Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Tampa Bay Rays baseball team abandoned orthodox fielding positions, implemented new tactics. They've made the playoffs in three of past four years, despite having one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. The next "Moneyball"?
"It seems impossible to believe that the best player in baseball would sign a big deal in a new league and suddenly be the worst player in baseball." But anyone can see that Albert Pujols' swing has completely fallen apart
Recent sporting injuries described as "tragic" need putting in context. Tragic means something much worse than a ligament tear. Such as the day more than 90 years ago when the Cleveland Indians faced the Yankees in New York
By his awesome, relentless standards, Albert Pujols had a poor April. "Does it mean that he is done as a great player? Of course not. But baseball can be a cruel game." And here is a theory about what happens when stars age
Gripping excerpt from Grisham's new novel. Joe Castle was called up to the Cubs from the minor leagues and enjoyed a scintillating start to his career in baseball's big time. Then he went to Shea Stadium to face the Mets
"Baseball is often talked about as the American game, but there is something wildly immigrant about it too. If soccer is the world’s game, then baseball belongs to those who have left their worlds behind"
Frank McCourt is widely recognised as Major League Baseball's worst owner in quite some time. Now, finally, he has sold the LA Dodgers. He walks away, after debts, with a $400m gain. Life ain't fair, but at least he's gone
Asked how he pitched to Mickey Mantle, former Red Sox hurler Frank Sullivan replied: "With tears in my eyes." It was a classy reply. In this piece, Mantle's biographer goes to see Sullivan, now 82 and generous to a fault
A century of baseball at Fenway Park. Built in 1912 in down-at-heel area of Boston. The land was unsuitably marshy, and plot the wrong dimensions. Owner built a wall to stop people seeing the game for free from outside
"The cyborgs haven't arrived, but their catching device has. It is in a display case at the Baseball Hall of Fame, whose curators think they might be witnessing a historic moment: The birth of the glove of the future"
The former Mets and Phillies hero built a most unlikely, and successful, career after retiring from baseball. But it came crashing down, culminating in his sentencing to three years in prison. This is what happened
In 2010, Brandon McCarthy was almost out of baseball – a mediocre pitcher seemingly going nowhere. But then he began to study stats. It made him change his game considerably. Now he has a $4m contract with Billy Beane's Oakland A's
