MLB History

The 2013 MLB season will provide plenty of day-to-day excitement, but we shouldn't forget about the teams and individuals who will gradually approach records as the summer wears on.

Several pursuits attest more to loyalty than skill. Challengers to the following franchise records, for example, have reached free agency multiple times during their careers, only to re-sign with familiar clubs.

For many baseball fans, catching a glimpse of diamond heroes creates happy memories that are unshakable from the human psyche.

Mine being the time I met Atlanta Braves hurler Steve Avery, I can only imagine what baseball fans fans are feeling after seeing recently released and rare video of pitching legend Satchel Paige on the hill in 1948.  

June 13 was a perfect night for Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants.

Cain tossed the first perfect game in team history, retiring all 27 Houston Astros hitters in order and striking out 14 of them. Giants fans went ballistic when first baseman Brandon Belt caught the final out, and it marked yet another special moment in Giants history.

However, there haven't been any special moments for Cain since the perfect game.

Love him or hate him, Alex Rodriguez will find himself among the greats at Cooperstown some day. Although it is a dark time for Major League Baseball, we need to learn to accept that the Steroid Era happened, and the only thing we can do about it is to prevent it from happening again.

After 50 years and a grand total of 8,019 games before it, the New York Mets have finally tossed a no-hitter, and I am proud to say that I was in attendance.  

The scene was electric at Citi Field as Johan Santana dazzled for nine straight innings in front of a crowd that was 27,069 strong.

Playing Rough

Something you hear a lot about from fans is the lack of an "old-school" mentality in the modern game of baseball.

The Tigers came out of spring training in Lakeland confident of their hitting. Their lineup was rich with veteran bats and some young ones. The offense didn’t figure to be a problem.

But oh, what about that pitching!

Last week, I dove deep into the annals of Baseball-Reference.com and came up with a list of the top 10 all-time pitching performances by position players.

Getting that first hit in the major leagues is a big moment in the career of any player. There are some players who've had the hits mean even more because they came in a big spot.

Jordany Vladespin is the latest player whose first hit had some extra meaning, because he was able to help the New York Mets to a victory.

On a night that saw Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg run onto the same major league field for the first time, it was Matt Kemp that once again put his stamp on the moniker of  “best player in the game."