Dahlin was arguably the most talented pitcher in Major League Wiffleball history. He had a filthy selection of pitches, and always made batters look terrible at the plate. Dahlin was also one of the best hitters in MLW history, but unfortunately for him, pitchers do not bat in the Frontier League.

The Midwest Sliders are a unique team, since they’re the only team in the Frontier League that plays all of their games on the road. The lack of home games may be a reason the Sliders have the worst record in the league.

If Dahlin continues to pitch well, it’s likely he’ll rejoin the team next year when they move to a brand new stadium in Waterford Township, Michigan, where they’ll be known as the Oakland County Cruisers.

Dahlin was practically untouchable as a pitcher in Major League Wiffleball, and posted some of the greatest pitching stats in MLW history. After wiffleball, he went on to have a great college baseball career at SUNY Plattsburgh.

We all hope Matt’s success continues with the Sliders as he pursues his baseball dream.

• Matt Dahlin’s career wiffleball pitching statistics:

The International Olympic Committee voted baseball and softball out of the 2012 games, and as a result, these two sports will be kept out of the Olympics indefinitely. Now, there is a possibility that these sports will be voted back in for the 2016 Games, but it’s unlikely.

So with baseball and softball voted out, perhaps this is an opportunity for wiffleball to make a push at becoming the newest Olympic sport. Come to think of it, wiffleball is a nice combination of baseball and softball, and could do a good job of replacing both sports.

Table tennis is an Olympic sport, and it’s played with a plastic ball. So is wiffleball. And have you seen some of the sports in the Summer Olympics? Badminton? Synchronized swimming? Even tug of war used to be an Olympic sport. Wiffleball wouldn’t be that far-fetched. Maybe ‘plastic baseball’ would be a better name though.

What do you think? Vote below, and feel free to leave a comment.

Just in case you’re not familiar with the event, Mike and Mike challenged each other to a friendly competition. Mike Golic defeated Mike Greenberg in Horse, but Greeny evened things up when he beat Golic in ping pong (or table tennis).

Greenberg was heavily favored to beat Golic in the running of the bases at Yankee Stadium, however the contest ended in a tie. (Greenberg actually won by .02 seconds, but refused to claim victory because of the narrow margin.)

With only 2 events left (soccer penalty kicks and miniature golf), it’s entirely possible that the pentathlon could end in a 2.5 to 2.5 tie. So what’s the best way to determine the winner?

Sure, you could have them run the bases again somewhere else, and the winner gets credit for winning that stage of the pentathlon. Or, the tie-breaker could be a game of wiffleball home run derby. With all of the hype that ESPN television gives to the All Star Home Run Derby, a head-to-head wiffleball version would be perfect for the ESPN radio audience.

What do you think? Vote below, and leave comments.

Molitor was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility. He played for 21 seasons, finishing his career with his hometown Minnesota Twins.

Throughout his career, Molitor played second base, shortstop, third base, and was a designated hitter. He had a 39-game hitting streak in 1987, the fifth-longest in modern-day baseball history. He was a seven-time all-star.

He won the World Series MVP award in 1993 with the Toronto Blue Jays, and tied a World Series record by batting .500 (12-for-24) in the six game series. This included two doubles, two triples, and two home runs in the series. He also set a World Series record in 1982 by getting 5 hits in Game 1 of the World Series.

In 1995, Molitor earned his 3,000th hit — a triple — with the Minnesota Twins. He is the only player in history to hit a triple for his 3,000th hit.

His # 4 has been retired by the Milwaukee Brewers, where he spent 15 years of his 21 year career. Paul Molitor is the only player in Major League Baseball history to have at least 3000 hits, 200 home runs, a .300 batting average, and 500 stolen bases.

Runner-up Josh Hamilton stole the show by hitting a record-setting 28 home runs in the first round. But his body simply ran out of gas by the final round, and Morneau had enough power left to defeat Hamilton and take home the trophy.

Morrneau is one of several Major Leaguers who has posed with a wiffleball for this site. MLW Commissioner Shaun Breen keeps his autographed wiffleballs of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in a very safe place.

Joe Mauer was the leading vote getter among American League catchers, therefore earning the role as the AL’s starting catcher. It’ll be Mauer’s second All Star appearance — his first as a starter.

First baseman, Justin Morneau will also be making his second appearance. He was named to the AL squad by the player’s ballot.

Twins’ closer Joe Nathan will be making his third All Star appearance. Like all pitchers, he was named to the team by the AL team manager, Terry Francona. Nathan will be one of six closers on the team. This trip to the All Star Game will be a special one for Nathan, since he grew up near Yankee Stadium.

