Baseball Nostalgia 1869

This is the story of how Armando Galarraga spent 7 years in the minors and had been traded twice before he pitched the game of his life which was ruined by a missed call by Jim Joyce at first base. He settled for a 1-hit complete game shutout instead and took lots of class of how he handled not getting the perfect game. It also went from Joyce being know as one of the game's best umpires to the one who took perfection away from Galarraga. Note: the Tigers won 3-0 on the 28-out perfect game over the then Cleveland Indians on June 2, 2010. 

On Episode 19 of the Baseball Nostalgia 1869, it's the 6th part of the Average Numbers of National Baseball Hall of Famers with this one looking at shortstops by giving an overview of the position from contact and defense to power and defense, discussing Honus Wagner and Ernie Banks, Derek Jeter's atrocious defense and him not deserving his Gold Gloves, dWARs value in analyzing SS, and Top 10 SS. 

On Episode 18 of the Baseball Nostalgia 1869 Podcast is the fifth installment of the Average Numbers of National Baseball Hall of Famers series looking at Third Baseman, discussing its beginning as a contact and defensive position to being a combination of power and defense thanks to Eddie Mathews and Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson's fantastic fielding abilities, Scott Rolen and Adrián Beltré will soon be in Cooperstown, Pete Rose Jim Gray interview, and Top 5 3rd baseman of all time in no particular order besides Schmidt and top 5 right now. 

On Episode 17 of the Baseball Nostalgia 1869 Podcast, the 2022 MLB Season is previewed by predicting where each of the 30 teams will place in the standings of their respective division, which 12 teams will make playoffs with the field expanding by 1 team in each league, the World Series matchup, and Awards such as MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year. 

In Episode 16 of the Baseball Nostalgia 1869 Podcast, it's the fourth installment of the average numbers of National Baseball Hall of Famers going over the Second Baseman, discussing Rogers Hornsby, the all-around 2nd Baseman throughout baseball's 153-year history, dWAR's importance in analyzing the position, how batting titles are linked with second baseman, and listing the top 5 best 2nd baseman ever in no particular order. Note that the Third Baseman episode won't drop until next week as plan to release a episode 2022 season preview on Wednesday!

On Episode 15 of the Baseball Nostalgia 1869 Podcast, I continue with the average numbers of National Baseball Hall of Famers with First Baseman and Designated Hitters. I'll highlight the best from each era, explain why I combined the 1B and DHs together, the reason behind Paul Molitor being classified as a DH in my data, and listing the 10 greatest first baseman in no order while ranking the 5 greatest designated hitters. 

On Episode 14 of Baseball Nostalgia 1869 Podcast, I continue the look at the average numbers for National Baseball Hall of Famers with the catchers where I discuss that for 53 years the position was defense first until Mickey Cochrane, dWAR sabermetics and Gold Gloves importance in analyzing catchers, Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Gary Garter, Mike Piazza, and Iván Rodríguez changed the position, and is Buster Posey a HOF?

On Episode 13 of the Baseball Nostalgia 1869 Podcast, I begin a deep dive of the average numbers of National Baseball Hall of Famers for each position including manager to be enshrined. First up are starting and relief pitchers where I discuss that the complete game is irrelevant when looking at current great pitchers, the downfall of the complete game and rise of the save, why Lee Smith deserved better, and the comparison of Bruce Sutter, Trevor Hoffman, and Mariano Rivera. 

In this episode, your favorite baseball encyclopedia, Jack Butler, will begin with the injury-ridden Cleveland Indians and how they are surviving in the American League Central as they are just 3.0 games behind the front running Chicago White Sox. Next, I’ll discuss why Aaron Civale is the most underappreciated pitcher in the game right now and preview their back-to-back doubleheaders against the Blue Jays and White Sox. Then let’s take a look back at Roy Halladay’s masterpiece, a perfect game 11 years later against the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium. And I’ll make my case for Kenny Lofton belonging in the Baseball Hall of Fame and explain how he got screwed during his first year on the ballot.

Your favorite baseball encyclopedia is back in the 11th episode  of Baseball Nostalgia 1869. He breaks down the Cleveland Indians and how the rest of the league has fared early on, and predicts the playoffs, World Series, and end of season awards. Also, discusses pitching and hitting phenom Shohei Ohtani, Max Scherzer climbing the all-time strikeout list, and how the Indians can compete this year.