Ted Williams could really hit.
(via 90 Feet of Perfection)

SAFE!
I’m horrible at this, but I’m guessing that Granderson is diving into third base after hitting a triple, since I don’t see any fielders by him.
And Curtis can triple. He swatted 23 in 2007 and 13 in 2008.
Those 23 triples were the most in the baseball in the ‘integration’ era – tied with Dale Mitchell’s 23 in 1949 for Cleveland.
In AL history, that’s the sixth highest total. Only guys named …

14 Days Until Spring Training!
We are down to only two weeks to go! Anyway yesterday we met one of the options for back up back up catcher the Mets have in Raul Chavez, who is probably the leading player for that position. He also has competition from a new acquisition the Mets made in November, Dusty Ryan. Ryan will be 25 this year and has logged 70 major league AB’s …

USMC pilot Ted Williams arrived at the Naval Air Station at Barber’s Point, in Honolulu, HI, on his way across the Pacific Ocean to enter the Korean War.

It’s time for change at the Baseball in Wartime website. I’ve been making quite a few changes over the past month – particularly to the biographies of players killed during World War II – and I felt it was time to change the home page to show the site is still well and truly active.
The changes are nothing fancy; primarily a new montage image featuring Bob Feller, Joe DiMaggio, Hank …

All offseason long I hear and read two very different things about Austin Jackson:
1. He’s a budding star and the most exciting player the Tigers have (often combined with ‘he’s my favorite player’)
2. There’s absolutely no way he can keep that up
Now I know we’ve been over this before, but with Hot Stove Season winding down and Caravan Season (when optimism reigns supreme and we all start …

All offseason long I hear and read two very different things about Austin Jackson:
1. He’s a budding star and the most exciting player the Tigers have (often combined with ‘he’s my favorite player’)
2. There’s absolutely no way he can keep that up
Now I know we’ve been over this before, but with Hot Stove Season winding down and Caravan Season (when optimism reigns supreme and we all start …

From HOF To Mr. Hamm
Nomah!
I had the pleasure of seeing Nomar in the flesh twice.
The first time was in Fenway, when Nomar and Pedro led the Sox past the Scarborough Green-led Rangers. That was 2000, when he hit .372. He did miss a few games due to injury but played in 140. At the end of 2000, his OPS+ for his career was 140 and there was no reason to …

Because you can keep a page-a-day calendar on your bookshelf…

Sports Illustrated columnist Joe Posnanski riffs  his 2011 SI Calendar as a way of introducing some baseball history. As 2011 marks the 70th (!) anniversary of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Posnanski also notes the publication of Kostya Kennedy’s upcoming 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports. And the fact that he calls the book — an SI …

Across the springs, summers and autumns – after all the seasons and over all the years – countless styles, methods and theories of how to hit a baseball and how to be a successful hitter have developed.
Unfortunately, some instructors remain limited in their knowledge and, hence, can limit you in your approach to becoming a standout hitter.  Some may preach “top hand, top hand,” a reference to rolling your top …

I enjoyed talking to Kevin Burkhardt of SNY last night on THIS CALL TO THE BULLPEN as we looked forward to what spring training 2011 will entail for the Mets but I have to send out a big apology to Ben Kabak of River Ave Blues who was scheduled to come on the show. I neglected to send Ben the info of when to call in and the number to …

I know what you’re thinking, but no, not former Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams…that dude is off frozen somewhere (alledgedly).  But…I can see where you’d make the confusion with this being a baseball site and all.
That said, in a thinly veiled attempt to cash in on the internet phenomenon of the last week (remember all the traffic I once got for dropping “Two Girls One Cup” into conversation?)…word is that …

Fenway Park
America’s Most Beloved Ballpark
4 Yawkey Way
“A lyric little bandbox of a ball park”
Home of the Green Monster
The oldest ballpark in the major leagues
Whatever you want to call it, there is just something about the home of the Red Sox that warms the heart and sparks the imagination. Maybe it’s that peculiar shade of green, crazy wall, unique shape, or the legends that have played there. But whatever it is, …

EDGAR MARTINEZSecond Year on Ballot (2010 – 36.2%)
PLAYING CAREER:  Seattle Mariners (1987–2004)
ACHIEVEMENTS:  Career batting average of .312 and 2247 hits.  309 home runs and 1261 RBI.  Seven-time All-Star selection (1992, 1995-1997, 2000-2001 and 2003).  In 2004, Major League Baseball renamed the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in Martinez’s honor. A five-time winner of the award, he is one of five players to have MLB awards named for them. The others?  Cy Young for pitching, Hank Aaron …

Bob Feller died tonight at 92. Ted Williams is often held up as the great American hero, and rightly so – ruggedly individualistic, baseball player, United States Marine.  Bob Feller should be included in this discussion. Feller was a boy … Continue reading →

Those of you who read my last Favorite Toy article about Babe Ruth probably noticed that the second installment was supposed to be about Ted Williams.  Well, after giving it some thought I realized that I wanted to go deeper with Williams than most of the others I have in mind, mostly because of the [...]

Adrian Gonzalez:
I’ve had five incredible years in San Diego and grew up wanted to be a Padre, and my dream as a kid was to play in the major leagues and be a Padre. And my second dream was to be a Red Sox.
It was a couple of connections. It was one those things where you grow up and you always root for a National League team and an American …

A belated Happy Birthday to Stan Musial, who turned 90 yesterday.
George Vecsey, who is working on a  biography of the Hall of Fame outfielder who spent his entire 22-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, offered his own greetings in his NY Times column yesterday. (My favorite Musial stat: 1,815 hits at home, 1,815 hits on the road.)
As Vecsey notes, Musial did not garner the same attention as two flashier …

Back in May, the St. Louis Cardinals began publicly lobbying to get Hall of Famer Stan Musial the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Wednesday night, Musial (who will turn 90 this Sunday) got the call from baseball comissioner Bud Selig…the “Flat Stan the Man” campaign had paid off. 
Early next year, President Obama will honor the Cardinals legend.
Since 1977, seven others (Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, Buck O’Neil, Frank Robinson, Jackie Robinson and …

Image via Wikipedia

As we observe Veterans Day, I just wanted to put give a  shout out to the men and women who have sacrificed in the service of their country.
A sampling of the literature on the subject:

Ted Williams at War
An American Journey: My Life on the Field, in the Air, and on the Air, by Coleman

Playing for Their Nation: Baseball and the American Military during World War II

When Baseball Went …