Home Run Derby

Everyone’s going La-La over the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 13-0 start at Dodger Stadium so far this season.  Even though it is indeed an MLB record for most consecutive wins at home to start a season … I would like to remind everyone that it’s how you finish, rather than how you start. 

And teams that start off REALLY hot at home … well, let’s just say that none of them have ever enjoyed a home-field advantage in October. 

So far as I can tell, there have been six MLB teams (including the 2008 Dodgers) who have started a season 10-0 or better at home.  The previous five didn’t make the playoffs.

Best MLB Home Starts

Mind you, most of those teams made their early run before the advent of Baseball’s current three-divisional format, and all but one of them would have made the playoffs if there was a WildCard playoff entry.  

That would be the 2003 Royals, who went 29-40 at home the rest of the season.  To make matter worse for the Royals – there was a WildCard that year … and they still couldn’t make the playoffs.

It’s a new year of baseball, so it’s time to renew an old Home Run Derby tradition. 

It’s the return of HOME RUN OF THE DAY!!

HRD’s first 2009 Home Run of the Day (HRoD) goes to Jordan Schafer of the Atlanta Braves.  Schafer hit the Braves’ 3rd homer of the night to put them up 4-0 over the host Phillies … and cemented a win.  You remember Schafer – he was suspended 50 games in the Minor Leagues last season for using Human Growth Hormone.

Schafer gets the HRoD because it was his first Major League Home Run … and he hit it in his first Major League At-Bat.

I was getting ready to kick off the second round of Home Run Derby’s MLB Mascot Brackets when I realized that the first round wasn’t complete … 

Somehow, a number one seed in the tournament didn’t get his matchup. 

Let’s right that wrong … with a showdown for the best baseball-headed mascot in the NL East … Ready … get set … VOTE!

First Round Mascot Bracket Results can be found HERE

#1 Mr. Met (New York Mets) vs #8 Homer the Brave (Atlanta Braves)

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Remember when you used to get a stick of gum in a pack of baseball cards?  That oblong piece of stale bubblegum hasn’t been seen since 1991 … and I’ve always felt that something was missing from my baseball cards ever since.  Maybe we should replace it with something …

I know!!  A Bottle of Wine!!  It tastes better than gum, and it’ll just get better with age.  Not to mention the side effects you can’t get from gum.

In 2007, a trio of Red Sox players unveiled wines which would benefit some of their favorite charities.  There were wines for …

Manny Ramirez: ”Manny Being Merlot” (CHARLEE Homes for Children)
Tim Wakefield: “CaberKnuckle” Cabernet (Pitching in for Kids)
Curt Schilling: “Schilling Schardonnay” (Curt’s Pitch for ALS)

The response was so good, that there’s a lot more players on wine bottles in 2008.  Something called Longball Cellars is at it again with wines produced by Selby Winery, but now there’s 21 baseball players (past and present) on wines which go for about $12 or $13 a bottle, all available in Spring 2008.  100% of the proceeds go to a charity of the player’s choice. 

The art on some of these bottles rivals the baseball cards my dad has in his collection from the fifties. 

Let’s see whose face you could be drinking, and who they’re supporting. 

You can believe that the Red Sox are back on the bottle with new “Championship Edition” bottles …

David Ortiz: “Vintage Papi” (The David Ortiz Children’s Fund)
Jason Varitek: “Captain’s Cabernet” (Pitching in for Kids)
Kevin Youkilis: “SauivignYoouuk Blanc” (Kevin Youkilis’ Hits for Kids)

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Last season, Chipper Jones griped about the inequities of Interleague Play …

What’s not fun is when they’re all contenders and your competition doesn’t have to play the same competition you do. If you play the top teams in the AL and everybody else doesn’t, it’s pretty unfair.
Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves OF (2007)

Chipper might not be so chipper about interleague play again this season.  Because the NL East has another tough road against the AL in 2008 …

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In 2008, the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals are going to do something that no baseball team has done since 1991.

They’re going to break out the Powder Blue Uniforms. Mind you – they’ll be only occasionally be used as home alternate uniforms, but that’s a feat in and of itself. I don’t think anyone’s ever worn the powder blue in their home stadium before.

The Royals will be wearing blue shirts (with white pants) while the Blue Jays will go completely retro and bust out the baby blue from head to toe. The Jays will also bring back their old logo, a pullover jersey, and their old two-color cap. I have one of those hats. I love it.

There’s no word yet as to how often the Royals and Jays will do this in 2008, but the vibe is that they’ll do it enough that they petitioned MLB to add the uniforms to their regular cache of kits.

The St. Louis Cardinals have worn powder blue throwbacks in road games twice (2005 vs Tampa Bay and 2007 vs Milwaukee).

Considering that we’ve hardly seen powder blue for the last sixteen seasons (and the fact that no one under the age of 21 likely has any memory of powder blue baseball) let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit the teams that dared … to wear blue.

Prepare yourselves for a trip when the blue wasn’t just in the azure sky over the field. And watch out for lots of polyester pullovers and stirrups.

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Watch the bat … The Bat.

Simply amazing.