My Study Abroad Reflection: Dominican Republic

Yankees Academy

Once in a lifetime opportunity. That is what I will say about this study abroad trip to Tampa and the Dominican Republic to study baseball player development.  If I had to describe this trip in one word….awesome (Dr. Giddings favorite word. No one could even count the number of times she said “that’s awesome”). I just wanted to reflect on our trip with this post as this class was my last class as an undergrad. Our first stop was in Tampa where we visited the Yankees and Phillies Spring Training facilities, George Steinbrenner Field and Bright House Field. We had tours of the facilities and although they were interesting, they were not as interesting as what we learned in the Dominican Republic in my honest opinion.

It's Almost Baseball Season...kind of

Brand New Padres Outfield (NY Post)

We are about two months away from baseball season and there have been a number of offseason moves that will impact Major League Baseball. From the likes of Jon Lester to the Cubs, Max Scherzer to the Nationals, this season will be quite an interesting one. Our hometown Phillies will likely still be one of the bottom feeders as it is probably time to blow that team up as they began to with trading Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd. They still have a decent one, two punch with Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee in the rotation, but the offense will probably struggle this year. With that being said, other than the Phillies it’s time to take a look at a few teams who made big moves this offseason.

Destiny or Dynasty?

The Oakland Athletics were three outs away from sending the Kansas City Royals home. Now the Royals are going into the World Series against the San Francisco Giants riding an eight game win streak. The Royals took down the Athletics, Angels and Orioles while the Giants took down the Pirates, Nationals and Cardinals. Destiny vs dynasty who takes the World Series? You can say the Giants are a dynasty as they have reached the World Series three of the past five years now winning two of the four before this one.  The Royals haven’t made the postseason since 1985 so is it their time? It sure seems that way. Going undefeated in the first eight games leading up to the World Series is something that has never been done. Will they win four more consecutively? It will be a tough task but I don’t put it past them.

Sport for Thought: What the Yankees meant to America following 9/11

Every year on September 11, their is a somber feeling in the air and when you turn on the television, we cannot escape the day that lives on in infamy. The attacks on the World Trade Center were absolutely horrific and changed the lives of Americans forever. After watching 9/11 television specials for a majority of the day yesterday, I immediately realized what I should write about for my post this week. Following the events of 9/11, it took quite some time for people to come to terms of what had happened and they did not know what to do next. For millions of people, they turned to baseball. It was something that could take the terrible events out of the minds of millions of people and bring their lives to be as normal as possible for just a few hours each day.

MLB Postseason: Two Surprises?

The MLB postseason is right around and the corner and who would have thought with the moves the Detroit Tigers made at the deadline that the Kansas City Royals would be leading the American League Central with three weeks left in the season. Also before the season began, did anyone give the Seattle Mariners a chance to making the postseason? I sure didn’t. I laughed at Robinson Cano when he left the Yankees for the Mariners but I guess he knew what he was doing. The Mariners are in the second Wild Card spot as of today with the Tigers right behind them. I can guarantee you the first Wild Card team is scared to death if they have to face the Mariners in the lose and go home game. Felix Hernandez is the reason for that. Let’s take a look at the Royals and Mariners and their chances of making a run in the postseason.

More Inspiring: Mo'ne Davis or Jackie Robinson West Little League?

This year’s Little League World Series is probably going to be the more memorable ones. There were so many great stories throughout the tournament. From two teams from inner cities Chicago and our very own Philadelphia who both made good runs. Then there’s the cover girl of the entire tournament Mo’ne Davis. It is incredible to see a girl who can throw 70 miles an hour. Mo’ne Davis’s life has just changed a whole lot with all the publicity she received. Had it not for her success, by tossing a complete game shutout in the first round, would we even be talking about her? Probably not. Now everyone in the world knows she wants to play basketball at UConn from her interviews and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see her there in about five years. She just seems like a person with a good head on her shoulders and not to mention she is athletic. It looks like she has a bright future ahead so hopefully all this fame doesn’t get her off her track. You see in her interviews that she’s a team player and mentioned how her teammates get overlooked because of her. She answers all the questions the right way and it was great to see her success during this Little League World Series.

The Next Big Industry?

Fantasy sports is something many people play and enjoy. Some play for fun and some play for money. People always seem to say they lose interest in fantasy baseball because the season is too long so they forget they even have a team. The same can apply to fantasy basketball and hockey. The season long commitment is one of the negatives people always talk about in fantasy sports.

The Flaws of Instant Replay in Major League Baseball

The expansion of instant replay has been an interesting transition into Major League Baseball. You can follow @MLBReplays on Twitter to see every play that is being reviewed. We are about three weeks into the season and people have different opinions on instant replay. Obviously, Major League Baseball is trying to get all the correct calls, however even with replays they have still botched a few calls. John Farrell was the first manager to get ejected over arguing an overturned call. He thought there was not enough conclusive evidence to overturn the initial call. This got me thinking whether or not expanded instant replays should have been part of Major League Baseball but there is no turning back now. They implemented it and now it will be here to stay. There will definitely need to be some tweaks to the system. Here are some things that bother me about instant replay.

Baseball is Back: NL, AL West Preview and Prediction

Who takes the NL West?

After taking a look at the NL and AL East and Central, it is only right to look at the West. Then you will be all ready for the baseball season!

Baseball is Back: NL, AL Central Preview and Prediction

Who takes the NL Central?

After taking a look at the NL and AL East, I will be looking into the National and American League Central.

Baseball is Back: NL, AL East Preview and Prediction

March Madness is happening right now and I bet some of your brackets are already busted but let’s not forget baseball season in right around the corner! Or you can say it has already started with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks playing a two game series in Sydney, Australia. Like always, there were some major off season signings that will impact the season. Over the next few days, I will be taking a dive into each division in baseball and giving some key notes. I will be predicting the standings because I’m still in March Madness mode.

For the Second Straight Year: Phillies fans having bad deja vu

For The Second Straight Year...

Closer for the Phillies, Johnathan Papelbon.

 ...the Philadelphia Phillies phailed to make the Playoffs or play well enough to post a record above .500.  In 2012, they finished right at the mark going 81-81. This year they finished with a 73-89 record, good for 7th worst in the majors.   Sunday September 29th, marked the last game for the Phillies, which they lost... sort of.  On the field they did lose the game, off the field the organization got a small victory that day for the team's poor play over the last week over the season.  That victory: drafting 7th overall in next year's draft.  That player will not be playing in the MLB next year, and maybe not even the year after that, but the future will improve.

Youth Sports Requires More Role Models

A little while back in a leadership in sports class, the class was asked to write about their role model, specifically one that demonstrated strong leadership qualities.  The answers to the question were open and did not have to be a person specifically in the sports realm.  Even with the endless possibilities that people had to choose from, something particularly eye-opening happened.

Over half of the class named a former coach either from high school or earlier as an influential role model and leader in their life.