Major League Baseball

Let’s talk sports memorabilia. Many of us used to collect for the love of the game or the idolatry of a team or a player. Today, many kids are still of the same innocent mindset and many adults are as well, but even more so are searching and shopping for sports memorabilia to flip it at a profit.

Let’s talk sports memorabilia. Many of us used to collect for the love of the game or the idolatry of a team or player.

What makes an MLB Hall of Famer? Back in the day, it was all about either baseball milestones such as 300 wins, 500 homers or 3,000 hits, or the “eye test” – did the player “look like a Hall of Famer” when he played and did he dominate his era?

Let’s talk sports slogans.

Let’s talk the trade deadline. The Major League Baseball trade deadline is Aug. 1, and “experts,” fan bases online and both devout and casual fans delight in weighing in on what their team needs to do to make a run at the World Series.

Last week, the 93rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game was exciting to the end. Down 2-1, Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz belted a two-run home run off Baltimore’s Felix Bautista in the top of the eighth inning to give the National League the lead.

Let’s talk sports rarities. One of the cool things about being a sports fan is watching the game, because you never know when history will be made. Sure, most games play out with average results despite some spectacular play by the athletes.

Let’s talk baseball trivia. Sports fans love obscure facts, figures and history, and summer is a great time to sit with family and friends and talk about the events or nuances of sports that interest us.

Let’s talk holiday sports. The Fourth of July (Independence Day) is coming up. A national holiday and a family holiday for many. Is sports part of your holiday tradition? Do you schedule sports competitions or viewing or attending as part of your celebration?

Let’s talk bats. I was watching a few baseball games on TV and saw several bats explode and splinter after tailing fastballs made contact with them.

Let’s talk sports terms: good, bad and descriptive. Sports has its own language. Some of it is complimentary. Some of it is derogatory. Some of it doesn’t mean what you would think it means. Some things are descriptive and some are just plain odd; and dedicated sports terms can be found in nearly every sport.

Let’s talk attending multiple sports events, if you can afford them. Have you ever been to a live sporting event, or have you seen all of your sports on TV? For many, there’s nothing like seeing an event live, in person and mingling with the crowd … “Take me out to the ballgame..."

Let’s talk numbers … uniform numbers.Some of the best athletes across numerous sports are best identified with a uniform number.

Let’s talk baseball rule changes.

Let’s talk deadline trades. The NBA and NHL trading deadlines just passed. Was your team a buyer or a seller? Was your team all-in for this year or dedicated to the future?

Let’s talk fans cheering and booing. You buy your ticket, and in some cases, you pay a lot for that seat, and your team takes the field. You cheer. Nearly all the hometown fans cheer and drown out opposing fans’ boos. Often, you can see your team get energy from the support. Then your favorite player is announced and the cheers ring out again.

Let’s talk showboats, show-offs and style. In sports, we applaud style. When a player does things his or her way and can back it up with performance, the players become larger than life and add to the entertainment of the sport.

Let’s talk gamesmanship and sportsmanship. In sports, competitors are always looking for an edge. This discussion involves legal advantages, not cheating. That is a full discussion for a future column. Gamesmanship, or creating an advantage, is the psychological warfare employed to win a game without technically cheating

Let’s talk records and asterisks. Aaron Judge has had an historic season for the New York Yankees, and his 62 homeruns set an American league record. Does he also hold the "clean" MLB homerun record?

Let’s talk G.O.A.T.s … the Greatest Of All-Time.I see a lot of social media banter over who are the G.O.A.T.s, or Greatest Of All-Time in various sports.