Where have you gone, Billy Dick?

On a whim the other day, I asked Google to find pro baseball players from my hometown, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. I grew up knowing that Steve Stone went to Brush High School in neighboring South Euclid, and that Mike Hegan and Gary Roggenburk attended my high school, St. Ignatius in Cleveland. As with many of […]

Another great outing to Baltimore and the Orioles

For the fourth consecutive year, I headed to Baltimore for a baseball wallow with my brother-in-law and two of my nephews. We took in three Orioles games at Camden Yards in which the home team defeated the Chicago Cubs once and the Kansas City Royals twice. For the O’s, it was the front end of […]

Retirement treat: A Philadelphia Phillies day game

My retirement from Princeton University took effect Wednesday, and I thought catching the first available day game at Citizens Bank Park would be a dandy way to celebrate. I drove to Philadelphia late this morning, knowing that I’d likely roast in a heat wave promising a triple-digit high temperature. Roast I did, along with 38,000 […]

Unexpected find: new baseball caps at an antique store

In my first season of organized youth baseball, I played for the Red Sox in the Tris Speaker baseball league in suburban Cleveland. Now, 60 years later, I finally have an actual Red Sox cap. It’s not the same cap the BoSox wear at Fenway Park, but it’s a fine replica, one I found unexpectedly […]

The ‘Bible of Baseball’ goes to the gamblers

As a teenager, I couldn’t wait for the mailman (in those pre-gender neutral letter carrier days) to stuff my copy of The Sporting News into our mailbox on Erieview Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. I read — no, scoured — that newsprint magazine cover to cover, reading the columns by Joe Falls out of Detroit […]

PitchCom: No more shaking off signals

It has slowly dawned on me over this baseball season that a ritual component of the game has gone the way of barehanded fielders. What’s missing? The pitcher shaking off signs from the catcher on which pitch to throw. PitchCom, the secure way for hurlers to get instructions on the next pitch from the catcher […]

Another manager bites the dust

The Philadelphia Phillies fired Rob Thomson as manager today, an inevitable outcome after the Phils got off to a terrible start to the 2026 season. Never mind that Thompson guided the Fightin’ Phils to winning records under his tutelage for the four previous seasons. An ugly 9-11 start doomed Thomson, who I hope gets another […]

Princeton baseball drops a wild one to Wagner

With a two-team total of 28 hits and 27 runs, the Wagner-at-Princeton baseball game had plenty of action over 3 hours and 40 minutes of play. Wagner took an early lead, lost it, then reclaimed it to win 16-11. I roamed the sidelines as I always do, but today was the first time I shot […]

A nice day for Princeton baseball in New York City

Princeton entered its weekend series with Columbia on a nine-game losing streak, and the Tigers were able to break free in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader. They dropped the nightcap, and I went into New York for the third and final game of the series. The Lions play at Robertson Field at Satow […]

Saying “no” to Wisco, and other City Connect musings

Major League Baseball released (unleashed?) its latest round of City Connect uniforms today, and I’ve passed the point where I reflexively reject them all. But I have not surrendered my First Amendment right to gripe about the new Brewers’ duds with “Wisco” lettering emblazoned on the jerseys. Yes, Brewers marketing team, I understand your wanting […]