Not every baseball mascot is created equal. Some are creepy, odd or some derivation that just doesn’t catch on with the fans. Here are the worst of the worst baseball mascots.

Dandy (New York Yankees)

Dandy is the short-lived mascot the Yankees would prefer you forget. He was introduced in 1979 to compete with the newly popular Philly Phanatic and his mustache was designed to invoke the image of Thurman Munson. But just a few weeks before Dandy was to debut, Yankees outfielder Lou Piniella got in a fight with the San Diego Chicken. And just a few days after Dandy’s first appearance, Munson died tragically and suddenly in a plane crash. Not wanting this mascot to remind fans of their fallen captain, Dandy was confined to the upper deck of Yankee Stadium until his retirement in 1981.

The Gold Sox Sock (Amarillo Gold Sox)

The Gold Sox Sock made its debut this past summer. He was temporarily retired after just one game so his costume could be redesigned. I’m guessing this one looked better on paper.

The Baseball Bug (Cleveland Indians)

The Baseball Bug roamed Municipal Stadium from 1980 to 1981, when he was retired for no real reason beyond being a pretty horrible mascot. Luckily for the Indians, they now have a much better mascot named Slider. Yeah… Slider is better.

The Crazy Crab (San Francisco Giants)

The Crazy Crab was introduced in 1984 and retired at the end of that same season. He was seemingly doomed from the start when Giants’ executives encouraged the fans to abuse the Crab. The fans took this encouragement to heart and pelted him with refuse to the point that the costume had to be reinforced with fiberglass to protect the performer inside.

Henry the Puffy Taco (San Antonio Missions)

Henry is actually not a failed mascot, but he probably should be. Sure, everyone loves tacos, but a taco and its ingredients should never be described as “puffy.”

As the 2011 major league baseball regular season comes to a close, we are left to look back at the fantasy baseball season which just ended. However, it is also never too early to look ahead at the coming fantasy baseball 2012 season either. There are several lessons to be taken from this season and several which we can apply to coming years as well. I was lucky enough to have won my fantasy baseball league title in the final game on the final day of the 2011 season on a Jemile Weeks single. This proves one thing for sure: in fantasy baseball, you are never out of it.

Keeping in mind that you are always in the hunt for your league championship, it is never too early to look back on ‘the season that was’ in order to learn some lessons for next year. Here are some lessons we learned from 2011:

Never Give Up
The major league wild card race in both leagues took until the final day of the season to decide. In fact, it could be argued that the final day of the 2011 season was the most exciting night of baseball in decades. In regard to the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, their fate came down to the final at bat of the 9th inning. The lesson to be learned? It is never too late to be out of the championship, so keep battling right until your final at bat. In daily leagues, keep making changes all the way until the last day and never give up.

Shoulder a Grudge
When it comes to choosing pitchers for your fantasy baseball roster, do not shy away from pitchers coming off of recent Tommy John elbow surgery. Stephen Strasburg proved that a full recovery from the procedure is possible. However, when it comes to shoulder issues, you should not be so optimistic. The Texas Rangers signed Brandon Webb to help shore up their perennial pitching woes. Coming off a shoulder injury, Webb did not throw a big league pitch in 2011 (and hasn’t thrown one since April 2009). Josh Johnson came into 2011 having missed the latter part of the previous season with shoulder issues. After starting 2011 strongly, Johnson did not throw a pitch after May 16th. The lesson to be learned? Be very wary of pitchers with shoulder problems.

Young Guns
When it comes to dynamic pitching performances, young arms led the charge in 2011. Time after time this season, we saw rookies coming up big and making fantasy owners jump for joy. Craig Kimbrel, Cory Luebke, Jeremy Hellickson, Michael Pineda, Josh Collmenter and Brandon Beachy all seemed to come out of nowhere in 2011 and surprise with outstanding statistics. The lesson to be learned? Keep an eye out for good young talent in 2012, as a pitcher like Matt Moore may have more value than bigger name veterans.

