Pittsburgh Pirates

Archive for February, 2010

Baseball is full of curses and hexes that said to be the cause of the many failures of the team to win the World Series. Each team subjected to this curses will have years of drought. It is not like they end up being the worst team of the year but even if they give their best, they always lose. The non-believers of these curses may not take this as a logical explanation for not winning. However, the losses of the best teams seemed to be a puzzle to everyone.
The players, a prominent figure or a spectator may cause the curses of baseball. It is not like the olden days that they chant spells or perform rituals to summon evil power to cause bad things to happen. Gone are the days of cauldrons and witches. These supernatural hindrances to win a National League or American League or even a World Series were heavily caused by a bitter exchange of words or plainly an act of letting go.
Several people were associated to the mishaps occurring in several teams. The following are:
1. Rocky Colavito- Who could forget this handsome baseball player. Everyone loved him for his coolness. Yet he was the alleged reason why Cleveland Indians were not to grab titles from World Series or even the American League. There were traces of the curse year after year but he denied that he never cast one on them. We will never know, however, who would want to trade the leader in homeruns for the American League? Well, it seems Cleveland made a wrong decision and put them in a troubling scenario. Nevertheless, none of these stopped Colavito from being one of the best baseball players in MLB.
2. Babe Ruth- This is your chocolate man and not only nutty and chocolaty but also the best player in the history of baseball. However, this baseball icon did not escape the being associated to hexes and spells. After being traded way back in 1919, Boston Red Sox had to suffer terrible losses even though they can get themselves in the World Series. Good thing that in 2004, the Red Sox were able to break the curse and it is believed so that it has totally disappeared when they repeated the victory in 2007.
3. Donnie Mattingly- He is the curse of the New York Yankees. When Yankees hired him, the team never won anything. He stayed from 1980 to 1995 and within those years, the Yankees offense was not so good, they lost games even though the pitcher threw a no-hitter and they even placed last in 1990. When Mattingly left the team, the Yankees started winning games from 1996-1998.
These are few of the players, who were said to have negative impact in teams like Cleveland Indians, Red Sox, and the Yankees. It is funny how the names of these great players are attached to the different curses. However, of course, when you ask them, they will deny such allegations. Remember, they are baseball players, not warlocks.

For most baseball fans, the excitement derived from the sport is simply all about the love for the game. But for the really passionate baseball enthusiast, collecting baseball memorabilia is the thing that makes the sport a worthwhile enterprise instead of just a favorite pastime. No wonder then that collecting baseball memorabilia has evolved into a multi-million dollar pursuit; an investment if you must.

In the field of collecting baseball memorabilia, few names in baseball can be called hot items or choice picks. And among the top names that most collectors try to get their hands on is Joe DiMaggio. He was and still is one of the most revered and popular players of the sport. An inducted member of the baseball Hall Of Fame, he had set records in baseball during his time, some of which are still impressive even at present standards and have yet to be broken by the new generation of sluggers.

If you plan to collect Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia, always bear in mind that the condition of each piece of memorabilia is the most important factor to consider. Rare Joe DiMaggio pieces that have been neglected over the years or, worse, pieces that are bogus will be greatly devalued, if not found totally good-for-nothing. Therefore, always be on your toes when buying Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia; remember counterfeiters abound in the field of baseball memorabilia collecting.

Before you start buying Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia, it is a good idea learn the basic grading systems used for valuing baseball collectibles. It is only through this standard grading system that you can decide if a Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia is worth keeping or not. This grading system will also determine the price of your Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia.

For instance, keep in mind that a bat actually used by Joe DiMaggio in a game will not have the same appraised value compared to the same item issued for display intentions only. A ball that has Joe DiMaggio’s signature on it will be valued based on the quality of the item and, of course, the clarity of the signature. Needless to say, for all signed collectibles, the authenticity of Joe DiMaggio’s signature is the most important factor to consider in putting value to the particular item. The rareness of the item is also given weight as to how much a Joe DiMaggio baseball merchandise is worth.

