We are the VORG. Replacement is futile.
There are plenty of books detailing the careers and stories behind Hall of Famers. There aren’t many tomes discussing those players who aren’t quite Hall-worthy, but ARE worthy of a good, long appreciation. A new eBook, “The Hall of Nearly Great” serves to fill that void. As their website states: It’s for the players we … Read more“The Hall of Nearly Great”
During Friday night’s Twin’s/A’s matchup, Minnesota pitcher Francisco Liriano struck out 15 batters. Liriano’s career high in Ks had been 12, and the Twins staff had been last in the Majors in strikeouts in 2012 to that point (by over 50 Ks). So this was a big deal. But it was also a quirky deal, … Read more15Ks + 1 Grand Slam = History
This week, baseball fans had to go through four days with no real games. Well, that drought pales in comparison to the nine months between the end of season four of the hit cable TV series Breaking Bad and its fifth season premiere tomorrow night. To tide fans over and to whet your appetite for … Read moreBreaking BABIP
Now that the All Star game is done with for another year, we can get back to games that really DO count. But before that, let’s examine what has happened to each team to this point, and wonder what the final three months holds in store . . . through haiku. Yankees aging core Somehow … Read moreThe VORG’s All-Haiku 1st-Half Review/2nd-Half Preview
Last time out we found the batters with the most games played without an All-Star Game appearance. Let’s flip that on its head by now presenting the batters with the fewest career games played with at least one appearance in an All-Star game. We’ll be limiting this to retired players debuting on or after 1933 … Read moreHey Now … You’re an All-Star … Then You’re Out of Baseball
So we’ve come to another All-Star game, and given the ever-expanding rosters, we now have a situation in which one of every eight MLB regulars in an “All-Star”. But even with roster expansion and the silly rule that every team needs to have at least one representative sent to the game, there HAVE been players … Read moreToiling (and sometimes excelling) in Anonymity
I went to Target Field last week as part of the SABR annual convention, and got to see a fellow named Liam Hendriks pitch for the Twins. Liam, while a relatively popular name in the UK, is an uncommon name here in the US (William being the much more common variant). Mr. Hendriks is the … Read moreMost Popular First Names in Baseball History - by Birth Decade
The Astros went 56-106 (.346) in 2011. They had nowhere to go but up in 2012, and they have, slightly (32-51 (.386) through Thursday). They only won 31 homes games in 2011, but have already notched 23 home victories in 2012. However, their performance on the road in 2012 is actually worse than 2011 (when … Read moreGood at home, “Astro”nomically bad on the road