Baseball

Baseball

Wilton 2304-1050 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set $11.15 Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Valentine’s Day…cookie cutters for every season, and more! With a complete set of letters and numbers, designs for cowboys, stars, cars and animals, you’ll be ready for any occasion. Durable plastic cutters come in a convenient storage container. Hand wash. (2-1/2 to 6-1/4)…

Wilton Sports Ball Pan Set $8.67 The leader in cake decorating tools Wilton doesn’t mess around with anything but the best! Their bake ware is the choice of serious bakers for wedding cakes and other special occasions. Features: thick durable construction, pure aluminum for consistent and professional results. Constructed of Aluminum for rust resistance and easy washing. Pan takes any 2-layer cake mix and includes instructions. I…

Wilton Mini Ball Pan $8.50 Individually-sized, so everyone can catch a little sports treat of their own. Ice mini balls and push together for a 3-D effect. One cake mix makes 10 – 12 balls. Six cavities are 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. deep. Aluminum….

Baseball – A Film by Ken Burns [VHS] $13.55 After the national success of his 11-hour epic, The Civil War–the highest-rated miniseries in public-television history–many wondered if Ken Burns could capture the same energy and passion with smaller subjects. His reply, the 18-hour history of America’s greatest sport, Baseball, not only quieted these worries, it also perhaps surpassed his prior achievement. Massive in scope (it covers more th…

Take Me Out To The Holosuite $1.99 …

Winning Team [VHS] $14.98 In The Winning Team Reagan plays famed baseball pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, whose struggles with illness and alcoholism form the spine of the tepid plot. Doris Day, now top-billed, co-stars as Alexander’s supportive wife. The movie pays proper tribute to a legendary baseball moment: Alexander’s heroic performance in the 1926 World Series. It’s another win for the Gipper. –Robert Horton…

Orbit 20066 Portable 1/4-Inch Outdoor Mist Cooling System $12.03 1/4″ kit installs in less than 10 minutes. Attaches to any garden hose. 10′ of mist cooling. Includes: (1) 20′ of 1/4″ mist tubing with fittings and hose adapter, (5) brass misting nozzles, (5) hanging snap clips, (1) hose adapter washer….

Cyclops CYC-MHC-W Micro Mini LED Hat Clip Light $4.56 Cyclops Micro Hat Clip Light, Black w/ 5 White LED Bulbs – CYC-MHC-W…

RoomMates RMK1001SCS Play Ball Peel and Stick Wall Decals $8.90 RoomMates Play Ball Peel & Stick AppliqueIf you’re into sports…all kind of sports…then, this set is for you! This pack of all star sports wall stickers will appeal to soccer, baseball, football, and basketball fans! And our painterly but realistic art will coordinate with all juvenile sports bedding sets available in the marketplace. Let’s play ball! Coordinate with the matching self…

Leave it to Beaver, Season Five: Long Distance Call $0.99 …

Independent Professional Baseball Players: Why They Play For Such Little Money

If you have attended an independent professional baseball game then you know that the level of play is equivalent to different levels of the regular “affiliated” Minor Leagues. What is not known by many fans, however, is how little money many of the independent baseball players make.

Unlike many jobs across North America, independent baseball players do not have a union or company department like Human Resources. They can be released almost at any time, for almost any reason, and there is usually nothing in their contracts which guarantees any sort of payment after players retire. When told all about this, many fans say, “Why would these players do that?!?”

Here are a few of the reasons:

A genuine love of the game: Many players in independent baseball believe that they have been overlooked by the Major League teams’ scouting departments. They genuinely believe that they deserve a chance to be in an “affiliated” farm team with one of the Major League organizations; and they truly love playing baseball. Many fans whom have attended independent baseball games comment on the hustle and passion of the players. A player who believes that he was overlooked may play with a “chip on his shoulder” in order to prove that he belongs with a Major League-affiliated farm team.

A need to be closer to home: Often, there are a few guys in each independent league who genuinely belong in a higher level of baseball. For whatever reason, however, they need to be closer to home with a less-grueling travel schedule. Sometimes players just started a family, others need to help out with a sick family member, and others need the support of friends and family in order to be comfortable with playing at the professional level.

A desire to continue his career in baseball: Many players will play in an independent baseball league in order to gain credibility for his post-playing career. Certain players want to manage or coach in professional baseball, others want to coach at the college level, and others want to transition to the front office of a professional sports team after they retire.

A need for camaraderie: If you have ever watched any documentary about “life in the minors” then you know that the players love playing baseball, enjoy crazy antics with their teammates, playing cards in the clubhouse, and the chance to develop lifelong friends especially on those long bus trips! If a player is good enough to be considered professional then many will take the opportunity to play in the independent leagues because he knows how competitive the demand is. Other players from around the continent are more than willing to take his spot, so he knows that he part of an elite level of baseball even though it is considered to be independent of the affiliated organizations.

A chance to rebuild his career: Sometimes an extremely talented player ends up in an independent league due to an injury, salary cap move, or simply due to “politics” in organized baseball. Such a player will play on an independent baseball team in order to prove to scouts that he is healthy, willing to go back at a more economical price, or simply that the other team which released him made a mistake. In a given year, dozens of players in independent baseball sign contracts with affiliated Minor League teams; and each year a few will get to play in the Major Leagues.

The next time you see an independent baseball game, or if you meet some independent baseball players around town, now you have a better understanding of why they do what they do regardless of the price at which they play. If you ever have said that you think pro athletes need to play with more passion and that they are overpaid, then be sure to attend an independent pro baseball game. You will be pleasantly surprised!

About the Author

If you ever played or worked in independent baseball then you can relate to this article! Be sure to join the free membership for independent baseball veterans at http://www.IndependentBaseballAlumni.com

What do you think would happen if baseball put in a salary cap next year?

What if, for whatever reason, Bud Selig put a salary cap on baseball next year? Do you think that it would dramatically change baseball? I hear all the time about how baseball needs a salary cap, so if it finally was put in place, what do you think would happen?

It depends on what the salary cap was set at. If it was set at 150,000,000, then yes, the Red Sox would be just as screwed as the Yankees. If the salary cap was set at 200,000,000, then the Yankees could just get rid of someone like Lance Berkman and be under the limit. And then still have some money left over to replace him. (Berkman’s 2010 salary- $14,500,000, team salary- $206,333,389. 206,333,389-14,500,000=$191,833,389 total salary) I don’t think it would be as catastrophic as everyone thinks it would be, it just depends on what the cap was set at.

Baseball kills woman (Simon Birch)

It is very easy to get into the habit of pulling off the ball. This is especially true for power hitters. Have you ever seen a power hitter hit a home run and thereafter, he can’t couch the ball? What happened? The home run took him out of himself. So as he pivots, he is also pivoting his head. Read the rest of it here: Click Here