My top 11 baseball places to visit

This is just a quick list of my top-11 baseball destinations. In no particular order.



1. Fenway Park - one of the few old ones left.

2. Wrigley Field - same thing

3. Cooperstown - the Hall of Fame

4. Tokyo - the Japanese Hall of Fame

5. Dyersville, Iowa - where Field of Dreams was made

6. Cuba - I want to see a game there. It's a religion as much as anything else.

7. Brooklyn Avenue & 22nd Street - site of the old Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, where I saw my first major league game.

8. Omaha - the College World Series

9. Williamsport - the Little League World Series

10. Hoboken - where Elysian Fields was located, site of the 'first' baseball game played

11. England - the exact spot where baseball was invented. Hah, just kidding.


This is a list of places I haven't been. There are a lot of places I wanted to see, but never quite made it. Yankee Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Comiskey Park, etc. But you can only visit so many plaques.

So that's my list. What is yours?

Backward K's and the 6-4-3 double play

One of the things I've always remember from the games I attended as a kid was keeping score. I loved doing it, and did at every game I could. Back then you could buy the scoresheet separately from the program, for about $.50, I think. Now you have to buy the program for $10 to get a scoresheet, unless you bring your own. I don't know of any park that still offers just the scoresheet, but they missing out on a great opportunity:

For non-scorers, the obvious question to ask is "why bother"? The official account is placed on record and all of the details and statistics are published on-line for future reference, so is it really worth the effort to keep score yourself? As someone who has scored games as a fan for nine years and counting, I know how it can increase your enjoyment of a game whilst improving your understanding of the events that take place on the field.

Learning how to keep score helped me learn a lot more about the game. Sure I loved the action, but baseball is made for keeping score. There are enough pauses between pitches and plays that you have time to record the action, and is actually a great way to fill those pauses. A lot of people complain about the length of games. Next time you're watching one, at home or at the stadium, try keeping score. I'll bet you don't even notice the time. The game will fly by, and you'll enjoy it much more than you could ever imagine.

Having a clearer understanding of the rules is worthwhile in itself, but scoring can also provide you with an insight into the tactical decisions that are a fundamental part of the game. This is particularly beneficial for a non-playing British newcomer to the sport. Consider the following familiar scenario:

The road-team‟s manager makes a pitching change and the home-team‟s manager counters by bringing in a pinch-hitter. The hitter gets a walk and jogs to first base and then the next thing you know, one of his team mates is stealing second base! Once that half of the inning is over, the guy who stole second is standing in centre field, the person who was previously in centre field is now in left field and the person who was previously in left field is sat on the bench!

This article is from the website, Baseball GB, a hub for the best British baseball writing. I fully agree. They are doing great things in advancing the game in the UK, and do more than just talk about. They provide several features, such as blogs and instructional articles to teach people more about the game.

They don't want people to just watch games, they want them to experience them. Keeping score is a great way to do this:

Your memories preserved

The above are all valid reasons for keeping score, yet they mainly focus on the process rather than the outcome. For some people, the best part about keeping score is the completed scorecard that you produce. It would be natural to think that the scorecard is of only minor interest, particularly for MLB games. All of the information you record can be accessed on-line via many different websites, accompanied by a vast amount of additional data about the game in question. If it is all there to refer to anyway, doesn't your unofficial version become a bit redundant?

The answer is an emphatic „no‟. Precisely because of the factors mentioned above, the scorecard is your record of the contest. As such, referring back to it doesn‟t only allow you to recall the action on the field, it also conjures up your personal memories of watching the game. In this sense, a completed scorecard is similar to a photograph. When you look at a photograph taken while on holiday several years ago, you don‟t just see what is in the picture.

You are immediately taken back to the moment when the shutter clicked down. What you did before and after the photo was taken. The other things you saw at the time. The conversations you had with your friends/family. The sounds and smells, feelings and emotions; they all come flooding back. Just like a photograph, a fan‟ scorecard can be a portal back to a moment in time.

I couldn't agree more with that. Unfortunately, over the years, I got away from scorekeeping. Mostly due to the fact that I was old enough to start enjoying the more adult beverages offered, or spent too much time dissecting the game with family and friends. Not that that's a bad thing either, but I haven't kept score in years.

It is a different way of seeing the game, and adds something to it. The first game I ever attended was a doubleheader between the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers in 1972, the year the Tigers won the division. I was too young to keep score that day, but I wish I could have.

