Paige was a superstar and the Negro-League’s biggest draw before making the move to the Majors. It was his ability to strikeout batters with a flame throwing fastball as well as his energetic personality that made him so popular.

Barry Larkin and Ron Santo were recently voted in as members of the 2012 Baseball HOF class. In this era of juiced-up players, it will be tough for voters to choose a player who they suspect had some ‘outside help’. In the upcoming years, expect there to be less men making it to Cooperstown, especially with the uncertainty about who put what into their body.

Here is a clip of Satchel’s unique windup and delivery.

Notable Birthdays

Danny White, NFL – Born February 9th 1952 (age 59) in Mesa, Arizona

Andre Savard, NHL – Born February 9th 1953 (age 58) in Temiscaming, Quebec

Vladimir Guerrero, MLB – Born February 9th 1975 (age 36) in Nizao, Dominican Republic

Lebron was a former member of the Kansas City Royals’ farm system, and he recorded a 4-2 record with 2 saves and a 3.02 ERA in 65.2 innings pitched between Double-A and Triple-A last season.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see what kind of reception Lebron receives from the Cleveland fans.  Will his name cause him to become Public Enemy No. 2 (LeBron James will always be Public Enemy No. 1, of course), or with the people of Cleveland be able to look past his name and welcome their new Lebron with open arms?

Only time will tell.

Hat Tip – [Big League Stew]

It comes via a Chicago mother, who gave her White Sox-loving daughter, Mya, a Chicago Cubs pillow for Christmas.  A Cubs pillow would probably make most baseball fans upset on Christmas, so you could probably imagine the response it received from a young White Sox fan.

But before you go cursing the mother for her cruelty, we should inform you that after a few minutes of crying, Mya did receive the gift she had wanted; a White Sox pillow.

Check it out.

Hat Tip – [Big League Stew]

While playing for the Caracas Lions of Venezuela’s professional baseball league during the MLB offseason, Torrealba had some choice words following a strikeout.  Those words got the 33-year-old ejected, but he wouldn’t go quietly, as he got in the face of umpire Dario Rivero Jr, before delivering a stiff right to the side of his head.

Dario would be a little shaken up by the shot, but he was able to walk it off.  As for Torrealba, he received a 66-game suspension, which means he probably won’t be playing anymore baseball until the 2012 MLB season opens up in April.

Here is a look at the punch that will force Torrealba to take a break and rest up during the winter months.

Barry Zito had a terrific season in 2002 when he had a 23-5 record with a 2.75 ERA in 35 starts and went on to win the American League Cy Young as a member of the Oakland Athletics.  However, his next four seasons in Oakland were up and down, as he compiled a rather mediocre 55-46 record.  The Giants felt that a change of scenery would help resurrect his career, so they signed him to be the ace of their pitching staff.  Unfortunately for San Francisco, Zito is not the pitcher he once was as he put together an ugly 40-57 record during his first four years as a Giant.

Things had gotten so bad for Zito that the Giants left him off their post-season roster last year.  The move turned out to be the right decision, as they went on to defeat the Texas Rangers to capture the World Series Championship.

Here is Zito hanging out with some lovely ladies.

Notable Birthdays

Carson Palmer, NFL – Born December 27th 1979 (age 32) in Fresno, California

Cole Hamels, MLB – Born December 27th 1983 (age 28) in San Diego, California

Paul Stastny, NHL – Born December 27th 1985 (age 26) in Quebec City, Quebec

While both pitchers involved in the trade had solid seasons, it looks as though the Blue Jays got the better deal, as Brandon Morrow appears to be a legitimate starter.  In his first full year as a starter, Morrow started 26 games and picked up 10 wins.  He was shutdown in the last month of the season because the Blue Jays’ organization did not want to risk injury, as he pitched a career high 146.1 innings.  Morrow struck out an impressive 178 batters on the season, which was also a career high.

The high point of Morrow’s season came on August 8th against the Tampa Bay Rays.  Morrow would strike out a career high 17 batters and came within one out of pitching the second no-hitter in Toronto Blue Jays history.

Here is a post-game interview after Morrow’s one-hitter.

Notable Birthdays

Steve Carlton, MLB – Born December 22nd 1944 (age 67) in Miami, Florida

Steve Garvey, MLB – Born December 22nd 1948 (age 53) in Tampa, Florida

Kirk Maltby, NHL – Born December 22nd 1972 (age 39) in Guelph, Ontario

Hideo Nomo’s Major League career got off to a great start, as he had a very solid rookie season.  He pitched so well in the first half of the season that he was chosen to start for the National League in the All-Star Game.  In addition to being named an All-Star, Nomo was also named National League Rookie of the Year, although many people felt that he was not a true rookie due to his many years of playing professionally in Japan.

