New York Yankees is America’s Favorite Baseball Team for 8th Year
Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves Come in 2nd and 3rd
As we reach the mid-point of the baseball season, it’s time for the All-Star game and for reflections on the sport as a whole. So far in the 2010 Major League Baseball season, pitching has been the star performer, with some memorable perfect games, including the one that was, but wasn’t, and the debut of the Washington Nationals’ young phenom.
But, one thing remains the same when it comes to baseball. Among those who follow the sport, the New York Yankees again win the honor of “America’s Favorite“, as they have each year since 2003. In the second spot on the list are their long time arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, followed by the Atlanta Braves at number three; both of these teams’ positions are unchanged from last year.
Rounding out the top five are the Philadelphia Phillies at number four, rising from 7th place last year, and the Chicago Cubs, who may not win pennants, but do win a lot of hearts.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,227 adults surveyed online between June 14 and 21, 2010 by Harris Interactive. Read more
Mark Teahen named 2009 Hutch Award winner
Major League Baseball’s Mark Teahen, longtime third baseman for the Kansas City Royals and recently acquired by the Chicago White Sox, will receive the 2009 Hutch Award®. The award is given annually to a Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of baseball great Fred Hutchinson, both on and off the field.
The 28-year-old Redlands, Calif., native made his MLB debut with the Royals in April 2005, playing third and first bases and the outfield. He had been a unanimous first-team, All-West Coast Conference selection in 2002. Teahen, whose father is from Ontario, has dual Canadian-American citizenship and last March played on the Canadian men’s national team in the World Baseball Classic. On Nov. 5 he was traded to the White Sox.
“I am extremely excited to accept the Hutch Award, and I am humbled to be added to the prestigious list of former recipients,” Teahen said. “I am honored and am thankful for all of my friends and family who help me accomplish the many successes I’ve been fortunate to achieve.”
Teahen said the Hutch Award and its connection with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center mean even more to him because this year he witnessed his mother’s successful battle with breast cancer.
Off the field, Teahen has been active in the local community. For nearly the entirety of his tenure with the Royals, Teahen served as a key spokesman and fundraiser for the YMCA Challenger Baseball program, a division of Little League Baseball that gives children with physical or mental challenges the opportunity to play on specially designed baseball fields. In addition, he has donated time to the Royals AbilityCAMP, an interactive baseball camp for kids with disabilities, and he has supported other causes and foundations focusing on the well-being of children.
Teahen will visit children at the Hutchinson Center’s Hutch School and receive his award at the annual Hutch Award Luncheon on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010 at Safeco Field in Seattle. Legendary pitcher and 1989 Hutch Award winner Dave Dravecky will be the featured speaker at the luncheon, which raises funds for cancer research.
The Hutchinson Center was founded by Fred’s brother Bill, a prominent Seattle surgeon, after Fred died of cancer at age 45. The Hutch Award was established in 1965 and was first given to Mickey Mantle. Other Hutch Award winners have included 2008 recipient Jon Lester, Mike Sweeney, Mark Loretta, Craig Biggio, Jamie Moyer, Willie McCovey, Willie Stargell, Omar Vizquel, Sandy Koufax and Carl Yastrzemski. In all, 11 Hall-of-Famers have received the Hutch Award. For more information about the Hutch Award, including a full list of past recipients, visit www.fhcrc.org/hutchaward.
Source: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Official DVD & Blu-ray chronicling New York Yankees 2009 World Series Championship
Official ’2009 World Series Film: Philadelphia Phillies(TM) vs. New York Yankees(R)’ DVD & Blu-ray(TM) Available Nationwide on DVD November 24 and on Blu-ray(TM) High-Def December 15
The 2009 Fall Classic was the searing face-off many had hoped for — the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies against the New York Yankees. Eighty-six years after opening the original Yankee Stadium in 1923 with their first World Series title, the Yankees celebrated their inaugural season in the new Yankee Stadium with a record 27th championship.
