Category Archives: Go Sox

See a Nats’ Game – Free If You Take a Kid or an Elder

12 Monday Jun 2017

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I have tickets available for ten Washington Nationals’ games in July through mid-August, most of which I cannot attend because of  summer commitments. The seats are good ones, Section 127, Row Z, Seats 1 & 2, 20 rows off the field, between the catcher and Nats’ dugout.

So, here’s the deal:

*For each of the games below that have two tickets available, they are free to you if you take a kid (broadly defined) or an older person (broadly defined). Otherwise, your ticket is free but you will have to pay me my cost of $60 for the second one.

*For the two games I think I can attend, your ticket is free.

*Tickets will go first to anyone who has not already gotten tickets from me this year. (Even if you’ve attended a game already, still make a request.)

*Give me two choices of games you are interested in attending so that I can juggle various requests.

Games Available

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“The Greatest Sportswriter There Ever Was”

30 Tuesday May 2017

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Frank Deford died on Sunday at the age 78. For sports fans (not just baseball fans) of my generation, both his writing and his speaking about sports was as good as you could get. His ability to put you at the scene of an event, to explain the importance of a moment or something larger, and his use of language to do so was, for me, mesmerizing.

There have been a number of articles and tributes to him already, and I suspect many  more will be written over the days to come. This one, by Joe Posnanski, tells about the impact Deford had on one of our current best sports writers (in my opinion) and why he believes “Frank was the greatest sportswriter there ever was.”

A Toast to the Best, by Joe Posnanski, May 29 on the death of Frank Deford.

Update 9 PM, 5/30 – For those who want to know more about Deford, see this NPR post: The Best of Frank Deford, According to Frank Deford.

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The Bucky Dent Story: Did Palermo Make the Right Call ?

15 Monday May 2017

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Bucky Dent connecting for a three-run, seventh-inning home run off the Red Sox’ Mike Torrez that all but clinched a division title for the Yankees in a one-game regular-season playoff at Fenway Park. Dent had only four other homers all year. (AP Photo)

Generally we don’t know the names of most baseball umpires, which is as it should be. I think the best baseball umpires are the ones that fade into the background and let the game be the centerpiece.

Steve Palermo, from Worcester, MA, was one of the good ones and was popular with almost everyone.

But he may have made one really bad call.

Check out Joe Posnanski’s column, written yesterday when it was announced that Palermo died at the age of 67.

Let me know if you think Palermo made the right or the wrong call.

See: Steve Palermo’s Love of Baseball, by Joe Posnanski

Also, in case you don’t know much about it, or need a refresher, check out the NYTimes article about the game and the disaster that struck the Red Sox that day: Bucky Dent’s Improbable Clout by James Tuite, Oct.2, 1978

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Seeing Ourselves in Others

07 Sunday May 2017

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For those of you who have read some of my baseball related posts on MillersTime, you know that I’m not only obsessed with the game but also believe that there are many life lessons to be learned from baseball. Unfortunately, it has become a cliche to say that the game imitates life (or is it that life imitates the game?), used mostly by baseball fans trying to justify to nonbelievers the importance and value of this wonderful sport.

I was reminded of the intersection of baseball and life the other day when an alert reader (Harry Siler) sent me a link to an article by Doug Glanville**, a former baseball player. Since 2008 Glanville has been a guest columnist for the NYTimes and, until a few weeks ago, was a baseball analyst for ESPN for seven years. (He was laid off with several hundred other ESPN employees in a major company staff reduction.)

In a May 5 NYTimes article, Red Sox, Racism and Adam Jones, Glanville writes about his own fears of possibly being traded to the Red Sox, but it is his way of looking at the recent racial incident(s) at Fenway Park in Boston that most interested me. In his usual common sense way, Glanville concludes:

Baseball gives us a chance to see ourselves in everyone, at times reflecting the image of some complex and difficult shadows in our society. That is a big step toward mutual understanding. As hard as it is, we need to see ourselves in the fans who were ejected. Having biases is human, our flawed yet efficient way to create shortcuts in our lives. But we need to check them more honestly if we are to really understand how to move forward.

We would all do well to avoid these shortcuts in our lives and check our own biases.

Check out his short article: Red Sox, Racism and Adam Jones, by Doug Glanville.

And if  you want to learn more about him, check out Doug Glanville, From Ivy League to Center Field, NPR, including an excerpt from his book, The Game From Where I Stand.