There’s No Such Thing as a Sure Thing
Coming into the 2011 season, there were 3 sure things: death, taxes and Adam Dunn’s offensive statistics. Dunn was the epitome of a ‘sure thing’. His home run totals from 2005-2010 read like clockwork: 40, 40, 40, 38, 38. Likewise, his RBI totals were also machinelike in their regularity and predictability: 102, 101, 106, 100, 105, 103. Then, came the summer of 2011. Dunn finished with 11 HR and 42 RBI and set a major league record with a .159 BA. He also ended up with 18 more strikeouts than points on his batting average, beating Mark Reynolds mark of 13 more Ks than BA points. Somewhere, Rob Deer is smiling. The lesson to be learned? Never draft a player and consider it money in the bank.

The 2011 season was one for the ages, to be sure. The lesson to be learned? Baseball is truly magical.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I hope you stayed up to watch the madness because you’ll never see anything like what transpired on Wednesday night happen again for the rest of your lives. One can only hope a night so magical unfolds like that every season. If the playoffs and World Series are even half as exciting, it would be an excellent postseason. By now, you’ve seen the results and you’ve seen the highlights. So instead, we’ll focus on the fan and media reactions.

Note: This page has a lot of videos on it which makes it a bit unstable if you’re doing a bunch of tasks on your computer. Your browser might freeze if you have a lot of tabs open. Sorry.

ESPN’s Buster Olney

ESPN’s Mike and Mike

MLB Network crew

“Red Sox Decline” – Parody of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”

CNBC

Baltimore Sun interviews fans after Orioles game

St. Petersberg Times video

A fantasy baseball sleeper can be defined in a number of different ways. What it really comes down to is the ability to draft a player at a lower position than they should be positioned. In other words, a fantasy baseball sleeper is any player who will perform significantly better than other players drafted in or around the same round.

So, how does a player slip past the other fantasy baseball owners on draft day? Generally, if a player has a significantly poor season statistically, or if they experience a serious injury, then that player may be deemed to have decreased in perceived value. Sometimes, a player has in fact dropped in value. Other times however, a player may have simply had an ‘off year’ or may be able to bounce back from injury to perform at previous levels. The key is to identify who these players are and which may in fact be ‘sleepers’ heading into next year.

2012 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

Ubaldo Jimenez (CLE)
A little over a year ago, Jimenez was the talk of the baseball world. He entered the All Star break in 2010 with a record of 15-1, 2.20 ERA and was limiting opposing hitters to a .198 BA. He regressed slightly in the second half of that season but still ended up with a great season. In 2011, he didn’t fare
Quite as well and a move out of Colorado didn’t help as much as expected. Although he has seen a dip in his velocity, it hasn’t been an alarming drop so he should rebound with an off season of adjustments. Chalk it up to a poor year and expect him to drop to a favorable position at the draft table in 2012.

Adam Wainwright (STL)
Entering 2011, Wainwright was one of the top 5 pitchers in all of baseball. However, an early season elbow injury required ‘Tommy John’ surgery and ended his year. There is a long list of pitchers who have recovered nicely from the procedure (Tim Hudson, Billy Wagner, John Smoltz) and Wainwright’s prospects for beginning the 2012 season look promising. The average recovery period for the surgery is approximately 12 months putting Wainwright in a position to be a nice sleeper in 2012.

Adam Dunn (CWS)
Prior to 2011, there was no power hitter more consistent than Dunn in all of the major leagues. From 2005-2010 Dunn put up home run totals of 40, 40, 40, 40, 38 and 38. Then, he fell apart with only 11 HR and a BA of .164. That type of historic decline will sour even the most optimistic of fantasy owners. Despite of the rock solid consistency, Dunn is a human being (not a robot) and as such is susceptible to ups and downs. Keep an eye on him in the off season and spring training. He may slip so far in most fantasy owners’ minds that he may just be the sleeper of the year in 2012.

