Category Archives: Sports

Baseball and iPods

FreeMacBlog.com – Todd Helton And His Hitting Coach iPod

The guys at the Colorado Rockies have found a good use for a video iPod: put video of opposing pitchers on it for their batters. Batters are always looking for ways to better prepare to face certain pitchers. Scouting reports and pitching charts certainly help, but video helps a batter visualize what he might face. Equipped with a video iPod, a player can simply select a playlist to see how a pitcher pitched to him and what his swing looked like in each at-bat. I’m not sure how muchÂ batters have benefitted from this, but I think it would be a great idea. Baseball is all about analyzing statistics and situations, so it lends itself very well to technlogical innovations like this.

Now, if only I could get someone to organize all my videos and music to playlists like this…

Home Run City

Comerica brought to its knees by Abreu

In case you didn’t catch the Home Run derby this last Monday, you should read this article about how Bobby Abreu smashed the previous home run record of 27 with 41 blasts. It was a pretty neat sight to watch, and I especially appreciated Abreu’s demeanor as he was at the bat – he was really enjoying it. You could tell the fans were getting into it, too, and it was exciting to watch him break the single-round record by about 10 home runs with 24. It was really amazing, and really cool to watch.

Moonlight Graham Day

Major League Baseball : News : Major League Baseball News: Moonlight Graham Day

Do you remember Moonlight Graham from Field of Dreams? He was a real baseball player who played in the majors for just one day and yesterday was the 100th anniversary of that day. Hats off to Moonlight Graham and his willingness to follow his dream.

In a related story, the Minnesota Twins held their celebration for Moonlight Graham in a pregame ceremony for a game against the Kansas City Royals. Who wins the game? Kansas City. Go Royals! We still believe!

Red Sox beat the curse?

From The New York Times:

Boston Wins Series, 4-3: Back From Dead, Red Sox Bury Yankees and Go to Series
It was actually happening. The nerd was kissing the homecoming queen. Paper was beating scissors; scissors were beating rock. Charlie Brown was kicking the football. The Red Sox were beating the Yankees for the American League pennant.

To Pitch or Not to Pitch

From ESPN:

ESPN.com: Page 2 – Talkin’ some baseball
The Giants have scored 600 of their 787 runs in innings when Bonds steps to the plate.

When he walks, the Giants average 1.09 runs per inning. When he doesn’t walk, the Giants average 0.95 runs per inning.

And when he’s intentionally walked, the Giants average 1.25 runs per inning.

Based on that, it’s clear to me that teams should pitch to Bonds more often.