The best player of his era is making a compelling case for the greatest season in baseball history. So why aren’t more people talking about it?Anyone with even a passing interest in baseball knows that Mike Trout is, and has been since not long after breaking through as a teenager in 2012, the best player in the sport in a way that defies easy categorization. The Los Angeles Angels’ center fielder does most baseball things exceptionally and none of them badly. He hits for average (.306 career batting average, sixth among active players) and he hits for power (.571 slugging percentage, first) while playing in a park that favors pitchers. His patient plate approach routinely lands him among the league...
David Lengel puts MLB’s 30 local telecasts to the test as he takes a tour round baseball’s broadcast boothsWith baseball’s lengthy regular season stretching from April to October, it’s not uncommon for fans to have the game on every night. Naturally, with 162 games, the broadcasters themselves become an enormous part of the fan experience.The hyper-local model which defines Major League Baseball also means that most fans have little idea what other local broadcasts are like outside their baseball bubble. Luckily MLB Advanced Media are the owners of what is probably the most comprehensive live streaming service on the planet, and I took a tour of all 30 commentary teams. Related: What's wrong with the Cubs? A backslide to mediocrity...
MLB experienced both celebratory and tragic goodbyes this week with the retirement of legendary broadcaster Vin Scully and the death of pitcher José Fernández. Plus, a review of Major League Baseball’s have notsOn Friday night in Los Angeles, I sat next to my father inside Dodger Stadium. My dad, Mike Lengel, is a 75-year-old lifelong fan of the Dodgers, who grew up in New York city watching Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider and the team of his childhood play in Brooklyn: until that night, he had never been been to LA or visited Dodger Stadium, where the team landed after leaving in 1957. Related: José Fernández: a smiling star whose death leaves baseball bereft Continue reading...