Mickey Mantle

It’s funny, it always seems like when people talk about Griffey Jr. they’re talking about him like he’s already done playing and retired (“he was one of the all time greats,” “what would he have done if…”), hell I know I can be blamed for the same thing. But here’s the crazy thing, the guy is only 38 years old and his swing is still as sweet and as recognizable as it was in the mid-90s. He still hits for power and hasn’t been seriously injured in over a year and a half (knock on wood!). Even if his days of cracking 40 out of the park every season are behind him, the 1997 AL MVP is still a legit threat to hit 25 or 30. Hell, he still may be able to break the 700 club and finish third or fourth all time.

Continue reading "Griffey Jr. blasts No. 741 in first inning"

The thirties, on the other hand, were the heyday for triple-threat batters, with four TC winners as well as the only year (1933) in which there were Triple Crown winners in both leagues (Jimmie "Double X" Foxx and Chuck "The Rifleman" Klein). No other decade has had more than two. Frank Robinson's .316 is the lowest average that won it, while winner Paul Hines' measly 4 HR, 50 RBI totals in 1878 speaks volumes about how much the game has changed. 

Continue reading "Triple Crowns"

Someday we will certainly look back on the last few years as some of the best years in baseball, as far as watching some significant milestones being broken. In between Bonds' maligned chase of Aaron and Randy's recent conquering of Clemens' K record, we've seen Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, and ARod all reach the 500-HR plateau, and Sosa reach 600, with Griffey knocking on the same door. Maddux recently won his 350th game, and Glavine won his 300th, and Smoltz recorded his 3000th strikeout just before he went down to a season- (and possibly career-) ending injury, and not long after Pedro reached that same level.

Continue reading "Another Milestone Passed"

Sorry for the Blog Pause--went out of town to the wedding of a friend of mine, but now I'm back and back strong, to conclude my review of the unsung heroes of the 1961 Yankees infield. We're finishing with that all-important position of shortstop, Tony Kubek, who was an anchor for that 1961 team, both in the field and at the plate. He's also one of the great woulda-coulda-shoulda players, someone that many argue would have been one of the greatest Yankee shortstops ever, had his career not been cut short by injury.

Continue reading "Around The Horn With The '61 Yankees: SS"

When a guy gets named "Moose," you generally figure it's because he's a knucklehead or looks like he should be one. Bill Skowron had the lumpy face of a prizefighter, but he was generally known as a gentle giant with a smooth, opposite-field stroke. His nickname came from his Polish grandfather, who thought his haircut at one point reminded him of dictator Benito Mussolini. But Skowron wasn't any sort of dictator, just a good guy who could drive ball into the gaps.

Continue reading "Around The Horn With The '61 Yankees: 1B"

The Yankees have had many World Series champs, and many more All-Star players and all-time lineups. The 1927 Yankees pretty much set the bar for everyone else to follow, but there were some other memorable ones, too. The '36 Yanks, the first year of Joltin' Joe, and the last great one from Lou Gehrig, along with typically solid contributions by Bill Dickey, Tony Lazzeri and the usual cast of star Yankees.

Continue reading "The Unsung Heroes of the 1961 Yankees"