MLB Showdown Obsession

 300? Holy cow! When the Showdown Bot was released I never thought I'd be able to hold attention for this long on such a project, but baseball has such a wealth of history that I have yet to run short on inspiration. Thus far, I've gotten a bit carried away, seeking to make dozens of team sets , reviewing entire careers , seeking to highlight every Hall of Famer and other such topics all while going from the occasional update to at least once a week. I've learned quite a bit of baseball history in the process and gotten to flex some trivia I'm aware of as well. Now this ambitious project of mine has reached 300 posts, as I take a break from other themes to crack open my autograph book again to show off the players I've had the honor of meeting face to face. ( 100 and 200 specials) Most of the players I've received an autograph from usually come with an uneventful story. Not so with Alfonso Soriano. Back during the Yankees dynasty, Darryl Strawberry was reh...

Baseball is not a fair game. Sometime the World Series features two evenly matched foes and all 7 games could go either way. Others are like the 1927 Pirates where they knew they were getting swept during batting practice before the series even started. In those uneven years, the team on the wrong side of destiny can only curse their luck and hope they can both get back to the WS soon and that next time the opponent is a little more manageable.   The San Diego Padres have only been to the World Series twice. With such few opportunities to win it all, you'd think the baseball gods would smile upon them and give them a fair fight? Nah, those gods decided to laugh sadistically and force them to try to stop one of baseballs all time greatest teams. The Padres under Manager Bruce Bochy got off to a hot start in '98, building up a lead in the National League West. Behind stars like Greg Vaughn, Trevor Hoffman, Ken Caminiti and Mr. Padre Tony Gwynn, the Padres went 98-64 and easily t...

 Japan may have been the 2 time champions going into the 2013 WBC, but neither time were they unbeatable. The Dominican Republic had a chance to dominate in a way that no other country would be able to say that "they got lucky!" The Dominican Republic began by beating Venezuela 9-3, followed with a 6-3 win over Spain then just to flex handed Puerto Rico a 4-2 loss to sweep Pool C. Round 2 began with a 5-4 nailbiter win over Italy, then came the United States for the biggest test yet in the tournament. DR passed the test with a 3-1 win, punching their ticket to the semi-finals. Pool 2 play ended with a rematch against Puerto Rico, which DR won again 2-0 to sweep yet another group of games. As the only undefeated team remaining, Dominican Republic pushed aside the Netherlands 4-1 to lock up a spot in the championship game. Japan, meanwhile, finally lost a game that mattered as Puerto Rico set up a third battle, this time with more than just bragging rights on the line. Edwin En...