Joe DiMaggio baseball cards are among the most common memorabilia items bought and sold in the baseball souvenir market. Unfortunately, baseball cards can be the most delicate type of baseball memorabilia. Proper care must be ensured to preserve the priceless value of Joe DiMaggio baseball cards. Always remember to keep rare Joe DiMaggio cards away from wet surfaces; keeping your cards in plastic sleeves away from light may keep Joe DiMaggio’s image good as new.

Surely, even for some people who are not fervent believers of baseball, collecting baseball memorabilia can be a great source of amusement and, yes, investment return. At the very least, the feeling of being in the company of avid fans who have mountains of baseball collectibles and stories can be magnificent, if not depictive of a true American tradition. So it is always a good idea to have a stash of baseball memorabilia; and your collection can not be any good unless you have Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia.

The US lives and breaths baseball, the game runs in the blood and young and old are hooked up to the sport. There are baseball leagues major and little, baseball journalists and reporters, fans who own teams others who collect memorabilia and record histories. With the advent of the World Wide Web baseball has embraced cyber space and now there are websites that cover every aspect of the game and keep a pulse on current as well as past seasons and teams.

Baseball is a team sport and every player and team needs to be committed and passionate about the game. To succeed every team whether major league, minor league, or local needs the following:

1. A team spirit and commitment to the game. The team must work as a single unit and be devoted to the game. They must live and breathe baseball.

2. The team must have a good support system. It is not enough for a team to be devoted to the game, families, team owner, sponsors, the coach, school and college authorities and more need to understand the psyche of the team and create a strong impermeable support system.

3. The team must have a good coach who will lead the team in every way. The coach is the backbone of the team and needs to be tough and yet loving. He or she must care for the team and its every player. The coach must understand the team and its members better than he understands himself or herself.

4. The team must be devoted to the sport and yet understand that there is a world beyond baseball. So, every member must simultaneously prepare for life beyond baseball. Be trained in skills and have qualifications that will allow the player to live a fulfilled life after baseball.

5. Great focus must be placed on balanced nutrition and mental strength training. A strong mind and body makes a great baseball player. Team training must include aspects of health, nutrition, and mental strength. The team must have a balanced diet, a balanced exercise routine that includes breathing exercises and meditation techniques.

6. While winning can be the goal every team must play for sheer joy and each player must focus on his strengths and work out his weaknesses. The team must become an impregnable fort so that the opponents can never use kinks in the armor.

Baseball is a team sport that is often used to teach students and children life values and more. Baseball has gone beyond being a sport it is a way of life.

A good ball glove can have a big effect on youth’s enjoyment of playing baseball and even about whether baseball is a worthwhile sport for them to participate in. Kids could be playing many other sports, and in fact, participation in basketball and soccer is growing fast in the US. There’s no better summer sport or pastime than baseball though. It has a rich American tradition that other sports don’t possess and that’s an important part of your own child’s sports experience.

Baseball is a game that is dependent on equipment though, and if the equipment is poor quality or in doesn’t suit the kids using them, it can dampen their enthusiasm for little league baseball. It’s important to buy youth baseball gloves for your child, not small adult baseball gloves which will discourage your youngster.

They had poor equipment back in the old days, including rotted out or horribly stiff leather gloves. Some would actually throw the glove down and try to catch with their bare hands. It may not be that bad today, but in visiting your local sporting goods store, you’ve probably wondered about the quality of the gloves on the store shelves. Some are weird shapes and feel uncomfortable and the selection is many times limited.

The Good Old Days

Have you ever wondered whether baseball glove manufacturers are producing better ball gloves now than in decades past? Well, if you happen to have an old baseball glove still around and compare it to modern youth baseball gloves, you’ll notice a big difference. Those old gloves didn’t make catching and fielding easy for infielders, outfielders and especially catchers. You actually had to have some outstanding athletic skills and knowledge of catching to make a catch. In those days, you used both hands to catch a ball because you had to.

That’s not to say these new gloves are suited to the ball player that’s using them. These kids range in physical size greatly, and play different positions. The child that has a new, well-fitted glove is going to catch the ball better and play with a lot more confidence.

