The Mets' and Royals' World Series Appearances 10/30/15

Hey baseball fans!

The World Series has already started, with the Royals taking the first two games against the Mets, but how successful have these two teams been in the biggest series in baseball? Well, let me tell you.

New York Mets:

1969-After being arguably the worst baseball team for the middle part of the 1960s, the "Miracle Mets" had the best season in franchise history to that point. They won 100 games, won their first ever National League Championship Series against the Braves, and won the World Series against the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles in five games.

1973-The worst team to get to the World Series (their record was a somber 82-79), the Yogi Berra-led Mets faced the A's in the World Series. In Willie Mays's last season in the MLB, the Mets lost the World Series to the A's in seven games.

1986-With the help of a great pitching staff and a Game Six error by Red Sox first baseman, Bill Buckner, the 108-win Mets won the World Series over the Boston Red Sox in one of the best World Series of all time. Names like Mookie Wilson and Ray Knight became iconic after the infamous Buckner muff.

2000-The 2000 Mets won the NL Wild Card and eventually got to the World Series to face the juggernaut Yankees. The Bronx Bombers had won three of the past four Fall Classics and won the 2000 one as well in five games. The Mets, however, did end the Yankees'14-game World Series winning streak by winning Game Three of the Series.

NYM World Series Winning Percentage: .500

Kansas City Royals:

1980-This could've been the Royals' first championship, but instead it was the Phillies' first championship. Mike Schmidt and company took down the AL powerhouse in six games for the Phillies' first ever World Series championship.

1985-George Brett got his only World Series ring in 1985 in the second ever all-Missouri World Series. The Royals barely won the seven-game Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in another great World Series.

2014-Almost no one expected the 2014 Royals to even get to the playoffs, but they won the first spot in the AL Wild Card and then proceeded to sweep their way into the World Series. There, they came 90 feet away from tying Game Seven of the Series against the Giants, but San Francisco did close the door on KC and won the 2014 World Series in seven games.

KCR World Series Winning Percentage: .333

The Mets have more World Series experience and a better World Series winning percentage, but does that really matter? Will the Royals continue their momentum into Game Three of the World Series tonight? The only way to find out is to wait and see what happens. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

The Super Bowl/World Series Same City Phenomenon 10/24/15

Hey baseball fans!

The Mets are in the World Series! That's awesome...for the football fan in me, that is. You see, every time the Mets win the World Series, a New York football team wins the preceding or succeeding Super Bowl. In 1969, the Mets won the Series and the Jets won Super Bowl III and in '86 the Mets won World Series #2 and the Giants won their first Lombardi Trophy. However, these aren't the only times in which the Super Bowl and World Series champs of the same year came from the same area; in fact, it's happened three other times since 1967 (the year of the first Super Bowl).












So I've already talked about New York and their two Super Bowl/World Series championships, but what other cities have joined this elite club? Well, right after the Jets and Mets won in '69, it was Baltimore's turn. The Baltimore Colts (who have since moved to Indianapolis) and Baltimore Orioles won the Super Bowl and World Series, respectively, in 1970. The 1970 World Series was a revenge series for Orioles star, Frank Robinson, because he was facing his old team: the Reds. Robinson and the O's won in five games, with Brooks Robinson winning MVP of the Series, making a couple of amazing fielding plays at third base and batting .429.

Nine years later, it was Pittsburgh's time to shine. The Steelers won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1979 and 1980 and the Pirates won the 1979 World Series. The Fall Classic of the '79 season was a fun one, featuring the "We Are Family" Pirates against the Orioles. Willie Stargell and the Buccos took care of Baltimore in seven games and Stargell won the World Series MVP. It is the Pirates' last World Series championship.

The last time that the Super Bowl/World Series Same City Phenomenon occurred was in Boston. The New England Patriots, with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, won Super Bowls in 2004 and 2005. The Red Sox, meanwhile, ended the Curse of the Bambino in the 2004 World Series, where they swept the Cardinals for Boston's first World Series championship since 1918. The Bostonian teams could've done this in 2007 also (the Red Sox won the '07 Series in a sweep over the Rockies), but the Patriots couldn't win Super Bowl XLII, despite their perfect season.

Which city can win the World Series and Super Bowl in the same year next? Will it be New York for the third time in sports history in 2015? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Anyway, thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

By the way, for those of you who haven't checked out my book yet, it's an introduction book to baseball history called Amazing Aaron to Zero Zippers, it's published by Summer Game Books, and I'm giving all the money to four charities: ALS, Turn 2, the Hall of Fame, and the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

My 2015 ALCS, NLCS, and World Series Prediction Video! 10/17/15

Hey baseball fans!

The MLB playoffs have just reached the ALCS and NLCS! But who is going to win those series and, ultimately, who is going to win the World Series??!! Well, I believe that I have the right predictions and you can see these predictions in my latest vlog, where I talk about which team will be crowned the king of the baseball world. If you would like to watch the video, click here.

