Congratulations Heidi Whatney!

I ment to post this a couple of days ago, but  with all the stuff going on in my life it just got delayed.


There is no secret...if you follow me on Twitter, that I'm a fan of Heidi Whatney of the MLB Network.

As a person of the male persuasion, she is everything you love as a baseball fan...a beautiful lady who knows as much about baseball as you do...probably more.


During the regular season I never miss Quick Pitch, the nightly show that comes on at 1am East Coast time...showing all the baseball highlights from every game...and, on most nights, hosted by Heidi Whatney.


I follow Heidi on Twitter...and you should as well...and the other day Heidi posted a very special message.

Congratulations to Heidi, and her husband on the upcoming addition to their family.



Play Ball!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to post a very Happy Thanksgiving! to all the great baseball fans out there.

I hope you and your family are enjoying a great Turkey Day as we watch football, hoops. and pucks waiting for the 2018 big league season.


Play Ball!

Michigan-Ohio State ... Go Blue!

Yes, this is a baseball blog, but as a Michigan Wolverines fan  it's also the greatest week in the college football season for me as my beloved Wolverines battle the arch rival Ohio State Buckeyes this Saturday at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.


My first Wolverines vs Buckeyes matchup as a fan was in 1976, as Bo Schembechler took Michigan to Ohio Stadium and whipped the Bucks, 22-0.

The signal caller on that '76 team was Rick Leach, the first great Wolverines quarterback that I remember.


Leach led Michigan to three straight Big Ten Championships, 1976-77-78, and when he left college football his 38 wins were the most in the history of Intercollegiate Football.

Like many athletes back in the day, Leach was a multi sport star, including playing centerfield for the Wolverines baseball team.


Even though Leach was drafted by the NFL's Denver Broncos, it was his first love, baseball, that Rick chose, and that led to a long career playing in the big leagues.


I've posted a couple of times about Rick Leach here on the blog...


Happy Baseball Birthday! Rick Leach (2013)


My Favorite Toronto Blue Jays Player of All-time, Rick Leach


So, as day one of Buckeyes week is here, I give another shout out to the GUTS and GLUE of Michigan Football, the great Rick Leach.



GO BLUE!

Happy Baseball Birthday...Bill Welch and Michael Miller

A very  special Happy Baseball Birthday! to two awesome Detroit Tigers fans, Bill Welch and Michael Miller. 

Bill and Michael are fellow members of a group of terrific Tigers fans on Facebook who collect and talk Tigers, baseball , baseball cards and memorabilia.




This group of Tigers fans has really been a blessing to me since I moved back home in the summer of 2016...being able to actually meet and interact with Tigers fans in my hometown and state...going to local card shows and seeing all the Tigers stuff people have collected....it's been fun for sure, and these two are a big part of why I love being back in Michigan.




Happy Baseball Birthday guys...... PLAY BALL!

Happy National Pickle Day!

I love pickles.

Today is National Pickle Day, a day to celebrate the awesome goodness of a sweet bread and butter pickle chip, or the crispy crunch of a hamburger dill.




Baseball is no stranger to the pickle! 

In honor of pickle day we celebrate by honoring the brief life of former big league catcher Pickles Dillhoefer.

William Martin Dillhoefer  made his big league debut on April 16, 1917 with the Chicago Cubs.



Pickles served in Word War I, reaching the rank of Seargent, and after returning from The Great War, played his final 3 seasons in the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals.


Pickles played in just 247 big league games, batting .223, with 48 RBI.



On February 23, 1922, at the age of 27, Pickles passed away after contracting typhoid fever from complecations during surgery.

So, give Ole Pickles Dillhoefer a shout out today when you bite into that crunchy, delicious delight!



Play Ball!

Game 7

Tonight all baseball fans will sit down in front of our televisions to watch one final game of the 2017 Big League Baseball Season... Game 7 of the World Series. 

The Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers will take the field tonight at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles to put a bow on a magnificent year of baseball.




I was hoping to post today about a Astros win in Game 6....my Series prediction...but the Dodgers case away with a 3-1 win.




This has been a weird Series for me to watch.


Early on in my baseball fandom I learned about the Dodgers...their history of playing in Brooklyn, becoming the best team in the National League upon the arrival of a man named Jackie Robinson, winning the 1955 World Series...and the heart breaking move to Los Angeles.

The Brooklyn Dodgers are my favorite team that doesn't play anymore...yes, I separate the old Brooklyn Dodgers from the current team in Los Angeles...just something I do...like separating the current Washington Nationals from the old Montreal Expos.


I love the Brooklyn Dodgers.


I cheered on the L.A. Dodgers in 1974, 77, and 78, only to see the Dodgers lose...and I rooted for them with Series Championships in 1981 and 1988.




That said, I'm also a fan of Astros RHP Justin Verlander, who pitched for my beloved Detroit Tigers for 12 years before agreeing to be traded to the Astros on August 31st.


His success in Houston is surreal, because we wanted one more run for our Tigers with JV as our ACE.


