Category Archives: New York Yankees

Dodgers & the New York Yankees!

Be honest. Aren’t most of you secretly hoping for a Dodger/Yankee World Series?  After all, baseball is about a whole lot of memories and what better ones to share than those of  Ebbets Field and Yankee Stadium.  I didn’t come of baseball age until the early 1950’s so I may have a tainted view of what constitutes a valid baseball memory, but believe me, the Dodgers and Yankees are right at the top.

The Yankees have won the most World Series in history and it’s not even close.  They’ve won  participated in 40 while their closest contender, the SF Giants (okay New York Giants if you’re an oldie) is second with only 20.  But no matter.  I have different thoughts on who should even be in the playoffs.  Back in those days there was only the American League and the National League.  No Divisions.  That was it.  So the team that won the most games in each league were the Pennant Winners and automatic World Series participants.

And isn’t that the way is should still be?  Good grief.  It’s bad enough having really bad Division Winners being able to compete for the Pennant.  Some teams under .500 can still compete for the Pennant depending on how bad the rest of the division is.  And forget about the Wild Card.  The only possible reason for having that competition is for gate receipts and MONEY.  MLB is good at that.  They’re running unbelievable ads during the playoffs trying to get kids, I mean 8 and 9 year olds, sucked into buying MLB products online.  MLB.com?  That’s what’s happening, reminiscent of Wheaties and Cheerios ads in the old days.  Get ’em while they’re young.  And that merchandise is expensive.  How can the average joe afford to buy this stuff for his kids?

I digress.  The teams with the best records in MLB for any given season should be the Pennant Winners for each League and they alone should advance to the World Series.  And there should be NO INTER-LEAGUE PLAY DURING THE SEASON.  Inter-league play undermines the Divisions.  How can you say the best team in any Division is one or the other if they’re all playing each other during the regular season.  That’s what the World Series is supposed to determine.

So here it is.  The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros – 2017 Pennant Winners.  That’s the way it should be. (Well, actually Houston was one off from the most league wins but they’re there so we’ll leave it alone.)

World Series winner to be determined.

 

 

 

 

 

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THE SOUNDS OF BASEBALL

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SOUNDSOFBASEBALL.COM

There’s a new kid on the block, the result of a terrific website that literally outgrew itself.  Jam-packed with over 400 audio clips and several thousand photo’s its popularity as an online baseball library continues to grow.

Sounds of Baseball” is the dream of Steve Contursi, a teacher and non-apologetic baseball aficionado from Catskill, New York, and is the culmination of years of work on an archaic system of programming known as “coding”.   It involved the ideas around what it could, should, and would be, and eventually ended up as an informative website that was like no other.

Most of the data on the website could be found somewhere else in the blogosphere, but it would have been a real challenge to find a website that contained all of this specific type of data in the same place.

This was and this is exactly what he did. Over time and with much patience, “Sounds” reached the level of top-rated baseball websites by the top search engines.

However, change was occurring fast in the internet world and with that came many challenges.  A call was put out to the baseball community for someone to help with a transition to a more user-friendly website.

Along came Ronni Redmond of Santa Cruz, CA, a baseball blogger with a small amount of baseball knowledge, and not a lot of computer experience.  But she wrote a decent blog, had an insatiable appetite for anything baseball and lots of chutzpah and opinions.

This is the new “Sounds of Baseball”.  Its foundation is the original “Sounds” with a few little ditties thrown in and published in a Word Press format that’s much easier to maintain.  The Site will be evolving as new material becomes available.  Goodbye to coding and hello to the formation of an unlikely pairing of a fan of the New 39. Morning CoffeeYork Yankees and a fan of the SF Giants and all teams in-between.

We hope you’ll visit the site.  So please grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and turn up the volume.  

This one’s for you!

                                        “SOUNDSOFBASEBALL.COM

 Sounds of Baseball, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) Non Profit Corporation.

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Veterans Day and Every Day ….. Thank You!

Note:  This is a re-post of my 2014 Veteran’s Day Blog.

Arlington National Cemetery

“But the mainstay of the big leagues was the reservoir of 4-Fs – males of draft age who had been rejected on physical grounds by the Armed Forces. Not since harem attendants had gone out of style were men’s physical deficiencies so highly prized. Ulcers, hearing defects, and torn cartilages were coveted by team owners.” – Frank Graham, Jr. in Farewell to Heroes (1981)

This and the following list of Hall of Fame Members Courtesy of  Baseball Almanac.

