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Twelve seasons in the major leagues. That’s quite a run at that level of baseball. Let’s face it, how many people get to live their dream of being a major-league baseball player? Looking back throughout the history of major-league baseball, Fred Kendall will be looked at as an average catcher who had a less than […]

Garry Hancock was a strong-armed, good-hitting outfielder who did not earn a regular place in the star-studded Red Sox outfield of Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, and Dwight Evans. Instead, Hancock filled in for the outfield trio during the heartbreaking roller coaster ride that was Boston’s 1978 campaign. Ronald Garry Hancock was born on January 23, […]

The Boston Red Sox acquired second baseman Denny Doyle from the California Angels in mid-June 1975 to solidify the team’s infield defense. But Denny Doyle did a lot more for the 1975 Red Sox than just shore up their defense. Doyle batted a career-high .298 in 1975, batting .310 in 89 games with the Red […]

“I loved Fenway. I loved playing there,” said southpaw Bruce Hurst, who hurled for the Boston Red Sox from 1980 to 1988 before signing as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.1 Best known for his command performance in the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets, which included two impressive victories and […]

Right-hander Joel Finch had an excellent minor-league career, building toward a major-league debut the year after the Red Sox were eliminated by the New York Yankees in the 1978 single-game playoff that closed Boston’s season that year. During the 15 games in which he worked in the majors — all for the Red Sox and […]

The name Don Bessent sparks the memories of Brooklyn Dodgers fans of a certain age for helping his slumping team revive during the 1955 pennant race. But, for most fans, he’s a candle that burned brightly, but quickly. Fred Donald Bessent was born on March 13, 1931, in Jacksonville, Florida, the eighth and last child […]

Joel Hanrahan excelled as a closer with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a playing career ended by two Tommy John surgeries. In 2011 and 2012, he compiled the best two-year saves total in Pirates history with 76. From the spring of 2011 to the 2012 All-Star Game, he allowed just 23 earned runs in 102 2/3 […]

Saves became an official major-league statistic in 1969. By the mid-1970s, closers had become firmly entrenched on big-league rosters. Pitchers such as Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Sparky Lyle, and Rich “Goose” Gossage were helping to define the role, often pitching multiple innings at the end of games. In 1976, the antacid maker Rolaids, whose motto […]

Right-handed pitcher Steve Arlin always knew there was more than baseball. After leading the Ohio State University to two consecutive berths in the College World Series and a national title in 1966, he brokered an unusual professional baseball contract that permitted him to pursue a degree in dentistry in the spring and early summer. Dr. […]

Every great city has its own great bar. Elizabethan London had the Mermaid Tavern. Paris has its Deux Magots. In New York City in the 1950s, there was no shortage of options, but for sports fans there was only one choice: Toots Shor’s. Initially located at 51 East 51st Street, across the street from Radio […]

He was one of baseball’s freer spirits, whose flakiness could drive management crazy. But Bernie Carbo’s biggest legacy is hitting one of the all-time clutch home runs in World Series history, setting the stage for Carlton Fisk’s more memorable blast that ended Game Six of the 1975 World Series. Bernardo Carbo was born on August […]

Every team has comebacks. Miraculous rallies from seemingly insurmountable deficits litter the historical landscape in every major sport. Whether a club ultimately needs that special comeback on their way to a championship, or merely uses it as a springboard for success later in the season, it’s often remembered in team lore as a landmark victory.  […]

The Padres are well-known for not (as of 2018) having a pitcher throw a no-hitter. They have, however, been no-hit 10 times: by Dock Ellis in 1970, Milt Pappas in 1972, Phil Niekro in 1973, twice in 2001 (A.J. Burnett and Bud Smith), Jonathan Sanchez in 2009, and Tim Lincecum in consecutive years, 2013-14, plus […]

Part of the beauty of baseball is just how unpredictable the national pastime really is. No matter what the standings show, or what the prospects for a particular team are, on any given day at the ballpark, there is a chance that you might see something you’ve never seen before. That was certainly the case […]

The 1891 Cincinnati Reds looked to improve on their 77-55 record and fourth-place National League finish of 1890, but an early-season slump seemed to sap the life out of the team. By June 27 the Reds were last in the eight-team NL, 12 games behind the front-running New York Giants and Chicago Colts. It was […]

After the San Francisco Giants lost the first two games of the 1989 World Series to their Bay Area rivals Oakland Athletics, baseball fans tuned in to see if they could turn things around in front of their home crowd starting with Game Three on October 17. As television viewers watched, the broadcast unexpectedly faded […]

In the top of the eighth inning of a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City1 on April 22, 1957, with his team behind by two runs and runners at second and third with one out, Phillies manager Mayo Smith sent out John Irvin Kennedy to run for […]

After languishing with the Pittsburgh Pirates from his major-league debut in September 1984 through the 1987 season, Mike Bielecki was traded to the Chicago Cubs in March 1988.1 In 19 games that season, including five starts, he was 2-2 with a 3.35 ERA. In 1989 the 6-foot-3 right-hander appeared in a career-high 33 games, all […]

On August 27, 1957, in a game of little interest and with no bearing on the pennant race, the Chicago Cubs visited Ebbets Field and beat the home standing Brooklyn Dodgers in a night game, 9-4. The game was not as close as the final score would seem to indicate. By the top of the […]

“Only twice in my life has my spine actually tingled. Once was when I saw the Sistine Chapel. The other was when I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball.” — Al Campanis scouting Koufax1   You’re a 19-year-old pitcher, injured and sitting on the bench for more than two months before your major-league debut, a […]

San Francisco Giants first baseman Will Clark had compiled his best season to date when the Giants won the 1989 National League West Division. In only his fourth major-league season, Clark and teammate Kevin Mitchell formed a formidable offensive threat that was being compared to some of the best Giants slugging duos of all time.1 […]

Nearly a quarter of a century had passed since the New York Yankees had appeared in three straight World Series, a feat last accomplished by the 1976-1978 teams. The veteran 2000 squad (which nearly blew a big American League East lead in the last week of the regular season) matched this record thanks to a […]

With the designated hitter in place in both leagues starting in the 2022 season, no pitcher will be able to match what Mel Stottlemyre did in 1964. As the New York Yankees won their 11th game in a row and closed in on a fifth straight pennant, their rookie sensation had five hits in five […]

Willie Mays batted .309 lifetime against the Dodgers and hit 98 home runs. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)   What was wrong with Willie Mays? Sure, the Say Hey Kid was batting .372 through May 7, but he had just one home run in his first 22 games as a San Francisco Giant. According to […]