1,000th Post Spectacular: The Best (So Far) of the Baseball Continuum

If my WordPress is to be believed, this is my 1,000th post on the Baseball Continuum! So, let’s take a look back at some of the best posts here:

The First “Big” Post

The first “big” post here, the first to get any attention beyond the small group of friends and family that I told about the Continuum, was Baseball in the Year 2044: A look at “Rockets on the Mound”The look I did at the obscure 1950s baseball sci-fi story was written about over on Hardballtalk, and It provided the template and something of a prologue to the Bizarre Baseball Culture segments I’ve done, which are probably the most popular things on this site.

The Most Viewed Posts

The top 10 most-viewed posts on the site all have to do with the World Baseball Classic, which isn’t surprising, given the fact I was one of maybe eight on the baseball blogosphere (at least in English) to give it the time of day and may well have been the first to start projecting out rosters. The most popular post that isn’t WBC related? Why, it’s the first Marvel/AAA Baseball Crossover. In case any of you who have read it missed it, I’ve actually talked to that comic’s writer as well as Chris Hill, who was one of the main people who made that promotion happen. The most viewed post that doesn’t involve the WBC or Bizarre Baseball Culture in any way was the post about strangest stadiums.

My Favorite Posts to Write

Two posts come to mind as my favorite to write, in no particular order:

The first is the one about international team names, just because it was so fun looking at all of the creative names abroad. One team, the Bolton Robots of Doom, liked it so much they sent me a t-shirt. I really need to find that t-shirt, it’s around here somewhere….

The second was the one on favorite baseball memories, simply because I was so glad and a little surprised at all of the ones I got back. I was expecting some from some of the bloggers I’d been in contact with before, but I was pleasantly surprised when I heard from some big-name writers and/or editors like Joe Posnanski, Howard Megdal and John Manuel. Besides, it was just cool to see all those memories.

Stupidest Post

This one. What was I thinking?

Most hilarious-in-hindsight post

The time I wrote an obituary for the 2012 Baltimore Orioles’ playoff hopes.

The One With the Most Photos

Probably the post on the Pepsi Legends game.

The post that got the most attention in my hometown

The Rochester Red Wings tweeted and Facebooked about my post about Jeff Clement and a miracle comeback.

The one that got the most attention in Hollywood

My recent post on Parks and Recreation‘s tie-in book got the attention of both show co-creator Michael Schur and Mets reliever David Aardsma.

And finally…

Thanks to everyone who has been reading the Continuum, promoting/linking to it, and helping to make it possible! The best is yet to come, and here’s to 1,000 more!

Better Late Than Never: My entry at @BaseballDeWorld’s Blogathon

I missed it due to being out of town at the time, but I contributed an article to Baseball de World’s charity blogathon, so check it out- it’s about my favorite baseball memories.

MVP of Yesterday (September 25, 2013): Kyle Lohse

Kyle Lohse had a complete-game shutout, which is one of those ways that instantly make you a good MVP of Yesterday candidate.

Standings, as usual, under the jump:

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MVP of Yesterday (Sept. 24, 2013): Michael Wacha

He was just a weird bounce away from a no-hitter, of course Michael Wacha is the MVP of Yesterday.

Standings, as usual, after the jump:

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On Manny Machado’s injury

Short version:

Longer version:

Injuries happen in all sports, and they can happen at all times, to all players. Nobody is immune. And yesterday’s injury to Manny Machado is further proof of that. Since arriving in the big leagues, he had not missed a game and he had been a staple of highlight reels both on the field and at the plate. And now, in a freak injury, his season is done and it’s entirely possible he may miss a good chunk of next year as well. And, worst of all, who knows how this knee/leg injury may affect him in the future:

Could this slow him down and turn all of those doubles into singles?

Could it make it so that he will never be able to move to SS, which is technically his natural position?

We don’t know, and that is the thing that makes his injury so sad. Baseball lost one of it’s brightest young stars yesterday for the rest of the (admittedly short) season, and now, all everyone can do- in Baltimore and across the world- is wait, and hope that this injury isn’t as bad as it looked.

MVP of Yesterday (September 23, 2013): Alexis Rios

With apologies to his teammate Derek Holland, Alex Rios– who cycled last night- is the MVP of Yesterday.

Standings, as usual, after the jump:

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MVPs of the Weekend: Jordan Zimmermann, Alex Cobb and Oswaldo Arcia

Well, as I said, I wasn’t able to post much (at all) over the weekend, but I can tell you that Friday’s MVP was Jordan Zimmermann, Saturday’s was Alex Cobb, and yesterday (Sunday) would have been Oswaldo Arcia (who had 6 RBI in a Twins loss).

Standings, as usual, after the jump:

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MVP of Yesterday (September 19, 2013): Hanley Ramirez

Hanley Ramirez went 4-5 and had two home runs and 4 RBIs in the Dodgers’ NL West-clinching victory yesterday over Arizona, making him the MVP of Yesterday.

Standings after the jump.

Note: Due to family obligations, there might not be MVP of Yesterday posts every day this weekend. Sorry for the inconvenience, I will make sure that I write down who would be the MVP somewhere.

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An Update/Aside to that Parks and Recreation post

Aside

The Parks and Recreation post from earlier has been updated to indicate some developments on Twitter that resulted from it (featuring David Aardsma and Michael Schur themselves), so check it out.

The clever baseball reference in the “Parks and Recreation” book

In 2009, Parks and Recreation first aired. A spiritual spin-off (but not an actual spin-off) of The Office, it follows the life of the Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and the rest of the staff of the Parks and Recreation Department in the fictional, Springfield-like city of Pawnee, Indiana.

In 2011, Knope released a book on Pawnee in the show, entitled Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America. NBC released the book in the real world.

In 2013, as part of a Netflix/Hulu binge to get caught up on Parks and Recreation before the next season starts, I also read Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America. I got it from the library (thankfully, my local library is not run by Ron Swanson’s second ex-wife Tammi). In doing so, I was able to catch a clever baseball reference in it during a section on Pawnee’s school board- which is filled with people who have lots of A’s at the start of their names in order to be at the top of the ballot, helping them win simply through the laziness of the voters of Pawnee. I’ve put the page up below the jump*, can you spot it?

*(Please don’t sue me, NBC!)

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