**(Glanville played 15 seasons in professional baseball, nine of them in the Majors, with the Phillies, Cubs, and Rangers before he retired in 2004. He was outstanding center fielder, going his last 293 games without making an error. He hit .325 one year and had a lifetime BA of .277. He also graduated from U of Penn with a degree in systems engineering.)

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Unacceptable, Sox Fans

02 Tuesday May 2017

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Baltimore Orioles’ Adam Jones was subjected to racial slurs and at least one object (bag of peanuts) thrown at him last night at Fenway. He indicated this was not the first time this has happened at Fenway but was the nastiest one.

Apparently the person (I hesitate to say fan) who threw the peanuts and some others were removed from the stadium.

That is not sufficient.

The Sox need to make it clear that individuals who behave in such a manner will never be allowed to return to Fenway and that they will be turned over to the Boston police for prosecution.

If currently there are no grounds for legal action in Boston, the city and state legislature should immediately pass such laws.

And fans who hear such taunts and observe such behaviors should vocally object and should call Sox security.

There should be zero tolerance for such abhorrent behavior.

Period.

See: Red Sox Issue Statement on Jones Incident, Sam Kennedy, Red Sox President

See: No Place for what Jones Faced, by Richard Justice

See: Adam Jones Calls Fenway Fans Cowards…

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My ‘Work’ Is Done

27 Thursday Apr 2017

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Before you read any further, check out the photos above carefully. What you can see is my 14th month old granddaughter now ‘sporting’ —  so to speak — diapers that clearly display what I trust will be her life choice of a favorite baseball team.

Believe it or not, her mother, my younger daughter, was the person who found and procured said diapers. (I admit I did support the idea once she mentioned it to me, but in truth, it was all her idea.)

Thus, my ‘work’ is done as far as this grandchild is concerned. Her mother seems to have it all well under control.

However, just in case, here are a few further actions she might take to embed a Sox obsession in her progeny:

  • Secure appropriate clothing each year of Samantha’s life which touts the Sox, Wally, Fenway, etc. (She might want to wait on any ‘Green Monster’ clothing until Samantha is old enough not to be fearful of monsters. Note: A ‘mistake’ was made with my then three year old grandson who was scared by a Green Monster t-shirt I procured for him. Only now, when he is almost four, has he begun to wear it. Hopefully, no long term damage was done.)
  • Parents should themselves, at various times, ‘sport’ appropriate Sox gear and should definitely avoid anything even resembling Yankee clothing. KC Royals’ gear (current home team) is problematic as mixed messages are rarely good for children.
  • Turn the TV on whenever the Sox are on, particularly if it is a playoff or World Series game.
  • Remind Samantha frequently that supporting the Sox is very important to the child’s maternal grandfather.
  • Find a player on the Sox team who is young and/or recognizable and have the child focus on that individual. Ages seven to eight have been found to be the earliest appropriate times to begin serious understanding of baseball. (Note: This has worked well with at least two of her cousins, and I plan to continue this ‘tradition’ with the third cousin when he reaches the age of seven.)
  • Plan her first trip to Fenway when she’s seven or eight. Assuming the early years of propagandizing have produced a desirable result, such a trip can ‘close the deal’ and make said individual a lifelong Sox fan. (Note: Said parents are off to a good start having taken her to a Sox game at the age of two months, tho it’s true the young babe was torn away from her earphones and taken home for bedtime in the second inning.)
  • As often as you can, take Samantha on or near her birthday to a Sox game, and, if possible, make it a birthday celebration with some of her friends attending also. (Note: This strategy may only work for a few years until she realizes there are more fun ways to celebrate her birthday.)
  • The teenage years are too late for any real Sox indoctrination as adolescents seem to get a mind of their own. Thus, it is crucial to be sure that by that time, the parental unit has fully passed on this obsession, which has been in our family now for five generations.
  • Check on whether there are Red Sox diapers in new born sizes (as that will be necessary soon.) We know the new baby will have plenty of onesies and t-shirt to wear, but you never know if the supply of these properly labeled diapers will be available after the initial run on them.

I do want to congratulate her mother on finding the lovely diapers, which gives me  a good deal of relief that I do not have to worry about Samantha’s Sox education.

And a final special note to Samantha’s father: There is no problem encouraging her to follow both an NFL and a MLB team. And while I suspect he will favor football over baseball, it is possible, and quite important, for him to participate in this essential parental duty of supporting Samantha’s potential life long love of the Sox.

