Are you confused about Frank McCourt’s sell off of the Los Angeles Dodgers? Well then what you need is a handy Taiwanese animation to explain the situation. Sort of.

From the talented team that brought you the Royal Wedding and Conan versus Leno comes this slice of comedy confusion.

I’m Australian so this story’s not really on my radar, but best I can understand it, it has little to do with baseball. Instead the bits catching my interest are McCourt’s steamy love affair with Fox, and his unfortunate severed hand. Oh the horror!

Frankly this news story is no clearer to me now, but I’m still glad I tuned in!

The Phillies versus Cardinals play-off game got a little comic relief recently thanks to the most adorable little streaker.

We’ve all seen streakers of the human variety, but I’ve never spotted a squirrel taking their lead. This little guy is the cutest thing, so cute in fact that even the players had to stop to watch his antics.

I like to imagine this tiny rodent had a whole bunch of his squirrel pals egging him on from the side lines. Surely making such a mark on such a major game in baseball history has to make him a squirrel legend!

It seems Americans don’t have a monopoly on baseball loving bad dads. Just as the Dodgers fan did in June, a Taiwanese baseball fan has dropped his daughter while attempting to catch a foul ball.

This video gets a few extra points for the wife, who is clearly unamused by her husband’s actions. Surely the phrase “If looks could kill” was made for her.

It was amusing enough the first time, but now it’s happened again I think it’s time to make a rule. Dads, let the ball go by. You’ll probably miss it anyway, and your children’s welfare is much more important than any baseball souvenir.

“The New York Yankees marked the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 with a ceremony before their game against the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday.” -YT

With the ten year anniversary of September 11th, 2001 fast approaching, memorials and ceremonies have been happening all around the world to commemorate that day.

There has also been vast speculation as to what may happen on that day as well as old wounds being opened in regards to fault placed.

No matter what happened, no matter who did what or how things got to this place, we remember the lives lost on that day. A day of tragedy that should have never happened.

Being British I’ve never been to a baseball game. We just don’t play it over here, at least not in any professional capacity. But if I had I’d have probably tried to catch a baseball heading my way.

Unfortunately doing so can be a dangerous activity.

This Texas Rangers fan found this out to his cost, as he fell from the stands while reaching just a little too far from his seat to catch a baseball coming towards him and his son. Reports suggest he died at the scene.

There are some idiots who seem to think this clip is funny, but I cannot possibly see what it funny about someone dying. And dying in front of their kid, and in such a public arena, as well.

There’s a lesson to be learned by the rest of us, obviously: don’t risk your own life for a memento.

if you’re a parent on planning on being one in the future, please don’t follow the example of this guy. This is how not to treat your valued offspring. Ever.

The family has gone to watch a baseball game, and a foul ball is heading their way. The dad thinks this is the perfect opportunity to let his young daughter catch her first baseball, and lifts her up to get her in position.

But wait, trust his daughter to catch a baseball coming at her at speed? I don’t think so. Instead, he drops her like a hot potato and attempts (and fails) to claim the baseball for himself.

She could have been badly injured if she’s fallen badly or her head had hit something on the way down. In which case the dad is one lucky SOB. It may take his daughter a while to forgive him though.

The San Francisco Giants have won the World Series of baseball, beating the Texas Rangers 4-1 overall by winning game five 3-1.

The Giants haven’t won a World Series since moving from New York to San Francisco in 1954. Their 2010 victory won’t be remembered as one of the best, but that surely won’t matter for a team that has waited so long.

Columbian Edgar Renteria clinched the series with a three-run homer and was later named the Most Valuable Player of the series.

The Giants fans were so pleased with the win that they decided to riot, rather bizarrely. What should have been a night of celebration ended up being a night of shame for a city that is usually peaceful.

When I was an unatheletic and unenthusiastic teenager, I always opted for the outfield. There I could make daisy chains, while the rest of the students did all the hard stuff. But in the world of pro-sports, the outfield isn’t just a place to slacken off; it’s where magic happens.

Because magic is the only logical explanation for this amazing catch.

Masato Akamatsu from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp’s pulls off an absolutely miraculous catch by scaling the fence, holding out his hand, and likely crossing his fingers.

Quick, someone sign this guy up to the Major Leagues. Whatever it is, he’s got it.

