Baseball Digest articles from October 2004

Baseball Digest archives from October 2004

The fans speak out.(Letters To The Editor)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... While reading old box scores in Baseball Digest, I noticed that on many occasions there were only three umpires listed. I'm wondering when the fourth umpire was added for major league games and, also, how the three umpires were positioned...

Most dramatic Game 7: World Series finishes.(Warm Up Tosses)
October 1, 2004... BEFORE HIS DEATH SOME YEARS AGO, FRED LINDSTROM WAS SITTING behind his desk at the Evanston (Illinois) post office where an inquisitive baseball writer stopped by for a visit. As postmaster, Lindstrom supervised the imposing mail center...

Jim Thome: blue-collar slugger charming the Philly faithful: Philadelphia first baseman has become a fan favorite with his steady production and friendly demeanor.
October 1, 2004... AMONG THE WAYS TO MEASURE AN athlete's popularity in Philadelphia, most telling might be the number of people wearing his number on their backs. Based on that premise, Phillies first baseman Jim Thome has claimed a place alongside such...

7th inning stretch: World Series winning-shares (1903-2003).
October 1, 2004... Beginning in 1969 winner and loser shares include League Championship Series. Loser's shares in 1903, 1905 and 1907 and winners' shares n 1906 and 1907 include club owners' slices, which were added to their teams' players' pool. Under a...

Sloppiest: World Series confrontations: some of the worst played Fall Classic matchups evolved around poor fielding, hitting and pitching.
October 1, 2004... NO QUESTION, THE WORLD Series is baseball's showcase, the Fall Classic as effusive sportswriters termed it in its pristine youth after it began 101 years ago, and it often has lived up to that exalted designation. Nonetheless, occasionally...

Baseball quick quiz.
October 1, 2004... (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 are three players who have hit three home runs in a League Championship Series game. For ten...

New York Yankees: the most storied team in baseball history: with 26 World Series titles, 39 pennants and a list of Hall of Fame personalities, the Bronx pinstripers continue their long-standing tradition of success.
October 1, 2004... BILL WERBER LIVES IN A RETIREMENT HOME IN Charlotte, North Carolina, likes to send right-wing letters to left-wing publications and still chuckles about how he used to get the better of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the early days of his career....

Scott Podsednik: Milwaukee's aggressive leadoff man speedy outfielder has helped spark Brewers' offense and adds excitement with his hustle and hard play.
October 1, 2004... SCOTT PODSEDNIK'S CALLING card is his speed. Watch him hit a pitch into the gap and fly around the bases, or track down a ball in center field just short of the wall, and you can see why in just two seasons he has made a name for himself among...

A's Ace Mark Mulder ranks among game's elite pitchers: Oakland left-hander has been the majors' winningest hurler since the start of the 2001 season and through July 2004.
October 1, 2004... BY NEARLY ANY STANDARD, Mark Mulder is among the brightest of the starting pitchers in the major leagues. But the A's left hander didn't swagger into last July's All-Star game start for the American League thinking he ranks among baseball's...

Bill Madlock: the game I'll never forget as told to Al Doyle: former pirates third baseman recalls Game 5 of the 1979 World Series when he collected four hits in Pittsburgh's comeback victory.
October 1, 2004... NOTHING IN MY CAREER COMPARES TO 1979, WHEN THE PIRATES WON the World Series. I started the season with the Giants, and I'll never forget June 28, which was the day the Pirates picked me up in a trade. It was great to go from a last-place...

Where are they now? Former reliever Ryne Duren: one-time Yankee pitcher recalls his playing career and the fear he put in opposing batters with his fastball and poor eyesight.
October 1, 2004... SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT HE HAD a hard time seeing home plate. wether it was real or imagined, Ryne Duren's allegedly poor eyesight added to the mystique that made him one of the most feared pitchers in baseball history. With a fastball...

Baseball profile.(Interview)
October 1, 2004... FULL NAME: Anthony John Pierzynski AGE, HT., WT.: 27, 6-3, 235 HOME: Orlando, Florida STATUS/FAMILY: Married NICKNAME: A.J. LIFE OUTSIDE OF BASEBALL: I like to fish a lot. I also like to golf and play video games. ...

Potential Hall of Fame pitchers overshadowed by game's offensive emphasis: numbers put up by hurlers such as Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux get tossed aside for home run hitters.(Interview)
October 1, 2004... METS PITCHER TOM GLAVINE once made a commercial in the which the punch line was "chicks dig the longball." Turns out, they aren't the only ones. The home run was getting unprecedented attention from the nationally televised Home Run...

Players who left the game on their own terms: former infielder Richie Hebner: one-time third baseman has fond memories of his career, but wishes he had the chance to play in an All-Star game.(Curtain Calls)
October 1, 2004... WHEN RICHIE HEBNER IS not at the ballpark, you might find him with one foot in the grave. No, the former Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman is not dying, but he does spend an inordinate amount of time in cemeteries. "I dug 30 graves last...

Baseball rules corner: when runner is hit by batted ball, Rule 7.09 (m) comes into play.
October 1, 2004... WHENEVER A BATTED BALL strikes a runner, the general perception is that the ball is "dead" immediately and the runner is ruled out. But such is not always true. Let's dissect rule 7.09 (m) and apply it to some different situations. The...

World Series results.
October 1, 2004... The Fall Classic has been a best-of-seven series except for 1903, 1919, 1920 and 1921 when the World Series was a best-of-nine game showdown between the National and American League pennant winners. Listed on these pages are World Series...