Baseball Hall of Fame Members  who Served in the Armed Forces.
The Civil War  
Morgan Bulkeley United States Army
World War I
Grover Alexander  United States Army
Happy Chandler United States Army Continue reading

MLB SALARIES ~ DID THEY GET WHAT THEY PAID FOR?

scales of justice 2Here’s a list of the 2014 salaries for the Major League Baseball teams.  You can get a look at the individual player salaries from USA Today’s website.  Individual rankings are interesting because you have to look past 65 players to get to the Royal’s top paid player, James Shields at #66.  To find the highest paid “active” player on the Giants roster you’ll go to #29 for Tim Lineceum and further down to #89 for Buster Posey.   But the real surprise was Madison Bumgarner who’s way down the list at #271.  I’ll bet that’s going to change in the near future huh?   Of course, you have to look at the total number of years in the individual contracts to see what the actual value is.

So the question is “Did they get what they paid for?”  I’d say the Kansas City Royals management is feeling pretty good about themselves right now, ranking #18 out of 30 for highest salaries and still  producing the top American League team in the nation.

RANK TEAM CURRENT DIFF AVG SALARY
1 Dodgers $241,128,402 $ – $7,778,335
2 Yankees $208,830,659 $ – $8,031,948
3 Phillies $179,521,056 $ – $5,791,001
4 Tigers $163,078,526 $ – $5,824,233
5 Red Sox $154,380,395 $ – $5,717,792
6 Giants $148,239,158 $ – $5,490,339
7 Nationals $134,366,735 $ – $4,798,811
8 Rangers $132,491,596 $ – $4,140,362
9 Blue Jays $129,427,700 $ – $4,793,618
10 Angels $128,046,500 $ – $4,415,396
11 Reds $112,378,771 $ – $3,405,417
12 Diamondbacks $111,798,833 $ – $3,726,627
13 Cardinals $108,020,360 $ – $3,857,870
14 Orioles $105,084,121 $ – $3,389,810
15 Brewers $102,724,338 $ – $3,804,605
16 Rockies $99,579,071 $ – $3,688,113
17 Braves $97,855,673 $ – $3,156,634
18 Royals $90,481,500 $ – $3,351,166
19 Padres $89,881,695 $ – $2,899,409
20 White Sox $89,551,982 $ – $3,316,740
21 Mariners $89,539,642 $ – $3,087,573
22 Twins $84,912,500 $ – $3,396,500
23 Mets $84,281,011 $ – $3,121,518
24 Indians $82,500,800 $ – $3,055,585
25 Rays $82,035,490 $ – $2,828,810
26 Pirates $77,845,999 $ – $2,883,185
27 Athletics $77,220,900 $ – $2,490,996
28 Cubs $74,546,356 $ – $2,662,369
29 Astros $44,985,800 $ – $1,606,635
30 Marlins $41,836,900 $ – $1,549,514

Name Origins of all 30 Major League Baseball Teams

Cincinnati Red Stockings.  1st Professional Baseball Team

Cincinnati Red Stockings. 1st Professional Baseball Team

Cincinnati Red Stockings Photo Courtesy “www.todayifoundout.com” Daven Hiskey.

I “Stumbled” on this great post that lists the origins of all 30 Major League Baseball Teams.  It appears the Boston Red Sox hold the oldest named team dating back to the 1860’s, popularized by the Cincinnati Red Stockings from 1867-1870 and used by Boston’s National League franchise from 1871-1876.

But the actual team name origin that’s  with the same team is the San Francisco Giants, formerly the New York Giants, that dates back to 1885.    

Read the original Post  Stumbleupon.com, written by Scott Allen. 

 

2012 MLB Team and Player Salaries

2012 All Star Game Photo

Here’s the 2012 update to our 2011 listing published August 27, 2011.  This comes to us compliments of USA Today.  If you’ll click the individual teams, you can access the individual players salaries.  It will be interesting to note the annual salaries of the teams that make the playoffs;  in other words, did they get what they paid for?  For example; the Washington Nationals have the best record in the Majors this year, but have the 11th Lowest Salary out of 30 Teams.   Salary Chart Linked Here

