In his major league debut on September 5, 1971, tied an MLB record with 15 strikeouts against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park.

The Saga of J.R. Richard’s Debut: Blowing Away 15 Sticks at Candlestick

When Houston Astros right-handed flamethrower James Rodney Richard,…
Future Hall of Famer was 67 years old when he took his last managing stint in the big leagues with the Houston Astros in 1972.

From the Gashouse to the Glasshouse: Leo Durocher and the 1972–73 Houston Astros

On July 23, 1972, Leo Durocher stepped down as manager of the…

There Used to be a Big Dome

There used to be a big dome right here Where the field was…
Came to Houston for good in 1967 and pitched a no-hitter on June 18.

Don Wilson: Houston’s Fallen Star

Wow! Look at all those bright colors. The baseball field at…
On June 15, 1976, an Astros-Pirates game was postponed because of rain; although the playing field was protected, severe flooding made nearby roads impassable.

Rainout in the Astrodome

A rainout in the Astrodome? How is that possible? It’s domed,…
spent 11 seasons with the Houston Astros, hitting .252 in 965 games from 1979-89.

Catching Rainbows and Calling Stars: Alan Ashby and the Houston Astros

Few individuals saw more Astros history that Alan Ashby. An…
17-game winner shut out the Mets for the first eight innings.

The Greatest Game Ever Played? October 15, 1986

Fans of the Houston Astros are a long-suffering lot. While…

The Houston Astros Hall of Stats

The purpose of a Hall of Fame is to celebrate the greats and…

Astrodome Proves to Be No Hitters Park

Long fences and “dead” indoor air gave Astrodome a reputation…

Astrodome Attendance Below League Average

Despite the phenomenal engineering feat and the novelty of the…

Editor’s note: Baseball in the Space Age

A note from the editor of The National Pastime. This issue of…

Download the 2014 TNP e-book

Since 2009, The National Pastime has served as SABR's convention-focused…

Download the Fall 2011 Baseball Research Journal as a PDF

Read the Fall 2011 BRJ on your computer or e-reader! SABR members,…
Overcoming war and skepticism, he began working for the Dodgers in 1947 and would go on to record virtually every pitch in the team's games for the next 18 years.

Allan Roth: The First Front Office Statistician

Henry Chadwick, baseball’s first historian, tried to capture…
Played a legitimate, if limited, role in the history of baseball, but any claims to the title “father of baseball” only seem legitimate in comparison with the even more specious Doubleday myth.

The Creation of the Alexander Cartwright Myth

Who invented baseball? This question has held a niche in the…
His caught stealing stats were studied by Bill Deane in 1991, inspiring the incorporation of caught stealing data into total player rating.

Stolen Bases and Caught Stealing by Catchers: Updating Total Player Rating

When I did The Hidden Game of Baseball with John Thorn, I came…

McGraw’s Streak: 26 Consecutive Games Without A Loss in 1916

John McGraw, seen with Philadelphia Phillies manager Pat Moran,…
Sukeforth shrugged off his importance to the Jackie Robinson story, but Robinson didn’t.

Clyde Sukeforth: The Dodgers’ Yankee and Branch Rickey’s Maine Man

"But then Clyde Sukeforth is an unusual fellow. He is a medium-sized,…

Identifying Undated Ticket Stubs: An Attempt to Recapture Baseball History

Some professional baseball teams did not include dates on regular…

The Great 1952 Florida International League Pennant Race

South Florida is notoriously hot in the summer, but conditions…
in the uniform of the 1968–69 National Series champion Azucareros ball club, three seasons after his miraculous three-game pitching string.

Aquino Abreu: Baseball’s Other Double No-Hit Pitcher

Aquino Abreu in the uniform of the 1968–69 National Series…

Defiance College’s Historic 1961 Postseason

Defiance College in northwestern Ohio has fielded a baseball…

Hitting Mechanics: The Twisting Model and Ted Williams’s “The Science of Hitting”

The "Twisting Model" is a biomechanical model of physical movement…