MLB Showdown Obsession

 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.

 New York fielded some pretty good teams back in the day. I'm not talking about any team specifically, I'm talking about the entire city. The Yankees, Giants and Dodgers created a trio of teams that dominated baseball. From 1949-1956, a NY team won the World Series EVERY year. In most of those years it was a guarantee because it was the Yankees vs either the Giants or Dodgers. And this was back when there was no playoff, a NY team always was the best in their league every season, sometimes even both leagues. Except for 1950 (Phillies) and 1954 (Indians), it was all NY in the World Series. And while the AL was almost exclusive property of the Yankees, the NL was a constant struggle between the Giants and Dodgers. What made such a run of domination possible was a trio of quality lineups, and it just so happened that each lineup was anchored by an elite Centerfielder. Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Duke Snider terrorized pitchers and helped secure their teams regular visits to the...

The World Baseball Classic is an international competition held every 3 or 4 years between some of the most prolific baseball playing countries in the world. The format changes from tournament to tournament, but the ultimate goal is always the same: win and bring the bragging rights to your home country to flex on the rest of the world. 2006 (China, Cuba 🥈and South Africa featured no MLB players) Australia, Italy, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Panama and Taiwan Canada United States of America Venezuela Mexico Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Japan and South Korea   (Japan 🥇, Korea🥉) 2009 (China, Cuba and South Africa featured no MLB players) Australia, Canada, Italy and Taiwan Dominican Republic Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mexico and Panama Puerto Rico Venezuela  🥉 United States of America Japan and South Korea  (Japan 🥇, Korea🥈) 2013 (Australia, China, Cuba, Japan 🥉and South Korea featured no MLB players) Brazil, Italy, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Spain and Taiwan Mex...

 There are rules for pitching a perfect game, and they're very strict. No one can reach first base for any reason. Obviously this means no hits or walks allowed, but it also applies to everyone else on the field doing their jobs too. No errors or catchers interference. A pitcher can do everything right, but a lapse in concentration by one of his teammates can cost him perfection or a no-hitter. But there's also the umpires. David Cone with the Mets once had a no-hitter going deep into a game when the umpire blew a call and a hit was recorded. Cone was livid, and held the grudge for a long time, but there was nothing he could do about it. An entire team can be perfect, but an umpires call can still be costly. One such situation takes us to Saturday, July 4, 1908. All across baseball, scheduled double headers are celebrating the country's birthday. Hooks Wiltse of the New York Giants takes the mound for game one against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Polo Grounds. What foll...

 I previously mentioned that the Don Larsen perfect game was the greatest pitched game of all time, and I stand by that true statement. However, there are people who believe that Sandy Koufax is up there on the all time list with his own perfect game on September 9, 1965. The lowly Chicago Cubs weren't exactly like the NL champion Brooklyn Dodgers that Larsen pitched against, but Koufax and his 14 Ks is an impressive counter argument. Sandy Koufax had a 12 year career where the first half was very ho-hum and pedestrian...but boy, what a 2nd half. The man punched his ticket to Cooperstown with 6 of the most dominating years of pitching very few could ever hope to replicate. 4 no-hitters, 3 Cy Young awards and an MVP to go with 2 World Series MVPs. When you talk about an all time Dodgers lineup, the only question for the pitching staff is who follows after Koufax in the rotation. Some cards, you question how they pulled off a perfecto. Not with Sandy where he offers fantastic control...