Knowing Our Roll

There are so many great articles on our blog roll today!  We know our blog roll and we think you should get to know it, too so here are some tid bits:

The Nats Blog highlights a Wall Street Journal article which ran a very unscientific study on the most biased broadcast booths across Major League Baseball.  Hawk Harrelson and the Chicago White Sox claimed the top spot (shocking, I know).

Fish Stripes attacks the question, "Did the Miami Marlins take the right approach with their high paid closer Heath Bell?"  There seem to be a lot of issues swirling around in that colorful Marlins clubhouse (shocking, I know).  

Phillies Nation is discussing whether Roy Halladay should make his scheduled Saturday start.  Doc has been laboring through his starts for most of this season while spending time on the disabled list for shoulder fatigue.  The end of the season can't come soon enough for Halladay, I'm sure, but being the competitor he is, I think that there is some sentiment that he feels like he owes it to the team to gut it out.

Angels Win has a C.J. Wilson interview posted on their site.  C.J. talks about his charity, C.J. Wilson's Children's Charities, which supports children (shocking, I know).  

And last but certainly not least... I present to you the Adam Greenberg Story.

85% Sports and the Hall of Very Good are two blogs on our roll that are highlighting the incredible feel-good story of Adam Greenberg.  

You have likely never heard of Adam Greenberg and that's ok, but soon enough, you will.  

Greenberg was once a successful minor league baseball player, drafted in the 9th round out of North Carolina in 2002.  Like so many minor league players, he had dreams of getting his shot in the big leagues and on July 7, 2005, after three years of hard work, he got his chance.  Upon being called up by the Cubs, Greenberg was inserted into the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning to face Marlins reliever Valerio De Los Santos.  

The left handed hitter dug his feet into the box and was promptly beaned in the head by a 92 mph fastball - the first pitch he saw.  Greenberg would spend the remainder of that season on the disabled list dealing with concussion issues and vertigo and, unfortunately, he would never make it to the major leagues again.  

Greenberg is one of four players in baseball history to be hit by a pitch in their first and only major league plate appearance (accomplishing the rare feat of registering an official plate appearance without having an official at bat) - the only player to be hit by the very first pitch.  

Fast forward a few years... a fan website, aptly named "One At Bat," was created by Cubs fan, Matt Liston, in support of Adam Greenberg getting the chance to register an official at bat.  A petition was created in support of the campaign - over 25,000 signatures obtained as of today - and the campaign gained steam in recent weeks as Greenberg and the site creator were asked to be guests on NBC's Today Show.  

Believe it or not, this week, Greenberg was officially signed by the Marlins to get his one at bat and will indeed get his at bat next Tuesday against Mets hurler R.A. Dickey.  Ironically, the Marlins are the team that ended Greenberg's career - the only team he registered a plate appearance against back in 2005.  Greenberg has agreed to donate his salary to the Marlins Foundation (the foundation will then make a donation to the Sports Legacy Institute, an organization that advances the study, treatment and prevention of the effects of brain trauma in athletes and other at-risk groups).  

You can't make this stuff up.