During his 16 seasons with eight different MLB teams, Mark DeRosa developed a reputation as a leader in the clubhouse and a sounding board for both veterans and younger players alike. After playing part-time for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013, DeRosa, 38 and a father of two, made the decision to retire and join […]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL — Spend a few hours wandering the floor at the annual Baseball Trade Show during the Winter Meetings, and you’ll encounter just about every possible aspect of your baseball experience, broken down into parts. My friend Jeb Lund did a wonderful job exploring this phenomenon in a post at SB Nation […]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL — Over the course of 72 hours during the annual Winter Meetings, the managers of all 30 MLB teams give press conferences to the media inside the workroom. Each one is approximately half an hour and typically includes mundane stuff about projected lineups for the next season, updates on injured players, […]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL — In case you missed it, we had big rule change news from the Winter Meetings on Wednesday when New York Mets General Manager and MLB Rules Committee chairman Sandy Alderson declared that the committee had voted to “eliminate collisions at home plate by governing both catchers and runners in that […]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — During the course of his 17-year major league career as a third baseman for the Giants, Indians and Diamondbacks, new Washington Nationals’ manager Matt Williams hit 378 home runs. After his fantastic media press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the Winter Meetings at the Swan and Dolphin Resort, let’s make […]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Ah, there’s nothing quite like a good three-way. Trade, that is. And on Tuesday afternoon, the Diamondbacks, Angels and White Sox delivered a good one, effectively moving slugger Mark Trumbo to Arizona, pitchers Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago to Los Angeles, and Adam Eaton to the White Sox. You can […]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Last week, three-time All-Star Curtis Granderson moved from the Yankees to the crosstown rival Mets with a four year, $60 million deal. At a press conference at the Swan and Dolphin Resort, the site of this year’s Winter Meetings, the Mets and General Manager Sandy Alderson formally introduced Granderson as […]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It wouldn’t be the Winter Meetings without trade rumors. For the past few days, the trade winds have been swirling around the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Angels. The Diamondbacks need power and the Angels need pitching (what’s new?) so we’ve been hearing of a potential deal involving slugger

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The challenge of writing a “Highlights of the Joe Maddon Press Conference” story is that pretty much everything that Joe Maddon says during his press conferences can be considered a highlight. Yeah, Joe Maddon is that awesome. But since you probably don’t want to read 6000 words of quotes from […]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Amidst the trade rumors, free agent signings and schmoozing that characterizes baseball’s annual Winter Meetings (taking place this year at the Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel in Orlando), former Blue Jays and Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay announced his retirement at a press conference on Monday morning. The Blue Jays announced that […]

New York, NY — Joe Torre has been around the game of baseball for more than fifty years, as a player, a manager and now Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for MLB. For a dozen of his fifty plus year career, Torre managed the New York Yankees and legendary closer, Mariano Rivera, winning four […]

New York, NY — Sure, the Red Sox won the World Series while the Yankees stayed home in October for the first time since 2008, but in many ways 2013 seemed like the Year of Mariano Rivera. The New York Yankees legend and all-time saves leader in baseball retired after 19 seasons and had a […]

Kenley Jansen was so dominant as the Dodgers’ closer in 2013 that it’s hard to believe he didn’t officially take over the role until June 11. Once Don Mattingly came to his senses, the 26-year old Curaçao native finished the 2013 season with 28 saves in 32 chances, a 1.88 ERA, .86 WHIP and a […]

Tio Daou Ballpark, Curaçao — Here are just a few of the crazy and wonderful things that happened during the Curaçao Baseball Week Home Run Derby on Friday night at Tio Daou Ballpark, Curaçao: ●  Andrelton Simmons pitched to Jurickson Profar ●  A dog with a reality TV show posed for photos with Japan’s Home […]