Lee's Baseball Blog

Note: This post first appeared on the sonsofsamhorn.com web site in June 2016 and is re-posted here with permission. The objective of a baseball team is to win a championship. So it stands to reason that a search for the biggest play in MLB history starts with the question “What one play had the most impact on a team winning or losing a championship?” I began to ponder this question as a result of a debate with a friend who is a Texas Rangers fan. From the moment it happened, I have contended that the most egregious play ever was  Nelson Cruz 's failure to track down  David Freese ’s fly ball in the bottom of the ninth in Game Six of the 2011 World Series. With two on and two out, the Rangers leading the series 3-2 and the game by two runs, Freese lifted a fly to deep right that, if caught, would have given the Rangers their first-ever title. But Cruz was playing unusually shallow. He drifted toward the ball rather than chasing it at full speed, and it eluded him. Two run...

Note: This post first appeared on the sonsofsamhorn.com web site in May 2015 and is re-posted here with permission. During Thursday night’s Red Sox-Mariners game, in the top of the second with none out and no score,  Xander Bogaerts  attempted to advance from first to second on a ball in the dirt.  Mike Zunino  made a good throw to  Robinson Cano  at second and Bogaerts was out.   Given the challenges the Red Sox have been having in scoring runs recently, it wasn’t surprising to see Xander force the Mariners to make a good play here. During the NESN broadcast,  Steve Lyons  went out of his way to emphasize that he liked the “aggressiveness” displayed by Bogaerts, despite the outcome. In the interest of full disclosure, I have known Steve for many years and respect him immensely. In my opinion, he has great baseball instincts, borne of decades of experience both as a player and as a broadcaster. And as a generalization, my observation...

Note: This post first appeared on the sonsofsamhorn.com web site and is re-posted here with permission. In 1967 I was seven years old and it was the year of my sports awakening. Finally old enough to understand a bit of what was going on, my Dad took the opportunity to share with me his love of sports of all kinds. He was a travelling salesman which meant he was gone much of the work week. And he had a love of golf that bordered on addiction, which would stay with him for his entire life, so many Saturday mornings while I watched Augie Doggie and Huckleberry Hound he could be found at Sunningdale Golf and Country Club. But sports on TV gave us a chance to spend time together and formed an unbreakable bond that endures, even since his passing. With my Dad at my first visit to Fenway - summer 1978 That spring we watched our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs (we lived in London, Ontario at the time) win their most-recent Stanley Cup. Every Wednesday and Saturday night was devoted to...

Note: This post first appeared on the sonsofsamhorn.com web site in April 2015 and is re-posted here with permission. All games are the culmination of every play, every action that occurs from start to finish. As we all know, some plays mean more than others, and often the outcome hinges on that one moment, that one choice, that one action. These can seem fairly inconsequential at the time, their full impact only becoming apparent as the rest of the game plays out. But hindsight can be a wonderful thing, and when we reflect on these plays they can illuminate a particularly beautiful aspect of a particularly beautiful sport. The Red Sox’ 1-0 win over the Rays on  April 21st   pivoted around one such sequence of events. On a fairly routine grounder back to the pitcher, Mookie Betts took off from first (a certain out at second), and managed to disturb Rays’ 2B  Ryan Brett  just enough that his throw eluded  Logan Forsythe  at first. What could have been a...

Note: This post first appeared on sonsofsamhorn.com in May 2015 and is re-posted here with permission. Hey you! Yes, you! The kid with the blue hoodie sitting down the left field line at  Friday’s Red Sox-Yankees game . The one who reached out and interfered with  Ryan Hanigan ’s 4th inning single, resulting in fan interference that sent  Xander Bogaerts  back to 3rd, costing the Red Sox a run. Yeah, tonight’s game. You know, the one the Red Sox lost by a run. I know you got ejected. I know your dad was really,  really  upset at the usher for booting you. Boo f*cking hoo. You screw up like that, you get what you deserve. As far as I can figure, that cost your team 0.5 wins. You, Mr. Blue Hoodie, now sport a -0.5 fanWAR. You know what a marginal win is worth? Last I checked it was about $7 million. You made a $3.5 million mistake. You. Are. An idiot. Any fan who sits within arm’s length of a ball in play has a sacred responsibility. You have to ...