Corporate Sponsors on Uniforms at the World Baseball Classic

"Now batting, #7 sponsored by Best Buy, Ivan Rodriguez." It's not exactly how it went down during the opening day of the World Baseball Classic, but Best Buy patches were rather conspicuous on the uniforms sleeves of the Puerto Rican team in their game against Panama. While uniform sponsorship is prevalent during winter ball, one has not seen sponsors on uniforms during spring play. If this trend passes with little fanfare during this year's World Baseball Classic, how soon will we begin to see uniform sponsorship in Minor or Major League Baseball?
While the foreign countries may be used to having sponsors on their uniforms during league play, I am curious as to how the Americans will react to seeing their favorite players play under the logo of a major corporation. Is the Puerto Rican team ahead of the curve regarding opportunities to generate advertising revenue, or are they tainting the game by having sponsors on their uniforms?

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Sparky Anderson - No More Mail (TTM) Autograph Requests

Hall of Famer Manager Sparky Anderson asks his fans to stop sending him autograph requests in the mail. Recently he has sent out cards with the following message: "Because of the overwhelming amount of requests, I can no longer sign items sent through the mail. I appreciate all of your kind thoughts and trust you understand the situation. Please accept the enclosed signed card and I thank you for your courtesy." - Sparky

I can imagine with the proliferation of websites that discuss autograph collecting, that the word of Sparky's generosity with his autograph in the mail has spread with collectors recently at a rate greater than when he was an active manager. I hope that the readers of this blog and fellow collectors are appreciative of his past generosity and respect Sparky's wishes at this time in his life. He was one of the few members of the baseball Hall of Fame who signed in the mail without charging for requests.

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Ex-Yankee Pitcher Tom Sturdivant Dies at 78

Ten year Major League veteran pitcher Tom Sturdivant died in Oklahoma City at 78 on February 28th. Sturdivant initally was signed as an infielder by the Yankees in 1948. After returning from Military service in 1952, he converted to a pitcher while playing for Beaumont in the Texas League. Sturdivant pitched in three World Series for the Yankees (1956-58), and is also a member of the select club of players who appeared in games with both the Yankees and the Mets. Nicknamed "Snake" for his devastating curveball, Sturdivant posted a record of 59-51 with an ERA of 3.74.
For an excellent interview with Sturdivant from 2006, check out Todd's Baseball Dugout.

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Washington Nationals GM Bowden Resigns

After firing special assistant Jose Rijo three days ago in his connection with the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal, ESPN.com reports that Jim Bowden has resigned as General Manager of the Washington Nationals. While claiming his innocence regarding the dealings with foreign prospects, Bowden felt that he has become a "distraction", and his "ability to properly represent the Washington Nationals has been compromised because of false allegations contained in the press."

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Happy 90th Birthday Monte Irvin

February 25th, 2009 marked the 90th birthday of baseball icon Monte Irvin. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973, Irvin is the last living star of the Negro Leagues. Starting with the legendary Newark Eagles in 1937 as a shortstop under the name Jimmy Nelson to protect his amateur status; he went on to play in 4 East-West All Star games before being signed by the New York Giants in winter of 1948. Due to the presence of future Hall of Famer Willie Wells at shortstop, Irvin made the switch to outfield, and a legend was born. Staring with the Giants as a 30-year old "rookie", he went on to post a .293 career average, and was third in the MVP voting in 1951 en route to a World Series appearance.

Irvin is one of the classiest acts in baseball, often readily traveling to spread the word about baseball's history at dinners, signings and stadiums. He is a walking baseball encyclopedia and one of our sports greatest resources. He currently lives in a retirement community in Houston.

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Manuel Names Daniel Murphy Mets Left Fielder

New York Newsday reports that Jerry Manuel has named Daniel Murphy at his starting left-fielder for the 2009 season. Murphy batted .313 in 49 games last season after his August 2nd call up. Murphy meteorically rose to the Mets last season, spending most of 2008 in AA, playing only one game in AAA before being summoned to the big show.
"I don't want him to get into a strictly platoon situation," Manuel said. "I think he's a little better player than that. Also, with Church being a lefthanded hitter, I kind of see Murphy being a better hitter right now at this time, so Tatis could go that way [in rightfield]. It all depends on how well they're doing. If they're not getting hits, they're not going to play. Development or whatever, they've got to perform."
While Murphy has shown that he can hit well, there are concerns surrounding his shaky outfield defense. The Mets even attempted to convert Murphy to second base in the Arizona Fall League to supplant Luis Castillo, but that experiment was unsuccessful. He spent the remainder of the off-season working out at his alma mater, Jacksonville University, with his brother Jonathan who is a freshman outfielder. He has also been receiving assistance from Carlos Beltran.
While Manuel's move may seem premature as the Mets have yet to play a Spring Training game, Manuel is sure about the young player's abilities. "I'm confident. The way he swings the bat, I'm confident that he can handle that. I don't have a problem with that."

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Nationals Prospect Lied About His Age

Washington Nationals officials acknowledged Wednesday that top prospect Esmailyn Gonzalez was actually Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo, a 23-year-old who was four years older than the team believed. The Nationals in 2006 gave Alvarez a team-record $1.4 million signing bonus, believing him to be 16 at the time.
This is not a recent problem, as prominent Major League players have admitted lying about their age, including Rafael Furcal, Miguel Tejada and Adrian Beltre. This goes back even farther during World War II when returning rookies and Negro Leaguers would take a year or two off of their age to look more palatable to doubting owners. As the opportunity for a large signing bonus looms heavily over the heads of young talent, shaving a few years off of one's "real" age can mean the difference between prospect and suspect. In poor countries such as the Dominican Republic, the spoils of a large signing bonus can allow an entire family to move out of a multi-generational cycle of impoverished living.
In the case of Alvarez, the Nationals did three prior investigations into his background before discovering the fraud. Nationals president Stan Kasten said Wednesday, "The protocols are the baseball protocols. I think 90 percent of the time they're very effective. We've turned kids in that baseball has kicked out for fraudulent IDs. That's usually how it works, and it didn't work in this case, and that's a shame."
As the investigation continues, we will find out what the Nationals will do with Alvarez in regards to his signing bonus and standing in the organization.

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