12/25/22
Merry Christmas baseball fans,
I hope Santa was as good to you as he was to Scott Boras.
This week Moe & Moe (Moe Drabowski and Moe Berg), 2022 season highlights, first of two pieces on young players from the Dominican Republic, two light hearted pieces (Uniform numbers ranked by WAR and players with holiday names) and trivia.
Pour yourself an eggnog and enjoy.
12/18/22
Good morning baseball fans,
The free agent dollars just keep on flowing. Funny what $11 Billion in revenues will do for an industry.
This week those long free agent contracts, Scott Hatteberg hit into a triple play and hit a grand slam in the same game, Old Hoss Radbourn and a season on the mound—60 wins, 73 complete games, 678 2/3 innings pitched. Grab some coffee and also enjoy miscellaneous stuff and trivia.
If you find yourself in mid-cost Maine any of the next three Wednesdays, I will be hosting sports trivia at the Newcastle Publick House at 6 pm. Sadly, no ESPN or web-simulcast.
12/11/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Fred McGriff and the Veterans Committee, big dollar free agents, traded twice for Rickey Henderson, long time Yankees, miscellaneous stuff and trivia. (don’t forget to check out sundaybaseballtidbits.com). Enjoy.
12/04/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Please take a moment and check out sundaybaseballtidbits.com
Thanks to Todd Mogren, who was a much, much better baseball player than I was at Wesleyan,
we now have a place to stash things. Over 5,000 pages of back issues. All the trivia questions
(and answers) in one place. Recommended web sites and books.
At a bar and want to challenge someone on baseball trivia? Need the perfect book as a gift to a
super fan? Too much time on your hands and want to scroll through back issues? That’s what
the new site is for. I’d appreciate your feedback.
In this week’s issue: RIP Gaylord Perry, hardest hit home runs of 2022, Hall of Fame chatter on
the day of the Veterans Committee vote, a 17 player trade, plenty of miscellaneous stuff and
two trivia challenges testing your knowledge of MVPs.
So pour yourself another coffee and enjoy
11/27/22
Good morning baseball fans,
123 days ’til Opening Day. Easiest way to know that? Baseball-almanac.com. From lists of players who have been suspended for PEDs to baseball stamps to players who homered in their last at-bat, it is full of fascinating stuff. Over half a million pages, millions of facts. Definitely worth a look.
How did you do on last week’s bonus trivia question—players with over 200 HRs, played for only one team, not in the Hall of Fame. It’s a question that makes you think. Wish I could take credit for it—came from the Baseball Trivia and Statistics Facebook page. Re-run of the answer at the bottom of this week’s edition in case you missed it.
This week: would you choose Jacob deGrom or Justin Verlander?, ranking the best 10 hitters, predicting the impact of banning the shift, Hall of Fame discussion, miscellaneous stuff and trivia. Pour yourself a coffee and enjoy.
11/20/22
Good morning baseball fans, No controversy for Awards Week. Today we take a look at the role of Wins in Cy Young votes through the years, MVPs over age 35, Peter Gammons on culture plus expanded trivia.
Grab a coffee and enjoy.
11/13/22
Good morning baseball fans,
I hope you are managing withdrawal. Let the hot stove season begin.
You’ll see a newsletter shift from game anecdotes to more analysis, Hall of Fame discussion and history stuff. Tidbits will try to keep you entertained through the long, dark winter.
This week Hall of Fame committee, everything you ever wanted to know about Qualifying Offers and the Rule V draft, an argument not to give Aaron Judge a huge contract, miscellaneous anecdotes and trivia.
THISive HRs off one pitcher. Phillies up 2 games to 1. Maybe emotions would win over talent? Nope. Four pitchers combine for a no-hitter, some Verlander history, a 450 foot Yordan Alvarez blast, more great pitching and that was that. I was rooting for the Phillies but the better team won.
Probably a couple of cups of coffee this morning. World Series facts and anecdotes, the lady who helped bring the Dodgers to L.A., 2023 free agent class, automating balls & strikes, “state of the game”, history of World Series home runs, robot umpires and trivia.
11/06/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Five HRs off one pitcher. Phillies up 2 games to 1. Maybe emotions would win over talent? Nope. Four pitchers combine for a no-hitter, some Verlander history, a 450 foot Yordan Alvarez blast, more great pitching and that was that. I was rooting for the Phillies but the better team won.