Young ball players with their metal bats are hitting the ball hard, so infielders and outfielders need good gloves just to catch them, let alone throw the runner out at first. We shouldn’t just assume that any glove would do for our child. Each youngster has their own level of coordination and confidence, along with their own style and preferences, and fortunately, there are so many types and styles of gloves available now, that you should be able to find one they like. You don’t see kids get hurt often but it does happen and it will happen more often with the child that feels uncomfortable with the baseball equipment they’re using.

Bad Bounces

Last week, while watching a youth baseball game (11 year olds) a batter hit a ball hard up the middle, fortunately missing the pitcher. The ball hit the side of the mound and bounced up to hit the base umpire in the shoulder. She was hurt and lay on the ground several minutes before getting up. That highlighted well, the speed the balls are reaching and that the young infielder playing with awkward baseball glove is going to playing with fear. Yes, some fear is good, as it keeps them sharp and makes the game exciting, but too much fear and they’re going to get discouraged.

Many of the kids on these teams have gloves that are too small, and overwhelmingly, you see their reluctance to catch well-hit grounders. They generally wave at it going by them and sigh in relief that it wasn’t hit right at them. One youngster in the outfield ran to make a diving catch only to have the ball pop out of his glove. They used to see that if your glove touched a ball, you should have caught it and it is an error for you. When a ball is in your glove, it should stay in there. In this kid’s case, the ball was clearly in his glove and yet it popped out. The reason for that is that the glove didn’t fit his hand and the web wouldn’t close tightly.

He walked dejectedly back to centerfield, his position, and cursed at himself for dropping it. It was like a scene out of a Charlie Brown episode. If he’d hung onto that ball, he would have been walking on clouds and be the pride of the team. I don’t have to tell you how important peer pressure is with kids these days and when kids never catch the ball, it can deflate the team and even the crowd of parents watching the game. Sometimes, it’s downright torture to watch a ball game if the kids can’t catch or throw properly.

Young pitchers too, can have trouble throwing strikes, and after walking batter after batter, you can sense disappointment. The glove on the pitcher’s hand acts as a counterbalance when throwing and if it doesn’t feel comfortable for him, you may be in for a long inning.

A fair number of kids come from homes that can’t afford a new glove every year and they may not be able to afford baseball shoes. If there’s one piece of equipment you need to focus on for youth baseball players, it has to be the glove. Your child is out there standing for half of the game, with this glove on their hand. If it’s uncomfortable, and doesn’t fit, that has to take some of the enjoyment out of it.

There’s a mind-boggling array of youth baseball brands out there to choose from Rawling, Mizuno, Wilson, Spalding, Rawlings, Nokona, Akadema, Kelly, Nike, Louisville, SSK and more. The problem with many of these big brand names is not only the inflated prices associated with these brands, it’s the weight and stiffness of the gloves. The materials and the stitching are sewn well enough. They aren’t designed with kids in mind who after all, don’t have time to break the glove in. Within one year, they will have likely outgrown the glove, so what’s the point of buying a glove like that? The glove ends up unused in a closet or on the garage floor becoming a nuisance object.

There is evidence to suggest that in terms of baseball history, people played games that involved a stick and a ball, right back to the early days of civilization. Ancient cultures in Persia, Egypt, and Greece played ball and stick games for recreation and as part of special ceremonies where celebrations were rituals. Ball and stick games of this type spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages and became even popular as different varieties took hold. Europeans brought ball and stick games to the American colonies as early as the 1600s. Until the late 1700s, however, they were widely considered children’s games.
By the early 1800s, a variety of ball and stick games had also become popular in North America. Many people in northeastern cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia played cricket, but rounders also began to take hold. Rounders most closely resembled modern baseball as we know it now.
This early version of baseball history then known as rounders, required a batter to strike a ball and run around bases without being caught out. Balls that were caught on the fly, or in some cases after one bounce, were commonly known as outs.
Varieties of rounders also involved the practice of plugging, soaking, or stinging the batter. This was where fielders could put runners out by throwing the ball at them as they ran between the bases. People used various names to describe it rounders depending on what part of the country you were in. It was also known as town ball, one o’ cat, and base ball (hence the now shortened version we know as baseball).
Americans began playing baseball in informal competitions in the early 1800s. By the 1860s, the sport, was being described as America’s “national pastime.” In 1845 Alexander Cartwright and the members of the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, devised the first rules and regulations for the modern game of baseball. The first game was held at the Elysian Fields, in New Jersey.
In 1858, the National Association of Base Ball Players, the first organized baseball league with tournaments and competitions between clubs was formed and in 1876 the first major league, the National League, was formed. This allowed states to play against other states. State teams were fed players from local leagues where the cream of the crop was selected to play for the states League team. Baseball is know one of the most popular sports in the country.

