A few minutes ago we received confirmation from
Luke was born at
The Herts Newswire takes the opportunity, on behalf of all its readers, to congratulate Natalie and John (not forgetting Jade who now has a little brother).
It is unclear why this information is reaching us with a month’s delay. We will have to appoint a new Newswire reporter Down Under.
The Year of the Pitcher
The baseball establishment has always favoured the hitters over the pitchers. Over time, the rules have been altered to give the hitters an advantage. Presuming that the fans would prefer seeing a home run than a strikeout, a major rule change was implemented at the start of the 1969 season that has altered the game significantly.
1968 has been dubbed the year of the pitcher. Pitchers dominated that season. Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers went 31-6. Five pitchers in the American League had ERAs lower than 2.00, and Bob Gibson won the NL title with an unheard of 1.12 ERA and 13 shutouts. Juan Marichal of the Giants won 26 games and led the NL with 30 complete games out of 38 starts. The team batting average in the
Fearing that a lack of offence would drive away the fans, the Rules committee lowered the mound from 15” to 10” and also graduated the slope of the mound. The changes altered the game and fundamentally gave the advantage to the hitters. The
There has been one other major rules change that has discriminated against the pitchers. The strike zone has shrunk. It is supposed to be the armpit to the knee, but most umpires will not call anything above the belt a strike.
If those two obstacles weren’t enough, pitchers have other factors working against them. Batters are now allowed to wear protective armour that enable them to crowd the plate and take away the advantage the pitchers had of throwing on the outside corner. The balls are also livelier and the ballparks are smaller. The game of today resembles softball more than baseball.
It is a bit specious to presume that fans prefer offence. In the American League, the attendance in 1968 was the second highest between the years 1961 to 1971.
There is always a buzz in the crowd when a power pitcher is on the mound. I only saw Nolan Ryan pitch once in person, but I’ll never forget it. He was 42 years old, and he was pitching for
Another game I’ll never forget was between the Yankees and the Red Sox on May 28, 2000 at Yankee Stadium. Pedro Martinez vs. Roger Clemens. Both pitchers pitched complete games. Clemens struck out 13 and
Given the rules alterations, I never really respect the current era batting averages. Todd Helton’s .372BA in 2000 or George Brett’s .390BA in 1980 were significant accomplishments, but what would they have hit if they had to face a 15” mound and a “normal” strike zone? We’ll never know, but we can always speculate.
Spring is here, which means that baseball is back. This year Herts Baseball Club has added a new event to the British baseball calendar with the first ever Herts Spring League (HSL).
One of the most exciting times of the baseball season is Spring Training. After a long and cold winter everyone connected with baseball is eager to get back to the baseball diamond. Teams start to put into action their master plans to win the league. Players are jostling for a position on the roster. Pitchers are competing for a starting spot in the rotation. It is a first chance for managers and players to see new players which have signed up with the clubs. These are just some of the reasons why Spring is a special time for baseball.
The 2008 HSL line-up has just been announced and it will certainly provide exciting baseball action over the next three weeks. The 10 participating teams are split into two divisions, HSL1 and HSL2.
HSL1 includes Hertfordshire’s top team the Falcons, the Burgess Hill Colts, Northampton Baseball Club who impressed at the 2007 London Tournament and the ASL Eagles. The Eagles will add an element of suspense to HSL1. They are very much an unknown quantity as they do not compete in the BBF leagues. The ASL Eagles is a team representing the
Looking at the HSL1 schedule one game stands out as a must-see clash. The Herts Falcons meet the Burgess Hill Colts for the first time since the 2006 Premier League Playoff game which the Colts won in extra innings to sink the Falcons down from the Premier League to Division 1. Revenge will be on the minds of the Falcons after that heart-breaking game.
