The Life of Ukrainian Baseball

The Head coach of Ukrainian national baseball team, Boyko O.M, suggested to send him lists of the best players and candidates on the post of coaches.

It is widely believed statistics shows best of all who is the best player. In terms of Ukrainian baseball reality it almost clearly forms the national team. It is because there are only the best players in it.

Oleg Boyko tells how it works in fact. He offered coaches to send lists of their candidates to gather teams for upcoming year. These are U18 (juniors), U23 (youth) and adults teams. In this case coaches recommend best players and as a result take responsibility for agreement and desire of players to take part in the selection and training for the European Championship.

About Statistic

More than a century ago it was witty noticed about three kinds of lie: the first is untruth, the second is a blatant lie and finally the last one – statistic, which is the most terrible lie. Oleg Boyko has been being in baseball for more than two decades in a row. He believes statistic is really a big advantage for this kind of sport. Earlier Oleg Boyko was a football coach. As a result of his football past he could unconsciously comment towards the baseball game using terms which were understandable only for him. But in baseball there is a clear statistic with understandable to all terms and meanings: AVG, ERA, RBI.

However, at the beginning of this century the new science has been developed which is called sabermetrics. It absolutely put aside validity and information content of previous classical terms. Instead it represents some new ones: wOBA, WAR, UZR and others.

Ukrainian statistics

Probably not all only a few people know two years ago it was a hot discussion between the Major League Baseball management towards the issue of number of teams reducing. And that was not about a business or lack of fans. The main reason was a lack of talented players to complete 30 teams. In other words the main intrigue of the league cannot be keep and it is obvious who will be the winner in particular games. Today the main reason not in favor of blind usage of Ukrainian statistic is clear – during many years in most games (more than 50%) there is no such question. The League is uneven and practically all victories are predictable. Moreover the teams are not on the same level and it means their trainings are different and it undermines the unification to record the events. If one team has hit it means that another one will have out. Baseball fields are so different that it can be easy to conduct hit on the one field, and out on another. Home run on one field can be boring fly on another. And other important thing statistics experts keep in silence – if coach knows team will probably loose players feel it and as a result they is no interesting fighting on the playing field. And if there is no fight on the field there will not be rates and interesting statistics as well.

http://baseballua.com/en/2016/11/16/the-life-of-ukrainian-baseball/

Irish joy tinged with sadness as All Blacks finally vanquished

Irish joy tinged with sadness as All Blacks finally vanquished

Irish fans all over the world celebrated the side’s electrifying first-ever victory over the All Blacks, but the historic triumph was tinged with sadness following the recent death at just 42 of former international Anthony “Axel” Foley.

“Ireland creates history with stunning victory over the All Blacks,” was the online headline of the Irish Independent newspaper after Saturday’s 40-29 victory in Chicago.

The Irish Times chimed in with “Irish warriors take down All Blacks at Soldier Field”.

The Irish have been close before – sometimes painfully – but this time, after 111 years and 29 test matches, they held firm, despite a late surge from the mighty All Blacks, who had won 18 games on the trot before this shock defeat.

“It’s an awesome day for the Irish, not just for this team but for the 28 teams that have gone before us,” elated Irish full-back Rob Kearney said after the final whistle.

With Chicago Cubs having broken their 108-year hoodoo by winning baseball’s World Series last week, the stage was set in the Windy City, and Ireland duly ran in five tries to secure a famous first victory.

For Ireland, the occasion was made even more emotional by the recent death of former player and Munster coach Foley, who died as Munster prepared for a European Cup game just two weeks ago.

As the All Blacks performed the Haka, the Irish, led by Foley’s former Munster players, stood in a figure-of-eight formation on the pitch in memory of the enormously popular back-row forward.

From the off, the Ireland pack displayed plenty of the spirit that Foley embodied as a player and a coach, thundering into the All Blacks and never giving them time to settle.

“New Zealand isn’t used to that sort of treatment, everybody just stands back and respects them,” said former international Neil Francis.

“Over the years one of the problems we have had is that we have feared sides like New Zealand,” Francis explained.