Baseball Hitting – The Major League baseball swing is a occurrence of beauty. The fantasize of millions of not much league baseball players is to befall a key league baseball player. Hitting a key league home-produced run is a fantasy baseball fantasize of all youth baseball player. How carry out the key league baseball players come to with such power? Come again? Makes their swing so powerful, productive, and round off?Download Super 8 Hitting System techniquesThe smoothness, compactness, and timing of the expert baseball swing put up it individual of the nearly all poised things to watch in all of sports. Expert players practice and practice the brass tacks of the round off baseball swing. If you watch it here brake gesture, you pray guarantee with the purpose of in attendance are 3 ordinary elements of the swing with the purpose of with the purpose of nearly all key league baseball players comprise here ordinary. Baseball batting practice repetition makes the key League Baseball Swing unswerving with the same 3 essential elements exhibited with all swing of the bat.Utter hitters at all times comprise the following swing qualities:-  Baseball Hitting1. Solid and Stiff Front Leg2. Rotational Swing allowing them to Stay done Stack3. Limit delay of the Hands and BarrelAt this juncture I pray discuss all of these 3 elements of the key League baseball swing:1. STIFF FRONT buttress – Baseball HittingThe power hitters here key league baseball mistreat a stiff front buttress to cause them pull in place of their power. After you study their swing, the front buttress is dense and on an face with the purpose of allows them to break all body movement to the fore. The front base is the announcer with the purpose of prevents lunging and hip travel to the fore. Limit power is generated after the arms are extended and the hips rotate. If the front buttress bends power is lost.Coaching summit: Baseball Hitting – A stiff and dense front buttress requires the hitter to comprise the timing and patience to allow the baseball to walk inside the front base formerly attacking the baseball. Limit power is generated after the decrease body, hips, and torso spin to generate bat zip. The tendency to attack on the sphere essential come to pass avoided.2. STAYING BALANCED AND OVER STACK -  Baseball HittingThis is a designate with the purpose of refers to the turning gesture of a batters body and the process of keeping the command and torso round off aligned done the back buttress at some point in the swing. The command does not move, travel before attack to the fore at some point in the swing. The round off swing is a rotational gesture with the body staying back and turning done the back hip.Download Super 8 Hitting System techniques

Many parents find baseball products shopping incentives to be the physical build of their child who is way out of shape. The baseball products shopping incentives to inspire their child, will lead them to buy any type of baseball product that will tempt the kids to get out in the fresh air and really get a good workout.
With baseball products shopping incentives can be found on every aisle. Let a child explore each one, and find items that will be fun, even if you have weight loss on your mind. Baseball products do not look like exercise equipment. Kids only see a bat and a ball, and they are hardly looking at the running incentives involved. They will play for hours with all of their friends, and by the end of summer, they will be thinner.
Some of the baseball products incentives are offered in bulk pricing opportunities that could be posted on online websites, flea market or bricked-in storefronts. As dealers make the decision to liquidate their baseball products, small business owners and collector’s can reap the benefits of these bulk sale and reduced price incentives.
Some parents use the baseball products shopping incentives, as an opportunity to spend more time with their family. Fathers will buy numerous baseball products that can be used during all times of the year, at State Parks, in the street outside their home, or any other place where families can find enough space to spend time and talk. These baseball products shopping opportunities bring families closer.
Some of the best baseball products shopping incentives can be found through coupon and codes that reduce the price of some baseball products at the check-out area of a website. With these baseball products shopping incentives, buyers will be more inclined to purchase more baseball products than they might have planned to when they first entered the site.
The best baseball products shopping incentives come from the smiles that are on the faces of children who get to play with these wonderful recreational equipment choices. Any other type of baseball product shopping incentives would come in second place to this type of physical inventive that keeps parents buying one product after another throughout the year.
Summer baseball camps are another baseball products shopping incentives, because some retail locations hold drawings from people that buy baseball products, where the prize is that the winner will earn the chance to practice their baseball techniques at a Summer camp.
Kids by the thousands fill out forms throughout the year, for the chance to be where major league baseball players show up for training each year. The autographed pictures, conversations, lectures and baseball camp attire are some of the best baseball products shopping incentives that a parent could ever hope to find.
Future baseball leaguers are found at these camps, and the baseball products shopping incentives might not be shown for many years, but the baseball products they own will help them get to the major leagues. And when the youth baseball player grows, he will find his baseball products shopping incentives pay off in his first Rookie year if he is good enough.

