Baseball Archives - The Virginia Star

Trump, Wife Delight Braves Fans, Upset Liberal Writers by Doing Tomahawk Chop at World Series

October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Donald Trump and crowd at the MLB Braves World Series game, doing the tomahawk chop

Former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump joined Atlanta Braves fans Saturday night in doing the team’s signature Tomahawk Chop during a raucous Game 4 of the World Series.

The Trumps attended the game in a suite at Atlanta’s Truist Stadium, where the hometown team was playing the Houston Astros. The Braves won 3-2 to take a 3-1 advantage in the series.

The former first family joined in when fans started the Chop. Their participation lit up liberals and some sports writers on Twitter.

Sticky Baseballs: The Physics of Major League Baseball’s Latest Scandal

June 20, 2021June 19, 2021 RealClearWire

Cheating in baseball is as old as the game itself, and pitchers’ modifying the ball’s surface is part of that long history. Adding to the lore of cheating is a new scandal involving pitchers who may be applying sticky substances – what players refer to as “sticky stuff” – to baseballs.

Major League hitters are striking out this season nearly one in every four times they step to the plate, compared with one in six times in 2005.

As a sports physicist and longtime baseball fan, I’ve been intrigued by news reports that applying sticky substances to balls can make pitches spin faster. And if pitchers can throw their fastballs, curveballs and sliders with more spin than in previous years, their pitches will be tougher to hit. How does science explain all this?

Commentary: A Presidential Wild Pitch?

April 8, 2021April 7, 2021 RealClearWire

The president loves baseball, and has said the earliest memories he has are of the sport: a glove under his pillow the night before his first game and a too-big Little League jersey that hung past his knees. Given a chance to pick between an inning on the mound in the majors or the vice presidency, a much younger Joe Biden wouldn’t hesitate.

“I would have pitched!” the then-vice president told a crowd gathered for the final game of the 2009 Little League World Series, before following through with his trademark addendum, “By the way, I’m not kidding.”

Commentary: Baseball Season, Our Distorted View of COVID-19, and What the Facts Tell Us

August 13, 2020August 12, 2020 Admin

If you’re not convinced that Americans have been sold a distorted view of COVID-19 risk, consider Major League Baseball.

Most of the league’s players are among the 46 million Americans between ages 25 and 34. A total of 992 people in this age group have died with COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s a mortality rate of 2 per 100,000.

MLB Cancels All-Star Game for First Time Since 1945

July 4, 2020 The Associated Press

Dodger Stadium’s 40-year wait to host the All-Star Game is going to last even longer.

The game scheduled for July 14 was canceled Friday because of the coronavirus pandemic, and Dodger Stadium was awarded the 2022 Midsummer Classic. The 2021 game is set for Atlanta’s Truist Park, home to the Braves since 2017.

Is Your Representative Playing In The Congressional Baseball Game?

June 14, 2018July 18, 2018 Admin

by Evie Fordham Sixty members of Congress will take the field for the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity on Thursday night in Washington, D.C. Click here to find the complete roster. Twenty-four Democrats and 36 Republicans will face each other at Nationals Park. Notable politicians playing include Republicans Sen. Rand Paul…