1964: A Neighbor Kid, A Snapshot In Time, And A World Series That Wasn’t
By the time September 15 came around, the Phils were on a roll. They had owned first place since July 17. It appeared a World Series berth was merely a formality. The Phillies’ front office had that ticket availability plan – however unusual.
Read moreMorons Arrested In Ludicrous Gambling Scheme. Somewhere, Someone Is Surprised.
Advertisements .are available to be purchased. Please contact the publisher for details. Somehow, allowing gambling to be associated with professional sports has allowed gamblers to…wait for it…infiltrate professional sports. Somewhere, a U.S. Supreme Court justice is saying, “Whaaaaaaat? How’d that happen?” This week, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted on charges they took bribes from gamblers.
Read moreWorld Series Reflections and Highlights
The Freddie Freeman walk-off homer was a crowd-pleaser; and yes Shohei Otani was otherworldly in reaching base in all nine plate appearances with an epic night. But had it not been for a gutsy relief outing by a guy few outside of Dodgertown have even heard of, all this would have gone for naught. Had you ever heard of Will Klein?
Read moreDodgers Win…How???
The ninth was set up for Guerrero to be the hero.
Now in the 11th, he has to be the savior. He delivers. His ability to pull his hands in at hit a ball down the line with power is outstanding. He does it again with a rope down the line.
Read moreHas Baseball Turned Into Nothing More Than a Home Run and Strikeout Showcase?
Fans could not get enough of the home run. And why not? They were seemingly drenched ad nauseum by giddy announcers and a plethora of analysts ballyhooing all kinds of metrics such as Exit Velocities, Launch Angles, and Expected Home Run Rate, or xHR%. The players themselves were given to cartoonish theatrics after hitting one out, from fancy bat-flips to the perfunctory pointing, glaring and glittering of bling as they sashayed around the bases.
Read moreDear Mr. Roberts
Advertisements for thespitter.com are available. Reach tens of thousands of potential customers. Contact for rates and information. I hate to tell you this, but it is not June 28. Your bullpen is not reliable. Anthony Banda is falling so far off the mound to the right that it is almost impossible for him to know where the ball is going.
Read moreNotes From One Of The Greatest Games
Advertisements or thespitter.com are available. Reach tens of thousands of potential customers annually. Contact the publisher for rates and information. I don’t know when I started taking notes. Hours ago. Here they are. I’m going to bed. Game three Edman swinging at everything neck and higher. Then can’t get low enough to field what should have been an inning-ending double
Read moreThe 2025 World Series: Two Teams That Know The Meaning Of The Word “Clutch” And A Great Story
Advertisements This one could be fun. The storylines seem never ending. The Toronto Blue Jays were last in the World Series in 1993 and won it with the famous Joe Carter home run. George Springer won another game in the postseason with his 23rd career homer…after limping through a game and a half with a sore knee (Fouling a ball
Read morePut That Hook Away
“Managers have to read the room. Snell and Yamamoto didn’t even break a sweat. Yamamoto look like he could’ve pitched forever.”
Read moreIt’s The Little Things
Advertisements The whipsaw contest between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the American League Division series was driven by…bad baseball. It started early. Toronto’s Ernie Clement busts his tail down the line on a grounder to first. Pitcher Carlos Rodon doesn’t cover. Ben Rice slides instead of dives and catches a spike. Safe
Read moreOf All People…
Advertisements You would expect more from a manager with 14 years of experience as a catcher in the Major Leagues, especially one who put up really good numbers (.262 batting average, .995 fielding percentage) over a career that came up just one short of 1300 games. But, the postseason is a different animal from the regular season and Mariners’ manager
Read moreDear Parents, Coaches, and Admin
…consider if you immediately come to their defense to protect them when someone like a teacher or coach tells them to correct the same behavior you’ve been nagging them about for years.
Read moreHey, FOX! Get Off The Mound!
Do we really want to hear one of the game’s best pitchers take a batted ball off the forehead because an announcer didn’t know when to shut up?
Read morePlayers’ Complaint: Bags Of Money Are Keeping Me From Running To First Base
“I can only run so fast,” said Ohtani after recently slowing down to allow Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman and bag of donuts impersonator, Josh Naylor, to roll to first base ahead of him.
Read morePitching A Concern For L.A. At The Halfway Point?
A team hopes to use five or six…maybe seven…god forbid… eight starters during a year. The Dodgers have used 16 so far, including bullpen games.
Read moreGiants Deal For Devers In What Looks To Be A Steal Of A Deal
… it’s very possible there could be more Devers dingers to left than there will be splash hits in McCovey Cove.
Read moreFenway
No Rs in Bawston, which means Bahb and Andew’s histoy tou continues in seach of knowledge and a wicked awesome dawg.