HSL2 includes the Herts Hawks, Sidewinders, Richmond Dragons, Bracknell Blazers, Milton Keynes Hurricanes, and the newly created third Hertfordshire team, the Herts Raptors. The MK Hurricanes go into the league as the favourites, but, with other teams strengthening their rosters over the winter, it could prove to be a very competitive league with almost all of the teams having a realistic chance of taking the HSL2 title.
Over the next three Sundays 23 games will be played at 4 baseball venues in and around
For more information about the teams, game times and venues you can visit the official HSL website. The HSL website has linked up with the Herts Baseball Newswire to provide extensive coverage of the HSL including game reports, video news, stats and much more so stay tuned.
RELATED LINKS
Official HSL website: www.hertsbaseball.com/HSL
First in War, First in Peace, Last in the American or National League
On September 30, 1971, the expansion Washington Senators concluded an abysmal 11 year run in the nation’s capital with a loss to the New York Yankees. They finished the season with a 63-96 record, 38 ½ games out of first place. During their stint, they finished in last place five times, lost the most games, and had by the far the lowest attendance in the American League. The franchise was an unmitigated disaster.
Like any astute businessman, owner Robert Short assessed the situation, decided to cut his losses, and moved the team to
Despite the fact that this was the second time baseball had failed in the nation’s capital, by committing this transgression, Short was vilified in the press. How dare he have the audacity to move the national pastime out of the nation’s capital? Despite being in an untenable position, he then became DC’s persona non grata
This wasn’t the first time this had occurred. In 1960, fed up with a losing team and a non-existent fan base, owner Clark Griffith moved the Senators to
Over the next 30 odd years, there was hand ringing on a massive scale. The
I didn’t buy any of their arguments, but no one listened to me.
In 2005, they got their wish. The Montreal Expos moved to
Now that the team has finished their third season and the euphoria has died down, let’s assess the situation. Their three year won lost records have been 81-81, 71-91, and 73-89. They have finished last, last, and next to last in their division. The most worrying stat has been their attendance. In three years, out of 30 MLB teams, their attendance has dropped from 11th to 21st to 25th.
25th out of 30 is very worrying, particularly for a city that supposedly was yearning for baseball for 34 years. However, the apologists and justifiers have come back in full force. The reason, they claim, for the low attendance is RFK Stadium. It’s a dump, and once the new stadium is ready (2008) the fans will come back in droves!
Build it and they will come!
I’m not holding my breath.
The reality is that
Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. Unfortunately, there are two instances of baseball failing in
Three years in to the third era, it’s not looking good.
I hope I’m wrong, but we’ll see if the Nationals succeed, and more importantly, if the city supports them.
ACT I
They’ll play 18 in the regular season, but only once during spring training. Yesterday’s 8-4 Yankee win over the Red Sox could be inconsequential, or it could be a harbinger for what is to come.
Both teams enter the season with question marks, particularly with pitching. Bartolo Colon, who was offered a non-guaranteed minor league contract, pitched well enough to keep his team hopeful. He will probably take the place of Curt Schilling, but at 35, with shoulder and elbow problems, who much does he have left?
With Josh Beckett nursing an ailing back, and Tim Wakefield’s favourite battery mate (Doug Mirabelli) recently released, the Sox will give the opening day start (in Japan) to Daisuke Matsuzaka. The team is expecting more from him than 2007, when he went 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA. John Lester is expected to be the fifth starter, and hopefully he is fully recovered from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The Yankees also have question marks with their pitching staff. Is 39 year old Mike Mussina washed up? He had career lows in wins (11), a very poor .311 BAA and a career worse ERA of 5.15. If he can’t contribute and Andy Pettitte’s elbow problems flare up, the only proven starter is Chien-Ming Wang. The other two prospective starters are extremely green. Phil Hughes is 21 with 13 MLB games under is belt. Ian Kennedy is 23 and has only pitched 3 times in the big leagues.
The Yankees everyday lineup is relatively intact. They will score runs, and the only health concern is Hideki Matsui, who has fully recovered from off season knee surgery. Bobby Abreu reported to camp in great condition, and is one of three Yanks who drove in more than 100 RBI, along with A-Rod and Derek Jeter. Jorge Posado, Robinson Cano, and Jason Giambi are also expected to contribute.
