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George Thomas Seaver and George Herman Ruth shared the same unused first name and the distinction of being the greatest players in the history of their respective New York teams. Shea Stadium opened while Tom Seaver was still in school, so “The House that Seaver Built” was never a suitable sobriquet—but it could have aptly […]

Eighty-six years. Decades of near-misses and long-shot losses that kept a World Series win out of reach of the Boston Red Sox. Years turned into decades and – occasionally – a near-miss tantalized the team and fans. What could possibly have been the reason for all the misfortune? Waiting until next year became an old, […]

Prince Edward Island native and H&D League alumnus Vern Handrahan with the Kansas City Athletics in 1966. (Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame)   The Halifax and District (H&D) Baseball League was a postwar offspring of the Second World War when Nova Scotia, and Halifax in particular, served as a major debarkation point for […]

     Beer baron and New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert purchased the Newark International League club on November 12, 1931, and over the next seven years some of the best young baseball talent ever assembled would perform in Newark. The Bears from 1932 to 1938 finished first five times, won over 100 games during […]

    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 position of league president is a sinecure. All he has to do is preside over league meetings, make some public appearances, approve player contracts, handle other routine duties and attend games. Nothing to it. At least that is what many fans doubtless believe. But what about protests of games? They can present extremely sticky […]

The American League was established in 1900 and the following year pronounced itself a major league. The established National League, however, refused to recognize the newcomer as anything other than a minor league.  Finally, as a matter of self preservation as much as anything, the rivals reached agreement on a two-league system in January 1903 […]

After clinching the 1884 Eastern League pennant in mid-August, the team replaced Philadelphia in the Union Association and compiled the majors’ worst record – a dismal . 111 won-lost percentage.   The year 1884 marked the Eastern League’s inaugural season, and the circuit had a less than auspicious start. A number of teams folded or […]

Recent study has revealed the claim of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York to pioneer status, as well as that of Alexander Cartwright to be the game’s inventor, to be suspect if not altogether baseless. I have taken up the latter claim at length in Baseball in the Garden of Eden and will […]

Charlie Murphy: The Iconoclastic Showman Behind the Chicago Cubs, written by Jason Cannon and published by University of Nebraska Press, a meticulously researched and splendidly written biography of the mercurial magnate who constructed the Cubs dynasty in the early years of the 20th century, is the winner of the 2023 Larry Ritter Book Award. The […]