This weekend, we’ll have meaningful baseball for the first time since October. Our long, frigid nightmare is coming to a close. And now, we ring in the 2015 season by sharing our predictions for the 2015 season with you. To the surprise of no one, the Washington Nationals are TOC’s favorite to win the World […]

The “Hamilton situation” was bound to be a hot topic, and it looks as if the commissioner’s office and MLB have released the verdict the Friday before Opening Day, hoping that will overshadow everything going on with Hamilton and make it a non-issue. Smart of them really. But the reactions, that’s what I’ve been studying […]

It seems like every year, the baseball world discusses the possibility of that particular season serving as a breakout campaign for Bryce Harper. And it seems like every year, by his own design (read: playing like his hair is on fire) or otherwise, Harper has found a way to let us down. Could this year […]

In 2009 the Phillies outfield hit 88 homers, knocked in 279 runs, and combined for a .851 OPS.  The Phils won their their third straight division crown and lost to the Yankees in the World Series.  That outfield included Shane Victorino who only hit ten round-trippers, while Raul Ibanez (34) and Jayson Werth (36) led […]

A decision regarding the future of Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton was expected before Opening Day. This offseason, news broke that Hamilton had relapsed, done cocaine, drank alcohol, and came to MLB to admit his mistake. Whether or not he’d be suspended, and how long, was up in the air over the last few weeks, but […]

When the TOC staff was polled with their predictions for the 2015 season, I also asked each staff member to include a bold prediction. Call it a hot take if you will – something that is well within the realm of possibility but would shock the hell out of all of us. The staff complied, […]

MLB teams are wrapping up the interminable Spring Training schedules this week in which they’ve spent copious amounts of times evaluating their rosters. Despite that, some teams are going to realize that there rosters have some big ol’ holes in them. With Opening Day just around the corner, it is time for some teams to consider some […]

Baseball isn’t an impact sport but there is never a shortage of injuries. We’ve already seen top pitchers Yu Darvish and Zack Wheeler go down for the season. Injuries, and recovery from, is just part of the game. This give and take is going to change the dynamic for more than a few teams. What […]

The Rule 5 Draft was originally designed to help prevent teams from stockpiling talent without the intention of promoting such players. Teams began using the Rule 5 draft as an opportunity to fill holes on the active roster with low cost players. Since its inception however, it’s morphed into something of a low-cost “try-out” for […]

You might think that creating baseball bats is easy. It can’t be that bad, right? Cut wood, shape wood, paint wood…tah dah! You have a baseball bat! Of course, it’s not that simple. There’s so much that goes into making bats, from choosing the correct type of wood, to shaping the wood in the proper […]

A few weeks ago, we published an article looking at some of the crazy, amazing new food items that would be popping up at ballparks this season. Little did we know, we acted too soon. Since that time, there have been even move incredible menu choices introduced by teams for this year. And like last […]

If you talk to someone about the AL West this offseason, chances are they won’t mention the reigning division champs. There’s plenty of talk about the Mariners being a breakout team and a sexy World Series pick after just missing the playoffs in 2014. There’s a substantial bit of discussion about the Athletics following their […]