Baseball Digest articles from February 2002

Baseball Digest archives from February 2002

The fans speak out. (Letters To The Editor).
February 1, 2002... As we all know, the infamous New York Yankees were dethroned right on the verge of winning yet another championship in 2001. Has any other team in history suffered such an embarrassing ninth inning disaster in the seventh and final game of...

World Series proved once again baseball can be a humbling game for losers. (Warm Up Tosses).(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... ANYONE WHO HAS PLAYED OR WATCHED BASEBALL OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD of time knows it can be a humbling game for losers. Things happen on the field that often border on the unbelievable, setting the stage for an unexpected, crushing defeat that...

Giving it all he's got: Larry Walker strives for a shot at the World Series.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... LARRY WALKER WAS 40 MILES OFF the coast of Southern California last summer, enjoying a day off from baseball with his brother and friends. From sunrise to sunset, the group tested its skills at deep-sea fishing, with no land in sight....

Fitness and finesse: Jamie Moyer's keys to success: Mariners right-hander enjoyed his finest season with a combination of physical conditioning and keeping batters off balance with his array of offspeed pitches.(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... JAMIE MOYER TOOK THE MOUND for more than 30 starts for the Mariners in 2001. He should be on a couch. If not that, a recliner. Something prone. Most guys his age--38--would be flipping channels, considering a nap, wasting away a...

How game has changed in 68 years: since 1942, baseball has undergone major alterations from breaking down color barriers-to expansion-to free agency-to enlarged playoff system.(Statistical Data Included)(Illustration)
February 1, 2002... DESPITE THE HOARY PROVERB, HISTORY NEVER REPEATS ITSELF BUT SOMEtimes the similarities are so startling as to lend credence to a popular fallacy. Sixty years ago when sportswriter Herbert Simons founded BASEBALL DIGEST, which is now the...

Calling it a career: Mark McGwire revived home run glamor in modern era.
February 1, 2002... MARK McGWIRE, WHOSE 1998 home run chase captivated the baseball world and helped revive the sport, announced his retirement last November. Mark McGwire made the home run glamorous. The redheaded first baseman with 20-inch biceps could...

Baseball quick quiz.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Collect ten points for each question answered correctly. Answers on page 95. (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. There have been only two...

Biggest batting gainers and losers for 2001: Desi Relaford and Bret Boone posted the highest improvement on their batting averages while Darin Erstad suffered the worst decline.(baseball)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... DESI RELAFORD HAD PLENTY TO prove entering his first season with the Mets in 2001. A .230 career hitter at the outset of the campaign, the infielder had batted a paltry .215 in combined stints with the Phillies and Padres the prior year. But...

Tainted no-hitters: eight hitless games entered the record books due to questionable scoring decisions.(Statistical Data Included)(Illustration)
February 1, 2002... SINCE THE PITCHING mound was moved to its present distance of 60 feet, six inches prior to the 1893 season, there have been more than 200 no-hit games of nine or more innings pitched in the National and American Leagues. Fifteen of these games...

Baseball profile: Ellis Burks.(Brief Article)(Interview)
February 1, 2002... FULL NAME: Ellis Rena Burks AGE, HT., WT.: 37, 6-2, 205 Born: September 11, 1964 HOME: Englewood, Colorado STATUS/FAMILY: Married with four children NICKNAME: E.B. TRANSACTIONS: Selected by the Boston Red Sox in the first...

Jeff Torborg: a baseball `lifer' still enamored by the game.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... THE WAY JEFF TORBORG SEES things, baseball is in the midst of a Golden Age, the likes of which it hasn't seen since Babe Ruth's hey-day or the emergence of young black stars following Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier. A...

Hall of famer: Bill McGowan umpired with vigor and style.(baseball)
February 1, 2002... "SOMEDAY YOU CAN SELL THIS for a hundred bucks at a church bazaar," he said, handing me a snow-white Reach baseball that he'd signed along with Ted Williams, Nellie Fox, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra. It was November of 1954. He was Bill...

Baseball rules corner: batter-runner interference calls can create disputes.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... RULE 6.05(K) INVOLVING BATTER-runner interference fumed up in the first game of the American League Division Series played between the A's and Yankees at Yankee Stadium. In the bottom of the fifth inning, David Justice tapped a grounder in...

2001 award voting for Rookie, MVP and Cy Young Award.(baseball)
February 1, 2002... 2001 Rookie of the Year Award Voting (Points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis AMERICAN LEAGUE Player, Team (Pos.) 1 2 3 Tot Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners (of) 27 1 -- 138 C.C. Sabathia, Indians (p) ...

2001 Fielding Statistics.(baseball)
February 1, 2002... GOLD GLOVE WINNERS AMERICAN LEAGUE Year Player, Team 1957 Sherm Lollar, White Sox 1958 Sherm Lollar, White Sox 1959 Sherm Lollar, White Sox 1960 Earl Battey, Senators 1961 Earl Battey, Twins 1962 Earl...