Read more2025 Yankees
This could get ugly…fast.
Aaron Boone will have to manage his tail off. Brian Cashman will have to spend some money. Right now, this is an 85-win team.
“You Go In There And Kill This Rally” -Mr. Baseball Dead At 90
“Bobby was in his championship Little League game. He really showed me something. Struck out three times. Made an error that lost the game. Parents were throwing things at our car and swearing at us as we drove off. Gosh, I was proud” –Bob Uecker, “Mr. Baseball”
Read moreThe Spitter Podcast
Baseball, baseball, baseball. The Spitter Podcast is back with some strictly audio versions and some audio of full posts for those who have finally stopped reading and driving.
Read moreThe Reason Behind Fernando Rodney’s Hat
Advertisements For years, I railed against the off-kilter angle of Fernando Rodney’s hat. Why? Maybe because I had nothing better to do. Or I keep seeing grownups doing dumb things that kids copy and then suffer the consequences of those actions. Or it just looked moronic. Turns out he had a reason, and a good one at that. The following
Read moreTime to Jettison Some Of Baseball’s New Rules
It’s time for Major League Baseball to truly get into the 21st Century, with a bow to its storied past, and make changes that make sense.
Read more2024 World Series: The Yankees Taketh…The Yankees Giveth Right Back
Advertisements Not even 24 hours after the Los Angeles Dodgers had coughed up a World Series game due to failures across the board, the New York Yankees appeared on the threshold of perhaps becoming the first team to ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to even reach a sixth game. Game 5 starts much as Game 4 had ended:
Read moreWorld Series Game 4: The Little Things Make All The Difference.
In the end, 11-4 is not the least of L.A.’s problems. Sloppy play and Aaron Judge coming out of a slump are.
Read moreSpitter Podcast
The Moffitt 8th Grade road trip to Washington D.C. and New York City took a couple of detours from the typical middle school trip. There were many more stops, many more cities, many more baseball games, and many more hot dogs.
Read moreSurvey This
inally. Major League Baseball has sought me out. Me alone, I’m sure. “What does Bob think?” someone must have asked. “I have a pretty good idea,” came the reply. “He writes down virtually everything he thinks on Thespitter.com website. Kind of annoying to tell you the truth.”
Read moreOne Helluva National Anthem
Please allow me to pleasantly and kindly review the version of the anthem as sung before the Major League All Star game home run derby by Ingrid Andress and explain to all of you as to why it was so amazing.
Read moreHow Badly Will Injuries Affect Philly?
Advertisements What has been a great season for the Philadelphia Phillies took a turn Thursday as Bryce Harper limped off the field at the end of a 7-4 loss to the Marlins…just an inning after Kyle Schwarber left the game with groin tightness. Their impact is impossible to ignore on a team with some quality players, but only one who
Read moreYou’re Outta Here!
Advertisements It is not often that we can be the very best at something. Major League Baseball umpire Angel Hernandez’s career has seen a lot of “bests.” Let’s celebrate them now that he has called it quits after 30 years of missing things. The best check swing strike three call: Bryce Harper’s bat was parallel to the inside of the
Read moreSI: The End
It almost seemed like this was destined to happen eventually. I, for one, had never been able to make the jump to the online version. The internet had already begun to infringe on the willingness of readers to wait until Tuesday to read about events they could find online today…and that was before Covid.
Read moreIt’s About Damn Time
The Rockies’ offensive advantage during Helton’s playing days because of the thin, mile-high air are well-known. But, Helton wasn’t exactly a AA player on the road. He hit .287 with an .855 OPS.
Read more2023 San Diego Padres First Look
This could be one of those teams that has an offensive surge in the second half and wins 55 games. Or, the offense comes alive and the pitching falls apart and they win 35.
Read moreDodgers 2023 First Look
You can’t lose Trea Turner, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, and Alex Verdugo without it catching up to you eventually, especially if Mookie Betts is trying too hard to carry the load and the Swiss Army Knives like Chris Taylor aren’t hitting. The bullpen is full of gas cans. We don’t know how long this is going to last but we do know this is going to be painful, at least for a little bit.
Read more2023 First Look: Are The Diamondbacks For Real?
Maybe the 2023 Diamondbacks are a flash in the pan, maybe not. Regardless they have already racked up enough wins to make their August and September games meaningful.
Read moreThese Ain’t Weaver’s Orioles, But They Ain’t Bad
Not surprisingly, they have started off well (26-14). But after looking at the numbers, it is really shocking how they are doing it.
Read moreTampa Bay Rays 2023 Season Outlook
The experts say there’s no way Tampa Bay can continue winning with what they have, and every year Tampa Bay proves them wrong.
Read more2023 First Look: Blue Jays
The question for Toronto is, do baby giraffes like domed stadiums?