Some Great Teams and Some Not So Great Teams
This posting was compiled after the the 2005 Season ended.
From 1919 to 1964 The New York Yankees had a winning season every year except 1925. Their two best years were 1939 of DiMaggio and Dickey when they were 106-45, a 702 winning percentage. Even better the Yankees of 1927 had a 714 winning percentage. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had something to do with that. The Yankees have scored 79,003 runs since they have been a major league team. They have surrendered 68,192 runs.
The highest all time winning percentages teams. The Yankees are first at 567% followed by The Giants at 540% The Dodgers at 524%. Then there is the Cardinals at 517 followed by The Red Sox at 515% and The Cubs at 514%. Yes The Cubs is accurate.
The lowest winning percentages are The Devil Rays at 401 % followed by The Padres at 459 % and The Phillies at a 468 winning percentage.
While looking at futility from 1930 to 1943 the St Louis Browns had a bit of a slump. They had a losing record every year and for the 14 years finished with 715 wins and 1325 losses ( 350 winning percentage ). Their high water or should I say low water mark of 111 losses came in 1939. In 1946 they started losing again. From and including 1946 through 1956 they were 645 1048 for a 380 winning percentage.
The Phillies have their own sad story. From 1918 to 1931 they had a 786 1310 record. Every year was a losing one. In 1932 they had a winning record only to return to losing again in 1933. This continued to 1948. During this time they had an 888 1555 record. A 363 winning percentage.
The A’s of Philadelphia won 736 games from 1934 to 1946. They also lost 1245 games.During these 13 years their winning percentage was 372. The city of Brotherly Love must have had some real dog days of summer with both their baseball teams suffering.
By contrast the Brooklyn Dodger won 1125 games and lost 656 from 1946 to 1956. During this 11 year period they finished first or second every year except one when they ended up in third place. Their six pennants and one World Series typified their 631 winning percentage during this time frame.
Other Facts The Boston Red Sox have a 500-496 record against the Yankees at home. When playing in New York the Red Sox are 399-582.
The Cubs have a home record of 4453-3716 and an away record of 3762-4333.
The Red Sox have an all time record of 8358-7885.

There are many ways to ensure that your players perform better on the baseball diamond. It is important that baseball coaches are aware of coaching tips that they can impart to their players. You will see that these youth baseball coaching tips will make a difference in the performance of your team and your enjoyment of the season.

Here are a few youth baseball coaching tips that will improve the team’s play:

Defensive Mentality – One of the premier youth baseball coaching tips concerns itself with your team’s defensive mentality. You must ensure, as a coach, that your team is prepared defensively on what to do with the ball on every pitch to the plate. The best preparation is to instruct your players to ask themselves these questions prior to every pitch when they are out on the field, and the opposing team is up at bat. The question is: “What do I do if I get the ball on the ground, in the air, and on a line.” Your players should also remind themselves about the number of outs, often talking on the field to make sure the team is on the same page. These defensive mentality questions will keep your players more alert and prepared to make the correct play if the ball is hit their way.

Pitch to the Target – One of the better youth baseball coaching tips concerns pitchers and their focus. One of the keys in pitching is to throw to the catcher’s target. You must instruct your pitchers to key their eyes focused on the catcher’s glove throughout their windup and through the release of the ball. Many pitchers lose eye contact with the catcher’s glove, accounting for their inaccurate pitches. Similarly, a catcher should practice giving the right target for the pitcher and learn how to frame the pitch to help his pitcher be successful. Often catching technique is overlooked and it is wise to prepare a good array of youth baseball catcher’s drills.

