Free Republic

On Wednesday night, in the midst of a presidential debate, the baseball season came to a close. Although the season didn’t close with as many fireworks as last season, it did have something just as special; something that hasn’t happened in 45 years. Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers won baseball’s Triple Crown. For those who don’t know, the Triple Crown is only achieved when a batter leads the league in home runs, runs batted in (RBIs), and batting average. The fact that it hasn’t been done since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967 speaks to how extraordinarily difficult it...

Readers of this blog born after 1992 might not have any idea who I am talking about, but in the late eighties he was one half of a very formidable duo along with Barry Bonds. He helped the Pirates to get to the National League Championship in 1991, ultimately losing to the Cinderella Braves team. In 1992, he signed with the Mets as a free agent for, at the time, a record amount. He signed a five year contract for $29 million. That’s when things started to go south for Bonilla.

Far and wide, Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer. For a summer sport like baseball, that signifies that it is coming to an end. Even though there is a month left, and we’ve played a lot of baseball, it seems like it just started. Still, with a month left, there is a lot to be decided.

Kind of. Disgraced former Major League pitcher Roger Clemens is in talks with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Major League Baseball first reported the story, but they were quick to point out that the league is not in any way affiliated with MLB. It is unclear whether or not Clemens will try to use this to resurrect his career (he says it isn’t), but you never know with pro athletes.

On August 13, 1995 baseball lost one of its biggest icons – Mickey Mantle. Mickey Mantle played hard, and he lived hard. He was able to change his lifestyle at the end, but it eventually caught up with him. In the end we lost him to cancer. I say “we” because Mickey was a larger than life icon and his life touched millions of people and inspired hundreds of baseball players.

The National Sports Collector’s Show, by far, the biggest show of the year, landed in Baltimore again this year. It started on Thursday, and it goes through today. If you haven’t been before, it is truly a site to behold whether you are a collector, or just a fan of the game. There are some amazing baseball cards, as well as some amazing artifacts from the greatest game of all time.

In a scene that seemed like it came right out of Hollywood script, pitcher Ben Sheets left the Little League field where he was coaching and made his debut for the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. He had been out of baseball for two years following a career that had flashes of brilliance, but ultimately, was overshadowed by injuries. It was a shame that such a bright star was extinguished so quickly, but like in the movies, sometimes, there are fairy tale endings.

In honor of last night’s Home Run Derby, watch two of the all-time greats go at it in an old school Home Run Derby. For those who don’t know about this style Home Run Derby, the rules are simple. Every pitch that was swung at was either a home run, or an out (exactly the same of modern Home Run Derby rules). Any pitch that was in the strike zone that was not swung at was also an out. Once you made three outs, it was the opponent’s turn. When both players took a turn it was considered an “inning.”...

There’s an old adage: “If you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying.” Ever since organized baseball came into being people have been trying to cheat. Whether they were sharpening their cleats, scuffing a ball, or corking a bat, they were all trying to gain an unfair advantage over their opponents. Most of the people who have tried, have been caught and it has severely damaged their reputation and some never recovered.

Earlier this week was the 25th anniversary of President Reagan’s monumental “Tear Down This Wall” speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate. It was the beginning of the end of the Cold War, a war that was won without a shot being fired. Join us on Friday June 15 from 12-1 when we will be joined by Heritage’s Marion Smith. He will be taking your questions about the speech, its impact on freedom around the world, and its impact on current foreign policy.

Adam Dunn is no stranger to performing well. He was one of the few bright spots for a struggling Cincinnati team early in his career, and a solid foundation for a budding franchise with the Nationals. However, he didn’t do as well in his first year on the White Sox. In fact, he did horribly. One of the worst offensive seasons for an everyday player in quite some time, if not ever. The fact, that he has been able to do as well as he is doing this year is nothing short of remarkable.

This is a cool article about baseball coaches that appeared in the June 19, 1954 edition of the "Saturday Evening Post"

With the Major League Draft just days away (June 4-6), I thought it would be fun to look back at some of the draft booms, busts, and never-were’s.

Shelby Fetsch was supposed to throw out the first pitch at Busch Stadium last night. She was filling in for her boyfriend, Army SPC William Johanson-Kubin, who was supposed to be stationed overseas. He played the part of the catcher disguising his face with the catcher’s mask. After she threw the pitch, she was in for the suprise of her life.

In 1934, Lefty Gomez, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and other American League and National League stars barnstormed in Japan. Gomez captured many images of the trip with his 16-mm camera. An excerpt from the forthcoming book Lefty: American Odyssey is featured in this week’s Sports Illustrated. Some of the intriguing video footage can be viewed, courtesy of Random House.

Yahoo! Sports reported last week that Major League Baseball (MLB) was considering expanding the balk rule to include the infamous fake to third-throw to first move. MLB and the playing rules committee have agreed to make this play a balk, but the Player’s Union vetoed it for further review, but this rule can come into play as early as next season.

Join us from 12-1 ET for a live online chat about the Federal Budget. Heritage's Alison Fraser will be taking your questions about the federal budget, the debt, and how we can get back on course.

An in-depth analysis of every clause of every section from the Preamble to the 27th Amendment.

Today, Bryce Harper will be in a Major League uniform for the Washington Nationals as they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. This day is a culmination of three years of hype surrounding him. After being the number one overall pick in 2010, he seemed to languish in the minor leagues. Most experts figured he would be called up late in the season to bolster the Nationals who would inevitably be out of contention and it would give him some low pressure big league at bats. That was not the case.