Baseball Digest articles from November 2003

Baseball Digest archives from November 2003

Letters to the editor. (The Fans Speak Out.(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... Many baseball fans are familiar with the one-season Triple Crown winners who led their league in home runs, RBI and batting average. However, I wonder how many are familiar with players who at one time in their careers led their league in...

Young starters assure Cubs of being well-armed for future.(Warm Up Tosses)(Chicago Cubs pitchers)
November 1, 2003... IT WAS SHORTLY BEFORE MID-AUGUST AND BASEBALL WAS THE SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION in the local barbershop among patrons and the proprietor. The Cubs were hanging around first place in the National League Central Division, and one unshorn patron...

Catchers are baseball's least appreciated players: despite their extensive duties on the field, the men behind the mask deserve more respect.
November 1, 2003... THE CATCHER IS, HANDS DOWN, the most underappreciated man in sports. People talk about the offensive lineman in football, but he's really a one-trick pony. Goalies in soccer and hockey do dirty work, but they also are lauded after a...

Baseball's top comeback candidates for 2003: Kevin Brown, Bill Mueller, Javier Lopez and Keith Foulke are some top choices among players reviving their careers.
November 1, 2003... IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT NOT every comeback attempt turns into an uplifting, heart-warming story, that as often as not a player seeking to revive a formerly notable career fails to recover the shining path to renewed and rewarding success....

Kevin Brown returns to form for Dodgers; LA right-hander overcame elbow and back injuries to regain his rating as one of the premier starters in the National League.
November 1, 2003... SOMEONE MAKING $15 MILLION A year isn't going to elicit a lot of sympathy when things go wrong. And Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kevin Brown asks for none. A guy with a stoic public persona and a habit of keeping his distance also isn't likely...

From obscurity to fame Esteban Loaiza finds a home with White Sox: right-hander began season as club's fifth starter but quickly turned out to be a diamond-in-the-rough.(Chicago White Sox pitcher)
November 1, 2003... THROUGH LATE AUGUST, WHITE Sox pitcher Esteban Loaiza was the front runner for the American League Cy Young Award--an honor the Yankees' Roger Clemens has captured six times. But now there is reason to think Loaiza could plant his flag on...

Baseball quick quiz.
November 1, 2003... 1. In 1932, Dale Alexander became the first of 11 players to win an American League batting title as a member of the Boston Red Sex when he batted .367. Collect one point for each of the other ten players you can identify who led the A.L. in...

For the love of a pennant race: players and fans alike enjoy the special feeling of being caught up in the chase for a championship.
November 1, 2003... MARINERS PLAYERS WOULD come to the ballpark at noon and reluctantly leave past midnight. The previously morgue-like Kingdome was rocking like it never had before, the never-used Mariners bandwagon suddenly overflowing with delirious new...

Hard knocks put Marcus Giles on successful career path: Braves' second baseman has worked hard to become a starter, an All-Star, and one of the top players at his position.(Atlanta Braves)
November 1, 2003... THE PHONE MESSAGE LIGHT WAS flashing well before Marcus Giles returned to his home on a Sunday evening. If the message itself was new, the content was not. "Marcus, stay back, keep your hands behind the pitch." It was his father...

Once in a lifetime: former players recall their only at-bat in All-Star game competition (Part 1 of 2 Articles).
November 1, 2003... SINCE 1933, THERE HAVE BEEN 251 players who stepped into the batter's box only once in an All-Star game during their major league careers. In that 71-year span, the mid-summer classic has been center stage for some of the game's greatest...

Tom Lasorda the game I'll never forget: former Dodger manager recalls World Series matches against Yankees but most memorable feat was Kirk Gibson's winning homer against A's.
November 1, 2003... I COACHED FOR WALTER ALSTON before becoming manager of the Dodgers. We were two poles apart. He was a quiet man, and I did all the hollering and screaming. We won the pennant in 1977, which was my first year as manager. Seventeen of the 25...

Baseball profile.
November 1, 2003... Bobby Abreu--Philadelphia Phillies FULL NAME: Bob Kelly Abreu AGE, HT., WT.: 29, 6-0, 195 Born: March 11, 1974 in Aragua, Venezuela HOME: Aragua, Venezuela STATUS/FAMILY: Single NICKNAME: Bobby LIFE OUTSIDE...

Power plus speed Bobby Bonds: March 15, 1946--August 23, 2003: former slugger was premier leadoff hitter during his era and became first player to have a 30-homer/30-steal season in both leagues.(Biography)
November 1, 2003... BOBBY BONDS, WHO OFTEN played like a Hall of Famer during a well-traveled baseball career and formed the greatest father-son duo in major league history with Barry, lost his battle with cancer last August 23. Bonds, 57, died following a...

Baseball rules corner: umpires have to be especially careful when calling foul balls.
November 1, 2003... DOES BASEBALL HAVE A NO HARM, no foul policy? Take what happened during a game at Oakland where the A's hosted the Mariners last July 3. The A's were batting in the fourth inning with two on and two out when Eric Byrnes grounded out...

Club history Philadelphia Phillies.(Illustration)
November 1, 2003... The Phillies have been a part of major league baseball and the National League since 1876. All Statistical records are from 1900 through September 1, 2003 Club Nicknames * Athletics (1876-1882) * Quakers (1883-1889) *...

7th inning stretch: "The Treatment".(intentional walks given by pitchers when the bases are loaded)
November 1, 2003... AS A TEENAGER IN 1944, EVERETT "ACE" Parker--now a retired New York City cop living in Napa, California--was at the Polo Grounds when Bill Nicholson was intentionally walked with the bases loaded. In later years, Parker often wondered how rare...