videogames
 
 
 
 
Check out New cheap jersey from china on DHgate.com
 

Posts Tagged ‘Boston Red Sox’

Book Review: Insight Pitch: My Life as a Major League Closer

February 12, 2019 | by JB Branson | Comments Comments Off on Book Review: Insight Pitch: My Life as a Major League Closer
Insight Pitch: My Life as a Major League Closer
Skip Lockwood has a fascinating story to tell.

Have you ever been at a baseball stadium or at home watching a game and get the strongest urge to be gripping an old, worn-out baseball? True baseball fans know exactly what we are talking about. You want to feel the laces under your index and middle fingers. You want to smell the dirty leather. We’ll be completely honest with you; we made it through the first chapter of this book, closed it, set it down, and headed straight for the garage. We needed to grip a baseball.

In case you are a younger or casual fan, Skip Lockwood was an MLB pitcher from 1970 to 1980. He started out as a starter with the Brewers and in 1971 threw 208 innings with a 3.33 ERA, good for a 2.5 WAR. In 1975, Lockwood found his way to New York as a converted reliever for the Mets. He was, quite frankly, untouchable, pitching 48 innings that season, with an 11.36 K/9 and a 1.47 ERA. Lockwood was basically 2018 Adam Ottavino. The next year (1976) was just stuff of bullpen legends: 94.1 innings (who does that anymore?), 10 wins, 19 saves, 10.30 K/9, and a 2.67 ERA. Not bad for a man that was signed by the Boston Red Sox at the age of 18 to play third base.

The stats are incredible, but the story is even better, and you can’t find that on FanGraphs. Insight Pitch is an autobiography that focuses on everything you can’t see at a game or on television. Lockwood describes the emotions of being a high school superstar athlete scouted by the top professional teams, and even brings you to his kitchen table to his first contract negotiation – which was unbelievable to us. The reader feels the mental struggles of a professional hitter, and enjoys a truly bizarre and hilarious ride in the life of a traveling minor league baseball player. Hands down, Lockwood had one of the most adventurous and interesting careers of any professional athlete. There was even a stint down in Puerto Rico, and a one-on-one agility session from an American Olympic legend.

The story is fascinating, yes, but that isn’t the reason you won’t be able to put this book down. Getting to live inside the head of a late-inning reliever at the big-league level is honestly a priceless opportunity, and Lockwood portrays it in such an addictive way. The mental aspect to baseball is severely underrated, and getting to “experience” the emotional stress of the last outs of a close baseball game in front of tens of thousands of fans had us sweating. We’ve even used Lockwood’s calming techniques he used on the mound a few times in our life after reading this book.

If you are a baseball fan of any level, even just casual, this book is well worth the read. From seeing how “old-school” managers treated their players and only cared about the surface stats (ban the win), and teammates pulling extremely impressive pranks on the new guys, to getting traded and arriving to a new team just as the game is starting, this book covers literally every little facet of the game. The hardcore baseball fan, however, absolutely needs to read this book. Reading the names of Lockwood’s teammates and managers is like going through an old box of baseball cards in your basement.

On a scale of 1-10, we give Insight Pitch a 1976 Skip Lockwood K/9.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

Prog rock gods Emerson, Lake and Palmer formed in 1970, and through several breaks, were still releasing albums up until 2010. The band’s fourth studio album, Brain Salad Surgery, came out in 1973, and from this effort, the only single was “Jerusalem.”

Save $1 on the 2019 Fantasy Baseball Guide

Buy the 2019 Fantasy Baseball Guide online, use promo code Rob19 and save yourself a buck. Do it. Do it now.

Now it’s your turn. Let us know in the comments below what your impressions of Skip Lockwood’s tale are.

Share
Feed Burner eMail Get RotoRob by Email: Enter your email below to receive daily updates direct to your inbox. Only a pink taco wouldn’t subscribe.
PostShadow

Boston is Best Bet to Win 2018 World Series

August 29, 2018 | by RotoRob | Comments Comments Off on Boston is Best Bet to Win 2018 World Series
What is somewhat surprising, however, is that the three teams most favoured to win it all reside in the American League. Even though only one can reach the Fall Classic, the Red Sox (+325), Astros (+450) and Yankees (+700) have been the class of the majors from opening day, as evidenced by the fact that they boast MLB’s three best run differentials (+206, +221, and +154, respectively).
Share
more
Feed Burner eMail Get RotoRob by Email: Enter your email below to receive daily updates direct to your inbox. Only a pink taco wouldn’t subscribe.
PostShadow

Contest: Win a Silver Freddie Freeman Coin

August 3, 2018 | by RotoRob | Comments (10)
These one-ounce copper coins are mounted in full-colour cardboard and include one player for every major league team. Sold in packages of three (US$19.99), six (US$39.99) or nine (US$59.99), or available in a box of 36 packs (US$249.99), the coins have been fully-licensed based on a deal approved by MLB and MLBPA.
Share
more
Feed Burner eMail Get RotoRob by Email: Enter your email below to receive daily updates direct to your inbox. Only a pink taco wouldn’t subscribe.
PostShadow

The Wire Troll: Brian Johnson Back in BoSox Rotation

April 14, 2018 | by RotoRob | Comments Comments Off on The Wire Troll: Brian Johnson Back in BoSox Rotation
Another forward looking recommendation, Tate could easily play a role for the Yanks in the second half. The righty was dominant in his season debut at Double-A, striking out nearly a batter per frame while doing a splendid job of inducing groundballs. Tate may find himself outgrowing this level fairly quickly now that he’s back to his pre-draft form that made him the fourth overall pick in 2015.
Share
more
Feed Burner eMail Get RotoRob by Email: Enter your email below to receive daily updates direct to your inbox. Only a pink taco wouldn’t subscribe.
PostShadow

The 2017 MLB Wire Troll All-Star Team

October 7, 2017 | by RotoRob | Comments Comments Off on The 2017 MLB Wire Troll All-Star Team
Using the wire can provide value in many ways. Sometimes, it offers a temporary fix to an injury issue or it’s simply a case of jumping on a player delivering short-term value. But when you pick up a player and he sticks on your team for all or most of the season and contributes throughout, that is the true definition of waiver wire gold.
Share
more
Feed Burner eMail Get RotoRob by Email: Enter your email below to receive daily updates direct to your inbox. Only a pink taco wouldn’t subscribe.
PostShadow