Yankees Win 27th World Series Championship

Nearly a decade after their dynasty ended, the New York Yankees are baseball’s best again. Hideki Matsui, the Series MVP, tied a World Series record with six RBIs, and New York beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6, finally seizing that elusive 27th title. It was the team’s first since winning three straight from 1998-2000. "It feels better than I remember it," Derek Jeter said. "It's been a long time." When Mariano Rivera got the final out, it was ecstasy in the Bronx for the Yankees. What a way to christen their $1.5 billion ballpark. One season, one championship. The Phillies fell two wins short of becoming the first NL team to repeat as World Series champions since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds. For the story, go to Major League Baseball

Hideki Matsui Leaves a Lasting World Series Memory

Hideki Matsui, the unflappable hitter, had a home run, a double, a single and also drove in six runs to help the Yankees stop the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3, and win the World Series in six games. Even as Matsui tied Bobby Richardson’s World Series record with six runs batted in, he still moved around the field in a disciplined way. Matsui won the Most Valuable Player award after hitting .615 with three homers and eight runs batted in. For the article, go to Major League Baseball

In the Postseason, There is Rivera and Pettitte

There is no more comforting sight to the Yankees than Mariano Rivera, his chin up and his eyes focused on the mound, jogging in from the bullpen. When the Yankees need to secure crucial outs late in the postseason games, Rivera is the closer who gets them. Rivera did it again for the Yankees as he got the final outs to defeat the Phillies, 7-3, and a World Series title. New York’s starting and winning pitcher was Andy Pettitte who allowed three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. In Featured Stories is the article “Andy Pettitte’s Intense Focus Helps Set Him Apart.” To read, go to Major League Baseball and Feature Stories

Baseball's Long, Long Season

On Wednesday night, October 28, the Yankees and Phillies played the opener in New York in a drizzly rain, while temperatures hovered in the low 50s. You could see the breath of the players as they exhaled. None of this is conducive to great performances by the "Boys of Summer", as baseball players are known. So how did the postseason stray this far from tradition? Just about every time Major League Baseball had a choice between a tighter postseason schedule and more lucrative TV contracts, it chose the latter. For the story, go to Major League Baseball

Connie Mack - From Long Ago, a Manager of Today

Born Cornelius McGillicuddy in 1862, Connie Mack managed for 53 seasons, 50 of them with the Philadelphia Athletics. Always dressed in a suit and hat, he used his scorecard to wig-wag players and position. Pictured here with manager John McGraw before a World Series game, The Grand Old Man of Baseball won nine pennants and five W.S. titles. His 3,731 career victories appear to be one of the most unbreakable records in baseball. There have been 662 managers in the major leagues, and only 10 have won 2,000 games. For his life story, go to Feature Stories

White Sox Ace Mark Buehrle Throws Perfect Game

Mark Buehrle pitched the first perfect game in the major leagues in five years on July 23, and Chicago White Sox center fielder Dewayne Wise got the assist. Buehrle got a great catch from Wise leading off the ninth inning to save the bid and the 5-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Rays. As a defensive replacement, Wise sprinted and, on a dead run, jumped and got his glove above the fence to rob Gabe Kapler of a home run. This story is followed by “Great Baseball Catches, Great Games, forever linked.” For both articles, go to Newsletter

Chase Utley Ties W.S. Record by Hitting Five Homers

Phillies second baseman Chase Utley hit two home runs in Game 5 to raise his World Series total to a record tying five. He drilled two homers to right in the first six frames off Yankees ace CC Sabathia. In the seventh inning, Utley, shown here, hit a solo shot to tie Reggie Jackson’s record of five homers in a Series. Chase became the first left-handed hitter since Babe Ruth to have a multi-homer game in the W.S. off a southpaw pitcher. In Feature Stories are “Ichiro Suzuki Is Second Fastest to 2,000 Base Hits," and "Baseball Fans Can Do Better than Wave Towels." For the articles, go to Newsletter and Feature Stories

Players Silence Led to Loud Drip of Names

Baseball’s faulty faucet continues to drip names of those using performance-enhancing drugs. The names, including David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, pictured here, get bigger and the multibillion-dollar industry continues to be haunted by a nightmare seemingly without end. Ortiz has confirmed he tested positive for PEDs in 2003. Many players resent being painted with a broad brush as part of a steroid era but it’s a little late for public indignation. As William C. Rhoden asks, “Where were the so-called clean players when loud, angry protests could have made a difference in stabling testing with integrity much earlier? For the stories, go to Test for Steroids

