History

Today is March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day , and many people across this world are celebrating the Luck of the Irish, enjoying corned beef and cabbage, and getting their drink on.

This day also marks the 91st anniversary of the birth of the greatest natural baseball player who ever lived. A player so remarkable that the natural right handed hitter taught himself how to switch hit in the minors, and it only took him a couple weeks to get the hang of it.

Baseball's oldest professional franchise has witnessed plenty of illustrious talent over it's 141 years of existence. The Reds have five World Series championships and five Hall of Fame players.

The historic franchise has gone from pioneers Harry and George Wright wining 130 straight games, to being on the other side of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, all the way up to Marge Schott, Sean Casey and Adam Dunn.

Ever since he announced his retirement last year, there's been an ongoing debate about whether Curt Schilling belongs in the hall of fame. I haven't quite made up my mind on that yet, but I'm leaning toward saying he should get in.

But what I'm absolutely sure of is the cap he should have on his plaque if he does get in. The three teams that have a shot are the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Boston Red Sox. So which logo should be on his plaque, the Phils, Snakes, or Sox?

In a list of greatest players in the history of one of baseball’s most storied franchise, the names at the top of Boston’s list are Hall of Famers.

Williams. Yastrzemski. Rice. Doerr. Young.

So it is not every day that a player comes along with enough caliber to crack the top part of such a list.

One such player did emerge in the summer of 1997.

Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers' president, made an explosive revelation at the Wilberforce State University annual football dinner on Feb. 16, 1948.

In a candid and passionate speech to an audience of about 250 individuals, Mr. Rickey disclosed extremely damaging information about a document that allegedly was approved before Jackie Robinson became the major leagues' first black player.

In Seattle Mariners' history, there have been dry spells (see 1980s) and hot streaks (see late 1990s and early 2000s). In most franchise-changing moments, the winning play can be traced to a single at-bat that changed the course of the game.

In this article, I have identified what I believe to be the five most important hits in Seattle Mariners history. Some of these are milestones accomplished by the franchise's most prestigious players. Others are single at-bats in which one man turned the fate of a series upside down.

Do you guys remember what baseball was like 40 years ago?

Before the average baseball fan knew what a pitch count was.

Before six innings was considered an outstanding start.

Before stadiums were named after buisnesses' rather than individuals who achieved outstanding success in our game.

Before steroids came about and numbers actually mattered.

Before players played for the love of the game and not the love of $100 million contracts.

Those were the days.

Two weeks ago, Hall of Fame great Sandy Koufax worked with a few of the Mets' pitchers.

Koufax, a longtime friend of Mets owner Fred Wilpon, often makes this annual trip to Port St. Lucie to pass on his wisdom.

This year, it felt as if this visit by Koufax was the only hope Oliver Perez had left.

Perez, coming off a disastrous, injury-plagued year, is healthy and confident. Mets ownership is counting on Perez to win 15 games, but few in the game or the stands believe it.

At the end of 2007, the Detroit Tigers needed a new shortstop. The Pirates had one, Jack Wilson, that they were willing to trade.

Detroit was willing to part with an advanced pitching prospect, Jair Jurrjens, who almost came to Pittsburgh, but the Tigers finally took the Atlanta Braves' Edgar Renteria instead.

This choice was made through the rearview mirror. Renteria did have a better 2007 than Wilson.

Imagine you are responsible to select an all-time starting rotation for the San Francisco Giants in a fantasy league.  Your team would then have to compete against all other selected teams.  Who would make your team?  Who would you select for back up?

The rules for eligibility are simple.  Pitchers selected must have pitched 1000 innings for the Giants.  Relief pitchers considered must have logged 250 games for the team.

You may draw from any era the team was in existence.