I wanted Verlander to win his first championship last night...he gave up just 2 runs, losing for the first time in a Houston uniform, as the Dodgers beat the Astros in another great game played by these two teams.




Tonight, Game 7... if Houston wins I'll be happy for Verlander...and former Tigers outfielder Cameron Maybin, who was traded to the Astros by the Angels over the summer.



If the Dodgers win, well, I'll be happy also, because of a man named Rich Hill... a terrific former Michigan Wolverine pitcher who's made a magnificent comeback the past few years, and for another former Tigers player, Curtis Granderson.

At one time all three players...Verlander, Granderson, and Maybin, were in the Tigers organization...both Verlander and Granderson were on the 2006 American League Pennant winning team in Detroit.


As a baseball fan Game 7 is a way to say thanks one last time to all the ballplayers that made 2017 a year to remember.



Good Luck know to the fans of both teams...good luck!



Play Ball!

Collecting Matt Boyd 2017 Topps Update

Topps 2017 Update Base released the other day, and there's one card, well cards, that I'll try to acquire... every variation of Card #82 of Detroit Tigers LHP Matt Boyd.

Matt has become my favorite Tigers pitcher now, as Justin Verlander has gone onto Houston,  and  starting with tomorrow's card show here in Kalamazoo, I'm going to try and acquire every version of Matt's  #82 Topps Update card...and as many Boyd cards as possible.

According to Beckett that means 10 cards...

Regular Base

Rainbow Foil ( 1 in 10 packs)

Negative

Black (#/66)

Father's Day (#/ 50)

Mother's Day (#/50)

Memorial Day (#25)

Printing Plates (1/1)

Platinum (1/1)


The last 2 issues will be a most daunting task... the 1/1 cards will obviously be very hard to find...but I'm going to give it my best shot.



I have limited income, so I may have trade for the card..and that will be awesome as well...the BLACK variation is already on ebay.com for $9.99... and I hope that when I can get it it's around that price.



Matt is kind of special to me, as my middle name is Boyd.



So, if you buy, or have bought, the Topps Update cards, and come across a Matt Boyd variation, I hope you'll think of me I  any impending trades or sales...thanks in advance.



Play Ball!

Happy Baseball Birthday... Andrew McCutchen

A quick Happy Baseball Birthday! post to Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder  Andrew McCutcheon, who turns 31 years young today.



I wanted to give a shout out on McCutcheon's Birthday to honor one of my favorite  blogs, Collecting Cutch, who's posting every day to raise awareness for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.



1 in 8 women will get Breast Cancer, and you can get all the information you need RIGHT HERE.



Every day over at Collecting CUTCH you'll find a post with Breast Cancer info, a beautiful celebrity picture to help all us guys remember why we want a cure found, and a PINK ANDREW MCCUTCHEON Baseball card.




My Celebrity to post is the beautiful Sofia Vergara from Modern Family...one of my favorite celebrities for sure.

..I posted Sofia because she's married to actor Joe Manganiello, who'said a huge fan of Pittsburgh sports...the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins. 

I don't own a Pink Cutch card, so I found this one on good Ole Google.

McCutcheon is one of my favorite baseball players, a 5-tool player who can absolutely take over a game single handedly.



Head on over to the Cutch Blog....you won't be disappointed.




Play Ball!

Making Baseball History...Almost.

There's not much chance that fans of Michigan Baseball will get to see a no-hitter pitched by a former Wolverines hurler...but that almost happened tonight in Pittsburgh.





Rich Hill, who pitched at Michigan through his Junior year in 2002, lost a no-hitter when he gave up a walk off home run against the Pirates in the bottom of the 10th inning Wednesday night...and lost, 1-0.

The fact that the Dodgers, the team with Baseball's Best Record, would get shout out when a Michigan alum is pitching a gem like that, well, it doesn't go unnoticed by fans of the Maize and Blue.




The last Wolverines pitcher to toss a no-hitter in the big leagues was the legendary Jim Abbott.... who put it perfectly in this tweet tonight...


Giamatti said "it's designed to break your heart" Baseball...  What a game Rich Hill #GoBlue

Play Ball...and Go Blue!

This Week's Sports Illustrated Cover, August 28, 2017

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the best baseball team for quite some time now, and now they're This Week's Sports Illustrated  cover...

...the Dodgers have now played 22 consecutive series without losing to an opponent.


The Dodgers are playing in rare baseball air, with a record of 89-35, 13 games better than the 76 win Houston Astros, who have the best record in the American League.



Wether or not they're the best team ever, well, that's yet to be proven....look, fir instance, at the 1906 Chicago Cubs, who hold the All-Time winning record of 116 games won, only to lose to the crosstown Hitless Wonders White Sox in the World Series in 6 games.





When baseball makes the cover of Sports Illustrated  I try to always post about it the day its released, but I didn't find out about this cover until today...I blame myself.... SI fooled me by releasing their other cover, of Roger Federer, first, so, I went on my way...ugh!

With the start of football season it might take some more time...possibly the playoffs, before SI does another baseball cover...but, you never know.




Play Ball!