A.L. Fielding Stars Receive Rawlings Gold Glove Award

	Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki and Los Angeles Angels center fielder Torii Hunter received Gold Gloves for the ninth straight year in the American League this year. Derek Jeter won his fourth Gold Glove at shortstop, joining Yankees’ teammate and first baseman Mark Teixeira, pictured here, among the AL players honored for fielding excellence. Since its creation in 1957, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award has been bestowed on many of the game’s greatest defensive players.
For the American League awards story, go to News Release

N.L. Gold Glove Winners Announced by Rawlings

	Shortstop Jimmy Rollins won his third consecutive National League Gold Glove and Phillies teammate Shane Victorino won for the second straight time in the outfield. Rollins, shown here, the Phillies’ catalyst of their offense and defense, had a .990 fielding percentage. Adam Wainwright became the first St. Louis pitcher to win since Joaquin Andujar in 1984. Victorino made only one error in 345 chances a year after making two in 323 chances. That was good for a fielding percentage of .997.
For the National League winners, go to News Release

Derek Jeter Plays the Game the Right Way

There is nobody in baseball more respected than Derek Jeter. He plays the game extraordinarily well, as evidenced by his breaking Lou Gehrig’s all-time Yankees’ hit record. He also plays it right. When the All-Star Game lasted 15 innings in July 2008 at Yankee Stadium, who stayed until the end, hugging Justin Morneau, Michael Young and all his other teammates-for-a-day? While others left the ballpark, Jeter stayed. There are countless other examples. To read, go to News Release

Detroit Tigers Salute Team Voice Ernie Harwell

Ernie Harwell wants us to believe he is the luckiest man on the face of the earth, wrote Michael Rosenberg. “Ernie is unlucky,” wrote Rosenberg. “In his whole life, he never got to sit on his porch and listen to a live Ernie Harwell broadcast.” Harwell said good-bye September 16. He is almost 92 year old and has inoperable cancer. Harwell was the voice of summer days and nights for generations of Michiganders, and in the end, he was the one saying thank you. For the legendary broadcaster's farewell, go to Newsletter

Historic Evening for Cliff Lee in 6-1 Victory Over Yankees

In the very first World Series game played, on October 1, 1903, Deacon Phillippe of the Pittsburgh Pirates had 10 strikeouts, no walks and won the game. That never happened again in the World Series until Cliff Lee did it for the Phillies on September 28, in a 6-1 victory over the Yankees. “Phillippe did it in the first game, against Boston,” wrote Tyler Kepner. “Then there were 605 World Series games in which it didn’t happen. Then Cliff Lee did it again.” For his brilliant performance, go to Major League Baseball

Eric Bruntlett's Unassisted Triple Play

It happened so fast, Eric Bruntlett needed a few moments before he realized he had just ended a game with an unassisted triple play. Bruntlett became the second player in major league history to get the final outs on his own, accomplishing the feat on August 24 to preserve the Phillies 9-7 victory against the Mets. With runners on first and second in the ninth inning and a run already in, Jeff Francoeur hit a line drive up the middle that appeared headed toward center field for a single.

For the rest of the story, go to Feature Stories

The Case for Expanding Instant Replay, Made in One Inning

The case for an expanded instant replay was made in two fourth-inning plays, both involving the Yankees’ Nick Swisher. In the first, Angels’ pitcher Scott Kazmir wheeled around and executed a perfect pick-off play with shortstop Erick Aybar. All of FOX’s replays showed that Swisher was out, by a lot, but the umpire Dale Scott called him safe. Then, with Swisher on third, Johnny Damond flied out to center field and Swisher tagged up and scored. The third base umpire Tim McClelland called Swisher out, negating the run. Again, FOX’s multiple replays showed that McClelland appeared to be wrong. For both articles, go to Major League Baseball

Bud Selig Errs with Free Pass for Cards' Coach McGwire

When Commissioner Bud Selig found out disgraced slugger Mark McGovern was coming back to the St. Louis Cardinals as their hitting coach, he said he had “no misgivings about this at all.” McGwire “is a very, very fine man,” and “the Cardinals are to be applauded.” Christine Brennan wrote in USA TODAY, “The commissioner shouldn’t have welcome McGwire with open arms. McGwire should meet with Selig and baseball’s drug-testing leaders to tell them everything he knew about performance-enhancing drug use in the game and to tell drug experts what he knew about steroid use.

