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Sam Mertes possessed a rare combination of speed and power. From 1899 to 1905, he was routinely among the league leaders in stolen bases, triples, and home runs. He was an outstanding defensive outfielder. Gritty and energetic, Mertes harassed opponents and umpires in his foghorn voice. He had the physique of a heavyweight boxer and […]

New York fans had to be pleased at the scene that was unfolding before their eyes on May 12, 1959. Their Bronx heroes trailed the league-leading Indians 7-6 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. Cleveland starter Cal McLish, who was attempting to raise his record to 5-0, was lifted by manager Joe Gordon […]

Babe Ruth, John Montgomery Ward, George Sisler, Smoky Joe Wood, Lefty O’Doul, Bobby Darwin. Bobby Darwin? At first glance he seems to be out of place among this list of major-league luminaries. However, closer examination reveals that he indeed does belong. Why? Because he is one of a handful of major-league pitchers who successfully transitioned […]

After the Seattle Mariners joined the American League as an expansion team in 1977, the team and its fans endured 14 consecutive losing seasons. However, one player from this era emerged having made such an impact that he earned the nickname “Mr. Mariner.” Alvin Davis was the franchise’s first homegrown star and won the Rookie […]

From 1960 to 1971, outfielder Tony González enjoyed a fine major-league career, He was never an All-Star – no insult, considering that Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Roberto Clemente were his peers – but he might have accomplished even more had he not suffered from back and eye problems. (The latter could have stemmed from […]

Donald Wayne Hankins, a tall, lanky right-hander who suffered a broken elbow as a teenager, enjoyed an 11-year professional baseball career — including ten seasons in the minors — during the 1920s. Hankins finished with a lifetime minor league record of 75-87. But during the four seasons he hurled in the Double-A (the highest classification […]

Hal Chase, whose big league career lasted from 1905 to 1919, was the most notoriously corrupt player in baseball history. He was also, according to many of those who saw him play, the greatest defensive first baseman ever. A cocky, easygoing Californian, Chase was the first homegrown star of the New York Highlanders (later the […]

It was a dream come true for 23-year-old Stan Jefferson when he led off against San Diego lefty Dave LaPoint in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium on Sunday, September 7, 1986. He grew up in the Bronx, had been the Mets’ first-round choice in the 1983 amateur draft, and had just […]

The St. Louis Cardinals’ fan base extends over a lengthy section of middle America, partly due to the previous lack of teams out west and partly due to the powerful signal of their radio flagship station, KMOX 1120. On a clear night, when conditions are right, the voice of Cardinals announcers (historically Jack Buck and […]

When Dave Hoskins of the visiting Dallas Eagles warmed up before his start against the Shreveport Sports on the evening of June 9, 1952, he had reason to be apprehensive. Earlier that day, Hoskins, the Texas League’s first Black player, had received three letters threatening his life. At the time Louisiana was not particularly hospitable […]

Three days before World War II ended, Philadelphia Phillies scout Fred Mathews convinced the mother of Stephen George Ridzik that she should let her 16-year-old son become a professional baseball player.1 Julia Ridzik agreed to sign the contract, provided that Steve finish his last two years of high school. Thus began a 22-year pitching career […]

The story of J.W. Porter is one of paradox. A talent of renown, he was praised by scouts as perhaps the greatest prospect they had ever seen. Before he was 18 years old, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown hung a plaque bearing his name. He received a record signing bonus; but his rise […]

In nine years of professional baseball, Michael Bryant Maksudian played only parts of three seasons in the majors, but he managed to leave an impression with his teammates thanks to his offbeat personality – and a penchant for eating bugs that had an impact on the Toronto Blue Jays World Series campaign of 1992. Maksudian […]

A big man with a famous scowl and a name that felt ripped from a James Bond film, Mo Vaughn was a hulking 6-foot-1, 225-pound lefty hitter whose frame dangled over home plate. Baseballs seemed to disintegrate on impact when he exploded out of his crouched stance, extending one arm to the sky on his […]

“Baseball is in the heart of all Latin people. They feel in baseball. They think in baseball.” — Pancho Coimbre Baseball in Puerto Rico has a long and storied history; many fans of the game on the island are willing to regale one another at the drop of a hat about the careers and exploits […]

It’s not every part-time player with a brief major-league career who takes part in a historic baseball event. However, when Emil “Hap” Huhn of the Cincinnati Reds crouched behind the plate in the bottom of the first inning at Chicago’s Weeghman Park preparing for Fred Toney’s first delivery, that is exactly what was about to […]

For more than a decade, Danny Murphy was one of the best and most powerful hitters in the American League, a fine fielder with a strong arm, a savvy base runner, and a pioneer in the art of sign stealing. The consummate team player for Connie Mack‘s Philadelphia Athletics, he replaced one Hall of Fame […]

George Shuba of the Montreal Royals greets teammate Jackie Robinson at home plate on April 18, 1946. (Courtesy of Greg Gulas, Carrie Anderson, Mike Shuba)   Tears welled in Jackie Robinson’s eyes as he was hoisted onto the shoulders of adoring fans, their chants reverberating off the walls of Delorimier Stadium. It was a moment […]

Citi Field has been home of the New York Mets since 2009. (COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK METS)   As part of the expansion of the National League in 1962 a franchise was given to New York City. From 1962 to the current day, the Metropolitans’ ownership has been fairly stable. Joan Payson and her […]

After the Cincinnati Reds stunned the “baseball dope” in Game One of the 1919 World Series by knocking out Chicago ace Eddie Cicotte, rumors were flying about the White Sox’ uncharacteristically poor performance. The whispers would only grow louder after Game Two. Because baseball’s powers-that-be had voted on using an experimental best-of-nine format instead of […]

On a warm Saturday afternoon in May, with the nation’s list of war dead growing as the country battled in two theaters of war, the baseball fans of St Louis were given a rare treat. Big-league black baseball came to town and put on a show at Sportsman’s Park. The New York Black Yankees defeated […]

When the 1959 season opened, the Milwaukee Braves were favored to win their third consecutive National League pennant. Picked for first by 147 (65 percent) of the 226 writers polled by The Sporting News, they were listed no lower than third place on the remaining ballots. A similar consensus had the Los Angeles Dodgers pegged […]

This article appears in SABR’s “Go-Go to Glory: The 1959 Chicago White Sox” (2019), edited by Don Zminda.   The Go-Go Sox were born on Opening Day at Comiskey Park in 1951, children of a fast-talking general manager and a slow-talking manager. After the Black Sox were banned, the White Sox recorded only seven winning […]

The Minneapolis Millers had a number of locales to hang their hats during their nearly 80 years of professional baseball, but the ballpark most closely associated with the team was the one described by former Minneapolis Tribune writer Dave Mona as “soggy, foul, rotten and thoroughly wonderful Nicollet Park.” In 1896, Nicollet Park replaced a […]