Did you see this?
If it's Sunday, it's time again for some of the best and most interesting things I saw this past week
From Periscope Film (whose YouTube page is a lot of fun to peruse), Mr. Baseball, a 12-minute film from the 1950’s about the life of Hall of Famer Connie Mack and his more than 50 years with the Philadelphia Athletics.
The Athletic’s Eno Sarris breaks down 5 starting pitchers who, surprisingly, are off to disappointing starts in 2023. His list is headlined by Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, and he points to Sandy being impacted more than most by the elimination of the defensive shift.
John DeMarsico directs Mets television broadcasts on SNY and uses his Twitter feed to take followers behind the scenes of the telecast. This is how Pete Alonso’s game-tying grand slam against the Guardians Friday looked from the TV truck. Video like this is priceless if you’re curious about what goes into putting on a TV broadcast.
More from the world of sports broadcasting: In this brief column, STAA Talent’s Jon Chelesnik shares what he considers to be the biggest misconception about the field.
I happen to agree wholeheartedly.
On a related note, if you’re a high school or college student who aspires to do play-by-play—or if you’re a parent, grandparent or friend of an aspiring sports broadcaster—registration is now open for my next round of Play-by-Play Boot Camp courses via Zoom.
I offer one-on-one training to young broadcasters around the country.
And with summer vacation already underway for some, spaces for this next round are filling up rapidly.
You can learn more and register at glenngeffner.com.
Ken Rosenthal writes for The Athletic about why, no matter how much money the Padres have spent, the Dodgers still look and feel like the class of the NL West.
John Thorne, the official historian of Major League Baseball, weaves his personal story into the tale of Lipman Pike, the first Jewish player in professional baseball and one of the great sluggers of the Game’s early years. If you’re interested, you can learn even more about Pike here.
In case you mist missed it the Pensacola Blue Wahoo’s Wahoos hosted Grammatically Incorrect Night Tuesday.
Jim Bowden consulted with executives around the game to come up with a list of 27 emerging prospects whose names fans ought to learn. There are no Marlins on the list.
ICYMI
We had another record-breaking week in terms of traffic on VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS.
In case you missed it, here are a my 2 most-read pieces from the last week:
An inside-the-numbers look at the Marlins as they passed the 1/4 mark of the season.
My new-found appreciation for the Florida Panthers inspired my first venture into hockey writing.