All Entries in the "Reviews" Category
Announcing a New Baseball Book: Fifty-nine in ‘84
Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had
In 1884, Hall of Fame pitcher Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn won an astonishing 59 games, started 73 games and completed them all, and pitched more than 678 innings. Then he went out and won all three games of baseball's first World Series. This [...]
Why Are There So Many Pitching Injuries?
(Excerpt from book CHARACTER IS NOT A STATISTIC: The Legacy and Wisdom of Baseball’s Godfather Scout Bill Lajoie)
This is a topic that fascinates me and one I was sure to discuss with Bill Lajoie before writing our book. For those who don’t know Mr. Lajoie, he is considered by many [...]
BackyardBall: A book on Whiffleball, aka Plastic Ball
Backyard Ball
By Thomas P. Hannon, Jr.
This is a fun filled book about the world of Plastic Baseball or Wiffle Ball. It includes all the information you need to start playing as a family game or serious league play. Use this book to help rediscover your Backyard and read about people who actually built replica fields [...]
Book Review: Burying the Curse, By Terry Pluto
To many, Terry Pluto has been the most trusted voice of Cleveland sports over the past two decades. Through his tenure with the Akron Beacon Journal and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Pluto had readers waiting for the paper to get his specific view on whatever issue was going on at that time.
Pluto [...]
Help Us Improve Baseball Reflections.com
During this busy Hot Stove Season we are taking this opportunity to ask you, our readers, what you like, dislike about Baseball Reflections.com. Likewise, we want to know what you want to see more of and what you would like to see us write about that we don’t already do.
To contribute your most important thoughts [...]
Stadium Review: Nationals Stadium, Home of the Washington Nationals
Image by aquarian librarian via Flickr
Even though the Washington Nationals don’t have their own baseball history and Washington D.C. is not known as a hub for baseball traditionalists and major fans of America’s pastime, their stadium just may be one of the best in the league.
Nationals Stadium is obviously one of the newer Major League [...]
Akadema’s Praying Mantis Catcher’s Mitt, Designed by Hall of Famer Gary Carter
Here is the next installment in my series of recommended Akadema Gloves. This, like the last one earlier this month (the Prodigy AOZ 91) was designed by a Hall of Famer, this time, catcher Gary Carter who use to play for the Expos, Mets, Giants and Dodgers before finishing his playing career back with the [...]
Stadium Review: Busch Stadium, Home of the St. Louis Cardinals
Image via Wikipedia
Upon arrival at Busch Stadium, one thing comes completely clear, the planners of this park certainly did all they could to remind fans of the rich history of the Cardinals, while also keeping a modern look present with the park.
Image by Teny Jr via Flickr
The entire stadium is brick and is decorated all [...]
A Night With the Outerbanks Daredevils
Loyal Baseball Reflections readers may have noticed my absence from these pages in the past half year. I took a leave due to the fact that I got married in July and had to make sure to get fully adjusted to life as a husband, working full time and going to graduate school at [...]
A WholesaleKeychains.com Giveaway c/o Baseball Reflections
Once again Baseball Reflections is teaming up with Wholesalekeychains.com to giveaway keychains. This time we will be giving away 3 keychains in the the following categories (one keychain from each category). This time around we will be doing a straight drawing.
Digital Photo Keychains and Keyrings
To see their selection of Digital Photo Keychains and Keyrings, go [...]
Bob Gibson/Reggie Jackson: Sixty Feet, Six Inches
I just finished reading a great baseball book, ‘Sixty Feet, Six Inches‘, by Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson with Ronnie Wheeler. This book is a running conversation by two of baseball’s greatest players about the mind games and strategies that go on between the pitcher and batter. One almost pictures himself eating dinner with these [...]
Friday Night Links
For the next month or so we will be highlighting some products, companies or sites in an attempt to supply you, the loyal Baseball Reflections readers, with some holiday gift ideas for the baseball player(s) in your life.
Meyvn Baseball Company
If you’re like me, you’ll want to know why co-founders Richie Benes and Merrell Ligons [...]
Product Review: Akadema’s ProSoft 1B Mitt: AJJ 254
When my contact at Akadema asked me if I would do another review if sent another glove I jumped at the chance! This time I asked for a first baseman’s glove as I have always been fascinated with them for reasons unknown to even myself. Maybe it’s because when I was growing up, my dad [...]
2009 AL Manager of the Year BBA Vote
In our first anniversary vote, the members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) have asked it’s members to vote for the major awards (Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award and MVP). To find out more about the Alliance please read our About the BBA page.
Please help us to promote the [...]
Who Really Created And Made Baseball “America’s Game”
If someone asked you who was the founder of the game of baseball? Well, if you are not a baseball historian or purist, you may just say Abner Doubleday. After all, the field at the Baseball Hall of Fame, Doubleday Field, is named after him. But the new book, “Live All You Can: Alexander Joy [...]
