MLB Showdown Obsession

 Today is Veterans Day, and while a lot of people in America are getting the day off from work without caring/understanding why, it's important to take note of the sacrifices and efforts of our war veterans who fight the battles that make the American way of life possible. Sports are no exception to the call of duty when needed, and baseball has a lengthy collection of great players who put country before career and stepped up when they were needed more. Today we look back on just a few of the players who put baseball on hold for the good of their country.

The cast of the Baseball Hall of Fame can be a controversial lot. There are men who were shut out from enshrinement that fans go up in arms at how the voters fail to see how valuable they were, while at the same time scratching their heads as some of the players who did receive a plaque. Then there were men who both were mysteriously excluded, only to later gain entry and have his credentials questioned. Phil Rizzuto is such a name. When the time came for him on the BBWAA ballot, he couldn't even crack 40%. The debate raged for years where some feel he was unfairly snubbed, while others compared his stats to Hall of Famers and noted how poorly he compared. Then there were his loudest supporters: the men he played against like Ted Williams who would often cite how he was the key to the dynasty Yankee seasons. Sure, Berra, DiMaggio and Mantle helped make that dynasty the dominating force we remember, but the Splendid Splinter felt that if the Red Sox had Rizzuto manning Shortstop for...

Welcome to the 2026 iteration of all the failures of our cherished game.  These are the awards you DON'T want to win The "AL Central Needs to Disband" Award [Awarded to the crappiest division in baseball] Previous winners: - AL Central  2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025 - AL West  2010, 2013, 2024 - NL East  2014, 2015, 2017, 2021 --- The American League West: Angels, Astros, Athletics, Mariners, Rangers --- I never understood the desire many fans have of being like the NFL with 4 divisions per league. With the potential expansion of adding 2 new teams, many propose dividing everyone up into 4 divisions of 4 teams each, to better even out the 32 total teams. The problem with that can be seen in the NFL, where every so often they have a division winner that just does not belong in the playoffs, usually at or below .500. We can accept that in the NFL when you only play 17 games a year, but for baseball, a .500 team in October after 162 games is 1000%...

 The most sporting-like event that isn't sports is without question found in the political theater. Once again, we will blur the lines between the two to create a Showdown team based on American politics. Last year, the Democratic party was represented and now we will cover their rivals in the Republican party. Once again the rule stands that the team must be able to field properly for a game, covering all positions and pitching roles. Gerald Ford Heading the rotation for this team as well is a Hall of Famer. While his presidential counterpart was never elected to the office, the winningest World Series pitcher did not have that same problem when it came to Cooperstown. Warren Harding What's more daunting than a HoF pitcher? How about two HoF pitchers? Warren Harding may not be one of the most well known American leaders, but Spahn is a different story. Benjamin Harrison The reason Grover Cleveland served non-consecutive terms was because of our boy Harrison here, sitting smack...