by Ron Sokol | Feb 6, 2019 | Pitchers, Uncategorized
“Is this the class about how to throw a curveball?” “Yes, you’re in the right room.” “But, well, what’s with this secrecy and subversion stuff?” “You want to throw a curveball, and try to make sure the batter is...
by Ron Sokol | Jan 31, 2019 | Analysis, Pitchers, Uncategorized
Might Casey-itis? Is that what this is? In August 2018, the New York Times wrote: “This could be the first season in major league history to feature more strikeouts than hits, a slowdown that worries many league officials. Thirty years ago, batters compiled...
by Ron Sokol | Oct 23, 2018 | Analysis, Baseball History, Columns, Humor, Insight, Nicknames, Pitchers
It troubles me that K is the nickname of the primary character in the famous Kafka novel The Trial. Kind of creepy, that one. And, for the record: K (pronounced “kay”) is the 11th letter of the current English alphabet. It may interest you to know that...
by Ron Sokol | Sep 11, 2018 | Analysis, Baseball History, Columns, Humor, Insight, Pitchers, Speed gun
“Your mind might think it’s flying, baby On those little pills But you ought to know it’s dying, ’cause Speed kills” – Amphetamine Annie, Canned Heat Let’s face it: We want speed with our internet connection. Of course, we...
by Ron Sokol | Sep 11, 2018 | Humor, Pitchers, Videos
The Big Unit, Randy Johnson, a Hall of Famer. Stats tell the tale: 10× All-Star (1990, 1993–1995, 1997, 1999–2002, 2004) World Series champion (2001) 5× Cy Young Award (1995, 1999–2002) World Series MVP (2001) Triple Crown (2002) MLB wins leader (2002) 4× ERA leader...
by Ron Sokol | Aug 31, 2018 | Baseball History, Baseballs, Columns, Eternal Baseball, Pitchers
The philosopher Thomas Hobbes said life outside society would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”. He was not, I repeat, not speaking about the life of a major league baseball, although an argument could be made he was thinking outside the box,...
