Perry Costello, one of the NCAA’s best umpires, says an umpire needs, “the courage and confidence” to make the difficult calls and do the right things when managing a baseball game. When the crowd is buzzing, the tension is palpable, and every play matters, an umpire’s focus, courage, and confidence…
I couldn’t pass up the chance to post this write-up by Jim Currie who always has a fantastically creative way of writing up his summary of this one-hitter Smokey Joe Williams of the (Negro League) Lincoln Giants. Jim’s style is fun to read and I believe I learned some new…
Those of you who listened to John Asalon interview me on This Week in APBA a while back heard the story about how I was introduced to APBA by my older brother, Bill. I admit it, I idolized him and wanted to do everything he did. It probably irritated him…
Can you imagine the Los Angeles Mikes, or the Washington Bryces, or the Chicago Chriss? How about the New York Babes, or the Detroit Als, or the San Diego Tonys? It’d be strange. However, it wasn’t strange in the early 1900s. From 1903-1915, the Cleveland baseball club was know…
So, two years ahead of schedule, the Dodgers and Astros meet in Houston for game one of the World Series. This figures to be a series with lots of close games, and two very similar sets of strengths. Game One Dodgers 0 Astros 2 The series opener sets the tone,…
Pastor Rich sent this 1978 Ron Guidry card to me. I remember this year vividly. Not only his performance for the Yankees but the response by the APBA community. Back then, the APBA card makers didn’t give out many A&C grades. This one seemed to be a sure thing. In…
Even though he bet on baseball, lied about it for years, probably used corked bats, and committed tax evasion, I still like Pete Rose. He’s a terribly flawed, tragic hero. He’s the Oedipus of Major League Baseball history, who was blind to the truth for so long. The past…
The NL was an interesting ride. Unlike previous replays where there was the elite, then the teams you “padded your stats against” there was a smooth transition from the upper echelon to the truly horrible. Read Scott’s AL Recap! Perhaps it’s irony that when I got this set it was…
Recently, a discussion occurred over text among my fellow Illowa APBA League members prompted by Dennis Jennings. The topic? The critical and heavy issue of pitchers’ fielding ratings. Dennis got things going: Okay my APBA query (from a Cub fan): how can Jon Lester be rated as a 2 (good…
Hard to believe this 1904 Napoleon Lajoie APBA card hasn’t been featured on Monday yet. Thanks to Scott Fennessy for suggesting it. As baseball historians know, Lajoie was so good, they named the team after him. This card is from the Cleveland Naps. In 1904, his .376 led the league. …