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Over four seasons with a Chicago Cubs club that finished no better than fourth and was once dead last, Tony Kaufmann was a reliable starter and occasional reliever. During that stretch, 1923-1926, the righthander had a 52-41 record with a 3.68 ERA. But it was a turbulent 1927 season that shaped the rest of his […]

On baseball’s biggest stage, Chicago Cubs right-hander Claude Passeau tossed the game of his life: a one-hit shutout against the Detroit Tigers in Game Three of the 1945 World Series. Though often overlooked in discussions about the best pitchers of his era, Passeau was a durable workhorse and five-time All-Star who averaged 15 wins and […]

In one of the Bill James books, contributor Jim Baker has some fun at the expense of an obscure late-19th-century pitcher named Carlton Molesworth. Combing his faintly humorous name with historically dubious statistical entries that list Molesworth as 5-feet-6 and 200 pounds, Baker presents a vignette that casts Molesworth as the portly butler of a […]

Back when being a character could keep you locked in the minor leagues and being a reliever was considered a career demotion, Tug McGraw excelled in both roles like few before or since. As a rookie starter for Casey Stengel, McGraw ended the Mets’ long losing streak against Sandy Koufax; converted to a reliever by […]

The adage “You can’t win for losing” fits the 1962 New York Mets. That team lost 120 games, the most in one season in major league history — many close and winnable. Yet the performance of one pitcher on that team, Ken MacKenzie, deserves recognition. The Canadian-born, Yale-educated, control-oriented, bespectacled lefty reliever emerged as the […]

Entering the last day of the 1939 season New York Yankees’ righty Steve Sundra owned an unblemished 11-0 record, but a September 30 home run from Boston Red Sox rookie Ted Williams spoiled that. From 1900-60 Sundra’s .917 winning percentage ranked fifth among pitchers with 10 or more decisions in a single season. Combined with […]

Of all those who proudly wore the uniform of the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League, Monte Irvin was one of the last surviving players. He went on to a Hall of Fame career as a pioneering African American player in the major leagues. Montford Merrill Irvin was born in Haleburg, Alabama, on February […]

Jack Harshman appeared in ten major league seasons in three decades, primarily as an American League starting pitcher. He started 155 games, recording 69 wins against 65 losses, logged a workmanlike, journeyman career, much of it with the Chicago White Sox, at a time when “men were men and contracts weren’t guaranteed,” and once threw […]

When Johnny Wittig was two years old, his father, Karl, renounced his allegiance to German emperor Wilhelm II. A native of Munich, he had come to the United States, arriving in Baltimore on December 21, 1912, with his wife, Francesca “Fannie” (Wimmer). Their first-born was John Carl Wittig, born in Baltimore on June 16, 1914. […]

Billy Barnie touched all aspects of baseball before his untimely death in 1900 at age 49. This includes player trades, player contracts, home and away uniforms, three strikes and out, modern schedule making, five-pointed home plates, all-star teams, coaching boxes, overhand pitching, ballpark construction, championship rings, and daily game promotion. Barnie held every conceivable baseball […]

It takes a special kind of talent for a pitcher to lose 20 games in a season. The pitcher has to pitch both poorly enough to lose, but well enough that he keeps getting chances to pitch. If losing 20 games takes talent, how much more talent does it take to lose 48 games in […]

Burgess Urquhart Whitehead was a solid contributor to the success of the Gas House Gang in 1934, appearing in 100 games while spelling Leo Durocher at shortstop, Pepper Martin at third base, and Frankie Frisch at second. In his first full year in the big leagues, Whitehead had 332 official at-bats and hit a solid […]

Three days before the start of the 1990 season, Omar Vizquel, the Seattle Mariners’ slick-fielding shortstop, sprained his left knee during a collision in a Cactus League exhibition. The injury sidelined him until July. That same day, April 6, the Mariners signed utility infielder Mike Brumley to fill the void. Before the signing, Brumley had […]

There may have been no one more surprised to find Chick Fullis playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in Game Seven of the 1934 World Series than Fullis himself. In his only start in the World Series (in Game Five), Fullis had misplayed two balls in center field that directly led to two runs in […]

In the spring of 1945, a crane operator for U. S. Steel went shopping. Frank “Red” Haller had worked in the steel mills in Joliet, Illinois, as did his father before him, but he wanted a better life for his sons. List in hand, he elected to purchase baseball equipment at Barrett’s Hardware Store, so […]

Tom Bruno pitched in parts of four major-league seasons from 1976 through 1979. A 6-foot-5 righty, Bruno mainly worked in relief, compiling a 7-7 record and a 4.22 ERA over 69 games. He signed with the Kansas City Royals in 1971 and attended that club’s pioneering Baseball Academy. After reaching the majors with the Royals […]

After the Red Sox purchased his contract in the middle of the season, Neal Ball played in only 18 regular-season games for Boston in 1912, collecting nine hits. To the baseball world, Ball is better remembered for a defensive play he made against Boston three years earlier while playing shortstop for the Cleveland Naps: the […]

“This guy is a natural. He’s got ideas about what he wants to do and does it. He amazes me.” — Carl Hubbell “No pitcher has made such magnificent use of his God-given equipment.” — Branch Rickey “If you placed all the pitchers in the history of the game behind a transparent curtain, where only […]

Although he helped the Cincinnati Reds win a National League pennant, Lee Grissom is remembered (if at all) for things unrelated to his exploits on the mound. Baseball fans remember him vaguely as the brother of Marv Grissom. Newspaper readers of a certain age may remember a photograph of two ballplayers in a rowboat. Comic […]

Bob Turley was a rich businessman who once won a Cy Young Award pitching for the Yankees. “Bullet Bob” was one of the hardest-throwing pitchers of the 1950s and one of the wildest of any generation. Turley’s business success far surpassed his baseball accomplishments. His top baseball salary was $35,000, but he earned millions in […]

Earl “Flat” Chase, ca. 1947-1954. (Archives and Special Collections, Leddy Library, University of Windsor)   Earl “Flat” Chase (1913 – 1954) was skilled as a batter, pitcher, catcher, and any field position he was asked to play. Chase was nicknamed Flat for his running style, and his skills on the field and charismatic athleticism earned […]

One lone ballplayer from the U.S. Virgin Islands played in the Negro Leagues: Alphonso “Piggy” Gerard, who did so in 1945-48. Thus, when the Negro Leagues were officially recognized as major leagues in December 2020, Gerard’s honor as a pioneer was amplified. The outfielder also played during 14 seasons in Puerto Rico, where a very […]

Perseverance and a love for the game guided sure-handed utility infielder John Donaldson through a 12-year career in Organized Baseball (1963-1974), including parts of six seasons with the Kansas City/Oakland A’s and the Seattle Pilots. The hard-nosed North Carolinian played in 405 big-league games and weathered trades, demotions, promotions, and outright releases, but looked back […]

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 […]