For the story, go to Test for Steroids

Traditional Pitching Wind-up Has Returned

	A major change is now occurring in the game of baseball. A large number of big league pitchers this season are using bigger and more traditional styles in winding up, like Gaylord Perry, pictured on the right, as other pitching greats did years ago. They have switched from the no-wind-up delivery used by most pitchers the past couple of decades. The ever growing number includes Roy Halladay, shown left, Cole Hamels, Adam Wainwright, Jake Peavy, Edwin Jackson, and Ubaldo Jimeniz. Featured in Don Weiskopf’s latest report are his sequence-series photographs of Sandy Koufax, Don Sutton, Juan Marichal, and Billy Pierce.
For the latest report, go to Coaching Clinic

United States Wins 2009 Baseball World Cup

The United States defended its IBAF Baseball World Cup title September 27 with a 10-5 victory over Cuba that was powered by four RBIs from Lucas May, including a three-run home run. The U.S. team consisted entirely of Triple-A and Double-A players. First baseman Justin Smoak, a Texas Rangers prospect, pictured here, led the U.S with nine home runs and 22 RBI’s to earn the tournament’s MVP award. To read, go to World Baseball

Baseball is Better Off Without the Olympics

Baseball does not need the Olympics, wrote Chris Ruddick of the Sports Network. Last summer, baseball, along with softball, was voted out of the 2012 Summer Games in London. The popularity of the World Baseball Classic is unquestioned. There is no better way to promote the game than the WBC, which will continue to get better. In his article, “Baseball Has No Place in the Olympics,” Robert Lipsyte wrote, “Separately, the Olympics and baseball are two of the better ideas in sports entertainment. Together, they become one of the worst.” For both articles, go to World Baseball

Developing an Aggressive Offense by Walter Alston

The best offense in baseball is an aggressive attack, which is capable of exerting continual pressure on the defense, said Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston. This has been the trademark of some of the most successful major league teams in history, including our championship Dodger clubs. The speed and aggressive base running of Maury Wills, Willie Davis, Bill Russell and others in the 1960s and ‘70s contributed much to the Dodgers success. From the textbook Alston co-authored with Don Weiskopf in 1972 are many of the sequence series pictures that appear in their Team Offense chapter. For this in-depth clinic on team offense, go to Skills and Strategies

Short-Handed Durham Bulls Win Triple-A Crown

Durham lost 10 of its top players to the big league club or Team USA but the Bulls still managed to take home the Triple-A Baseball National Championship trophy. The International League champion Bulls beat the Pacific Coast League champs from Memphis, 5-4, in 11 innings in the 4th annual Triple-A title game at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Pictured here celebrating the crown are the Bulls, the first International League team to win the crown. Starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson was awarded the Bobby Murcer MVP trophy. Another article on the minors is “River Cats’ Tony De Francesco Manages 1,000 Wins.” To read, go to Minor League

Kyle Drabek Is a Chip Off the Old Block

During his 13-year career as a high-quality major league pitcher, Doug Drabek won 155 games, highlighted by a National League Cy Young Award in 1990. His son, Kyle, is cut from the same cloth as his father. He grew up around the game. This season Kyle was outstanding pitching at Class A and AA levels, with a darting, low-90s mph fastball. Other articles on the minors are Picking Baseball over Football Pays Off for Kirk Nienwenhuis, and Kyle Lobstein in First Fall Pro Season. For the stories, go to Minor League

Don Weiskopf's Favorite Baseball Photos

	During his long career as a baseball author, writer, and photographer, Don Weiskopf has written many instructional textbooks on the basic fundamental techniques of baseball, including two with Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston. All of Don’s books and articles featured high-speed sequence-series photographs of outstanding players demonstrating the skill techniques of the game, including Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle pictured here. In this edition of his Photo Gallery, Don has selected many of his favorite photographs. To view the photos, go to Photo Gallery

Great Memories of Larry Jansen and Buddy Blattner

	Larry Jansen, the right-handed pitcher whose 23 victories helped propel the New York Giants to their storied 1951 National League championship, died October 10 at his home in Verboort, Oregon. He was 89. Jansen was the winning pitcher for the Giants in the 1951 playoff game decided by Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard “Round the World.” Buddy Blattner, a former major league infielder and longtime baseball broadcaster, died Sept. 4 at his home in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Mo. He was also 89. To read, go to Feature Stories and News Release

