History

Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not falter, for You are with me.

Psalm 23

On September 11th, 2001, four airplanes were hijacked by terrorists from the group Al Qaeda. The planes were destined for the Pentagon, either the White House or the Capitol Building, and the other two were to strike the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

Three of the planes made it to their destinations. The one heading to the White House was brought down in Pennsylvania by brave passengers.

Sparky Anderson was miserable.

Sleepless nights. Constant worry. Fear of being strung up on the center field flagpole at Tiger Stadium (no joke). Ghoulish thoughts of bitter disappointment.

Yep, the Tigers’ 1984 World Championship season almost wrecked the team’s manager.

The ‘89 season of 103 losses almost wrecked him too. When Sparky took a few weeks off during the season due to mental exhaustion he said: “I ain’t never lost no 100 games before.”

But 1984? It was nearly poison to him.

I remember my first baseball game as if it were yesterday. At the age of 35 there is nothing more disheartening AND exhilarating than going to your first MLB game.

To most, this is a memory that is usually forged in childhood. The proverbial game with Dad, baseball cap hanging so low you have to look up an extra six inches just to see. The hot dog dripping with ketchup, or mustard, down to your sneakers as you watch your team throw around the ball in preparation of the game.

In the midst of the All-Star Break and with the MLB trade deadline fast approaching, baseball fans are given time to look back at the first half of the season.

At this point, we can all begin to reasonably determine which teams are in contention for the playoffs and may have a shot at a World Series title.

But on the other hand, we can also weed out the teams that have stumbled their way through the season, and will have have better luck stockpiling and reloading for the years ahead.

The New York Giants lost their third consecutive game on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 1934, when they dropped the first game of a doubleheader to the cellar-dwelling Reds at the Polo Grounds.

The loss cut the defending World Champions' lead over the rained-out Cardinals to three games.

The Reds Win in the Tenth Inning

Reds' right-hander Benny Frey dueled the Giants' Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons for nine innings. Neither hurler yielded a run, but in the 10th, the visitors scored twice off Freddie.

Each July we celebrate and commemorate baseball's greatest over three select nights, remembering the greats of America's national pastime. Those celebrated are not only today's All-Stars, but the stars of tomorrow, and the stars of yesteryear.

During this timespan, all cities across the nation send forth their best players to join together for one night only to compete in the All Star Game. Fans choose representatives as the players from each league join together in hopes of gaining the home field advantage in the World Series

The amazing thing about J.R. Richard was that he could throw a baseball hard, really hard. One of Richard’s pitches was once clocked at 98 miles per hour. Oh, did I fail to mention that this particular pitch was his slider? His fastball was regularly gunned in the triple digits, and on more than one occasion reached 103 mph. 

A lot has been said about the six degrees of separation between a person and Kevin Bacon.

Does anyone know if he's a Marlins fan because every six years we've seen the Marlins do what they are doing this year.

Over the last two decades, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game has transitioned from being simply a game to being a multi-day extravaganza where the game itself is simply one component. For that reason, the game has at times seemed to be anti-climatic, but has still produced some great memories.

After the National League dominated the competition throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including a stretch of 19 victories in 20 games, the rolls have completely reversed in recent years.

The no-hitter Friday night by San Francisco Giants hurler Jonathan Sanchez is a reminder that one of baseball’s most hallowed accomplishments is not just reserved for pitchers with lofty career statistics. Instead, for one night anyone (even a pitcher with a 16-26 career record) can look like a Hall of Famer and stamp himself a place in baseball immortality.

No-hitters have a special place in baseball lore because, while there are other accomplishments that occur with less frequency, a no-hitter is one feat that can seemingly come out of nowhere.