Major League Baseball

One of the many signs of spring is baseball's spring training, even though it wintry in much of the U.S. then. Even opening day games in April are often cold and even snowy. The "Boys of Summer" probably prefer days that are in that just-right Goldilocks zone that is late spring and early autumn.

The pandemic really hurt baseball as well as other sports in 2020 and although the games are on this year, the number of fans is still limited and teams still are still dealing with cases.

Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.

There are 30 teams in American Major League Baseball (MLB). They are divided up evenly between the American League (AL) and National League (NL) with 15 teams in each. Each of the leagues is divided into three divisions called the East, the Central, and the West.

The NL and AL were formed as separate legal entities in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues cooperated but remained legally separate entities. In 2000 the leagues merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball.

We are working our ways through all the teams' name origin stories. 

MLB also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises 256 teams affiliated with the major league clubs. I don't know if we'll get around to all those minor league teams - but some have very interesting name-origin stories.

See all our baseball team name origins 
and all our other sports name origins posts.

National League
East
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
Central
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
West
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants

American League
East
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Central
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins
West
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

reminisce

When we "reminisce," we think or tell about past experiences, and the word's origin comes from our minds.

Reminisce (and its noun relative reminiscence) comes from the Latin word mens meaning "mind." When attached to the prefix re- it became the Latin verb reminisci ("to remember").

In English, we have other re- verbs that suggest bringing an image or memory into our mind: remember, recall, remind, and recollect. 

Reminisce differs from these others because it suggests not only a casual recalling of experiences past but also a sense of nostalgia about those memories. 

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes--Luther Dickinson, Sven Pipien, Steve Gorman, Chris Robinson, and Rich Robinson performing at the 2008 Newport Folk Festival. (Adam MacDougall was playing keyboard out-of-frame to the right.)

THE BLACK CROWES is an American rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia, in 1984. The first incarnation of the band was called Mr. Crowe's Garden which was used until 1989. It was a name taken from L. Leslie Brooke's children's book Johnny Crow's Garden. which had been a favorite of original members Chris and Rich Robinson. Brooke was best known as a book illustrator and the 1903 book is known more for its illustrations than for its minimal text.

The band was influenced by contemporary local acts like R.E.M. along with 60s psychedelic pop and classic southern rock. Gradually, the band's sound moved more toward 70s-era blues rock.

The band had many personnel changes, breakups and reunions over the years but brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, who were the founding members while they were still attending Walton High School, have remained the band's core. 

They changed the band's name in 1989 when they signed with Def American Records at the suggestion of producer George Drakoulias. They released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the following year and their follow-up, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, reached the top of the Billboard 200 in 1992. 

The band went through a hiatus from 2002 to 2005, then regrouped and toured for several years and released Warpaint in 2008. They released a greatest hits/acoustic double album Croweology and did a 20th-anniversary tour, then followed that with a second hiatus. 

Continuing their dizzying history, after a 2013 tour, the band announced another breakup in 2015. As you might guess, by now none of its original line-up was left except for Chris and Rich remained.

The Black Crowes have sold more than 30 million albums, and are listed at number 92 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock and the UK Melody Maker named them as "The Most Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World."

Shake Your Money Maker (2020 Remaster, 3 CD Super Deluxe Edition)

In late 2019, during an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Chris and Rich Robinson announced that they had resolved their differences after not speaking since the band's 2015 split. They announced a 2020 tour in support of the 30th anniversary of Shake Your Money Maker. but it was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.

Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes--A Memoir