Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick’s Ultimate Collection of baseball cards ordinarily resides at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, but in March and April of 2016 he put the collection on display at the Phoenix Art Museum. The collection offers not only a trip back in time but also a window into how
The analytics vs. scouting thing, it’s so tired. It’s so East Coast-West Coast rap. Uncle. Uncle, you know what I mean? — Angels GM Billy Eppler Baseball tells many stories. There is the history: the players, owners, ballparks, games. Each game weaves its own tale, unfolding pitch by pitch, inning by inning. String together enough games and
Spring is a time for lovers of baseball, when hope fills our hearts and anything is possible. Our team’s streaky slugger hasn’t yet stumbled into his inevitable slump, that promising young rookie hasn’t yet disappointed his way back to Triple-A, and even the baby-faced Marlins are contenders. As teams begin preparing for their six-month grind
The crowd was small for a Friday night, a shade over 7,200, as the San Diego Gulls hosted the Stockton Heat. Gulls play-by-play announcer Craig Elsten blamed the low turnout on Super Bowl weekend and on the opponent—like the Gulls, the Heat were treading water in the middle of the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division.
They play in towns of various sizes, connected by a loose network of long roads that stretch across a large continent. We are all chasing dreams, whether we are conscious of this fact or not. Some of us arrive at our intended destination, others end up elsewhere. Either way, the journey is unique and unforgettable.
What’s better than great closer entrance music? Awful closer entrance music, of course. I once compiled a list of such music. There are 71 songs on that list, which mostly holds up seven years later, but which is missing some excellent material. It also contains only snappy (or not-so-snappy, depending on your tastes) one-liners, and is
I grew up in Los Angeles, a Dodgers fan. Financial and geographic concerns kept my family and I from attending many games, but I have fond memories of falling asleep to Vin Scully’s bedtime stories on the radio. After “suffering” through World Series losses in 1977 and 1978, I celebrated when they finally beat the
Although he garnered scant attention at the time, Seattle Mariners right-hander Tony Zych broke a 105-year streak in 2015, when he made his big-league debut on September 4 in Oakland. This marked the first time since August 13, 1910 that someone other than Dutch Zwilling ended the baseball alphabet. As someone who often got called
The sun glares down onto the Scottsdale desert, unobstructed by clouds. It feels warmer than the listed 62 degrees. Outfield flags remain still. The intimacy of the six-week-long Arizona Fall League provides welcome respite from recent World Series bustle, which seems impossibly far from here. Less than a week after nearly 45,000 frenzied fans (plus
