Hey baseball fans! One of the reasons I enjoy baseball history so much is that it puts modern baseball into perspective. I always preach that understanding the precedence or background of a current subject is paramount if you want to be an expert in it. I don't consider myself an aficionado when it comes to talking about all 30 rosters of the MLB, but I do know how to judge teams, players, managers, and championships because of what I've learned about baseball's past. So, I figured that ...
From Baseball with Matt
| over 4 years ago
| 0 reads
Hey baseball fans! We are officially in Spring Training, which means the 2021 regular season is less than a month away! Because of this, as is customary on Baseball with Matt, it's time for some of my bold predictions for the upcoming campaign, five of them to be exact. Although they have catchy-sounding nicknames, Belli and Yelli will not escape their season-long slumps at the plate from last year . Yes, Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich have won two of the last three NL MV...
From Baseball with Matt
| almost 5 years ago
| 2 reads
Hey baseball fans! It's my birthday, which means it's time to talk about my Hall of Fame birthday buddy, Alan Trammell! I've done a post about Trammell pretty much every February 21st since I started my blog in 2012, so this birthday will be no different! Today, rather than just go over his career for the 1,000th time, let's take a deep dive into why he deserves to be a Hall of Famer based on the three categories I use to judge Hall of Fame candidacy: longevity, consistency, and intangib...
From Baseball with Matt
| almost 5 years ago
| 0 reads
Hey baseball fans! The 2021 Hall of Fame inductees have been released and, to be honest, I'm not surprised that no one got in. Schilling's stock fell a lot after the Capitol riots and I expected the steroid-users not to move up that much. There were a couple of big risers, but again, it makes sense that the 2021 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will only feature the 2020 inductees. But who's on the ballot next year? There are several very interesting first-timers on next year's ballot, na...
From Baseball with Matt
| almost 5 years ago
| 0 reads
Hey baseball fans! The 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees will be released later TODAY! So, as is customary on Baseball with Matt, here's my *unofficial* ballot. I've already discussed why I think Todd Helton and Jeff Kent deserve to be in the Hall (click on their names to see my posts about them), so naturally, they're on my ballot this year. But, as a quick summary, Helton's seasonal averages and synonymy with the Colorado Rockies organization and Kent's unique seco...
From Baseball with Matt
| almost 5 years ago
| 0 reads
Hey baseball fans! It's my first post of 2021 and it's a doozy! Because we are officially in the month when we find out the 2021 Hall of Fame class, it's time to ramp up the Hall of Fame content on Baseball with Matt. With that being said, let's talk about Jeff Kent, who is appearing on the ballot for the eighth time this year. Given his voting percentage of roughly 27% last year, his Cooperstown chances are slim, but he is certainly a Hall of Famer. Here's why: Jeff Kent has a weird car...
From Baseball with Matt
| almost 5 years ago
| 0 reads
Hey baseball fans! Big news came out recently about the Negro Leagues being elevated to Major League status. A lot of people had a lot to say about the racial sensitivity that went into this move (which was called "correcting a longtime oversight" by the MLB), but I'm going to tackle the story from a different angle and discuss the ramifications it has for the Hall of Fame. As I've said time and time again, Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby are not Hall of Famers solely because ...
From Baseball with Matt
| almost 5 years ago
| 0 reads
Hey baseball fans! With 2020 coming to an end, the 2021 Hall of Fame class is the only thing on my mind. So, let's talk about some of the potential members of the class and why they should get in, starting with the guy who I think is the most underrated on the ballot: Todd Helton. I think the lifelong member of the Colorado Rockies from 1997-2013 and friend of Peyton Manning (they both went to Tennessee) deserves a spot in Cooperstown, but his sub-30% performance on last year's ballot do...
From Baseball with Matt
| almost 5 years ago
| 2 reads
Hey baseball fans! We are about two months away from the 2021 Hall of Fame class announcement, but it's never too early to talk about the Hall, especially when the 2021 official ballot was just released! I'll get into my actual predictions as we approach late January, but for this post, I'd like to talk about some of the guys who I grew up watching who are eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time. In more ways than one, the 2021 Hall of Fame ballot first-timers shows how lo...