                                                                 Photography by Ellen Miller

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For Baseball Geeks Only

26 Wednesday Apr 2017

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Well the best months of the year are here, and baseball season is underway. The Nats have the best record in the National League, despite having a disastrous bullpen that seems bent on blowing every lead the team has in the late innings. The Os, somehow, are leading in the AL East, perhaps another example of the importance of hitting, tho I can’t imagine hitting will carry the day for either of these two teams.

And my Sox aren’t doing too badly, despite lots of injuries and no David Price. Houston maybe the surprise this year, tho I doubt they’ll continue at a .700 pace. Colorado too is a surprise, so far winning twice as many games as they’ve lost.

Anyway, it’s a long season, and we’re only about 20 games into the 162 game season.

Meanwhile, two of you (BT, JM) have sent me a link to an article that I want to draw to the attention of those baseball fans who love looking beyond just who’s winning and who’s losing. Actually, this article may be too technical for many. And I admit that I have struggled with understanding it all. Even the title is dense.

But take a look. It offers a different way of looking at relief pitchers, particularly closers.

See: The Save Ruined Relief Pitching. The Goose Egg Can Fix It, by Nate Silver.

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Too Good to Be True?

12 Wednesday Apr 2017

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Shoei Ohtani -a name you are going to hear about and a person who may do something in baseball that hasn’t been done since Babe Ruth a 100 years ago. While  it may be a couple of years before you see him in the US, check out this young Japanese baseball player who can both pitch (102+ mph) and hit (mammoth home runs).

I know we often hear about Japanese (and other) young players who are highly touted and then never live up to the hype about them. But then some do. I think you’re going to want to follow this 22-year old.

There’s an article (see link below) in the April 17th issue of Sports Illustrated magazine by Jon Wertheim (h/t Ellen Miller) that will introduce Ohtani if you have not already learned about him. (There was a piece on him on 60 Minutes this past Sunday.)

Read:  Shohei Ohtani—Japan’s Babe Ruth—is about to change the face of baseball

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Join Me for a Nats’ Game

27 Monday Mar 2017

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Here is a list of games available in April, May, and June at Nationals’ Park, DC, either to join me or to get two seats for yourself.

Mon., April 10, 7:05 PM vs the Cards – Two tickets (without me) four rows behind the Visitors Dugout. Free if you take someone of a different generation, otherwise $75 per ticket.

Tues., April 11, 7:05 PM vs Cards – Join me at no cost to you.*

Wed., April 12, 4:05 PM vs Cards – Join me at no cost to you.

Wed., May 3, 7:05 PM vs Diamondbacks – Join me at no cost to you.

Wed., May 10, 7:05 vs Orioles – Join me at no cost to you.

Fri., May 12, 7:05 PM vs Phillies – Two tickets at no cost to you if you take someone of a different generation, otherwise, $57 per ticket.

Sat., May 13, 7:05 PM vs Phillies – Two tickets at no cost to you if you take someone of a different generation, otherwise $57 per ticket.

Tues., June 13, 7:05 vs Braves – Two tickets at no cost to you if you take someone of a different generation, otherwise $57 per ticket.

Fri., June 23, 7:05 vs Braves – Two tickets at no cost to you if you take someone of a different generation, otherwise $57 per ticket.

Thurs., June 29, 4:05 vs Cubs – Join me at no cost to you.

*I will accept, however, a bag of peanuts (for sharing).

Email me (Samesty84@gmail.com) if you are interested in any of the above games, whether to join me or to take the two tickets for yourself.

Let me know of any interest by Monday next (Nats’ Opening Day, April 3). If possible, give me two games so I can juggle any requests as this will not be decided solely on a first come, first serve basis.

I’ll have other tickets, many more, for July and August and will post those dates probably some time in May.

REMINDER

2017 MillersTime Baseball Contests

Submission Due – Monday, April 3

 

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Nats’ New Park, Sox’s Fenway South, & When to Get Your Kid Hooked on Baseball

16 Thursday Mar 2017

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We had heard a good deal about the new Nationals/Astros spring training facility — The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Thus, when I saw that the Sox would be playing the Nats there, I of course got tickets and met my cousin and some other friends there Mar. 7th.

We had tickets behind the Sox dugout, and, for some reason, the Sox brought most of their starting players. The weather was perfect, and we got to see both first string Sox & Nats players as well as those trying to make the teams. The Sox won, of course, and even if it doesn’t matter who wins Spring Training games, if you’re a Sox fan, you never want them to lose.

