51 Retires 9 years later

After 9 years of his final walk off the field, New York Yankee, Bernie Williams has retired. The great Yankee’s number 51, will be retired through out the team this summer and it was fitting he finally signed the papers.

Williams spent 15 years in the Bronx, with the Yankees. (1991-2006) The great Yankee left the teams with 2,336 hits and 287 homeruns.

Not offered a major league contract by the Yankees after the 2006 season, turned down New York’s offer to go to spring training with a minor league contract. Williams has joked with former teammates for years that he was still not retired.

Since leaving the MLB, Williams has started a blossoming music career. Being nominated for a Latin Grammy award. Performing and tour consumes most of the newly retired Yankees free time yet he still makes time for baseball.

Williams often performs the national anthem at ballparks as he travels the country. The 46 year old plans to keep his music career going and growing as an artist.

Though baseball is long over for the Yankee, he will be remembered on June 20^th during old timers day, as he becomes a part of Monument Park in Yankee Stadium.

 

 

Williams Performing at the Syracuse Chiefs on Father’s Day 2014

The Mets are the Best Team in Baseball… What?

For a brief moment in time as of Thursday, April 23, 2015, the New York Mets have the best record in Major League Baseball.

Yes, I’m 100% serious.

The Mets have won 11 straight after a 6-3 victory against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday and are now the proud owners of a 13-3 record. They finished 10-0 on their first homestand of the season after sweeping three of their National League East rivals. The Mets have never won all 10 games on a homestand before, and they’re the seventh team in major league history to do so and the first since the 1991 Minnesota Twins.

Sportscenter has taken to tweeting daily about the Mets, a team typically forgotten about by mainstream media.

Best 15-game starts in Mets history:

2015: 12-3
1986: 12-3-Won World Series
2006: 11-4-Lost in NLCS
1972: 11-4-Missed playoffs

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 23, 2015

ELEVEN! Daniel Murphy goes 2-3 with 4 RBI as Mets beat Braves, 6-3. New York extends winning streak to 11 games. pic.twitter.com/QnCiqkTAns

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 23, 2015

Strange But True: In 1986, Mets started 2-3 and won next 11 games, this year's team did the same.

The 1986 Mets won the World Series….

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 23, 2015

The baseball season is still young – we’re not even 20 games in yet – but analysts are getting out their record books and comparing the 2015 Mets to previous teams, trying to give those poor Mets fans a little glimmer of hope.

That’s what baseball is all about, though. Predictions and numbers and the idea of your team going all the way after suffering for so many years.

Up next for the Mets is a quick subway line number 7 ride from the city into the Bronx to play the New York Yankees for the annual Subway Series. The Mets hope to continue their winning  streak while the Yanks, who are only 1/2 game behind the Boston Red Sox, will look to break the streak and move up in the American League East.

 

WNE Baseball finishes second in CCC

The cold winter delayed the Golden Bears’ season, but now their own merit has extended the 2015 campaign. With a doubleheader sweep over Wentworth College on Sunday afternoon, the Golden Bears will cruise into the playoffs, having finished Commonwealth Coast Conference play at 11-5—good enough to secure second place.

The Golden Bears won the first contest 4-3 and the second 6-4.

Quinnipiac takes series from Fairfield, remains tied for 1st in MAAC

The Quinnipiac University baseball team went on to win two of the three games in their weekend series over Fairfield, which helped them remain tied for first in the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference.

On Sunday, the Bobcats came out on top in the pitching duel by a score of 2-1.

Quinnipiac starting pitcher, junior Justin Thomas, went on to throw 5 2/3 innings while giving up six hits and a single, unearned run in the first inning.

Thomas said, “We’ve been doing a good job as a team in terms of executing in key situations, especially in our conference series. Being able to have won this series is huge for us since it keeps us tied for first.”

After Thomas was replaced in the sixth, teammate Robbie Hitt came on in relief shutting down Fairfield in 2 1/3 innings and earning the win. Gregory Egan was awarded the save after coming in the ninth, striking out both batters he faced.

Despite not earning the victory for the Bobcats, Thomas was confident he helped the team during the early innings while his relief was able to help the team get the win down the stretch.

Thomas continued, “I feel like I’ve down a good job in keeping our team in the game, while gaining a lot of help from the defensive plays behind me and the other pitchers. Our relief pitching has been great these past few weeks. They’ve all shown that we can give them the ball and be confident in key situations.”

