Backwards K Pod

Edgar Martinez was one of the best right-handed hitters of his era. He retired at the conclusion of the 2004 season, after spending 18 distinguished and loyal years playing for the Seattle Mariners. He finished with a .312/,418/,515/,933 slashline, which places him in the company of some of the game's immortals. Over his career, he made seven All-Srar teams. won a pair of American League Batting T...

It is not an overstatement to say that, Tommy Lasorda was the most important figure in the Dodgers organization since Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson. He gave his life to the franchise, speaking endlessly about "Bleeding Dodgers Blue" and talking to the "Big Dodger In The Sky". For almost 80 years, he was the face of Dodgers baseball and the embodiment of Dodgers Blue and their pristine whites....

Mike Mussina was a cerebral assassin and one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball history, excelling against some of the game's biggest sluggers during the "Steroid Era". Despite finishing his Hall Of Fame career with 270 wins, and an American League record of 17 consecutive seasons with more than 10 wins, his career has been earmarked by near-misses and lost opportunity, both personally an...

Wade Boggs was a meticulous and regimented artist,whose platform was the National Pastime. His tool of choice was a bat, and his canvas was Major League ballfields. A 12 time All Star third-baseman, Boggs ended his 18 year career with 3,010 hits, a lifetime batting average of .328 and a .414 on-base percentage. Of the 2,432 games he played in, he reached base in a staggering 85% of them. This week...

In the face of economic ruin and mass migration, baseball is woven and stitched into the fabric of Venezuelan culture. It's more than just the national sport, it's a national identity. A bridge to the past, and a hope for a brighter future. As the game has become a global commodity, Venezuelans continue to be some of the game's most passionate of ambassadors, spreading their joys, values and rhyth...

In the early years of baseball, Major League Teams had a " Bring Your Own Bat" policy. During this time, you may see some batters walking up to the plate with piano legs, axe handles, wagon tongues, tree limbs or even a rolling pin. Through trial and error, baseball bats have evolved from the primitive clubs used in the 1840's to the standardized and optimized high performance tools that the great...

In the last 50 years, only four catchers, under the age of 21, had been handed a Major League starting catcher's job; Bob Didier, Johnny Bench, Butch Wynegar and Ivan Rodriguez. That is until Opening Day 2005, when a certain St. Paul, Minnesota prodigy took the reigns for his hometown Minnesota Twins. Joe Mauer would establish his legendary status while playing catcher and first-base for the franc...

Legendary funnyman and former big league catcher Bob Uecker once said, "The Best way to catch a knuckle-ball, is to wait for it to stop rolling, and then pick it up." He also noted that catching Phil Niekro's knuckle-ball was a great experience. " It gave me a chance to meet all the important people sitting in the stands behind home-plate. Phil Niekro, or "Knucksie" as he was affectionately called...

While Rickey Henderson is universally and rightfully regarded as the greatest lead-off hitter in baseball history, this week I will do a deep dig into the baseball foundation laid down by arguably the second greatest lead-off stick of all time; " The Rock" Tim Raines. The Rock was a beautiful combination of speed, power, and high on-base percentage. The rarest of blends and qualities, achieved by...

Bill Mazeroski was the embodiment of stellar defense, winning 8 Gold Glove Awards, playing his entire 17 year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, while setting the record for the most double-plays turned and assists in baseball history. But he is most remembered for arguably the greatest home run ever hit in the game. Almost every kid who has ever swung a bat at a competitive pitch has fantasized...

Off the field? Rogers Hornsby was undiplomatic, uncompromising, and outspoken. On the field? He is arguably the greatest all-around right-handed hitters to ever play the game. Hornsby, whose modern-era record of a.424 batting average in 1924, and his .358 lifetime mark after a 23 year career, firmly establishes him as a standard for right-handed hitters of any era. He won 7 National League Batting...

The return of the Cold War between the United States and Cuba has only exacerbated the tide of baseball defectors from the communist nation. In October of 2012, for the first time in over 60 years, two million baseball crazy Cubans could listen to a World Series game on the radio, just as Tony and his father were able to listen to the 1955 World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees, at the old s...

Since the time of it's opening over 100 years ago, Old Yankees Stadium housed the most prolific team in all of American team sport, and some of the games brightest stars. The Yankees did not have an auspicious beginning to their franchise. They were originally nicknamed the Highlanders, and from 1903-1915, they never won a World Series and they had losing seasons in 8 of 13 years. All that changes...