I can’t quite work out if this is legit or not. Is this even possible? There just seems to be something decidedly dodgy about the whole thing, like there is camera trickery involved somewhere along the line.

This guy claims to be really very good at a few things, one of which is a whirlwind baseball batting technique. So he demonstrates with the help of his mate at the local baseball cages.

This is the same person responsible for the Racist Cat video a couple of weeks ago. And I wasn’t convinced that was on the level either.

Being British I don’t play baseball. And never have done. The U.S. may play something called the World Series but that’s only because they’re virtually the only country in the world which plays the game.

Still, a good video, whether it’s real or fake.

American sports really don’t do it for me. But baseball is the one that holds the most appeal. Even when a bad umpiring decision ruins a game for everyone.

A perfect game in baseball is when a pitcher claims victory by not letting any batsmen even get to first base. A perfect game is a no-hitter and a shutout. And it’s only been officially achieved 20 times in the history of Major League Baseball.

Last night should have seen Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga claim the 21st and join that elite group. But a wrong call on the 27th of 27 batters meant he was robbed of his moment of glory.

Jim Joyce is the umpire in question, and he’s admitted he made the wrong call after seeing replays after the match.

In which case, why isn’t there the opportunity to review calls mid-game via instant replays? It won’t do Galarraga any good but it could prevent such an incident from happening in the future.

Although I’m not American I’ve been well aware of the New York Yankees winning the World Series thanks to the multitude of updates on facebook from American friends. It is, apparently, a reason to celebrate.

The core players of the World Series winning New York Yankees team, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada, appeared on The Late Show With Dave Letterman last night. They were later joined on stage by MVP Hideki Matsui.

This isn’t the full video because that would undoubtedly be taken down off YouTube for copyright reasons. So this is the CBS-ratified highlights clip showing some of the best bits of the interview.

The full interview is a mix of serious chat and jokey banter. What’s good to see is the Yankees giving as good as they get, turning many of Letterman’s quips back on to the chat show host.

George Brett is a former Major League baseball star who played for the Kancas City Royals. He is one of only four players in history to accumulate 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, and a career .300 batting average and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

But none of that matters any more because he shit his pants and chose to tell his teammates about it. And thanks to the microphone overhearing the conversation he told the rest of us about it as well. And now someone has set it to music and auto-tuned his voice to fit.

This is genius on so many levels. The story in itself is comedy gold. The fact that it was overheard makes it better. And then the music and Brett virtually singing his two stories of how a dodgy tummy has led to him crapping himself puts the final touch to it all.

Maybe they should add 2 pants-shitting accidents and 1 embarrassing YouTube video to his career record?

If you’re at a sporting event, getting involved with the game in some way has to be the ultimate dream. In baseball this is made possible by catching a balle hit by a batter.

There’s just one piece of advice to listen to if this happens to you: don’t hand the freshly caught baseball to your three-year-old daughter – she may just throw it back on the field.

This incident happened during a Phillies vs. Nationals game on Tuesday night. Steve Monforto spectacularly caught a foul ball from Jayson Werth at Citizens Bank Park, and then handed it to his young daughter.

Unfortunately for him, but much to the delight of surrounding fans and the commentators of the game, she promptly threw the ball back on to the field. And who can blame her, as that’s probably what she had been taught to do.

His reaction is great, hugging rather than shouting at his daughter. And he was apparently handed a ball signed by the team later to more than make up for it.

Is it just me or do all the best baseball catches come from people who aren’t in the game? First we had that ball girl who moved like Jackie Chan to catch a foul ball, and now we have a fan who actually films himself catching a home run.

Sure, this was during batting practice, but it’s still incredible nevertheless.

The chances of catching a foul ball are always slim, and the chances of recording it at the same time are almost close to impossible. It’s too bad that this catch couldn’t have been made during an actual game instead of practice.

Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ is one of the most iconic songs of the 80’s. Proof of it’s power to move people can be seen in this clip.

Here a geeky-looking kid is suddenly hypnotized by the music and starts singing uncontrollably up and down the aisles of a baseball stadium.

I can’t figure out if this incident is staged or not, but I really don’t care. When someone can manage to distract thousands of people in a stadium and possibly millions on TV by himself, he’s got respect in my book.

It’s always easy to go to a stadium with a group of people who are covered in body paint and call yourself “crazy,” but doing something this crazy takes real guts. Even though I’m not a baseball fan, stunts like this make me interested in watching the sport.

