Baseball Digest articles from March 2003

Baseball Digest archives from March 2003

The fans speak out. .(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2003... Finally, a sportswriter has spoken out against the classless practice shown by many home run hitters after sending one out of the park. In the January issue of Baseball Digest, John Kuenster stated that Barry Bonds diminished his home run...

Dusty baker may need generous dose of good luck to end cubs' losing ways. (Warm Up Tosses).(Dusty Baker takes on the Cubs)
March 1, 2003... WHEN DUSTY BAKER WAS ANOINTED AS THE CUBS NEW MANAGER LAST November, he was quick to squelch expectations that he single-handedly would turn the club into a season-long contender. "I'm no miracle man," he told members of the Chicago media, many...

Major league prospects for 2003: some rookies who could make a crucial contribution to their big league clubs this season include pitcher Francisco Rodriguez, catcher Victor Martinez, first basemen Hee Seop Choi and Lyle Overbay and outfielders Joe Borchard and Hideki Matsui. (Baseball's Top Rated).
March 1, 2003... AMONG THE MOST OBSCURE AND mind-numbing statistics to emerge from merciless burrowing through the teeming records of the 2002 season is that rookies accounted for 18.3 percent of all innings pitched but only 8.8 percent of all at-bats--even...

2002 minor league batting and pitching leaders.(Illustration)
March 1, 2003... 2002 MINOR LEAGUE BATTING AND PITCHING LEADERS INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE--AAA BATTING AVERAGE Player, Team AVG AB R H Endy Chavez (Ottawa) .343 405 67 139...

Roy Halladay: adopts fresh mental approach to the game: after struggling to find his place on the Blue Jays pitching staff, 25-year-old right-hander became club ace in 2002 with a 19-7 record and 2.93 ERA.
March 1, 2003... IT WAS A DIZZYING DESCENT RATHER than a small step back, an assignment to the minor leagues that initially mystified Roy Halladay. He knew there was no chance of opening the 2001 season in the Toronto Blue Jays rotation, considering how...

Biggest batting gainers and losers for 2002: Lenny Harris and Alex Cora registered the highest improvements in hitting average while Joe McEwing suffered the steepest drop.
March 1, 2003... THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS FELL on hardship during the 2002 campaign by losing 106 games to tie Tampa Bay and Detroit for most defeats in the major leagues. But utility player Lenny Harris maintained his focus for the struggling Brewers. He set a...

Baseball. (Quick Quiz).
March 1, 2003... Collect ten points for each question answered correctly. Answers on page 90. (If you score 80 or better, you are baseball expert; 70 or better, superior; between 60 and 70, good, and between 40 and 60, average. 1. Roger Clemens needs...

Young Phillies star Pat Burrell poised to become a leader former No. 1 draft pick continues to grasp the learning process of being a major leaguer and is prepared to excel in Philadelphia.(Biography)
March 1, 2003... PAT BURRELL LOOKS TO THE horizon and sees a new ballpark rising in South Philadelphia, a slew of good arms firing fastballs in the Phillies organization, and the additions of third baseman David Bell, pitcher Kevin Millwood and slugger Jim...

20 infamous moments in major league history.
March 1, 2003... NOW THAT MASTER CARD AND Major League basebal have foisted the game's memorable moments on us during the last World Series, a bunch of baseball writers who disagreed with several of the choices, were sitting around discussing other baseball...

Baseball profile: Torii Hunter--Minnesota Twins.(Interview)
March 1, 2003... FULL NAME: Torii Kedar Hunter AGE, HT., Wr: 27, 6-2, 210 Born: July 28, 1975 in Pine Bluff Arkansas HOME: The Colony, Texas STATUS/FAMILY: Married with three children Nickname: T-Nuts LIFE OUTSIDE BASEBALL: I'm a...

Catcher A.J. Pierzynski puts spark in twins' game; during Minnesota's successful 2002 season, hard-nosed backstop defined the character of one of the game's most exciting teams. (Lightning Rod For Conflict).
March 1, 2003... FORMER A'S CLOSER BILLY KOCH, one of the latest American League players to take a verbal swing at human pinata A.J. Pierzynski, called the Twins catcher a "jackass" last October, a day after Pierzynski hit an important two-run homer off Koch to...

Turn back the clock: Willie Mays played a vital role on '73 mets; despite his age, future Hall of Famer helped young New York club capture the 1973 National League pennant.
March 1, 2003... WILLIE MAYS MADE THE signature defensive play of his Hall of Fame career, 25 years before being inducted at Cooperstown. His over-the-shoulder grab of Vic Wertz's long drive in the 1954 Fall Classic, known simply as "The Catch," laid the...

Baseball notes ...
March 1, 2003... Last June 27, Ichiro Suzuki was struck out by Barry Zito to lead off a Mariners-A's game. That made ten straight hitless at bats for Suzuki, but the event nevertheless put him in rarified company. It was the 1,000th at bat of Ichiro's major...

Jimmy Wynn: former Dodger has many memories of his 15 years in the majors, including his grand slam in 1974 to help L.A. win N.L. West Division. (The Game I'll Never Forget).
March 1, 2003... IT'S HARD TO PICK ONE OR TWO games out of a 15-year career. There were a lot of memorable moments and hits, not to mention meeting a lot of great people. I grew up in Cincinnati, and the Reds signed me out of high school. The Houston Colt...

200-k seasons.
March 1, 2003... 200-K Seasons SINCE 1900, A MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER HAS REACHED 200 OR MORE STRIKEOUTS IN A SEASON 366 TIMES, A feat accomplished by 139 different pitchers. Listed below are all the pitchers in major league history who have fanned more...

Baseball rules corner: last season featured many interesting rule situations.
March 1, 2003... THE FOLLOWING RULES situations from the 2002 season captured my attention. APRIL 24: Jay Payton of the Mets, like many of his peers, proved he is rulebook challenged. In a contest against the Cardinals, Payton was on first base in the...