The Red Sox scored 101 fewer runs than the Yankees, and both David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez had major dips in their 2007 offensive production. Ortiz HR’s dropped from 54 to 35 and Ramirez 20HR and 88RBI were quite ordinary, particularly for a player who was earning $20 million. Perhaps at the age of 36 Ramirez is on the downward side of his career. Ortiz was slowed by a bad knee, so we’ll see if the surgery he had in the off-season can alleviate his low production.
Many prognosticators are claiming that this is the year that the Blue Jays will overtake one, if not both teams. It is very evident that the Yanks and Sox do not like each other. When Julian Taveraz drilled Derek Jeter in the forearm with a fastball, was it retaliation for what occurred last season when Joba Chamberlain threw two 98MPH fastballs over Kevin Youkilis’ head? Joe Girardi has a take no prisoners approach, and his hitters will definitely be protected.
With these two teams, it is always high drama and high theatre. Now that the curse of the Bambino has been lifted, and the Sox have won two of the last four World Series, they are the team to beat. The 20th century belonged to the Yankees, and their last World Championship was in 2000. Maybe the 21st century will belong to the Red Sox.
They will play 18 times in 2008. Both teams should contend, along with the Blue Jays. The Yanks will score more runs, but the Sox have an edge (on paper) in the starting rotation. The bullpens are relatively equal. With Joe Girardi at the helm and Hank Steinbrenner providing a lot of bulletin board quotes, the 2008 AL East campaign should be quite interesting.
Demographic Shift
Gary Sheffield was recently lamenting the dearth of inner city kids who are playing baseball. Recognizing the fact that baseball and American football are much more popular to underprivileged kids,
The times, they are a changing. International players now comprise 28% of major league rosters. The percentage of African American players is down from 29% 25 years ago to a current level of 8%.
Baseball is both growing in popularity across the world while dying a slow death in the inner cities of the States. In the 2007 All Star game, of the 66 participants, 20 were born outside of the U.S., including the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Canada, and Japan. Latin America has been a feeding ground for MLB for quite awhile, but now we’re seeing an influx from Asia and
I’m reminded of the outrage in the
As a kid growing up in
I have to admit that baseball is no longer
What will then happen to our National Pastime?
I’d already made a fielding error earlier inthe game which had cost us the lead. It’s funny, when you’re a rookie the onlyperson who seems to get particularly annoyed with your mistakes and errors isyourself. That or your team mates probably don’t let on that you’re now theirleast favourite guy on the team. I was pretty down after bobbling that basicground ball to second, though, which is silly since you’re only more likely todo it again if you aren’t focusing completely on the next play. It had been adouble play situation and the runner was bearing down to my left, the ball wasin front of me and took a bad hop at the last second (on the dodgy grass I feelinclined to add)… so we got no outs on the play and the runner scored fromthird. In practice it’s a lot different. You only have to really focus onmaking the play and imagine that there is a runner; the game is totallydifferent though as that runner will try to get in your way or distract you. Laterin the game, though, I drove in the tie breaking RBI, redeeming my errorinstantly clearing me of my guilt- baseball is odd like that. Your mood canchange from inning to inning, pitch to pitch.
I thought it might be nice to start the blogwith that short story. I’m not going to pretend like it was a particularlyimportant RBI since we beat the Sidewinders 12-3, or a particularly good hiteither- but every little helps when you’re developing as a player. Anyway, as Ialready said, this will be a blog- but unlike Bruce’s and Marty’s. It won’tdeal with issues in the sport or really even talk about the mlb, it’s going tofocus on what it’s like to be a rookie in the club. The trials andtribulations, the ups and downs. So, hopefully, any new guys joining the club will be able to relate to this blog and realise that they are not alone in any mistakes they make.
