MLB History

The 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers were one of baseball’s greatest teams. 

Center field. That vast, green expanse where fly balls go to die. Where the swiftest, most athletic players thrive and make jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring plays on a daily basis.

Just ask Vic Wertz.

On Sept. 29, 1954, Mr. Wertz hit a prodigious drive out to center field in the Polo Grounds. It looked for sure like Wertz's drive was going to break the 2-2 tie between the Giants and the Indians, giving the Tribe all the momentum in Game One.

But, on the eighth day, God said, "Let there be Mays."

There were really no relief pitchers during the first 40 seasons of Major League Baseball, through the 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1900s. The first relief pitchers really came along in the 1910s.

During those first 40 seasons of MLB, in the rare occasions that the starting pitcher did not finish the game and a relief pitcher was needed, one of the other starting pitchers who had the day off would go in and relieve the starter.

That’s really how it worked during the first 40 seasons of MLB.

For over three decades, I've considered this time of year to be New Year's Day, rather than January 1st.

I can't think of any other way to describe the beginning of baseball season.

Inherited from my grandparents, my fondness for the game has evolved from feeling a child's excitement upon entering Dodger Stadium for the first time on my 11th birthday, to playing little league in my neighborhood park, to being in my forties and feeling like I'm eating comfort food whenever I catch a game on TV.

The New York Mets are a naturally occurring source of negativity.

You’d think they’d never won a World Series—something eight other expansion teams can claim, plus seven other clubs that have not exceeded the two championships won by the Mets.

Yet here we are at the beginning of another season, and the Mets are given little chance to finish third in the NL East, much less first.

Las Vegas has the Mets as an 18-to-1 underdog. Seems like pretty good odds compared to 100-to-1.

Starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano endured the worst outing of his career Monday, surviving just 1 1/3 innings and surrendering eight runs, an inauspicious beginning to what became a downright ugly loss for the Chicago Cubs on Opening Day.

The Atlanta Braves got nine RBI combined from shortstop Yunel Escobar and rookie sensation Jason Heyward en route to a 16-5 win.

Baseball is beloved for more than the action on the field. It is a game where malapropisms are frequently used to describe the action taking place between players.

There are expressions, superstitions, and folklore that are ingrained into the national past time's psyche.

We know many of the expressions used, even if we do not know what they really mean.

One of the most renowned baseball legends is Yogi Berra. His malapropisms are so vast, it has made for several books.

April 4, 2010: A day marked on my calendar since November.

And while some will be celebrating Easter and others observing the final days of Passover, an unofficial holiday takes place that you won't find on your calendar. I speak, of course, of Opening Day—the most wonderful day of the year.

Baseball fans have been repeatedly told that the New York Yankees are the greatest dynasty in sports history, but they are rarely told that since 1958, the Yankees' dominance with respect to winning the World Series, has decreased.

From 1921-1958, the Yankees won 24 pennants and 18 World Championships.

From 1960-2009, the Yankees have won 16 pennants and nine World Championships.

Yankees Supremacy 

The New York Mets will start the 2010 baseball season with two of their most influential hitters on the DL.

Carlos Beltran will not resume any baseball activities until April 10 at the earliest, and even then it could be anything between four and eight weeks until he's back in the everyday lineup.

Jose Reyes, meanwhile, will be on the sidelines until at least April 11, after the Mets put him on the DL retroactive to March 26.