Clik here to view.
DH; or, Designated Hebrew
The first DH in baseball history unveils “his-story.” It’s been forty years (and two weeks) in the wilderness. Ron Blomberg became the first DH on April 6, 1973. From Atlanta and still living there,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oldtimers’ Day 2013
Heinie Manush: A real old-time OldtimerFollowing the whole media-and-financial brouhaha between Brian Cashman and Alex Rodriguez, it has taken me (Evander) a few extra days to digest all the doings of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Smoky Joe Wood, Mort Cooper, Dick Wakefield, and Other Random Notes on...
Typical 1960s-stadium scorecard chronicles all the actionAs 2013 comes to a finish and activity at ROTB HQ reaches a feverish pitch (pun intended), I (Evander) would like “to close” (not Mariano-style)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Never Ask Why You’ve Been Fired Because if You Do, They’re Liable to Tell You
Jerry Coleman doing what he loved bestBroadcasting legend and American-war hero Jerry Coleman has died after a fall. He was eighty-nine. I (Evander) had the good fortune to meet Coleman two years ago....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who Is Dan Le Batard? A-Rod We Know
Miami’s Dan Le Batard makes a mockery of the voting process. Or does he?I (Evander) will answer my subject-line question directly. Dan Le Batard has been stripped of his National Baseball Hall of Fame...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hello, Beatles; Good-bye, Ralph Kiner
Ralph Kiner: Doing what made him a Hall of Famer.I (Evander) am endlessly fascinated by temporal coincidence: I believe it’s called synchronicity. Permit me to play kowtow to my whimsy. As we celebrate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reflecting on Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter at the height of his powers (Photo by Barton Silverman/New York Times)With Derek Jeter’s pre-Valentine’s Day bombshell, that he will not be returning to Major League Baseball after 2014,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Good-bye, Mr. Sunshine
Mr. Cub honored in 2009 by Mr. PresidentErnie Banks is gone. He was the first African American to play for the Chicago Cubs, and has forever since been “Mr. Cub.” A Hall of Fame inductee (1977), Banks...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Greatest Hitter Ever May Not Be Who(m) You Think
It’s a science…much of the time. Photo courtesy of Paul Ponomarev I (Evander) was in some Hotstove/Grapefruit/Cactus Leagues discussions with friends. One, a mathematician, said he had seen an ESPN...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Americanizing” the Original Americans thro Baseball
The author will be speaking at Bergino’s Baseball Clubhouse in NYC.This book tells a harsh story of late-19th-century race and baseball in the U.S. Set at a federally funded boarding school, where...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Baby, You’re a Rich Man…and I Guess a Free One Now
The posthumous sequel by Bernard Malamud?Bulletin: The Department of Justice will not appeal a court ruling that clears Barry Bonds of obstruction of justice in a probe over steroids. Such ends...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dazzy Vance and W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields trashes the real-life Palm Beach estate of Edward Stotesbury in It’s the Old Army Game. Dazzy Vance was not far away. In 1926, W. C. Fields filmed It’s the Old Army Game. The silent movie...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ed Reulbach: Pioneering Jewish Baseball Star?*
Baseball card of one of the century-ago stars (1905-17)In the history of MLB, only one pitcher has thrown shutouts in both ends of a doubleheader. (For cricket fans and the many baseball fans too young...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Getting All Political, but Not What You May Think
Mapmaker bites dog: the Tampa Bay Rays play the Cuban National Team For several dozen reasons, President Obama’s historic visit to Cuba on the first day of spring 2016 is historic. We at Right off the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Come Together this Bloomsday
Representatives Cedric Richmond, the Louisiana Democrat (right—go figure), and Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican, play during the Republicans’ 8-7 victory in 2016. The 2017 Congressional Baseball...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Streaking
Popular performance art 45 years ago, this type of streaker perdures. Like the proverbial first-small-step of the longest journey, record-MLB streaks begin innocently enough. Each captures the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Baseball and Pythagoras; or, Finger Painting the Word Picture by Numbers
Journeyman as Most Valuable Player. The unexpected: What did you expect? (And you can bet on it!) The Right off the Bat (ROTB) project was angled for the hallowed halls of Cooperstown this week. Since...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Good-bye, Mel
A class act One of my (Evander) heroes, Mel Stottlemyre, is gone. With a 2.97 ERA and possessor of one of the great sinker balls, Mel was headed for the Baseball Hall of Fame if not for shoulder...
View Article
