Bubby Rossman had dreams of reaching the majors someday. He just never anticipated it would come as a pitcher. The California native was an outfielder while playing at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he displayed a strong arm. He recorded seven assists in right field his senior year, which culminated in winning a Division II Rawlings West Region Gold Glove Award. Rossman, 30,...
A hitter digging into the batter’s box sixty feet, six inches away from Greg Maddux might not initially be intimidated. After all, Maddux was listed at six-feet tall and one-hundred seventy pounds, never relying on blazing fastball velocity to put hitters away. “The Professor” often wore glasses off the mound, which almost emphasized his unassuming persona. However, what...
Amid a busy offseason for the New York Mets, in which the club committed nearly $500 million to free agents, utility player Danny Mendick may have gone unnoticed. Signed to a one-year, $1 million deal in late December, Mendick, 29, offers the Mets a versatile depth option who still has two minor league options remaining. The Rochester native’s story is one of perseverance, as he received...
After spending his first seven big league seasons with the Oakland Athletics, Mark Canha was ready for a change. Following the 2021 season, the California native was entering free agency for the first time in his career and was ready for new opportunities. After being drafted by the then Florida Marlins in the seventh round of the 2010 Draft, Canha was selected in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft by the...
Mike Piazza’s journey of going from a 62nd-round draft pick (1,390th overall) at the behest of a Hall of Fame manager, to switching positions late in his teenage years and becoming the greatest hitting catcher of all time is one of near improbability. For Piazza, 54, baseball was a way of life and something he innately knew he was destined for. From a young age, Piazza had access to the...
The New York Mets made several shrewd moves in the early-to-mid eighties that aided the club in winning their second World Series championship in franchise history. From their trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Keith Hernandez and adding southpaw Sid Fernandez from the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1983, to trading for Ray Knight from the Houston Astros and acquiring Gary Carter from the Montreal...
Following the conclusion of the 2022 season, the New York Mets’ bullpen was going to be potentially very different heading into the 2023 season. For all of the rightful chatter regarding whether the Mets were going to re-sign Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Díaz (which they did the first day of free agency), the majority of the Mets pen was set to hit the open market....
In early November, the New York Mets made a hire that may have gone unnoticed and isn’t as acclaimed as the announcement of a major free-agent signing or trade. At the General Managers’ Meetings in Las Vegas, Mets GM Billy Eppler announced the Mets had hired Eric Jagers as their director of pitching development. Some of Jager’s responsibilities include overseeing the...
For over thirty years, Jim Reeves has been traveling the Pacific Northwest as an area scout, responsible for roughly 2,000,000 square miles, to help the New York Mets find the next crop of potential major league talent. The role of an area scout involves getting to know the programs, schools, coaches, and players in their respective territories, and traveling to various games and showcases in...
Prior to being traded over to the New York Mets with Javier Báez from the Chicago Cubs at the 2021 trade deadline, right-hander Trevor Williams had almost entirely been a starter for his professional career. Of the 119 games since his debut in 2016 through his last game with the Cubs in 2021, Williams had started 106 of them between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the aforementioned Cubs. Williams,...
As he recovers from thumb surgery, there may be some hope for Mets rookie third baseman Brett Baty to return if the team makes a deep postseason run. But if we don’t see him at Citi Field again this year, Baty has already provided a promising glimpse of what kind of excitement he can provide next season. In a recent interview with The Game Day, he made it apparent that his first stint in the...
Thirty years after the release of Penny Marshall’s beloved baseball film “A League of Their Own” was released in theaters, a new adaptation has been created for Amazon Prime Video this year. The eight-episode series, which is familiarly titled “A League of Their Own,” takes a new spin on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) which formed in...
