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New York Times - MLB Killers

2012-01-19T22:07:00.002-06:00

Puerto Rico Traces Baseball’s Slide to the Draft

Dennis M. Rivera-Pichardo for The New York Times

Fans were scarce at a baseball game in Puerto Rico, where the storied winter league has shrunk to four teams. More Photos »

By JORGE CASTILLO

Published: January 16, 2012

REPRINTS

SAN JUAN, P.R. — This used to be the climax of baseball’s peak season in Puerto Rico. The storied winter league lured many of Major League Baseball’s biggest Puerto Rican stars back to the island — from Roberto Clemente and Orlando Cepeda to Roberto Alomar and Bernie Williams — and they would regularly play before tens of thousands of fans during what was otherwise their off-season.

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Battling Baseball’s Decline in Puerto Rico

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Dennis Rivera for The New York Times

Baseball's stature has diminished in Puerto Rico and most agree on the culprit: the decision by Major League Baseball, in 1990, to include Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States, in its First-Year Player Draft.More Photos »

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The Puerto Rican Baseball Academy and High School has 12 teachers and 16 baseball instructors. More Photos »

But that scene no longer exists. Four years after being forced to cancel an entire season, the league has only four teams. And for the first time in its history, which dates to 1938, thePuerto Rican Baseball League does not have a team based in San Juan, the capital.

The league’s struggles are merely the most vivid manifestation of a more profound, and surprising, phenomenon playing out here: the decline of baseball in a place where it was long considered the primary pastime, if not a religion. After decades of populating major league rosters with All-Stars at every position, Puerto Rico had only 20 players on Major League Baseball rosters on opening day last season. Only two made the All-Star team. (By contrast, the 1997 All-Star Game included eight Puerto Ricans.)

“We can’t even compete in the Pan American Gamesanymore,” said the major leaguer Alex Cora, referring to Puerto Rico’s seventh-place finish in the eight-team tournament in October.

No one here disputes the diminished stature of baseball in Puerto Rico, and most agree on the culprit: Major League Baseball’s decision, in 1990, to include Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States, in its first-year player draft. This means Puerto Rican players must wait until they have completed high school to sign a professional contract, and then they are going up against players from the United States and Canada in the draft.

Perhaps more important, major league teams have less incentive to cultivate talent in Puerto Rico because those players may end up with another team through the draft.

Catcher Ivan Rodriguez, 40, currently a free agent and playing for one of the Puerto Rican winter league’s four teams, is the last active Puerto Rican major leaguer to avoid the draft. Rodriguez, a likely Hall of Famer, signed with the Texas Rangers in 1988 at age 16.

“What is the difference between 1980 and 2011? The draft,” David Bernier, Puerto Rico’s former secretary of sport and recreation, said in an interview in his office here. “Nothing has changed but the draft. Everything else is the same.”

Caribbean nations like Venezuela and the Dominican Republic have not been forced to be part of the draft, and players from many other nations can sign with major league teams as free agents as young as 16. As a result, teams have abandoned Puerto Rico for Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, where they invest hundreds of millions of dollars in academies.

“The draft has had a large effect on the Puerto Rican baseball player,” said Alomar, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., in July. “A lot of youngsters don’t have the economic resources to play and go to college. For me, it isn’t what is best for us.”

Alomar said he hoped that Major League Baseball “realizes what is happening with the talent here and they give us the opportunity to be like the Dominican Republic is and Venezuela is, so we can have more players signed.”

Only a handful of major league teams have full-time scouts on the island, and most clubs rely on a couple of tournaments a year to scout players. The limited exposure for Puerto Ricans means players outside the metropolitan area are more likely to be overlooked.

“They abandoned us a little, and we fell hard,” said Tony Rodriguez, a former major leaguer who is an instructor at Puerto Rico’s first baseball academy.

Baseball officials here note that Puerto Rico has a major disadvantage when competing against American talent because high school baseball is almost nonexistent on the island. Instead, players hone their craft on teams in American Legion ball and the Pony League. Many players in rural areas are forced to travel to cities where the better teams and leagues play.

Bernier said Puerto Rico was not prepared to be included in the draft, but even if it were given time, there was not much it could do to change its current model of development.

“We have had the same model here for 60 years,” said Bernier, now the president of the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee. “We can’t change our model to what they have in the United States. We don’t have enough space on the island for baseball fields for high schools. This island is full.”

In 2007, Bernier met with Major League Baseball officials about the topic and suggested a 10-year exclusion from the draft. He maintains his stance.

“That’s the only way we’ll know if the problem is the draft or not,” Bernier said. “And I guarantee you we would do a lot better. No one has been able to counter my argument about the draft, and that would prove the problem is the draft.”

But not everyone says the draft is the main issue. Some, like Sandy Alderson, the general manager of the Mets and a former consultant for Major League Baseball who handled issues in Latin America, said Puerto Rico’s socioeconomic status — somewhere between the United States and the Dominican Republic — left it in a peculiar position.

“From a socioeconomic standpoint, things have changed quite a bit in Puerto Rico,” he said. “There are lots of other ways to spend your time. In the Dominican Republic, on the other hand, unfortunately, poor kids who are playing ball and who are from the lowest economic strata in that country, baseball is a way to escape, so there’s a greater concentration of players and effort. I think they’re just very different dynamics than Puerto Rico.”

Like Alderson, Cora, a 13-year veteran of the major leagues who became a free agent in October, says the draft is only part of the problem. Cora said more needed to be done to develop Puerto Rican talent: better coaching, more structure in leagues across the island and more government aid, for example. He conceded that the system had hurt Puerto Ricans’ exposure to major league clubs.

“It’s an excuse,” Cora said of blaming the draft. “This is the situation we’re in, and we have to deal with it. We need to make adjustments and prepare our prospects.”

Adjusting to the situation has proved difficult for Puerto Rico. One attempt has been the creation of baseball academies.

Unlike those in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, the Puerto Rican Baseball Academy and High School, which began in August 2002, is financed by Major League Baseball as a whole, not by individual franchises.

Situated in Gurabo, a northeastern city, the academy has high schoolers from all over the island descend on its modest one-building campus.

The students go to class from 8 in the morning until noon, eat lunch, then board buses to baseball fields in the surrounding area — the academy does not have its own fields — to practice until 4 p.m.

The academy, which has 12 teachers and 16 baseball instructors, has had 70 players drafted upon graduation and more than 400 sent to colleges in the United States. But it has yet to produce a prospect who reached the major leagues.

This year the academy has two senior shortstops projected to go in the first round of the June draft: Jesmuel Valentín and Edwin Correa.

“We identified that Puerto Rico needed more structure for talent,” the headmaster Lucy Batista said. “Not everyone will play professionally, but almost all can play collegiately and study to become a professional in something else.”

The academy receives $400,000 annually from Major League Baseball.

“There’s no question the model works,” said Lou Melendez, the vice president for international baseball operations for Major League Baseball. “The problem is those models are very expensive, because when you start operating an academic school, it costs a lot of money.”

An academy may not be necessary if M.L.B. removes Puerto Rico’s apparent competitive disadvantage by going to a worldwide draft, which would include players from every country. The original intent behind including Puerto Rico in the draft was that it was the initial step toward such a draft. Because Puerto Rico is an American commonwealth, it was the obvious place to begin.

The expansion of the draft has not taken place, but the major leagues may be drifting in that direction. The new collective bargaining agreement, signed in November, establishes limits on the amount clubs can spend in a country. In addition, Melendez said, a committee has been created to explore putting an international draft in place.

“You may see one in a year or two — in 2013 or 2014,” he said.

Meanwhile, baseball officials in Puerto Rico are watching the sport deteriorate. Bernier, Puerto Rico’s former secretary of sport, said that the number of children who play baseball had not declined but that the diminished winter league and the relative dearth of Puerto Ricans in the major leagues were causes for concern.

“I think M.L.B. recognizes the problem, and they have every right to include us in the draft,” Bernier said. “It’s their decision, and we have to try to adjust accordingly. But with the way things are, Puerto Ricans are slowly becoming less enthusiastic about baseball, and that can become a vicious cycle.”

A version of this article appeared in print on January 17, 2012, on page B9 of the New York edition with the headline: Decline of an Island Pastime.

A little more that five bucks

2011-12-26T17:58:00.002-06:00

$20 Million Can Buy Quality Time With Mr. Met

Suzy Allman for The New York Times

The Mets are seeking minority investors, and the perks include access to the mascot, a parking space and a business card.

By RICHARD SANDOMIR

Published: December 20, 2011

It is, understandably, not the easiest sell: $20 million to own a small, noncontrolling interest in a baseball team renowned of late for losing — on the field and at the gate.

Cash-Poor Mets Given $40 Million Bank Loan (December 13, 2011)

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One of the minor perks is discounted merchandise, although the availability of team-branded dustpans was uncertain.

Of course, the owners of the Mets, who have spent the last four months trying to line up 10 or so minority partners, have some long-term upsides to sell: the $20 million would buy 4 percent of a New York City sports franchise that, history instructs, is likely to rise in value over time.

But for those perhaps uncertain over whether to part with their millions, the owners have listed some less obvious perks that would come with a share of the Queens ball club.

¶ Access to Mr. Met, the team mascot, although the degree of access is not entirely spelled out. It definitely means you, as a part-owner, can schmooze with Mr. Met at Citi Field. It’s less clear whether you could get him to come to your child’s birthday party without a fee.

¶ A formal business card, complete with the prominent designation: “Owner.”

¶ And if you are a wealthy doctor, commodities trader or real estate mogul who wants to try to swat the ball over the newly pulled-in outfield fences at Citi Field on a Mets day off, you are entitled to attend what appears to be an exclusive kind of fantasy camp: “Owners’ workout day.”

These benefits of ownership are laid out in a term sheet given by the Mets’ owners to prospective partners. The document, drawn up by the club’s investment banker and obtained by The New York Times, runs to three pages, and includes a mix of complex financial arrangements and, well, simpler stuff.

Parking will not be a problem for new owners, the document makes clear. A single spot at the ballpark is reserved for anyone who signs on for $20 million. The chance to throw out a game’s first pitch will be an annual privilege. Every minority owner will be assigned a team executive, who will be charged with tending to an array of possible needs, season tickets for family members among them. The document suggests, however, that those tickets will cost money beyond the $20 million investment.

The sale of minority stakes in sports franchises is fairly common and can serve a variety of purposes — a sense of inclusiveness for community and ethnic groups, estate planning for an aging majority owner, and a degree of civic commitment or political influence. And, in many cases, to raise necessary cash.

