It might sound crazy, but maybe Stanford, at least after freshman year, is a little too hard, a little too much work. Because if I, the kid who chose to drive 300 miles a day to watch baseball, can’t find the time to go to baseball games that are a three-minute bike ride away, there’s something wrong.
For the past two seasons, every time senior Mark Appel stepped out onto the mound on a Friday night and looked towards home plate, he saw dozens of scouts with radar guns pointed right at him. Appel was such a can’t-miss prospect that not a soul expected to see him back at Stanford for his senior year. But when Appel fell to the eighth overall pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in Major League Baseball’s Draft this past June, everything changed.
The NHL has consistently been the odd black sheep of the “big” American sports leagues. The NFL owns Sundays, the MLB is the official league of “America’s pastime” and the NBA is where amazing happens. The NHL? Truthfully speaking, hockey has lacked a catchphrase in the modern Internet era.
Since 1987, the Cardinal has had 22 players picked in the first round of the MLB draft, and yet, the casual baseball fan would probably only know one or two of those 22 players
It’s the second week of April, which means March Madness and the Masters have given way to the start of baseball season. And that means it’s time for Jumping to Ridiculous Conclusions, Volume 2! Since I’m far too lazy to physically jump to these conclusions, here’s my second annual way-too-early MLB column.
With bowl season less than a week behind us, everyone’s minds are on altering college football’s postseason format for the first time since 1998, when the BCS was established. But in an attempt to provide some distraction from the disappointment of Stanford’s close Fiesta Bowl loss, I’m going to focus on another league making similar changes in the near future: the MLB.
There comes a time in a man’s life when he must stand up for what he believes. After hearing yet another wave of talk about how Justin Verlander ought to win the American League MVP award, today is that day. I say no.
After winning two World Series titles in nine seasons in Beantown, not only should Red Sox fans be reluctant to let the youngest GM in Major League history leave; they should worship the ground he walks on in gratitude for what he has done.