Probably a couple of cups of coffee this morning. World Series facts and anecdotes, the lady who helped bring the Dodgers to L.A., 2023 free agent class, automating balls & strikes, “state of the game”, history of World Series home runs, robot umpires and trivia.
The state of the game section brings together pieces by Joe Posnanski (former Kansas City Star columnists/now great newsletter publisher), Dan Shaughnessy (Boston Globe) and Tom Verducci (Sports Illustrated and author partner Joe Maddon’s autobiography).
Enjoy.
10/30/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Every year I complain about how late these World Series games go. Too much money on the line with all those commercials and west coast eyeballs to care about me.
Entertaining first two games. Off we go to Philadelphia for now a best-of-five.
Grab a mug and enjoy lots of World Series stuff, PitchCom, Gammons on bullpens and trivia.
THIS WEEK’S
10/23/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Sipping coffee this morning and thinking about last night’s Yankees-Astros game 3. Brutal for Yankee fans. Astros pitching has been impressive.
This morning enjoy Peter Gammons on building this dominant Astros pitching staff, the future of ash baseball bats, debating the structure of the playoffs, two history lessons–Joe Posnanski takes us back to the 1986 Mets and Joe Sheehan on post season scheduling back to the first World Series, lots of random and miscellaneous stuff and of course, trivia.
10/16/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Sorry to be behind schedule this morning. Up a little late watching Padres stun Dodgers. What a night with brutal Yankees loss one strike away (while watching 18 innings Mariners-Astros on my phone).
How much would the boys at Chrones Tavern have made if they plopped down $1K betting both Phillies and Padres would win?
This morning tons of playoff facts/stats/weirdness, 100 innings in Boston, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci on playoff pitching. Enjoy.
10/09/22
Good morning baseball fans,
How ‘bout those Mariners, Guardians and Phillies?
We enjoyed a regular season that saw Miguel Cabrera get his 3,000 hit, Albert Pujols hit his 700th HR, Aaron Judge hit 62. Now on to the expanded playoffs.
Grab a coffee and enjoy a bunch of Aaron Judge, thoughts on Judge and Bonds and the “true” HR record, surprising playoff heros, lots of miscellaneous stuff and of course, trivia.
10/02/22
Good morning baseball fans,
I managed to dodge most of hurricane Ian on run to NC—house cleaned out and I made my hotel in NJ driving north to see last few innings of Braves win over Mets. (bet the Dodgers miss Kelly Jansen—he was throwing smoke closing out the Metropolitans and pushing the Braves into first place in the NL east).
As I head back to my rented truck grab yourself a coffee and enjoy Aaron Judge, Posnanski on big offense seasons, Peter Abraham on free agent hits and misses, and of course, trivia.
9/25/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Hats off to Albert Pujols and 700 HRs. Its coffee and scones here in Maine as we close in on the playoffs. A big issue this week—a subscriber commented that at over 40 pages it’s a lot to get through. My advice to him—read what you like, skip what you don’t.
This week a thoughtful piece on possible impact of the 2023 rule changes, Aaron Judge’s great season beyond the homers, barnstorming Bill Lee, a deep dive on Spencer Strider’s season, and of course, trivia. Enjoy.
9/18/22
Good morning baseball fans,
This week we’ve got Trout and Pujols, we’ve got Mookie Betts, crazy stuff from Jayson Stark, early history of Red Sox Nation from the Boston Globe, infield dirt, and of course, trivia. Enjoy.
Editor’s note—thank you for the fast feedback on the last two trivia challenges—typos on two answers. Argh. Back-to-back Cy Youngs for Lyle and Guidry should have been 1977 and 1978 (not 79) and Roger Maris got skipped in the back-to-back MVP answer. Apologies.
9/11/22
Good morning baseball fans, I had the pleasure of golfing with three Wesleyan baseball
teammates this week. Some great stories.
Grab a coffee and enjoy this week’s issue—lots of Aaron Judge. Plus rule changes, dominating
Dodgers, lost no-hitters, a Maine history lesson and of course, trivia.
9/04/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Just over a month ‘til the playoffs. This week big bucks for a Mickey Mantle card, Part 2 of
baseballegg.com’s list of best players born each year since the Civil War, Jayson Stark’s weird
stuff, Joe Sheehan and the impact of a batter seeing more pitchers each year than they did 40
years ago, the impact of being in first place September 1, and of course trivia. Pour a cup and
enjoy.
