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Is any other Angels' fan offended by this crass "Christmas in June" promotion ?

SAN DIEGO -- The closer Ichiro Suzuki gets to milestones, the bigger his media following becomes. About 50 Japanese media members were on hand Monday to watch the 42-year-old sensation inch closer to another significant benchmark. Ichiro had three hits, scored two runs and had an RBI in the Marlins' 13-4 win over the Padres at Petco Park. After he slapped a single down the third-base line in the eighth inning, he moved 23 hits shy of 3,000, and one away from matching a standard reached only by Pete Rose. • Ichiro moves within 23 MLB hits of 3,000 as...

In the tradition of 50 Cent‘s legendary WAY outside first pitch at a Mets game, Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion aka Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. aka What-Is-He-Calling-Himself-These-Days was in San Diego to do the honors for the Padres game Wednesday. I don’t know if the ball was wet or maybe Snoop’s limo was a little too stocked up on gin and juice on the way to Petco Park, but the man’s effort wasn’t even close.

The poem, Casey at the Bat, by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, was first published in The San Francisco Examiner on this date in 1888: Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville Nine that day;the score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,a sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game. A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The restclung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;they thought, if only Casey could...

Viewers may better understand this clip if you knew the original poem upon which this is based.

Viewers may better understand this clip if you knew the original poem upon which this is based - "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Thayer - often considered one of baseball's greatest writings.

Adrián González went on social media earlier this month and challenged his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Kike Hernández to add an accent mark to the "a" on Hernández's jersey. And a tiny corner of the Latino digital world cheered. Some observers concluded that Latino ballplayers were finally demanding respect from their clubs and Major League Baseball by speaking out for their heritage.

SAN DIEGO – The Los Angeles Angels sought out a character reference on Tim Lincecum. They did not need to think twice about whom to call. “They asked my opinion,” said Bengie Molina, “and I gave it to them straight-up.” For all that Lincecum accomplished with Buster Posey, he always talks in glowing terms about Molina as the catcher who shepherded him as he broke into the big leagues, became his friend and support network besides his batterymate, and channeled his talents when he was at the height of his powers. While Molina does not hold an official title with...

It was 75 years ago today when New York Yankees center fielder Joe DiMaggio hit a single in a 13-1 drubbing to the Chicago White Sox. That hit was the first step in what became a hitting streak which hit 56 games. This record still stands 75 years later. As I write this, I am watching the Boston Red Sox-Houston Astros game. A short time ago, Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. hit a single to extend his hitting streak to 21 games. It’s nothing to sneeze at as Bradley is rapidly emerging was one of the premier players...

(Professor and Bisbee students conduct archeology dig at Warren Ballpark) BISBEE — Warren Ballpark was the scene of a groundbreaking expedition Wednesday as students from Bisbee High School participated in an archeological dig in their own backyard. University of Arizona anthropology professor Rob Schon came to the idea to do a dig at the park through his love of baseball. “My family and I are into baseball and I was searching on the internet, and Warren Ballpark came up,” he said. “I found their website and found Mike Anderson’s book ‘Warren Ballpark’ and realized we know a lot about the...

Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) in upstate New York has a solid baseball team this season. In fact, player Kyle Bestle believes “I think we have a real shot at going to the national championship.” It would be the culmination of years worth of work, practice, and dedication to reach the nationals. A dream come true. Alas, it is not to be. Why? Is it because of a player injury? An unfortunate outcome in the qualifying tournament? Not quite. The HVCC baseball team will not be going to nationals because of Governor Cuomo’s ban on non-essential travel to North Carolina,...

It's hysteria, Carlos Beltran. Pure hysteria. Puerto Rico was thrown out of the game before it even entered the stadium It’s a common theme of mine that the American spirit is growing steadily weaker. One way in which we see that is the propensity to become hysterical at the least provocation, the proverbial elephant afraid of the mouse. Witness the ongoing hysteria over the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The latest victim is the impoverished U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which has struck out with Major League Baseball. A two-game series scheduled for the territory is being moved to Miami. Why? The...

Ty Cobb was one of the greatest baseball players of all time and king of the so-called Deadball Era. He played in the major leagues—mostly for the Detroit Tigers but a bit for the Philadelphia Athletics—from 1905 to 1928, and was the first player ever voted into the Hall of Fame. His lifetime batting average of .366 is amazing, and has never been equaled. But for all that, most Americans think of him first as an awful person—a racist and a low-down cheat who thought nothing of injuring his fellow players just to gain another base or score a run....

Today is the 40th anniversary of the greatest play in baseball history: Chicago Cubs outfielder Rick Monday snatching away an American flag from two hooligans determined to set it afire at Dodger stadium in Los Angeles. Scott reviewed this episode here on Power Line back in 2005 (and maybe Paul has, too, but I missed it in my archival search). But here’s the video of the episode with Monday’s recent comments about it at the end. Pay close attention to the narration by the great Vin Scully at the very beginning (this year being Scully’s last in the broadcast booth...

A man was seen on the ESPN broadcast of the Boston Red Sox at the Houston Astros game Sunday holding up a “Cruz 2016” sign.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs pitched his second no-hitter in a span of 11 regular-season starts, shutting down the Cincinnati Reds in a 16-0 rout Thursday night.

Milt Pappas, a cagey right-hander who won more than 200 big league games but whose most memorable, if unlucky, legacy is that he was traded for the future Hall of Fame outfielder Frank Robinson in what has been considered one of the most lopsided exchanges in baseball history, died on Tuesday at his home in Beecher, Ill. He was 76.

Okay people. You all know that this year is the 100th anniversary of the Cubs' first season in Wrigley Field. You also know that as of last year the national version of WGN no longer carries Cubs games. The Chicago station does, but the "superstation" apparently makes more money showing episode after episode after episode of a show called "Bluebloods" (which I know absolutely nothing about) than it does showing the Cubbies. So I looked up the radio station that currently carries the games and found it online. Well guess what? At game time I get the very beginning but...

Ty Cobb was one of the greatest baseball players of all time and king of the so-called Deadball Era. He played in the major leagues—mostly for the Detroit Tigers but a bit for the Philadelphia Athletics—from 1905 to 1928, and was the first player ever voted into the Hall of Fame. His lifetime batting average of .366 is amazing, and has never been equaled. But for all that, most Americans think of him first as an awful person—a racist and a low-down cheat who thought nothing of injuring his fellow players just to gain another base or score a run....

y instinct, honed reflex and general contrarianism, I root for all “flashy” “showboats” who are “disgraces to the game.” It has been this way since I left Boston at age 10 to move to North Carolina, a state with no notable baseball team save the minor-league Durham Bulls, who, at least when I was growing up, seemed more a Hollywood relic than a ball club. Freed from having to like the Red Sox, I began to root for Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics, mostly because I liked how deeply he squatted while taking a lead off first base. He...