Shin-Soo Choo (CLE)
There is nothing more appealing to fantasy owners than a player who offers both power and speed. Toss in the fact that Choo also hits for a .300 average and he was being drafted among the top 20 outfielders in most fantasy leagues. The 2011 season was one of major problems both on and off the field for the Indians slugger. Even when he returned late in the season, he was able to stick around for the grand total of 1 at bat before injuring himself again. Having burned several fantasy owners (and scaring many more in the process) should allow Choo to slip to a draft position worthy of serious consideration in 2012.

Aaron Hill (TOR)
Middle infielders with power are a rare breed and highly valued in fantasy circles. After setting a Blue Jays second baseman record with 36 HR in 2009 (with 108 RBI), he slipped to 26 HR the following year and a paltry 6 HR in 2011. This led Hill to be reviled by fans and team management alike and saw him shipped out of town to Arizona, where he put up a .300 BA. A free agent, Hill won’t be returning to Toronto in 2012 and just may be a late-round steal at the draft table next season.

Alex Rios (CWS)
This isn’t the first time Rios has disappointed. In 2009, the Blue Jays were so frustrated with Rios’ that they essentially waived him to the White Sox with no return. Although he has disappointed in 2011, the problem with the outfielder seems to be less about production then it has to do with effort. Rios often gives the impression that he is ‘dogging it’ when really he is seemingly just very low-key. A player with his prominent skills tends to leave managers (and fantasy owners) wanting more. Take him for what he is: a player with power, speed and the ability to drive in runs. So long as you do not over-value him, you will be pleased with his production. He has started to show some signs of life late in the season as well as a willingness to work on his game in the off-season. Let him drop in the rankings and grab him late.

If it’s fantasy baseball sleepers in 2012 that you are looking for, there are plenty of candidates. If you allow other fantasy baseball owners to react to recent events, they might just miss the opportunity to grab a bargain next year.

There are those who subscribe to the idea that when a baseball player has a strong second half in one season, it means that they are in line to put up good numbers the following season. This can particularly hold true for a player that may have struggled in previous seasons, one who has finally gotten a chance with additional playing time or even a younger player that is starting to put everything together. A good example of this recently was Jose Bautista. In 2010 he seemingly came out of nowhere to lead the major leagues with 54 home runs. However, to the observant fantasy baseball enthusiast, this was foreshadowed by a late-season surge in 2009.

By taking a close look at some baseball players who became upstarts in the second half of 2011, we may get a glimpse as to what may portend for 2012. As we know, finding those ‘diamonds in the rough’ at next year’s draft table can certainly help your chances in the world of fantasy baseball.

Lucas Duda (NYM)
Sometimes it’s all about opportunity. When the Mets’ regular first baseman Ike Davis went down with an ankle injury, the door was opened for Duda. With a particularly strong second half of 2011 and Carlos Beltran traded away, Duda may have secured himself a spot as the everyday RF in 2012. His second half has included 30 R, 10 HR, 37 RBI and a slash line of .322/.404/.545. It looks like he has seized his opportunity in the big leagues.

Josh Willingham (OAK)
The power has always been there (career average of 24 HR per 150 GP), but playing time has not been consistent for Willingham. With a strong second half in 2011 including 16 HR, 48 RBI, .369 OBP, .558 SLG and a nifty .925 OPS, Willingham enters 2012 as a free agent likely to find a regular gig patrolling LF and providing power in the middle of a line up.

James Loney (LAD)
Sure, he has disappointed fantasy owners who felt his power would develop but Loney contributes in 2 important categories (AVG and RBI) on a consistent basis. He also has put together a nice second half this season with a slash line of .312/.379/.532. He has also walked 20 times against only 25 K so his skills as a decent hitter are legit.

