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The intentional base on balls was a part of professional baseball long before it became a part of baseball’s official statistics. The Sporting News’s Baseball Record Book lists Napoleon Lajoie of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League as the first player to receive an intentional walk with the bases full, in the ninth inning […]

65 players have had 80 or more extra-base hits in a season. Lou Gehrig did it ten times and Babe Ruth nine. Only once since 1941 have four achieved the feat in the same year.   Every fan has an idea of which players qualify as sluggers and which do not. Any definition of slugger […]

Read a note from the editor of the Fall 2017 BRJ.Many of the best conversations I’ve had at SABR conventions — and at ballparks around the world — begin with the question “Did you know…?” Nearly every baseball fan knows some amazing story or fact about the game, the players, or the team. Some of […]

If a batter hits 47-48 homers a season, he’s going for the fences, right? And if he’s going for the fences, he’s going to strike out a lot, right? Well, yes, and no. In the case of Willie Stargell in 1971, he led the league with 48 homers and 154 strikeouts. Henry Aaron was second […]

  Numerous talents from the Negro Leagues made their way into the employ of the American and National League franchises in Chicago. Integration did not come to these clubs until four seasons after the debut of Jackie Robinson with the Dodgers on April 15, 1947, and even then, the pace of integration was frightfully slow. […]

P.K. Wrigley and the Chicago Cubs’ “College of Coaches” in 1961. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)   In any business venture, management often seeks to make changes in everyday operations in order to bring about improvements in overall performance. These changes may range from minor tweaks in normal operating procedures to overhauls of the conventional methods in place. […]

  The flip side of Ken Holtzman’s 1968 Topps baseball card speaks to the 22-year-old’s accomplishments in 1967, his sophomore season in The Show: “While fulfilling his military obligations. Ken pitched for Chicago whenever he was able to get a weekend pass.” Conscription was a real factor in young people’s lives in 1967. As the […]

Growing up in Chicago in the early 1970s was about as good an environment for a young baseball fan as could be hoped for. Not only were the Cubs and Sox competitive—sometimes even at the same time!—it was also very easy to get involved in the daily struggle of both teams. Chicago had several daily […]

Harry Walker was the Phillies’ starting center-fielder heading into 1948, and as the defending National League batting champion, seemed to have a lock on the job.  But he was a holdout and that opened the door for rookie Richie Ashburn to win the center-fielder position.  Once it became pretty certain that he would, Ashburn’s parents, […]

On September 8, 1978, Northside and Southside fans finally found something they could agree on: Don Kessinger.1 Fans from Chicago’s two storied baseball teams came together to cheer the veteran infielder at Comiskey Park on a special promotion night arranged by Sox owner Bill Veeck to salute Kessinger, one of the lucky few to have […]