It comes in a piece the site posted last week (huh? we didn't get the memo!) about Centro-matic's Will Johnson and his devout baseball fanaticism. And it's filled with surprise anecdotes like this one:
Johnson is a folk artist who paints his favorite baseball players.His latest collection includes works depicting Negro League legends Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell, plus Bill Buckner, Alta Weiss, John McGraw, Branch Rickey and Roberto Clemente.
The colorful paintings also include written descriptions of the personalities from Johnson's point of view as a fan and amateur historian.
"I like to paint some of the under-the-radar folks," he says. "I think people should know more about their stories. Like Bill Buckner, for example. My painting champions his contributions to the game, which I think are long forgotten. Most people just remember him for one thing."
Maybe now we can convince MLB.com and Fight Bite to partner up on some gruesome baseball injury analysis, perhaps? I'd read that, for sure. --Pete Freedman