Category Archives: Baseball
Opening Day
Well, it’s official! The 2013 major league baseball (MLB) season is here. It started auspiciously on Sunday night, March 31, with a game between the Texas Rangers—a powerhouse in the American League (AL) West Division—and the Houston Astros—a really bad team … Continue reading
Roger’s MLB Power Rankings at the Start of 2013 Spring Training
Major League Baseball is just now beginning Spring Training for the 2013 season. It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter. I’m looking forward to the spring and baseball returning. Accordingly, I thought I would take the time to prepare my … Continue reading
The Greatest Cardinal of Them All: Remembering Stan Musial (1920-2013)
If you are connected to anything at all you have heard that we lost a legend over the weekend, Stan “The Man” Musial. Both a great baseball player and true gentleman, a gentle man; he strode across the sports scene … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Last King of the Sports Page: The Life and Career of Jim Murray”
Last King of the Sports Page: The Life and Career of Jim Murray. By Ted Geltner. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2012. As the editor of the “Sports and American Culture” series published by the University of Missouri Press, I … Continue reading
Does the MLB Commissioner Have the Right to Overturn Owner’s Trades/Sales/Deals?
The question above is one that many people have debated during the last couple of weeks as the Miami Marlins and the Toronto Blue Jays undertook a megadeal that swapped several star players for top prospects. In mid-November 2012 the Marlins … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick”
Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick. By Paul Dickson. New York: Walker and Co., 2012. 448 pages, photographs, acknowledgments, appendix, notes, bibliography, index. Hardcover with dustjacket, ISBN: 978-0-8027-1778-8, $28.00 U.S. Paul Dickson’s Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick is a most welcome … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “‘If You Were Only White’: The Life of Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige”
“If You Were Only White”: The Life of Leroy “Satchel” Paige. By Donald Spivey. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2012. As the editor for the “Sports and American Culture” series at the University of Missouri Press I was delighted to … Continue reading
Last Stand of Whitey Herzog’s Cardinals: The 1987 World Series
Twenty-five years ago, in 1987 (and it seems like yesterday), the St. Louis Cardinals went to the World Series to face the Minnesota Twins. It seems appropriate to recall it now, as the World Series is currently underway. Sadly, the Cardinals are … Continue reading
Thirty Years Ago: The Cardinals Win the World Series
In 1982, the Cardinals roared to the division championship, the National League pennant, and victory in the World Series. It was the first world championship for St. Louis since the “El Birdos” of 1967 and the first appearance in the … Continue reading
How Did the Orioles Come to Baltimore? Cardinals versus Browns in St. Louis
The St. Louis Browns and the St. Louis Cardinals shared a city for more than half a century before the Browns finally left town after the 1953 MLB season for Baltimore to become the Orioles. That team went on to major success … Continue reading
