Ben Berkon is a freelance sports, humor, and tech writer/blogger from New York City. Berkon's work has been featured on The Huffington Post, Yahoo! Sports, The Onion, Contently, Medium, and Rising Apple, and he also manages The Beanball and Blah Blah Berkon, his personal stat-heavy baseball and humor blogs, respectively. He's [unfortunately] been a Mets follower his entire life. Follow him at @BenBerkon on Twitter.
Ben Berkon
The Catalyst — Legion of Dudes
Every group of friends has the unofficial leader--or 'The Catalyst.' Sure, the Legion of Dudes has more egos than the usual friend group, but it's still the leader's role to always keep his high-status amigos out of trouble, and in the party...
The Resurgence of Nate McLouth – Berkon’s Beanballs
It wasn't too long ago that Nate McLouth was one of the more exciting, young outfielders in baseball. In 2008, McLouth--in his fourth major league season--posted a 125 OPS+, 26 HR, and 23 SB campaign for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The then 26 year-old also led the league with 46 doubles.
5 MLB Prospects Making the Most of Their Unexpected Playing Time
It's hard to believe it, but there has officially been a full month of baseball. While a month might be too early to, say, tab the currently reigning Kansas City Royals as the "team to beat" in the AL Central, it is a reasonable period of time to react to rookies' performances.
Justin Upton Trade Already Haunting Diamondbacks — Berkon’s Beanballs
In 2011, Justin Upton emerged as an elite hitter in the major leagues. Upton, then 23 years old, already had a 26-home run season under his belt, but 2011 was different. His 141 OPS+ ranked just outside the top 10 in the National League, and his 31 home runs were tied for ninth...
Closers Are Unbearably Fickle – Berkon’s Beanballs
The most contentious decision for a fantasy baseball owner is always which closers to draft. Closers, unlike arguably any other position, come with the greatest degree of risk.
The best example of this is perhaps New York Yankees great, Mariano Rivera...
Wrestlemania 29 Attendance Record Proves Professional Wrestling is Real
Audiences know why Willy Loman commits suicide, at least the first line of Hamlet's contemplative soliloquy, and even that Batman will eventually put the bad guy to justice. Despite knowing "what will happen," audiences are not deterred from watching the performances many times over.
Will the Washington Nationals Be the Next Baseball Dynasty? — BERKON’S BEANBALLS
In 2012, the Washington Nationals advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1981. Just to give you a sense of how long ago that was, Ronald Reagan was in the ninth month of his first term as President, 'Endless Love' by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie was blowing up the airwaves, and the Nationals were still the Montreal Expos...
The Yankees are a Terrible Team…For Now — Berkon’s Beanballs
The New York Yankees have won 27 World Championships in their storied history--5 of which coming in the past 16 years. The Yanks have also made the playoffs 16 times in the last 17 seasons, only missing out in 2008. And despite trash talk from envious onlookers, the franchise has achieved these incredible feats with mostly homegrown players at the helm.