Spring Training is finally upon us …. the warm sun …. the crisp air …. the crack of the bat … the ball “thudding” into the glove …. the fresh-faced young men trying to make a good impression on the coaching staff. Here at the VORG, we appreciate those young men not only for their … Read more
The hiatus is over, and the book has been written and is going to be published March 17th. Its not a book about the advanced stats in baseball. Rather, it is taking a somewhat regular feature in the early years of the blog, highlighting the great names in baseball history, and putting them (and a … Read more
Last night, Gerrit Cole faced off against Cole Hamels. I was asked if that had happened before: I’m sure can tell us the last time opposing pitchers’ names lined up like Gerrit Cole v Cole Hamels — Thickie Don April 11, 2018 Indeed it has, at least 36 times in history. In … Read more
Armed with my already well-worn copy of the 2018 Baseball America Prospect Handbook, here are some of my favorite player names of future stars: Arizona Diamondbacks: Jazz Chisholm, Daulton Varsho, Socrates Brito Atlanta Braves: Touki Toussaint, Huascar Ynoa Baltimore Orioles: Ryan Mountcastle, Chance Sisco, Ofelky Peralta, Jimmy Yacabonis, Boston Red Sox: Darwinzon Hernandez, Josh Ockimey … Read more
Andrew Baggarly was watching the Giants play this past Thursday, and stumbled upon this factoid: Austin Jackson lines out in his first at-bat of the spring. I actually spent 20 minutes on this, and could not find another MLB player whose name is two state capitals. — Andrew Baggarly March 1, 2018 . . … Read more
Over on Facebook, in the Effectively Wild (Baseball Prospectus daily podcast) group, there is currently a discussion of music-oriented fantasy baseball team names. Here are some of my suggestions so far: Four Non-Bonds (if you think your team might be “one-hit wonders”, I suppose) ChiCarGo (25 or 6 to 4 ….. would be a weird … Read more
The last of the 2017 season awards will be handed out Thursday afternoon, as the AL and NL MVPs are announced. Here at the VORG, MVP stands for “Most Voweluable Player”, that being the player in each league with the highest percentage of vowels in their first and last names combined. Over in the American … Read more
Friend of the VORG David Branson asks: Is this the most players with the same surname to play in the same season? — David Branson August 30, 2017 Storm was one of 13 MLB players named Davis in 1985. Others: Alvin, Chili, Eric, Gerry, Glenn, Jody, Joel, Mark, Mike, Ron, Steve, Trench … Read more