My Rooting interests for the AL and NL championships

To demonstrate that I bear no animus toward New York City, I hereby declare my rooting interest in baseball’s American and National league championship series, gateway to the World Series. Anyone who knows me even passingly should not be surprised that I am pulling for the Guardians, the pride of my hometown, Cleveland. They are […]

A nice night at Kauffman Stadium

A family gathering brought my wife and me to Kansas City last weekend, and we got in early enough Friday evening that we were able to catch the Royals hosting the Minnesota Twins. I’d been to Kauffman Stadium once a few years ago, and it didn’t make much of an impression on me. But I […]

First Albert Pujols, and now Prince Fielder bolt the National League

At this hour, it appears Prince Fielder will be skipping over Lake Michigan from Milwaukee to play with the Tigers in Detroit, and that has to be a bit worrisome for the National League. Earlier this post-season, Albert Pujols bolted from the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Angels. If the Fielder deal comes through, that […]

Baseball is better when the pitchers hit

A recent spate of inter-league play has gotten me thinking again about the designated hitter rule. It’s not that I’m anti-DH per se. It’s simply that I think baseball is more entertaining when the pitchers hit. When kids play the game of baseball, everybody hits. You’re supposed to hit. Baseball is a game that tests […]

The Ball Caps Blog 2011 American League All-Star ballot

Here’s my All-Star ballot for the AL: Catcher – Alex Avila of the Detroit Tigers dominates in most categories, so he gets the nod over Matt Wieters of Baltimore. First Base – Adrian Gonzalez is having the (green) monster year expected of him with the Red Sox, so he gets the nod over powerful Mark […]

Does the term ‘pennant race’ mean anything any more?

“Pennant race” conjures images of clutch hits, great catches, overpowering pitching and long shadows slanting across the diamond. But with baseball’s division structure, there isn’t a true pennant race left. Right now, the team I follow — the San Francisco Giants — has a slim lead over San Diego and Colorado in the National League […]

So long, Rockies, and yo, Phillies!

Things can sure turn around in a hurry in a baseball game, particularly at Coors Field in Denver. As I drove home from work tonight, the Rockies were leading in the top of the 9th with closer Huston Street on the mound. I pulled into the driveway as Jimmy Rollins scratched out a single, then […]

For most of us, it’s ‘Wait Until Next Year’

Playoffs notwithstanding, for most baseball fans today is the first day of the long winter. The season is over, the concession stands are empty, the lockerrooms bare as the players have packed up to go fishing or hunting or whatever they do in the off-season. For followers of the Chicago Cubs, the Cleveland Indians, the […]

Less than excited about baseball wild card races

We’re in a wild card race. Awesome!!! Well, hardly. Wild-card races in Major League Baseball have been running for a couple of decades, and I still can’t fully accept them. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll take a wild card berth. As I write this post, I’m listening to the Giants and the Dodgers. I want […]

The Bay Bridge series: Athletics vs. Giants

I’m on vacation for a week, and I celebrated by watching the San Francisco Giants host the Oakland Athletics in their first interleague games of the season. I wish I had one of those A’s-Giants combo caps that were available during the 1989 Bay Bridge World Series, the one that was interrupted by the Loma […]