Celebrating the excitement and captivating moments of this year’s Fall Classic, Major League Baseball Productions and Shout! Factory are offering baseball fans the ultimate insider’s look at the Yankees’ quest to win this year’s World Series title in a taut, six-game series victory over the Phillies. The official 2009 World Series Film: Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Yankees, available nationwide on DVD on November 24, 2009, and on Blu-ray in High Definition on December 15, 2009, grants fans the opportunity to relive the long-awaited record-breaking 27th World Series title in Yankees history, the team’s first such victory in nearly a decade.
The collectible 2009 World Series Film provides extensive coverage of this year’s Fall Classic and will be sold at the New York Yankees Clubhouse Shops, the official team stores of the New York Yankees; online at MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, as well as Yankees.com; and at retailers nationwide. The official DVD and Blu-ray editions are available now to preorder at MLB.com, Yankees.com, Amazon.com and various online retailers. The official DVD has a suggested retail price of $19.99, and the Blu-ray is being offered at the suggested retail price of $29.99.
The 2009 World Series Film on Blu-ray and DVD features more than 80 minutes of main program presentation and nearly 30 minutes of bonus footage, including highlights from the American League Championship Series, American League Division Series, World Series, clubhouse celebrations and championship parade. Using elements captured through the unparalleled access of Major League Baseball Productions, the official Blu-ray and DVD provide unique, adrenaline-filled game-by-game coverage of the 2009 World Series, exclusive sound via wireless microphones, as well as interviews with players, coaches and team personnel, allowing fans an exclusive passport to the clubhouse during the Yankees’ postseason run. For the seventh consecutive year, MLB Productions captured both on- and off-the-field elements of the World Series with high definition (HD) cameras, ensuring that every facet of the Fall Classic is presented on Blu-ray and DVD in pristine, digital-quality video and audio.
Both the Yankees and Phillies teams featured game-changing players, elite pitchers and a knack for late-inning comebacks. No team had won more road games than the Phillies. No team had won more home games than the Yankees. Each team cut their way through the Division Series and League Championship Series with the same goal in mind. But when the final out of the Fall Classic was recorded, it was the New York Yankees who prevailed.
The official 2009 World Series Film provides a comprehensive look at the amazing journey the Yankees made toward winning their record 40th American League pennant and their return to glory by capturing their 27th World Series title in club history — from Matsui’s heroic hitting to A-Rod’s postseason resurgence to captain Jeter’s clutchness to Mo’s incredible domination — all culminating with a ticker tape parade before a huge crowd of fans in Manhattan.
DVD and Blu-ray bonus content includes:
– ALDS GAME 2: MARK TEIXEIRA WALK-OFF HR
– ALDS GAME 2: ALEX RODRIGUEZ HR
– ALCS GAME 2: ALEX RODRIGUEZ HR
– ALCS GAME 2: YANKEES WALK-OFF WIN
– ALCS GAME 6: LAST OUT
– WS GAME 3: ALEX RODRIGUEZ HR
– WS GAME 4: JOHNNY DAMON 9TH INNING AT-BAT
– WS GAME 4: JOHNNY DAMON STEALING SECOND AND THIRD BASE
– WS GAME 4: ALEX RODRIGUEZ 9TH INNING DOUBLE
– WS GAME 6: HIDEKI MATSUI HOMERUN
– WS GAME 6: HIDEKI MATSUI 2-RUN SINGLE
– WS GAME 6: HIDEKI MATSUI 2-RUN DOUBLE
– FINAL 3 OUTS OF WORLD SERIES AND CELEBRATION
– PLAYER REACTIONS
2009 WORLD SERIES FILM : PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES VS. NEW YORK YANKEES – DVD
Suggested Retail Price: $19.99
Widescreen 16:9
Audio: 2.0 Stereo
Release Date: November 24, 2009
2009 WORLD SERIES FILM: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES VS. NEW YORK YANKEES – Blu-ray
Suggested Retail Price: $29.99
1080i High Definition
Audio: PCM 5.1 Surround
Release Date: December 15, 2009
Source: Shout! Factory; Major League Baseball Productions
New book chronicles Pittsburgh Pirates from insider’s view
Former Relief Pitcher and Broadcaster Shares Pirates Anecdotes, History in New Memoir
In his illuminating new memoir, “Happiness is like a Cur Dog: The Thirty-Year Journey of a Major League Baseball Pitcher and Broadcaster” (published by AuthorHouse), Nelson J. King takes readers on a remarkable journey, from his birthplace in the hard coal-mining village of Weston Place, Pa., through the golden age of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball.