Michael Joseph Piazza is the classic American underdog who carved out his niche and legacy, seemingly out of nowhere through hard-work, grit and determination. Taken in the 62nd round with the 1,390th overall pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the 1988 June MLB Amateur Draft; he wou;d go onto establish himself as arguably the greatest hitting catcher in baseball history and a Hall Of Fame career....

Harmon Killebrew was one of, if not the most feared power bat of the 1960's. By the time he had hung up his spikes for good after the 1976 season, his 573 home-runs were the most ever amassed by a right-handed American League hitter in baseball history. Still here 50 years later, only Alex Rodriguez has hit more dingers as a right-handed hitter in the American League. Even though he was nicknamed...

Rare is the professional athlete who plays his entire Hall Of Fame career in his hometown. For 19 years, Barry Larkin did just that, playing for the Cincinnati Reds. His career path took him from a leadoff hitter setting the table, to an RBI man in the heart of the order, with stops up and down the lineup. Along the way Barry Larkin was selected to 12 All Star games, won 9 Silver Slugger Awards, t...

He was a fantastic hitter. Over a 162 game average in his 12 year career, he averaged a 4.2 WAR, 40 Home Runs, and 130 RBI. He scored 974 Runs for an average of 103 over 162 Games. The only thing more potent than his bat, was his pissed-off, surly disposition, which included throwing baseballs purposefully at hecklers in the stands, running down trick-or-treaters in his SUV who vandalized his home...

More than 70 years after his death, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson is finally eligible for induction into the National Baseball Hall Of Fame. The legendary ballplayer was banned from the Major Leagues, 13 years into his career, for his role in the nefarious 1919 World Series scandal. On May 13th, 2025, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced he would be officially removing Jackson from the sports ineligibl...

During his prime years, the baseball universe was Manny's world, and other players were just mere mortals lucky to inhabit the same space. His dominant play and quirky personality would lead opponents and proponents alike to shrug and say, " That's just Manny being Manny." He was a hard-hitting baseball savant, with a bat in his hands and runners in scoring position. And in conjunction with his lo...

This week we do a deep archaeological dig into the baseball path laid down by the legendary Don Drysdale. At 6'5" tall and 190 pounds, he was an intimidating pitcher, who used brushback pitches to keep opposing batters off-balanced. Together with southpaw Sandy Koufax, the tandem would become one of the fiercest lefty/righty duos in the history of baseball. By the time Drysdale's career is in the...

When most people think of Miami's impact on the History of baseball, they may believe that the current Marlins team is the beginning of their baseball identity and story. But in reality, the city of Miami and the South Florida region possesses a rich history of organized baseball that crosses generations, leagues and color lines. This week I dig into the fascinating history between the city and th...

Frank Thomas looked more like an NFL Tight=End, looking to create space in the end zone to receive a touchdown, than he did a baseball player. But in many ways, the 6'5" 275 pound icon was ostensibly a contact hitter trapped inside of a slugger's body, with a judicious knowledge of the strike zone and quick hand-eye coordination. He was a dog on the hunt, looking to inflict pain on opposing teams,...

The Negro Leagues produced some of the finest third-basemens in the history of the sport of baseball. Guys like Jud Wilson, Oliver "The Ghost" Marcelle and Ray Dandridge held down the Hot Corner. inspiring and challenging future generations to meet their standards. But many of the league historians consider Judy Johnson the finest of them all. He was Baryshnikov in cleats with his flawless footwor...

At the height of his powers, Reggie Jackson was a box-office spectacle, who's on-field exploits were matched by his larger than life personality, and his fearless ability to speak his truth to power. Whether you watched him strikeout, a record setting 2,597 times, or watched him hit one of his 563 home runs, fans and haters alike, couldn't take their eyes off of him, as he was surely one player wo...

By the time Steve Carlton's 24 year Major League Baseball career was in the books, he had more pickoffs than any pitcher who ever played the game at the highest level, the second most strikeouts ever behind only Nolan Ryan, and the ninth most wins in the long history of the National Pastime. Armed with a devastating, mind-bending slider, the man known as "Lefty" seemingly toyed with the best hitte...