Salary Arbitration: Burden or Benefit?

The salary arbitration process is not well understood and it…

One-Team Players

Most articles written about Craig Biggio or Jeff Bagwell…

Crossing Red River: Spring Training in Texas

Several years ago when the Texas Rangers explored the idea of…

Fascinating Aspects About the Retired Uniform Numbers of the Detroit Tigers

What makes these Detroit Tigers uniform numbers — 2, 5, 6,…

The Winning Team: Fact and Fiction in Celluloid Biographies

Narrative films are not factual films — even when they purport…

Baseball Geography and Transportation

In 1876, at the time of the National League’s inception, the…

The Cy Young Award: Individual or Team Recognition?

The Cy Young Award is Major League Baseball’s premier annual…

Are Balanced Teams More Successful?

If a team scores 10% more runs than average and allows 10% fewer…

Nickel and Dime Pitches

The cover of a baseball comprises two strips of leather (identical…

Does Walking the Leadoff Batter Lead to Big Innings?

During a playoff broadcast in 2002, Tim McCarver made a…

How Rules Changes in 1920 Affected Home Runs

The home run was not a major part of a batter’s arsenal in…

Relative Team Strength in the World Series

This essay examines some statistical features of the major league…

Base Ball to Base-Ball to Baseball

Baseball didn’t just develop into the national pastime in the…

George Michael: Mystery Photos

Since 1947 I have been researching and collecting baseball photographs,…

Was Ty Cobb a Power Hitter?

Ty Cobb is usually thought of as the very embodiment of the Deadball…

Do Players Outperform in a Walk Season?

Do players perform better in their walk year? Conventional wisdom…

Consecutive Times Reaching Base: Ted Williams Dethroned by an Unlikely Record Holder

When Frank Thomas reached base in 15 consecutive plate appearances…

More About the Kansas City Baseball Academy

In a recent SABR National Pastime article, historian Richard…

George Sisler Confronts the Evil Empire

George Sisler returned to action in 1924 after solving the eye…

Point Men: First MLB Players Born in Each Decade of the 20th Century

Major league baseball relies on a steady infusion of fresh talent…

Dubuque-Chicago, 1879

Picture this: The 2005 Chicago Cubs using a day off in their…

Old Hoss Radbourn: The Greatest of the 19th-Century Tobacco Hurlers

Rarely can an athlete lay claim to having been both the most…

Reuben Berman’s Foul Ball

You may be trampled and bruised, but if you catch a foul ball…