"How to Get a Baseball at a Major League Game"

As a longtime baseball fan I am frustrated that I have never caught a ball that leaves the playing field. In fact, I've never even come close to doing so. Naturally I was intrigued when I found out about a guy who has more than 2,000 baseballs caught at major league games and more than four hundred consecutive games where he's gotten a baseball. Here's a link to the video on Youtube.

The video features Zack Hample. Besides being a great collector of baseball balls, Hample is a big fan and has written a couple of books about baseball. I've read How to Watch Baseball Smarter, but haven't been able to find a copy of his other book How to Snag Major League Baseballs, a book written in 1999 for kids and apparently out of print. How to Watch Baseball Smarter is a good book that is both entertaining and educational. I didn't always agree with what Hample wrote, but I did find some answers to questions that had been nagging at me.

Go Cubbies!

Everyone have a nice, good day! Let's play two! -tfedge

Moe Berg-Brainiest Man in Baseball

Here's an interesting article about Moe Berg, the player best known for spying on Japan while on an all-star tour during the 1930s. Oddly enough, it is published by the CIA.

So far today Barry Bonds hasn't tied Hank Aaron and A-Rod is still at 499 career home runs. Thome is eleven away. If he gets one home run each week he should make it.

Oh, and by the way, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. were inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame today.

Everyone have a nice, good day! Let's play two!
-tfedge

Headlines and Haiku

Frank Thomas still needs one HR to move into the 500 HR club. He's at 499 and playing the next three games at the so-called homer dome so hopefully he should get a home run before the weekend. Too bad it couldn't be on the Chicago Southside where he played for so long.

Craig Biggio needs 4 hits to enter sacred territory. The Astros are on the road for the next three games, but home for the weekend series against the Rockies so his home park fans have a good chance of seeing him hit his three hundredth hit.

If you missed the eighth inning in Sunday's Cubs Sox game, you should watch the highlights on MLB. You can read my account of the very strange play on my Sporting News Blog.

One of the thinks I like about baseball is the way it lends itself to fiction, music, and poetry. Often I overhear and get involved in discussions about the best baseball movie. Some lines from baseball movies have even made their way into mainstream language. "There's no crying in baseball" and "if you build it he will come," for example.

Along these lines I recently I picked up a book at the library Baseball Haiku edited and translated by Cor van den Heuvel and Nanae Tamura. There are some marvelous haiku here. I recommend you take a look at the book.

Three of my favorites:

Rookie's first hit- picked off at first (page 5)

In memory of the recently deceased Clete Boyer and Rod Beck:

April shower

the obituary leads me

to an old baseball card (page 55)

And finally a perfect Little League or sandlot haiku:

long day

the right fielder is playing

with a dog (page 22)

Sorry about not providing better citations but I broke my left wrist on Monday and am typing (very slowly) with one hand.

Everyone have a nice, good day! Let's play two!

Baseball Exorcist

According to P-I report John Andriesen the Mariners are finally taking a positive approach to removing the curse that has inhabited the clubhouse for the last few years.

It appears that they are now trying to use an exorcist. Sounds like a good idea to me. Copy the following link into your browser to read Andriesen's column.

Read about the Mariners' attempts at exorcism here

It's time to update your baseball library and get ready for spring training and fantasy baseball. Check out these books to make 2007 your best baseball season ever.