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Drew Sommers delivering a pitch.Courtesy of Vaquero Sports. (Coolidge, AZ) — For many prospects, Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft is the culmination of a lifelong dream. It is the start of a new chapter in their lives as they prepare to embark on a professional career.

Today, we pay heartfelt tribute to one of the most legendary personalities the game of baseball has ever known.Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. A lawyer friend called me the other day to discuss a deal. But before we got down to business, we had to deal with important matters. He wanted my thoughts on the trade deadline and the passing of Vin Scully. I offered a few bromides about the Dodgers’ failure to land Juan Soto and then jumped into my feelings about Vinny.

Miami Marlins Logo(used with permission) According to Marlin’s pitcher Daniel Castano when a line drive hit him in the head at 104 miles per hour during last Thursday’s game, he was saved from serious injury by his love for God. Castano was quoted on his Twitter account quoting Romans 8:28: “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…”

Davonte Ross, left, and cousin Haedyn Haas at the Native American All-Star showcase at Truist Park on July 17.Davonte Ross. In a world that has focused plenty on attacking teams with any semblance of Native American or indigenous tie in the name or background of the team, the Atlanta Braves have quietly worked to develop a relationship with the Eastern Band of Cherokee, including a wide-ranging weekend of activities that took place on July 23 as part of the team’s annual night at the park with the tribe.

The Sussex County Miners, shown here celebrating their 2018 Can-Am Championship victory.Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. New Jersey Route 15 is your classic country road. No street lights, no guard rails, almost nothing that would prevent a swerve from sending your car into the cornfields lining the side of it. Follow it for long enough, however, and you’ll come to a glorious sight: stadium lighting, somewhere in the distance, lining a baseball stadium that seems almost out of place in this rural setting.

After four games in which he failed to contribute to the team's success, the former Cy Young Award winner was designated for assignment by the D-Backs. (Photo provided by MLB Film Room)

As we near the end of Pride Month, I think it’s important that we talk about some Major League Baseball players who matter. Specifically, I think it’s time we talk about every Tampa Bay Rays player who took the field on June 4 sporting a rainbow patch to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community. It may have only been for one game and it may have been a corporate decision, but they still chose to wear the patch during the game when people could visibly see their support, and that’s why these players matter.

In this video you get a look at my Mark McGwire collection that I have amassed over the years! I was a big McGwire fan growing up! When I got back into the hobby the 1985 Topps Mark McGwire card was one of the first cards I bought!

Etch it in stone: Dean Stone's All-Star pitching feat will never be duplicated.Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. Dean Stone was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher who appeared in 166 games over all or parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons.

Freddie Freeman, an All-Star for Atlanta in Denver last year, deserves to go as a Dodger this time. But he wasn’t selected to the NL roster.Dan Schlossberg. Before it descended into commercial chaos, the All-Star Game used to be a big deal — a true competition between players and leagues who met only in the Midsummer Classic and World Series.

1st Phorm takes over the St. Louis Cardinals Ballpark Village on night 2 of Summer Smash.

On July 6, 1933, with the Great Depression having led to catastrophic downturns in attendance, Major League Baseball offered a one-time extravaganza, a “Game of the Century,” in hopes that it might reignite the nation’s interest in the national pastime -- and perhaps also offer a pleasant distraction from the daily travails that haunted the nation. Little did anyone know that this commercially fueled interruption of the ongoing pennant races would soon become a treasured part of the baseball season for years to come.

The Lovable Losers are living up to the latter part of the moniker halfway through the season.Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. The Chicago Cubs passed the halfway point of the 2022 season last week with little more than a whimper. As of the writing of this article, the Northsiders currently sit tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates for third place in the NL Central, are on pace for just under 100 losses, and are double-digit games back of the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers atop the division. With that being the case, let’s take a look back at the first half and tease out a few stories of interest for the Loveable Losers.

This little league coach wasn't ready for the power coming off the little guys bat.

A young baseball player inadvertently plunks a base runner in the head trying to make a play at first base

This full-color volume will be published next spring by Skyhorse.Dan Schlossberg. As a working baseball writer, covering showcase events is the best part of the job. For me this year, that means flying from Newark to Los Angeles to cover the All-Star Game, catching an early-morning flight home the day after the July 20 game, and getting up at O’Dark Hundred Thursday morning to drive two hours up the New York Thruway to Albany for a meeting with colleagues working Hall of Fame Induction Weekend for Sports Travel and Tours, official tour operator of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I think most people who collected cards in the 80's were Don Mattingly fans! Unfortunately injuries cut his amazing career short! So here is part one of some of the Don Mattingly cards I have accumulated over the years!

We watched the Lakeland Flying Tigers play a baseball game and had brunch in the 34 Club. The best part for me was the shady seats to block the hot Florida sun. This was a family friendly outing that didn't break the budget.

(FORSYTH COUNTY, GA) Another new development for Georgia’s fastest-growing county was recently announced. Winners Circle Park is a 62-acre sports campus planned to open in south Forsyth County in spring 2023. Located near the Peachtree Parkway and Brookwood Road intersection in the southern part of the county, Winners Circle could bring more than 500 new jobs to the area and an estimated 750,000 visitors each year.