Baseball Digest articles from December 2004

Baseball Digest archives from December 2004

Letters to the editor.(The Fans Speak Out)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... This year, there were several instances of starting pitchers being denied victories they appeared to have earned. Let's assume, for example, that the Cubs' Mark Prior has pitched eight strong innings, allowing no runs, just three hits while...

Fans offer six ways to improve game at the major league level.(Warm Up Tosses)
December 1, 2004... IT HAS BEEN A LITTLE MORE THAN TEN YEARS SINCE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HIT the pits with a destructive, season-ending players' strike, forcing owners to cancel the 1994 World Series. Both the players' association of millionaires, headed by...

Hitting sensation: Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki has joined elite company in his first four years in the majors.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... FOR THOSE WHO REMEMBER OZZIE Guillen as a White sox player, they know he never saw a pitch he wouldn't swing at, from eyelashes to shoelaces, from outer space to his inner reach. Therefore, Guillen last season should have felt like he was...

Seven biggest surprises of 2004 season: some unexpected developments in the major leagues included the successful runs put together by the Cardinals, Braves and Rangers.
December 1, 2004... WHILE JACK McKEON DOESN'T mass-produce memorable--if quaintly mangled--sayings like Yogi Berra or Casey Stengel, the Florida Marlins manager can't be faulted for his pithy appraisal of the game that has fed him for most of his 74 years. ...

Ben Sheets' success burned batters with surprising heat: in 2004, Brewers right-hander put it all together with velocity, command and drive to get better with each start.
December 1, 2004... INFORMED THAT THE "PITCH SPEED" indicator at Miller Park had clocked the fastball of Ben Sheets at increased velocities from past years, Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost broke into a mischievous smile. "The (radar) gun is lying," said...

The home run: it's a hit baseball fans look for, sluggers swing for, announcers get excited about and pitchers dread.
December 1, 2004... THROUGH THE 2004 SEASON, THERE HAD BEEN MORE THAN 225,000 HOME runs hit in major league history, starting May 2, 1876, with Ross Barnes of the Chicago White Stockings ("straight down the left field to the carriages, for a clean home run,"...

The heavy ball: some hurlers' offerings are described as being a different sort of pitch, often due to the ball's late-breaking movement.
December 1, 2004... EVERY OFFICIAL MAJOR LEAGUE baseball weighs between 5 and 5.2 ounces. So how come it feels like catching a feather when some pitchers throw it, and a brick when others throw it? And why do batters feel as if they're hitting a bowling ball when...

Baseball quick quiz.
December 1, 2004... Collect ten points for each question answered correctly. (If you score 80 or better, you are a baseball expert; 70 or better, superior; between 60 and 70, good and between 40 and 60, average. 1. Bob Welch was the last pitcher in the...

Born to lead: Ivan Rodriguez takes charge in Detroit: All-Star catcher has pushed the Tigers to shed their losing ways and begin the long march to respectability.
December 1, 2004... SOMEWHERE AT YANKEE STADIUM IN the cool October night, a boy waited for a promise to be kept. His father had made the pledge before the playoffs. "If we win the World Series, we're going to walk around the bases, and we're going to get...

Hall of Fame Slugger: Harmon Killebrew.(Questions & Answers)(Interview)
December 1, 2004... Talking about Harmon Killebrew, former Baltimore Orioles manager Paul Richards once said, "He can knock the ball out of any park, including Yellowstone." Baseball's most feared power hitter of the 1960s, Killebrew belted 40 or more homers in a...

Baseball profile: Nomar Garciaparra--Sportstop.
December 1, 2004... FULL NAME: Anthony Nomar Garciaparra AGE, HT., WT.: 31, 6-0, 190 HOME: Los Angeles, California STATUS/FAMILY: Married to USA Olympic soccer star Mia Hamm LIFE OUTSIDE OF BASEBALL: When I'm not at the ballpark, I like to spend...

Al Oliver: former National League batting champion recalls his home run in the N.L. Championship Series against the Giants in 1971.(The Game I'll Never Forget)
December 1, 2004... MY DAD PASSED AWAY THE DAY I FOUND OUT I WAS GOING UP TO THE MAJOR leagues. He had worked in a brickyard for years and got silicosis from the dust in his lungs. I went to his funeral and then on to Pittsburgh to be a major leaguer in 1968. ...

Don Newcombe recalls historic game against Phillies.(Turn Back The Clock ... 1951)
December 1, 2004... THE GAME IS NEARLY LOST TO HISTORY. MANY WHO SAW THE GAME CONSIDER it to be one of the greatest ever played in baseball history. Without this game, without a pitching performance that can only be described as heroic and a player that one writer...

Former third baseman Butch Hobson: players who left the game on their own terms: one-time Red Sox slugger pounded 30 HR with 112 RBI in 1977, but injuries and other off-field obstacles led to a shortened playing career.(Curtain Calls)
December 1, 2004... NO ONE EVER QUESTIONED HOW hard Butch Hobson played on the field during his major league career, but what most people didn't know was how hard he was "playing" off of it. These days, the rejuvenated, 53-year-old, who manages the Nashua...

Baseball rules corner: visual obstruction call ranks as a rarity in baseball.
December 1, 2004... SEATTLE SHORTSTOP JOSE LOPEZ had an incredulous look on his face after he was called for "visual obstruction" on August 6 at Tampa Bay. Can't say that I blame him. Here is what happened. The Devil Rays had runners on first and third and one...

Top 50 career batting leaders.(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... Top 50 Career Batting Leaders EXTRA-BASE HITS + Active players' totals complete through September 26, 2004 Player Hits 1B 2B 3B HR EBH Hank Aaron 3,771 2,294 624 98 755 1,477...

Top 50 career pitching leaders.(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... Top 50 Career Pitching Leaders MOST STRIKEOUTS PER WALK Minimum 2,000 career strikeouts Through Sept. 26 Pitcher SO BB Diff K/BB Curt Schilling + 2,739 634 2,105 4.32 Pedro Martinez + ...