Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to you Mariners fans around the globe, whenever you happen to be reading this. I’ve always loved the "On This Day" sections in the newspaper, so I went hunting for some sort of baseball-related events, buried in offseasons past. The pickings were unsurprisingly slim; Joe DiMaggio managed to win both his first (1941) and third (1947) AL MVP titles on this day, and our dearly beloved Mike Scioscia first graced the world with his presence in 1958. There’s an alarming mental image for ya: a baby Scioscia. Imagine how alarming it would be if your baby turned the many shades of red that Scioscia turns now.
The other interesting tidbit is that on November 27, 1870 the New York Times apparently first dubbed baseball "the national game." At the time this was absolutely true; neither football, nor basketball, had officially been founded, and it was during this year that the National Association for Base Ball Players split into two groups which served as the precursor for what would eventually become the structure of major league baseball as we know it. However, in recent years baseball seemed to be falling out of favor with many Americans, particularly for those who are young and non-white. I’ll stop there, as it has the potential to break our NO POLITICS rule but, if you’re reading this, what do you think: in 2016 is baseball still "the national game"?
Okay, enough philosophizing, on to the links...
Mariners News:
- A somewhat hopeful piece about the continued success of Jean Segura, which you may agree with or vehemently disagree with at your leisure, such is the joyous nature of the internet
- In case you were still on the fence about the goodness of Robinson Canó, here's a piece about his charity work to help reinforce that he is every bit as good as his smile would have you believe
- For the hipster assessment of the Segura-Walker trade, check out this article about Zac Curtis (I'm not sold but hey, nothing wrong with a little late-November optimism)
Where Are They Now:
As Kate will always tell you, never fall in love with a reliever
Around MLB:
- As some may have guessed, based on my ardent campaign for an ALL CUBAN OUTFIELD, I'm very interested in the past/present/future of Cuban players in MLB and this article has some great info about the legacy of the Gurriel family in baseball
- MLB is apparently offering to forfeit the compensation pick in an effort to avoid a lockout
- *potential tears warning* The family of Caleb Schwab, the ten-year-old boy who died in a waterslide accident, went to a Royals game this summer and this is just another example to use when arguing with silly people who claim "it's just a game"
- Fidel Castro died yesterday and if you're interested in his influence on baseball, both in Cuba and the US, take a look at this (slightly long, fair warning) piece from SABR's Bio Project archives
FLLashback post: Recapping the Winter Meetings 12/7/06, in celebration of impending meetings and the fact that Bill Bavasi will never again be the GM for the Seattle Mariners
Days until pitchers and catchers report: 78
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