Indeed it’s a good park. I don’t think there’s a bad seat in the place. It has 6,500 seats and another 1500 spectators can sit on a grass berm beyond left and right field. The stadium seats are largely in the shade, thanks to good planning and to some over hanging shade structures. There’s an open air concourse that goes from the left field fence all around to the one in right, and you can walk along it without missing a pitch. The only fault I could find with the park was the small scoreboard in the outfield which made it hard to see the names of the players, etc. (But that could also be a factor of my aging eyesight.)

The facility is on 160 acres of what use to be a landfill, trash dump. There are 12 practice fields, six for each team. The Astros have one which is the exact dimensions of their home field, and the Nats have two that are similar to their park in DC. The facility was built quickly, in 15 months, and cost about $150 million, $50 from the state and $100 million from a new county hotel tax. We had heard horror stories about the traffic getting into the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, but thanks to advance word and advice from my cousin, we approached it from the north (?) and had no trouble parking.

There are now four teams that have their Spring Training facilities in the area – Nats, Astros, Cards, and Marlins – so if you have the time and interest, spending a week or so in the Palm Beach area in the month of March will allow you to see those teams as well as ones that come across the state from the West Coast.

 

Then it was on to the West Coast to see other friends and three Sox games, one against the USA World Baseball Classic team, one against the Os, and one against the Rays. Of course, the Sox won all three, and even if the games don’t count for much, if you’re a Sox fan, you always want to see them win.

But the real reason to go was to see Fenway South, i.e.,Jet Blue Park, where the stadium is said to be a replica of Fenway Park in Boston. Built five years ago, after much negotiation with the ‘powers’ in Ft. Myers, the Sox got a new $77.9 million stadium outside of the city on 126 acres, including six practice fields (one with the same dimensions as Fenway) and a rehabilitation center. The funding came, in part, I think, because Lee County was afraid the Sox would move away, and involved some kind of public-private partnership, where much of the public outlay came from a “bed tax” on hotel rooms in the area.

While the main ball park itself has the same dimensions as the one in the north, it didn’t feel so much like Fenway in Boston. Yes. It has a Green Monster, with seats and a net in the middle of the wall, a former Fenway scoreboard that has to be manually updated with the use of a ladder (there’s no room behind the scoreboard to change the score between innings, etc.), a Pesky Pole, a triangle in center field, and a lone red seat (longest HR in Fenway).

The 11,000 seat stadium is quite open and shady, but it didn’t feel anything like Boston’s Fenway to me. I couldn’t tell exactly, but the right field configuration didn’t feel like the Fenway I know and sitting on/in the Green Monster (game vs. the Rays) only faintly resembled the one in Boston. In the game vs the USA team, we sat just to the left of home plate and had an enormous amount of room in which to stretch out. Against the Os, we sat beyond first base and by the end of the game our necks were sore from looking to the left.

Still, it’s the spring home of my heroes, and, like most spring training facilities these days (15 in Florida and 15 in Arizona), you feel close to the players, the weather is delightful (away from the cold and snow of the north), and you get the opportunity to see both starting players and those who are trying to be starters, or will be in several years.

I’ll definitely return. Anyone want to plan next year’s trip with me?

**          **          **          **          **          **          **          **

Readers of this site probably already know of my interest in different generations enjoying baseball together. That’s how I got hooked on baseball, and I’ve carried that on with my own kids and now grand kids.

You may also know of my two favorite current sports’ writers, Joe Posnanski and Thomas Boswell, from whom I learn something every time I read one of their columns.

And so, check out Posnanski’s latest column, wherein he writes about the best age to get your kids/grandkid involved. While the article does focus on Theo Epstein, I post a link to it primarily for the discussion about getting the next generation involved.

And finally, I have not heard from most of you with your predictions for the 2017 MillersTime Baseball Contests. And in case you missed the post, Connecting Generations, there are special prizes this year for submissions that involve cooperation between two generations.

Deadline for submissions is just about two weeks away. Remember, in case of a tie, the predictions submitted earlier wins.

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Saturday Was Different

13 Monday Mar 2017

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I have seen more than 500 MLB baseball games live, between spring training, the regular season, and the playoffs (including the Sox winning the World Series in game four against Cards in 2004).

But this past Saturday night in Marlins’ Park was different than all of those 500.

The game itself wasn’t different. In fact, it was between two teams each chocked full of MLB stars. The rules were (largely) the same, and the play was definitely at the major league level.

