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ESPN Radio Chicago Sports Anchor and Talk Show Host Tom Shaer and Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk after Shaer MC’d the August 7, 2005 unveiling of the White Sox’ statue of Fisk at then-U.S. Cellular Field. (Courtesy of Tom Shaer) In 2005 I was a sports anchor and talk show host at ESPN Radio […]
The 1977 major-league baseball season witnessed two new teams — the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays — join the American League. George Foster hit 52 home runs for Cincinnati. The Twins’ Rod Carew flirted with hitting .400 and Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson’s bat returned the World Series championship to New York City. The 1977 […]
Have you ever wondered why Willie McCovey and ten other Padres were identified on their 1974 Topps cards as “Washington National League”? The history of the American League in Washington was not among the more glamorous chapters in baseball. In 71 seasons, two franchises called the Senators combined for only three American League pennants and […]
“Most of what I learned about style I learned from Roberto Clemente.” — John Sayles, filmmaker A ballplayer’s life is rarely if ever finely crafted finish-work carpentry; rather it is almost always rough framing, with all the gaps and gouges exposed to critics and admirers alike. Polishing and puttying and sanding the rough edges […]
The 1936 Black Panthers. Charlie Culver is the first on the left, sitting. (Jerry Cohen, Ebbets Field Flannels) The reception that Jackie Robinson received in Montréal is well known. A few years later, the Provincial League became a prime destination for Negro League veterans. Many factors can explain how that came to be, but […]
The glossy, color print advertisement for the 2002 All-Star Japan Series features an exterior shot of a terminal at Tokyo Narita airport. But instead of planes pulling up to the gates, giant baseball bats of various makes and models encircle the building, as if preparing to disgorge passengers. Below the image the ad copy reads […]
This article was published in SABR’s Baseball Research Journal, Vol. 34 (2005). As a baseball artifact, it’s pretty special as it is. It’s a scorecard from August 5, 1891 — a day when Buck Ewing drove in four runs off Cy Young and the New York Giants managed to hold off the Cleveland Spiders, […]
AT 4:09 A.M. on Easter morning, April 19, 1981, just 51 minutes before sunrise, a hardy group of 17 freezing souls huddled in the 28-degree pre-dawn chill of McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I. They had just seen their beloved PawSox close out the thirty-second inning of a 2-2 tie against the Rochester Red Wings. When […]
On November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president, ushering in an era of political comity and refreshed vision. Not to be outdone, the major-league owners were busily ushering in their own visionary plans, culminating in the historic Winter Meetings of 1960. On December 7, the final day of the meetings at the Park […]
Gardner Park, Dallas Texas (Dallas Morning News) The Armistice of November 11, 1918, ended the fighting in World War I, but for Black soldiers like O’Neal Pullen—a professional baseball player from Texas who served in the segregated 509th Engineer unit in France—the fight for freedom continued at home.1 Returning to a nation gripped by […]
The Saint John Royals, Maritime Black Champions 1920. (New Brunswick Museum) Although the origins of Black baseball in the Maritimes remain obscure, it is likely that the game was being played informally as early as the 1870s. Operating independently, but often in association with the African Baptist and Episcopal churches, black teams like the […]
Pre-game ceremonies for the 2019 Opening Day Series (Courtesy of Shane Barclay, JapanBall.com) The two-game 2019 “Opening Series” between the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners at the Tokyo Dome served as the eighth time – the fifth in Tokyo – that Major League Baseball opened the season abroad. To prepare for the season opener, […]
Michael Kelley played only briefly in one major league season. Despite this lack of major league success he was a highly respected minor league player and manager. However, he found himself in extremely hot water with Organized Baseball for three years, starting in 1905. From being a part of a sham sale of the St. […]
Major league baseball parks have changed considerably since 1884. The introduction of the lively ball in 1920 changed the status of parks in relation to home runs. In this article is a listing of the leading home run hitters in the major league parks through 1971.Fans have speculated about how many home runs Ted Williams […]
Baseball is one of the few sports not dictated by a time clock, but its beautiful symmetry is what makes it unique: the ultimate game of equal opportunity. Countless contests in history have extended into extra innings. In some cases, overtime matchups have turned into drawn-out affairs leaving only the most ardent fans waiting for […]
This foreword by MLB Official Historian John Thorn is included in SABR 50 at 50: The Society for American Baseball Research’s Fifty Most Essential Contributions to the Game (2020). Click here to order the book from University of Nebraska Press. Nerds, we members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) call ourselves proudly, flying […]
League Park as seen from the air. Note the large bleacher section in left field. (Strongsville Public Library / Public Domain) In 1914 and 1915, for the only time in baseball history, two baseball teams, one a major league team and the other a minor league team, played a full schedule of games in […]
If a player bangs out 26 doubles, 27 homers, scores 84 runs and drives in 117, it is considered a pretty good season. Well, these are the figures that Lou Gehrig achieved in 1930, IN 78 ROAD GAMES! Probably the single most startling fact unearthed by a comprehensive study of player and team performance at […]
Cupid Childs was one of the best-hitting major-league second basemen during the late nineteenth century, not to mention a better than average fielder who possessed great range on the diamond. Only four other second basemen in the history of major-league baseball have averaged more total chances per game than Childs. His all-around outstanding play made […]
Tony Pena sat alone on the top of the dugout steps, his legs sprawled in front of him. He tucked the gold chains around his neck under his jersey and fastened the clasps on his shinguards. After staring at the dirt for a moment, Pena snapped to his feet. Peering into the dugout, he smiled […]
Curt Flood, Gene Conley, and Danny Ainge had nothing on Baltimore native Peck Lerian, who challenged the reserve clause and earned fame on both the basketball court and the baseball diamond. Showing great promise as the leading member of the Philadelphia Phillies’ young receiving corps at the close of the 1920s, he also stood out […]
The 1872 National Association season had been disappointing, plagued by uneven competition, disbanded teams, and rumblings about dishonest play. Five of the 12 teams that began the year dropped out due to financial troubles, which perhaps was for the best, since they could not play competitively with the top clubs. In June, a game between […]