Awesome Baseball

Stadium Map Art makes framed and laser-engraved wooden maps featuring famous United States baseball or football stadiums. The maps come in two designs: a detailed city or campus map or a state-shaped map outlined with major roads.

To kick off the 2017 baseball season, Jim Beam is releasing a very special batch of whiskey for Cubs’ fans. The limited-edition bourbon barrel-matured the night the Cubbies won the World Series after a 108 year drought. Available starting June 1 in the Chicago area.

Wonderful pieces of wall art for baseball fans, these limited-edition Chicago Tribune press plates commemorate the Cubbies’ long awaited World Series victory. Includes 11.5″ x 22″ plates from the front page and sports section. Save 55% in The Awesomer Shop.

Looking for a truly unique gift for a baseball fan? Pillbox Bat Co. creates these solid maple bats handpainted with a variety of neat designs. They’re coated with urethane so can actually be played with – though we wouldn’t want to risk a broken bat with our massive arm strength.

Nike goes for the feels with its celebratory spot for the Chicago Cubs and their hard-fought win of the 2016 World Series, a championship 108 years in the making. Congratulations, Chicago. Someday is today.

Carpenter Frank Howarth’s latest creation is designed for fighting off walkers, ready to bash in their skulls with even greater effectiveness than Negan’s dirty girl, Lucille. Plus, Frank’s turned, patterned bat is simply beautiful when it’s not covered in blood and guts.

The Boston Red Sox’s postseason exit was a underwhelming end to David Ortiz’s MLB days. But that’s barely a dent in Big Papi’s long and illustrious career, as evidenced by the thousands of fans who stayed to have one last look at their hero standing on Fenway Park.

You might not know it, but store-bought aluminum baseball bats are hollow inside. MP Dragon decided to create a solid, if flawed, aluminum bat by first sculpting his own wood bat, then creating a sand cast, pouring in molten metal, and finishing it on a lathe.

It’s pure coincidence that the same week we featured this video that Corridor Digital dropped their own take on baseball being played in overly melodramatic anime style. We’re thinking their version should have been titled Scott Pilgrim vs. The Yankees.

Japanese cartoons love to make virtually any activity – cooking, goofing off in class, drawing – enthralling by presenting characters with supernatural talents or skills. But once in a while, life catches up.

The villains from classic Japanese horror flicks The Ring and The Grudge recently opened a baseball match in Japan’s premier league. The actors were promoting an upcoming movie starring the two characters.

The Minnesota Twins lost in their latest outing against the Orioles, but a new hero rose from the ashes. A Twins ball boy deftly caught a foul ball that was about to hit a young fan’s head. Cue the “Twins should sign him” jokes. Half-jokes. Hail Marys.

Based in Winona, Minnesota, the Pillbox Bat Company makes solid maple baseball bats with hand-painted or hand-burned retro graphics. They’re beautiful enough to display but sturdy enough for casual games.

Make’s Darbin Orvar shows how to craft a baseball bat from three pieces of walnut and rough-sawn maple wood that she cuts, trims, smooths, laminates, then hand-tools and finishes on her lathe. It’s a tremendous amount of work, but an impressive result.

9″x 9″ relief sculptures of Major League Baseball stadiums laser cut from oak veneer. For now only Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium, Fenway Park, AT&T Park, Busch Stadium and Kauffman Stadium are available; the rest will be made after the product launches.

A squirrel was spotted running to the top of the net at a recent Phillies/Cards game, when it suddenly took a flying leap – directly into the bullpen. We don’t know the prognosis of the squirrel, but he managed to clear the bench.

In a rare moment of brilliance for the Chicago Cubs, pitcher Jon Lester had to improvise when the baseball got stuck in his glove. He tossed the entire glove and ball to get the man out at first. Naturally, the Cubs went on to lose anyhow.

The members of dance crew World Order recently threw out the first pitch at a Japanese baseball game, using their syncronized robotic movements in preparation for the toss. Seems like a great tactic to distract the hitter.

A side project of Tofugu illustrator Aya, Kawaii Baseball Cards features baseball cards of MLB players, complete with stats and trivia, and animated gif versions. She also makes other MLB images as requested by her followers.

If you thought some of today’s sports rules were strange, get a load of these juicy tidbits, compiled by Mental Floss. And yes, we know many of these are simply sports trivia, not rules. 21-point baseball winners? Bounce catches? Seriously?

“Any actor who tells you that he’s not inspired by Bugs Bunny is a liar.” The great Bryan Cranston pretends that he wrote, directed and performed a one-man play about the MLB postseason in this hilarious TBS commercial.

Japanese comedy show Downtown asked former pro baseball player Takeshi Yamasaki if he can take the best that a pitching machine has to offer: a 190mph fastball. Look at the thumbnail and guess. Skip to 3:15.

The Jordan brand tips its hat to the New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter, who is playing on his 20th and final season. Watch as fans, teammates, celebrities and even rivals honor one of the greatest players of this generation.