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Taken on Labor Day in 1902 during a doubleheader between the Phillies and Chicago Orphans, the photo shows the edge of the grandstand and bleachers along the third base line where the collapse would take place less than a year later. (Author’s Collection)   Introduction “From the lips of a frightened little girl came a […]

Instead of using shovels, Judge Roy Hofheinz and other officials fire six-shooters at the ceremonial ground-breaking. (PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE HOUSTON ASTROS)   “Houston Astrodome or Bust” —Tagline for Bad News Bears in Breaking Training   The Astrodome was born in spectacle, a very Texan sort of spectacle, tied to the state’s historical heritage and […]

The Minnesota Twins’ first home baseball game was played on April 21, 1961, but that 5–3 loss was the tip of a large and rocky iceberg. Minneapolis and St. Paul civic leaders, yearning for their metro area to be considered “big league,” had been chasing a major league team for almost a decade. It did […]

Lou Gehrig, born 101 seasons ago, would never have made the claim, but let’s credit him with the best 10-season batting record in major league history if you don’t mind. It happened from 1927 through 1936 when baseball offense had a heyday. In a compilation of the finest 10-season performers from 1901 through 2003, Gehrig places in seven of […]

The purpose of a Hall of Fame is to celebrate the greats and preserve history. But only 1.3 percent of major league players make it to Cooperstown1—and that percentage is considerably lower for recent generations. About half of Major League Baseball’s clubs maintain team Halls of Fame, honoring players who may have fallen short of […]

(Courtesy of The Clemente Museum.)   Long after most of the city has descended into slumber, Roberto Clemente rises again. For Latin American baseball players, a road trip into Pittsburgh often means a midnight pilgrimage to the Roberto Clemente Museum, located, incongruously enough, in a restored nineteenth-century firehouse, a little off the beaten path but […]

  Jimmie Foxx had 11 RBI flyouts in 1932, but only one in 1935. Would these achievements have changed the record books if today’s sac fly rule were in place? (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)   The official rules currently governing sacrifice flies in Major League Baseball have not always been in use, and […]

In 1947, the Pittsburgh Pirates installed an inner fence in a portion of Forbes Field, reducing the distance down the left field line of the ballpark by 30 feet. The purpose of the fence was to assist the team’s newest acquisition, Hank Greenberg, in his ability to hit home runs. The area between the new […]

Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance — the defensive heart of the 1906–10 Chicago Cubs dynasty. (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)   Once upon a time, the Chicago Cubs dominated the world. They were the best team in baseball not just for the one incredible year of 1906, but for five years, winning […]

This article was originally published in SABR’s Baseball Research Journal, Vol. 29 (2000).   Imagine if a young major-league pitcher, like Andy Pettitte of the Yankees, decided, for whatever reason, to become an outfielder in the year 2001. And imagine if he hit over .300 for the next five years, culminating in 2005 by winning […]