Happy 22nd anniversary to the Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura fight. It seems like only yesterday… Aside from giving us the timeless image seen at left, it really was one of the better fights in baseball history. It featured a host of legendary names, and cemented the dominant reputation of Nolan Ryan, who I believe was 82 … Read more
Ever since ESPN started using their computerized K-Zone in baseball games to show balls and strikes, I’ve been hopeful that one day pitch-tracking systems would completely replace human umpires. Stupid, stupid human umpires. However, as gratifying as that would be, Ben Lindbergh says it’s not that simple: For one thing, PITCHf/x still has hiccups. Occasionally, … Read more
Mariano Rivera is arguably the greatest relief pitcher who ever lived, and he is inarguably a deeply devout Christian. In a profile on the occasion of his recent retirement, though, The New York Times absolutely twists itself into knots to avoid using the word “Christian.” GetReligion takes note: [From the NYT story:] In the high-stress vocation … Read more
Great post on WSJ about the religious faith of Jackie Robinson and his boss, Branch Rickey. I’m a big baseball fan, and I didn’t know any of this stuff: After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Robinson, who had been a stand-out athlete at UCLA, signed up in the spring of 1945 … Read more
New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera tore his ACL shagging fly balls before a game today, and ESPN is talking about him with the past tense sad face, like he was torn apart by wild dogs on live television. They may be jumping to conclusions, but it’s hard to blame them. Rivera is 42–one … Read more
It’s almost a blessing that the ending of Armando Galarraga’s perfect game went kablooey. If it hadn’t, then it would’ve been just another statistic. But now it will forever be a cornucopia of allegories about human frailty, coping with loss, all kinds of things. Can you imagine how many sermon illustration are going to come … Read more