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An American Hobby: Baseball Memorabilia – Roberto Clemente’s 1955 Topps Rookie Card
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Follow @mlbreportsSaturday, April.27, 2013

Roberto Clemente was a 13 Time ALL – Star and a 12 time Gold Glove Award Winner. He also led the NL in Batting Average 4 X – and in hits 2 X. He was the 1966 NL MVP – setting Career highs in HRs, (29) Runs, (105) and RBI (119). In the 13 years from 1960 – 1972, he hit under .312 only in 1 season – (.291 in 1968). Sadly, he died in an aviation accident on New Years Eve 1973, while he was delivering aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua at the age of 38. He and Lou Gehrig hold the distinctive honors of having the 5 year wait period waived for the Baseball Hall Of Fame.
By Lee Edelstein (‘Baseball Memorabilia Enthusiast’ – visit his website here) Follow @chinmusicstory
MLB Reports: We are pleased to present you with Baseball Author Lee Edelstein as the newest writer with us at the Reports. Lee will be providing us with great stories about baseball memorabilia on a regular basis.
MLB Reports
An American Hobby
Blog 10
This week’s article features a member of the 3,000 Hit Club.
Roberto Clemente is a beloved figure in baseball history, one of the greatest defensive right fielders of all time, and, in many ways, a pioneer – the Jackie Robinson of Hispanic and Latin ballplayers.
While Robinson faced the monumental hurdle of integrating baseball, Clemente’s challenges included overcoming pervasive language and cultural barriers.
Consider this – he is the first Latin American in the Hall of Fame, the first Hispanic ballplayer to win a World Series as a starter (1960), win an MVP award (1966), and win a World Series MVP Award (1971).
He played in the era of Aaron, Mays, and Mantle and, for much of his career, was under-appreciated.
Detroit Tigers Roster in 2013: State Of The Union
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Thursday, February. 21/2013

The Trio of Verlander, Fielder, and Cabrera represented Detroit at the All-Star game in 2012 as well as on the MVP ballot with Cabrera winning, Verlander coming in 8th, and Fielder coming in 9th. They also combined for an 18.8 WAR in 2012
By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer): Follow @ryandana1
I would never say that a team is a lock to win their division, but I will say that the Detroit Tigers shouldn’t make any vacation plans for October of 2013. They’ve won the AL Central Division for the past 2 years, and added an AL Pennant in 2012. The Detroit Tigers franchise is one rich in history winning 4 World Series titles and having legends such as Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Al Kaline, and Charlie Gehringer passing through the “D” just to name a few.
This proud franchise did suffer a lull in success somewhat recently as they had a losing record every season from 1994-2005. This included a dismal 43-119 record in ’03. The Tigers came back from the abyss and turned their team back into a winning ball club since 2006. This was Jim Leyland’s 1st season managing the Tigers, and all he did was lead the team to 95 wins (a 24 win increase from the prior season) and a World Series appearance.
In 2011, the Tigers lost in the ALCS, and in 2012 they lost in the World Series, so could they improve upon the previous seasons ending once again and win the 2013 World Series? Well, their roster is certainly improved from last year, but it’s all about keeping up with the “Jones” in the MLB nowadays. Every team with money is trying to make a serious World Series run this year. While the Tigers are in the weakest division in the AL, if and when they reach the playoffs, it will be a gruesome battle to endure.
The Tigers have all the makings of a World Series contender. They have Superstars in their lineup like Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. They have a true Ace leading their deep, seemingly all in and around their prime, starting rotation in Justin Verlander. They also have good depth on their 25 man roster, and even more in their Minor League system. I’ll start with their rotation. Here’s what it will most likely look like…
2013 Detroit Tigers Starting Rotation: Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Anibal Sanchez, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello
Detroit Tigers 2012 ALCS Highlights:
An Interview With Tigers Prospect Daniel Fields
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Follow @mlbreportsSaturday, January.26/2013

Daniel Fields showed flashes of speed in 2012 -with 23 SB with the Lakeland Tigers (A+) and Erie SeaWolves (AA) in the Minor Leagues. At Age 22 (as of January.23/2013), Fields has been invited to attend Spring Training with the big club.
By Matthew Lafave (Tigers Correspondent) Follow @MatthewLafave
Have you ever had that dream of being drafted by your favorite sports team? It’s a dream that replays in your head as you’re going about your day. A dream that makes you smile in the morning and a dream that you hope you experience again later that night.
Daniel Fields is living that dream. The Detroit, Michigan native out of University of Detroit Jesuit High School was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2009.
The highly toted prospect is making his way up the Minor Leagues. It’s a name that you’ll want to remember and a last name that may sound familiar to you. Read the rest of this entry
The Patrick Languzzi Interview: The Man Behind The Petition About The Dwight Evans For The ‘BBHOF’ Candicacy Campaign
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Follow @mlbreportsSunday, January.13/2013

