Baseball Digest articles from March 2006

Baseball Digest archives from March 2006

The fans speak out.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2006... I have always wondered who was the all-time home run king before Babe Ruth and the year that Ruth took over the lead. How many home runs did the Babe have at that point? Jim Alexander Brandon, Fla. On July 6, 1921, Ruth hit...

Warm up tosses: should Majors take steps to improve the lot of starting pitchers?
March 1, 2006... MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CONTINUES TO SHOOT ITSELF IN THE FOOT WHEN it comes to protecting one of its most valuable resources; namely, starting pitchers. Critics contend that every move it has made since the lengthening of the regular season...

American league preview: White Sox are poised to repeat as Yankees, Red Sox, Indians and Athletics will heat up the 2006 pennant race.
March 1, 2006... OWNER JERRY REINSDORF WAITED 25 YEARS to win a World Series. He thought he was so smart that he could make it happen long before it did. Baseball has a way of humbling such conceit. Reinsdorf learned to accept that following many years on...

National league preview: the Braves and Mets in the East, Cardinals and Astros in the Central and Diamondbacks and Padres in the West will be in the thick of the pennant race in '06.
March 1, 2006... IF THE HOUSTON ASTROS PROVED one thing last year on their way to reaching the World Series, it's that a worn-out baseball adage just happens to ring true. It really isn't about how you start, but how you finish. The Astros were sitting...

Baseball quick quiz.
March 1, 2006... Collect ten points for each question answered correctly. Answers on page 130 (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. Since 1931 when the...

Promising prospects: players ready to make an impact in the majors include Delmon Young of the Devil Rays and Andy Marte of the Indians.(2006 ROOKIES)
March 1, 2006... IT'S ANYBODY'S GUESS--INFORMED or otherwise--about which of several score promising prospects will emerge as the top big league rookies of 2006, but there's little doubt as to who among the horde is the most impatient--perhaps even impertinent...

Mark Teixeira: a driven star in Texas: rangers' switch-hitting first baseman looks to improve in 2006 after he won a Gold Glove and clubbed 43 homers with 144 RBI in '05.
March 1, 2006... WHEN MARK TEIXEIRA WENT TO HIS FIRST SPRING TRAINING WITH THE Texas Rangers in 2002, he found himself in the company of two potential Hall of Famers, Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro. When he arrived for spring training workouts this...

A wonderful group of vintage collectibles of great teams, great players, great records.
March 1, 2006... (1) 1984 Detroit Tigers World Champion 30" Pennant--Huge 6" Tigers logo. Players' names in 10" scroll. Very Fine condition. It is now some two decades old and has a $55 value in The Standard Catalog of Sports Memorabilia. Baseball Digest...

Baseball profile: David Ortiz--Boston Red Sox.
March 1, 2006... FULL NAME: David Americo Ortiz AGE, HT., WT.: 30, 6-4, 230 BATS: Left THROWS: Left BORN: November 18, 1975 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic HOME: Haina, Dominican Republic STATUS/FAMILY: Married with three children ...

Cooperstown welcomes relief specialist Bruce Sutter.(2006 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES)
March 1, 2006... BRUCE SUTTER MADE HISTORY last January. Not only did he become the latest member of baseball's most exclusive club by the slimmest of margins, the right-handed split-fingered fastball artist became the first pure reliever ever elected into the...

Necrology: deaths of former major league players, managers, executives, scouts, umpires and writers.
March 1, 2006... From January 20, 2005 through January 30, 2006 * Cesar Gutierrez, 61, a shortstop who set a major league record for consecutive hits in an extra-inning game with seven while playing for the Detroit Tigers in 1970, on January 22, in...

Unusual cache of vintage baseball collectibles scarce old cards, uncut sheets, prints, and signs.(Advertisement)
March 1, 2006... 1980s All-Time Greats Baseball Greats. 50-card set full of Hall of Famers. Included are Aaron, Banks, Berra, Campanella, Clemente, Cobb, DiMaggio, Feller, Ford, Foxx, Gehrig, Greenberg, Hornsby, Mantle, Mathewson, Mays, Musial, Ott, Brooks...

Transactions: major league player deals, free-agent signings.
March 1, 2006... AMERICAN LEAGUE * BALTIMORE ORIOLES Traded pitcher Steve Kline to the Giants for pitcher LaTroy Hawkins and cash considerations. Signed free-agent catcher Ramon Hernandez of the Padres to a four-year contract. Signed...

Baseball rules corner: unusual game-situations occurred during the 2005 season.
March 1, 2006... LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF the interesting situations that occurred during the 2005 season. April 6: In the Yankees-Red Sox game, the Sox were batting in the top of the seventh with one out, Johnny Damon on first and a 3-1 count on Trot...

2006 pre-season rosters: American League.(Table)
March 1, 2006... 2006 Pre-Season Rosters American League Baltimore ORIOLES MANAGER: (2) Sam Perlozzo COACHES: (3) Lee Elia, Bench; (30) Dave Cash, First Base; (26) Tom Trebelhorn, Third Base: (54) Leo Mazzone, Pitching; (48) Terry Crowley,...

2006 pre-season rosters: National League.(Table)
March 1, 2006... Arizona DIAMONDBACKS MANAGER: (3) Bob Melvin COACHES: (33) Jay Bell, Bench; (8) Lee Tinsley, First Base; (14) Carlos Tosca, Third Base; (35) Bryan Price, Pitching; (8) Mike Aldrete, Hitting; (53) Glenn Sherlock, Bullpen NO....