Quicker College Baseball Games Needed

The NCAA Rules Committee will allow conferences to experiment with the use of a 20-second pitch clock during the 2010 baseball season to speed games up. Because of longer and longer games being played in NCAA baseball, it was felt such a move would shorten games and make baseball on the college level more fan friendly. While TV has caused some of the game delays, the vast majority of the problems stem from teams that call every pitch from the dugout and take too much time delivering pitches to batters and not hustling on and off the field. To read, go to High School/College/Senior

Master Teacher/Coach John Herbold Inspires Many

Known as a writer for Collegiate Baseball, John Herbold was the head coach at Lakewood High School and the most winning coach at Cal State Los Angeles. He used his knowledge of the game to inspire others. In his special to Collegiate Baseball, John Stevens, who played for Herbold, wrote, “The stories that Coach told us have incredible value in the area of life. Those of us who played for him thank him for the lessons he taught us, and his good hearted nature has been instilled in every one of us.” For these inspiring stories, go to High School/College/Senior

Jasper Reds have Best Winning Percentage in History

The Jasper Reds have been playing baseball since 1893, and never have they been so productive. Perhaps the longest running semi-pro team in the nation, Jasper (18-1) closed their season beating the Louisville 7-1, the best winning percentage (.947) in the team’s history. Bob Alles, the Reds’ business manager and former manager, called this year’s team, “The most cohesive group I’ve seen.” Another BPA story on the semi-pro game is “El Dorado Broncos Capture their 5th World Series Title. For the articles, go to High School/College/Senior

Let the Children Play

All across the United States, young children are back in school. The classes are larger and recess and physical education have in many schools been cut back or eliminated. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, wrote, “The general feeling is that playtime is over.” Children spend 50 percent less time outside than they did just 20 years ago. There is a direct line between play deficiencies and some frightening health and social trends. Brown writes, “Just an hour a day of vigorous play – running, chasing, playing games like tag or dodge ball can provide intense skill learning.” For the story, go to Youth Baseball

California Beats Taiwan to Win Little League Baseball Title

Chula Vista, California came up big late in the championship game to win the Little League World Series. Kiko Garcia pitched three scoreless innings of relief to lead California to a 6-3 victory over Taoyuan, Taiwan August 30. Chula Vista’s victory, the fifth straight L.L. championship for the United States, looked in doubt early, but California rallied. Nick Conlin, pictured here, scored on a wild pitch, and Chula Vista added two runs in the fifth. In other tournament play, Midland, Michigan won the American Legion Baseball World Series in Fargo, North Dakota. To read, go to News Release

A Game of Catch

In this superbly written article on the game of catch, Roger Rosenblatt wrote in TIME Magazine, “I dream and see the children when they were children, standing in a lawn or on a playground, waiting for the ball to reach them. Tossed back and forth, the ball expresses all that is between them. Nobody wins or loses. “I throw. He catches. He throws. I catch.” A game of catch is an essential gesture of parenthood, when families are working well. Nietzsche said, “There is nothing as serious as a child at play.” For the story, go to Youth Baseball

Reviving the Sandlot Baseball Game

Most neighborhood ball fields today sit empty during the summer because young children have to have everything organized for them. There is still hope, however, that the sandlot and playground concept will not die. The lack of sandlot and pick-up games has hurt the development of young baseball players in America. Batter’s Up USA is taking an informal approach to rekindling interest in the game. Their goal is to introduce young children to baseball and have them play in a safe and stress-free environment with limited adult involvement. For the article, go to Youth Baseball

Getting Kids Back to Sandlot Baseball

Children today do not play enough playground baseball. Don Weiskopf believes more opportunities to play baseball in parks and playgrounds need to be provided by local park and recreation departments. Programs of this kind will contribute much to the revival of sandlot ball and the pick-up concept. They need to be taught how to play them. The key to the return of sandlot baseball is the thousands of public, recreation and park agencies across the country. For more information, go to Youth Baseball

Revival of Pick-up Games

The best way to get children to play more baseball on their own is to promote a return of pick-up games. The youth of America need to be taught how to organize pick-up games like these school kids pictured here. “We don’t see kids playing strikeout against a wall, nor do they play scrub,” said Jim Panther, former baseball coach at Libertyville High School in Northern Illinois. To learn how to play pick-up games, go to Youth Baseball

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