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Rucker Archives
Journal Articles
The Dream Hit: A Pinch Grand Slam
All batters think it’s great to hit a home run. They think it’s even better to hit one as a pinch hitter. And when the bases are loaded and you’re called off the bench to deliver — and you do! There’s hardly anything to match the emotional impact of a pinch grand slam! Here’s a […]
The Philadelphia Phillies’ 1943 Spring Training
By 1942 World War II was already impacting the Philadelphia Phillies’ spring training activities as they prepared for the regular season in the soft sands of Miami Beach, Florida. Air corps stunts were observed above Flamingo Park; the players inspected fighters and bombers at a nearby base; and manager Hans Lobert, who had run the […]
The protested Dodgers-Cardinals game of July 20, 1947
It is well known that a manager may formally protest a game only if he claims an umpire has made a decision contrary to the rules. Dissatisfaction with a specific call (safe/out, ball/strike, fair/foul) is not grounds for a protest. However, sometimes things get a little murky. Take, for example, the game of July 20, […]
Protest Upheld, Computer Software Confounded
It is well known that a manager may formally protest a game only if he claims an umpire has made a decision contrary to the rules. Dissatisfaction with a specific call (safe/out, ball/strike, fair/foul) is not grounds for a protest. However, sometimes things get a little murky. Take, for example, the game of July 20, […]
New Records for Pinch Hitters
Baseball rules were amended in 1891 to allow for substitute batters for other than emergency conditions. That was 86 years ago; yet, from a recordkeeping standpoint, there are still many gaps regarding the performance of pinch hitters on a seasonal and a career basis. What pinch hitter had the most doubles, triples, or […]
The Philadelphia Phillies in Wartime
The Philadelphia Phillies’ travail during World War II is mind-boggling: Within four seasons their owners, managers, players, and fans came and went. From 1942 to 1945 the Phillies had three owners, four managers, and 124 new players. New players averaged nearly 31 per year! Attendance doubled in 1943, dropped 100,000 in 1944, and dropped another […]
Anything Can Happen in Wrigley Field
This article was originally published in “Baseball in Chicago,” the 1986 SABR convention journal. The 1986 season marks the 70th anniversary of the Cubs’ occupancy of Wrigley Field. Originally known as Weeghman Park, it was opened in 1914 for the Chicago Whales of the short-lived Federal League. The Cubs became residents in 1916, and […]
1941 Winter Meetings: War and Uncertainty
Minor-League Winter Meeting The prospect of war cast a long shadow over the National Association meeting for 1941. Europe and Asia had been mired in conflict for more than two years by this time, and just days after the meetings concluded, the United States would be forced to enter the second worldwide war of the […]