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As people awoke on Wednesday, September 20, 1961, and settled down for their morning coffee, some saw a front-page headline much like the one in the New York Daily News: “Esther Due Thursday.”1 But the baseball fans on the West Coast had been dealing with their own “hurricane” since the start of the 1961 season. […]

In football they talk about “statement” games, when Team A thrashes Team B, thus sending a message to the opponent and the world that Team A is damn good and don’t you forget it. There are too many games in a baseball season to pinpoint one match as a “statement” game. But the Montreal Expos […]

It was cloudy, misty, and a cold 43 degrees in Pittsburgh on this April Sunday.1 The Cubs and Pirates were concluding their four-game series, with the Pirates having taken two of the previous three games. The Pirates were the defending NL East champions, with the Cubs one of the favorites to win the division in […]

What one newspaper called the “greatest batting exhibition of the year”1 took place at Cleveland’s League Park on August 15, 1889, in a National League game between the Cleveland Spiders and Boston Beaneaters. The crowd of 1,500 saw Cleveland bash 27 hits, for a total of 48 bases, blasting Boston, 19-8.2 Further, the Spiders – […]

Much of the off-field enjoyment of baseball is connected to the contemplation of its many and varied statistics. Literally everything that occurs on the baseball field during a game can be counted; the batters’ credits and the pitchers’ debits accumulate. The result is a mountain of statistical data for players and fans alike to ponder, […]

“That is the way this game is — you win, you lose, you celebrate and you suffer.”1 – Vin Scully Before divisional play came to the American and National Leagues in 1969, the pennant winners – the soon-to-be World Series opponents – were determined during the regular season. The turning of the calendar to the […]

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.  […]

Three teams had been battling all year for the 1977 American League East crown and as of Sunday afternoon, September 18, the Yankees held a 2½ game lead over the Orioles, who themselves were two games ahead of the third-place Red Sox with only 13 games remaining. While the Yankees were playing the Tigers in […]

The Brooklyn Dodgers were all smiles after they swept the Yankees at Ebbets Field, leaving them just one game away from their elusive World Series championship. Duke Snider, the hero of the fifth game after hitting two home runs, was asked if it was his biggest day as a player. Snider responded, “No, that’ll be […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

In his major-league career Clay Kirby won 75 games, yet he is best remembered for one of his losses. On July 21, 1970, Kirby, on the mound for the San Diego Padres, pitched eight innings of no-hit ball against the New York Mets before manager Preston Gomez removed him for a pinch-hitter. Kirby had given […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]