From the Mound to the Vineyard

January 23rd, 2012

you tube

Baseball great Tom Seaver spent his career shutting down would-be sluggers.

Now he’s found a new passion in the wine industry. Check this out.

Good to see the former superstar enjoying his time off the field.

Remembrance of Things Past

January 18th, 2012

bat

Here’s a nice reminiscence on the heavy wood bats of a bygone era.

While this predates our own baseball-obsessed childhood, we feel a certain kinship with the author.

Well worth a read!

Major League Wezen-Ball

January 13th, 2012

wiki

If you need evidence of baseball’s global appeal, look no further than the Wikipedia entries discussed in this enjoyable read.

But somehow Major League Wezen-Ball just doesn’t sound right…

What comes around, goes around

January 8th, 2012

It seems like just yesterday we were embroiled in the performance-enhancing drugs scandal that rocked Major League Baseball.

But the years have passed in an instant, and now we’re coming up on the first years of Hall of Fame eligibility for the greats of that era like Clemens, Sosa and Biggio.

The question is, how do we deal with the elite players of the tainted years of MLB?

The Worst of 2011

December 28th, 2011

Scandal

While the highlights of the 2011 MLB season are unforgettable, the lowlights have a persistence of memory all their own. Fatalities, fiascos and epic fails make the list of MLB lows in 2011.

Geek Squad Meets Baseball Bats

December 13th, 2011

If you’ve ever wondered how to calculate bat performance, this will give you plenty to consider…

Low-Density Maple, Bat Safety and Grandfathering

November 28th, 2011

Major League Baseball’s new ban on low-density maple bats excludes currently active MLB players.

The message, we guess, is that bat safety is of paramount importance - for rookies.

Remembering an innovator

November 21st, 2011

batting glove

We tweeted about this last week - marking the passing of Irving Franklin, co-founder of Franklin Sports and co-inventor of the batting glove.

Franklin teamed up with Mike Schmidt in the 1980s to design and make the batting glove that remains today the flagship product of the Franklin Sports brand - and a favorite of batters stepping up to the plate.

Little League Bats

November 9th, 2011

Little League International has announced bat specs and standards for the 2012 season - check it out here.

Although the ban on composite-barreled bats remains in effect, some composite-barreled bats have received waivers based on the Bat Performance Factor and the Accelerated Break-In process.

For your ease of use, here’s the list of approved composite-barreled bats for the Little League Majors Division in 2012.

Wood Scientist at Work

October 25th, 2011

ws

In the quest to make bats better, stronger and safer, leave it to the Wood Scientist to lead the way.

This one places among our favorites in the pantheon of great job titles. We hope it’s on his business card.