That is, it seems, the express goal for the owners of the Mets, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz. The club lost $70 million in 2011; the men are facing trial over tens of million of dollars being sought by the trustee for Bernard L. Madoff’s victims; and they just lost their best player, Jose Reyes, when they were unable to match an offer from the Miami Marlins. They just obtained a $40 million bank loan to tide them over for the next several months.

Since September, the owners have been trying to raise in excess of $200 million through the sale of 10 to 12 minority stakes. The owners have said publicly that interest in the stakes is high but that they have been unable to get any of the potential cash until all the needed shares have been sold.

The term sheet was issued by the club’s owners early in their hunt for investors. It is the kind of document that can evolve over time.

Team officials would not comment on the document when contacted by The Times. They refused to say publicly whether the terms of the offers to investors had changed, in major or minor ways.

It seems unlikely that too many of the perks offered by the owners have changed radically. And that goes for some of the truly appealing ones. In the document, for instance, each minority partner will receive one luxury box at Citi Field. This would seem an unqualified benefit. That said, it could indicate the club has had trouble leasing the suites for additional money. There are 54 suites in the park that lease for $250,000 to $500,000 a year, according to one industry publication.

Of course, the refusal of the team to comment on any changes to the offers inevitably results in a certain amount of guesswork.

In the document, the Mets told potential investors that they could get their money back after six years with 3 percent compound annual interest included. In essence, the investment would be a loan. For the same six years, the investors would not have to invest another cent. Those details were first reported by Sports Business Journal.

Curiously, Sterling Equities, the Mets’ parent company, has told potential partners that it will buy “at least” two of the units. That would mean buying stakes in a team that Wilpon and Katz already own — using money, at least $40 million of which they need for other pressing reasons.

Rob Tilliss, the president of Inner Circle Sports, a financial consultant to sports teams, said, “It’s basically an affirmation to other investors that they’re stepping up and are effectively shoulder to shoulder with their new investors.” He said that the practice was designed to create momentum.

But, he added, “If I were investing, I’d discount that.”

Still, Wilpon and Katz’s investment in their own minority stakes may indicate that they have more money than previously believed.

The document does not address one of the serious financial concerns hanging over the team’s owners: how much, if anything, they will have to pay to the Madoff trustee.

“You might not have that in the initial document,” said Robert Boland, a sports business professor at New York University. “It’s something you’d negotiate for. But when you’re buying such a small share, you don’t have much power to structure a deal. At 4 percent, it’s take it or leave it.”

As for the more minor details, there was no shortage of specifics: the $20 million would include one free trip with the team during the regular season (the Mets would pick the city); one free weekend’s stay at spring training; and a lot of potential lunch dates — with broadcasters and former players. A luncheon with the manager and general manager? Off-season only, the document says. Merchandise? Discounts, but not giveaways

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A version of this article appeared in print on December 21, 2011, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: $20 Million Can Buy Quality Time With Mr. Met.

Baseball Friends

2011-12-23T17:23:00.000-06:00

"this is why baseball is great"

"you are one cool fat black guy"

"on tv even when we play the Pirates?"

Babe Ruth

2011-12-23T16:44:00.000-06:00

August 17, 1948

OBITUARY

Babe Ruth, Baseball's Great Star and Idol of Children, Had a Career Both Dramatic and Bizarre

By MURRAY SCHUMACH

Probably nowhere in all the imaginative field of fiction could one find a career more dramatic and bizarre than that portrayed in real life by George Herman Ruth. Known the world over, even in foreign lands where baseball is never played, as the Babe, he was the boy who rose from the obscurity of a charitable institution in Baltimore to a position as the leading figure in professional baseball. He was also its greatest drawing-card, its highest salaried performer--at least of his day--and the idol of millions of youngsters throughout the land.

A creation of the times, he seemed to embody all the qualities that a sport-loving nation demanded of its outstanding hero. For it has always been debatable whether Ruth owed his fame and the vast fortune it made for him more to his ability to smash home runs in greater quantity than any other player in the history of the game or to a strange personality that at all times was intensely real and "regular," which was the one fixed code by which he lived.

He made friends by the thousands and rarely, if ever, lost any of them. Affable, boisterous and good-natured to a fault, he was always as accessible to the newsboy on the corner as to the most dignified personage in worldly affairs. More, he could be very much at each with both.

He could scarcely recall a name, even of certain intimates with whom he frequently came in contact, but this at no time interfered with the sincerity of his greeting. Indeed, by a singular display of craft, he overcame this slight deficiency with consummate skill. If you looked under 40 it was "Hello, kid, how are you?" And if you appeared above that line of demarcation it was "Hello, doc, how's everything going?"

How Ruth Aided Small Boy

The story is told of the case of Johnny Sylvester, a youngster whose life doctors had despaired of unless something unusual happened to shock him out of a peculiar malady. The boy's uncle, recalling how fond he always had been of baseball, conceived the idea of sending word to Babe Ruth and asking his aid.

The next day the Babe, armed with bat, glove and half a dozen signed baseballs, made one of his frequent pilgrimages to a hospital. The boy, unexpectedly meeting his idol face to face, was so overjoyed that he was cured--almost miraculously.

A year later an elderly man accosted the Babe in a hotel lobby and, after receiving the customary whole-hearted greeting of "Hello, doc," said:

"Babe, I don't know whether you remember me, but I'm Johnny Sylvester's uncle and I want to tell you the family will never forget what you did for us. Johnny is getting along fine."

"That's great," replied the Babe. "Sure, I remember you. Glad to hear Johnny is doing so well. Bring him around some time."

After a few more words they parted and no sooner had the man removed himself from earshot than the Babe turned to a baseball writer at his elbow and asked:

"Now, who the devil was Johnny Sylvester?"

Never Lost Carefree Spirit

Nor must this be mistaken for affectation, for there was never a doubt that the Babe at all times was tremendously sincere in his desire to appear on friendly terms with all the world. And though in later years he acquired a certain polish which he lacked utterly in his early career, he never lost his natural self nor his flamboyant, carefree mannerisms, which at all times made him a show apart from the ball field.

Single-handed, he tore the final game of the 1928 world's series in St. Louis to shreds with his mighty bat by hitting three home runs over the right-field pavilion. That night, returning to New York, he went on a boisterous rampage and no one on the train got any sleep, including his employer, the late Colonel Jacob Ruppert.

Such was the blending of qualities that made Babe Ruth a figure unprecedented in American life. A born showman off the field and a marvelous performer on it, he had an amazing flair for doing the spectacular at the most dramatic moment.

Of his early days in Baltimore even Babe himself was, or pretended to be, somewhat vague during his major league baseball career. Thus various versions of his childhood were printed over the years with neither denial nor confirmation from Ruth as to their accuracy.

However, the following account of his boyhood years appeared in a national magazine under Ruth's own "by-line:"

"In the first place I was not an orphan. * * * My mother, whose maiden name was Schanberg, lived until I was 13. My father, George Herman Ruth, lived until my second year in the majors. Few fathers ever looked more like their sons than my pop and I. My mother was mainly Irish, and was called Kate. My father was of German extraction. It is not true that our family name was Erhardt, as has been repeatedly written. Or Ehrhardt, or Gearhardt.

"But I hardly knew my parents. I don't want to make any excuses for or place the blame for my shortcomings as a kid completely on persons or places. * * * Yet I probably was a victim of circumstances. I spent most the first seven years of my life living over my father's saloon at 426 West Camden Street, Baltimore. * * *

"On June 13, 1902, when I was 7 years old my father and mother placed me in St. Mary's Industrial School in Baltimore. It has since been called an orphanage and a reform school. It was, in fact, a training school for orphans incorrigibles, delinquents, boys whose homes had been broken by divorce, runaways picked up on the streets of Baltimore and children of poor parents who had no other means of providing an education for them.

"I was listed as an incorrigible, and I guess I was. * * * I chewed tobacco when I was 7, not that I enjoyed it especially, but, from my observation around the saloon it seemed the normal thing to do.

Gaps in School Life

"I was released from St. Mary's in July, 1902, but my parents returned me there in November of the same year. My people moved to a new neighborhood just before Christmas, 1902, and I was released to them again. This time I stayed 'out' until 1904, but then they put me back again and I was not released again until 1908. Shortly after my mother died I was returned to St. Mary's once more by my father. He took me back home in 1911 and returned me in 1912. I stayed in school--learning to be a tailor and shirtmaker--until Feb. 27, 1914. The last item on my 'record' at St. Mary's was a single sentence, written in the flowing hand of one of the teachers. It read:

"'He is going to join the Balt. Baseball Team.'"

Ruth said he played in the band at St. Mary's and always pointed with pride to this accomplishment, frequently reminding friends that he also was a musician as well as a ball player. Curiously enough, however, no one ever discovered what instrument the Babe played, although he always stoutly denied that it was the bass drum.

But baseball captivated his fancy most and now began a train of circumstances that was to carry this black-haired, raw-boned youngster to fame and a fortune that has been estimated as close to $1,000,000. It also happened that Brother Benedict, one of the instructors at St. Mary's, was a great lover of the national pastime.

Using baseball, therefore, as the most plausible means to a laudable end in keeping the Babe out of mischief as much as possible, the good Brother encouraged the youngster to play as much as he could. The Babe scarcely needed encouragement. Every hour he was allowed to spare from his classrooms found him on the ball field.

He batted left-handed and threw left-handed. He played on his school team, also on a semi- professional team. He also played pretty nearly every position on the field. At the age of 19 he astounded even his sponsor, Brother Benedict, who now saw a real means of livelihood ahead for the young man, though little dreaming at the time to what heights he would soar.

He recommended the Babe to his friend, the late Jack Dunn, then owner of the Baltimore Orioles of the International League, and Ruth received a trial, alternating in the outfield and in the pitcher's box. That was in 1914. The same summer he was sold to the Boston Red Sox for $2,900, and after a brief period of farming out with Providence was recalled to become a regular.

Under the direction of Bill Carrigan, then manager of the Red Sox, Ruth rapidly developed into one of the most talented left-handed pitchers ever in the majors. He had tremendous speed and a baffling cross-fire curve, which greatly impressed Ed Barrow, later to become associated with Colonel Ruppert as general manager of the Yankees, Barrow because the leader of the Red Sox in 1918 and gave much time to Ruth's development.

But even then he also displayed unmistakable talent for batting a ball with tremendous power and with unusual frequency, and Barrow, one of baseball's greatest men of vision, decided to convert Ruth permanently into an outfielder on the theory that a great hitter could be built into a greater attraction than a great pitcher.

It was quite a momentous decision, for in the 1918 world's series against the Cubs Ruth had turned in two masterful performances on the mound for the Red Sox, winning both his games. He had also turned in one victory for the Red Sox against Brooklyn in the world's series of 1916.

