Celebrating the Best Lefty Pitchers Sep 12, 2025 Dr. Pratt Baseball, Cards and Culture, MLB, Office Hours While only 10% of the general population is left-handed, more than 21% of baseball Hall of Fame pitchers are lefties. Whether it’s their confounding delivery or wicked breaking balls, the greatest southpaws have left an indelible mark on the…
The Game’s Greatest Endurance Players Sep 10, 2025 Dr. Pratt Baseball, Cards and Culture, MLB, Office Hours Some baseball players become legends for their towering home runs, dazzling defense, or unhittable pitches. Others, however, etch their names into history through sheer willpower. They show up, day after day, year after year, defying fatigue, injury, and the…
The Best Catchers in MLB History Aug 20, 2025 Dr. Pratt Baseball, Cards and Culture, Office Hours Because of the special demands of the position, catchers face a unique set of challenges, and their excellence must be evaluated according to very particular criteria. Longevity is rare behind the plate, and no other player on the…
Hitting is More Than Just Numbers Aug 13, 2025 Dr. Pratt Baseball, Cards and Culture, MLB, Office Hours Baseball fans gradually learn to enjoy comparing the statistics that purport to represent their favorite players’ achievements. At some level, it’s hard to argue with the numbers: A hit is a hit, and an out is an…
The Stars Who Did It All Jul 9, 2025 Dr. Pratt Baseball, Cards and Culture, MLB, Office Hours On May 14, 1988, José Oquendo took the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals. That might not sound like news — until you consider that he would play every other position on the field that season. Oquendo…
A Hall of Fame of Names Apr 30, 2025 Dr. Pratt Baseball, Cards and Culture, MLB, Office Hours Baseball isn’t just a game of stats and records — it’s a game of stories. And sometimes, those stories begin with a name. A glorious, unforgettable, too-good-to-be-true name that sticks in the memory like pine tar on…
The Atlantic League has long been baseball’s No. 1 test lab. And now it’s at it again. QR codes on baseballs? They’re coming to an Atlantic League game near you this season. It sometimes feels these days as if the whole world is a giant QR code. But one place those codes are believed to…
BRADENTON, Fla. — Before the meme, there was the announcement. Here was Paul Skenes, live on MLB Network. Cal Ripken Jr., the Hall of Fame shortstop, set the scene: The winner of the 2024 National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year is … Paul Skenes. The camera cut to Skenes and his girlfriend, the…
The History of the Black Aces Feb 6, 2025 Robert Halliman Baseball, Black History Month, Cards and Culture, MLB, Robert Halliman Baseball has always been a game of milestones, and one of the most prestigious for a pitcher is winning 20 games in a single season. For Black pitchers, breaking through the game’s long-standing racial…
Dr. Pratt Examines the Art of the Base Hit Oct 2, 2024 Dr. Pratt Baseball, Cards and Culture, Dr. Pratt, Feature, MLB, Office Hours, Singles In the 1980s and 1990s, it wasn’t a discussion that came up very often: is the art of hitting singles a thing of the past? Until the power surge of…