Not long ago, with offensive levels rising and some of the greatest players in the game’s long history performing at their peak, speculation was rampant that the game’s most hallowed records–most notably Hank Aaron‘s 755 career home runs–were in severe jeopardy. Maybe not. Mark McGwire, whose 135 home runs in 1998 and 1999 made him…
HE’S JUST A FRIEND "I think I kissed Omar once before, maybe in ’98 or ’99. He just smiled. I think he was as happy as I was." —Dave Burba, Indians pitcher, after kissing infielder Omar Vizquel, who helped Burba win his 100th game "I think that’s the second teammate I’ve kissed in my career."…
About 10 days ago, Yankee second baseman/left fielder/Sergeant York impersonator Chuck Knoblauch was greeted rudely by Twins fans sitting in the left-field bleachers. Knoblauch was showered with currency, pork products, and words normally used to summon cabs in New York City by Twins fans, apparently distraught over Knoblauch’s request for a trade after the 1997…
The whining and threatening have already begun. Florida’s legislature made a small gesture to try to restore the state’s credibility this week by telling Marlins owner John Henry to stuff his $140 million funding request up his… well, up his John Henry. Now even the Wall Street Journal, a newspaper generally known for sensible business…
Ichiro Suzuki is and should be a Rookie of the Year candidate, and anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong. You may have already read that Ichiro should not be considered, an opinion held by baseball’s most prominent analyst, for a number of polite reasons that do little to make the thought palatable. Ichiro won…
(Ed. note: Today marks the debut of Keith Woolner as a featured columnist here at Baseball Prospectus. Each Wednesday, he’ll be answering a statistical or sabermetric question from one of our readers. Click here to submit a question to Keith.) This week’s question comes to us from Thomas Berman, who asks: Mike Hampton hit his…
(Note to anyone trying to send me e-mail: it probably will bounce for the next 12 to 48 hours. Thanks for your patience. –JSS) Walking through the parity league… Robb Nen has been alternating dominant seasons with so-so ones since 1996, but his early results so far indicate that the streak may end. Ten baserunners…
Tom Wilson has been one of the best-hitting catchers in minor-league baseball for a number of years, offering the tasty combination of patience and power. However, all that has gotten him is two days of major-league service time, during which he didn’t have an at-bat. Now 30 years old, Wilson is with his fifth organization,…
FIRST WALKS "When I go to the plate I’m only thinking about hitting and putting the ball in play. I go to the plate thinking aggressive. If it happens, I’ll take it, but I’m not going to change my game." —Alfonso Soriano, Yankees infielder, on drawing his first walk of the year "Now that the…
I’ve been writing "D"P for a little over a year now, and in that time I’ve run into occasional writer’s blocks of various sizes. Missing a day or turning out a column with which I’m not happy irks me terribly, while enhancing my admiration of someone like Rob Neyer, who has cranked out daily, high-quality…
With almost five weeks of baseball behind us, let’s take a look at offense in the major leagues to see what, if any, impact the changes in the strike zone are having. Ball Four and Strike Three First, here’s the basic walks and strikeouts information (through May 2), and the comparable information for April of…
Last night’s scene at the Metrodome in Minneapolis was a blot on the Twins’ great start. Some imbeciles in the left-field seats decided that the sixth inning would be a good time to test their arms, and began throwing objects at Yankees’ left fielder and ex-Twin, Chuck Knoblauch. As bad as the incident was–and I…