J.J. Hardy (BAL)
Hardy’s 15 second half home runs have led all major league shortstops. Throw in 41 RBI and you have a power hitter at a very weak position. It has always been about staying healthy for Hardy who has eclipsed his previous career high of 26 HR (set in 2007 while with the Brewers). As a free agent in 2012, he could be a nice fantasy option at SS.

Mike Napoli (TEX)
After a first half in which he hit for only a .232 BA, Napoli turned on the afterburners after the All Star break. He led all catchers (min. 175 PA) in the second half in HR (14), BA (.385), OBP (.468) with a major league best 1.158 OPS. This portends well for a catcher position in 2012 which will once again be shallow. Considering his eligibility at 1B as well his ability to pick up AB as the DH, Napoli may very well enter 2012 as a top 2 fantasy catcher.

Javier Vazquez (FLA)
After a first half in which he was given up for dead (5.23 ERA, 6.2 K/9), Vazquez regained velocity on his fast ball and has put up an incredible second half this season. His numbers after the break: 2.35 ERA, .93 WHIP, 9.1 K/9. Most notably, Vazquez has improved his strikeout/walk rate from 1.94 in the first half to 5.40 in the second. He could be a very interesting pick entering 2012.

Madison Bumgarner (SF)
Although hardly a slouch in the first half (3.87 ERA, 7.9 K/9), Bumgarner has emerged as ‘ace’ material since the break. His record before the All Star game was 4-9, since the break it has been 8-3. Wins and losses have not been a true indication of talent in San Francisco this year due to paltry offensive support, however. With second-half stats of 2.43 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 4.68 K/BB and 9.0 K/9 Bumgarner is poised as the co-ace of the Giants. Consider him serious keeper material heading out of 2011.

Keeping a close eye on 2011 second half statistical performance may just translate into strong numbers for 2012. Let’s hope these late bloomers help your fantasy baseball team prosper into next year and beyond.

HOT

Mike Moustakas (KC)
The highly-regarded Royals’ rookie third baseman has been showing what all the hype is about with a recent offensive surge. Moustakas has gone 11-21 with 7 R, 3 HR and 7 RBI over the past week. He also chipped in his 1st stolen base.

Erick Aybar (LAA)
After a brutal August in which he hit .156, The light-hitting Angels shortstop has been on a tear recently, including a 4-4 effort against Baltimore in which he hit 2 HR (his 1st multi-HR game of his career) while scoring 5 R (tying a team record).

James Loney (LAD)
Loney has quietly been putting together a nice second half for himself and had another good week at the dish, going 9-for-25 (.360) with 5 R, 2 HR and 10 RBI.

COLD

Casey McGehee (MIL)
After hitting 23 HR and 104 RBI in 2010, McGehee has regressed markedly in 2011 and this past week was no different. The Brewers’ 3rd sacker managed a lone double in 18 AB this past week.

Hideki Matsui (OAK)
Matsui’s struggles (including 1-for-19 last week) have contributed to him losing AB at the DH position to players like Josh Willingham and Chris Carter recently.

Jonathan Lucroy (MIL)
Not one to offer huge fantasy value anyway (a paltry .670 OPS post-All Star break), Lucroy has struggled recently managing only 1 single and a run scored the past 7 days.

The Cleveland Indians surprised a lot of people at the beginning of the season with the way they started out of the gate. However, as the season progressed it became apparent that while the team has a good young base, there are still areas where they need to get better. One of the primary ways they hope to accomplish this is by cultivating more young talent in their minor league organization. Shrewd drafting has put them in a position where their farm system is dotted with highly regarded prospects and more help is on the way.

One of the players that the Indians are most excited about is shortstop Tony Wolters. The left-handed hitter just completed his second professional season, playing in 69 games with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2010 MLB draft, and many believe that the Indians got a steal with that pick. Wolters has been described as a “gamer” and a “baseball rat,” all terms of endearment, and is the type of player that fans love to watch.

