Yesterday, it was announced that Hells Bells will no longer be played in the 9th inning of certain games.  Why you may ask?  Well, because the all-time leader in Saves, Trevor Hoffman, has announced his retirement after 18 seasons and Hells Bells was his intro song.

Any fan who follows baseball has plenty of opinions to offer.  Opinions on which players were great, which were overrated, or which were more important to the game than their numbers might suggest.  Each year, these opinionated folks get an opportunity to evaluate potential Hall of Fame candidates, and , ultimately, the Hall of Fame [...]

Yesterday, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) released the voting results for the 2011 MLB Hall of Fame class with two people receiving the necessary 75% of the vote for induction – Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar (see the chart for a breakdown of all the voting).  I was going to save this for next week’s [...]

The Orioles’ late inning flame thrower, Alfredo Simon, has become the lead suspect in the murder of 25-year-old Michel Castillo Almonte, and the wounding of his 17-year-old brother during New Years in Luperon, Dominican Republic. The police are searching for the 29-year-old native in his home of Santiago, D.R. Simon claims he has nothing to [...]

The Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins great, Harmon Killebrew, just announced that he is battling esophageal cancer and is being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.  In his statement, he said, ”With my wife, Nita, by my side, I have begun preparing for what is perhaps the most difficult battle of my life.  I am [...]

Welcome to the first ever Rich’s Replies.  This is where I answer questions/comments sent to me by the readers (you can email me at rich.sportsnickel@gmail.com).  Each Friday (today’s is a day early due to the New Year’s Holiday), I will answer all questions or comments sent to me by Wednesday each week (provided they are family-friendly).  [...]

Another Tuesday, another edition of Rich’s Rants.  This week I’ll cover Jon Heyman’s Hall of Fame Vote, the UCONN Women’s consecutive win streak and Michael Vick wanting to own another dog. Earlier this week, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated released his Hall of Fame ballot, and once again he’s doing his best to justify voting [...]

I woke up this morning to news I had been expecting to hear since Bob Feller was released into hospice care following a hospital stay due to pneumonia.  Bob Feller, the Cleveland Indian great, the World War II hero and one of Major League Baseball’s greatest pitchers, died last night.