by Ken Napzok It’s that time of the year again! Sing it with me, friendos. “Should old… errrr… auld acquaintance be… forgot? (Is it forgot?) For days of bald land signs… hum hummm hum huuuum.” Or something. I’ve only ever heard that song while drunk and watching for a clock to count down. Point is here we are again at the big turning of the … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | New Year’s Resolutions for an Old School Baseball Fan
by Ken Napzok Whelp. The Winter Meetings have come and gone. Another General Manager’s Prom is in the books and there were some big… giant… epic moves that really turned heads and inspired think pieces and lil’ think Tweets while getting many fans excited for the new season while causing a little balls of stress to form in the chests of others. So, you know, … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | Winners and Losers of the Winter Meetings
by Ken Napzok Ok, let’s get honest. This is a baseball column that is designed to celebrate baseball while also providing valuable — like 99 Cent Store value — insight and opinion on the comings and goings of this great sport. The purpose here is to look at the stats, stories, and history of the game. I, the humble narrator of this story, always aim … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | So your favorite team signed a big free agent…
by Ken Napzok The first piece has fallen. Actually the first TWO pieces of the pitching free agent puzzle have fallen into place. Zack Wheeler is a Phillie and Cole Hamels will be firing strikes for Atlanta next season. And so it begins… I love the offseason. While the NFL has the better draft with all its pomp, circumstance, and Chris Berman jokes, their offseason … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | First Catch of the Day
by Ken Napzok It’s Thanksgiving time here in the States, the launch of the holiday season, (apologies to Halloween) and with baseball having a little bit of a rough start to the offseason I was all set to present to you all here a nice article of thanksgiving to the things, moments, and players that make up this great game, past and present. A little … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | the Black Friday Sales of Baseball
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 The greatest moment of the 2019 baseball season did not take place on a Major League field. There wasn’t a multi-million dollar stadium full of fans watching and it was not broadcast on a major network with Joe Buck’s voice taking us through it. It was not in the World Series or down the stretch run days of September. There was no … Continue reading THE BIG HIT | The Greatest Baseball Moment of the 2019 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
