R.I.P Lou Brock

 Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock passed away today. He played in the major leagues for 19 seasons, he was on two World Champion teams. 

His specialty was stealing bases. He held some pretty impressive records that were broken by the great Ricky Henderson. He ended his career with 938 stolen bases. In 1974 he stole 118 in one season!

He was a six time All-Star, won the Come Back Player of the Year on his final season, had a career batting average of .293 and finished his career with 3023 hits.

He had a great career and will be missed by fans, friends and family.

Thoughts on Michael Sam

As a fan of sports my number one concern for an athlete is can he play. Secondly I hope the athlete is someone cool who signs autographs and helps out in the community. I don't care about their sexual preference or their personal life. It is none of my business.

Michael Sam is an openly gay football player. He was a seventh round pick who played well for the St. Louis Rams. He made it to the final rounds of cuts. I'm sure he is disappointed at being cut. He very well could be picked up by another team.

Gay, bi or straight it does not matter. What matters is can you play. Michael Sam showed he could play, but not necessarily enough to make the team. I wish him well.

A to Z Challenge: Baseball is Back

Baseball is back! Spring training is over and the boys of summer are back on the field. The goal  is to end up being World Champions in Autumn.

Here is a flashback from Ozzie Smith and how at 40 he took the field for opening day..

Here is a story I wrote for Yahoo Sports about my experience at opening day in Philadelphia in 2011. Below is a picture from that game.

A bad break on opening day, Don Baylor breaks leg on a ceremonial first pitch..

Baseball is along season and provides so much to write about. Heck, I even wrote an article about Ten Great Baseball Songs. You can read my list here and listen to one of the songs below..

How will the season go? Who will emerge as all-stars? Who will make the playoffs? Who will win pennants? What surprises will the season have?

Fantasy Baseball Today suggested these opening day storylines..

I don't know the answers. However, I might make it to a ballpark, college, minors, or major leagues and catch a game. I might have a hotdog, a cold beverage and just might enjoy a game.

Washington Nationals 2012 Rewind

What a season by the Washington Nationals! They had the best record in baseball, they had their first winning season, they won their division for the first time, they went to the playoffs for the first time, they had their first twenty game winner and their manager won a well deserved manager of the year award.

I put a list together of ten great moments from this season. You can read my list here. I limited myself to 10, but I am sure in the 167 games the Nationals played this year there are a lot of moments that deserve mentioning. See if you agree with my list, if you have moments you want to share please do so..

Washington's season ended so dramatically too. It was an interesting game to watch and I was rooting for them but the Cardinals come back was just heartbreaking, here is the ending....

This was the best play I have ever seen in person at a baseball game, Bryce Harper stealing home..

I have one more video on my article so check it out. Have fun and I will be blogging on until the storm hits then I might be in Kansas or Oz or somewhere...