At 5’10 and 165 pounds, Wolters is slight of build, but already possesses excellent fielding skills, above average speed, and a projectable bat that many feel will be best suited for the number two position in a batting order. Scouts consider him to have an advanced bat already, and he also has more pop than one might think. He was originally planning on attending the University of San Diego, but changed his mind after the Indians made him an contract offer he couldn’t refuse.

Wolters signed late in 2010, so he only appeared in a handful of games in the rookie instructional league that year. This year, he played a short-season schedule and validated the expectations the Indians have in him. He hit .292 with 10 doubles, 3 triples, a home run, and 20 RBI. He also contributed 19 stolen bases in 23 attempts, and his 30 walks were impressive for a player his age.

The Indians may have one of their best current players in Asdrubal Cabrera manning shortstop, but that won’t stop them from developing Wolters. By the time Wolters is ready for the major leagues, Cabrera will likely have been moved back to his more natural position of second base, or perhaps been deemed too expensive for the rebuilding Cleveland. Whatever it takes, it will be worth having someone like Wolters on the roster if he continues to develop into the player so many people believe he will become.

Tony Wolters Interview

How did you first become interested in baseball?
Well, my first sport was hockey, then a lot of my friends signed up for Little League. So I started playing Little League, and that’s how I got interested in it.

How much were you into hockey?
It was my first sport, and I loved it. I loved the contact, but I like baseball better. I feel like it comes more natural. I was playing with all my friends and I didn’t know a lot of people in ice hockey.

Who was your favorite baseball team and player when you were growing up?
I always watched the Padres. My Dad always took me to Qualcomm to watch the Padres, and always watched Tony Gwynn. I went to the last game he played. He was one of the guys I watched a lot.

How did you first find out that Cleveland was interested in you?
The second day of the draft when I found out they drafted me. I had never talked with them.

What were you doing when you were drafted?
I was at breakfast with my parents. I was at a party the day before, thinking I was going to get drafted. It didn’t happen, and I was at breakfast with my parents,
and my Dad told me I got drafted and that it was Cleveland.

What did you do to celebrate after you signed?
I got a truck, and that was mostly it. I got my Mom something; my Dad something; my sister something.

So far, what has been the toughest thing to adapt to off the field, as a professional player?
The Indians make it so nice. They’re really first class about everything; where we stay, what we eat, how we train. It’s hard being away from home, missing my family and everything. I think one of the keys is keeping in touch, and I’ve been talking with them every day. The Indians make it perfect. They’re first class.

(Thanks to Gifulmination.com)

With the fantasy baseball playoffs started, you may find yourself on the outside looking in, or perhaps in danger of losing in the first or second round. Either way, you will no doubt be looking ahead to next year. Even if you are moving on in the 2011 fantasy baseball playoffs, you will soon be considering your options for next year. You will need to decide which players will be keepers for 2012 and which players will not. You will need to assess which draft position you will be selecting from in 2012 as well as which drafting strategies to employ next season. Some key areas of interest to keep in mind:

Keepers for 2012
When deciding upon your keepers for 2012, you will need to choose wisely. Try to concentrate on players which are entering (or in) their prime as opposed to players who are aging. It makes much more sense to keep a player like Melky Cabrera, who is on the rise and entering his prime than it does to keep a player on the downside of his career like Todd Helton, for example. Do not forget to consider position scarcity either. Valuable players at catcher (Brian McCann, Victor Martinez) are much more valuable than a power hitting first baseman like Ryan Howard or Carlos Pena. Other positions with a shallow talent pool include second base and third base. If you have a good player at one of these positions, they may be more valuable than an outfielder with better overall statistics.

Draft Position
Know where you will be drafting in 2012 (based upon your overall finish in 2011). Get a list of the keepers from your league (if any) as well. This will help you determine which player you will take in your first round. This will often be a player to build around so being prepared will help you make the right choice. Some fantasy owners like to pre-rank just about every player in the big leagues (and some from the minors) in order to get the edge. Knowing where you rank in a snake draft helps determine some key players to target from your list.