2012 MLB Salaries  
 

TEAM

TOTAL PAYROLL
New York Yankees $ 197,962,289
Philadelphia Phillies $ 174,538,938
Boston Red Sox $ 173,186,617
Los Angeles Angels $ 154,485,166
Detroit Tigers $ 132,300,000
Texas Rangers $ 120,510,974
Miami Marlins $ 118,078,000
San Francisco Giants $ 117,620,683
St. Louis Cardinals $ 110,300,862
Milwaukee Brewers $ 97,653,944
Chicago White Sox $ 96,919,500
Los Angeles Dodgers $ 95,143,575
Minnesota Twins $ 94,085,000
New York Mets $ 93,353,983
Chicago Cubs $ 88,197,033
Atlanta Braves $ 83,309,942
Cincinnati Reds $ 82,203,616
Seattle Mariners $ 81,978,100
Baltimore Orioles $ 81,428,999
Washington Nationals $ 81,336,143
Cleveland Indians $ 78,430,300
Colorado Rockies $ 78,069,571
Toronto Blue Jays $ 75,489,200
Arizona Diamondbacks $ 74,284,833
Tampa Bay Rays $ 64,173,500
Pittsburgh Pirates $ 63,431,999
Kansas City Royals $ 60,916,225
Houston Astros $ 60,651,000
Oakland Athletics $ 55,372,500
San Diego Padres $ 55,244,700

               

Is Derek Jeter Washed up?

Jeter’s Split-Second Timing

I’ve been on vacation this past week and have been frothing at the bit to get back  to baseball!  I’ve been hearing bits and pieces about Felix Hernandez’ perfect game and Melky Cabreras’s not so perfect choices and wanting to get back into the nitty-gritty.  But today I landed on Craig Calcaterra’s article about Skip Bayless article about Derek Jeter…..fun stuff!

Here’s the article from Calcaterra.  Be sure and click on the link to  Bayless’ video.  If nothing else, it’s certainly entertaining!   We’ll save Felix and Melky for another day when I get back home to my own turf and can put some thought into the process.  Hope you’re all having a great summer!

Pudge Rodriguez, Florida Marlins Catcher in 2003 World Series, to Retire.

Ivan Rodriguez, Sports Illustrated Magazine

A few weeks ago I posted a blog about the pending retirement of  Dontrelle Willis, former pitcher with the 2003 World Series Champions Florida Marlins.  And now again today I read that Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez is set to announce his retirement.

I’m not sure why those 2003 Florida Marlins have a soft spot in my heart, but for sure I’ll always remember that World Series.  Maybe it was because they were playing the New York Yankees and I didn’t give them a prayer for winning.  Maybe it was because the combination of Dontrelle and Pudge was something truly awesome to watch.  Or maybe it was because I watched the entire series from a condo in Puerto Vallarta; the first two games in Spanish before I figured out how to change the receiver to English.  It was memorable because the Spanish speaking announcers were unashamedly cheering for the Yankees and their obvious disappointment was hilarious to listen to.  And  even though I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, there was no doubt in my mind what they were thinking!

Pudge Rodriguez with the Texas Rangers

Ivan Rodriguez will be eligible for nomination to the Hall of Fame in five years and undoubtedly will be inducted at some point. His list of credentials and honors is impressive indeed and  he has chosen to retire as a Texas Ranger.  But even though he only spent one year with the Florida Marlins, that’s what I’ll always remember him as.  The Florida Marlins catcher in the 2003 World Series.  Thanks for the memories Pudge Rodriguez.  You deserve all the accolades you’re about to receive!

Best Food at the Ballpark in 2012? ~ You Decide!

"Strasburg: Last year's version with butterflied hotdog on top"

I found a great little ditty this morning at the Washington Post.  The Nationals are going to highlight special food from the visiting team’s home town each time they play in Washington.   I recommend you take advantage of  San Francisco’s special food “Garlic Fries” this year, especially since the Giants will be playing at Nationals Park on the 4th of July, and not just because they’re our namesake, but because they’re really, really good!

But for sure you gotta love the special food presented by the Washington Nationals this year, honoring their special pitcher, Stephen Strasburg.  I hear it includes 12 pickles, representing the twelve strike-outs the Stras got in his first outing.   Great article written by Dan Steinberg, from the Washington Post.

Nationals Park introduces 8-pound ‘StrasBurger’

By , Washington Post  Posted at 02:06 PM ET, 03/12/2012

 

The new 8 lb. Strasburger includes fries and a coke! Courtesy "Yardbarker"

(Marvin Joseph – TWP.) As the baseball season approaches, you know what that means on this here blog: lots of updates on the concessions available at Nationals Park.

Our first update concerns the Red Porch, and a brand-new menu item that will get lots of attention from media and fans: The StrasBurger. Via my favorite friends in Nats PR:

Weighing eight pounds total (including toppings), the StrasBurger is a monstrous all beef burger (combination of ground brisket, chuck and short ribs). The burger is served on a large burger bun with our secret sauce, American cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, pickle chips and served with a cone basket of fresh cut fries and a pitcher of your choice of soft drink. This signature dish is the perfect entrée to share at this affordably-priced family restaurant.