The Jays also have hopes for another player with a pretty good nickname, Daulton “Little Wheels” Varsho.
Read moreIt’s A Bill G Stream-Of-Consciousness Opening D!
Advertisements A’s marking time until new stadium or move Giants can’t retain players -no help from minors Mariners back to reality and sub 500 Angels can’t win with two best players -another non playoff season Astros solid everywhere back to the WS Guardians came together last year -play well as a team Tigers keep hoping for a renaissance like the
Read moreThe Case Against The Windup
It’s what happens to windup pitchers once someone gets on base that often becomes a problem.
Read morePitch To The Man: A Story Of A Player Unafraid To Fail
Matt Barnes is now my favorite professional ball player named Matt Barnes. Granted, the bar was set pretty low.
Read moreThe Magical 61: A Number For Kings
For six decades, plus a year, Roger Maris has held the home run record. That record is in danger of finally falling.
Read moreOccasional Days Of Remembrance Are Not Enough To Address Issues Blacks in Baseball Faced Or Their Future In The Game
“…stop whitewashing the history, acting as if the story ended in 1947. And, MLB would do small but important things to bring back the connection to black fans so that the interest spreads to the talented among us. “
Read more62: Baseball’s New Magic Number?
Wins are hard to get nowadays. Pitchers are pulled from games earlier and earlier. According to Bleacher Report, there were 734 complete games in 1982. We are on pace this year for…four
Read moreIt Was Perfect…Until It Wasn’t
Advertisements Or, how an over-protective manager robbed a player of a chance at immortality. Of course Dodger manager Dave Roberts should have pulled Clayton Kershaw from the game after 80 pitches and a perfect game after seven innings. After all…um…nope. What I mean to say is, it’s better for Kershaw to be denied the opp…ur…nuh uh. Let’s try…cooler heads will
Read moreA Career So Sweet…But Too Short For The Hall?
Bob Moffitt: (Posey was) rookie of the Year, MVP, 7-time All Star in 10 full years in the field, four Silver Sluggers, one Gold Glove,
Steve Harmon: Not arguing at all that he wasn’t great, that he accumulated all that platinum. But one thing he didn’t accumulate were the numbers. I’m sorry, but 1,500 hits and 153 home runs – even for a catcher.
World Series 2021: Braves Vs Astros
Yes, they Braves are hot, but I don’t know if Atlanta is the second coming of the Minnesota Twins.
Read moreFendley Dives Deep: Houston vs Chicago, September 28, 1995
What’s the record for blown saves in a game by one team? Better question. How can you not know?
Read moreIowa? We could have sworn this was Heaven.
Two baseball scribes return to their roots to celebrate the game of baseball and a pretty magical movie.
Read moreHarmon Notebook: On Coddling Pitchers, The Baseball God Hisself Not Happy With 100-pitch Counts
Every single year, he registered exactly zero (0) complete games. I mean, talk about pushing him beyond his limits!
Read moreBaseball Is Teetering On Boredom. Here’s How To Fix It.
(Bunting is) another lost art, yet another skill that has been swallowed up faster than a mom-and-pop wiped out by a new big-box store.
Read moreFraternization, the Black Sox and Blood in the Hay
It was fun but you had to have thick skin. “For Chissake Gaffney you just cost me 75 cents,” someone groused after the 14 year old served up a three-run gopher ball. We noticed the “House” was doing pretty well.
Read moreDo The Right Thing… Unless It’s Not Reviewable
Good play or cheating… or failure by everyone responsible for getting a simple, stupid call correct?
Read moreMike Yastrzemksi’s Big Fly Would Have Fallen Flat If Not For Grandpa’s ’67 Squad That Saved Fenway
Boston fans welcomed Carl Yastrzemski’s grandson with open arms … as the enemy. It’s a bit of sportsmanship saved only for a place that appreciates its history in a historic place … a place that wouldn’t be here without the 1967 Red Sox.
Read moreOaktown
The very nice people behind us did not seem to know that their language and subject matter should be altered when within earshot of a boy. There was some pretty x-rated language and conversation going on in those seats. Try to remember that you are not the only at the ballpark. But, man, what a sunset.
Read moreAnother Candlestick Tale: Melvin Belli Sues The Giants
. In a flourish that underscored the absurdity of the dispute, he listed collateral he argued should be subject to seizure—including Willie Mays (the player himself)—along with bats, balls, gloves, uniforms, and even bar whiskey…
Read moreKent Rightfully Selected For The Hall
Fourteenth all time for double plays, was top-five five times for fielding percentage, is the all-time leader in home runs (351) , and is fourth in doubles. Kent’s feud (with Barry Bonds) would endear him forever in the hearts of those who later discovered that Bonds was part of the Balco scandal.
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