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Author Archives: rightoffthebatbook
Tigers Need Scherzer(y)
At 19-1, Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers is compiling one of the all-time Major League Baseball records in 2013. (For cricket followers: The record indicates this pitcher is credited with nineteen wins against one loss.) If the trend continues, … Continue reading
Congratulations to Ichiro
The Right Off the Bat team joins the rest of the baseball world in hailing Ichiro Suzuki. Who would’ve thought in a New York Yankees uniform no less the great hitter would join the ranks of Ty Cobb and Pete … Continue reading
Hidden-ball Trick (2)
As noted, I (Evander) today lugged my ten-pound wooden-slatted seat, taken from the original Yankee Stadium, pre-1974-76 renovation, to be signed by Gene Michael. It was a pleasure to meet “The Stick,” who obliged me with his carefully written autograph. … Continue reading
Great Stadiums (3): The Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati Reds
This is the third in a long-promised (by Evander) series on the best of the best among Major League stadiums. For a virtual-panoramic tour of the Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds, click here. They don’t call the … Continue reading
England Win the Ashes!
England has beaten Australia at cricket! In recent years, this formulation—once so rare a sentence that it could be considered a typographical error—has become common, even a commonplace. Australia’s cricket team is simply not as good as England’s, even though … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cricket, England
Tagged Chris Rogers, David Warner, Ian Bell, Jimmy Anderson, Michael Clarke, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Stuart Broad, The Ashes
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Amish Baseball
To the question whether baseball is played in all corners of America, I (Evander) submit this article from the March 22, 2013, issue of the New Republic as a Yes! As the essay notes, whereas TV-viewership has flagged, in part … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Right Off the Bat Book
Tagged Major League Baseball, San Francisco Giants, Steroids
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Hidden-ball Trick
The rarely seen “hidden-ball trick” was worked to perfection in an August 10 interleague game between the home-field Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays—two teams deep in the hunt for 2013-playoff spots. Although the Dodgers won the game, … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Yankees
Tagged Evan Longoria, Gene Michael, Juan Uribe, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tamp Bay Rays, Yankee Stadium
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Baseball Will Never Be the Same
Mark it for all time: August 5, 2013, a date which will live in North American sports infamy. Thirty-eight-year-old Alex Rodriguez has been suspended a whopping 211 games for allegedly using PED. But he is playing and earning his salary … Continue reading
Reverse: the Curse
It’s now time to talk about reverse swing. No, it’s not the latest dance craze from California. It’s a relatively new phenomenon in cricket that entails the ball doing funky things previous unknown in the laws of physics. Unlike in … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cricket, Pakistan, South Africa
Tagged Dale Steyn, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram
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Oh, Jimmy, Jimmy! Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy Anderson
True, it’s not a Schubert Lied, but the above song, which resounds around Test cricket grounds wherever England play these days, contains (almost) as much feeling and conjures up as strong a sensation of wonder and mastery of composition as … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cricket, England
Tagged Franz Schubert, Jimmy Anderson, Michael Clarke, The Ashes
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Right Off the Bat 