“Say it with me, Royals’ fans. Let’s ‘Play ball!’” The stadium announcer says it every game right before the Royals take the field. Those two words are key to the start of a game. When it was my turn to pitch in ball games growing up, I remember the umpire shouting, “Play ball!” and...

If you are a Major League pitcher, you dream about pitching in the World Series, winning the Cy Young, or pitching a perfect game.  That’s the pinnacle of your career.  That’s your ticket to the history books; perhaps even to the Hall of Fame. If you follow baseball at all, or if you witnessed...

When I was a kid, I was a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan. My mom was from St. Louis and I was born in Columbia, so that was fairly automatic. But even as a Cardinals fan, I admired the heritage of the Yankees. I remember the day in 7th grade when a friend of mine handed me his sports almanac. I looked...

Baseball isn’t the most popular sport in the United States anymore. NASCAR is the number one spectator sport, and football is the highest rated sport on television. Nor does baseball reflect the priorities and temperament of the country the way it used to. That dubious honor might also be shared...

I am tired of hating the Yankees. The Phillies have lost. Chase Utley has lost. Cliff Lee has lost. Ryan Howard has lost. It is the Yankees who say yes or no. Those who tried to defeat the Yankees have lost. It is baseball and we have no salary cap. The little teams are unable to keep up. The smaller...

Watching 54,000 people inflate the Metrodome with their cheering Tuesday while their Minnesota Twins won a one-game playoff in the bottom of the 12th inning , made me consider several things about baseball. Most of them involved memories. I remember going to games at the old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington,...

Despite growing up going to church and also being someone who loves sports, I’ve never felt any extra fondness for athletes simply because they expressed a measure of faith. I liked players more when I saw interesting features about their lives, or when people told stories that cast these superstars...

The things I hate most in sports are as follows: 1. Flopping – It’s one of the biggest reasons soccer hasn’t been successful in the US and the only reason to dislike the team-oriented, small-market-based San Antonio Spurs. I like my athletes to be graceful, strong and tough. Two out...

I know Jordan’s currently working on a blog about the already infamous Mitchell Report, and though I generally loathe the amount of attention that sports receives (whenever the topic comes up, the line from Annie Hall always runs through my mind: “What is so fascinating about sitting around...

Paul Byrd did an outspoken Q & A with Sam Alipour of ESPN. You can read it here. There are some interesting comments about what it’s like to be an athlete and a christian. If I had to pitch to Big Papi, I’d be praying more too.