Free Republic

Carl Erskine, who pitched two no-hitters as a mainstay on the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series, died Tuesday. He was 97.

For a franchise that has been so successful in Los Angeles, the Dodgers’ 10 retired numbers speak largely to a Brooklyn heritage. On the day the Dodgers retired his microphone alongside those numbers — and perhaps for the last time at Dodger Stadium — Vin Scully told stories of the Boys of Summer. “Those numbers are not numbers at all,” Scully said Wednesday. “I can hear them. I really can.” ... In a pregame ceremony, [Tommy] Lasorda and Sandy Koufax unveiled Scully’s blue and white circle along what the Dodgers now call their “ring of honor,” with “VIN SCULLY” atop...

Jack Norworth, the lyricist of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," never saw a baseball game until years after he wrote the song. But that's OK. You don't have to see a game to appreciate the game. Just turn on your radio. Likely, your father took you to your first baseball game. Likely, he tried to explain it. Likely, he failed. Enter Vincent Edward Scully, formerly of the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn, now of Chavez Ravine. ...Come spring, and the baseball cards arrived at the Owl drugstore like swallows returning to Capistrano. "Who's Who In Baseball" showed up on the...

New York-AP -- The baseball Hall of Fame is staring at a real curve ball. It's facing criticism and one cancellation for asking two anti-war actors to stay away. The controversy surrounds a planned 15th anniversary celebration of the movie "Bull Durham." The Hall of Fame at first invited co-stars Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. Both are vocal opponents of the war in Iraq -- an opinion the Hall president now says puts troops at risk and is too political for the baseball shrine. Now, in protest, a leading baseball writer is canceling a summer appearance in Cooperstown. "Boys of...

Baseball is using advanced electronics to second-guess its umpires - Guess who’s not happy about it Oct. 7 issue — On the mound at Fenway Park, Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield winds up and sends a 68mph knuckleball fluttering toward home plate. Just as the ball reaches the plate, it makes a sudden downward plunge before disappearing into the catcher’s mitt. Umpire Joe Brinkman, crouched on one knee and peering over the catcher’s left shoulder, calls ball one.

PHOENIX (AP) -- Joe Black's rendezvous with fame was nearly 50 years ago. By the time he lost his battle with cancer, he was remembered as much for his generous nature as for being the first black man to win a World Series game. ``He was a contemporary of Jackie Robinson, and he saw what he went through,'' Arizona Diamondbacks general manger Joe Garagiola Jr. said of Black, who died Friday in nearby Scottsdale. He was 78. ``He went through many things himself,'' Garagiola said. ``But this was a man with no bitterness or hate in his heart. He was...