The American League has not lost an All Star Game since 1996, and these three Minnesota Twins, who have all posed with wiffleballs for this site, will try to lead the American League to another victory over the National League, and attempt to keep the AL’s unbeaten streak intact for at least another year.

• Registration starts at 8:00 AM on the day of the event or you may register early by sending an email to PediatricCharity@Yahoo.com
• Kids teams ages 10-17 ($125 per team) - No adults allowed on kids teams
• Adults/Mixed teams ages 18 and up ($150 per team) - Kids may play on adults team if desired
• Maximum of 6 players per team (5 in the field and 1 DH)
• All teams receive T-shirts
• Winning ADULT Team will receive cash prize
• Winning KIDS Team will receive trophies, T-shirts, and medals
• Food and refreshments will be sold

If anyone knows of some businesses that may be interested in donating to the cause please let them know. They are always accepting donations. Call Sherry Casey if you have any questions about the tournament at 845-590-4584.

Again ALL proceeds from this wiffleball tournament go directly to the Baby V Foundation to help find a cure for pediatric cancer. For more information visit www.BabyVFoundation.org.

It was a few years before Major League Wiffleball officially formed, so let’s say it was minor league wiffleball. Our robbing home run rule was different then. A player could catch a ball past the home run line, as long as they had both feet in fair territory when the ball was pitched.

Matt Ceccucci was pitching to Quentin Jensen. I was the fielder. The pitch came in and Quentin crushed the ball. It was a high line drive to left field power alley. It was heading out of the park. I was already playing on the warning track, and I took off running for the ball. I only had a couple of seconds to react, but I knew I had a chance to catch it, since I had robbed Quentin of a couple of home runs earlier. This one was traveling faster though, and it was hit over my head, so I knew I had to dive for this one.

I leaped in the air, stretched-out, full-extension, caught the ball, saving a run, and slid a few feet afterwards. It was a true web gem. It was like a Jim Edmunds highlight… with dog crap.

I threw the ball back in, and noticed an odd smell. I looked down at my blue New York Rangers Stanley Cup championship T-shirt, and noticed a big brown smear that wasn’t there before. I guess the neighbors didn’t go on Poop Patrol that day.

Luckily, my house was only a few steps away from the field, so a quick change of clothes was possible, and the game resumed. I don’t remember the outcome of the game. I just remember the catch.

If you’re ever in this situation, make sure you catch the ball and hang on to it. Otherwise, it’s just crappy fielding.

I probably shouldn’t have used that as a title, but I did because you probably aren’t reading this article out loud.

I wrote about Kenny Mayne’s new book a couple of weeks ago, and I read a little more of it and I still liked it, so I wanted to write more about it because it’s a good book.

In Mayne’s third ‘wiffle ball’ chapter, as he calls it, he writes about Rick Messina’s superior wiffleball stadium in southern California. Mayne didn’t remember the name, but I do. It’s called Strawberry Field.

The owner of Strawberry Field, Rick Messina, is the manager for Tim Allen and Drew Carey, so he’s rich. His back yard is a fancy wiffleball stadium. When his neighbor’s house went up for sale a few years ago, he bought that too in order to expand his stadium, and to ensure new neighbors wouldn’t try to put a stop to his wiffleball league.

Ensure is probably the fanciest word in this post so far and it’s only five or six letters.

Strawberry Field has announcers, televisions, a scoreboard, lights, seats, and beer.

I won’t write much more about it, because if I did there wouldn’t be much left for you to read in Kenny Mayne’s new book, and then you wouldn’t buy it, but you should buy it because it’s a good book.

Kenny Mayne (or anyone) should write a book all about wiffleball. I did a search for wiffleball (and ‘wiffle ball’) on the computer at Borders and there were no matches. I would probably buy that book too.

Here’s a relevant fact about Kenny Mayne: In 2001, I won a Kenny Mayne bobblehead in an ESPN.com contest (see photo above). It doesn’t look anything like Kenny Mayne. I wouldn’t have known who it was if his name wasn’t on it. You probably didn’t know who it was until this paragraph. But the picture on the cover of his book looks like Kenny Mayne because it’s actually a photograph of him.

It’s not nice to keep someone else’s wiffle ball, especially if you’re running for President of the United States. That might cost John McCain a vote in November. If you kept someone’s wiffle ball, it might cost you a friend.

Johan Santana once kept one of my wiffleballs. He asked first though, so it was OK.

Wiffleballs are cheap. John McCain could easily go out and buy his own. You probably can too.

OK, it’s really not that bad. In fact, I enjoyed visiting johnmccainkeptyourwiffleball.com. It’s the site creator’s attempt to describe 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain. You can add your own John McCain line too. I added ‘John McCain doesn’t use hair gel’.

Give it a try. But don’t ever keep someone else’s wiffleball without permission. Don’t be like John McCain.