But Barrow had also seen Ruth, in 1918, hit eleven home runs, an astonishing number for that era, particularly for a pitcher, and his mind was made up.

The next year--1919--Ruth, pitching only occasionally, now and then helping out at first base, but performing mostly in the outfield, cracked twenty-nine home runs and the baseball world began to buzz as it hadn't since the advent of Ty Cobb and the immortal Christy Mathewson. This total surpassed by four the then accepted major league record for home runs in a season, set by Buck Freeman with the Washington Club in 1899.

But it was the following year--1920--that was to mark the turning point, not only in Babe Ruth's career but in the entire course of organized baseball. Indeed, baseball men are almost in accord in the belief that Babe Ruth, more than any individual, and practically single-handed, rescued the game from what threatened to be one of its darkest periods. Not only rescued it, but diverted it into new channels that in the next decade were to reap an unprecedented golden harvest.

The first sensation came early that winter when Ruth was sold by the late Harry Frazee, then owner of the Red Sox, to the Yankees, owned jointly by the two Colonels, Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston, for a reported price of $125,000. It may even have been more, for in making the purchase the Yankee owners also assumed numerous financial obligations then harassing the Boston owner, and the matter was very involved. But whatever the price, it was a record sum, and New York prepared to welcome its latest hero prospect.

The Babe did not disappoint. The Yankees were then playing their home games at the Polo Grounds, home of the Giants, and before the close of the 1920 season they were already giving their more affluent rivals and landlords a stiff run for the city's baseball patronage.

Ruth surpassed all expectations by crashing out the unheard-of total of fifty-four home runs and crowds which hitherto had lavished their attention on the Giants now jammed the historic Polo Grounds to see the marvelous Bambino hit a homer.

Crisis in History of Game

But scarcely had the echoes from the thunderous roars that greeted the Ruthian batting feats subsided than another explosion was touched off that rattled the entire structure of baseball down to its sub-cellar. The scandal of the world's series of 1919 broke into print and through the winter of 1920-21 the "throwing" of that series by certain White Sox players to the Reds was on every tongue.

The baseball owners of both major leagues were in a panic, fearful that the public's confidence in what they had so proudly called America's national pastime had been shaken beyond repair. True, they had induced the late Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a Federal judge, to assume the position of High Commissioner with unlimited powers to safeguard against a repetition of such a calamity, but they feared it was not enough.

With considerable misgivings they saw the 1921 season get under way and then, as the popular song of the day ran, "Along Came Ruth."

Inside of a fortnight the fandom of the nation has forgotten all about the Black Sox, as they had come to be called, as its attention became centered in an even greater demonstration of superlative batting skill by the amazing Babe Ruth. Home runs began to scale off his bat in droves, crowds jammed ball parks in every city in which he appeared and when he closed the season with a total of fifty-nine circuit clouts, surpassing by five his own record of the year before, the baseball world lay at his feet.

In addition to that, the Yankees that year captured the first pennant ever won by New York in the American League, and Ruth was now fairly launched upon the first chapter of the golden harvest. With the help of his towering war club, the Yankees won again in 1922 and repeated in 1923, in addition to winning the world's championship that year.

Also in 1923 came into being the "House That Ruth Built," meaning the great Yankee Stadium with is seating capacity of more than 70,000, which Colonel Ruppert decided to erect the year previous in order to make himself clear and independent of the Giants, whose tenant he had been at the Polo Grounds. The right-field bleachers became "Ruthville." Homers soared into them in great abundance and the exploitation of Babe Ruth, the greatest slugger of all times, was at is height.

Spent Earnings Freely

But now there crept in a dark episode, decidedly less glamorous, though spectacular enough, and which must be chronicled in order to appreciate more fully the second chapter of the golden harvest. Money was now pouring upon the Babe and was being poured out as speedily. In 1921 he had drawn $20,000 and the following season he signed a five-year contract at $52,000 a season. In addition to this he was collecting royalties on all sorts of ventures.

But money meant nothing to the Babe, except as a convenient means for lavish entertainment. He gambled recklessly, lost and laughed uproariously. The Ruthian waistline began to assume alarming proportions. He still took his baseball seriously enough on the field, but training had become a horrible bore.

Of such phenomenal strength, there seemed to be no limits to his vitality or stamina. It was no trick at all for him to spend an evening roistering with convivial companions right through sun- up and until game time the next afternoon and then pound a home run.

Along in the 1924 season Colonel Ruppert began to fear he had made a mistake in having signed the Babe to that long-term contract at $52,000 per season which ran from 1922 to 1926 inclusive. The Yankees lost the pennant that year and there came ominous rumblings that Miller Huggins, the mite manager who had just piloted the Yankees through three successful pennant years, was not in harmony with the Babe at all.

There even had been trouble back in 1921 when Ruth openly flouted Commissioner Landis by playing on a barnstorming tour that fall after the limit date set by the commissioner. The following spring Landis, in order to demonstrate his authority, suspended Ruth for thirty days from the opening of the season.

But it was not until 1925 that the real crash came and high living proved as exacting in collecting its toll as the high commissioner. Coming north at the end of the training season Ruth collapsed at the railroad station at Asheville, N. C., from a complication of ailments.

He was helped aboard the train, carried off on a stretcher on the team's arrival in New York and spent weeks in a hospital. He did not appear again in a Yankee line-up until Jun 1.

Nor had all the lesson been yet fully learned. Later in the same campaign Huggins, exasperated beyond all measure at the Babe's wayward way of deporting himself, slapped a $5,000 fine on him for "misconduct off the ball field." It was the highest fine ever imposed on a ball player, and Ruth at first took it as a joke. But Huggins stuck by his guns, received the backing of Colonel Ruppert, who was now the sole owner of the club, and the fine came from the Babe's pay check.

Now the lesson was learned and another startling change came over the Babe. He became, almost overnight, one of Miller Huggins' staunchest supporters. He trained faithfully in 1926, hammered forty-seven homers as against a meager twenty-five in 1925, and started the Yankees on another pennant-winning era. Sixty homers, a new record sailed off his bat in 1927, and Ruth was a greater figure in baseball than ever.

Another pennant followed that year and still another in 1928, on top of which the Yankees swept through two world series triumphs in those two years without the loss of a single game.

Became Good Business Man

In the Spring of 1929, several months after his first wife, from whom he had been estranged for a number of years, died in a fire in Boston, the Babe married Mrs. Claire Hodgson, formerly an actress, and to her also is given a deal of credit for the complete reformation of the Babe, who in the closing years of his baseball activities trained as faithfully to fulfill what he considered his obligation to his public as it was humanly possible.

Simultaneously with this Ruth suddenly became a shrewd business man with an eye to the future. Giving heed to the advice of Colonel Ruppert and Ed Barrow, the Babe invested his earnings carefully. In 1927 he became the highest salaried player of his time with a three-year contract at $70,000 a year. In 1930 he signed a two-year contract at $80,000 per season, but in 1932 acceding to economic pressure of the times, accepted a $75,000 stipend for one season.

That proved an excellent investment, for the Yankees won another pennant that year and defeated the Cubs in four straight games, Ruth causing a sensation by indicating to the spectators in Chicago where he meant to hit the ball when he made two home runs in the third game of the series for the championship. The next year saw a further decline in the salary of the star to $52,000, and in 1934 he signed for $35,000.

At the close of his baseball career it was estimated that in his twenty-two years in the major leagues he had earned in salaries $896,000, plus $41,445 as his share of world series receipts. In addition, he was reputed to have made $1,000,000 from endorsements, barnstorming tours, movies and radio appearances.

As a consequence, when he retired the Babe was able to live in comfort, maintaining a large apartment on New York's West Side. For, despite his earlier extravagances, he later invested so well he was able to realize a monthly income of $2,500 by the time he had reached 45.

In addition to the great crowds he had drawn steadily to major league parks, he also brought vast sums into the Yankee coffers from spring exhibition tours. In 1929 and 1930 the Yanks booked two tours through Texas and the Middle West on their way north from the training camp in Florida and played to record-smashing crowds that stormed hotel lobbies and blocked traffic in all directions to get a glimpse of baseball's most famous character.

And through all this new homage showered upon him, he steadfastly remained the same Babe, more serious-minded, but as cordial and affable as ever. The youngsters he worshipped possibly as much as they worshipped him. In Waco, Tex., he broke up an exhibition game by inviting some of the kids to come out on the field and roll around on the grass. They poured out of the stands by the thousands, overran the field, swamped the local police and ended the game.

Ruth came to the parting of the ways with the Yankees after the 1934 season. He had always aspired to be a manager, and that Winter he asked Colonel Ruppert, with his accustomed bluntness, to make him leader of the New York team. Ruppert was satisfied with the results obtained by Joe McCarthy in winning the 1962 world series after coming from the Cubs in 1931 and refused. However, he said that he would not stand in the way of Ruth if the latter could find a place as manager.

The opening came in the spring of 1935, when Judge Emil Fuchs, then president of the Boston National League Club, offered Ruth a contract as a player at $25,000 a year, with a percentage from exhibition games and a percentage of the gain in the earnings of the club, together with a promise of becoming manager the following season. Ruppert gave Ruth his release and he joined the National League team at its training camp in St. Petersburg, Fla., that spring.

Ruth never was a success with the Braves. He was his old self as a batsman and player only in spots and the team sank into the National League cellar. On May 25, 1935, in Pittsburgh he showed the last flash of his former greatness when he batted three home runs in consecutive times at bat at Forbes Field, but a week later, on June 2, after a dispute with Fuchs he asked for and received his release. He had several offers from minor league teams after that, but refused them all.

It was not until June 17, 1938, that his chance came to re-enter the big leagues. Then he was named coach of the Dodgers. Burleigh Grimes, the manager of the team, recommending the move, said "you can't keep a man like that out of baseball." Although the team was a loser, Ruth entered into the work of upbuilding enthusiastically and was hailed with the usual acclaim around the circuit and in towns where he played in exhibition games.

Although Ruth's continued popularity helped the Dodgers to draw additional fans through their turnstiles, a service for which the club paid him a $15,000 salary, he was not re-engaged as coach at the close of the 1938 season.

It was then that Leo Durocher was appointed manager to succeed Grimes. Ruth, taking his dismissal in good spirit, explained that a new manger necessarily would want to make his own choice for the coaching jobs, and he wished the Dodgers good luck.

The Bambino once again became the retired business man, and as he returned to the role of "baseball's forgotten man," he increased his activities on the links. His name soon became associated with some of golf's leading players, while his scores consistently ran in the low 70's.

