The simple truth is this: if you write a story on your blog about the New York Yankees (even on a blog that is focused on the Washington Nationals), people will read it. Not just some people, a lot of people. Put simply: a lot more people are willing to read about the Yankees than about the Nationals.

How do we know that? Because we tried it. Earlier this season we posted a pic of a baseball card of Joe DiMaggio on CFG’s “Facebook” page and received five times as many views as a normal posting. Yes, it’s a “single data point” (as they say in Washington), but it’s compelling. But why?

“Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser,” General George Patton told his troops during World War Two. “Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn’t give a hoot in Hell for a man who lost and laughed.” Patton’s right of course, which explains the appeal of the Gothams — and why people are paying so much attention, just now, to Jeter.

There’s no way to prove this, but we believe it’s true: if the Yankees had spent the last twenty years in last place, Jeter wouldn’t be getting the kind of attention he is now. And if the Yankees weren’t the Yankees (if, say, they were the Mets), they wouldn’t be America’s teams. The Yankee are the Yankees because they’re winners.

Yes, yes, yes. Of course. Jeter’s retiring and he’s had a great career, but we doubt if as many people would be paying attention to Jeter if he’d spent twenty years with the Astros, or even the Cubs. Face it: the Braves, Cubs and Dodgers (or anyone else, for that matter) aren’t America’s team, the Yankees are. And there are statistics to prove it.

Then too, it’s not as if Jeter didn’t have something to do with those five World Series rings he owns. We would even claim that while it’s likely that many, many baseball fans agree with what Keith Olbermann said the other day, people remain fascinated by him (and his Yankees) because . . . well, he’s a Yankee.

And, for the record here, in part, is what Olbermann said: “Contrary to what you have heard, Derek Jeter is not the greatest person in human history. He did not invent baseball, he did not discover electricity, he is not the greatest shortstop who ever lived.”

We agree with the gist of this, while noting that extolling the greatness of people is a current media fixation, a kind of art form. Talk show host Larry King once said that he thought there was no musician who ever lived who was better than Michael Jackson. One of the guests on his program furrowed his brow, shook his head — and offered this: “Well, there’s Mozart.”

(more…)

Tags: Baseball Hall of Fame, Baseball History, chicago cubs, chicago white sox, colorado rockies, Craig Biggio, Derek Jeter, houston astros, Jeff Bagwell, New York Yankees, Paul Konerko, Robin Yount, Todd Helton

Posted in American League, baseball, Baseball Cards, Baseball Hall of Fame, Baseball History, chicago white sox, houston astros, The World Series, Washington Nationals | No Comments »

Add this post to Del.icio.us - Digg

Albert Pujols hit his 500th home run on Tuesday night — so let the comparisons begin. Pujols is almost certainly the best right-handed hitter of his generation and perhaps the best right-handed hitter since Henry Aaron and Willie Mays played the game, back in the 60s and 70s.

In fact, he’s probably better. Pujols has hit more than 30 home runs and batted in over 100 runs in ten straight seasons (his first ten in the majors), a feat unequaled by either Aaron or Mays, and he’s on a path to eclipse their career BAs. It’s not even close. Mays hit .302 for his career and Aaron is at .305. So far, Pujols career batting average stands at .321.

Of course, both Aaron and Mays were victimized by poor seasons late in their careers, as the two stars played into their forties. Pujols is 34, and may well hit that plateau. Pujols also has enough power to eclipse both Aaron and Mays in total home runs, but while he might catch Mays (with 660), it seems unlikely he’ll catch Aaron (with 755).

Pujols is a better RBI man than either Aaron or Mays and (if he stays healthy) will eclipse their RBI numbers in the next five to seven years. His OBP, at least so far, is more than thirty points higher. He will come close to equaling them in hits. Aaron won one MVP award, while Willie Mays won two. Pujols has won three . . . so far.

That said, a case can be made that Pujols is better at the plate than either of them. But is he better than Rogers Hornsby? Hornsby is one of the greatest to ever play the game (certainly in the top five) and holds pride of place for dominating the game as a St. Louis Cardinal. In truth, his legacy as the game’s best right-handed hitter (ever) seems secure — even from Pujols.