The Bobcats had a hard time finding their first hit, which finally came in the fourth inning on a single from Matthew Batten. After stealing second and getting to third on an overthrow, Batten scored the Bobcats first run of the day on an RBI single from Matthew Oestreicher.

The Bobcats took the lead in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly from Ben Gibson, which scored teammate Vincent Guglietti. Fairfield was able to make it interesting in the ninth getting two people in scoring position, however, Egan shut them down and preserved the victory for the Bobcats.

With the win, the Bobcats are the first team to reach ten wins in their conference at 10-5 and 17-18 overall.

Among the Fenway Faithful on Opening Day

“When else do you get this?” Donna asked me, during the 7th inning stretch, after we and the whole stadium just finished singing “God Bless America.” It’s a community, the crowd at Fenway Park.

Of course, even the casual Boston Red Sox fan knows about all the little flourishes of Fenway mystique. We sat in the right field grandstand, behind the Pesky Pole, looking out toward the Green Monster, and in another inning, we’d be singing “Sweet Caroline.”

The ritual is not too complicated. It doesn’t take long to figure out when the congregation rises, when the congregation sits, and when you keep singing an extra bar of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” after the music stops every time Shane Victorino comes up to bat.

But even though you know it’s coming — or maybe even because of it — you feel something. I did.

This was my first time at Fenway. Donna (she’s the diaper lady — I’ll explain later) had offered me a ticket to the home opener, no less: not too shabby. And after that last out on a beautiful April evening, with the golden light now breaking in under the roof that had sheltered us, and the scoreboard showing a 9-4 win over the Washington Nationals, there came a shout among the faithful and a flurry of high fives. I had worn my Red Sox t-shirt and felt this sense of belonging. I added my shout to the throng.

Calling All Angels

A life lost too young is always a tragedy, but when they had an entire career ahead of them, the pain hurts a little bit more.

Six years ago on April 9, Los Angeles Angels rookie, Nick Adenhart, was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. He was 22.

His death came just hours after his season debut in 2009. He earned a no-decision, giving up seven hits and no runs while striking out five batters and walking three in six innings.

Home Run Derby or Opening Day?

Opening Day is like Christmas morning for baseball fans. They run down the stairs to see what players, games, and luck Santa left for the season. When Opening Day comes around, every team has the same chance as slates are wiped cleaned from the previous year.

The Boston Red Sox opened on the road this year in Philadelphia. Playing in a National League park means that there is no DH and the pitchers have to hit. But this didn’t prevent the Sox from coming out with an 8 – 0 victory.

Fantasy Baseball 101: Strategies for the Season

Weeks of preparation and planning to come up with the best strategy can only mean one thing: fantasy baseball is here.

Fantasy baseball gives die hard fans the ability to play general manager for a season and run their dream team, usually with a witty name that’s often a play-on-words of a baseball player. This is my second year of doing fantasy baseball, and although last season I crashed and burned very early, I have higher hopes for myself this time around.

2015: The Year of the Rules Changes in MLB

New changes are coming for the 2015 Major League Baseball season, the first coming last week from the desk of commissioner Rod Manfred. Pace-of-game rules have been created in efforts to cut down average game time, which was roughly three hours during the 2014 season.

Various rules were discussed with all 30 ball clubs, including the use of the between-inning commercial break timer during pitching changes for relievers and managers being able to get the attention of the home-plate umpire to indicate they want to challenge a call. The one new rule that is receiving some backlash is hitters are required to keep one foot in the batter’s box between pitches while they adjust their batting gloves or do other pre-pitch rituals. Violation of the rule results in a $500 fine.

Tell that new rule to Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, and he won’t hold back his opinions. “It seems like every rule goes in the pitcher’s favor. After a pitch, you got to stay in the box? One foot? I can that bull—-,” he said during a vivid rant at the Sox spring training camp in Fort Myers, Florida.

A-Rod Shows Off His Writing Skills

The last time a grown man wrote a handwritten apology was probably to his parents for breaking a vase and tried to blame it on a sibling. Who knew that publicists are reading parenting books about how to disciple trouble making children?

On February 17th, Major League Baseball’s own nuisance, Alex Rodriguez, issued a handwritten apology to MLB, the New York Yankees, the Steinbrenner family, the Players Association, and the fans.

You can just imagine A-Rod sitting at a big oak desk from the 1900s, listening to Madonna, and trying to figure out what to include in his letter: