MLB Showdown Obsession

 Baseball is a hard game, and not many men have had the distinction of saying they've played in the Majors. It's been said that if you took every individual who has ever played in the entire history of the MLB, you would still be unable to fill up even the smallest stadium in the League. So if you ever have the honor of getting to play, even in one game in your career, you should feel very distinct. Except Ron Wright. Ron Wright was a career minor leaguer, except for the one game he was given a shot. In his one game, he had what many would consider to be the most nightmare of stat lines. The day is Sunday, April 14, 2002. It's a pleasant afternoon in Texas as the Mariners are in town to play the Rangers. Ron Wright is getting the start at DH. This lineup he is apart of is loaded with many of the same players who helped win 116 games the season prior. The circumstances couldn't be more ideal for Ron. And yet... Wright's card is very misleading, because he never got a

 1952 was supposed to be the year all 3 NY icons had their proper battle for supremacy, buy military service came calling for Willie Mays. Meanwhile, Mantle took over for a now DiMaggio-less Yankees and Snider was helping lead his Dodgers back to the fall classic after a two year absence. Mays did what he could in the weeks he had before the military, and the XBH potential on his chart is unique, but he needed a full season to fill out the rest of his chart and on-base. All three men have solid homer potential, but Snider and Mantle have the advantage of an 11 on-base, with Mantle getting the slight edge overall with his slightly better XBH and hits in general. Perhaps because Mays was missing, the Dodgers were able to reach the World Series and meet the Yankees. Mantle would help prove the difference in the series, homering in Games 6 and 7 to help the Yankees stand atop the baseball world for a 4th straight year. Elsewhere in baseball was "Stan the Man" Musial. Musial was a

  HONK! Will the real Goose Gossage please stand up. Even with the correct picture, I don't know what's the bigger April fools: the future Hall of Fame Closer as a Starter, or the White Sox in shorts? We just gonna ignore the year where Jeter got hooked on crack cocaine and was an absolute liability? Or did you believe the conspiracy theory that his "ankle" was injured and that's why the Yankees kept pulling him from the public eye? The real Jeter from that nightmare 2013 season. The most un-Jeter season ever with terrible on-base, defense, speed and chart. This is like Jose Altuve without a buzzer bad. He came back next year to finish his career strong, but it doesn't change the fact that 2013 was a thing. When you're a pitcher named homer and can give up a homer on your own chart, then you're in for a bad time. This blog may not be meant for the most mature of audiences...this is a real man with a real name. Don't judge a book by it's cover,

 The last 100 years of Major League Baseball has been highlighted above all by the success of one team. The New York Yankees have 27 titles starting from 1923. Of the last century of the World Series, they've appeared in almost half and won over a quarter of them. Many of those titles came without several rounds of playoffs to fight through, but that also meant that the only way into the World Series was by being the best in the league, no question; there were no wild cards to fall back on. But as hard as it was to believe, before 1923 the Yankees were seen as a 2nd rate team in their own city. The kings of NY at the time were the New York Giants. They had the titles and prestige that the Highlanders-turned-Yankees could only sit in the shadow of. Not only were the Yankees in the Giant's shadow, they also were playing in the Giant's home, the Polo Grounds. Things changed for the Yankees, as for the rest of baseball. with the acquisition of Babe Ruth. Soon the Yankees were o

 The Oakland Athletics will be gone soon. The plan, like the NFLs Oakland Raiders before them, is to head to Vegas. The move isn't until several more years, but the move might as well happen now with the terrible levels of apathy the fans have for ownership. For now, let's try to remember the good times for the nomadic franchise that's now seeking out it's 4th new home. One such good time is the perfect game tossed by Catfish Hunter. In 1968, the Athletics were new arrivals in Oakland, and looking to forge a better legacy than what they did in Kansas City. And while World Series glory lay in their future, the first great moment would come right away courtesy of Jim "Catfish" Hunter. On May 8, 1968, the Minnesota Twins were in town at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (before Mount Davis ruined the view) Hunter was electric, striking out 11, including 3 against Harmon Killebrew, and going 3-4 with 3 RBI in the 4-0 win. The most nail biting part of the game wa

 The Hall of Fame is the highest individual honor a player could be given. Many years the selections for the hall (if any) have questionable additions or snubs. The first ever vote had a loaded ballot, and most of the snubs from the vote easily went on to be hall of famers down the line. The inaugural class however belonged to the immortal 5 of the Sultan of Swat Babe Ruth; Ty Cobb; Big Train Walter Johnson; Honus Wagner; and Christy Mathewson. ...And yes, Ruth was such a stellar pitcher, that he'd get the nod to the hall from just his pitching alone, but many forget that since he was also the greatest hitter of all time.