by Ken Napzok “I’m out it for a little while and everybody gets delusions of grandeur.” – Han Solo, hero and scoundrel. My apologies. I was a little out of sync and finished the month’s third column a little later than planned due to an illness and a car accident. I’m fine. My 2004 Camry is not. I returned to the fold having missed most … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | Punishment Time
by Ken Napzok Ha. I mean, really now. Haha. The most bizarre and troubling baseball offseason in most recent memory has finally come to a close. Pitchers and catchers have reported to camps. Yasiel Puig is still looking for work. And it’s time to not just look ahead — but move ahead. But… yeah…. wow. The crown jewel trade of Mookie Betts and David Price … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | What The Forkball?
by Ken Napzok Have you ever heard that ole’ proverb about the two bulls standing on a hill? You know the one. The two bulls are staring down into a pretty green pasture full of beautiful cows. So, like, the young bull says to the old bull… what does he say… oh yeah… I want to run down this hill and f**k one of them … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | Dodgers Win the Offseason
by Ken Napzok “That escalated quickly.” – Ron Burgundy, legendary newsman. We all saw this storm forming far off the coast, but we just didn’t know how hard it was going to smack the shoreline. Then it hit and the winds of scandal, drama, gossip, and good ole fashion conspiracy theories slammed into the sport with the speed and ferocity of Pete Rose breaking Ray … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | So Much for a Quiet Offseason
by Ken Napzok Baseball. Cheating. The timeless game and the eternal sin. Since the dawn of the game, no matter how rudimentary of a state the sport was in, cheating has been present. In fact, it just might be fair to say that baseball and cheating have one of the longest, most functional relationships in history. Love gurus and relationship therapists should whip out their … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | The Legacy of Cheating
By Ken Napzok THE BIG HIT It’s the baseball award season! So gather ‘round, friends, and let’s get ready to crown the legends of 2019 and lock them away forever. All votes are in (and have been since the regular season ended), so let’s start looking at the players currently clearing space on the shelves of their dens. By the time this column falls into … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | It’s Award Season
By Ken Napzok When I was a kid obsessed with the game, rooting for my heroes, and dreaming about taking the field myself, the Sporting News put out a couple of books called The Series: An Illustrated History of Baseball’s Postseason Showcase. The first one I procured was after the 1990 World Series and they updated it each year for a few seasons. (So go … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | The Story Has Been Told
by Ken Napzok Though I am very well-studied in baseball history (I think I’ve watched the third inning of Ken Burns baseball 42 times alone) and there is nothing more historic than the World Series. Every at-bat is history in the making. It’s a living document that connects the present day all the way back to the first series in 1903. And though I am … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | The 5 things the Astros and Nationals need to do to win the World Series
by Ken Napzok “I love playoff baseball!” is a sentence — correction proclamation — we’ve all heard a lot this past week. Since the Wild Card games on October 1st, the baseball world has been treated to some absolutely thrilling postseason play. Throw all those fancy words best saved for a Roger Kahn baseball book at the wall because all of them will stick. This … Continue reading 5 Things the 2019 Division Series Round Taught Us (that we can pretend we always knew)
by Ken Napzok What a season the first week of the playoffs was. Big time pitching, clutch hitting, and the cream looking like it’s rising to the top. The 2019 postseason has already been a buffet of greatness for even the most discerning baseball aficionado. This is what your childhood baseball dreams are made of. But what really makes a great postseason? What is the … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | High Stakes, Going Home, and the Magic Recipe of the Postseason
