Baseball

The Springfield Cardinals have promoted from within their community, a feature that not only builds a bond with their organization, but also reinforces relations with the fans.

Kim Inman, who has been a member of the Springfield community for the past 14 years, has joined the team as Vice President of Sales.

“The Cardinals are a strong part of this community and baseball has such great tradition,” Inman said. “I can’t wait to share my excitement and passion with all of our great fans and supporters.”

Do you consider yourself a hardcore fan of baseball history? Is your head filled with frivolous information such as the time of day the "shot heard round the world" occurred?

I like to consider myself to be somewhat knowledgeable concerning the more important things that has taken place in MLB history. Being a graduate of Old School, it is hard to think that instead of younger fans knowing who has hit the most home runs in All-Star game history, they are more concerned with who has the best VORP.

The Detroit Tigers are coming off of a heart-breaking finish to their 2009 season. After squandering away the division lead to the Minnesota Twins, they lost a one-game playoff to them and missed the playoffs entirely.

The Tigers now seem focused on shredding payroll heading into the 2010 season. Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson have both been mentioned as possibly being on the move to lower a payroll that already sits at well over $100 million between just 10 players.

With the trading rumors swirling away, a couple of big names are being thrown around that Boston Red Sox fans are very familiar with.

At the end of the game, there's no one more reliable to finish the job than the late-inning ace, the closer. The title speaks for itself.

Though many say it is the most "overrated" position in baseball, that's hard to agree with especially because these men come in when the games are at their climax and the pressures that come with it, make this position a daunting challenge.

After all, the last three outs are also the toughest. Few know this better than the men who have excelled in these situations.

While the 2009 season as a whole was a lost cause for the New York Mets, it did hold some significance for certain players on the team.

One of those players was reliever Brian Stokes .

Last season, Stokes, 30, appeared in a career-high 69 games and pitched 70.1 innings, which were also the most in his four-year career.

All the while, the hard throwing right-hander was able to maintain a 3.97 ERA, which isn’t all that spectacular, but certainly is acceptable.

The Dodgers have most of what it takes to enter, or even win, the World Series. But they need to be more "clutch."

FanGraphs had them ranked first in National League teams in raw hitting ability for 2009. But they were behind the Phillies in batting "win probability." Meaning that the Phillies had fewer hits, but hit more when it counted. Sound familiar from the NCLS?

FanGraphs also had the Dodgers ranked first in Major League baseball in raw pitching. But the Dodgers' "clutch" value was a MINUS 1.84, putting them seventh in pitching "win probability."

A 22-year-old Most Valuable Player named Johnny Bench.

One of the greatest second basemen of all-time, Joe Morgan.

An outfielder named Cy Seymour who missed out on the Triple Crown by a single home run.

The Cincinnati Reds have seen some of the greatest baseball players who ever lived pass through their organization.

From its first World Series victory in 1919 to four trips to the fall classic under Sparky Anderson in the 70s, the Reds have a rich baseball history.

But which Cincinnati Red had the greatest offensive season ever at his position?