I hope you enjoy the video and thanks for watching it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

My Top Five Favorite Cubs Hall of Famers 10/15/15

Hey baseball fans!

The Cubs just won the NLDS! They have to win just eight more games to win their first World Series since 1908! Because of their many years without a World Series title, many Cubs Hall of Famers don't have rings. Nonetheless, they are in the Hall of Fame for a reason. That being said, here are my top five favorite Cubs Hall of Famers.

Number Five: Ryne Sandberg
Why? Sandberg's mix of power and defense made him arguably the best second baseman of his era. The 1984 NL MVP and ten-time All Star batted .285 lifetime with 1,318 runs scored.

Number Four: Mordecai Brown
Why? This three-fingered pitcher won 239 games during his 14-year career, while only allowing 2.06 runs per nine innings! The only Cubbie on this list with a ring, Brown went 5-4 with a 2.97 ERA for Chicago in four World Series. In the World Series that the Cubs won (1907, 1908), his ERA was zero!

Number Three: Gabby Hartnett
Why? One of the most powerful catchers of his generation, Hartnett dominated NL pitching by hitting 236 home runs. The 1935 NL MVP was known for his strong throwing arm behind the plate and routinely led National League catchers in caught stealing percentage.

Number Two: Ron Santo
Why? This nine-time All Star led the Cubs from third base and played almost every day, even though he had diabetes. He powered 342 home runs out of the park in his career and even won five Gold Gloves at the hot corner.

Number One: Ernie Banks
Why? Is there really any debate? This overly-powerful shortstop known as Mr. Cub hit 512 career homers, which is the 22nd most in baseball history. He collected career 1,636 RBIs and won the MVP in consecutive years (1958, 1959).

Do you agree with my list? Let me know in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

A Worst-to-First World Series? 10/9/15

Hey baseball fans!

Wow! I would have never expected the 2015 MLB Postseason to end up like it did! So many teams that no one expected to do exceptionally well, like the Cubs, Astros, Mets, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Yankees, made it to October! Speaking of upstart teams in the postseason, did you know that the 1991 World Series featured two worst-to-first teams? I know, right? Insanity!

The 1990 Minnesota Twins went 74-88, 29 games back of the AL West champions, the Oakland A's. The 1990 Atlanta Braves, meanwhile, finished the season at 65-97, 26 games back of the NL West champion Reds. No one really expected the Twins and Braves to do well in 1991, until they did!

In the offseason, the Minnesota Twins acquired Chili Davis, who led the team with 23 homers and 93 RBIs. Kirby Puckett batted .319 and Scott Erickson led the league in wins in '91 with 20. Chuck Knoblauch was voted the AL Rookie of the Year. Another positive contributor for the Twins who was acquired during the offseason was Jack Morris, who led the team with 163 strikeouts. Minnesota went 95-67 in 1991 and won the AL West by eight games. The 1991 Braves also had a nice turnaround from the season prior. Ron Gant hit 32 home runs and drove in 105 runs, Terry Pendleton batted .319, and Otis Nixon stole 72 bases! Tom Glavine and Steve Avery won a combined 38 games while Glavine had an ERA of 2.55. The Braves won 94 games and the 1991 NL West by a game.

These teams may have done badly one year, but they managed to rebound the next year. So don't get discouraged if your favorite team finished last in a division this year because next year could be a whole different story. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

Yogi 10/4/15

The baseball community suffered a great loss. On September 22, 2015, Yogi Berra passed away of natural causes. An all-around great person, Yogi is one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, known for his prowess behind the plate and his unique power in the batter’s box. But there’s more to Yogi than just assertions made by analysts. His stats and personality were just plain amazing.

Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra played his entire 19-year career from 1946-1963, 1965 with New York teams: the Yankees and Mets. The 18-time All Star clobbered 358 homers out of the park and drove in 1,430 runs. Berra was in the top 25 for MVP voting for 15 straight years from 1947-1961 and won it three times (1951, 1954, and 1955). He was less known for his batting average but still batted .285 lifetime with 2,150 base hits. Although he never led the league in any batting categories, Berra still did his part to lead the Yankees to 14 World Series, winning ten of them, making Berra the player with the most World Series championships in baseball history. Because of all these astonishing accolades, he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1972.

But the stats don’t tell the whole story of Yogi. He had a very large and famous personality. He was known to talk to batters about their personal lives while he was catching. He was a big promoter of Yoo-hoo drinks and his name was synonymous with the products. Most of all, Berra had some awesome quotes. The quotes usually didn’t make any sense, which is why they are so famously funny. My favorite “Yogi-ism,” as they are nicknamed, is “Always go to other people’s funerals; otherwise they won’t go to yours,” but there are so many other good ones, like “It ain’t over til it’s over.” or “Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.” These quirky quotes made Berra the lovable icon he was. What a guy.

Yogi Berra will forever live in Yankee lore because of his outstanding play on the field and his charisma off it. He will be dearly missed by baseball fans all across the nation and the world. Thanks for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of “all the buzz on what wuzz.”