Thanks to all of you, the readers of The Outside Corner, we've experienced unprecedented growth during 2012, and are looking forward to an even better year in 2013. As part of the initial relaunching of the thecomeback.com portal in April 2011 (along with our sister site, Crossover Chronicles), we've brought you a comprehensive blend of analysis, media, and interesting news stories in the 20 months we've been live.
In 2012, we had a number of articles that brought a lot of traffic to the site. I'm sure some of you read all of them, and I'm sure some of you didn't see any of them. Here are the ten posts from TOC this year that brought us the most eyeballs, and maybe you'll discover something that slipped under your radar when it was first posted this year. Once again, thanks to all of YOU, the readers, for an outstanding 2012, and thank you to the TOC staff for their continued hard work and fantastic writing.
- 2012's most disappointing players. I took a look at ten players that just didn't live up to the expectations we set for them coming into the season.
- The worst first pitches of all-time. Gary Sinise threw out the first pitch at a Rangers game in May, and it was pretty ghastly. Brian dug up some of the worst first pitches we've ever seen on a baseball field from a variety of people.
- An umpire ejects a deejay. At a Daytona Cubs-Fort Myers Miracle game in July, an umpire ejected the Cubs deejay for playing "Three Blind Mice" over the stadium's PA system.
- Melky Cabrera gives the Braves a crotch chop. After making a catch in left field, Melky Cabrera turns to the fans in the crowd at Turner Field, and gives them a WWE-style crotch chop, sending fans of his former team up the wall.
- Brett Lawrie goes insane. Toronto's third baseman went nuts after a called third strike, and went nuclear on home plate umpire Bill Miller. Then, a Blue Jays fan threw a beer at Miller, and all hell broke loose.
- Bill Miller hit in face, starts miscounting strikes. This one is actually a little scary. After taking a Zack Greinke fastball off of his mask, umpire Bill Miller (yes, again) started ringing up hitters after the second strike of the at bat.
- The Supreme Court ruled that the Mets stink. In a legal brief, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan (a Mets fan) said that the team stinks and has no chance at winning the World Series. Well, that was technically correct….
- Will Rhymes collapses after getting hit by a pitch. Another very scary moment. Rays shortstop Will Rhymes got hit on the forearm by a Franklin Morales pitch, trotted down to first base…and passed out.
- Rangers fans who took a ball from a kid want an apology. This whole situation was a mess. A pair of Rangers fans who took a foul ball from a crying child and laughed at the kid demanded an apology from the media.
- What's left on the free agent market? This one is actually recent, as I took a look at what teams had to look at on the free agent market after Christmas had finished and the cupboard was nearly bare.
Once again, thank you to all of the TOC readers and staff for making this year an unquestioned success, and here's hoping that 2013 is even better!