“But over the last six or seven years, that fear has gone.”

New Zealand will have their chance for revenge in Dublin in two weeks but Captain Rory Best believes that the fear of the All Blacks is now a thing of the past.

“We’ve created history by going and attacking New Zealand, they’re a quality side and it shows how good they are, how important this win was to us,” Best said as tears welled in his eyes.

http://baseballua.com/en/2016/11/17/irish-joy-tinged-with-sadness-as-all-blacks-finally-vanquished/

Rubric: Bulls-eye Statements by Famous Baseball Players

Peter Edward "Pete" Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989.

Rose, a switch hitter, is the all-time MLB leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), singles (3,215), and outs (10,328). He won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Gloves, the Rookie of the Year Award, and made 17 All-Star appearances at an unequaled five different positions (second baseman, left fielder, right fielder, third baseman, and first baseman). Rose won both of his Gold Gloves as an outfielder in 1969 and 1970.

In August 1989, three years after he retired as an active player, Rose agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while playing for and managing the Reds, including claims that he bet on his own team. In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame formally voted to ban those on the "permanently ineligible" list from induction, after previously excluding such players by informal agreement among voters. In 2004, after years of public denial, Rose admitted to betting on baseball and on, but not against, the Reds. The issue of Rose's possible reinstatement and election to the Hall of Fame remains a contentious one throughout baseball.

On June 22, 2015, ESPN concluded an investigation and determined that Rose bet on baseball while still a player-manager, from 1984 to 1986. The investigation also made public the existence of records of bets made by Rose on baseball, which had been seized by US federal authorities from an associate of Rose.

In 2016, Rose was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

One of the beautiful things about baseball is the history

To win. Nothing else matters, and nothing else will do

Rubric: Bulls-eye Statements by Famous Baseball Players

Orestes "Minnie" Minoso, nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" and "Mr. White Sox", was a Cuban Negro league and Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He began his baseball career in 1946 and became an All-Star third baseman with the New York Cubans and was signed by the Cleveland Indians after the 1948 season as baseball's color line slowly fell. Miñoso went on to become an All-Star left fielder with the Indians and Chicago White Sox. The first Black Cuban in the major leagues and the first black player in White Sox history, as a 1951 rookie he was the one of the first Latin Americans to play in an MLB All-Star Game.

Miñoso was an American League (AL) All-Star for seven seasons and a Gold Glove winner for three seasons when he was in his 30s. He batted over .300 for eight seasons. He was the AL leader in triples and stolen bases three times each and in hits, doubles, and total bases once each. Willie Mays (179 steals) and Miñoso (167 steals) have been widely credited with leading the resurgence of speed as an offensive weapon in the 1950s. Miñoso was particularly adept at reaching base, leading the AL in times hit by pitch a record ten times, and holding the league mark for career times hit by pitch from 1959 to 1985. Miñoso, as a defensive standout, led the AL left fielders in assists six times and in putouts and double plays four times each.

Miñoso was one of the most popular and dynamic players in White Sox franchise history. He helped the "Go-Go" White Sox become one of the premier teams of the 1950s and 1960s. A rare power threat on a team known for speed and defense, Miñoso also held the White Sox record for career home runs from 1956 to 1974.

Miñoso left the major leagues following the 1964 season, but went on playing and managing in Mexico through 1973. He rejoined the White Sox as a coach, and made brief but highly publicized player appearances in 1976 and 1980. He became the third player to get a hit after the age of 50 and the second player to appear in the major leagues in five decades. Miñoso's White Sox uniform number 9 was retired in 1983, and a statue of him was unveiled at U.S. Cellular Field in 2004. Miñoso was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in Exile in 1983, and to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

In 2014, Miñoso appeared for the second time as a candidate on the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Golden Era Committeeelection ballot for possible Hall of Fame consideration in 2015. He and the other candidates including former White Sox teammate Billy Pierce, and two other former players from Cuba, Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant, all missed induction in 2015. The Committee meets and votes on ten selected candidates from the Golden Era (1947 to 1972) every three years.

The great thing about baseball is there’s a crisis every day