Nomo’s second tour of duty with the Dodgers was almost as successful as his first two seasons, as he pitched very well.  However, after the 2003 season, Hideo had shoulder surgery and was never the same pitcher.  Nomo enjoyed a very successful Major League career and many credit him with paving the way for all Japanese players to come to North America.

Here are highlights from a 17 strikeout performance by Nomo.

Notable Birthdays

Aubrey Huff, MLB – Born December 20th 1976 (age 35) in Marion, Ohio

James Shields, MLB – Born December 20th 1981 (age 30) in Newhall, California

David Wright, MLB – Born December 20th 1982 (age 29) in Norfolk, Virginia

Although he signed a four-year contract, Clemens lasted only two seasons in Toronto before being traded to the New York Yankees for starting pitcher David Wells, second basemen Homer Bush and relief pitcher Graeme Lloyd. However, Clemens did dominate in his short stint with the Blue Jays as he won the Cy Young award during both of his seasons in Toronto. In both years Clemens won the pitching triple crown as he led the American League in wins, strikeouts and earned run average.

Roger Clemens achieved personal success while with Toronto, but the team did not perform well around him, as they finished in last place in 1997 and third place in 1998, missing the playoffs both years. In his first two seasons with the Yankees, Clemens helped New York win the World Series for the only two championships of his career.

Here is a look at Clemens during his first year with the Yankees.

Notable Birthdays

Ferguson Jenkins, MLB – Born December 13th 1942 (age 69) in Chatham, Ontario

Sergei Fedorov, NHL – Born December 13th 1969 (age 42) in Pskov, Soviet Union

Ricky Nolasco, MLB – Born December 13th 1982 (age 29) in Corona, California

Willie Mays had many great years in his Hall of Fame career, but 1965 may have been his best.  He hit a Major League best and career high 52 home runs, to go along with 112 RBI’s, nine stolen bases and a .317 batting average.  Along with his great numbers, Mays was also named to the All-Star team for the twelfth consecutive year and won his ninth straight gold glove in center field.  Mays became the fifth member of the 500 home run club on September 13th of that season.

Here is a tribute to Willie Mays.

Notable Birthdays

Kenny Rogers, MLB – Born November 10th 1964 (age 47) in Savannah, Georgia

Shawn Green, MLB – Born November 10th 1972 (age 39) in Des Plaines, Illinois

Donte Stallworth, NFL – Born November 10th 1980 (age 31) in Sacramento, California

The 2011 World Series is in full swing, with the Rangers headed back to St. Louis for Game 6 with a 3-2 series lead over the Cardinals thanks to a huge 4-2 victory last night. And in such a tightly contested series—it looks like we have a pretty decent shot at a Game 7 for the first time since 2002—it’s anybody’s guess who will wind up being this year’s World Series MVP. Sure, Albert Pujols had probably the best single game in the WS history on Saturday night; but he followed that up by going 0-4 on Sunday. So, really, you just never know what’s going to happen.

To illustrate just how challenging it is to predict who will win the World Series MVP, and to give you a little crash course in World Series history, I thought we’d take a look at the 9 most unlikely recipients in this prestigious award’s history.

9. Gene Tenace (1972)

During the 1972 regular season, Gene Tenace was just a backup catcher who hit .225 with 5 HRs and 32 RBIs. The 1972 Fall Classic served as his coming out party, however, as he led his team by hitting .348 with 4 HRs and 9 RBIs. Of course, Tenace went on to become a star for the Oakland A’s dynasty that won two more Word Series Championships in 1973 and 1974. But he most definitely was not a star when he was named World Series MVP in 1972.

8. Scott Brosius (1998)

Former Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius had the second-best year of his career in 1998, when he hit .300 while smacking 19 HRs and driving in 98. Still, he played on a Yankees team that featured Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, and Paul O’Neill. So no one really thought he would be the one to lead the team in average (.471), HRs (2), and RBIs (6).

7. David Eckstein (2006)

David Eckstein is the Rudy of Major League Baseball. Sure, he was always a high-average hitter with a .280 average over 9 seasons. But he only hit 35 home runs in his career and batted in just 392 runs.

