Axcess Baseball
2023 MLB Predictions
by Jasper Abrahams The Major League Baseball season is here. The weather is warmer, the fields are prepared and there’s nothing better than hearing an umpire emphasize the words, “play ball”. March Madness is behind us and it’s time to sit back, relax and watch America’s pastime all summer long. Here are some predictions to keep an eye on as the season kicks off Thursday, April 1. Rookie of Year American League: New York Yankees, Anthony Volpe Is this Yankees bias? A little bit, but not really. If you ask anyone in the Yankees front office, they all believe Anthony Volpe is THE guy when it comes to the future at the shortstop position. Volpe is looking to bring a firm consistency to the position for the first time since Derek Jeter. Growing up in New Jersey and attending Delbarton ...
College Recruiting 101: Asking the Dads That Have Experienced It
The college recruiting process can be very overwhelming. To make matters more difficult, it’s constantly changing over the years. So if you played baseball and you think it’ll be easier for you to help navigate through your son’s process – think again, since the recruiting calendar and the entire landscape has likely completely changed since you went through it 25 years earlier. To make it easier, I reached out to some dads that I know would have great insight and advice on the process. They are: Brian Schlesinger, Christian Eiring, Eladio Exposito, Vito Friscia and Bob Johnson. All of these gentlemen have sons that recently played Division-I baseball and they know exactly what the process entails. I asked a series of questions and here’s what they had to say&...
What I’m Thankful For
Today is a day to take a step back from the crazy world we live in and give thanks. It’s very easy to lose sight of that and I’ll be the first to acknowledge that. We live in a hyper fast environment of 24/7 news cycles and nonstop negativity on the news – especially over the past 20 months so it’s easy to feed into that negativity. It’s easy to see bills piling up and looking at social media and seeing all the evil in the world. Or you can choose to take the glass half full approach and realize, if you were lucky to wake up today you are already living a wonderful life. If you have a roof over your head, a warm meal on the table with your loved ones next to you, then you have it better than the majority of people living in the world. The way I see it, itΜ΅...
Section XI, Suffolk County Announce Plan to Resume Sports
In the first bit of good news for high school athletes in quite some time, Suffolk County executive Steve Bellone held a press conference in which he announced a plan to resume high-risk high school sports in Suffolk County. Baseball is not a high-risk sport – so it never seemed to be in jeopardy – but there are plenty of players that also play football and/or basketball. The following is from Section XI official website: The county’s plan, which was developed in close consultation with the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association and Section XI, will allow for approximately 21,500 student-athletes to participate in their respective high-risk sports. Additionally, due to previous locations being unavailable due to the ongoing pandemic, Bellone announced that various...
Observations from a Trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame
This week I took a trip to my in-laws house in Syracuse for the holidays. But we decided to take the two hour drive to Cooperstown to check out the Baseball Hall of Fame. I’ve been there before but not since 2014, and as you know, there are players being added every year so there’s always something new to see. Growing up a Met fan, it was always disappointing that there was only one player inducted as a Met, the late Tom Seaver, but after Mike Piazza’s induction in 2016, that number has now doubled. Side note: It is kind of extraordinary how many Hall of Famers have spent time in a Mets uniform, but never spending the bulk of their careers there. The obvious ones are Nolan Ryan, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez and Gary Carter, but when you dig deeper there’s other playe...
Which MLB Fanbase is the Most Tortured?
With the Dodgers winning the World Series and ending their 32-year title drought, it got me thinking; which MLB fanbases have been through the worst? And I’m not just talking about title droughts. Because when you look at a team like the Pirates, they haven’t had the longest drought but they have been through much worse than some other teams. First I will go over the teams that just missed the list Recently Exercised Their Demons Washington Nationals The Nationals won the World Series in 2019 in improbable fashion over the heavily-favored Houston Astros. They trailed in the NL Wild Card Game against Josh Hader, they trailed in the NLDS Game 5 facing Clayton Kershaw before sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals on their way to the World Series. This was a team that had not won a posts...
MLB Mourns the Loss of Joe Morgan
It has been a tough year for everyone but especially cruel for Major League Baseball as there have been five Hall of Famers pass away over the past six weeks. Morgan, 77, had struggled with various health issues in recent years including polyneuropathy. Morgan is just the latest loss for Major League Baseball which now includes Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson and Whitey Ford. Younger fans will remember him for his great work announcing “Sunday Night Baseball” games on ESPN from 1990 to 2010 but his playing career should not be forgotten. The Hall of Famer was a 10x All Star, 5x Gold Glove Winner, 2x MVP (five top-10 finishes) and 2x World Series Champ. He is regarded as one of the best second baseman in MLB history – right there with Rogers Hornsby. The ΜΆ...
Some Personal News
If you have noticed the site hasn’t been churning with information and game coverage this week, it’s not a coincidence. I got married on Saturday, September 26 and have been largely off the grid for the past 9 days. Since that day, I have been on my honeymoon. Emily and I started in Bar Harbor, ME and worked our way down south to Portland, ME then Portsmouth, NH and now Plymouth, MA. It’s been a beautiful time and probably the first time in my life that baseball hasn’t been at the forefront of my life. As a New Yorker, I wasn’t too familiar with the beauty that is Maine. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a vacation. We were originally set to fly to San Francisco and spend time in Napa Valley and make our way down to San Diego but obviously the pan...
Recapping Saturday’s College Showcase
We were fortunate to have a perfect September day for our showcase on Saturday at Baldwin Park. We had about 70 players and 20 colleges represented. I will go over some of the top performers from the event. Special thanks to the Italian American Baseball Foundation for sponsoring the event. Nick Giardino (Clarke 2022) The younger brother of Chris – entering his freshman year at Molloy College – he is a promising young player as well. I recently watched Nick fire a complete game during a Boys of Summer league game. One of the best compliments you can give a ballplayer is that he looks like he belongs. Nick looked like that when he pitched the complete game and he was one of the best performers in attendance on Saturday. He is quite an athlete – displaying some wheels with ...
Opinion: Let the Kids Play
by Jasper Abrahams No other sport has as many unwritten rules and it seems like there will always be players and fans that will continue to be 100% for or against these rules for as long as the game is played. San Diego Padres’ star Fernando Tatis Jr. was at the plate with the bases loaded in the eighth inning with the Padres up 10-3. Tatis Jr., is one of the most talented superstars in the game, especially known for his skills at shortstop and at the plate. He carries himself with extreme confidence and typically nothing phases the energetic young bull. Tatis Jr. was well ahead in the 3-0 count when he swung at the next pitch. He slammed a fastball, hurled by Juan Nicasio of the Texas Rangers, deep into the stands for a grand slam home run. This is when trouble started. According to the u...
Observations from the 2020 MLB Season
Nothing has been normal about 2020 and that goes for the MLB season. Opening Day took place on July 23 in front of no fans and without Juan Soto in the lineup. Despite it being August 19, some teams have played only 11 games (Cardinals) and there is no guarantee they will be able to finish the 60 games that were scheduled. Plenty of other teams have been able to get in all of their games – and even so losing players to the COVID-19 injured list has been the norm. While it did appear that there was a legitimate chance the season was going to be cancelled after the outbreaks that occurred with the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, it does appear that the protocols and guidelines are now being adhered to and are working. Additionally, with more than $1 billion on the line in terms ...
