A Five-tool Writer

In baseball, there is a phrase used to describe a complete ballplayer: a five-tool player.  First talked about in The American Diamond, by Branch Rickey.* The term has evolved from one used to describe an all-around athlete to one that describes a truly elite player. Statcast defines a five-tool player as one that excels at hitting

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What Happened, and What We Imagined

I remember where I was when Matt Davidson fouled off a pitch from Jharel Cotton. I was sitting at home on the couch, wondering how this single event might form the basis of an article, an opening into some larger discussion about choices and life. For this reason, July 3, 2017, will always have special

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Review: Costco’s Baseball Ticket Deal

TL;DR -For $64.99 you get voucher for 2 tickets, 2 hot dogs, and 2 small sodas -You still have to pay for parking or hitch a ride -Make sure your voucher can be redeemed on the day you want to go -Redeem vouchers early for best seats -The tickets are decent and worth the money

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The Mets Need to Focus on Rebuilding Now

Things started off so promisingly for the Mets this year. Their fearsome pitching rotation were finally all healthy at the same time, and many expected the team to make a run at the pennant. Fast forward to today and the Mets are sitting in fourth place of the NL East with a losing record, ahead

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Crooked Book Club (Book #1; Post #1)

OK, fans of the written word, the Crooked Book Club is preparing to ramp up. Our inaugural book is “The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse,” by Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci. Since this is our first outing, we may have to play around with

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Which Baseball Movie Fits Your Mood? A Handy Guide

“What’s your favorite baseball movie?” is a pretty tough question. Just because two movies deal with the same sport doesn’t mean they have anything else in common. Baseball movies come in all shapes, sizes, tones, and attitudes, so with a new season just getting underway, use this handy guide to choose a baseball movie based

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