So no one could possibly have imagined that the 5’7” shortstop would be the most valuable World Series player on a Cardinals team that featured mashers like Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Jim Edmonds. And yet he most definitely was, hitting .364 with 3 doubles and 4 runs batted in.

6. Darrell Porter (1982)

Catcher Darrell Porter had a good series for the 1982 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Over 7 games, Porter hit .286 with a home run, 2 doubles, and 5 runs batted in—good for a .775 OPS. But he probably wasn’t the best player on his team.

Keith Hernandez hit .259 with a home run, 2 doubles, and 8 runs batted in—good for a .799 OPS.

Lonnie Smith (yes, Lonnie, not Ozzie) played 7 games and hit a superb .321 with 4 doubles and a team-high 6 runs scored—good for a .881 OPS.

Then there was pitcher Joaquin Andujar, who pitched a team-high 13.1 innings and gave up only 2 runs while walking just 1—good for a 1.35 ERA and a 0.825 WHIP.

Yet, surprisingly, it was Darrell Porter who came way with the World Series MVP.

5. Rick Dempsey (1983)

Numbers 6 and 5 were pretty much a toss up.

Both were catchers for the World Series champs, and both hit about .230 for the season in which they won the WS MVP. On the one hand, the World Series performance of Baltimore Oriole Rick Dempsey was more impressive than Porter’s in 1982, since Dempsey hit .385 with 4 doubles—a much greater leap from his subpar regular season numbers, and thus in a way far more surprising. On the other hand, the fact that Porter could win the World Series MVP in 1982 by hitting just .286 with 0 extra base hits is absolutely crazy.

So, with all these factors kind of balancing each other out, I just placed them in chronological order. Because, in my opinion, just as a tie at the bag always goes to the runner, so a tie in accomplishments always goes to the guy who did it last.

4. Johnny Podres (1955)

Johnny Podres was just 9-10 with a pedestrian 3.95 ERA for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955. In other words, he was not the type of guy you want going to the mound for you against the fearsome New York Yankees.

But in the 1955 World Series, Podres was Cy Freaking Young. The man went the distances in both Game 3 and the decisive Game 7, giving up only 2 runs and 4 walks to a team that featured Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Hank Bauer.

3. Donn Clendenon (1969)

Donn Clendenon had some good seasons early in his career—his career average was .291 through 1966, the year he hit a career high 28 home runs. But when he came to the Mets midway through the 1969 season, it most definitely looked like his best years were behind him. In 1967, 1968, and 1969, Clandenon hit .249, .257, and .248 respectively. In 1968, he led the league…in strikeouts. Things were just not looking good for poor Donn.

But in the 1969 World Series, Clandenon had a miraculous series for the Miracle Mets. In just 5 games, the first baseman hit for .357 with 3 home runs and 4 runs batted in.

2. Steve Yeager (1981)

In 1981, for the first time in history, the World Series had co-MVPs. In fact, there were three: third baseman Ron Cey, outfielder Pedro Guerrero, and catcher Steve Yeager.

Now, Yeager—he of a .209 average in only 42 games during the regular season—had a great World Series. In 6 games, he batted .286 with 2 home runs and 4 runs batted in. But Ron Cey and Pedro Guerrero were better over almost twice at many at-bats. Cey batted .350 with a 7 hits, 6 runs batted in, and a home run. Guerrero batted .333 with 7 hits, 7 runs batted in, and 2 home runs.

So basically, Yeager got to be co-MVP simply because of two timely home runs. Maybe that’s fair, maybe it isn’t. But did we really need three “Most Valuable” Players?

1. Bobby Richardson (1960)

Bobby Richardson was named World Series MVP in 1960 after hitting .367 on 11 hits with 12 runs batted in. This was quite a surprise, since Richardson was a defensive specialist valued far more for his glove than his bat. In his 11 year big league career, he hit .266 and drove in a measly 390 runs. Thus, his RBI total (12) in the 7-game World Series was about a third of what he averaged per season (35) for his entire career.

However, while this disparity between Richardson’s regular-season performance and his World Series performance is glaring, what makes him the unlikeliest of World Series MVPs are two more bizarre facts. One: of the first 11 guys to win the award, he was the first and only non-pitcher. Two: his team lost.

Richard was and still is the only player from the losing team to be named World Series MVP. And he won it despite the fact that the Pirates’ Bill Mazeroski hit .320 and smacked one of the most famous home runs in the history of baseball. (His walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th in Game 7 is the first and only in MLB history. Joe Carter’s home run for the Blue Jays in 1993 is the only other home run to end a World Series, but that came in Game 6.)