baseball Page 344 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Last Act Of The Notorious Howie Spira
Howard Spira appeared in the Gawker offices one summer day as if summoned from the beyond, which in some sense he had been. He just stood there, anxiously clutching a black plastic bag, his enormous green eyes sweeping the room. His skin had the hue of a life spent mostly indoors and in poor health....

If You Have A Hard-On For Baseball-As-Talisman, The Bill Buckner Ball Is Up For Sale
As if I needed to tell you, today is the 25th anniversary of Darryl Strawberry's second inning, one-out walk against Roger Clemens in game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Oh, you didn't realize that? Maybe you're not that big of a baseball fan after all....

An Idaho-Based Pig Farmer Named Lindy Hinkleman Has Won $300,000 Playing Fantasy Baseball The Past Three Years
And really, what more is there to know than that? You're doing life wrong. [NYT]...

Scenes From The Arizona Fall League: Lizards Go Down Easier With Mountain Dew
Baseball is boring. Being a pitcher is worse. Being a reliever on an Arizona Fall League team with a 20-man bullpen leaves you with so much free time, you're probably insane if you don't spend your afternoons swallowing geckos....

Ozzie Guillen Will Appear On <em>Baseball Tonight</em> Throughout The World Series
It dawns on me that we could play a game with two tentpoles of recent Chicago White Sox squads. We'll call the game "Guillen OR Pierzynski." Said the White Sox drink rally beer during games to get themselves going? (Pierzynski.) Went on a profane tirade after the White Sox lost to Bruce fucking Chen...

MLB Is Sending A Very Sad All-Star Team To Taiwan
MLB has a tradition of sending a band of all-stars to the East after the season ends—to the MLB-Japan All-Star Series, for example. This year the great stars of MLB are headed to Taiwan for a three-game series with the Chinese Taipei national team. Wait a second, these are terrible stars!...

Waitress Says Minor Leaguer Groped Her, Actually Said "Do You Know Who I Am? I Play For The ValleyCats"
Right, maybe we have glorified athletes too much in this country when a Short-Season A ballplayer feels empowered enough to pull the old "Do you know who am?" That's what one member of the Tri-City ValleyCats (a Houston Astros affiliate) allegedly told a waitress after grabbing her chest and behind ...

The Tobacco Farmer With The "Ol' Soupbone" And The Baseball Achievement That Will Last Forever
SI's Chris Ballard and Kotaku's Owen Good have teamed up to tell the story of minor-league pitcher Jack Swift, whose last-chance season and remarkable feats from 60 years ago are only now becoming known. You should go read it. [Sports Illustrated]...

SprtsCntr: The Squirrel Heard 'Round The World
What is ESPN prattling on about right now? We condense your morning SportsCenter to its essence....

All The Baseball Announcers' Big, Joyous Calls Last Night (And Then One By Michael Kay)
Lots of exciting things happened on Wednesday, and for the most part our baseball broadcasters were up to the task. Above, we've compiled their calls of last night's biggest moments. Below, well, listen for yourself. ...

A Sampling From One Artist's Effort To Draw All 295 Members Of The Baseball Hall Of Fame
Summer Anne Burton is drawing every member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in chronological order. She began the project in January, 2011, and she would be thrilled to draw your favorite baseball player for you. Here are some of her drawings. Click the images to expand....

Some Guy In Taiwan Dropped His Daughter To Try To Catch A Baseball (Video)
He also failed to catch the ball. But he did get quite a glare from from what looks like his understandably angry wife. Who else would love to have heard him attempt to explain his stupidity and complete lack of chivalry?...

Former Orioles Pitcher Mike Flanagan Threatened To Commit Suicide Several Times Before Doing So
The Baltimore Sun is reporting, based on police records released via Public Information Act request, that Cy Young Award winner and Orioles broadcaster Mike Flanagan's suicide did not come as a complete surprise to those closest to him....

Somebody Stole A Minor-League Baseball Mascot's Head And That Makes People Sad
"'Stomper' the bear disappeared from All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon [Ohio] sometime last month. With eight games left to go in the season, fans immediately took notice. 'He's a little overweight and that keeps him warm in the winters. He's fun-loving and loves to dance,' said Crushers V.P. Dan He...

You Can Now Buy The Amarillo Sox Mascot That Had A Huge Erection
The Amarillo Sox Sock had one priapic night in the spotlight, before being consigned to the bottom of the hamper of history. Now the independent league Sox are auctioning off the outfit, presumably for use in sex pervert games, with all proceeds going to charity. [eBay]...

Now The Phillies Have Decided To Affect The Outcome Of Milwaukee's Sausage Races
"Before the top of the sixth began, [second baseman] Pete Orr forgot to look both ways when exiting the dugout and accidentally stepped in front of five racing sausages. He ducked between Polish and Italian but smacked into Hot Dog. The fans booed the sheepish Canadian, who smirked as an entire du...

Pitcher Who Set An Olympic Strikeout Record Arrested For Cooking Meth Near An Alabama Grammar School
Here's a short version of Billy Lyle "BJ" Wallace Jr.'s life: Such a good baseball player as a youth that he made the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, notched a record 14 strikeouts in a game vs. Italy, was the the third pick in the MLB draft, signed a $550,00 contract with the Expos and knocked around the ...

Report: Mike Flanagan Killed Himself Over 'Prolonged Failure' Of The Baltimore Orioles (Updated)
WBAL reports that former Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan, television announcer and top executive, was found dead on his Baltimore County property Wednesday afternoon and that sources confirmed that Flanagan took his own life 'despondent over what he considered a false perception from a community he ...

Mexico Rides Strong Pitching To The Top Of Our Unnecessarily Abstruse Little League World Series Power Rankings
Welcome to the second installment of DRURY, our exclusive Little League World Series power ranking and prediction engine. Yesterday's edition was postponed due to the earthquake and lack of interest. The ranking is a composite of the teams' box score statistics and schedule strength—see the original...

The Newark Bears Will Celebrate Jim Leyritz Night With A $2,000 M.A.D.D. Donation And A Beer Pong Tournament
Even without mixed drinks, it sends mixed signals. A year ago, Leyritz was found innocent of felony manslaughter, but guilty of DUI in a 2007 crash....