Hornsby won seven batting titles (Pujols has won one) and hit over .400 three times (in 1922, 1924 and 1925). Hornsby’s career BA is breathtaking (at .358) and while he didn’t hit the long ball nearly as consistently as Pujols (or Aaron or Mays), he led his league in home runs twice. He led the N.L. in OBP, Slugging and OPS six years in a row. Which is astounding.

That is to say: “The Rajah’s” place as the greatest right-handed hitter in the history of the game is secure, and probably forever. But Pujols could, arguably, end his career as the greatest first baseman to play the game, eclipsing the career of Yankee Lou Gehrig. Their numbers are almost eerily similar.

Gehrig hit for both power and average, was a terrific RBI man, and was voted MVP twice. While Pujols’ power numbers are better, even now, Gehrig took more walks, had fewer strikeouts and nudges out Pujols for getting on base. Who was the better overall hitter? Pujols is probably better, but it’s close — itchy close.

Baseball knows what it has in Pujols, but it’s still an effort to get your mind around the fact that when you see Albert Pujols emerge from the dugout, you’re watching one of the best hitters to ever play the game. He’s not “the Rajah” (no one is “the Rajah”), but he’s better than Aaron or Mays — and he’s the only first baseman in history to equal the output of “the Yankee Clipper.”

Tags: Albert Pujols, american league, Baseball Hall of Fame, Baseball History, Baseball Statistics, Hank Aaron, Lou Gehrig, national league, New York Yankees, Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis Cardinals, The Rajah, The Yankee Clipper, willie mays

Posted in American League, baseball, Baseball History, Los Angeles Angels, national league, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals | No Comments »

Add this post to Del.icio.us - Digg

Rockies’ first baseman Todd Helton announced on Monday that he will be retiring from baseball at the end of the 2013 season, bringing to an end a seventeen year career of one of his generation’s best hitters, and the best-known Colorado Rockie in that franchise’s history.

“It’s been an honor to be your first baseman for the last 17 years,” Helton told a crowd of reporters and fans at Coors Field. “I have grown from a man, to a husband and into a father. We have seen the good times and the bad. It has been a pleasure to share all of that with you.”

If Helton had actually stopped playing on Monday he’d leave the game with a .317 career batting average, a .415 on-base percentage, 2,505 career hits, 367 home runs and 586 doubles. His career average is the eighth-best for any player since 1946 with a minimum of 5,000 at-bats.

Helton has defined Colorado Rockies’ baseball: he’s the all-time Rockies leader in hits, runs, doubles, homers and RBIs, joined the team two years after its first appearance in the post-season and led it to the 2007 World Series and the playoffs in 2009.

But does Helton belong in the Hall of Fame? MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger described Helton as “Hall of Fame-ish” on Monday night’s broadcast and there seems some doubt that he’ll get the votes necessary for enshrinement. But for us, at least, Helton’s election is a no-brainer.

Helton is a five time All Star, won three Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers, a National League batting title, is ranked as one of the best ever in home OPS, finished in the top ten in batting average in his league nine times, led the N.L. twice in OBP and had one of the best years at the plate of any player in 2000, when he led his league in almost all major hitting categories.

(more…)

Tags: Baseball Hall of Fame, Billy Williams, chicago cubs, colorado rockies, Greg Amsinger, MLB Network, Stan Musial, Todd Helton

Posted in baseball, Baseball Hall of Fame, Baseball History, chicago cubs, colorado rockies, Fielding, hitting, left field, MLB Announcers, national league, national league west, stadiums, Statistics, Washington Nationals | No Comments »

Add this post to Del.icio.us - Digg

The Milwaukee Brewers took time out from their otherwise forgettable season on Friday night to pay homage to Robin Yount, one of two of their inductees into the baseball Hall of Fame. It was the 20th anniversary of Yount’s retirement, and he was joined on the field by Milwaukee favorite Henry Aaron and reliever Rollie Fingers.

