Bald Vinny!
Baseball Santa Claus is going to be collaborating with Bald Vinny and will entering the world of children’s books! Bald Vinny is going to be the main character (see below for what Bald Vinny (as Bald Vinny) will look like. The books will be teaching life lessons through sports (and such)!
BBSC + Bald Vinny + YOGI BERRA Present This Year’s World Series!
Baseball Santa Claus is officially partnering with Bald Vinny and the Yogi Berra Museum for this upcoming World Series! We are going to be donating two tickets to the annual “Watch the World Series With Yogi Berra” event at the Yogi Berra Museum on the campus of Montclair State University. The winner of this contest (judged by Bald Vinny) will win the tickets to watch a World Series game with Yogi Berra (this includes a photo op, autographed memorabilia, food, drinks, etc). This is a true once-in-a-lifetime experience!
You're not seeing double!
Check back for more details….
AL EAST CHAMPS…AGAIN
2009 Part 2…coming Soon
BBSC Approves This Trophy
Baseball Santa Claus Presents…Uncle John
Uncle John is the head of our security and is also our Super…
BBSC's Head of Security and Such
BBSC on ESPN
For those of you who missed it, here is our ESPN Radio interview from July:
Scott Seidenberg & EJ Argenio interview Greg and Jeff Vrecenak from BaseballSantaClaus.com
Enjoy!
-JV
BBSC’s September 11th Contest
If you survived the tragic events of 9/11, or are family members of someone who was impacted by those travesties, then please consider writing an essay in response to the following questions. If we choose your essay, you will receive a total of four (4) tickets to watch the Yankees play the Tampa Rays. You will receive two tickets to see the game on September 20th, and two more tickets to see the game on the 21st. We think that this would be a nice mini-package for the lucky winner.
Here are the questions. Please answer them all.
- What single memory stands out most prominently in your mind from September 11th, 2001?
- How was your family affected by the events of that day?
- How has your family moved forward in terms of dealing with that day’s events?
- How have the events of 9/11 affected the way you live your life/lives on a daily basis?
Please attempt to answer all the above in a single essay. Baseball Santa Claus will receive, read, and then award the tickets to a single recipient. The contest closes at 11:59 on 9/11/01.
Baseball Santa Claus does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, or religion. This is a philanthropic endeavor to reward those who have suffered beyond measure, so the honor system is in play here. We believe it still exists.
Celebrity Sighting
Kim Kardashian walks the streets of NYC with a Baseball Santa Claus t-shirt in tow.
Moneyball
With the impending release of the “Moneyball” movie, I think it’s a good time write about the book that the movie is based on:
When Michael Lewis wrote “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game,” he was clearly ahead of his time. Well, sort of. The book was meant to explain the way Oakland Athletics’ GM, Billy Beane, and his group of sabermetric lackeys, utilize stats that are often bypassed when determining the Major League potential of an amateur baseball player. These sabermetricians value stats such as on-base percentage, slugging percentage and a combination of the two called OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) over traditional statistics such as batting average and runs batted in. The idea is that teams in underperforming markets need to be able to find talent while they are still the young, rough-around-the-edges-but-with-endless-potential ballplayers that most Hall of Famers start out as. With minimum budgets, it is assumed that smaller market teams (such as the A’s) will not be able to go out and sign a free agent such as (enter name of high-priced free agent here). So, what they do is, they use obscure statistics to determine the value of a player that they will be able to bring up from the farm system in as short amount of time as possible. This will minimize the amount of money being spent on players (the league minimum) as they keep a leash on these guys until they are eligible for free agency or arbitration. The hope is that with a bunch of young talented guys who are hungry for that big payday that is still out of reach, the team will produce a World Series title while incurring minimal expenses. It’s a great idea. But it doesn’t work.
The truth is that you have to spend at least some money to get that veteran ballplayer, regardless if he is with post-season experience or not, that will motivate the young guns and help get them over that hump that is the 162-game, coast-to-coast, season. The A’s will never get over that hump if they keep going with the Billy Beane mentality. So, despite what is written, the art of winning an unfair game does not lie in sabermetrics. You cannot statistically calculate heart and hard work. And assuming the “unfair game” is directed more at the money being spent by a team like the Yankees than the umbrella that represents all big-market teams, I’d say Michael Lewis’ book has quickly become outdated. Even the Red Sox adopted several, if not most, of the underlying principles brought forth in “Moneyball.” Yet they needed the help of Curt Schilling, a money-baller in his own right in that he did not come cheap, to win the World Series in 2004. Which leaves me with the obvious question that I know you are asking: What do small-market teams do if they cannot spend enough money to get that much needed veteran free agent? Well here’s the answer. Tell the owner of your ball club to STOP BEING CHEAP! If the owner can buy the team, then he sure as hell can afford to pick up some decent ball players. Hell, if I can find a way to buy a house on my salary, then I KNOW that your owner can find a way to get a Curt Schilling caliber player. And this is why, as a Yankee fan, I will forever be indebted to Mr. George Steinbrenner.
I digress.
I mentioned a few seconds ago that “Moneyball” is outdated. Well, this is why. Because today, in 2011, the art of winning the unfair game is by emulating players such as Derek Jeter (please note: I am not saying this because I am a Yankee fan. I’m saying this because I am a baseball fan. Instead of Jeter, I could have just as easily written Yogi Berra, or Mickey Mantle, or Elston Howard, or Phil Rizzuto, or Scott Brosius (yes, yes, the former Oakland Athletic)). The reason why? Because these guys did not…take…steroids! Steroids have made the game of baseball an unfair game. Derek Jeter, the purest player out there, has had to compete with the likes of Alex Rodriguez (an admitted steroid user). There are many other steroid users out there, but only a few have come forth and admitted it. (Unfortunately, OJ (not Orenthal James but rather Original Juicer) was found guilty of steroid use and only then did he admit to being a juice-head. If the needle doesn’t fit you must acquit, right? Wrong. ) And yet Mr. Bill James, the George Washington of sabermetrics, disregarded the obvious steroid factor and concluded that Derek Jeter was the worst fielding position player in the Major Leagues (back in 2008). That means he is worse than Alex Rodriguez and was worse than Manny Ramirez (did you ever seen Manny field a baseball? Me neither.). Both clowns are known steroid users.
For the time period it was written in, this was a really good book. Unfortunately, thanks to the likes of steroiders (steroiders is now a word, thanks to me) such as Jason Giambi (the former Athletic), “Moneyball” is severely outdated. Yet, it was an enjoyable book to read. For all baseball fans, I absolutely recommend it. For all Yankee fans, it talks about Nick Swisher. So, that’s a good thing.
-Jeff
P.S. Can we talk about the word “Athletic” for a second? Athletic presupposes “athlete.” ‘Nuff said.
Hope Everyone’s OK!
Baseball Santa Claus is up and running after Hurricane Irene hit us hard! She left our house/office with a bunch of damage but we’re happy to say that we are all OK. We wish and hope the same for you! Just a heads up, we have another media push going out this week (“Ellen” anyone? Fingers crossed.). We are also going to be sponsoring a 9/11 ticket giveaway so please keep checking back for more details. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment and let us know.
-JV (aka BBSC 4)
The BBSC Office
Check out the BaseballSantaClaus.com office. This is where we do all our thinking. Clearly Greg is thinking about our next move.