Along side Hall of Famer Al Kaline would have been the names of Bill Freehan, Willie Horton, Amos Oits, John Mayberry, Paul Schaal and Richie Scheinblum. That would be a scorecard for the ages, at least for me.

I think next time I go to a game, I'm going to give it a try again.


I didn't realize until after I had written this that Lar from wezenball had done a similar post. I've already written, and we we have some different readership, so I'm going to post it anyhow. If this was of interest to you, check out the other one also.

Two more fly the coop

Two more former major leaguers have flown the coop, figuratively, and are headed overseas to play baseball. Either for the money, or for a chance to work their way back to the bigs. Doesn't matter, either way.

It's what the players want, and it's good for the game. But this is different, as they aren't headed to Japan, or even Korea. No, they have different destinations in mind.


First, on his way to Taiwan, is Mickey Callaway:

The Laredo Broncos announced today that former Major Leaguer Mickey Callaway has signed a lucrative contract with the Uni President Lions of the Taiwanese League. General Manager Jose Melendez has announced..

Callaway went 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA last season for the Broncos. Callaway was coming of Tommy John surgery and accepted the interim head baseball coach job at TAMIU before coming to the Broncos in June. "I am glad we were able to rehab Mickey and get him in shape to continue his career at a very high level" General Manager Jose Melendez mentioned.

Before coming to the Broncos, Callaway spent parts of 5 seasons in the Major Leagues with stints in the Rangers, Devil Rays and Angels organizations. He has also been a very accomplished pitcher in the Korean, Japan and Taiwanese Major Leagues.

Callaway has pitched in Taiwan before. Hell, he's pitched pretty much everywhere. You have to admire the love of the game. Callaway put up the following line in the majors:

Year Ag Tm Lg W L G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H HR BB SO IBB ERA ERA WHIP3

5 Yr WL% .267 4 11 40 20 0 0 11 0 130.7 166 17 58 86 2 6.27 74 1.714


And in a similar move, headed to the Italian league is Jeff Farnsworth:

The runner up in the 2008 Italian Baseball League championship DANESI NETTUNO has signed the former Major League pitcher Jeff Farnsworth. The 33-year-old right-hander is currently pitching for the TIGRES DE ARAGUA, since Friday the winner of the Venezuelan Winter League. He now makes the trip to Mexicali, Mexico for the Caribbean Series, which starts on Monday.

The following seasons he split time between Independent League teams and Minor League affiliates of the Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox. In 2008 he was in the bullpen of Southern Maryland in the Atlantic League, appearing in eleven games (nine starts) with an ERA of 7.01 and 28 strikeouts (29 walks) in 52 2/3 innings. With the beginning of the Winter League season in the Caribes he joined the Venezuelan club CARIBES DE ANZOATEGUI, before transferring to ARGUA right in time for the postseason. Farnsworth had a 2-0 record and an ERA of 2.43 in seven starts during the playoffs with 28 K’s (16 walks) in 37 innings pitched.

This was Farnsworth line in his only season. Guess they didn't know Kyle was available:

Year Ag Tm Lg W L G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H HR BB SO IBB ERA ERA+ WHIP

2002 26 DET AL 2 3 44 0 0 0 15 0 70.0 100 6 29 28 8 5.79 73 1.843

Anyhow, I'm not going to do this every time I hear about a former major leaguer going to play in one of the lesser known leagues outside the States and Japan. I have a feeling this won't be anymore newsworthy than normal transactions. Soon. Good.

Two new firsts

In an effort that shows how the game is spreading internationally, more and more Europeans are making it into professional baseball in the states, joining the Latin and Asian players already there. While very few of them, mostly the Dutch, have made the majors, they are being given the opportunity to play in the minors. We can only hope they make it to the big's, and perform at a high level. That, more than anything else, will help baseball spread.

Two more European players have made it into the minors, each being the first from his country in many years. In the early years, when immigration was still going on at high rates, it wasn't unusual for a player to be born in another country, move to the states, and play major league baseball. Since WWII, this hasn't really happened with the Europeans all that much. But we have hope:

Then there's pitching prospect Alessandro Maestri, who, get this, is with a Major League organization -- the Cubs -- and is actually from Italy. Back in 2006, Maestri was signed by Bill Holmberg, who works for the Cubs and is the Italian National Team's pitching coach. Maestri was on the Italian team for the first rendition of the Classic, appearing in two games. He is the first Italian-born pitcher to be signed by a Major League team.

