Derrick Goold – St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Baseball is a funny game, always has been and always will be. A slight twinge in a decision here or there can change the trajectory of entire careers and franchises. Imagine if the St. Louis Cardinals had traded Albert Pujols before he ever played a regular season game for them? I can’t imagine that, but that is exactly what almost happened. Instead, Ben Johnson was traded to the San Diego Padres for Carlos Hernández, a back-up catcher, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Michael Clair – Cut4: Despite what some would have you believe, the game of baseball has a long history in the country of England. Ahead of MLB’s inaugural London Series fans are getting to hear more and more about that history. It is quite fascinating to learn about the highs and lows of the “American” game in the land of cricket and soccer. Baseball has been around in Great Britain for many years and hopefully, soon it will experience another booming growth period. We all benefit the more global the game of baseball can become.
Kelsey McKinney – Deadspin: We’ve been down this road before and yet once again we must travel the same road. You know and I know that extended netting at all MLB and Minor League Baseball parks are needed. Heck, at this point if you are a stadium or park that hosts any level of professional baseball and you don’t have extended netting you are flat out stating that you do not care about your fans. The stories of injury and aftereffect are gruesome and hard to stomach. Yet, we are on this road again because the majority of professional baseball teams in America refuse to extend their netting to the foul pole. What will it take to get us off this road?
Lead photo courtesy of Mark J. Terrill – Associated Press