Dwight Evans falls into that category with Don Mattingly, Mark Grace, Will Clark and Keith Hernandez. Guys that were the best players amongst their peers, (offensively and defensively) plus BBHOF Worthy (In some cases) – but are trounced on by the ballooned ‘Steroid era” numbers.
By John Tuberty – Special Guest Writer and Cooperstown Correspondent (Owner of The Wesbite Tubbs Baseball Blog, please view here . )
Under current Hall of Fame voting rules, the Expansion Era Committee meets once every three years to vote on retired players who are no longer eligible for election by the BBWAA, have been retired 21 or more seasons, and made their biggest contributions to the sport after 1972. In addition to the retired players, the Expansion Era ballot also includes retired managers, umpires, and executives from the post-1972 era. One player who is eligible to be included on December’s Expansion Era ballot is former Red Sox Right Fielder, Dwight Evans.
Despite owning impressive career totals such as 385 Home Runs, 2,446 Hits, and 8 Gold Glove Awards, Evans struggled to draw support in BBWAA Hall of Fame voting and fell off the ballot after failing to draw the necessary five percent needed to stay on the ballot on a very crowded 1999 election. However in recent years, Evans has become a popular Hall of Fame debate in the sabermetric community and several articles have been written in support of his overlooked Hall of Fame candidacy. One particular writer, Patrick Languzzi is spearheading a campaign to put Dwight Evans on December’s Expansion Era ballot. Languzzi, who writes for MLB Reports as the Hall of Fame Correspondent, created his own website, Call to the Hall, which is devoted to bringing awareness to Dwight Evans’ overlooked Hall of Fame candidacy. Languzzi even started a petition which calls for Evans to be selected as one of the twelve finalists on December’s Expansion Era ballot. Languzzi was nice enough to take the time for me to interview him about his Call to the Hall website and petition.
JT: Patrick, you, along with Nick Carfardo of the Boston Globe were recently interviewed by Tom Caron on the New England Sports Network (NESN) to discuss Evans’ overlooked Hall of Fame candidacy (see link below). What was that experience like?
PL: The experience was validating for me, meaning, when I started this project, I never imagined it would have gone as far as it has, and gotten the attention it’s drawn. It’s great to see that I’m not the only one that feels that Evans’ case deserves to be revisited.
JT: You mention in the NESN clip that you got a chance to meet Dwight, what can you tell us about meeting him?
PL: Through all of my research, I’ve gotten to know Evans, and what I’ve found is that he is extremely humble and unwilling to discuss himself as a possible Hall of Fame candidate. He was humble as a player too. A good example of this is the clip from the 1987 All-Star game (see link to clip below) when Dwight fields a fly ball and fires a strike to home plate, Tim Raines the player at third holds from tagging up.
An Interview With Comerica Park Expert and co-founder of Stadium Journey- Paul Swaney
Sunday April 22, 2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024)- I was fortunate to talk with Paul Swaney about Comerica Park recently. Amongst the ball park chaser community (or any sports community for that matter), Paul Swaney has come to the forefront as one the top stadium reviewers for all of sports in the world. Paul had a vision of starting a website to chronicle his own sports venue experiences. He thought of this as soon as his son was born. Since then, he co-founded the stradiumjourney.com website and they have since gone into publication as a magazine. Paul has made it his full-time job to provide information on hundreds of sporting venue’s around the globe. Get to know this man and website because he is going places with his new venture. I asked Paul Swaney to be part of my featured profiles of ‘The Fastest 30 Ball Games'” and am pleased that he accepted my invitation.
CB: “Welcome to the Comerica Park Expert interview Paul, please about yourself and then give us a bit of background information on your life as Tigers fan?”
PS: “I grew up in Northern Michigan, and the Tigers were definitely the first team I really loved. I remember watching the Tigers in the 1984 World Series, one of my first sports memories. The following season, my dad, my brother, and I traveled to Tiger Stadium. I remember the excitement I felt as the Tigers clashed with the Red Sox on a sunny September afternoon. The dark blue of the stadium, the green of the field, and the energy of being in a large urban setting for the first time of my life are still vivid memories.” Read the rest of this entry
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