MLB Showdown Obsession

 At the time of this writing, it's still breaking news, but the Showdown world has just lost another original. Scott Sauerbeck died of a heart attack at the age of 53. His 2000 Showdown card was pretty average across the board from his 3 Control to his 17+ baserunners allowed...which made him a solid option out of your bullpen when you barely had anyone else to call upon in your early days since he came in the starter deck on the NL side. On a personal note, in the first ever game of MLB Showdown I played against my dad, Scott Sauerbeck was the losing pitcher as his 3 control lost the advantage to Mike Sweeny (on-base of 9) and I hit a walk-off homer. But today as the baseball world mourns, let us look back on Scott and the cards he would have had in his brief MLB career. Sauerbeck was drafted by the Mets, but they lost him to the Pirates in the Rule 5 Draft. He debuted in 1999 for Pittsburgh, but that and his 2000 season are already covered by the original Showdown 2000 and 2001 s...

 Back when I was doing my Righting Wrongs series, I had mentioned Rod Beck as a player who was elite earlier in his career but was pretty human by the time the official MLB Showdown set started in 2000. Now that I've finally taken the time to properly go through his career, let's take a look at all those seasons of Beck... Beck was drafted by the Oakland A's in 1986, but before the 90's he would get traded across the Bay and debut in 1991 with the Giants. The rookie who would go on to save 286 games would only get one in his rookie season, but his chart showed very good promise. When Beck arrived the San Francisco, Dave Righetti was the Closer, but by the end of '92 he was the heir to the role as he adds 17 Saves to his resume. His control doubles and his chart is outstanding. The transition between Closers can be a stressful period for some teams, but the Giants lucked out here. Beck's best season yet (as mentioned before here) where he makes his first all sta...

 Hall of Fame voting fell into a rhythm by now. The Veterans Committee only met in odd years, meaning the BBWAA was the only source of new members for '54. Luckily by now there was a big glut of talent all waiting for their turn to be voted for, so the voters had a wide selection to choose from. Greats like Joe DiMaggio fell short of votes, not because of talent, but because there were older guys on the ballot that the voters wanted to vote for while there was still time for them. So while an all time great like Joltin' Joe had to wait his turn, a few men got the call for immortality, including a fellow Yankee great.

 25 years ago today, Wizards of the Coast announced the upcoming release of a new card game called MLB Showdown. Now, some of us are starting to feel old when we realized how long it's been, but it also means it's a great time to look back and appreciate it. Of course I feel the need to mark the anniversary, and what better way than to overwork myself? So while MLB Showdown was announced on February 4 and released in April 2000, I'm excited to reveal today that this April I am going to honor 25 years of this game by creating a team set for each and every team represented in that original lineup. Yes, I must represent the original cover athlete. What does that mean? Every day in April I am going to release a team set, one for each team as they were known in 2000. That means the Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays instead of the Guardians, Miami and Rays. Each team will be represented with a different season (certainly I can't do 1999 or 2000 since...

 One of the most exciting scoring plays in baseball is without a doubt the grand slam. You step up to hit with the bases loaded, and you smack a pitch deep into the night for a homer where everyone scores. Four runs all at once could turn the entire game on its head depending on the situation. On it's own, hitting a grand slam is quite the accomplishment, but anything unique in addition to the grand slam is what makes for the highlights of some players career. The original 2000 MLB Showdown set already covers one such player when it comes to noteworthy grand slam accomplishments: Fernando Tatis. The man stepped up to the plate against the Dodgers and slugged not one, but two grand slams in the same inning. Something that has never been done before or since. Another unique accomplishment in the world of grand slams is hitting the most in a single season. The record is 6 in a season and the mark was first reached by Yankee great Don Mattingly. 1987 was part of an incredible stretch f...