At World's Fair Baseball School

However, he never overlooked lending a hand to his first love wherever baseball offered him some opportunity for showing himself. During 1939 he appeared at the World's Fair baseball school in the role of instructor, took part in the old-timers' game in the baseball centennial celebration at Cooperstown, played a prominent role in the Lou Gehrig appreciation day ceremonies and in the spring of 1940 appeared for a time with a baseball training school at Palatka, Fla.

During 1941, Ruth, principally through the medium of his golfing prowess, stayed in the public eye. During the summer he engaged in a series of matches with his old diamond rival, Cobb, the proceeds going to the British War Relief Fund and the United Service Organizations. Cobb, victor in the first match in Boston, 3 and 2, lost the second match at Fresh Meadow, New York, 1 up on the nineteenth hole, but came back to defeat the Babe in the deciding tilt in Detroit, 3 and 2.

Later in the year Ruth signed a contract to appear in the Samuel Goldwyn motion picture based on the life of his famous team-mate, Lou Gehrig, with the Babe appearing as himself.

The Babe hit the headlines and frightened his friends before 1942 scarcely had begun. On the morning of Jan. 3 he was removed to a hospital in an ambulance, the reason being "an upset nervous condition,? partly brought on by an automobile accident in which he was involved.

But three weeks later Ruth was off on a hunting trip in up-State New York and by February was in Hollywood, teaching Gary Cooper (who was to portray Gehrig) how to bat left-handed and signing autographs for screen stars.

On April 9 Ruth went to the Hollywood Hospital suffering from pneumonia and described by his doctor as "a border line case," but two days later the Babe's countless friends and well-wishers were cheered by the same physician's statement: "I believe he is over the hump." Ruth was out of the hospital by April 22 and back on the movie lot to complete his work in the Gehrig film.

During that and succeeding war years Ruth answered any and all demands for his appearance at war bond rallies and charity enterprises. He played in golf tournaments, went bowling and sold bonds. On Aug. 23, 1942, he paired with the late Walter Johnson, another of baseball's immortals, at the Yankee Stadium to aid in a benefit show for two war services.

With Johnson pitching, the Babe came through, as he always had, by hitting a "home run" into the right field seats and "rounding the bases" via a short cut from first to third base. That was his final homer.

Wrong on War Prophecy

Late in 1943 Ruth proved a bad prophet when he predicted that major league baseball would become a war casualty in 1944, "if not sooner." His prophesying was as wholehearted as his ball playing had been, for he said: "It's a cinch they won't open the ball parks next year."

Although never realizing an ambition to manage a major league club, Ruth became manager for a day in mid-July of 1943, when he piloted a team of all-stars, including such players as Ted Williams and Dom DiMaggio, to a triumph over the Boston Braves as part of a charity field-day program in Boston. A dozen days later he filled the same role in a similar game at Yankee Stadium.

Ruth's activity in aiding war causes increased in 1944 and it was in March of that year that he was the subject of one of the oddest dispatches of the conflict. It came from Cape Gloucester, New Britain, where United States Marines were fighting the Japanese and recounted that when the little men charged the Marine liens their battle cry was:

"To hell with Babe Ruth!?

Babe's rumbling comment to that was:

"I hope every Jap that mentions my name gets shot--and to hell with the Japs anyway!"

The Babe didn't know, or care, that nine years before the Japanese sounded that battle cry a Japanese publisher had been assassinated by a Japanese fanatic and that Ruth was partly blamed for it. The assassin had said the publisher's crime was in sponsoring the Japanese tour of a group of American ball players, headed by Babe Ruth.

In June of 1944 Ruth went into the hospital once more, this time to have a cartilage removed from his knee. Reports immediately followed that he might try to play ball again as a pinch- hitter.

Early in 1946 Ruth took a trip to Mexico as a guest of the fabulous Pasquel brothers, "raiders" of American organized baseball. This resulted in a rumor that he would become commissioner of the Mexican National League, the Pasquel loop, but as usual nothing came of it.

On his return to New York Ruth disclosed that he had sought the manager's berth with the Newark club, owned by the Yankees, but that "all I got was a good pushing around" by Larry MacPhail. The Babe also praised the Pasquels and at the same time revealed that he had turned down an offer of $20,000 from the Federal League while getting $600 a season from Baltimore.

"I turned it down because we were told by organized baseball that if we jumped we would be barred for life. But nobody was barred for life and I just got jobbed out of $20,000 without a thank-you from anybody."

There was scarcely room for real bitterness in the expansive and warm Ruthian temperament, but the big fellow undoubtedly did feel at times a resentment against the owners in major league baseball because no place in it ever was found for him. And whatever slight flame of resentment may have lighted in him was frequently fanned by many writers who openly chided the baseball moguls for sidestepping the great Bambino.

Through the unhappy medium of a protracted illness and a serious neck operation that kept him hospitalized from late November 1946, to mid-February, 1947, Ruth came back into the public eye. Recurrent reports that his condition was critical resulted in a deluge of messages from sympathetic well-wishers.

There was general rejoicing among his legions of followers when he was sufficiently recovered to leave the hospital. That this feeling was shared in official baseball circles was promptly indicated when Baseball Commissioner A. [MISSING TEXT] (Happy) Chandler paid unprecedented tribute to the Sultan of Swat by designating April 27, 194 [MISSING TEXT] as "Babe Ruth Day."

All organized baseball joined on this date in honoring the man who contributed so much to the game. Ruth himself was present at the Yankee Stadium, where a crowd of 58,339 turned out for ceremonies that were broadcast over the world and piped into the other major league ballparks.

Extremely conscious of his debt to the "kids of America," to whose loyal support he attributed his success, Ruth identified himself with welfare programs after his discharge from the hospital. He was engaged by the Ford Motor Company as a consultant in connection with its participation in the American Legion junior baseball program and he was named by Mayor William O'Dwyer of New York as permanent honorary chairman of the Police Athletic League.

In May, 1947, he established and made the first contribution to the Babe Ruth Foundation. Inc., an organization whose resources were to be devoted to the interests of underprivileged youth.

Although the ravages of his illness left little of his once robust physique, the Babe, now gaunt bent and his once resonant voice reduced to a rasping whisper, continued to astound his physicians by tackling his new job with all his oldtime vigor. Throughout the summer he made innumerable public appearances all over the country.

On Sunday, Sept. 28, the final day of the 1947 championship season, he returned to the Yankee Stadium to receive another thunderous ovation. On this day, under the direction of MacPhail, a galaxy of more than forty stars of former Yankee and other American League world championship teams, assembled to engage in an Oldtimers Day.

They included such immortals as Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Cy Young, George Sisler, Waite Hoyt, Bob Meusel and Chief Bender and with the Babe looking on from a box the grizzled vets played a two-inning game. The entire day's receipts were turned over to the foundation.

Ruth continued his role as consultant, making appearances all over the country. He went to Hollywood to help with the filming of his life story. While there, the Babe was informed that the Yankees were planning to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Yankee Stadium. He readily agreed to participate in the ceremonies. He accepted the managership of the 1923 Yankees, who were to play an abbreviated exhibition game against later-year Yankees, to be piloted by Barrow.

June 13, 1948, was the date set for "Silver Anniversary Day." It turned out to be a memorable day, one that Ruth, despite his physical condition, would not have missed for anything. Despite a wretched day--rain, fog, etc.--the Babe donned his old uniform with the No.3 on the back. When he was introduced and walked slowly to home plate, a thunderous ovation from 49,641 men, women and children greeted him.

Many in the gathering wept as Ruth, in a raspy voice, told how happy he was to have hit the first homer ever achieved in the Stadium; how proud he was to have been associated with such fine players and how glad he was to be back with them, even if only for a day.

Bob Shawkey, Sad Sam Jones, Whitey Witt, Bob Meusel, Waite Hoyt, Carl Mays, Bullet Joe Bush, Wally Pipp, Mike McNally, Wally Schang and others from the 1923 club that annexed the first world championship by a Yankee aggregation; Bill Dickey, Lefty Gomez, George Selkirk, Red Rolfe and others who came later--all were on hand to pay homage to the Babe.

It was the last time that No. 3 was won by a Yankee player. For, the Babe turned his uniform over to the Hall of Fame, retired for all time. It was sent to the baseball shrine at Cooperstown, N. Y., where it was placed among the Ruth collection there.

Ruth's team scored a 2-0, two-inning victory that day and the man to whom a big-league manager's job was never given managed a winner in the "House That Ruth Built."

Season Preview

2011-12-17T12:37:00.000-06:00

STP Saints Spring Training Hero

2011-12-10T16:59:00.001-06:00

Dolf Luque - The Pride of Havana

One of the first Cubans to succeed in the majors, Luque came to the U.S. in 1912 to pitch for Long Branch (NY-NJ League) and was 22-5 in 1913. After a couple of unsuccessful trials with the Braves, he caught on with the Reds during WWI and stayed for 12 seasons. In the 1919 World Series, he relieved twice without allowing a run, and the next year he became a regular Cincinnati starter. He led the NL in losses (23) in 1922 but had his career year the next season, leading the league in wins (27), winning percentage (.771), and ERA (1.93). Although he never again topped 20 wins, Luque led again in ERA with 2.63 in 1925. In the 1930s he turned to relief pitching for the Giants. his 4 1/3 shutout innings earned him the win in the 10-inning fifth and final game of the 1933 World Series

Lifted from Baseballlibrary.com

2011-11-20T00:35:00.001-06:00

TwinsFest 2012
Jan. 27-29
H.H.H. Metrodome

TwinsFest 2012 is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 27, Saturday, Jan. 28 and Sunday, Jan. 29 at the H.H.H. Metrodome.

More than 60 current, former and future Twins players are expected to appear throughout the course of the weekend. Complete details will be released in the coming months on twinsbaseball.com.

TwinsFest, one of the largest team-run fan festivals in professional sports, is an annual fundraiser for the Minnesota Twins Community Fund. Since its inception in 1989, TwinsFest has raised more than $3.9 million for programs and organizations supported by the Twins Community Fund.

About the Twins Community Fund
Established as a nonprofit organization in 1991, the mission of the Twins Community Fund is to enrich local and regional communities by providing resources for the healthy development of children and families through and association with baseball, softball and the Minnesota Twins. The Twins Community Fund is governed by a board of directors representative of the Upper Midwest. Target, Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Best Buy, U.S. Bank and Delta Air Lines are Cornerstone Partners; contributing annually to the Twins Community Fund. For more information or to make a contribution, visit twinsbaseball.com/community.

