Tagged: baseball

Imagine a baseball diamond.

Now imagine that first and second base are tall, buzzing, blue-foam pillars, and that third base is gone.

Now imagine six fielders and a couple "spotters," who direct fielders toward a beeping ball — because everyone except the spotters, the pitcher and catcher are blind and/or blindfolded.

That’s what a beep baseball game looks like. 

The 2012 National Beep Baseball Association World Series is underway in Ames, Iowa, where several teams of blind and visually impaired players will compete. Representing Austin, the Blackhawks added another win in their fight for the pennant Thursday.  

Next Monday, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, considered one of Major League Baseball's greatest catchers, will announce his retirement.

The news was first reported by the AP and confirmed today by the Texas Rangers, the team where Rodriguez made his debut.

Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star, won a record 13 Gold Golves. The AP reports:

The Houston Astros will be moving from Major League Baseball's National League to the American League "as soon as the 2013 season," MLB announced this afternoon.

If anyone asks you why the Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 last night to take a 3-2 lead in the World Series, tell them it was a missed call.

But it wasn't, as NPR's Mike Pesca said on Morning Edition, a mistake made by an umpire.

Game 1 of the World Series went to the St. Louis Cardinals last night. The National League champions beat the American League's Texas Rangers 3-2:

For those who like to know about the key moments, here are two, courtesy of NPR's Tom Goldman's report for Morning Edition:

"I don't know how to pick this one," NPR's Tom Goldman conceded on Morning Edition today.

But while the outcome may be difficult to predict because both teams can make compelling cases for why they should emerge victorious, Tom said the 2011 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers has some very compelling story lines. The Series is set to begin tonight in St. Louis (game time is 8:05 p.m. ET. Fox-TV is the broadcaster.)

Roger Clemens - the former UT-Austin, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankee star, is requesting a judge get rid of his indictment on charges of lying to Congress to prevent him from being tried twice. 

Nolan Ryan, the CEO and club president of the Texas Rangers, was hospitalized in Houston after experiencing discomfort in his chest yesterday morning at his home in Georgetown, according to a press release on the team's website.

Ryan is also part owner of the Round Rock Express. The 64-year-old received a double-bypass surgery in 2000.

He is currently undergoing tests for his reoccurring heart condition and  is expected to be released from the hospital sometime this week.