After he'd started out as a reliever, the Cubs moved the right-hander into the rotation last year for multiple purposes, to have him work on all of his pitches as
well as to see exactly what they had in the 23-year-old. He went 5-4 with a 4.04 ERA over 89 innings, getting shut down conservatively when he experienced some shoulder soreness.

There have been lots of hyphenated-Italians to play baseball, but I''m surprised to learn he is the first pitcher. I wouldn't have thought that at all.

Then, even better, is the fact that a player at a so-called "skill position" has made it:

The Kotlarka Prague baseball club recently announced that catcher Martin Cervenka has signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. Korlarka competed in the second division baseball league in the Czech Republic last year.

Cervenka, just 17-years-old, is the first European prospect to sign a professional contract with the Indians organization and will continue to play for Korlarka this upcoming season. The promising backstop hit .214 in six games with the Tegola Titans in the Czech Republic’s top league a year ago.

Catching is hard at any level, but for a Czech player to have mastered the skills well enough to sign a pro contract means he must have some good skills.

A lot of people are complaining about the number of Latinos and Asians playing major league baseball right now. I'm sure they'll have the same complaint about the European players. Right?

I don't know why they have a problem with it. Unless they want baseball to be just a localized, American game, played by citizens, then they should be embracing the fact that more and more people around the world are good enough to play pro ball.

I don't know about other people, but I'm a Royals fan. We need all the help we can get. I don't care where they were born. I just want them to be good.

The Reds will be the home team

It has just been announced that Moscow will host a series of first-round games for the World Baseball Cup, in September. No, the games will not be in the Red Square, or Gorky Park. But that would be cool, wouldn't it.


The teams participating in Moscow will be:



Russia - of course. I'm not really sure if they're called the Reds, but it's still a good joke.


Great Britain - no word yet on whom Kim Philby will be rooting for.


Japan - who had hoped the games would be played in Vladivostok, as they are undefeated there.


Nicaragua - word is Daniel Ortega will pay a state visit at the same time, visit the tomb of Lenin, and cry like a baby and how the world has passed him by.



I've never been to Russia, and I probably won't get to go in September. But it should be an entertaining round of baseball.

Two good stories

Cambodia, as well as Vietnam, is trying to develop a baseball program as well. Unlike Vietnam, they are getting a little bit of help. It seems as though MLB has an Envoy program to help out countries who don't have viable leagues yet.

Because of this, Canadian Mike Griffin has been to Cambodia to coach the national team. But even though MLB is involved, it hasn't gone overboard spending the money:

It so happened that Cambodia was putting together its first-ever national team in time for the South East Asia Games in Bangkok and needed a head coach.



One catch – Cambodia Baseball, funded mostly by expatriate Joe Cook, couldn’t pay Griffin, not even his travel costs. He went anyway.

You getting all this, Bud.

The entire article can be found here. Its a good read. Take a look at it. This guy is pretty cool, if you ask me.

But he isn't the only one that stands out. Joe Cook, an American born in Cambodia, has done everything he can to get baseball going in the country, to include funding much of it himself.

Two good articles. Well worth the time.

New Israeli baseball league

From the ashes of the previous Israel Baseball League, a new one has risen. Or at least we hope:

Five months after the US-based Israel Baseball League disappeared from the local sports scene, the Israel Association of Baseball announced Wednesday that it has entered into negotiations with a group of "prominent North American sportsmen" who are planning to develop a new professional baseball league here.

In essence, however, this is really another American independent league:

According to an IAB statement, the group will operate under an American company formed for the purpose of developing the league.

Oh well, it's baseball. The only problem is that the evil empire is involved:

The new group is headed by Marv Goldklang, a part owner of the New York Yankees and principal owner of four minor league professional baseball teams in the United States.

The problem I see is not that its done to further baseball, but is being done as a business venture:

"We feel this group is composed of high-caliber, professional, experienced and very reputable individuals. They are not spending other people's money but investing their own at this point and performing all the necessary groundwork required to protect their potential investment and develop a viable structure for professional baseball in Israel.

Hey, the Yankees are involved. What else would you expect. One thing is guaranteed, however. The Yankees will be involved in every championship. Again.



This is another article I found with a little more information on it.