2011-11-10T21:00:00.001-06:00

Occupy Huston Street movement grows to 20 more cities

MLB Offseason Calendar

2011-11-09T20:31:00.000-06:00

Nov. 3, 2011	Free agents eligible to sign with any team at 12:01 a.m. ET
Nov. 14, 2011	AL, NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Awards announced
Nov. 15, 2011	AL Cy Young Award announced
Nov. 15-16, 2011	GM meetings, Milwaukee
Nov. 16, 2011	AL, NL Manager of the Year Awards announced
Nov. 16-17, 2011	Owners meetings, Milwaukee
Nov. 17, 2011	NL Cy Young Award announced
Nov. 18, 2011	Day to file reserve lists for all Major and Minor League levels.
Nov. 21, 2011	AL Most Valuable Player Award announced
Nov. 22, 2011	NL Most Valuable Player Award announced
Nov. 23, 2011	Last date for former club to offer salary arbitration to ranked XX(B) free agents in order to be eligible for compensation. Deadline is midnight.
Dec. 1, 2011	Last day to request outright waivers to assign player prior to Rule 5 Draft
Dec. 5, 2011	5 p.m. ET is last time to outright a player prior to the Rule 5 Draft
Dec. 5-8, 2011	Baseball Winter Meetings in Dallas
Dec. 5, 2011	Balloting results announced for Hall of Fame Golden Era Committee
Dec. 6, 2011	Balloting results announced for Hall of Fame Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting
Dec. 7, 2011	Last date for player who declared free agency to accept an arbitration offer from former club. Deadline is midnight ET
Dec. 8, 2011	Major League Rule 5 Draft in Dallas
Dec. 11, 2011	Current collective bargaining agreement expires
Dec. 12, 2011	Last date to tender contracts is midnight ET
Dec. 31, 2011	Deadline for BBWAA ballots
Jan. 9, 2012	Hall of Fame Class of 2012 announced
March 28-29, 2012	Japan Opening Series, Mariners vs. A's, Tokyo
April 15, 2012	Jackie Robinson Day

Former Twin Up For Ransom?

2011-11-09T19:20:00.001-06:00

Report: Nationals C Wilson Ramos Kidnapped

Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos has been kidnapped, according to multiple media reports.

Details are scarce, but Ramos is a native of Venezuela, where abductions have reached a near-epidemic level. Typically, the wealthy are targeted. As a Major League baseball player, Ramos certainly fits that bill.

Ramos, 24, is expected to be the Nationals starting catcher next season.

Duquette spurned by Municipal League, Catches on with O's

2011-11-07T12:08:00.001-06:00

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Dan Duquette signed a three-year contract Sunday to become the Baltimore Orioles' president of baseball operations.

A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press of the move on condition of anonymity because the Orioles haven't announced the hiring. This is a major win for Duquette, who has applied to become a general manager in the Municipal League during the past two years. After being passed over this season for rookie GM's Taylor Perreault and Brandon Nagle, most thought Duquette would never get another opportunity.

The 53-year-old Duquette, who interviewed with the Orioles over the weekend, was farm director of the Montreal Expos from 1987-1991 and their general manager from 1991-94. He then served as general manager of the Boston Red Sox from 1994-2002. He has not worked in a major league front office since leaving the Red Sox.

Duquette takes over for Andy MacPhail, who stepped down last month after four-plus seasons. Duquette will attempt to turn around a franchise saddled with 14 consecutive losing seasons.

Although Duquette has not worked in a major league front office since 2002, he has a history of success. The Expos appeared playoff bound in 1994 until a baseball strike ended the season. In Boston, he laid the groundwork for the team's world championship in 2004.

He is the cousin of Jim Duquette, who was vice president of baseball operations with the Orioles in 2005 and 2006.

Duquette was the second candidate to be interviewed more than once. The other, Tony LaCava of the Toronto Blue Jays, turned down the Orioles' offer.

Four others interviewed for the job: Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock. Dodgers assistant GM DeJon Watson, Jerry Dipoto - who ultimately took the same post with the Los Angeles Angels - and Orioles director of player development John Stockstill.

Jesus Mourns Loss of Matty

2011-11-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

sportsline.com
By C. Trent Rosecrans

Sad news from the Dominican Republic today, as Matty Alou passed away at 72, according to Dominican Today.

Alou, 72, was the middle of the three Alou brothers and played for the Giants, Pirates, Cardinals, Athletics, Padres and Yankees in his big-league career that spanned 15 seasons. Alou hit .307/.345/.381 with 1,777 hits in his career and won a batting title with a .342 average for the Pirates in 1966. He was also a two-time All-Star, making the National League team in 1968 and 1969.

Alou is best known as part of the famous baseball family. In 1963, all three Alou brothers -- Matty, Felipe and Jesus -- took the field in the same outfield and combined for 5,094 career hits, the best mark for three baseball brothers. The year Alou won the batting title, his older brother, Felipe, finished second.

There was no announced cause of death.

Why baseball managers wear uniforms

2011-10-23T10:35:00.002-05:00

Why baseball managers wear uniforms

By Bob Greene, CNN Contributor

updated 2:33 AM EST, Sun October 23, 2011

Wearing a suit, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack greets Walter Johnson, pitcher for the Washington Senators, in 1910.

(CNN) -- What sports fan can ever forget it?Editor's note: CNN Contributor Bob Greene is a best-selling author whose books include "Late Edition: A Love Story" and "Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights." His forthcoming "The Road Home: Tales from the Back Nine of Life" is being previewed at twitter.com/the_road_home. Watch him on CNN Newsroom on Mondays during the 9 a.m. (ET) hour.

The stirring sight, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, of the Packers charging out of the tunnel at Lambeau Field alongside their legendary leader, Vince Lombardi, who is wearing a football jersey, shoulder pads and a helmet as he prepares to coach his squad to another victory.

Or the heroic vision of Coach Phil Jackson with the members of the Chicago Bulls, or the Los Angeles Lakers, gathered around him during a timeout as, wearing his usual game-day attire of shorts, gym shoes and a sleeveless basketball jersey with a number on the front, he maps out on a clipboard the next series of plays for his team to run.

What? You say you don't remember scenes like those? You never saw Coach Lombardi on the sidelines dressed like a football fullback, and you never saw Coach Jackson giving instructions to his players while dressed like a point guard?

That's because it didn't happen. National Basketball Association coaches dress in street clothes; so do National Football League coaches (albeit with team logos).

But -- as you have undoubtedly noticed anew if you've been watching the World Series -- baseball managers don't. They dress like their players, and it's been such an integral part of baseball for so long that fans seldom ask themselves why.

"It's a little like Alice in Wonderland, through the looking glass, where in baseball things are reversed from the way they are in other sports," said John Thorn, the official historian of Major League Baseball. "In trying to explain the reason for it, folklore comes in."

Thorn knows about the traditions of baseball, and the reasons for them, as well or better than anyone alive. He said that in the earliest years of the game in the 19th century, "The person who was called the manager of a team was the business manager -- he was the person who made sure that the receipts were paid and that the train schedules were met. He didn't make any decisions about what went on during a game.

"The person who did that was called the captain. He did what a manager does today, but he also played. So at first, the person we would today call a manager wore a uniform because he was a participant in the game."

The tradition -- sort of -- continued even when, in the 20th century, the people calling the shots in the dugouts became non-players. Some of them wore uniforms even though they were never going to get into a game. But others -- Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics and Burt Shotton of the Brooklyn Dodgers may have been the best known -- decided that if they were no longer baseball players, they shouldn't dress like baseball players.

Their position on the matter was rejected. For more than half a century now, every baseball manager -- like Tony LaRussa of the St. Louis Cardinals and Ron Washington of the Texas Rangers in this year's World Series -- has worn a uniform.

Some people believe that baseball's rules mandate this, although the only rule touching on it -- Rule 1:11(a) (1) -- says: "All players on a team shall wear uniforms identical in color, trim and style, and all players uniforms shall include minimal six-inch numbers on their backs." Nothing about what a manager must wear.

Other people believe that managers wear uniforms because they routinely appear on the field: during pitching changes, and during arguments with the umpires. But the managers, unlike the players, aren't on the diamond when the ball is actually in play.

"Maybe it's just testament to the notion that, no matter how old you get, between your ears you think you're a baseball player," Thorn said. If a big-league baseball manager were to show up in the dugout in a coat and tie, he said, "the decision would bring ridicule and scorn upon him. It would not happen."

At baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, I was told that the best person to ask about the managers-in-uniform tradition was a fellow named Paul Lukas, who runs a website (Uni-watch.com) dedicated to the aesthetics of sports, and who writes about the subject for ESPN.com.

"I don't want to say that it's just one of those things," Lukas told me. "But it's just one of those things.

"Personally, I think it's sort of fun that these guys still like to suit up, and, just like their players, decide whether to hike up their pants cuffs or not. Jack McKeon, the manager of the Florida Marlins this past season, is 80 years old, and I like the idea that he sat in his office in his uniform before each game making the pants-cuff decision."

As the World Series was about to begin last week, I spent a good part of a morning with the eminent philosopher Bob Costas, who broadcasts many sports but loves baseball best. On this particular day -- I promise you this is true -- Costas was getting ready to go to a friend's house to play Wiffle Ball in the front yard.

His position on managers wearing uniforms is clear-cut:

"I like it. Can it be amusing? Yes. What's the reason for it? The answer is, 'That's baseball.' And as with most baseball questions, 'That's baseball' is good enough for me."

I asked Thorn, the official historian of the game, if he thought baseball would still be around a hundred years from now.

"Yes," he answered instantly -- faster than instantly, if there is such a thing.

And does he think that in a hundred years, managers will still be wearing the same uniforms as their players?

"If I had a dollar to bet" -- and if he did, he'd probably be thrown out of baseball -- "I would say the answer is 'yes.'"

Scott Harrison

2011-10-14T19:30:00.000-05:00

By C. Trent Rosecrans

ST. LOUIS -- A cool story came out of Friday's pregame interview for Game 5 of the NLCS when Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was asked about Jerry Hairston Jr., who first met La Russa when Hairston's father, Jerry Hairston Sr., played for La Russa on the White Sox.

Hairston and his brother Scott Hairston are third-generation big-leaguers, with not only Jerry Hairston Sr. playing in the big leagues, but also their grandfather, Sam Hairston, who played in the Negro Leagues and for the White Sox.

After Thursday's game Hairston told some reporters that he remembered playing in the White Sox clubhouse as a kid and his dealings with La Russa. La Russa was then asked about that on Friday:

"Well, that's an emotional one, because of his grand dad. For any of you that have been around a while, Sam Hairston, not just for the White Sox, was an institution in baseball. Great, great man. And when I got to the White Sox and met Sam, he had a lot of idiosyncracies that were really neat, and whether you were the worst Minor Leaguer or the best Big Leaguer, just an amazing man.