I abhor violence and cannot understand why people turn to throwing a punch or kicking out before trying every other possible solution. But maybe this explains that social trend to some extent. If baseball players can’t help themselves then why should the rest of us?

The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers were in the middle of a game when one of the Tigers’ pitcher Rick Porcello’s pitches hit Red Sox batsman Kevin Youkilis on the shoulder. He reacted to this rather badly.

Youkilis launched himself at Porcello and threw his helmet at him. Porcello reacted by, well, running away, but when Youkilis grabbed him Porcello managed to twist him and throw him to the ground.

As is usually the case in baseball, a huge ruckus involving both teams then ensued. Both Youkilis and Porcello were thrown out of the game, which the Red Sox ending up winning 7-5.

Utterly pointless but it makes for good viewing while eating your breakfast.

Harry Kalas was the voice of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team for many years, acting as their lead play-by-play announcer. Unfortunately, he did on April 13, 2009 from a heart attack in Washington D.C. a few hours before a game.

The team’s next home game was immediately turned into a tribute to the commentator. As well as fans leaving flowers, pictures, baseball caps, notes, and letters, Harry’s son Kane sang the national anthem.

Losing a parent is never easy and having to show your face in public and lead a mixture of sentimental grief and a celebration of the deceased person’s life must be a nightmare. As you can see, Kane and the rest of the Kalas family did a great job of striking the right balance.

All three of Harry’s sons – Todd, Brad and Kane – threw the ceremonial first pitches to Michael Jack Schmidt, John Kruk, and Jimmy Rollins, who were present in order to represent the three generations of Phillies teams who played during Kalas’s remarkable career.

A fitting tribute to a man who has a place in many people’s hearts.

Mark Fidrych was found dead on his Massachusetts farm, apparently falling victim to an accident while working on his truck. It means baseball has lost a former star and someone most people regarded as a one-of-a-kind in the sport.

Fidrych began his career with a spectacular rookie season with the Detroit Tigers in 1976. He ended up 19-9, started the All-Star game, and was eventually named American League Rookie of The Year.

The Detroit Tigers issued a statement over their former star’s death:

“The entire Detroit Tigers organization was saddened to learn of the passing of former player Mark Fidrych today.

Mark was beloved by Tigers fans and he was a special person with a unique personality. The Tigers send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.”

Fidrych’s career sadly came to an early and rather abrupt end due to a shoulder injury and knee cartilage problem which forced him to retire. But he will be remembered by the fans as ‘The Bird’ (due to his similarities to Sesame Street’s Big Bird) and his slightly kooky ways.

R.I.P. Mark Fidrych 1955 – 2009.

I’ve always loved Japan – Manga, video games, the sense of tradition and honor, the gorgeous women. And my love for the country and its people has just been raised again by the introduction of the first female professional pitcher in its baseball league.

Eri Yoshida is the girl’s name, and she is making history by succeeding in a field (excuse the pun) that has, up to now, been dominated by men. This video shows her making her full debut for the Kobe 9 Cruise, a team in the Kansai Independent League.

Yoshida was just 16-years-old when Kobe signed her up as a pro player. Now, at the tender age of 17, she has made her debut as a knuckleball pitcher in front of an 11,592-strong opening Day crowd at the Osaka Dome.

I just wish every country was as forward-thinking in this respect as Japan is. Why can’t women, if they’re good enough, play against men? Why hasn’t tennis got mixed singles? Why are most other professional sports segregated by gender?

Yoshida is a fine example to women everywhere. And for us men – she’s great to look at. I ruined it right at the end there didn’t I. I can’t help it; I’m heterosexual and she’s gorgeous. Can you blame me for preferring to watch her play than the hairy-arsed men on the field with her?

Maybe somebody should tell him you’re supposed to use a bat.

Nah, it’s more ninja this way.

I’m not really into baseball as much as some Americans are, but when nun-chucks are involved, the sport automatically becomes cool. Then again, when a nun-chuck is involved in any any activity, that activity becomes cool.

Now all we have to do is figure out a more ninja way of catching and we’ve got our self an interesting sport. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of seeing the same old sports on TV.

From now on, I no longer have any respect for Kung-Fu masters unless they can pop champagne using nunchaku.