It was the 2017 World Baseball Classic with the USA vs Dominican Republic in game four of the first round of the tournament. The stadium was sold out. In fact, it was the largest ball crowd ever to attend a game in Marlins’ Park – 37,446.

As we drove near the stadium, we could hear roars coming from inside the park, and the game was still a half hour from beginning. People were lined up around the stadium just to get in.

So what was so different about this game?

The crowd.

I’ve always thought that the fans at a baseball game are every bit as important as the teams playing. Players come and go (more frequently now than when I was a kid), but for the most part, the fans remain and remain loyal (tho Dodger and Giant fans might disagree). Sometimes referred to as the Tenth Man, I think the fans are what makes baseball special.

And in Saturday night’s game, it was definitely the crowd that led the Dominicans to their victory over the USA.

We got to our seats as the first USA batter was up, and you would have thought we were in the 9th inning of a tie game. Every pitch led to the crowd rising, clapping, screaming, waving USA or DR flags and banners. And that was before the first hitter even got out of the batter’s box.

Behind us were a group with a banner largely and loudly proclaiming that “This Was the Real World Series.” And while the Dominicans were clearly a majority in the crowd, there were plenty of USA fans with their flags and paraphernalia.

When the USA scored and scored again and went ahead 5-0, the crowd settled down a bit, but the noise was still louder than what I had heard at the KC Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium record decibel level a year or two ago, with only half as many in the crowd.

Then the tide began to turn, one run at a time for a couple of innings as the DR closed the score to 3-5. The decibel level increased. Then, in the bottom of the 8th with two men on base, DR’s Nelson Cruz (43 HR in 2016) batting against the USA’s Andrew Miller (10-1 with an ERA of 1.45 and WHIP of 0.686, the MLB’s best in 2016) hit a HR that just stayed fair and put the DR ahead 6-5.

The stadium went wild.

(See my shaky video of the Cruz’s HR & crowd reaction)

When the next DR batter, Starling Marte, also hit a HR off of Miller (has Miller ever given up two HRs in a game or back to back ones?), the DR fans were already standing and did so for the remainder of the game.

Final score: DR over the USA 7-5.

Forget it Arrowhead fans. You’ll never equal the noise Saturday night from Marlins’ Park (where the fans didn’t have to be told to make noise).

I’ve never been to a South or Latin American (or European) soccer game with 100,000 fans, but I think I’m beginning to understand what that must be like.

Never in my 65 years of attending MLB games (first went at the age of about eight to Fenway), have I been part of such an animated and exuberant crowd.

While I was clearly, and vocally, rooting for the USA, I was delighted to see so many fans, jumping up and down, screaming, cheering, and filled with joy.

Euphoric doesn’t adequately describe the fans that streamed out of the park at the end of the almost four hour game. Even the USA fans seems exhilarated, if also disappointed.

Baseball at its best, and the fans knew they were part of a game they’d never forget.

As of this writing, the DR remains undefeated in the 2017 WBC (they won the last championship when the WBC was played in 2013 and likely will do so again this time if Saturday’s game is any indication).

Credit their fans.

The DR team could not and will not let their fans down.

PS – David Ortiz was seen Sunday night in the DR’s dugout dressed in a DR baseball uniform as they defeated Columbia 7-3 to move on to the next round.  Could we possibly see him at bat again before the end of This Real World Series?

PPS – More from my recent 2017 Spring Training trip coming in a future post.

PPPS – Don’t forget to get your predictions in for the 2017 MillersTime Baseball Contests. Deadline approaching.

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Connecting Generations

03 Friday Mar 2017

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Among so many other wonderful things, baseball is also about connecting generations. Look around you at any MLB  or professional game, especially a day game, and you’ll see fathers/mothers with their sons/daughters. Look more closely, and you’ll see grandfathers/grandmothers with their grandsons/granddaughters.

(Digression: I’ve written elsewhere on this site about my wonderful grandfather who introduced me to Fenway Park and my Red Sox obsession when I was less than 10 years old. I’ve written about taking my daughters to games for years, including World Series victories! And about my belief that it’s never too early to start because here’s what can happen. Most recently, I blogged about taking my then seven year old to his first Fenway game and taking my six year old granddaughter to see the Nats. And if what my grandson promised me (unasked!) — that he would take his grandson to Fenway Park — then that will be seven generations (over 100 years) of family seeing the Sox and baseball together and sharing wonderful memories of being connected with each other.)

