(from press release)

New York City and Major League Baseball welcomed two new cathedrals this week with the opening of Citi Field in Flushing and the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Now, fans can relive these historic openers with artifacts from both inaugural games in Cooperstown, scheduled to be on display by the end of April in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Today’s Game exhibit.

Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson acquired the following items Thursday from the inaugural game at the new Yankee Stadium: the bat used by Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore to hit the first grand slam in the new park; a game-used commemorative Opening Day baseball signed by Indians winning pitcher Cliff Lee; and the spikes worn by New York’s starting pitcher, CC Sabathia.

On Monday night, the San Diego Padres’ Jody Gerut donated the bat he used for the first hit in Citi Field, a leadoff home run. The Museum also received the ceremonial first-pitch ball, signed by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver and Mets legend Mike Piazza, along with dirt from the batter’s box.

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Former New York Mets pitcher and 1986 World Series Game 4 winner Ron Darling has penned a new book called The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound.

From the publisher’s release notes:

Ron Darling has been beloved by Mets fans since he helped his team win the 1986 World Series. Today he is considered one of the most articulate and insightful broadcasters in baseball, bringing the game to life in ways that few can match. Now he gives us an engaging, sophisticated, practical, and philosophical exploration of the art, strategy, and psychology of pitching.

Darling takes us inside the pitcher’s mind, illuminating the subtler aspects of the game and providing a deeper appreciation of what happens on the field. He explains why the position of pitcher is uniquely strategic and complex and explores the various tactics a pitcher uses in different scenarios, including the countless factors in deciding what to throw and how he bounces back from a tough inning. Throughout, we get a glimpse of what it feels like to stand alone on the mound, the center of attention for tens of thousands of fans.

While there are technical books on pitching, there is no other book that examines the position in such compelling depth as The Complete Game. Filled with captivating, real-life anecdotes, it will do for pitching what Ted Williams’s The Science of Hitting did for batting—and it will be an essential book for every fan and aspiring player.

Remaining book tour dates for April 2009 are:

Saturday, April 25, 2009
Citi Field at the Mets Team Store, at 11:30 AM
123-01 Roosevelt Ave
Flushing, NY 11368

Thursday, April 30, 2009
Mendham Books, at 7:00 PM
84 East Main Street
Mendham, NJ 07945

The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound is available here.

I grew up in hockeyland, aka Canada.  Nevertheless, for one remarkable year, youngsters in Victoria, British Columbia, were not trying to emulate the moves of Bobby Orr or Guy Lafleur.

Rather, the Little League fields in Victoria — as I imagine they were in the rest of North America — were replete with kids fidgeting, talking to baseballs, kneeling down to fill up holes in the mound with their hands and hurling pitches one after the other in rapid succession.

I would hazard a guess that no other sports figure’s mannerisms were copied by the youngsters of North America as extensively as those of Mark Fidrych’s – not even Willie Stargell’s bat twirl or Joe Morgan’s elbow pump.

In 1976, seemingly everybody wanted to be Fidrych.  For one remarkable season, Fidrych was the Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky of baseball.

I didn’t recall his exact statistics for that season — 19-9 with an incredible 24 complete games all starting when he was called up (in the middle of May!) — until I read them in the news yesterday.  However, the way he dominated and the way people around the continent awaited news about his latest outing were indelible.

For me, as I suppose for many others, the memory of Fidrych which stands out most is an appearance during an ABC Monday Night game shortly after he made his debut.  I can’t remember the score or even the opponent that night.  I do remember the way a young pitcher with herky-jerky motion and borderline neurotic ritual on the mound bowled down batter after batter.

Here was not a prepackaged, processed athlete fed lines by his agent.  Here was a genuine good.  An athlete who appeared to derive as much joy from playing the game as he gave to its fans.

Sadly, his career would pretty end the next season due to injury, and he would never fully recover his form.  The Fidrych Comet which whizzed by us all too fleetingly for one season had come to a screeching halt.

More tragically, The Bird’s life, like his major-league career, was too short.

The Western Michigan Whitecaps have super-sized their menu this season:

The main attraction this summer will be the new Fifth Third burger.

This monstrous sandwich consists of a beef patty weighing “five thirds of a pound”, nacho cheese, chili, salsa, crunched tortilla chips, tomato and lettuce served on a special 8-inch sesame seed bun.

“The Fifth Third burger is not for the casual eater,” said Whitecaps Director of Food and Beverage Matt Timon. “It has nearly 5,000 calories, 300 grams of fat and a whole lot of carbs.”

The Whitecaps, Midwest League Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, open their season tonight at Fifth Third Ballpark against the South Bend Silver Hawks.  First pitch is at 6:35 PM.

Devotees of the movie Twilight can bite off a bit of the Pacific Northwest and run the bases with the undead this Fourth of July.

Twilight Fan Trips has put together a seven-day, six-night Vampire Baseball Adventure tour lasting from June 29 through July 5, 2009.

According to the organizers:

Your friends and family will have a fabulous time walking through rain forests, exploring the Columbia River Gorge, and enjoying a favorite pastime of vampires and humans alike — baseball!

The finale of this exciting journey is the opportunity to play Edward’s favorite pastime, Vampire baseball, at the professional baseball stadium, PGE Park in Portland, Oregon. After your game, you’ll be treated to VIP seats and dinner while you watch the Portland Beavers play “human baseball.”

Your evening concludes with an amazing 4th of July fireworks display at the ball park.

For more information, pricing, and availability, visit the Twilight Fan Trips Vampire Baseball Adventure website.