From Baseball with Matt
| about 5 years ago
| 0 reads
Hey baseball fans! The Miami Marlins have made history, a sentence that isn't so common, but when it's uttered, is monumental. Two days ago, they hired Kim Ng to be their new general manager, making her the first woman and East Asian to hold that position in Major League Baseball. But what does this hiring mean for all sports, and more importantly, what does it mean for us as fans? I've been thinking a lot about why I follow baseball, beyond the enjoyment I get out of it, and have come t...
From Baseball with Matt
| about 5 years ago
| 1 read
Hey baseball fans! The 2020 season is officially over and the Dodgers are world champions! This is their first championship since 1988, a championship I'd like to discuss this, because of how interesting a team it was. The 1988 Dodgers didn't have a star-studded lineup. Only three hitters in their lineup had double-digit home runs that year and only one hitter had more than 20. One might call it a coincidence, however, that the hitter with 20+ homers for the '88 Dodgers was the Nat...
From Baseball with Matt
| about 5 years ago
| 1 read
Hey baseball fans! The 2020 World Series is here, which means that it's time for me to give you a historical look on the matchup, which pits the Rays against the Dodgers! The Tampa Bay Rays are making their second World Series appearance in franchise history and their first since 2008. This marks the second time that a 1990s expansion team is making its second World Series appearance, joining only the Marlins. Having lost that 2008 World Series to the Phillies, the Rays are one of ...
From Baseball with Matt
| about 5 years ago
| 3 reads
Hey baseball fans! The World Series is only about a series away, so it's time to start imagining how the 2020 edition of the Fall Classic will be entered into the history books! Personally, I'm a big fan of the walk-off home run and hope we see some crazy game-winning dingers during the final stage of the MLB postseason. To honor this, let's run through my top five World Series walk-off home runs of all time. Number Five: Derek Jeter, Game Four, 2001 The game-tying home run by Tino...
From Baseball with Matt
| about 5 years ago
| 0 reads
Hey baseball fans! The 2020 playoffs are officially here, with a few notable curse-breakers in the bracket. The Marlins, White Sox, and Padres all snapped massive playoff droughts when they clinched playoff berths this season, with the Marlins and Padres going from last place in their respective divisions in 2019 to the postseason in 2020. Worst-to-first teams have become more common in baseball with the popularity of free agency and the rise of analytics, but I want to talk about the first wo...
From Baseball with Matt
| about 5 years ago
| 3 reads
Hey baseball fans! Myself and two of my college friends have started a baseball podcast. It's called "Baseball for Breakfast," with new episodes releasing every Monday morning for the foreseeable future. Click here to access all our episodes so far. We're really excited for you to listen! So, why did we start a podcast? Well, me and my friends, Brendan and Logan, love baseball, but as you could probably guess, have different opinions going across all topics relating to America's Pa...
From Baseball with Matt
| about 5 years ago
| 3 reads
I missed this recent release from Topps yesterday. Featured here is a Topps 2020 Turn Back the Clock online exclusive card made available yesterday, and it celebrates Clayton Kershaw's complete game shutout ten-years ago. Per the description on the reverse:
September 14, 2010 -- In a game where the Dodgers only mustered one run, 22-year-old Clayton Kershaw gave the team a much needed dominant performance. The left-hander fired a complete-game shutout. allowing just four hits and leading the...
From Dodgers Blue Heaven
| about 5 years ago
| 1 read
Is this the turning point to Gavin's season?
Lux has had a poor start to 2020 -- first, not making the teams roster and batting below the Mendoza Line when he finally came up to Los Angeles. But last night he put up the kind an results that can lead to something good.
Prior to yesterdays game he was slashing a woeful .148/.258/.222/.480 in just eight games played. Now, after last nights three hit effort he is slashing a much improved .219/.324/.469/.793 while also walloping his first two...
