Author Interviews
Thanks to the efforts of two publicists, I’m doing dozens of interviews to promote my latest Hank Aaron biography, Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron. Earlier this week, my interviewer turned out to be Nestor Aparicio, cousin of Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio and long-time host of the Baltimore Positive show on WNST-FM. To localize his focus, we compared Cal Ripken, Jr. to Dale Murphy and drew a parallel between Ripken’s run for Lou Gehrig’s record (consecutive games played) and Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth (lifetime home runs).
John Herrnstein's 1964 Season Embodied The Phillies' Collapse
It is May 15, the 2024 Philadelphia Phillies are off to a hot start and, as I write this, sitting in first place atop the National League East. This is all well and good for the Philadelphia faithful, but Phillies fans of long standing will take this news with some trepidation.
Pittsburgh’s Prized Prospect Will Take The Mound Tomorrow
Finally! After six weeks of procrastination designed to squeeze another year of team control out of him, prized prospect Paul Skenes is about to make his major-league debut. That will happen tomorrow when the top pick in last year’s amateur draft takes the mound at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park against the Chicago Cubs.
Why Triples Are The Best ... And Why They're Dying Out
Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford hit his first home run in the Major Leagues on April 28. To make it even more exciting, it was an inside-the-park homer – the fifth time a Rangers rookie went inside the park to record a first career home run, dating back to the franchise’s time as the Washington Senators.
Let's Recall Hank Aaron's First Major League Baseball Home Run!
"I looked for the same pitch my whole career, a breaking ball. All of the time. I never worried about the fastball. They couldn't throw it past me, none of them." -Hank Aaron. Last month marked the seventieth anniversary of “promising rookie” Hank Aaron hitting the first of his 755 home runs. Hank’s solo round-tripper came on April 23, 1954, at Busch Stadium. The blast came in the sixth inning off Cardinals starting pitcher, Vic Raschi, in the Braves’ extra inning 7-5 victory over the Cardinals. This was Hank’s seventh major league game.
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