When I hear the name of former big league pitcher Bob Shaw, I think of two unrelated events: the movie Jaws and the 1959 World Series. Bob Shaw (Icon/SMI) The first part of that equation requires some explanation. Shaw’s name reminds me of actor Robert Shaw, who turned in the performance of a lifetime with […]

Fifty years ago today, Ted Williams ended his career in style: homering in his final big league at-bat while playing before the home crowd in Fenway. That’s a pretty cool way to go out. Making it even cooler, it was pretty much known at the time that this was his final year and thus that […]

Dear creator of the Star Wars Visual Dictionary, Do you like Sabermetrics? I bet you do. I know this because you’ve landed at the perfect website to feed your craving. Before you read this, you should know for years I’ve cursed you. Yes, I’m sorry, but it’s true. For however entertaining and engaging the actual […]

Mets 7, Phillies 3: Two dingers for Carlos Beltran. It’s almost like he’s a really damn good baseball player or something rather than some schmuck Mets fans want to trade for random mediocre players every other day. Cole Hamels was smacked around for five runs on nine hits in four innings. He’s worried! You cut […]

60,000 days ago in baseball history – yes, there was baseball history 60,000 days ago. If you think about what baseball-related event could possibly have happened 60,000 days ago, you might figure it out before I mention it. (Pause for a few seconds in case people want to guess.) Well, 60,000 days ago was June […]

Rays 10, Yankees 3: In 1974, Dock Ellis hit three Cincinnati Reds players in a row to start a game. He tried to hit a fourth — Tony Perez — but ended up walking him because Perez kept dodging pitches. He then tried to hit Johnny Bench, but before he could, Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh […]

Phillies 1, Braves 0: All I can say at this point is woe be unto whoever has to face Hamels, Halladay and Oswalt in the playoffs. I suppose it still could be the Braves in the NLCS, but I’d just not prefer to think about that at the moment. A day off and six games […]

Twins 6, Indians 4; Athletics 7, White Sox 2:  These combined results hand the central division to Minnesota. The Twins lost their All-Star closer to Tommy John surgery in March. They lost their MVP candidate first baseman to a concussion in July. Their reigning MVP catcher’s OPS is down 150 points from a year ago. […]

Ya miss me? I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been away from the THT keyboard and I’m just as sure that you’ve been losing sleep wondering, “What’s happened to Dave? Doesn’t he care about baseball anymore?” Not to worry. I’ve been working on something that won’t be available until November, but I’m pretty sure you’re […]

Recently retired Chicago Cub manager Lou Piniella coined a phrase a couple of years ago: “a Cubby occurrence”. The definition is vague, but he meant to embody certain incidents that seemingly define Chicago Cubs baseball. Often these Cubby occurrences are injuries or mistakes that leave Cub fans shaking their heads and thinking “only us.” Think […]