Johnny Lumsden, Author at Johnny L's Baseball Clubhouse

The Reasoning Behind Piazza’s Absence in the Hall

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Johnny Lumsden — No Comments ↓

Mike Piazza is arguably the best hitting catcher of all-time, and top 20 sluggers in baseball history. Mike finished his career with a batting average of .308, while hitting 427 homers, 2127 hits (one 200+ hit season), and he drove in 1335 RBI’s, all over the course of playing in 1912 games. Piazza had 6 seasons in which his stats reached the stratosphere; in 1993 (ROTY that year) and between 1996-2000, the big catcher produced a batting average of .329, a slugging average of .587, and averaged to hit 37 homers along with 115 RBI’s over the course of 146 Continue reading The Reasoning Behind Piazza’s Absence in the Hall→

Sierra Canyon’s Field of Dreams

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Johnny Lumsden — No Comments ↓

Out in Chatsworth, California, is a high school named Sierra Canyon, and over the past couple year they have been heavily expanding their athletic facilities. First came the $8 million basketball gym, then the new football field, and finally came the baseball field this year, which is right next to the football field. In 2014, the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers fell to Village Christian in the division VI baseball championship game, failing to give the school another sporting title after the football team won the division IV state title in 2011. But now that the Trailblazer baseball team has a brand Continue reading Sierra Canyon’s Field of Dreams→

Week of 12-29-14

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Johnny Lumsden — No Comments ↓

Legend: Ted Simmons was drafted 10th overall in the 1967 Amateur Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he played for until 1980, when he was traded to the Brewers in result of disputing with the Red Birds‘ manager. Although Simmons only appeared in 7 games between 1968-1969, it was a rather fast minor-league development for Ted. The man they sometimes called “Simba” had a career total of 2472 hits, 483 doubles, and 248 homers, all while batting .285. His solid batting numbers helped him become a 8-time all-star and collect a silver slugger award in 1980. He may Continue reading Week of 12-29-14→

Rays Still Playoff Contenders

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Johnny Lumsden — 2 Comments ↓

Despite the losses of Joe Maddon, Andrew Friedman, Wil Myers, Ryan Hannigan, and Matt Joyce, the Rays could still very much be contenders to make the playoffs in 2015. Unlike other teams that are reconstructing their roster/front office, Tampa Bay has plenty of depth both in the front office and on the field. Even with guys like Myers and Joyce departing, the Rays still have 5 (maybe 6) solid starters out of the 9 on the field. Also, the newly hired Rays manager, Kevin Cash, could very well be a great fit in navy blue and white. For the team’s Continue reading Rays Still Playoff Contenders→