Offseason Player Moves
Be sure to keep a close eye on any free agent movement in the offseason as well as any players traded. A lot of activity seems to happen around the baseball winter meetings so keep an eye on the proceedings when they occur. If a particular player changes leagues, ball parks or divisions it may have a huge impact on his fantasy performance.

Spring Training
Sure it seems like a long way away (and it is!), but spring training is where a lot of key battles for jobs and jockeying for positions takes place. Keeping a close eye on offseason talk can help predict what some of those key spring training battles may be.

Be sure to keep an eye on several of these things in the offseason. If you didn’t win it all this season, there’s always next year. One thing to know for sure is that fantasy baseball doesn’t end just because the baseball season has come to a close.

For those of us that love the game, this is great news indeed.

In December of each year, the baseball Hall of Fame announces their inductees, with fans and players alike waiting with baited breath for the voting results.

In recent years, Hall of Fame voting has been somewhat skewed due to several players who were knownto have used performance enhancing drugs who have been effectively blackballed by voters.

For instance, Rafael Palmeiro, who is only one of four players who have collected 3,000 hits and 500 home runs in their careers, only received 11 percent of votes in his first year of eligibility. Slugger Mark McGwire only received 19.8 percent in his fifth year of eligibility.

Since both Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds have both been linked to performance enhancing drugs, it’s highly unlikely that voters will give them any shot at Hall of Fame glory when they are both eligible within the next couple of years.

With that in mind, we will take a shot at who we believe will be the next 5 players who will be voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame.

 Barry Larkin

Last year, in just his second year of eligibility, long-time Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin received 62.1 percent of the vote, just 12.9 percent shy of induction. This year, Larkin will likely gain enough votes for induction.

Larkin was a 12-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove Award winner and won the National League’s Most Valuable Player award in 1995.

 Jack Morris

Have to say I’m not quite sure why Jack Morris hasn’t been voted in as of yet, but he will not be denied. Gaining 53.5 percent last year in his 12th year of eligibility, Morris has steadily climbed in voting percentage in recent years. With no clear cut inductees that are eligible for the first time, Morris could
gain additional votes this coming December.

Morris was a 20-game three times during his career, and helped lead three different teams to World Series victories (1984 Detroit Tigers, 1991 Minnesota Twins, 1992 Toronto Blue Jays).

 Craig Biggio

While the Hall of Fame class of 2012 does not boast sure-fire inductees in their first year of eligibility, the 2013 class more than makes up for it.

While Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are likely to be snubbed in their first year of eligibility, Houston Astros’ favorite son Craig Biggio will be hard to keep out in his first year on the ballot.

One of only 28 players to amass 3,000 hits during his career, Biggio was only the ninth player in history to do it with the same team. Biggio also switched positions twice during his career—moving from catcher to second base to center field, and winning four Gold Glove awards along the way.

 Mike Piazza

Originally a 62nd round draft choice by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988, and selected more as a favor to manager Tommy Lasorda, catcher Mike Piazza quickly rose to prominence among the ranks of catchers, winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1993, being selected to the All-Star team 12 times, and becoming the greatest hitting catcher in history, with 427 home runs and a .308 lifetime average.

Piazza hit over 30 home runs in a season nine times, and twice reached the 40 home run plateau.

 Lee Smith

Lee Smith has been on the ballot for the past nine years, never gaining more than 47.3 percent of the vote.

However, it will be difficult to keep Smith out of the Hall forever. With 478 career saves, Smith ranks third all-time, behind Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman. Five other relief pitchers have been voted into the Hall of Fame with far fewer saves than Smith (Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Rich Gossage, Bruce Sutter, Hoyt Wilhelm), and Smith led the league in saves four times with three different teams.

Do you agree with these predictions? Who do you think the next 5 Hall of Fame inductees will be?