"I met his son, and then we had a unique experience -- I'll tell you quickly. During the strike of '82, Roland Hemond went to México to scout two or three guys, and young manager, he took me with him. We got rained out of a game, so we went back to the capital, and we drove all the way out, someplace out in the country to see a left-hand pitcher, a guy named Angel Moreno know who ended up signing with the Angels.

"We saw a night game, Mexico City Reds were playing against the Mexico City Tigers, and I watched that game and I watched and there was this young right-handed reliever, and I said, "Roland, look at this guy." Salomon Rojas, pitched for us the next year. Maybe it was the '81 strike. And the other one was Jerry Hairston who I was running into in the Minor Leagues and he's taking these at-bats, he's in great shape, and Roland was and still is a great baseball man, very emotional, and knew Sam.

So in September, we brought Jerry up, and he lit us up as a pinch-hitter. So he was with us the next year, I forget exactly how many years he was with us, but just do anything, ready all the time. I really enjoyed Jerry, one of my favorite players, and then he had these two little kids, two little jerk kids running into my office telling me to play their dad more than I'm playing him.

"I'd say, "Okay, maybe I should, but get out." I really enjoyed his family and his wife. Yeah, makes you feel real old to see Jerry, Jr. kicking our butt like he does, but I hope Sam is appreciating it."

Albert Has the RedBirds in a ViceGrip

2011-04-19T14:29:00.000-05:00

Ball Game Value - Great article from CBS Moneywatch

2011-04-12T15:30:00.001-05:00

Best Baseball Teams for the Buck

by Nelson Wang
Mar 31, 2011

Let’s face it — while there are a lot of wonderful reasons to go to a ball game, there are only a few things you really want to see: The home team hitting balls out of the park and scoring runs, your pitchers throwing strikes, and most of all, your team picking up the W.

So, just as the new season gets underway, we created the MoneyWatch Price/Performance ratio, and ranked all 30 major league teams. Just as stock analysts compare a company’s earnings per share to the price of its stock, we compared the cost of an average home game ticket over the course of last season with each teams’ at-home performance in four categories: home runs, total runs scored, strikeouts, and wins, giving the last category the most weight.

The rankings appear in the table below, and the results may surprise you. While the Yankees and Red Sox may be perennial powerhouses when it comes to pennant runs, they come up short when measured by P/P. With their high average ticket prices of $51.83 and $52.32, respectively, they come in 28th and 29th place. (Yankees fans may not care that they are third-worst, just so long as they edged out the Sox.) And alas, some losing streaks endure no matter what the yardstick — the Chicago Cubs were dead last. Whether or not you believe in the Billy Goat curse, long-suffering Cubs fans pay the highest average ticket price in the league, $52.56, according to Team Marketing Report, to witness a paltry number of wins at Wrigley (35) and mostly average numbers in the other categories.

The team that provided the best bang for the buck hails from a state that could use a little good news. Arizona Diamondback fans paid the lowest average ticket price in the league, $14.31 — roughly the cost of a Phoenix condo — to witness the seventh-most home runs, yielding a price per homer over the course of the season of just $11.83. (Compare that with the Seattle Mariners, who charged fans a whopping $59.08 per home run at Safeco Field.) The Diamondbacks also had a decent number of home wins (40) for a team with a lousy overall record. Second best overall are the Atlanta Braves, which had one of the lowest average ticket prices ($17.05), the most home wins last season (56), and the third-most strikeouts at home (666).

As good as Atlanta’s pitching was, the teams offering the best value in terms of strikeouts were the San Diego Padres ($1.77 per home strikeout) and the Diamondbacks again ($2.04 per K). Worst in this category was the Yankees, at $7.23 per home strikeout. It’s important to point out that we used last year’s ticket prices; some teams are now offering discount tickets and other deals this year to bring more people into the ballpark.

Research compiled by Frank Riolo / MoneyWatch Price/Performance Rankings

How we ranked the teams: Using 2010 ticket prices — compiled by Team Marketing Report — and 2010 statistics for home ballpark performance from ESPN.com , Yahoo Sports, and MLB.com, we calculated each team’s cost per win, home run, run scored, and strikeout recorded at home, and ranked them from 1 to 30 in each. We then averaged each team’s rank across the four categories, and weighted their ranking on cost per wins twice as much as their other scores to reflect the supreme importance of seeing your home team victorious.

Seeing Greatness Thank you for playing, "the greatest I ever saw".

2011-03-04T19:53:00.000-06:00

The Carlson Club:

2B Alomar

CF Mays
DH Mantle

RF Aaron

LF T.Williams

!B Pujois

C Mauer

SS Banks

3b Brett

Rotation:Ryan, Ford, Pascual & Viola. Rivera closing.

Knauss Knothole Gang

Rickey Henderson (LF)

Joe Mauer (C)

Alex Rodriguez (SS)

Albert Pujols (1b)

Jim Thome (DH)

Ken Griffey Jr. (CF)

Vlad Guerrero (RF)

Mike Schmidt (3b)

Ryne Sandberg (2b)

Starters

1. Randy Johnson

2. Nolan Ryan

3. Roger Clemens

4. Johan Santana

Closer Mariano Rivera

Hall of Fame Bill

Pete Rose 2B

Willie Mays CF

Mickey Mantle DH

Henry Aaron LF

Roberto Clenente RF

Eddie Murray 1B

Ernie Banks SS

Eddie Mathews 3B

Johnny Bench C

Starting Pitchers:

Sandy Koufax

Warren Spahn

Nolan Ryan

Bob Gibson

Closer Mariano Rivera or Dennis Eckersly

Coaches All-Time Twins Lineup:

1B Harmon Killebrew

2B Rod Carew

SS Zoilo Versailles

3B Gary Gaetti

LF Bob Allison

CF Kirby Puckett

RF Tony Oliva

C Joe Mauer

DH Justin Morneau

Pitchers

Mudcat Grant

Bert Blyleven

Camilio Pascual

Frank Viola

(Kaat, Santana & Perry as Honorable mention)

Closer Rick Augilera

St. Paul Schwalbe

Joe Morgan 4
Barry Bonds 7
Mickey Mantle 8
Mark Mcgwire 3
Hank Aaron 9
Alex Rodriquez 6
Frank Thomas DH
Mike Schmidt 5
Mike Piazza 2

Rotation
1. Pedro Martinez
2. Roger Clemens
3. Randy Johnson
4. Sandy Koufax
Closer Mariano Rivera

Sid Selections

Starting Pitchers
1995 RHSP Greg Maddux
2001 LHSP Randy Johnson
1999 RHSP Pedro Martinez
1997 RHSP Roger Clemens
2005 Closer Mariano Rivera

LF 1990 Rickey Henderson
2B 1976 Joe Morgan
1B 2008 Albert Pujols
SS 1996 Alex Rodriguez
DH 2004 Barry Bonds
3B 1980 Mike Schmidt
CF 1997 Ken Griffey Jr
C 2009 Joe Mauer
RF 1987 Tony Gwynn

Jimmy B's Bodacious Lineup

lf R. Henderson

2b R. Carew

1b A. Pujols

cf W. Mays

3b M Schmidt

rf H Aaronss A. Rodriguez

c I. Rodriguez

dh J. Mauer

Pitchers

Greg Maddux

Nolan Ryan

Sandy Koufax

Steve Carlton

Cl - Mariano Rivera

Coach Steve's Bull Yard

Henderson, Rickey LF      A's vs. Twins
Mauer, Joe  C  Twins vs. O's/M's/Royals
Thomas, Frank   1B  Indians @ WSox
Griffey, Jr., Ken      CF     Reds @ Cubs
Rodriguez, Alex     SS     Seattle vs. TC

Ortiz, David DH Twins/Red Sox
Ripken, Jr., Cal 3B Orioles vs. TC

Puckett, Kirby RF Indians vs. Twins

(21 inning game, Pedro Munoz hits walk-off winner)Knoblauch, Chuck 2B Same as above

Halladay, Roy  SP    Blue Jays vs. Twins
Prior, Mark           MR     Reds vs. Cubs
Soria, Joakim       SU      Royals vs. TC

Aguilera, Rick CL Twins

Bonds, Barry    PH     Giants vs. Brewers
Hunter, Torii         PH      Twins
Fielder, Prince      PH     TC @ Brewers

Moosey Mission

CF Kenny Lofton

LF Pete Rose

2B Joe Morgan

1B Willie Stargell

3B Miggy Cabrera

DH Roided Up Barry Bonds

RF Roberto Clemente

C Carlton Fisk

SS Ozzie Smith

Rotation

Luis Tiant

Sam McDowell

Gaylord Perry

Oral Hershieser

Ron Guidry

Closer ~~Joe Borowski~~ Mike Marshall

Absolutely the best database Ball Park Info

2011-02-19T21:01:00.002-06:00

Click here

http://www.seamheads.com/ballparks/index.php

2011-02-19T20:13:00.000-06:00

Twins Fest 2011, Why is TC photo cropped at top? TC dug into his family history and found out that he was a decedent of a cub, so he made a tragic mistake of supporting his heritage and sported a Chicago Cubs ball cap.

February 11, 2011 Transactions

2011-02-11T19:58:00.000-06:00

Busy Week

JR LeFlore Released

JR Simmons Signed

PC Ford Released

PC Lavelle Released

PC Neagle Signed

PC Plesac Signed

PC Pollet Released

PC Richard Released

PC Sabathia Released

PC Sabathia Signed

PC Saberhagen Signed

PC Valenzuela Released

PC Wickman Signed

PC Willis Signed

POW Carroll Signed

POW Chapman Released

POW Dye Released

POW Dye Signed

POW Furillo Signed

POW John Released

POW Lemon Released

POW Reuss Signed

POW Westbrook Released

POW Wyse Signed

sB Justice Signed

Bremer Named to Guide Monroes Back To Respectability

2011-02-09T19:52:00.000-06:00

Associated Press
February 9, 2011
Duluth Minnesota

Disappointment was evident in the owner of the Marilynd Monroes, Catie Bettendorf. Choked with emotion (was it anger or sorrow?) she accepted the resignation of temporary general manager Aaron Morris. "This is a proud franchise. Winners of the Municipal League as recently as 2008 when no one gave them a chance. However, the joyous tears have been replaced by cascading jeers."

It was time to find a replacement, and quick. The choice for Bettendorf was easy. Years ago she appeared on a Twins game, in the stands, holding an Erik Bremer Fan Club poster. She was "circled", not by Bert, nor Dick, but by the young protégé in the booth, Erik. "Young Mr. Bremer brings a keen insight into the game, coupled with a fantastic pedigree. He brings an enthusiasm that this league of [mostly] old farts has been lacking for at least a couple of years when I headed off to college. This is the shot in the arm that this team needs. Heavens, we're barely ahead of the Cleveland Spiders. The division leaders are weak and feeble." Under Morris, perhaps too many Cubs were selected to make a the club viable. Perhaps the new manager can find a way to get the best out of this collection, but we are anticipating some changes as the new leader becomes acclimated. in closing, Ms. Bettendorf stated, "I've only given Erik two orders; return the club to winning ways, and don't even think about moving the team or changing the name."