Thus, a long lead in to something new this year I am adding to my annual MillersTime Baseball Contests:

Consider a Joint Submission with a son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, niece, nephew or with your father, mother, aunt or uncle, or grandfather or grandmother. If you and your ‘generational companion’ win, then both of you will get a ‘prized’ MillersTime Winner T-shirt and two tickets to a regular season game of your choice.

This addition is clearly a transparent attempt to encourage different generations to discuss baseball and for one generation to pass on their baseball interest to a younger generation, or, if you’re participating with an older generation, to get that older generation to share with you things from their past.

My definition of ‘different generations’ is a loose one, and as long as you ‘discuss’ some of the contests with someone older or younger and submit joint answers to the contests, then you will qualify. Even if you have to drag some kid off his/her Internet device or an elder out of his or her 4 PM dinner.

I am hoping for at least ten submissions this year that are Joint Submissions. And I am hoping that at least some of those are from women with a daughter, a son, a niece, a nephew, a mother, a grandmother, or a grandfather, etc. — the possible combinations are almost endless.

Please consider being one of the Joint Submitters.

See: 2017 MillersTime Baseball Contests :

2017 MillersTime Baseball Contests

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2017 MillersTime Baseball Contests

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

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Yes it is.

And guess who is going to five games? Well, three actual MLB spring training games, plus one game between the Sox and the USA team, and one World Classic playoff game. (Have I mentioned how much I love retirement?)

In the meantime, feast your eyes and minds on the MillersTime Contests for 2017 and sharpen your pencils (some of you no doubt still use those things). Your predictions are due by the opening pitch of the season, April 2, 1:10 PM. (See new deadline below.)

So it’s time to turn to the MillersTime Baseball Contests to test your baseball knowledge, hopes, luck, fears, prejudices, and ignorance. The contests have evolved from just Red Sox (and Evil Empire) focused questions to ones that involve all of MLB as the majority of contestants are no longer Sox fans (poor souls).

You don’t have to enter all of the contests, and if you’re not baseball obsessed (pity), you can easily just choose a couple of contests to enter (see #1, #2, #3, Extra Credit).

While it might be tempting to wait until late in Spring Training to submit your answers, you do run the risk of losing out to someone who submits a similar winning answer earlier.

Also, in addition to the prizes listed in each contest, all winners get the exclusive, one-of-a-kind “MillersTime Baseball Contest Winner” T-Shirt, a much ‘valued’ prize.

Winner

backwinner

 

Justin B models

his ‘prized’ T-Shirt

 

 

Contest # 1:

Pick your favorite MLB team (or the team you know the most) and answer the following questions to prove whether you’re just a homer (“Someone who shows blind loyalty to a team or organization, typically ignoring any shortcomings or faults they have”) or whether you really know something about your team and can honestly evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.

a. What will your team’s regular season 162 game record be in 2016?

b. Will they make the playoffs, and if so, how far will they go?

c.  What will be the most important factor (hitting, starting pitching, bullpen, an individual’s performance, the manager, injuries, etc.) in determining their season?

Prize: Two tickets to a regular season game with your favorite team (details to be negotiated with moi.)

Contest #2:

Make a prediction about something that will happen during the 2017 MLB season.

Your prediction could be about a team, about a player, about a new record, about an ‘event,’ or about something, hopefully unique, you think will happen in 2017. One prediction only.

Of those that come true, MillersTime readers will determine which one is the best prediction. Voters generally have selected the most specific prediction, one that showed baseball knowledge, and/or one that predicted something unusual.

Prize: Join me to see a Nats’ game next year in wonderful seats. If you don’t live in this area, can’t get here, or don’t want to come to DC swamp, you can give your prize to someone who can get here, or you can choose one of the books cited in the prizes below.

Contest #3: True or False

A. The Chicago Cubs will follow Joe Maddon’s advice again to “Be a good Cubbie and try not to suck” and will at least go to the World Series in 2017, as they did in 2016.

B. The Washington Nationals will NOT lead the NL East Division as they did in 2016.

C. One pitcher will throw two no hitters in 2017. (Only been accomplished five times: Johnny Vander Meer in 1938, Allie Reynolds in 1951, Virgil Trucks in 1952, Nolan Ryan in 1973, and Max Scherzer in 2015.)

