Category: Originals

The Originals Category contains The Bleacher Creature Originals such as BP Report, Steal Facts, and stories! (Previously known as Ballpark)

BP Report With Jacoby Nolnaho: Zack Hample

On April 16, 2017, I went to my first game of the 2017 MLB season at Yankee Stadium. After some train mixups, delays, and cancellations, I ended up at the stadium five minutes before the gates opened. Thanks to Clear, I was able to get on the fast line and get a Peeps purple plush. They are huge! After putting the plush in my backpack, I ran down to right field. Things got off to a slow start. Tommy Layne and Tyler Clippard threw nothing into the stands. After a disappointing Yankees BP, the Cardinals took bat. My friend caught a Matt Carpenter home run and gave it to me. Later, Zack Hample showed up. For those of you who don’t know who Zack Hample is, click here. Zack and I had a nice talk. We both had our umpire hats on and red shirts. He told me he caught 8 balls today. He signed my ball. On the ball, he put 9,535. This stands for 9,535 lifetime balls. I only have four!

For the game, the Yankees won 9-3 over the Cardinals.

World Series Champions

The Chicago Cubs are your 2016 MLB World Series Champions. They won the series in seven games over the Cleveland Indians. This is the first time they won the championship in 108 years. Ben Zobrist won the World Series MVP. In Back to the Future, the scientist predicts the Cubs will win the World Series in 2015.

What is the All Star Game?

The All Star Game is a game usually in August where all of the best players in baseball play on their respected league team. Each year, the All Star Game and all of its festivities are moved to a different ballpark. The fans vote exclusively online. The winner of the All Star Game gets home field advantage in the World Series. An MVP is selected after the game by fans. The night before the All Star Game is the Home Run Derby.

Zack Hample

Zack Hample. Baseball’s most famous ballhawk. Born September 14, 1977, Hample has made quite a name for himself in the last 39 years or so. He has written three books called How to Snag Major League Baseballs, Watching Baseball Smarter, and The Baseball, but it’s Hample’s ability to snag baseballs that made him famous. He has collected over 9,000 baseballs including Barry Bonds’ 724 home run, two of the last ten home runs at Yankee Stadium, the last home run hit a Shea Stadium, Mike Trout’s first career home run, Didi Gregorius’ first career homer, and most notably, Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000 hit. He posts about his ballhawking adventures on his Youtube videos, his website, and a blog called The Baseball Collecter. Hample gives some of his balls away to young children and donates his money to a charity called Pitch in for Baseball. Despite doing good, Hample got bashed when he attended the game at Fort Bragg on July 3. He gave away all but one of the balls he caught and donated money to AMVETS. Despite Zack’s controversy, many people believe he is just a fan who does good for the image of Major League Baseball.

Bad Ballpark Names

Owners of baseball clubs build stadiums so the fans can see their stars. But the owners cashed in when they began selling their name to big name companies. Some of them are good but most of them are bad. Let’s start off with the good(This list does not include Wrigley Field, Busch Stadium, or anything with the teams name):

Good Names

  • Great American Ballpark
  • Citi Field

That’s about it. I am going to list the stadiums with the worst names (I just want to say, I am still waiting for the Google Grasses or the Twitter Dome). Keep in mind that it is my own opinion so please don’t get mad. The worst ballpark names in MLB:

Bad Names

  • U.S. Cellular Field
  • Citizens Bank Park (Get rid of the bank and it’s fine)
  • Comerica Park
  • Globe Life Park

Citi Field vs. Yankee Stadium

Their are some differences and similarities between Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. Citi Field has an apple that pops up whenever the home team hits a home run and has a parking lot outside. At Yankee Stadium, their is a busy road with a subway station. I am also amazed about how much of Yankee Stadium is covered in pigeon spikes. On the pipes, on the frieze, on the lights, on walls, their everywhere!

Come on Rays!

Seriously Rays! Seriously! Not only do you have the second worst ballpark, but the worst team! This is what bothers me. They have got the best young pitching potential, great defense in Kevin Kiermaier, and great hitting with Longoria, Miller, and Morrison. This doesn’t make sense. Chris Archer has a 7-16 record but is still called a Cy Young candidate. LonGo is having a career year. So has Brad Miller. If Curt Casali could get back on the tear he had last year, the Rays could be great. But why? The answer is pitching. They. Hoard. Pitching. When they sent Matt Moore to the Giants and got Matt Duffy in return, it was like the fountain of youth. But as I said before, LonGo is awesome and Miller, I turn around and see 25 jacks! Where is the Duffman supposed to go! If they want to revamp their team, the should really listen in. The Rays need to send Longoria and Archer out the door. Archer and Casali go to the Dodgers for Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig. Longoria to the Cubs for Javier Baez and cash consideration. Boom! Duffy moves to third, Miller goes back to short, Baez and Forsythe platoon at first, move Souza to DH, let Puig play right and Pederson play left. Of course, Puig needs to get back on track before he slides into the lineup. That is a roster destined for success.

What about the Cubs? Bryant and Longoria platooning? No way! Well Joe Maddon has his players play different positions. Bryant has shown that he is a reliable option in left field. So Longoria stays at third and every thing is happy! No so fast. The Cubs have Kyle Schwarber coming back next year. Kyle can’t play anywhere. The Cubs can get a good deal if they can send him to the American League for prospects.

In conclusion, the Rays can revamp their team if they trade away the things they have been hoarding. If these trades do happen, the Tampa Bay Rays will seriously have a shot at the postseason in the future.

MLB 2K Sports Baseball Review (Wii)

I have played every one of the games in the MLB 2K Sports baseball Wii series except for 2008. I have found them incredibly fun and entertaining. (2K Sports no longer carries their MLB games on their website.) I decided to write a review on the games since I’ve known them for so much.(Please note: due to my aging Wii console, some of the options are not available to me such as saving franchise mode, saving created players, and updating) Here goes nothing:

  • Pro: The batting stance and pitching windup for the players are extremely accurate. I can identify the players just by their stance.
  • Pro: The covers have been great. I honestly think the 2012 edition cover with Justin Verlander surrounded by fire is the best.
  • Pro: The park dimensions are accurate.
  • Pro: The Cooperstown Legends and the old ballparks are incredible. It is a great way to travel back in time and play as Ted Williams and Reggie Jackson.
  • Pro: The Mini Diamond feature is awesome. It’s basically bobbleheads of players playing ball in Egypt and in space.
  • Pro: Replay is awesome. Period.
  • Con: The broadcasters have some glitches. They will only say a players number if they don’t know how to prenounce the name. If a player makes a great grab in the first inning, Gary Thorne will say “What a way to end the ballgame!” What really gets on my nerves is when I am playing 2012 and call in Mark Melancon (pronounced Melan-Sin) in from the ‘pen. Thorne butchers his name by calling him Mark Melan-Con. Why can’t they pronounce Nolnaho?
  • Con: The numbers sometimes glitch out.
  • Con: I was playing the other night, and for some reason, Hanley Ramirez walked right through Mark Teixeira. At least once an inning, somebody (either an umpire or player), gets impaled by a baseball. Umpires matter too.

The Bleacher Creature is not associated with 2K Sports by any means.