2011-02-07T22:34:00.000-06:00

Harry Carey Defaced - Morris Out!

On the day the public was informed that the Harry Carey Statue was defaced, Owner-Manager Aaron Morris has resigned from the Marilynd Monroes Baseball Club. The Monroes, built on the premise that Chicago Cubs could actually become winners, were stuck in fourth place in the South Division. A 36-44 record and eight games out was a very disappointing start for a team that won the South in 2010 with a 91-71 record.

Details and new owner negotiations are ongoing. An announcement should be forthcoming within the week.

2011-02-06T21:59:00.000-06:00

Black baseball's best pitchers

February, 5, 2011

FEB 5

3:00

PM ET

By Matt Philip

MLB.com is asking "Who was black baseball's best pitcher?" Among the pitchers that the 19-member expert panel will consider to name in their top five is Satchel Paige, who, pitching in St. Louis and being one of baseball's all-time characters, has always been one of my favorites. It's impossible to really know who was best, let alone how they compared to the major leaguers of the day. But Richard Donovan's famous profile of Paige for Collier's magazine (the source of Paige's apocryphal "rules for living") contains a helpful anecdote involving Joe DiMaggio in 1935:

AP PhotoLeroy "Satchel" Paige played in the Negro Leagues from 1927-47.

At the time, DiMaggio was playing around the Bay Area with an off-season team of major-league all-stars. Yankee scouts, who wished to see how their new find reacted to serious fire, finally got hold of Paige, who was taking the sun in Los Angeles. Paige was willing, after hearing about the guarantee, and started North with his team, composed entirely of Ebel Brooks, catcher for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League.

In Oakland, Paige found three local semipro players, filled out the roster with high-school boys and gazed solemnly at the terrifying line-up of major-league talent. Then he proceeded with the business of the day, which was to fan 15, allow three hits in 10 innings and lose the game, two to one, when his youths, possibly rendered hysterical by the reputation of the opposition, threw to the winds the three balls that came their way. With a man on third in the tenth inning, DiMaggio, who had struck out twice and fouled out once in his previous official times at bat, finally hit a hopper which Paige lost in the shadows of dusk. One ex-Yankee scout remembers sending a telegram East: DIMAGGIO ALL WE HOPED HE'D BE; HIT SATCH ONE FOR FOUR.

Of course, Old Satch did eventually get to pitch in the major leagues, breaking in as a 41-year-old rookie and ultimately setting the record as the oldest player to play in a game, at the ripe old age of 59 in 1965 (courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com):

Oldest Players In The Major Leagues

Rk	Player	Age	Date	Team
1	Satchel Paige	59.080	9/25/1965	KCA
2	Nick Altrock	57.016	10/1/1933	WSH
3	Nick Altrock	55.012	9/27/1931	WSH
4	Minnie Minoso	54.311	10/5/1980	CHW
5	Minnie Minoso	54.310	10/4/1980	CHW
6	Nick Altrock	53.021	10/6/1929	WSH
7	Charley O'Leary	51.350	9/30/1934	SLB
8	Minnie Minoso	50.306	9/30/1976	CHW
9	Minnie Minoso	50.288	9/12/1976	CHW
10	Minnie Minoso	50.287	9/11/1976	CHW
11	Jack Quinn	50.006	7/7/1933	CIN
12	Jack Quinn	50.003	7/4/1933	CIN

But Paige didn't simply get credit by making a cameo pinch-hitting appearance or DHing, as Minnie Minoso did as a 50-year-old. No: Satch started and faced 10 batters over three innings, striking out one and yielding one hit (to fellow future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski). And that was after pitching in probably 2,500 games.

-- Matt Philip is the editor and principal writer of the blog Fungoes.

2011-02-04T19:50:00.000-06:00

recent transactions
5/30/2011 H Bell    Released
5/30/2011 H Carpenter    Signed
5/30/2011 H Fuentes    Signed
5/30/2011 H Quantrill      Released
6/7/2011    H Wills   Released
6/7/2011    H Zimmerman Signed
6/7/2011    i K Gaetti    Signed
6/7/2011    i K Murphy    Released

2011-02-04T19:36:00.003-06:00

Pettitte's reliability, honesty always respected

Year after year, left-hander came through in biggest games

By Peter Gammons | MLB.com Columnist |

It was three years ago, in Florida. I was riding back to my hotel when my cell phone sang out a favorite James Brown song, and even though I didn't recognize the number, I answered it.

"Peter?" asked the voice. "This is Andy Pettitte."

I knew that Pettitte had arrived at Spring Training that morning and held a news conference at the Yankees' facility in Tampa, then called Legends Field. He'd admitted that, as reported in The Los Angeles Times in 2006 and in the Mitchell Report in '07, that he had used performance-enhancing drugs.

"Peter, I need to say something to you," Pettitte continued. "Look, you've been good to me from the time I arrived in the big leagues. You've always treated me with respect. I know how much you care about and love the game. I called to apologize because I let the game down. I let you down. I did what I did, and I am sorry."

I don't know how many people Andy Pettitte similarly called, probably many. He didn't hand out a press statement. He didn't have his agents, Randy and Alan Hendricks, call on his behalf. He took the time to make the personal apology.

There are many fault layers to the guilt and causes of what will forever be known as The Steroid Era. We likely will never know whether Pettitte used PEDs a couple of times or more extensively -- more allegations may be secreted in the Roger Clemens case. But at this point, Andy Pettitte is a former player, and five years from now, when his Hall of Fame credentials are debated, the voting may still include a society that believes that anyone connected to, suspected of or having the appearance of usage is automatically ineligible for induction in Cooperstown.

But that is a debate for later, when Pettitte's name first appears on the BBWAA ballot. If indeed Pettitte never pitches again, he leaves the game better than when he found it upon his arrival in the Major Leagues in April 1995, the post-strike season. He is a genuinely good person -- private, sincere, soft-spoken but direct. He carried himself down the street as he stood atop the mound, shoulders squared, chest out, perfect posture.

"His teammates know what he will give them," manager Joe Girardi said this past October before Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Rangers. "They know with Andy, they have a chance to win. He is still what he's always been -- reliable."

Pettitte gave up two runs in the first inning and finished seven innings without giving up any more runs. The Yankees had a chance to win. Problem was, Cliff Lee threw eight shutout innings, allowing two hits, so Pettitte left trailing, 2-0. It remained 2-0 until the ninth, when the Yankees' bullpen imploded and gave up six runs.

For 16 seasons with the Yankees and Astros, Andy Pettitte was someone they could lean on. He won 21 games in 1996 and 2003, and his second-place finish in '96 was the only time he was in the top three in Cy Young Award voting. However, in 13 of those 16 seasons, he started 31 or more games, and because he was the ever-reliable Andy Pettitte, he pitched in eight World Series for the Yankees and Astros and won 19 postseason games, more than anyone in history.

Did he get 5 1/2 runs a start because he pitched for very good teams in New York and Houston? Of course. But did he help make those teams really good? Yes. This is not the time for a Jack Morris-Bert Blyleven mud fight, but 240-138 is really good, as is 19-10 in the postseason, when there are no Thursday matinees against the Royals.

OK, his 3.88 ERA would be the highest of anyone in the Hall, and blogger Aaron Gleeman pointed out Thursday that Chuck Finley topped Pettitte in innings (3,197 1/3-3,055 1/3) and ERA (3.85-3.88). Pettitte gave up more hits than innings pitched. He also beat John Smoltz, 1-0, in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series, which essentially won the Series (again, no mud fights here, because Smoltz was on the mound in the famous Game 7 duel with Morris in 1991).

Still, Pettitte pitched in New York and was so respected and liked that he was able to stand up after the Mitchell Report and remain an iconic figure. From the time he arrived, he, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter and later Jorge Posada gave the Yankees a dignity befitting the pinstripes. The additions of outsiders like Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius, et al, made the Yankees not only a World Series champion four times in five years, but champions who people across the country respected and admired. They were, along with Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995 and the McGwire/Sosa Festival of '98, part of the healing process that rebuilt the game and the business. Those Yankees helped grow the baseball-revenue business, because, let's face it, baseball is a more profitable business when the Yankees are constants on national television.

General manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Torre understood what Pettitte meant to the fabric of those Yankees teams, which is why at one point they adamantly talked George Steinbrenner out of trading him to the Phillies. Cashman and Girardi know what it means that Pettitte is no longer part of their 2011 plans. The rotation right now is CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and TBD, which makes the Rafael Soriano signing an important piece of the immediate puzzle and the Cashman farm system a reserve that can eventually get them a starting pitcher, no matter if the market of potentially available starters right now is smaller than Bartolo Colon's waistline.

They're not going to get Felix Hernandez or Josh Johnson. Can they acquire someone as good as a 38-year old Pettitte? Probably, but at the cost of two or three valued pieces.

And they're not likely to be able to trade for anyone who walks through the clubhouse door the days he starts and evoke the respect of his peers as Pettitte did for all those years. The man admitted guilt, as charged, but in the end, he walks away with the knowledge that he was respected for his reliability as a pitcher and as a teammate, and no statistical analysis or science can quantify Andy Pettitte's personal reliability.

Peter Gammons is a columnist for MLB.com and an analyst for MLB Network. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

2011-02-01T17:36:00.002-06:00

Hacken Sacks

Paul Quantrill
Buddy Bell

Adds
2005 Chris Carpenter RHP

*2005 Bartolo Colon RHP (if Carpenter not available)
2005 Brian Fuentes LHP

2011-01-31T18:29:00.000-06:00

No ‘Parity’ in Baseball? Think Again

Published: Wednesday, 6 Oct 2010 | 2:06 PM ET

By: Darren Rovell

CNBC Sports Business Reporter

Money doesn’t guarantee success.

Major League Baseball teams are proving it this postseason as only three of the teams among the top 10 in league payroll (Yankees, Phillies, Giants) made the playoffs.

That’s the fewest teams of the heavy spenders to make the playoffs in the last decade.

It’s also the first time since baseball added the Wildcard in 1995 that at least four playoff teams came from the bottom half of payrolls (Braves, Reds, Rays, Rangers).

So what has happened?

Well, the truth is, nothing really. Despite the perception of not having parity, baseball actually has the most parity of any sport. Over the last 30 years, Major League Baseball has had 19 different teams win the World Series. Compare that to the number of teams over the same period of time that won the Super Bowl (16), Stanley Cup (14) and the NBA title (8).