And maybe someone can explain to me why MLB network stuck with Mets/Nationals (with
cutaways to Albert Pujols at bats ahead of Cubs 8-4), but couldn’t/wouldn’t cut away to White
Sox Dylan Chase as he took a no-hitter into the 9th against the Twins (he lost the no hitter with
2 outs on a single by Luis Arraez).
8/28/22
Good morning baseball fans,
My mood has brightened—off to 4 year-old grandson’s birthday party and the Yankees have awakened. Fun to think that Paul Goldschmidt has a legit shot at the triple crown. Grab a coffee and dive into Peter Gammons on baserunning, an early look at the 2023 balanced schedule, part 1 of a list from Baseball Egg that is your Sunday morning history lesson, David Ortiz and steroids, miscellaneous stuff and trivia. 35 games to go. Enjoy.
8/21/22
Good morning baseball fans, As Yankee fans can attest, slumps may be part of the game but they can impact your mood and not in a good way. Pushing through that, my quick coffee this morning is at a Marriott Courtyard in NJ on the fun moving adventure from NC Maine. Grab yours and enjoy.
8/14/22
Good morning baseball fans, Maybe last night’s win at Fenway on a perfect 9th inning safety squeeze will get the Yankees out of their slump. It was beautiful.
This morning miscellaneous stuff, invention of the knuckleball, position players pitching, players who did time, and trivia. Enjoy
8/07/22
Good morning baseball fans, 1/3 of the season to go. What a week. Juan Soto and Vin Scully. Big stuff. Refill your coffee and take a few minutes to review a historic trade, remember the best baseball broadcaster ever, plus perfect games, lots of odd stuff and of course, trivia.
Vin Scully highlights (a compilation of great calls, Koufax 1965 perfect game, Kevin Costner’s Scully retirement speech):
7/31/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Grabbing a coffee before heading out to tee it up here in Maine. You know how much I love a list so plenty of those, miscellaneous stuff, Peter Gammons on the exclusive fraternity of Cooperstown, and of course trivia.
Enjoy.
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7/24/22
Good morning baseball fans,
In between a week of house packing came upon a number of interesting items and subscriber contributions.
The usual odd stuff, a contract negotiation story, exit velocity, stats vs. the baseball, the draft, a nice tribute to Tim Kurkjian, Buck O’Neil and trivia.
A subscriber asked about where I find content so I am going to add a resourses list at the end starting next week. What are your favorite sources of interesting baseball stuff? Please shoot me an email. Thanks.
Re-fill your coffee and enjoy.
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7/17/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Lots of odd and random stuff, the future of the shift, Lefty Grove, trivia. Plus Peter Gammons picks his All Star team of players he has seen since he began writing. It is a fun exercise—who is on the team made up of the best players you have seen?
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7/10/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Welcome to half way.
Cruising through the standings Saturday morning—Baltimore Orioles 42-44, .488 winning %.
Would you have guessed on opening day that 13 teams would have worse records than the Orioles half way through the season?
Grab a coffee. Some odd and fun stuff this morning, Justin Verlander chases 300, plus a history lesson about Turkey Stearnes, a tribute to Keith Hernandez and of course, trivia.
Enjoy.
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7/03/22
Good morning baseball fans,
And Happy Independence Day. A shorter but hopefully entertaining issue this week featuring the best World Series players who are not in the Hall of Fame, Bucky Dent, lots of miscellaneous stuff and of course, trivia. Enjoy.
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6/26/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Have an extra coffee with brunch and enjoy Gammons on prep for the trade deadline, Posnanski on how well big contacts work out, Rosenthal on playoffs, Jayson Stark because he digs up the best stuff, miscellaneous fun facts and of course, trivia.
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6/19/22
Good morning baseball fans and Happy Father’s Day.
Last week I included a blurb on my first trip to Yankee Stadium in 1964. Last night, almost 60 years later, I got to join my 3 year old grandson as his dad (and mom) for his first game at Fenway Park. Huge number of St. Louis Cards fans. So many they were able to drown out the home fans with chants of “Lets Go Cardinals” in support of an 11-2 St. Louis win. This week the usual anecdotes, some history and trivia, plus some thoughts on father-son duos in MLB. Pour yourself some coffee and enjoy.
