Eric Vickrey

Opening Day book

Finished my seventh book of 2026. "Opening Day," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathan Eig, chronicles Jackie Robinson's first year in the major leagues. A terrific read.

One of my newsletter readers sent me pictures he took of an abandoned ballpark in Frederickstad, St Croix (US Virgin Islands)

Anyone know anything about this place?

With this signing the Dodgers will have everyone from their World Series roster back except Clayton Kershaw and Anthony Banda.

Those two have been replaced by Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz.

6 Baseball Books For Your 2026 Spring Reading With spring training starting next week, here are some outstanding baseball tomes to welcome into your life.

Many thanks to Marshall Garvey for the wonderful review of my book Big Loosh: The Unruly Life of Umpire Ron Luciano, from @univnebpress.bsky.social.

Strong work, Vince. Thank you for sharing.

Just finished this excellent book. It’s about events that occurred a century ago, but the parallels to what’s happening in our country currently are striking. Who will be our Madge Oberholtzer?

A lot of people don’t know this, but Ken Griffey Jr invented the broken hamate bone in 1996.

Luke Epplin: Author, Podcast Episode · Two Writers Slinging Yang · 02/10/2026 · 56m

This might've been the most fun I've had on a podcast. It's me and Jeff Pearlman talking not only about "Moses and the Doctor" but also about the process of writing a book in general and the state of book publishing. Give it a listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

#Mariners projected to win 93.1 games in the initial PECOTA standings, trailing only the Dodgers (105.2 wins).

PECOTA gives the M’s a 91.5% chance to make the playoffs, 69.3% to win the AL West.

Before They Wore Dodger Blue

"This is a significant piece of baseball history, and a story brimming with figures soon to become boldface names."
—Bob Costas

(Yes, somehow I got BOB COSTAS to blurb my book.)

Bob Gibson

Bob Gibson turned Hall of Famers into Mario Mendoza. Check out these opposing batting averages (min 50 PA):

Henry Aaron .215
Roberto Clemente .208
Ernie Banks .229
Willie Mays .196
Orlando Cepeda .222
Dick Allen .211
Tony Perez .121
Johnny Bench .204

Mark Beuhrle

How much of a crapshoot is the MLB amateur draft? The second most productive player from the 1998 draft, according to WAR, was Mark Beuhrle, 38th round pick of the Chicago White Sox.

For St. Louis Cardinals fans needing a glimmer of hope for 2026 (and beyond):

Cal Raleigh's first three seasons (ages 24-26): .217/.287/.448, 59 HR, 151 RBI, 107 OPS+

Nolan Gorman's first three seasons (ages 22-24): .222/.301/.435, 60 HR, 161 RBI, 103 OPS+

Leroy Stanton

One of my favorite obscure baseball facts ...

Leroy Stanton played nine seasons in MLB and produced these splits:

vs RHP: .244 BA, .388 SLG
vs LHP: .244 BA, .388 SLG
Home: .244 BA, .388 SLG
Road: .244 BA, .388 SLG
Career: .244 BA, .388 SLG

Tom Lawless

Found this photo in my phone from five years ago. I've seen some strange things in my life, but perhaps none stranger than a Tom Lawless jersey ... in Tirana, Albania.

Charlie Hough

Charlie Hough is one of six players in major-league history with at least 800 games pitched and 200 wins.

The other five are in Cooperstown:
Cy Young
Walter Johnson
Nolan Ryan
Phil Niekro
Jim Kaat

Kudos to the Mariners front office. Now is the time to go all in. Donovan could be what Mark McLemore was to the early 2000s M’s. A huge pickup for a team on the precipice.

1968 Ogden Dodgers

Fun fact from "Before They Wore Dodger Blue," my new book on the Dodgers' 1968 draft class. The 11 future big leaguers the Dodgers drafted & signed that year produced a collective 234.5 WAR, the best of all time. The Red Sox '83 (Roger Clemens and Ellis Burks) class ranks 2nd with 191.8 WAR.

After Charles Tillman transformed football, he joined the FBI. Then the immigration raids started Known for his signature “Peanut Punch” in the NFL, the ex-Bears cornerback found a new calling as a federal agent. So why did he walk away?

His autobiography would be a fascinating read.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Royals are providing free admission to the @nlbmuseumkc.bsky.social through February for Black History Month.

"Dangerous Danny Gardella: Baseball’s Neglected Trailblazer for Today’s Millionaire Athletes," written by Robert Elias and published by Rowman and Littlefield, is the winner of SABR's 2026 Dr. Harold and Dorothy Seymour Medal, which honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year.

Congratulations to Robert Elias, winner of the 2026 SABR Seymour Medal for "Dangerous Danny Gardella: Baseball’s Neglected Trailblazer for Today’s Millionaire Athletes": sabr.org/latest/dange...

As I sipped my coffee and read the news with a cat on my lap this morning, I thought, "Why can't we all treat each other like we treat our pets." And then I remembered that the Secretary of Homeland Security murdered her dog.

Fun fact: Your local bookstore is doing more to protect you and your neighbors than Amazon is.

Dave Matthews and Tim Ryenolds playing Neil Young’s Ohio last night and ends with some Rage Against the Machine.

We adopted a cat seven years ago on the same day Edgar Martinez was elected to the Hall of Fame. Naturally, we named him Edgar. Two years ago, he underwent life-saving surgery because of an obstructed ureter. Today, he’s thriving and loves to go for walks on sunny days.

Volume 6, Issue 7: Tempest "Sooner or later you'll make a mistake, I'll put you in a chain that you never can break."

If you are not subscribed to Will Leitch's Substack, I highly recommend it.

Oldest ballparks in Minor League Baseball The Official Site of Major League Baseball

The 11 oldest ballparks in the Minor Leagues were initially constructed between 1914 and 1951. How many have you been to?

www.mlb.com/milb/news/fe...

"After everything he'd been through, here he was telling me how we'd helped him with the movement. I'll never forget that." - Don Newcombe #MLKDay

Seems like a good day to remind people that @jonathaneig.bsky.social wrote a phenomenal, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of MLK.