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Tag Archives: Jackie Robinson
There Used to Be a Ballpark Again
“How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!” (Lamentations) William Carlos Williams is the author of an epic poem about Paterson. It is one of the cities “left behind.” Maybe not anymore. In fall 2019, it was announced … Continue reading
Honoring Jackie Robinson on His 100th Birthday
“Back in the days when integration wasn’t fashionable, he underwent the trauma and the humiliation and the loneliness which come with being a pilgrim walking the lonesome byways toward the high road of Freedom. He was a sit-inner before the … Continue reading
Mike Night for the Ultimate Dodger Dog
L.A. Dodgers-broadcasting legend Vin Scully plans on returning to the mike in 2015. This would be his sixty-sixth straight season with the Dodgers. Robust at eighty-six, Bronx native Scully does things the traditional way—as could only be expected. He solos … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Right Off the Bat Website, Yankees
Tagged Al Downing, Babe Ruth, Chavez Ravine, Clayton Kershaw, designated hitter, Don Larsen, Ebbets Field, Fernando Valenzuela, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Kirk Gibson, Literature, Orel Hershiser, Sandy Koufax, Vin Scully, World Series
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The New Breed Is Old Hat
Robinson Cano could not leave $70 million on the table. That is roughly the difference between what the storied New York Yankees offered their star second baseman and what the Seattle Mariners are paying. The Mariners have set Cano for … Continue reading
DH; or, Designated Hebrew
It’s been forty years (and two weeks) in the wilderness. Ron Blomberg became the first DH on April 6, 1973. From Atlanta and still living there, Blomberg—whom I (Evander) had the pleasure to meet a year ago—went thro his own … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Right Off the Bat Book, Right Off the Bat Website, Yankees
Tagged American League, Boston Red Sox, Charley Finley, designated hitter, Hank Greenberg, Jackie Robinson, Kansas City Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mickey Mantle, Minnesota Twins, Moe Berg, Moses Solomon, National Baseball Hall of Fame, National League, New York Giants, Norm Sherry, Oakland Athletics, Orlando Cepeda, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ron Blomberg, Sandy Koufax, Ty Cobb, Walter Alston, World Series, Yankee Stadium
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Be Sure to Check out “42”
As promised last fall, the new Jackie Robinson biopic, 42, is soon opening. Here is pretty much a rave from hardened society-and-film columnist Liz Smith. She is already talking Academy Award nominations, barely a month after the recent lackluster Oscars … Continue reading
Mariano Rivera Retires
Number 42 will be retired forever throughout Major League Baseball at the end of this season. It is the uniform number that Jackie Robinson wore: now on but one, with his own legacy. Mariano Rivera, who will be forty-four on … Continue reading
(Im)probabilities
No one is going to confuse Martin and me with Theo Epstein or Bill James. Truthfully, the term Sabermetrics largely gets nary a nod in Right Off the Bat. Why? It all goes back to “leet” childhood. [“Feed-in”]…I remember practically flunking … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Right Off the Bat Book, Right Off the Bat Website
Tagged Bill James, Bobby Thomson, Bucky Dent, contact rate, DIPS, exit velocity, FIELDf/x, ISO, Jackie Robinson, JAWS, launch angle, line-drive rate, Literature, OPS, Reaction Analysis, Reggie Jackson, Sabermetrics, Scoring Efficiency (SE), Scoring Load (SC%), Statcast, Theo Epstein, Ultimate Base Running (UBR), UZR, WAR, WARP, WHIP, Whitey Ford, WRC
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“42” Coming Next Baseball Season
The Right Off the Bat Project eagerly awaits 42. It is our understanding that President Obama even visited the set. Read about the film and watch the trailer here.
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