Wikipedia:WikiProject Baseball/Outreach/Newsletter/Volume 02 issue 02
Around the horn edit
- Albert Pujols became the third-youngest player to hit 500 home runs, with his 499th and 500th round-trippers against the Washington Nationals on April 22.
- The Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, and Oakland Athletics have jumped out with excellent starts to the season. As of April 25, the Brewers have only lost one game on the road; the A's have only lost two, compensating for a mediocre .500 home record.
- The New York Yankees turned the first triple play of the season on April 17, with CC Sabathia pitching. Coincidentally, Sabathia was on the mound for the last three triple plays by the Yankees.
Contributors: Go Phightins!, isaacl
Featured image edit
An image of Hall of Fame pitcher Edward Augustine "Ed" Walsh, who holds the record for lowest career earned run average at 1.82. The photo, originally captured by Paul Thompson, has been retouched by Staxringold. In addition to its clarity, the photo draws attention through Walsh's intense gaze.
Contributor: Newyorkadam
7th inning stretch edit
Triple play edit
There have been only three players in Major League Baseball with the name Aurelio: Aurelio Rodriguez, Aurelio Lopez and Aurelio Monteagudo. All three were sadly killed in car accidents. They are enshrined in their national Baseball Halls of Fame—Rodriguez and Lopez in Mexico, and Monteagudo in Venezuela. Rodriguez won the golden glove in 1976 and Lopez was an All-Star in 1983. Rodriguez's 1969 Topps card actually depicts Dodgers batboy Leonard Garcia.
Contributor: AtomicXYC
About edit
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This issue's contributors:Project news edit
After discussions of major reshuffling and restructuring last month, WT:BASEBALL was a quieter place in April, though the project was as active as ever. Several editors are currently working on keeping their team's season article up-to-date (for example, Spanneraol's great work on 2014 Los Angeles Dodgers season), and many articles have been promoted in status, including several Good Articles and one Featured Article (see below). On the project talk page, there were discussions on updating minor league roster templates, the notability of minor league players and specifically the baseball-specific GNG threshold (this discussion spilled predominantly into several Article for Deletion discussions), how to handle the MLB's restructuring of relief pitcher awards, the inclusion of World Series victories in infoboxes, and when a player transitions from "currently a free agent" to a "former player".
In terms of promoted content, what would have been a lackluster month was bolstered by some late contributions from several participants in the WikiCup (by the way, especially as contributors progress and must do more to advance, there will be an increased need for reviewers – assistance of project members on baseball articles would be helpful to those competitors). Among this month's promoted articles were:
- Fred Dunlap - GA; contributor: Wizardman
- Madison Bumgarner - GA; contributor: Sanfranciscogiants17
- Darin Ruf - GA; contributor: Go Phightins!
- Baseball's Sad Lexicon - GA; contributor: Muboshgu
- Cody Asche - GA; contributor: Go Phightins!
- Evan Gattis - GA; contributor: Muboshgu
- Jim Thome - FA; contributor: Go Phightins!
- Wally Pipp - GA; contributor: Muboshgu
Contributor: Go Phightins!
Showcase edit
Moe Berg, born in 1902, played on and off in Major League Baseball from 1923–1939 as a shortstop-turned-catcher who hit a meager .243 career batting average. The Brooklyn Robins signed Berg to a contract in 1923, and he last played for the Boston Red Sox in 1939, the team he coached before he left baseball entirely. What makes Berg memorable, though, are his actions outside of the game, not only as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services (a predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency), but also as a general scholar. The article was promoted to featured article status back in 2005, and could use a slight tune-up. WikiProject Baseball appreciates any contribution, large or small, to any baseball-related article.
Contributor: Seattle
Opinion edit
Ten years after Nos Amours edit
It's been a decade since the Expos departed Montreal for Washington, D.C.; so what's been going on in Canada's second-largest city with respect to professional baseball?
The construction costs for Olympic Stadium, the Expos home venue, were finally paid off, reaching a total of $1.6 billion. Unfortunately, the latest roof has deteriorated faster than expected, with more than 2000 rips occurring in 2013. The Quebec government made plans in 2004 to install a permanent metal roof, but has not yet committed to funding the project. The stadium continues to host special events such as playoff games for the Montreal Alouettes and friendlies for the Montreal Impact. This year, the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets played a two-game preseason series at Olympic Stadium which was attended by over 96,000 in total.
The excellent attendance figure for the Jays and Mets series is great news to those seeking a return of Major League Baseball to Montreal, including ExposNation, a group that has organized excursions to Blue Jays games at Rogers Centre to publicize support for MLB in Montreal, and the Montreal Baseball Project, headed by Warren Cromartie, who is trying to build support amongst the business community in addition to the general populace. Cromartie was a fan favourite in the 1980s, along with others such as Hall-of-Famers Andre Dawson, elected in 2010, and Gary Carter. After Carter's passing in 2012, the city of Montreal renamed the street in front of the first Expos home field, Jarry Park, after him, as well as a baseball field in Ahuntsic Park. Tim Raines, another 1980s star from the bumper crop of the Expos farm system, is currently on the Hall of Fame ballot; will the support he has from the sabermetric community help propel him to baseball's highest honour?
Beyond the issue of finding a potential local owner with deep pockets (Charles Bronfman's son, Stephen, was rumoured to be interested, but he has denied any plans to be involved), a key question is where an MLB team would play. As the site for the downtown ballpark proposed in the 1990s is now developed with condominiums, attention has turned to the Peel Basin, located where the Lachine Canal meets the Old Port of Montreal. Other possible places where a stadium could be built are the current location of the Montreal Children's Hospital, and the Hippodrome site.
With the success of the Alouettes and Impact providing a blueprint for local marketing, and teams like Tampa Bay showing how to make the most out of limited resources, the time may be nigh for Montreal mascot Youppi! to find a second job during the Montreal Canadiens off-season and resume rooting duties for a professional baseball team. Here's hoping the next decade may bring new life to the dream of Major League Baseball in Montreal once again!
Contributor: isaacl
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The Inside Corner : April 27, 2014 edit
- Project news: Minor leaguer notability, player infobox info, relief pitcher awards, (more)
- Around the horn: Albert Pujols, fast starts, Yankee triple plays
- Showcase: The extraordinary life of Moe Berg
- Featured image: Ed Walsh
- 7th inning stretch: The three Aurelios
- Opinion: Ten years after the Expos