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It is a universally acknowledged truth in baseball that pitching at Coors Field is challenging.1 The thin air allows baseballs to fly farther once hit, and the reduced movement on off-speed pitches makes the pitchers’ arsenal less effective.2 Yet some pitchers succeed there—Germán Márquez being one. Not only was he a top contributor to the […]

“We were a rock star baseball team,” said right-hander Orel Hershiser about the 1995 Cleveland Indians. “You’d drive around and see Wahoo signs in almost every front yard. You’d walk into restaurants, and there were pictures of the players on the walls. I’d never quite seen anything like it. I get the chills just to […]

As Roberto Clemente’s career was entering its twilight period, a Puerto Rican prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates system was drawing rave reviews from the future Hall of Famer. Though the prospect was traded to the Oakland Athletics in a controversial swap in 1970, he never forgot the lessons Clemente taught him in Pittsburgh, and on […]

The Mayor’s Trophy games began in 1946 as a way for the three New York teams to meet on the playing field. It was an in-season exhibition game originally for the Yankees and Giants, with the Brooklyn Dodgers being added to the mix as well. The series ended in 1955 and was played one more […]

Stanley Robison, owner of the Cleveland Spiders, pushed the issue of Sunday baseball in 1897. When Robison lost in court, he sabotaged the team. (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)   All Frank Robison and Stanley Robison wanted was for their Cleveland Spiders to make as much money as possible. That meant scheduling home games […]

The Stolen Base King was in the twilight of his magnificent career. Lou Brock had shattered the all-time stolen base record on August 29, 1977, when he stole two bases to surpass Ty Cobb with his 892nd and 893rd stolen bases. Now, he had accumulated 929 in his great career. But as the saying goes, […]

Plummeting through a disastrous homestand in 1950, the onset of an eight-season purgatory in the lowest rungs of the National League standings, the Pittsburgh Pirates called up Vern Law from their Double-A affiliate in New Orleans. In Law’s first big-league start, on June 11 at Forbes Field, the 20-year-old right-hander outlasted Philadelphia Phillies ace Robin […]

“I have never seen a recruit pitcher with a more deceptive hook,” gushed syndicated sportswriter (and AL umpire) Billy Evans about rookie right-hander Sam Gray of the Philadelphia A’s in 1924.1 Gray rode his impressive curveball to a 10-year career, the final six with the St. Louis Browns. Three years after winning 20 games for […]

Washington’s Nationals opened their 1875 National Association season at their DC grounds. Defeated 8-2 by the defending three-time champ Boston Red Stockings, the teams then moved 90 miles to Richmond, Virginia, for the next two games, those being the first Association games ever played in “The South.” Danbury, Connecticut, manufacturer/promoter Alfred P. Sturges had contracted […]

Lefty Glover was one of the players who followed the Elite Giants when they relocated from Washington to Baltimore in 1938. Though he pitched for the Elites for over seven seasons, until recently Glover’s background and even his real name were clouded in mystery. However, the discovery of his death certificate in 2020 uncovered his […]

More than a few contemporary baseball insiders viewed John Clarkson as the finest pitcher of the 19th century. He won 30 or more games in a season six times, including two of the top four all-time totals, 53 in 1885 and 49 in ’89. In the 10-year period between August 1884 and July 1894, he […]

James Bradley “Brad” Mills was born on January 19, 1957, in Exeter, California, in the state’s Central Valley. As a young boy, he and his three brothers took frequent trips with their father, a cattle rancher and orange farmer, to San Francisco or Oakland to see the Giants or Athletics. The car rides were often filled […]

In 1955 the Kansas City Athletics coaching staff “observed [rookie right-hander Art] Ditmar during spring training and prophesied that he was destined for distinction on the mound.”1 This bright assessment was echoed three years later by New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel, who said, “I believe … Ditmar could grow into one of the big […]

Davey Williams did not much like being the answer to a trivia question, but he was. The question is: Who caught the relay when Willie Mays made his famous over-the-shoulder catch against Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series? Williams was the Giants’ second baseman and did in fact take the relay throw to hold […]

He took a long time to find his place in the major leagues. After four brief callups, a successful emergency start in 1963 gave Gary Peters a job with the White Sox on his fifth and final trial. He still managed to put up a few big seasons and 124 wins, coming agonizingly close to […]

Bob Peterson moved from one stage to another, with a life working in theatrical staging and one on the stage of baseball. His father likely led the way in the theater. In Philadelphia, George W. Peterson worked in theater in 1900 and was listed as a stage manager in 1910. By the time of the […]

Right-handed pitcher Chuck Hartenstein was a good, solid minor-league pitcher who enjoyed significant success in the National League, but struggled in the American League. He later moved on to work as Toronto’s minor-league pitching instructor and the major-league pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers. Basically, Hartenstein reached the major-league level in three […]

Ferocious shortstop Bill Dahlen was ejected 65 times by umpires as a player and manager. This and other behavior earned him the nickname “Bad Bill.” Yet his rowdy character tended to overshadow his contributions—a reliable hitter; excellent, aggressive baserunner; and one of the finest fielders of his era (the 1890s and early 1900s). During his […]

The accolades surrounding Philip Daniel Bradley place him among stars of Blackball’s Deadball Era. “For second catcher, Phil Bradley of the (Brooklyn) Royals is easy (sic) the second-best catcher in colored baseball. He is a better hitter than Bruce Petway, and has a head along with a true snap throwing arm,” according to reporter Harry […]

By the end of 1987 Jim Campbell had set the major league record for most years as a general manager or president of one club (26), the Detroit Tigers. He continued to add to that record as president and CEO until his abrupt dismissal in August 1992. In all, Jim worked for the Tigers for […]

On September 12, 1972, Bill Gogolewski, a 24-year-old right-hander who had struggled thus far in his second full season in the big leagues, was pitching the game of his life against fireballer Nolan Ryan and the California Angels. While the Ryan Express was racking up 15 strikeouts, Gogolewski held the Halos hitless through 7⅔ innings. […]

Suggesting that a player was not good enough to make the 1927 New York Yankees is hardly an insult. The original Murderers Row is widely considered the greatest club ever to take the field. Spud Davis’ first opportunity to break into the major leagues was with the ‘27 Yankees , and while he did not […]

On April 16, 1915, an overflow crowd jammed newly constructed Harrison Park to witness a historic event: the home opener of the Newark Peppers of the Federal League, the first major-league club based in New Jersey in more than 40 years. And, sadly to Garden Staters, the last. When the renegade circuit disbanded the following […]

Dick Williams was regarded as one of baseball’s premier managers and turnaround artists. He was only the second skipper to win pennants for three different teams — Boston, Oakland, and San Diego.1 As a rookie manager in 1967, Williams led the Red Sox from ninth place the year before to the World Series. Both personally […]