In the last 30 years, 25 different teams have played in the World Series. That’s only topped by the NFL, which has 26 teams that have played in the Super Bowl over that time period. And that’s without a salary cap.

Spending more money in Major League Baseball does make it easier.According to a paper by two Northeastern University professors, Frederick Wiseman and Sangit Chatterjee, the difference in the average number of games won between teams whose payrolls were in the top quartile and those teams whose payrolls were in the bottom quartile was almost 15 games between 1998-2002.

But over the last decade, if your team is among the top 10 payrolls in the game, your team only has a 46 percent chance of making the postseason. Check out the chart below of teams in the top 10 payrolls that have made it.

2001: 6 of top 10 (Yankees, Indians, Braves, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Mariners)
2002: 4 of top 10 (Yankees, Braves, Giants, Diamondbacks)
2003: 4 of top 10 (Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Braves)
2004: 5 of top 10 (Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, Cardinals)
2005: 5 of the top 10 (Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Braves)
2006: 5 of the top 10 (Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Cardinals)
2007: 4 of top 10 (Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, Cubs)
2008: 6 of the top 10 (Angels, Red Sox, White Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies)
2009: 5 of the top 10 (Yankees, Angels, Red Sox, Dodgers, Phillies)
2010: 3 of the top 10 (Yankees, Phillies, Giants)

The number is what it is, but it is a bit skewed by the fact that two teams (the A’s and the Twins) have been so successful over the last 10 years, taking up a combined 10 playoff spots despite never being in the top 10 in payrolls. And teams like the Cubs and the Mets have been so bad. The Mets have been in the top 10 in payroll for at least the last 10 years and have only made the playoffs once. The Cubs have had a top 10 payroll six out of the last 10 years and have also only made the playoffs three times.

Bud Selig and his cohorts take a lot of credit for the parity, but it’s my opinion that the reason why there is so much parity is because a couple smaller revenue/lower spending teams have had great talent evaluators, while a group of bigger revenue/higher spenders have had horrible talent evaluators.

2011-01-30T17:27:00.000-06:00

What would you do?

Pitcher Spurns $12 Million, to Keep Self-Respect

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

“Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad,” Royals pitcher Gil Meche said.

By TYLER KEPNER

Published: January 26, 2011

But the case of Gil Meche is rare for an entirely different reason. Meche, a 32-year-old right-handed pitcher, had a contract that called for a $12 million salary in 2011. Yet he will not report to Surprise, Ariz., with the rest of theKansas City Royals for spring training next month. He will not have surgery to repair his chronically aching right shoulder. He will not pitch in relief, which involves a lighter workload.Correction Appended

The guaranteed contract is a fundamental principle of Major League Baseball, as much a part of the game as balls, strikes and outs. No matter how a player performs, or how his body holds up, he must be paid in full. Only in rare cases — an injury sustained off the field, gross personal misconduct — does a player forfeit his paycheck.

Meche retired last week, which means he will not be paid at all.

“When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it,” Meche said this week by phone from Lafayette, La. “Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.”

Meche’s decision plays against type — the modern athlete out for every last dollar. There have been, over the years, athletes who took less money to play for one team over another, Cliff Lee being the latest when he agreed to pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies. And yes, Ryne Sandberg retired from the Chicago Cubs in 1994, forgoing nearly $16 million.

But there are very few parallels to what Meche did.

Instead, it is much more common for an injured player to report to spring training, go through the motions of rehabilitation and collect his paycheck. Lenny Dykstra played his last game in 1996 but did not announce his retirement until after the 1998 season, when the Philadelphia Phillies paid him $5.5 million. Mo Vaughn of the Mets made $15 million in 2004, even though an arthritic knee had ended his career the year before.

“In no way is it assumed that at the end of a deal a guy is expected to walk away if he can’t play,” said Jim Duquette, the former Mets general manager. “It’s just so odd and so rare. There was no way that we would have ever had a conversation like, ‘Hey, Mo, listen, you’re not able to play, so you should retire.’ ”

Sandberg, it turned out, returned in 1996 and essentially earned back some of the money he had left behind. And the novelty of Mark McGwire’s decision to retire from the St. Louis Cardinals with two years left on a contract worth $30 million was tarnished by his subsequent admission of steroid use.

“This isn’t about being a hero — that’s not even close to what it’s about,” Meche said this week. “It’s just me getting back to a point in my life where I’m comfortable. Making that amount of money from a team that’s already given me over $40 million for my life and for my kids, it just wasn’t the right thing to do.”

The Royals signed Meche to a five-year, $55 million free-agent contract before the 2007 season, when he made the American League All-Star team. He pitched well again the next season, but by mid-2009, his body started to crumble. He made nine starts last season without a victory.

Still, the Royals fully expected Meche to pitch in relief, and to pay him the $12 million — three times more than any other player on the team. If nothing else, they believed, Meche could be a positive influence for a young roster.

But Meche knew the Royals really signed him to start games and log innings. His deteriorating shoulder, surgically repaired twice in 2001, would not allow him to do that. As a divorced father of three, he believed his children — ages 7, 5 and 3 — needed him more than his teammates did.

Meche told the Royals’ general manager, Dayton Moore, that he did not want any of the paycheck due him. No settlement, no buyout, no strings. The Royals had been roundly criticized for signing Meche in the first place — he was 55-44 with a 4.65 earned run average in six seasons for the Mariners — and Meche believed they had already paid him enough.

“He felt the organization had been very good to him, and he felt he needed to, not repay, but in his mind do the right thing,” Moore said. “I’m not saying that if a player decides to do his best and fulfill his contract that’s the wrong thing. But Gil did what he felt was right for him.”

Meche was raised in Lafayette, the hometown of the former Yankee Ron Guidry, his early pitching idol. His father, Fred, has owned a computer company for more than 35 years, and his mother, Linda, stayed home. Meche said he never had to worry about money, and his parents allowed him to focus on baseball.

Meche, who is 6 feet 3 inches, was taller than most classmates as a boy, and threw a lot harder — 92 miles an hour by his junior season. But when illness sapped his strength as a senior at Acadiana High School in Lafayette, Meche figured professional scouts would turn away. He planned to attend Louisiana State until the Mariners surprised him with an $820,000 bonus offer. Meche accepted it, bought a GMC Yukon and, he said, paid for a lot of his teammates’ meals.

“We were confident he would regain his stuff and be a sleeper in the draft,” said Bryan Price, then the minor league pitching coordinator for the Mariners. “Gil always had great stuff, and he was very athletic.”

Meche rewarded the Mariners by reaching the majors by age 20. His shoulder soon broke down, and two operations cost him two seasons.

But he showed enough promise through 2006 to entice the Royals, who paid him $43 million through 2010.

The decision to leave was not easy, Meche said, but his hometown tugged at him. Meche is buying a house in Lafayette, near his parents and sisters and friends. For now he lives in a 45-foot R.V. at a campground.

Much of his time, he said, will be spent on airplanes. Two of his children live in Phoenix with his ex-wife, and another lives in Texas. Meche spent time with all three children last week.

“I told them Daddy’s not going to play baseball anymore,” he said. “My little girl looked at me and said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said: ‘Well, Daddy’s been playing a long time. Daddy’s shoulder hurts.’ She kind of looked at me and went back to playing with the other two kids.”

There is no throwing program to struggle through anymore, no excitement to try to summon for a game that hurts too much to play. Baseball is over for Meche, who spent Monday night with family friends in Lafayette, eating gumbo, drinking beer, relaxing. He has no specific plans, except to settle in his hometown and see his children whenever he wants.

“He gave his heart and soul to his profession,” Moore said. “You only have so many throws in you.”

Meche knew he had none left, and he would not pretend otherwise. He said his dream in baseball was always simple — to pitch as long as he could — and now that he has achieved it, he needs nothing more

2011-01-28T17:25:00.000-06:00

St. Paul Saints seek redemption!

  DROP                                                 Add                                Sandy Koufax P                     1996 Andy Pettitte SP
Dean Chance   P                     2007 C C Sabathia SP
Hank Aguirre P                      2009 Justin Verlander SP
Gary Peters     P                        2002 Barry Zito SP
Francisco Rodriguez P             1996 Troy Percival Cl
Don Drysdale P                       1936 Tommy Bridges SP

2011-01-26T19:48:00.000-06:00

Getting their Irish Up

Kickers add 1970 Jim Perry (if available) and cut Sparky Lyle.

2011-01-25T17:23:00.002-06:00

Jack Rabbit Runner Move

Drop Al Downing SP and Add Jason Bartlett SS 2009

.

New York Times - MLB Killers

Puerto Rico Traces Baseball’s Slide to the Draft

By JORGE CASTILLO

Published: January 16, 2012

Multimedia

Battling Baseball’s Decline in Puerto Rico

Major League Baseball

Yankees

Mets

Dennis Rivera for The New York Times

Dennis M. Rivera-Pichardo for The New York Times

A version of this article appeared in print on January 17, 2012, on page B9 of the New York edition with the headline: Decline of an Island Pastime.

A little more that five bucks

$20 Million Can Buy Quality Time With Mr. Met

By RICHARD SANDOMIR

Published: December 20, 2011

Related

Cash-Poor Mets Given $40 Million Bank Loan (December 13, 2011)

Major League Baseball

Suzy Allman for The New York Times

A version of this article appeared in print on December 21, 2011, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: $20 Million Can Buy Quality Time With Mr. Met.

Baseball Friends

Babe Ruth

August 17, 1948

Babe Ruth, Baseball's Great Star and Idol of Children, Had a Career Both Dramatic and Bizarre

By MURRAY SCHUMACH

Season Preview

STP Saints Spring Training Hero

Dolf Luque - The Pride of Havana

TwinsFest 2012Jan. 27-29H.H.H. Metrodome

MLB Offseason Calendar

Former Twin Up For Ransom?

Report: Nationals C Wilson Ramos Kidnapped

Duquette spurned by Municipal League, Catches on with O's

Jesus Mourns Loss of Matty

Why baseball managers wear uniforms

Why baseball managers wear uniforms

Scott Harrison

Albert Has the RedBirds in a ViceGrip

Ball Game Value - Great article from CBS Moneywatch

Seeing Greatness Thank you for playing, "the greatest I ever saw".

Absolutely the best database Ball Park Info

February 11, 2011 Transactions

Bremer Named to Guide Monroes Back To Respectability

Black baseball's best pitchers

Oldest Players In The Major Leagues

No ‘Parity’ in Baseball? Think Again

Pitcher Spurns $12 Million, to Keep Self-Respect

By TYLER KEPNER

Published: January 26, 2011

TwinsFest 2012
Jan. 27-29
H.H.H. Metrodome