D. Bryce Harper will rebound from his 2016 season — BA .243, HR-24, RBIs-86 – and finish in the top five the MVP voting. (Hint, but be wary: Harper hit a monster HR on his first swing in Spring Training this year)

E. A contract at over $400 million will be offered before the end of the 2017 season.

F. There will be five or more Triple Plays in the MLB this year. (Over the last seven years the average has been 4.1 per year.)

G. There will be more than three 20 game winners in 2017. (2016: Porcello -23, Happ – 20, Scherzer – 20)

H. No pitcher will have an ERA under 2.0 (Best in 2016 was Kyle Hendricks at 2.13)

I. At least one MLB batter will strike out 219 times or more in 2017 regular season play (Chris Davis, Orioles, did that in 2016.

J. One of Grand Papa’s (your ‘conductor’ of these contests) grandchildren will witness in person (at an MLB game) either a grand slam, a triple play, a no hitter, or Teddy win the President’s race at the Nats’ stadium.

Prize: Your choice of one of these books: The 20 Best Books Ever Written About Baseball.

Contest #4:

A. Which MLB team will have the best improvement in their games won over 2016?

B. Which MLB team will have show the biggest decline (the most losses compared to their record in 2016) ?

Prize: A copy of A. Bartlett Giamatti’s wonderful collection of baseball writings entitled A Great and Glorious Game.

Contest #5:

Will the American League continue its dominance over the National League in the All Star game in 2017? (AL won the last four ASG, 7 out of last 10, and 11 out of last 15).

Tie-Breaker: Name the AL and NL players who will each get the most votes to play in the All Star game.

Prize: Join me after the All Star break to see a Nats’ game in wonderful seats. If you don’t live in this area, can’t get here, or don’t want to come to DC, you can give your prize to someone who can get here, or I can take a kid to a game in your place.

Contest # 6:

Who will be the two teams in the World Series in 2017 and which team will win it all?

Tie-Breaker: Name the five teams in each league who will make the playoffs.

Prize: One ticket to the 2017 World Series.

Extra Credit:

Make up your own question about MLB in 2017 and then answer it.

Of those that come true, we’ll put it up to MillersTime baseball readers to decide who wins the prize. And that question will be incorporated in next year’s contests.

Prize: Your choice of one of these books: The 20 Best Books Ever Written About Baseball.

Additional Details:

  1. All winners get the ‘one-of-a-kind,’ specially designed MillersTime Baseball Winner T-Shirt.
  2. Enter as many or as few of the contests as you want.
  3. Be sure to answer all parts of each contest you do enter.
  4. If you get a friend (or a foe) to participate in these contests, and he/she wins and has mentioned your name in their submission, you will get a prize also.
  5. Get your predictions in soon. In case of ties in any contest, the individual who submitted his/her prediction first will be the winner.
  6. Submissions should be sent to me in an email – samesty84@gmail.com or can be sent to me by snail mail – Richard Miller – 2501 Tracy PL. NW, Washington, DC 20008.

New Deadline for Submissions: Nats’s Opening Day: Apr. 3, 2017, 1:05 PM, EST.

Addendum: Consider a Joint Submission with a son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, niece, nephew or with your father, mother, aunt or uncle, or grandfather or grandmother. If you and your ‘generational companion’ win, then both of you will get a ‘prized’ MillersTime Winner T-shirt and two tickets to a regular season game of your choice.

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So Much I Don’t Know About Baseball**

27 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by in Go Sox

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(**Previously titled: This Is How Stupid I Am About Baseball)

Before I turn to the MillersTime Baseball Contests for 2017 (to be emailed on March 1 and due back to me on April 1), there is one piece of unfinished business I’ve avoided.

Despite the obvious correctness of the message on the T-Shirt above, or maybe as proof of it, I am posting my predictions from last year’s contests and what in fact happened. (Heads up: not a pretty picture.)

Harumph.

Contest #1: Predictions about a favorite team:

A. The 2016 Red Sox win-lose record – 88-74. (FACT: Sox went 93-69 and won the AL East Division.)

B. They will make the playoffs and lose in the ALDS. (Fact: They did lose in the ALDS to the Indians in just three games.)

C. The positive factors for their season will be outfield defense and bullpen efficiency. Starting pitching, although better than 2015, won’t get them to 90 wins. (Fact: Outfield defense was good as was the bullpen, but it was starting pitching and hitting that propelled them as far as they got, before failing them.)

Contest #2: Prediction about something in the 2016 MLB season:

No MLB player will play in all 162 games. (Fact: Three players played in all 162 regular season games – Escobar, Schoop, and Springer.)