It was a good interlude, a chance for Brewers’ fans to forget about Ryan Braun, the slugger Milwaukee partisans believed would one day join Yount in Cooperstown: an event that seems unlikely now. Friday, then, was a confirmation of sorts. It is Yount’s legacy that matters in Milwaukee, not Braun’s.

But then, the numbers alone should be proof that it’s Yount that counts, regardless of Braun. For twenty years, the Hall of Fame shortstop (and sometime center fielder), defined baseball for Milwaukee. A lifetime .285 hitter, Yount won two Most Valuable Player awards, accumulated 3142 hits, was a doubles machine and stole 271 bases.

Even more important, particularly if you’re a Brewers’ fan, Yount rooted the game in Milwaukee — a city that had seen the Braves head to Atlanta and only belatedly inherited the crippled Seattle Pilots. The move of the Pilots to Milwaukee was so sudden that the Brewers’ original uniforms were Seattle retreads, with a new Brewers’ logo sewn on.

(more…)

Tags: 1982 World Series, baesball history, Baseball Hall of Fame, Bob McClure, Bud Selig, Green Bay Packers, Henry Aaron, Mike Caldwell, Milwaukee Braves, milwaukee brewers, Milwaukee Brewers history, MLB Attendance, Moose Haas, Paul Molitor, Paul Vukovich, Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers, Seattle Pilots, St. Louis Cardinals

Posted in American League, baseball, Baseball Hall of Fame, Baseball History, Milwaukee Braves, milwaukee brewers, MLB Attendance, national league | No Comments »

Add this post to Del.icio.us - Digg

Affixing Stan Musial’s place in baseball history is one of the game’s great pastimes. Is he better than Aaron or Williams? How does he compare to Wagner, Bonds or Speaker? Is he better than Gehrig? The debate will certainly be revived now that Musial has passed on at the age of 92.

Musial’s numbers are stunning: he had a career BA of .331, hit better than .300 seventeen times, is third in the N.L. in RBIs, ranks fourth in history in total hits (3630), won three N.L. MVP awards and three World Series.

His best year, arguably, was 1948. He led the National League in average (.376). hits (230), runs (135), doubles (46), triples (18), RBIs (131), OBP (.450), slugging (.702) OPS (1.152) and total bases (429). He was voted the National League’s MVP and appeared in his 10th All Star Game — in a row.

Where does that put him in baseball history? It depends on who you ask. The Baseball Almanac puts Musial at 10th all-time (behind Hornsby and Gehrig, surprisingly), the Baseball Guru (based on Win Shares) puts him at seventh (behind Wagner, but ahead of Bonds, Speaker and Mantle), ESPN puts him at eighth (pitchers are included — and Clemens is 7th!), and Bleacher Report ranks him 6th.

(more…)

Tags: Baseball Hall of Fame, Baseball History, Bill James, Henry Aaron, Roberto Clemente, St. Louis Cardinals, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, ty cobb, willie mays

Posted in baseball, Baseball Hall of Fame, Baseball History, hitting, St. Louis Cardinals | No Comments »

Add this post to Del.icio.us - Digg

Irving Darius “Bump” Hadley was pretty average as pitchers go: a journeyman starter for the Senators, Browns, White Sox and Yankees, Hadley compiled a forgettable 161-165 career record. But unlike most pitchers with comparable statistics, Hadley had two claims to fame — he played on four pennant winners with the Yankees (from 1936 through 1939) and he’s known in baseball history as the man who beaned Detroit Hall of Famer Gordon Stanley “Mickey” Cochrane.

The Cochrane beaning is still accounted one of the most violent acts in the game, occurring on this date in 1937, as the Tiger’s Cochrane stood at the plate in New York in a game against the Yankees. Cochrane was a known quantity: a beloved figure in Detroit (he came over from the Philadelphia A’s in 1934), he wasn’t much to fear behind the dish — but he could hit. The word on Cochrane was to pitch him inside, to keep him off the plate.

That’s exactly what Hadley did. Short and squat, Hadley (“a durable moundmaster“) was named after a children’s book character popular during the Great Depression, and as he stood on the mound on May 25, 1937 he thought he’d put one high and