Focus on the Release Point – One of the best youth baseball coaching tips concerns itself with the discipline of hitting. A key to hitting is the ability to pick up the speed and spin of the ball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand. As a coach, you must instruct your hitters to focus on the release point of the pitcher. The focus needs to concentrate on the ball as it comes out of the pitcher’s hand. Batters must not allow themselves to be duped by a fancy windup or other deceptive attempts on the part of the pitcher to hide the ball from the batter until it is released. The later that the ball is picked up by the batter, the less time for the batter to identity the type, speed and location of the pitch as it travels to the plate.

While this is just a quick distillation of basic youth baseball coaching tips focusing on fielding, pitching and hitting, it is surprising how often baseball coaches lose focus of these basics. There are many elaborate baseball drill libraries on the Internet such as those at Weplay. While a coach should select a variety of age-appropriate drills for coaching his team, focusing on these basics and making them fun for the team will often lead to greater success.

In a sea of baseball and softball training devices some of the oldies but goodies get lost among the flashier designs.  Thing is old ideas stick around because they work.  So no matter how amazing that new training aid appears chances are it’s a new take on an old design or in many cases an old design will work just as well.  Today I’m talking about weighted baseballs and softballs.  This product remained pretty much unchanged and that’s probably because it’s a simple idea.  Add weight to the ball and strengthen your arm.  Truth is though it’s a bit more complicated than that which in turn will make your workout more rewarding.

Weighted baseballs and softballs come in all sorts of colors and sets.  You can even buy them individually, which is nice if you lose one I guess.  Most people would look at this product and immediately say it’s a pitchers training device and to be honest that is who will benefit the most from using them but everyone on the field throws the ball so the entire team can actually use this product and get results.

In the past weighted ball sets seemed a little pricey.  I mean come on, all they are is heavier versions of the real thing.  In fact most of them sport synthetic leather covers which should really make them less expensive than their tournament quality counterparts.  They are a specialty item though and thus the higher price tag.  That doesn’t mean you have to break the bank though.

Here is what to look for.  First off buy a set.  You need to gradually increase the weight to ensure you do not injure your arm by quickly over doing it.  Second you should make sure you buy a color coded set.  If they are color coded after a few workouts you’ll remember which color is which weight and you’ll save time picking up each ball and trying to determine which is which.  Third get the largest set you can afford.  A more gradual increase in weight is the best way to utilize this type of product.

There is one more thing you should know before I show you the two sets I recommend.  Weight… how much does an official baseball weigh?… how about a softball?  This information is critical otherwise you won’t know what you’re doing.  Official 9″ baseballs weigh 5 ounces and official 12″ softballs weight 6.8 ounces.  Ok now you’re ready to shop. 

Allow me to point you in the right direction.  There are a couple of relatively new sets on the market that come affordably priced and fully loaded.  Let’s look at the baseball set first.

The Weighted Baseball Set to the left comes complete with 9 training balls weighing from 4 oz. To 12 oz. And a nylon carrying case for under $50.00.

To the right is a Weighted Softball Set that comes complete with 8 training balls weighing from 5 oz. To 12 oz. And a nylon carrying case for under $60.

Both of these sets are perfect for developing arm strength and more.  You’ll notice that each set comes with balls that are lighter than the official game balls.  You may ask how these help to develop arm strength.  That’s a good question.  Well they don’t.

What I mean is that the lighter weight balls are not used in the actual arm strengthening they are used to develop better throwing skills.  Once you have progressed with the heavier balls you use the lighter weight balls to develop better ball control.  The lighter weight makes them more sensitive to the way you hold and throw the ball.

So weighted baseballs and softballs offer a good training program for pitchers and fielders alike for an economical price.  They can be used to develop both arm strength and ball control. 

You can find a complete selection of weighted baseballs and softballs, including the two sets pictured above along with competitive pricing on all of your other athletic needs at www.morleyathletic.com.