I’ve gotten a few email inquiries about this, so I’d like to remind everyone that The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2012 is now available for the Kindle. This is a less expensive, electronic version of the book, complete with all the great articles By Rob Neyer, John Dewan, Craig Calcaterra and the rest of our […]

After a lot of back and forth and debating over money, the Red Sox and David Ortiz have finally settled on a one-year deal worth $14.575 million to avoid arbitration. This was a midpoint between what the two sides had submitted into the arbitration hearing. There had been a struggle all offseason on finding a […]

5,000 days ago, the Rockies and Angels played a truly bizarre bottom of the ninth that featured several veterans fielding positions they never played before or since. On June 7, 1998, at Angels Stadium, the Angels jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, only to see the visiting Rockies whittle away at their advantage all […]

Last week, I was watching Hawaii Five-O when someone mentioned the name of the victim on the airplane as being “Dave Collins.” That’s a name that means something to baseball fans, particularly me. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dave Collins was one of my favorite players. Though he was mostly a journeyman who […]

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, it seems that the 27-year-old Cuban outfielder known as Yoenis Cespedes has signed a four-year, $36 million contract to play for the Oakland Athletics. Cespedes was linked to many teams this offseason and remarked at one point earlier in the offseason that the Chicago Cubs were his leading […]

If you’re a collector looking to acquire Mike Schmidt’s 1976 Topps card in mint condition, you’ll have to pay a fairly stiff price. But if you simply want Schmidt on any card from that set, and want it at a bargain rate, just pick up Steve Ontiveros’ card. The card shows Ontiveros, wearing a cap […]

20,000 days ago, a promising young career came to a screeching halt. It was May 7, 1957, and the Cleveland Indians hosted the New York Yankees. On the mound for the home team was Herb Score, one of the brightest young stars in the game. Two years earlier, a then 21-year-old Score had a national […]

Diehard Yankee fans of a certain age will remember Bill Sudakis. Tall, muscular, and blond-haired, Sudakis brought a defined and distinctive look to the baseball field. He had the appearance of a California surfer. He also reminded me of the actor David Soul, who famously played Detective Ken Hutchinson in the 1970s cop drama, “Starsky […]

Everyone has their bad days on the job. Everyone has terrible days on the job. Thus it’s no surprise that the best baseball players have absolutely rotten games. And 20,000 days ago, one of the game’s best had maybe his worst game ever It was Hammering Hank Aaron, playing for the Milwaukee Braves against the […]

The message may be: Never give up. Or perhaps it’s: We live in an age where mediocrity is good enough. Over the past year in sports: {exp:list_maker}The New York Giants won the Super Bowl after barely making the playoffs with a 9-7 regular-season record. Alabama won the college football championship, such as it is, after […]