Celebrity Madness
It’s been a slow sports week. Not much has been going on, other than Andy Pettitte’s sore elbow, or Orlando Hernandez’ bunion, or Barry Zito’s 17.18 ERA.
It’s been so slow that it’s been difficult thinking of interesting things to write about.
Billy Crystal saved the day. In case you haven’t heard, the Yankees have signed him to a one day contract and he will be in uniform today and play against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Memo to Mr. Crystal. Don’t go away mad, just go away.
Jack Nicholson was the original celebrity fan, long before it was in vogue. Always an ardent LA Lakers fan, he was known and respected by all the players because he was a true fan. In fact, he was such an ardent fan that he was affectionately nicknamed “The Cuckoo Man” by the NBA players.
Nicholson I could respect. He was a die hard fan, and how could you not respect a guy who “mooned” the Celtics fans in
After Nicholson started showing up at the LA Forum, the avalanche then began. Dyan Cannon. Arsenio Hall. Soon the Lakers seemingly had more celebrity fans than everyday average Joe fans. Then it spread elsewhere. Spike Lee and John McEnroe started going to Knick games at
Perhaps they were all “true” fans, but my cynical side thinks that most of them were more concerned with their Q rating than the outcome of the game.
The Yankees have crossed the line with this absurd signing. Look, I get that
I just don’t want to see him playing for the Yankees.
Can you imagine what the legendary Yankee, Joe DiMaggio, the personification of class, would think? Just imagine him patrolling center field, and seeing this celebrity “never was” on the same field with him? It makes a mockery of the sport, and denigrates the tradition of the most successful baseball franchise in history.
How about if I make a few other suggestions for stand-in Yankee players?
Robert DeNiro. I guarantee that he’d be Joe Girardi’s kind of guy and there would be no brawls with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Rudy Giuliani. Now that he’s out of the Presidential race, he’s probably got a lot of time on his hands. If they put him at shortstop, the
Hillary Clinton. Why not? She now lives in
Elliot Spitzer? Well, I’ll leave everyone to ponder that one.
It is not very often that we see a 60-years old movie legend suit up and play for the New York Yankees in an official Spring Training game. That's exactly what Billy Crystal will do tonight. The star of movies like “When Harry Met Sally”, “Cityslickers”, “Throw Mama from the Train”, “Analyze This” etc joined up with the Yankees camp on Wednesday and will play against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight at 6:15pm UK time. The game will be shown live on www.mlb.com
RELATED LINKS:
VIDEO – Billy Crystal's lead off at bat
VIDEO – Pre-game Billy Crystal media conference
VIDEO – Derek Jeter on Billy Crystal's debut
Over the years Herts Baseball Club has played an important part in the community throughout Dacorum Borough Council where the club’s baseball complex is based. In 2003 the club’s contribution was acknowledged with the presentation of the “Club of the Year Award” by Sir Henry Cooper.
The club is keen to increase its role in the County and last month took part in the creation of the Dacorum Sports Network. The unveiling of the Sports Network was done by the Mayor of Dacorum, Cllr Brian Ayling, who was particularly enthusiastic about the potential good the DSN could do for sport within the borough.
“This network in Dacorum has been so meticulously planned and developed that it's going to hit the ground running,” he said. “Already there is a local structure for interaction between sports groups in Dacorum, reaching out into the broader spectrum of Hertfordshire and even nationally – that's the way to start. “What particularly enthuses me is that this organisation here in Dacorum and nationally has no age or physical demarkations. “What a wonderful concept and what a wonderful tribute to those involved. “I believe we are in a great position to contribute to the community of Dacorum and to represent the aims and aspirations of all the sports people (within the borough).”
The official DSN logo was unveiled by the Mayor in front of the local media. The line up also included two members of the Herts Baseball Little League (See extract from the article in the Hemel Gazette).
Lee Manning and Jo Smith receive
2003 Dacorum Club of the year Award
from legendary boxer, Sir Henry Cooper.