Talkin' Baseball

      Harvey Haddix was a pitcher who played from 1952-1965. He was a good player, sporting a career 136-113 record with a 3.63 ERA. Kitten, as he was nicknamed, very well may have thrown the best game ever by a pitcher.      It was May 26, 1959. Haddix's Pirates were playing the Milwaukee Braves, who were 23-14, as compared to the 21-19 record of the Pirates. The pitching matchup was Lew Burdette vs. Haddix.     Both pitchers were throwing well on the season. Burdette had a 7-2 record, and Haddix was 4-2.      At the start of the game, both pitchers were perfect through the first. Burdette's perfect game ended in the second on a single by Pirates 1B Rocky Nelson. However, Haddix remained perfect in the second.     The game raged. The Pirates were able to get on base, but unable to score. However, the Braves were unable even to get a baserunner through the first 9. This would have been a perfect game for Haddix, but his pa...

      Let's start with the facts; Todd Helton finally made it in, and Adrian Beltre and Joe Mauer made the Hall the first time around when the results were announced yesterday.      Gosh, Helton, you need to cheer up. I know it took a while, but you're here now.     Those who were kicked from the ballot were Gary Sheffield on his last year, Jose Bautista, Victor Martinez, Bartolo Colon, Matt Holliday, Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes and James Shields, all on their first year.     And those who live to fight another year are Billy Wagner, Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Chase Utley, Omar Vizquel, Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Francisco Rodriguez, Torii Hunter and David Wright.     Now, for my unprofessional opinion. All three of the guys who made it yesterday definitely deserve to be in, and I am stoked to see both Beltre and Mauer get in on their first ballot...

 Well, I've done it. I can't believe I've done it. I started a card blog.  I'd been toying with the idea for a while now, and finally decided to go ahead and do it. If you like card blogs, then hopefully I can cater to your needs.   The address is: https://doncardwelllovesthisblog.blogspot.com/  I'm sorry if you need to copy and paste that, but I have been struggling to get the in-blog  links to work.  In the hopes of giving it a witty name, I named the blog 'Don Cardwell Loves this Blog', because his name has card in it. Just read the intro for it if you want.

  Maybe I should just start a card blog for this sort of thing...

      I didn't know what a LOOGY was until a few months ago. It was then that I figured out that it was not phlegm, but an acronym.  Left-handed One  Out GuY      LOOGY. Pretty simple, right? Alas, the LOOGY has gone extinct due to overhunting and habitat loss from Rob Manfred. The semi-new rules state that when a pitcher comes into the game, he must face three batters or finish an inning. So unless your LOOGY comes in with two outs and  gets the batter out, then he no longer exists.      Anyway, LOOGYs were pretty cool and also quite useful for platoon advantage if you have a left-handed batter sandwiched amidst a bunch of righties, which I can imagine happened quite often. If you were in a big spot when said lefty came up to bat, the LOOGY was your man. But you wasted a reliever, especially if you were throwing Billy Wagner to get one out. Then you're out one of the greatest closers to ever live, and you put yourself in that ...

      As we get even nearer to the start of the 2024 MLB season, we wonder who will be the best players. I am going to answer that question to the best of my ability.      There are some players who have been solid for many seasons, some who have had the recent rise to stardom, and some who have just come out of nowhere. Let's get started, shall we? CATCHERS AL: Adley Rutschman, BAL NL: JT Realmuto, PHI     Adley Rutschman is a young man of about 26, and has already emerged as one of the best catchers in the game today. He has plate discipline, pop, and defense, as well as age. He is a very solid young player, and seems able to stick around for a long time.     JT Realmuto is entering his age 33 season and has been in the Majors for ten years. In that time, he has made an impressive name for himself as quite possibly the best catcher in his time. He holds a career 34% caught stealing rate, a massive 9% above the average! He has three all...