No major league ballplayer is associated with the term “pine tar” more than Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer George Brett. The pine tar incident is still one of the most bizarre umpiring decisions in recent history. What Happened in the Pine Tar Game With two outs in the top of the 9th inning and The Royals down a run to the Yankees, George Brett stepped up to the plate with a man on first base. Yankees skipper Billy Martin called on his closer, Goose Gossage, to make the final out in the game.…
ambitious individual by portraying him as a poor man with one goal; make it to Major League Baseball. A question quickly becomes prominent throughout the first few chapters, we see Roy Hobbs struggle in the journey to the Majors, but he finally makes it and we ask ourselves, “Is Roy Hobbs a hero?” In this abstract, I will present to you multiple moments and scenes throughout Roy Hobbs’ journey into, and through, the major leagues. Throughout the book you realize that Roy Hobbs’ journey seems…
wOBA is considered one of the best stats to quantify batting performance. But what is most likely to contribute to wOBA? Is it more important to have a strong BB/K rate or to produce on balls thrown in the strike zone that are put into play? Is production when hitting fly balls more important than hitting ground balls and if so by how much? In order to determine this, I used 2013-2015 data from ESPN Stats and Information and Pitch FX to see what correlates best with overall wOBA. The first test…
than that. This date was a great day in history where a hero was born and a legend was created. September 8th, 1998 represents the day that Mark McGwire broke the record for the most home runs in a single season. “The 1998 Major League Baseball home run chase in Major League Baseball was the race between first baseman Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and right fielder Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs that resulted in both players breaking Roger Maris’ long-standing and highly coveted record…
term appears to be in 1999, and it did not start regularly appearing in a non-home-run capacity until 2007 or so. In 1951, Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard Round the World to beat the Dodgers. In 10 Times articles about the game, the famed clout was described as “the unbelievable finish of the most fantastic pennant race in major league baseball history,” “as insane and as improbable an ending as any ballgame could have” and “the wildest scenes ever witnessed in the historic arena under…
Baseball is in my blood. Like the light hair and eyes I inherited from my father, and the hot Italian temper I got from my mother, through my veins a love of baseball runs. Until recently, where my passion for the sport came from I was not sure. Sometime, I thought it began long ago, on summer trips to Fenway Park, when my family would drive in our oversized Chevy to Boston, park in a garage near Government Center, and take the T out to the ballpark. As I grew older and more accustomed to our…
After watching Moneyball and reading the articles, I think that statistical analysis hinders the fun of sports. I feel that sports are not always about the statistics; I feel it is about the players. Because you could be the worst batter but then be the best fielder on your team. I feel numbers are just numbers they change all the time so I personally don’t think you can see how good an athlete is by statistics. Just like one of the guys said at the end of the movie that hit home and took the…
always been in the mix when it comes to professional sports. Many athletes go to extreme levels to maximize their performance. The fans go to a sporting event to see an amazing home run, an incredible football tackle or the fastest sprinter in the world. One of the main reasons why PEDs are prohibited in professional sports is due to the fact that it's going to create an unfair advantage over the opponent. In my opinion, I think most athletes will use PEDs if they can get away with it. This is…
The Journey to Team Louisiana Sweeping through the state tournament, on our way to the world series in Bluffton, South Carolina, until we run into the best team in the tournament. They put 10 runs on us in the 1st inning. All I can say is good thing it is double elimination. Waking up the next morning to a Bossier City, Louisiana was brutal. Nobody wanted to wake up on that bright and early morning and remember the horrific loss to JPRD. We had to forget about it, someone had to step up, and…
“We won, we won! I can't believe we are going to game seven of the World Series, Matt, we the Chicago Cubs, are going to a game seven of the World Series!" shouted Mike. "Mike we have to go celebrate, let's go to Molly's on the South Side!" exclaimed Matt. " Ok let's go we earned it but we still have to be ready for tomorrow so we can't get crazy," responded MIke. "I know!" yelled Matt. When they got to Molly's they sat down and ordered a drink. However,…