Search Results

On September 24, 1919, Shoeless Joe Jackson stepped up to the plate at Comiskey Park in the bottom of the ninth inning with a chance to make history for the Chicago White Sox. The score stood at 5-5 with one out. The winning run — the American League pennant-clinching run — stood on third base […]

The 1980s was a decade of transition for baseball. Power numbers were noticeably down, making the eye-opening numbers of the steroid-enhanced decades following look even gaudier. The lack of power is just one of the many reasons the 1980s remains an overlooked era.The 1980s was a decade of transition for baseball. Power numbers were noticeably […]

Ralph Kiner the seventh-leading home run hitter of all time? Mike Schmidt already ranked 15th? Babe Ruth still Number 1? If career home runs is your measure of leading homer hitters, these ratings don’t make sense, because Kiner is 26th, Schmidt is 41st and Ruth second. But career homers are not the only measure of […]

As the Cincinnati Reds prepared for the 1975 season, they had reason for cautious optimism. The club had plenty of talented players, including some of the biggest stars in the game, and they had been a strong team for several years. But they had not won the World Series in 35 years; and the Los […]

Some places where only baseball is played are called fields, like Wrigley. Others are parks, as in Fenway. In Roswell, New Mexico, it’s a hybrid: Park Field. Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth never played at Park Field. Roger Mans and Mickey Mantle never were cheered there. George Foster and Jim Rice have never hit home […]

A pitcher who tosses a no-hitter receives instant acclaim and is assured of a lasting place in the record books. But what about the man behind the bat who skillfully called the pitches that silenced the opponents’ bats? One of the most famous of all sports photos shows Yogi Berra jumping on Don Larsen following […]

During the first two decades of the 20th century, “inside baseball” dominated the way the national pastime was played. Superstars like Detroit’s Ty Cobb and Pittsburgh’s Honus Wagner, along with manager John McGraw of the New York Giants, were proponents of this style of baseball. After Wagner and Cobb retired, many baseball experts believed that […]

One of the many things that make baseball great is the ability to both objectively and subjectively compare which players are the best. These comparisons range anywhere from scholarly research1 to radio talk show discussions to barroom arguments. In comparing players, many times researchers have developed new statistics in an attempt to find one all-encompassing […]

Observing the similarity between two celebrated dynasties — the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s and the Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s — is hardly original, and hardly new. But the comparisons between the two teams are worth exploring in some detail. They were a ballclub well-known then and well-remembered today not just for their victories […]

The slugger stands at the plate in the bottom of the ninth, the score tied. The crowd rises in anticipation. The windup. The pitch and…there it goes! We’ve all seen them. Game-ending or “walk-off” home runs are shown on SportsCenter almost every night and many fans consider them to be among the most exciting plays […]