One of my favorite stories from The Onion, a satirical newspaper I like to read, tells of a White House slam dunk competition that results in no slam dunks. “I tell you, this is some sorry stuff I’m seeing,” celebrity judge and former San Antonio Spur George “Iceman” Gervin is quoted as saying in the [...]
Archive for December, 2009
A gift from a friend
Posted: 31st December 2009 by Graham Womack in MLBTags: family and friends, politics
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The “What If” Dream Team
Posted: 30th December 2009 by Graham Womack in Best of listsTags: Best of, what if
I’ve been kicking around the idea lately of creating a dream lineup for the players I feel were held back from immortality by one misfortune or another. These are the players who generally suffered some kind of catastrophic injury, left the game in shame, or died young. Barring these fates, many if not most of [...]
In the spirit of this site, I now offer another “Best of” list, this time a lineup of players I would want, were I assembling a defensive dream team. The number of Gold Gloves won by each player is listed next to their name in parentheses. P- Greg Maddux (18) – Far and away the [...]
Interview with Dale Tafoya
Posted: 29th December 2009 by Graham Womack in InterviewsTags: Bash Brothers, Dale Tafoya, interview, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire
I got an email last Saturday from Dale Tafoya, the author of Bash Brothers, which I reviewed here on December 23. I got a little nervous when I first saw Tafoya’s name in my email inbox, as my review of his work was, at times, less than flattering. Tafoya was cool, though, saying that he [...]
Christmas sighting: Nick Johnson
Posted: 25th December 2009 by Graham Womack in UncategorizedTags: Nick Johnson, Sacramento baseball players
Life can be oddly serendipitous sometimes. I’ve been kicking around the idea recently of writing an entry here about Nick Johnson. The 31-year-old signed a $5.75 million one-year contract on Wednesday to rejoin the team that drafted him, the New York Yankees and be their designated hitter. Moreover, we graduated from the same high school, [...]
Book Review: Bash Brothers
Posted: 23rd December 2009 by Graham Womack in Book reviewsTags: A Legacy Subpoenaed, Bash Brothers, book review, Dale Tafoya, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire
As faithful readers of this space will know, I interviewed Jose Canseco in April 2008 on his promotional tour for his book, Vindicated. While researching Canseco in the days leading up to our meeting, I came across a notice for a forthcoming book on the former Oakland Athletics slugger and his teammate, Mark McGwire. The [...]
The 10 Most Overrated Hall of Famers
Posted: 22nd December 2009 by Graham Womack in Baseball Hall of FameTags: Baseball Hall of Fame, Best of, cause for debate, overrated hall of famers
Several months ago, when this site was in its infancy, I wrote a post, “The 10 best players not in the Hall of Fame.” It remains my most popular post, by far, and has lead to other entries. When in doubt, I learned, the Hall of Fame makes for thought-provoking writing. Today, I offer a [...]
Special Christmas sale: Cheap free agents
Posted: 14th December 2009 by Graham Womack in Free agency, trades, and other movesTags: Free agency, trades, and other moves
A staggering 266 baseball players recently hit the free agent market, and between the sputtering economy and abundance of quality players for teams to choose from, their prospects for landing decent contracts don’t look good. There hasn’t been a worse time in years to be a free agent coming off a marginal or injury-riddled season. [...]
My favorite baseball player, 2009
Posted: 13th December 2009 by Graham Womack in MLBTags: childhood memories, Tim Lincecum, Will Clark
As a child, my favorite baseball player was Will Clark. No question. In fact, if asked who my favorite player is these days, I might still say Clark (Rickey Henderson and Pete Rose also merit consideration, with their similar, throwback style.) There aren’t a whole lot of players in the current baseball landscape that stroke [...]
Former Sacramento Solons owner, Fred David, dead at 100
Posted: 12th December 2009 by Graham Womack in UncategorizedTags: Fred David, obituary, ongoing projects, Sacramento baseball players
A pioneering member in Sacramento sports history, Fred David died on October 17, at the age of 100. David once owned a Pacific Coast League baseball team from my hometown, the Sacramento Solons, and I did my senior project in high school on it. I interviewed a number of former players and people associated with [...]