6/05/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Virtual reality as a training aid, Gene Tenace’s amazing 1972 World Series, lots of miscellaneous stuff and of course, trivia. Grab a coffee and enjoy.
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5/29/22
Good morning baseball fans,
We are a quarter through the 2022 season.
Pour yourself some coffee and sit back with Peter Gammons, Jayson Stark on the first quarter of the season, two more tributes to Roger Angell, the Bonura Salute, and of course trivia.
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5/22/22
Good morning baseball fans,
A lot this week about Roger Angell who died this week at 101. Baseball writer/genius, if you haven’t had the pleasure he is a great airplane or lawn chair read. Also Reggie Jackson highlights, Schibe Park, Losing Streaks and of course, trivia. Enjoy.
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5/15/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Sorry I’m a little late this morning—long, hit week of golf in San Antonio. Grab another cup of coffee—here you go.
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5/8/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Grab a coffee and enjoy a tribute to Willie Mays, Dusty Baker’s 2,000th win as a manager, rough days in Cincinnati, fun stuff and trivia.
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5/1/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Sipping coffee in North Carolina this morning. This week featuring an interesting analysis from The Athletic on how the baseball travels, Miguel/3K hits/how hard it is to achieve, concerns about hitting, and of course Trivia. Enjoy.
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4/24/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Fun stuff this week so grab your coffee, tip your cap to Miguel Cabrera and dive into trivia, skydivers, best players never to win MVP, more baseball betting hints, a glossary of stats Vegas expert use. Enjoy.
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4/17/22
Good morning baseball fans,
I hope you are enjoying the start of the season as much as I am.
My mood is even better thanks to Wesleyan winning the Little Three baseball title—beat both Williams and Amherst 2 out of 3.
The happy mood was tempered by watching Aroldis Chapman walk four batters in 2/3 IP across two games, including walking in the winning run in Baltimore. Chapman became the only reliever in the modern era to walk all 3 (or more) batters he faced in one appearance and then issue a walkoff walk in his next appearance. Ugh. I keep repeating it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
This week the usual interesting factoids plus brothers, triple crowns, pitchers pulled from no-hitters, a new kind of slider, lots of Jackie Robinson facts, the Savannah Bananas, trivia and an obit sent from a new subscriber that made me think of game 6 of the 1996 World Series—a memorable game I went to with my dad.
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4/10/22
Good morning baseball fans,
The season is finally underway. This week a ton of interesting bits, past and present. Longer pieces from The Athletic – Peter Gammons on Opening Day and Theo Epstein on improving the game on the field. And trivia. Enjoy.
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4/3/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Opening Day this coming week. Celebrate with some fun tidbits, Peter Gammons on how the Blue Jays built a contender, TV blackouts, messing with second base, trivia, obit for Joan Joyce, legendary softball pitcher (even if you just skim the piece make sure you check out her off the charts stats). Enjoy.
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3/27/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Spring is emerging in Maine, opening day approaches. These are very good things. In this week’s edition—trivia, CBA notes, your nominations for most underrated players, launch of the Mets 60 years ago, Peter Gammons on Tommy John surgery and the benefit of premium players, anti-trust, players’ famous relatives. Enjoy.
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3/20/22
Good morning baseball fans,
April 7 is just 18 days away. I caught some of Yankees-Pirates on Friday. Wesleyan is 5-4 on its spring trip to Arizona. Drew Compton, son of one of our subscribers, is crushing the ball for Georgia Tech (he has 6 HRs and 21 RBIs for the 14-5 Yellowjackets). It is great to have baseball back. So pour yourself a cup, and enjoy this week’s edition.
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3/13/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Life just got much better. We have labor peace, spring training about to start, opening day set for April 7 and college baseball up and running.
This week features lots of shorter factoids and a quiz. Before you change your clocks, kick back and enjoy reading about baseball.
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3/6/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Forget the CBA for 20 minutes, pour yourself a coffee and enjoy
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Wise Words from a Pair of Bills
“It never ceases to amaze me, how many of baseball’s wounds are self-inflicted.”
Hall of Famer Bill Veeck
“Baseball must be a great game to survive the fools who run it.”
Hall of Famer Bill Terry
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2/27/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Between the CBA and Russia, I’m pretty grumpy today.