The Close of A New Season At New Stadiums
By Reed Terry
For sports enthusiasts visiting New York in October, it is definitely the best time to attend a Mets or Yankees game, especially because both these teams have moved out into brand new, high tech stadiums. As the Major League Baseball season gets ready for the post-season, the Yankkees will kick [...]
A Collection of Baseball Reflections Book Reviews
A Glove of Their Own by Debbie Moldovan, Keri Conkling and Lisa Funari-Willever
A great children’s book written in poetic rhyme with wonderful illustrations. A must read for people with children in their life.
Fair Ball by Bob Costas
A look into the world of baseball through the eyes of world renown broadcaster and sports history buff, Bob [...]
Astros Fire Manager Cecil Cooper
If you were to write up a job description for the incoming manager of the Houston Astros in order to replace Cecil Cooper, who was fired yesterday, it would be a pretty long one. Must be able to work with handsy owner. Must be willing to work with mouthy veterans. Must be willing to play [...]
Sugar: The Movie now on DVD
Back in July I was informed of the DVD release of the movie “SUGAR”, but as life can sometimes be hectic, I haven’t gotten to write about it until now. “SUGAR” came out on Blu-ray and DVD on September 1st. So if you are a fan of the Dominican Republic’s brand of baseball, “SUGAR” give [...]
Introducing The Funnel AFL 11 from Akadema
There are a few scents that I know of that really wake me up. One is the smell of freshly cut grass (especially that of Fenway Park as smelled from behind the Green Monster), freshly cut wood, the smell of a new leather baseball glove and a certain perfume that my wife wears which [...]
Forgotten No More: The Story of Baseball in Baltimore
The history of baseball in Baltimore since the St. Louis Browns moved to the city in 1954 has been well chronicled. However, until now, the great history of baseball in Baltimore prior to the arrival of Major League Baseball has gone largely unrecognized.
That is about to change with the release this fall of the [...]
A Glove of Their Own: A Book Review
If you think that youth baseball today has gotten too competitive and structured with All Star Leagues and travel teams, allow me to bring you back to a simpler time. Have any of you ever played just for the fun of the game in a non-league setting? Do you remember playing pick-up games with less [...]
Reminder: Keychain Raffle Has Only 8 Days Left!
Welcome to the first, and hopefully not last, Baseball Reflections Keychain Raffle sponsored by WholesaleKeychain.com.
We will be raffling off 9 MLB team keychains. There will be links below to the WholesaleKeychain.com page of the 9 teams (these links will open up in a new tab or page) selected for this raffle.
There will be at least [...]
Rollie’s Follies: An Interview with Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers
**The Quotes as presented are direct from Rollie Fingers courtesy of an interview that he was kind enough to grant me in conjunction with his new book.**
When people approach professional athletes, they are usually looking for a career retrospective or a biography. That is exactly what Yellowstone Ritter had in mind when [...]
Baseball Reflection’s MLB Keychain Raffle
Welcome to the first, and hopefully not last, Baseball Reflections Keychain Raffle sponsored by WholesaleKeychain.com.
We will be raffling off 9 MLB team keychains. There will be links below to the WholesaleKeychain.com page of the 9 teams (these links will open up in a new tab or page) selected for this raffle.
There will be at least [...]
Wholesale Keychains Product Review & 10% off Coupon
When I was first approached by Jeff at Wholesale Keychains and he told me he wanted to send Baseball Reflections some sample keychains to review, I have to admit that my first thought was, “Wow! I really need a new Red Sox Keychain”. But then Jeff later told me that we could also give some [...]
Astros Attendance By the Numbers
Image via Wikipedia
So we briefly touched on this a while back at Astros County, but I thought…off day and all, we can revisit it a little more closely (editor’s note: this was written during the All Star Break). This is the issue of attendance among MLB teams, specifically the Astros, from 2008 to 2009. And [...]
Akadema® Unveils The Patriot Series
Happy Independence Day!
Seeing that Baseball is our national past time, I am thrilled to endorse Akadema® Professional: A leading baseball and softball equipment based out of Hawthorne, NJ! They make the gloves that players such as the Phillies CF Shane Victorino, the Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez, and Team USA Softball P Monica Abbott [...]
Interview With Former MLB Catcher Brent Mayne
Whenever you get the chance to talk to someone that has been there, it’s always special to see it through their eyes.
On June the 19th, 2009, I was given the pleasure of an audience with Brent Mayne, a 15 year Major League Veteran. My connection with Brent was made through a gentleman named Bob Salomon, [...]
Amazon VOD “SPACEMAN: A BASEBALL ODYSSEY”
Image by Paul Keleher via Flickr
I recently was asked to help promote a documentary that was just released on Amazon VOD. It’s called SPACEMAN: A BASEBALL ODYSSEY.
Here’s the synopsis: “Throughout the 1970’s, Bill Lee was the ultimate gonzo baseball player, a brilliant left-handed pitcher who flouted every manager orfront office executive [...]