From Dodgers Blue Heaven
| about 5 years ago
| 2 reads
Hey baseball fans! From 1946-2015, the Chicago Cubs failed to win the National League pennant. We can blame their struggles on a plethora of factors, but the Cubs actually sported some great players during that span. Here are my top five Chicago Cubs Hall of Famers during their grueling World Series appearance drought. Honorable Mentions: Greg Maddux and Andre Dawson The one major rule for this post is that the player has to go into the Hall as a member of the Cubs. Maddux and Dawso...
From Baseball with Matt
| about 5 years ago
| 0 reads
The Sandy Koufax Grotesk Project 2020 card is now available through Topps and it follows a similar minimalist design he used for the Jackie Robinson card released just a couple of weeks back -- check out that card on the left.
Grotesk uses a pictograph of two persons holding up a portrait of the ballplayer -- while using a font resembling Hebrew writing. No doubt an homage to Sandy's Jewish heritage.
The graphic design itself is reminiscent of a poster you might see in a bus stop o...
From Dodgers Blue Heaven
| over 5 years ago
| 0 reads
I think we all knew this day was going to come.
Yesterday afternoon came word that the Dodgers had dealt right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling to the Toronto Blue Jays for two players to be named later -- one of which we now know is 20-year old right-handed pitching prospect Kendall Williams (more on him later).
As you'll recall, Stripling had seemingly been traded to the crosstown Angels (along with Joc Pederson) over the winter, but that was thwarted by the Anaheim ownership -...
From Dodgers Blue Heaven
| over 5 years ago
| 2 reads
You knew this card was coming.
On Sunday the Dodgers set a new National League record for home runs as a team for the month of August, so Topps issued a new Topps Now card to celebrate the achievement. Check it out above and below. Per Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider :
“It’s just a byproduct of swinging at good pitches,” manager Dave Roberts said after his team’s 7–2 win and another series victory. “I don’t know how well the ball’s carrying compared to the last couple years, but it’s amaz...
From Dodgers Blue Heaven
| over 5 years ago
| 2 reads
It was Jackie Robinson weekend. As you know, ballplayers throughout the league wore #42 to honor the great Dodger. Take a look at the cap the Dodgers wore on the right, via Chris Creamer at Sportslogos.net .
BTW, this weekend was not entirely celebratory. Chadwick Boseman, the fantastic actor who played Jackie in the 2013 film ‘42,’ died of colon cancer at the age of 43 on Friday -- on Jackie Robinson Day.
Photo above via @Dodgers on twitter . Below are more links to check out:
This ...
From Dodgers Blue Heaven
| over 5 years ago
| 1 read
I am playing catch-up with some recently released Topps Now cards. First, there are two Dodger cards available right now, following their sweep of the Giants yesterday. After that, three additional cards had been released by Topps over the past week -- that I failed to write about -- so I'll share those at the bottom of this post.
First, Mookie Betts recorded his 1,000th career hit during the first game of yesterdays doubleheader. Check out the Topps Now card created by Topps above and bel...
From Dodgers Blue Heaven
| over 5 years ago
| 2 reads
As you surely know by now, Vin Scully has consigned a whole bunch of his personal memorabilia to Hunt Auctions, and frankly it's overwhelming. There's a ton of stuff, and bids are starting to reach lofty heights -- after being open for just a day or two.
I have yet to go through the entire catalog, but so far I think the cream of the crop might be his 1955 World Series ring. That's right folks! His championship ring is on the block and right now it sits at $13,750.00 -- with the possibly it...
From Dodgers Blue Heaven
| over 5 years ago
| 2 reads
Hey baseball fans! Even in a shortened 2020 season, we are sure to see some crazy home run numbers across Major League Baseball, a trend that will only continue to pick up as we advance deeper into the 21st century. But with an emphasis on power comes the slow demise of one of baseball's most underrated and exciting statistics: the stolen base. Most baseball fans like to think that base-stealing was always as common as it was right before the new millennium, but that's actually inc...
From Baseball with Matt
| over 5 years ago
| 0 reads