In case you missed the key phrase, this burger WEIGHS EIGHT POUNDS TOTAL, which is a lot of pounds. Even if some of them are onion pounds. Every TV station in this market will have hosts merrily attempting to grapple with the StrasBurger next month. At least, I hope so.The Red Porch will also feature special food and beer pairings that will spotlight area brews, including those from Dogfish Head and Flying Dog. Any time I get to type “Dogfish Head,” I consider that a win.

Also, the Taste of the Majors stand — which has spotlighted a few items from other MLB cities — will now feature a special dish from the city of each visiting opponent while they’re actually in D.C. Those items will all be limited time only offers, obviously.  The list:

Atlanta:   Smothered Fried Chicken Platter
Baltimore:  Pit Beef Sandwich Platter
Arizona:  Dog Platter
Chicago:  Dog Platter
Cincinnati:   5-Way Cincinnati Chili
Colorado:  Mile High Burger
Houston:  Houston Nacho
Los Angeles:  Dog Platter
Miami:   Cuban Dog
Milwaukee:   Beer Brat Platter
New York (Mets and Yankees):   Coney Dog Platter
Philadelphia:   Philly Chicken Cheese Steak Platter
Pittsburgh:   Pitts Burger Platter
St. Louis:   BBQ Rib Platter
San Diego:   Fish Taco Platter
San Francisco:   Garlic Fries and Shrimp Platter
Tampa Bay:  Salty Dog Platter

Geez, this is all making me hungry!  Only 23 Days to Opening Day ~  See you at the ballpark!

The Best All-time Baseball Movie? ….. You Decide!

There’s nothing better than a bucket of buttered popcorn and a good baseball movie .  I’ve seen a lot of them and up until a month ago my very favorite was probably “For Love of the Game” with Kevin Costner.  Who wouldn’t love Costner in a baseball movie?  He’s such a “guy” as Kelly Preston tells him in the movie.  It’s about the perfect game and except for some flashbacks the entire story takes place in one day on a quest for the perfect game.  I’ve seen it at least seven times and will undoubtedly watch it seven more.

Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"

But on November 24 this year I could hardly contain myself waiting for “Moneyball” to open.   I waited for it with excitement and anticipation like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for Christmas morning,   especially after reading the book.  And I wasn’t disappointed. Continue reading

“TOP BASEBALL PLAYERS OF PAST 60 YEARS!” A Mathematical Study.

This is the third year we’ve published this study by Dr. Don Davis.  It’s one of our most popular blogs and we’re happy to be able to share it again with you.  Be sure to link to his website  for additional information, changes and criteria he used in compiling his study.

“2011 Baseball Players Mathematical Study, written by Don Davis, Department of Mathematics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA., and printed here with his permission.”

Pos’n First team Second team Third team Fourth team Fifth team
P,1 Roger Clemens, 266.0 Tom Seaver, 181.1 Bob Gibson, 140.4 Juan Marichal, 107.9 Curt Schilling, 85.1
P,2 Randy Johnson, 202.1 Warren Spahn, 167.5 Sandy Koufax, 137.8 Gaylord Perry, 102.8 Phil Niekro, 84.9
P,3 Greg Maddux, 197.5 Bob Feller, 157.6 Robin Roberts, 136.5 Roy Halladay, 102.1 Johan Santana, 84.6
P,4 Pedro Martinez, 187.5 Steve Carlton, 143.5 Jim Palmer, 133.2 Fergie Jenkins, 87.2 Nolan Ryan, 83.7
C Johnny Bench, 111.2 Yogi Berra, 92.9 Gary Carter, 75.6 Mike Piazza, 74.8 Ivan Rodriguez, 71.0 Continue reading

Veterans Day and Every Day ….. Thank You!

Note:  This is a repost of my 2010 Veteran’s Day Blog.

Arlington National Cemetery

“But the mainstay of the big leagues was the reservoir of 4-Fs – males of draft age who had been rejected on physical grounds by the Armed Forces. Not since harem attendants had gone out of style were men’s physical deficiencies so highly prized. Ulcers, hearing defects, and torn cartilages were coveted by team owners.” – Frank Graham, Jr. in Farewell to Heroes (1981)

This and the following list of Hall of Fame Members Courtesy of  Baseball Almanac.

Baseball Hall of Fame Members  who Served in the Armed Forces.
The Civil War  
Morgan Bulkeley United States Army
World War I
Grover Alexander  United States Army
Happy Chandler United States Army Continue reading