Ken Rosenthal may have put it best– Figure it out, or get tuned out. How’s that for a lockout motto?
But to take your mind off such matters this week we feature:
• switch hitter power
• eliminating the shift
• the future of pitch framing with robo umps on the horizon
• ball park history
• the future of MLB managing
• biomechanics
Enjoy reading (a long edition today), enjoy your coffee.
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2/20/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Early newsletter release as I’m hanging out with my 3 ½ year old grandson in N.H. Enjoy your coffee with lots of lists, records, oddities, history, Peter Gammons on developing catchers and then some well-chosen words on why MLB should be focused on the product.
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2/13/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Lord knows when we will see MLB games but here is your weekly hit of hopefully interesting stuff.
While you hustle to get a Valentine’s Day gift, we try to answer the question, “was there another pair of hitting contemporaries as dominant as Ted Williams and Stan Musial?” Also, Griffey vs. Bonds, Bill White, Hideo Nomo, Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson and more. Enjoy.
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2/6/22
Good morning baseball fans,
For your reading pleasure, two cups of coffee worth of baseball stuff.
A terrific look at the dominance of Ted Williams and Stan Musial (a subscriber contribution). A piece on crazy doubleheaders which includes a description of the Baker Bowl where the Phillies played years ago—how about a right field wall twice as tall as Fenway’s green monster? Many emails on how much you enjoyed last week’s trivia question—name the career HR leader for each letter of the alphabet. Joe Posnanski in his blog came up with another fun one outlined below. And a geeky piece from The Athletic on advanced metrics.
Enjoy.
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1/30/22
Good morning baseball fans,
In case I lose internet, shipping this a day early as the nor’easter snows and blows here in Maine.
Grudging tip of the cap to David Ortiz. Hated him as a Yankee killer and that he got a pass on PEDs, but impossible to minimize his strong career numbers.
Last newsletter (for now) highlighting HOF debate with commentary pro and con the accused PED users. Jayson Stark, Joe Posnanski and former Commissioner Fay Vincent weigh in. Also some thoughts on what kind of Hall of Fame do you want? (elite of the elite? Only the cleanest sportsmen? More inclusion or more exclusive?)
And finally, a piece on Joan Joyce, the amazing fast pitch softball pitcher.
Enjoy.
YOUR
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1/23/22
Good morning baseball fans,
RIP Meatloaf, singer of what one could argue is the best baseball song of all time – “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights”. Some of Phil Rizzuto’s best work. If somehow you are not familiar, feel free to rock out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C11MzbEcHlw
While the billionaires stare down the millionaires over the CBA it also was a week when MLB rejected the idea of the Rays splitting time between Tampa and Montreal. Perhaps interests in Las Vegas and Nashville might have more $ should the Rays (and the A’s) need a new home?
Hall of Fame election results will be out this week— On Tuesday Jan. 25, the BBWAA will announce the results of its 2022 Hall of Fame vote live from Cooperstown on MLB Network. (coverage begins at 4 pm eastern). Any electees will be inducted during Hall of Fame Weekend on Sunday, July 24, at 1:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown. In anticipation we feature this week Hall of Fame ballot explainers from two of my favorite baseball writers—Jayson Stark and Joe Posnanski.
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1/16/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Freaking cold in Maine. The Billionaires and the millionaires don’t seem to be making serious progress on the CBA. But there is lots of fun stuff to enjoy. A woman manager, interesting analysis – does playing mostly for one team (Ortiz) have an advantage over playing for many teams (Sheffield) in making the Hall of Fame? Enjoy.
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1/9/22
Good morning baseball fans,
A trivia quiz from Society of American Baseball Research, lots of Hall of Fame voting discussion and a fun piece on Ash and Maple bats. Enjoy.
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1/2/22
Good morning baseball fans,
Happy New Year.
Maybe more than two cups of coffee worth this morning. Trivia from NYT and The Athletic, Free Agents, Jayson Stark recaps 2021 oddities, some Hall of Fame bits and whiffle ball.
I grew up in Westfield, NJ. Whiffle Ball was a big thing behind Washington School when I was young (along with stick ball against the school wall). We looked up to the junior high school guys (shoutout to Brad Brewster, Larry Inkster, Jeff Jordan wherever they might be) who would later be Westfield HS sports stars in our eyes. We spent a lot of hours at it.
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