A captivating storyteller, King has long enjoyed sharing the highlights of his long association with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a relief pitcher for them from 1954 — 1957, he witnessed many historic moments, and as a broadcaster for Pirates games from 1967 — 1975, King saw, from the inside, the Pirates’ incredible transformation from a struggling team to 1971 Word Series champions.
One of King’s cherished memories shared in “Happiness is like a Cur Dog” goes back to 1941 when, as a 13-year-old, he saw his first major league game at Shibe Park in Philadelphia as the Phillies squared off against the Cincinnati Reds. Back then, fans were permitted to exit the game from the playing field, and as King walked past the visitor’s dugout, his brother remarked that both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had sat there. Fourteen years later, on April 24, 1955, King would also sit on that bench in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform.
Although an arm injury unexpectedly ended King’s bullpen days in 1957, he maintained his positive attitude and firm belief that things happen for a reason. He ultimately found his second calling, sports broadcasting, in 1960. From 1967 — 1975, he was one half of the Pirates broadcasting duo, working alongside Bob “The Gunner” Prince on KDKA radio.
King’s pitching and broadcasting careers spanned a generation, and his commentary on the game as it is played today is interwoven with colorful stories from baseball’s golden age. As the undisputed folk historian of Pirates baseball, King brings to life some of the greatest names in Pirates history, including Branch Rickey, Danny Murtaugh, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Vernon Law and Dave Giusti. With a distinctive narrative style and a reverence for the players, managers, coaches, sportswriters and fans, King offers rich insights into the politics and economics of baseball during a period of profound social and cultural change, shedding light on the game’s role in the transformation of race relations and how the meaning of baseball in America was changed both on and off the field. Find out more in the pages of “Happiness is like a Cur Dog,” a must-read for any Pittsburgh sports fan or baseball enthusiast.
Source: AuthorHouse
SIRIUS XM Radio announces extensive MLB Postseason coverage
XM listeners nationwide will get live play-by-play of every Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series game MLB Home Plate and Mad Dog Radio channels to broadcast live on site during the League Championship Series and World Series Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson hosts exclusive radio series, “October Nights,” Tuesdays on Mad Dog Radio
SIRIUS XM Radio announced that it will offer baseball fans extensive coverage of the 2009 Major League Baseball postseason starting Wednesday, October 7, with live play-by-play of every game on XM, plus playoff talk and analysis every day on SIRIUS XM’s MLB Home Plate and Mad Dog Radio channels.
As the Official Satellite Radio Partner of Major League Baseball, XM broadcasts every MLB game from Opening Day through the World Series. Starting with the League Championship Series games, XM will offer listeners the official team radio broadcasts for both the home and visiting ball clubs for every game, in addition to national ESPN Radio broadcasts throughout the postseason and Spanish language broadcasts for select games.
SIRIUS XM’s 24 hour baseball talk channel, MLB Home Plate (XM channel 175, SIRIUS channel 210 with the “Best of XM”), will offer fans the latest news and analysis from a panel of expert hosts that includes Cal Ripken Jr., Bill Ripken, Rob Dibble, Kevin Kennedy, Buck Martinez, Jim Duquette, Mitch Williams, Rico Petrocelli and others. MLB Home Plate will broadcast live from ballparks before and after games, offering game previews and post-game interviews with players, managers and coaches.
Every Tuesday through the World Series, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson will host a new edition of the exclusive talk radio series, October Nights, (7:00 – 9:00 pm ET) on Mad Dog Radio (SIRIUS channel 123, XM channel 144). The six-week series, running through November 10, will feature Jackson and co-host Bill Pidto talking about the playoff picture in the American and National Leagues and Jackson’s own experiences in the postseason.
Mad Dog Radio, SIRIUS XM’s all-sports talk channel, will offer fans a place for two-way baseball talk all day, every day of the postseason. During the LCS and World Series, headliner Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo will host his daily show, Mad Dog Unleashed, (weekdays, 2:00 – 7:00 pm ET) live on select dates from the AL or NL ballpark.
Source: SIRIUS XM Radio