Contest #3:

A. The top 10 MLB players’ Batting Average will be .319, lower than the .322 in 2015. (Fact: The top ten Batting Averages were higher – .326.)

B. The top 10 MLB players’ OPS Average will be .924, lower than .931 in 2015. (Fact: The top 10 OPS Averages were higher – .966.3)

C. The top 10 MLB pitchers’ Earned Run Average will be 2.33, lower than 2.38 in 2015. (Fact: The top 10 ERAs were higher – 2.74.)

D. The top ten MLB pitchers will win a total of 188 games, higher than 183 games in 2015. (Fact: The ten winning pitchers won a total of 185 games.)

Contest #4.

A. Two teams with a combined won/loss record closest to .500 – Philles & Cubbies. (Fact: Indians & Rays = .502)

B. Team with the most won/loss improvement – White Sox. (Fact: Red Sox +15)

C. Pitcher with most relief wins – Mark Melancon will edge out Craig Kimbrel and Trevor Rosenthal. (Fact: Familia – 51)

Contest #5. Who will get the most AL & NL All Star Votes:

AL – David Ortiz and NL – Giancarlo Stanton who will edge out Bryce Harper. (Fact: AL was Salvador Perez and NL was Anthony Rizzo)

Contest #6. What 10 teams make it into the playoffs, which two to the WS and who wins it all?

AL – Kansas City, Houston, Chicago, Boston, Toronto (Fact: Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays, Indians, Rangers)

NL – Chicago, San Francisco, St. Louis, NYM, Arizona (Fact: Nationals, Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants)

Cubbies beat Royals (Fact: Cubs best the Indians in seven games)

Extra Credit: Make up a question for the 2016 season and answer it:

Last year the total number of stolen bases in the MLB was 2,505. Will that number increase, stay the same, or decrease?  What will that number be?

Decrease – 2,412. (Fact: Increase: 2537)

Respectfully submitted on The Ides of March, 2016 at 6:00 PM.

**          **          **          **          **          **          **          **

So, except for partially getting the Red Sox season correct (but underestimating their wins) and choosing the Cubbies to win the World Series (over the wrong team), I was not even close. Hopeless.

And if you’re going to join me for a Nats’ game this season, please do not come hoping to learn anything useful from me.

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Truck Day, Spring Training, & The Contest

03 Friday Feb 2017

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Finally.

Life begins again.

Truck Day for the Red Sox is Feb. 6.

Sox Pitchers & Catchers report to Spring Training Feb. 14.

Sox first full-squad workout is Feb. 17.

(Sox are reporting a week earlier than last year, tho many, if not most, of the players go early to ‘Fenway South’ – JetBlue Park – anyway.)

Sox first Spring Training game is Feb. 23 against Northeastern. and their first Grapefruit League is against the Mets Feb. 24.

And I’ll see the Sox vs the Nats at The Ball Park of The Palm Beaches (the Nats new Spring Training facility) on Mar. 7, and then three games at Jet Blue Park (USA team, O’s, and the Rays) on Mar. 9, 10, & 11.

Opening Day for MLB is April 2 with the Yanks vs Rays and the Cubs vs the Cards. The Sox open at home against the Pirates on April 3, and the Nats also open at home April 3 vs Marlins.

Life takes a turn for the better.

MillersTime 2017 Baseball Contests:

Meanwhile, I’m starting to work on the annual MillersTime Baseball Contest questions for 2017, and I have a few questions I hope you’ll answer:

  1. Usually I have six contests with maybe an Extra Credit one. Is that too many?
  2. I’ve moved from a Sox vs Yunkee focus to questions about your favorite team and ones that require more knowledge of all of MLB. While I try to have a mixture of simple and more complicated contests, what kind of questions in general do you prefer?
  3. I’m open to specific suggestions on new questions. If you have an idea for one for 2017, please send it to me in the next couple of weeks.

I hope to have The Contest questions posted on this website by Mar. 1 with your predictions due by Opening Day, April 2 at 1:10 PM.

Feel free to have your baseball friends join in. If anyone you bring in wins (they need to mention your name), you too will win a prize.

To see last years winners, go to: Summary of 2016 Winners and to see last year’s questions, go to: 2016 MillersTime Baseball Contests.

And all winners will get the exclusive and highly coveted MillersTime Winner baseball t-shirt in addition to individual prizes for each contest.

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