MLB Showdown Obsession

 If the Yankees and their 27 titles didn't exist, then the rest of baseball would be rather close together for the top spot on the World Series championships leaderboard, but the Cardinals would clearly be on top with their 11 conquests of baseball. They're also one of the longest existing franchises, having been named the St. Louis Browns at one point...with their chief rival named the Chicago White Stockings. In an example as how old school baseball is confusing, the Browns would become the Cardinals, a new Browns would pop up in St. Louis that would ultimately become the Orioles, those White Stockings would become the Cubs, and a new team in Chicago would pop up as the White Stockings that would ultimately become the White Sox. So long story short, the Browns v White Stockings is one of the oldest rivalries in baseball, but you'd be wrong if you assumed it's the Orioles and White Sox, because clearly I was talking about the Cardinals and Cubs. Get it? Got it? Good. A...

 The Hall of Fame ballot can get pretty cutthroat when you're jockeying for position in search of that 75%. Voters have a limit of 10 names they can check off on, and sometimes they will leave a name off their list either because they simply don't believe the guy is a Hall of Famer, or because they feel the man is getting enough support already and he'd rather give one of his final available votes to a personal favorite to try to help them along (or keep them over the 5% mark to stay on the ballot). A big name that debuts in their first year and finishes juuuuust a bit short of 75% usually has the luxury of knowing it's a matter of time. Fergie Jenkins and Gaylord Perry had good showings in their 1st attempts in 1989, but 1990 saw a new crop of talent to compete with, including Jim Palmer and Joe Morgan. The Orioles and Reds legends wouldn't be denied in their debuts, but while Jenkins and Perry both saw an increase in support, they still fell short. Either support ...

 With talks of potential strike issues looming for baseball, many fans immediately think back to 1994 when the season was lost, but it wasn't the first time we went without a World Series. 90 years before that stoppage we actually got in an entire regular season, but for different reasons we got no postseason after. The reasons were varied, but it ultimately came down to one team... By 1904, the Giants were completing a turnaround that saw them climb from a disastrous 48-88 record just two years prior into a powerhouse. The biggest reason for such a change in fortunes was the seducing of Player-Manager John McGraw away from the new American League, who brought with him a few other stars. That AL team that McGraw left were the Baltimore Orioles...just not the Orioles we know of today. That Orioles team collapsed without their players, the franchise seized up by AL president Ban Johnson, and ultimately sent elsewhere, but more on them later. For the '04 season, the Giants dominat...

 Every Perfect Game is a team effort. Even when Sandy Koufax and Matt Cain struck out a record 13 batters in their PGs, that still meant that the other 14 outs had to come from the field. And not every ball put into play in a PG is routine, and it stands to reason that there will come a point where a defender is going to have to go above and beyond in order to make a play to preserve perfection. They usually don't overshadow the accomplishment on the mound that day, but some come very close because of the situation and the jaw dropping play itself and earn almost as much discussion afterwards. Mark Buehrle entered his start on July 23, 2009 with a pretty nice resume to that point. He had just represented the Chicago White Sox earlier that month at the all star game, on his way to his 1st Gold Glove award, a few seasons removed from being on a World Series winner and already having pitched a No-Hitter back in 2007. On this day, he took to the mound for a home start at U.S. Cellular...

 Over the course of a long season for a team, there will be a fair share of blowout games both on the winning and losing side. When such an event occurs, a Manager can take that chance to sit some of his regulars in the late innings, or bring in a lower leverage pitcher from the bullpen who could use the tune up. On the losing side, perhaps the ineffective Starter or Long Reliever can take one for the team and stay out there too long, absorbing punishment if it means saving the other guys in the bullpen from having to pitch and leaving them ready for a game of consequence. Either way, if a team starts blowing out the other guys early enough, the result seems destined and everyone will likely start going through the motions and not play the game like it's life or death... ...usually. Then there are times when the losing side of a blowout refuses to give in so easily and fight to make it a game again. In such events, the winning side may start to feel a bit of pressure, but they have...