Fielding is an important part of the game, but contests are normally decided by whether the pitchers are able to get the better of the batters or vice versa.  The men on the mound have had the upper hand in the news stakes this week, with Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine and Carlos Zambrano hitting the headlines for different reasons.  Continue reading →

One thing that always amazes me about the MLB season is that a week never goes by without moments of great excitement.  As a seemingly endless supply of games goes by day-after-day, you would think that there would come a time when the drama cools off for a while.  But no, it just keeps on coming.

This week was no exception as we saw some highly-charged antics on the field and one of the most eagerly anticipated Major League debuts of recent years.  Continue reading →

Of all the many responsibilities an MLB manager has to deal with each day, filling out the lineup card is one of the easiest.  It’s simple enough: put the right names down in the right order. Just in case an error creeps in, various members of the coaching staff should check the copies of the cards before they are handed over to the Umpire Crew Chief and the opposing manager.

This process is completed without incident every day in the Majors and few fans give it much thought.  However, it only takes one slip-up to make us realise just how important it is for the managers to get the official lineup card right. 

When we get two such slip-ups in the same week, you can’t help but delve into the rules to learn a bit more about the topic.  Continue reading →

I’m currently reading the latest book by Paul Dickson that brings together “the etiquette, conventional wisdom and axiomatic codes of our National Pastime”.  In The Unwritten Rules of Baseball, Dickson provides a fascinating insight into the vast array of self-policed laws by which the game is run. 

There were two prime examples in MLB this week of the unwritten rules involving umpires.  Continue reading →

One story has dominated the baseball landscape since it came to light on Thursday.  Manny Ramirez’s fifty-game suspension for “a violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program” marks the first time that a big name has been caught out and he probably won’t be the last. 

The reaction to the news says a great deal about the way in which MLB has struggled to come to terms with the issue of banned substances.  Continue reading →

The MLB season started late this year due to the World Baseball Classic and that means less games were played during April than normal.  There was no noticeable reduction in the number of great moments though, nor in the amount of news stories. 

Continue reading →

It’s been another eventful week in MLB.  The previously all-conquering Marlins were swept by the Pirates, several no-hitter attempts have just fallen short, the 2009 edition of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has begun with two epic games and Albert Pujols has continued to show why he’s currently the best player in baseball.

And the A’s just snapped a six-game losing streak, so the positivity even extends to Oakland. Hopefully good times are ahead for the green and gold.  Continue reading →

The second week of the MLB season brought another seven days of thrilling action.  This was accompanied by the landmark news of two new ballparks opening in New York and two much-loved members of the baseball family (Harry Kalas and Mark “The Bird” Fidrych) being taken from us. 

On the opening day of the British baseball season, there’s plenty of MLB news on which to reflect.  Continue reading →

It takes a lot to knock some of the joy out of MLB’s opening week.  Nick Adenhart’s tragic death certainly did just that. 

That it should come mere hours after he had pitched brilliantly for the Angels showed what a loss to the sport he will be.  While his death reminded us all that baseball is just a game, the circumstances also reminded us just what this game means to the lives of so many people.  You could see from the footage of what turned out to be his final start that Adenhart loved being out there on the mound, finally making a mark in the Majors.  The Angels took a day off and then got back out there on the field, honouring their teammate by playing the game he loved.  Continue reading →

The clocks have gone forward an hour, the MLB season opener is a week away and it looks like there will be no MLB coverage on terrestrial TV.  The latter is a real disappointment, but WHGB will help to take our minds off the problem briefly with news of a pitcher retiring, the ever-present problem of injuries and some impressive Spring Training home run hitting feats.  Continue reading →