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One of Danny Darwin’s fondest memories of his post-playing coaching career was when minor-leaguers Googled his name. “One time,” Darwin recalled, “a kid goes, ‘you lost 180 games.’” Darwin replied, “You know how long it took me to lose 180?” Another player said, “You gave up 3,000 hits.”1 Darwin snapped back, “Don’t you wanna give […]

In his time, Enzo Hernández was a special player for fans of Venezuelan baseball. Both Hernández and David Concepción were thought of as successors to Alfonso “Chico” Carrasquel and Luis Aparicio, and Venezuela began to be seen as the cradle of the shortstop. Enzo Octavio Hernández Martínez was born on February 12, 1949, in the […]

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 […]

How many teams sign a pitcher who was 22-2 in high school with the plan of making him a third baseman? And then write him a signing bonus of $35,000 – and accept him writing in the figure “1” on the check to convert it into $135,000? The Kansas City Athletics did both, all without […]

Immersed in a pennant race that would go down to the wire, the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers took the field at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on September 28, 1966, in hopes of putting distance between themselves and their two closest competitors. The St. Louis Cardinals had no intention of making this endeavor any easier […]

This outfielder was the first member of the Lumbee people of Robeson County, North Carolina, to play in the majors. Throughout his playing days, Gene Locklear’s skill as an artist also got attention. “They are both individual things, and you have to have talent. You can’t just have desire,” Locklear said in 2005.1 One of […]

To his contemporaries, he was a hard-nosed player, a throwback to earlier days, when players like Ty Cobb played the game as if their lives depended on it. Opponents labeled him “hard-headed” and “red-nosed.” Latinos had their own title for him: El Divino Loco or the Divine Madman. But it was Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Bob […]

Bill Shettsline was the most identifiable face of the Philadelphia Phillies during their first half-century. After joining the team in 1884 as a ticket salesman, he soon became team secretary, before being suddenly thrust into a managerial role in 1898. Reckoning with cheap ownership, unruly players, and a baseball war, Shettsline nonetheless achieved a .548 […]

History has not been kind to Don McMahon. Now largely forgotten, McMahon had a very long –often excellent – career, pitched in the postseason four times, helped win two world championships, and was clearly one of baseball’s best relief pitchers in a number of seasons. Playing in the days before the closer became such a […]

“He’s the best I have.”1 So said Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst when asked about Reggie Cleveland being traded to the Red Sox in December 1973. High praise, especially considering the Cardinals staff still included Bob Gibson. Boston GM Dick O’Connell called Cleveland “one of the best pitchers around.”2 In the winter of 1973, it was […]

“When I’m hitting the ball,” said Héctor Villanueva, with a big smile, “people say I’m strong. When I’m not hitting, they say I’m fat.” The 6-foot-1, 240-pound catcher issued that quote on April 30, 1991, after breaking the game open for the Chicago Cubs with a three-run homer.i The very next afternoon at Wrigley Field, […]

The novelty had long since worn off. On Friday, May 17, 1963, a mere 8,223 fans came through the turnstiles at Colt Stadium, less than half the number that were in attendance exactly one year earlier when the sheer newness of the expansion Colt .45s was enough to attract larger crowds. Yet when Don Nottebart […]

In the annals of baseball history, there have been several late-season collapses that have become legendary. Among them are the 1951 Dodgers, 1964 Phillies, 1969 Cubs, 1995 Angels, and 2007 Mets.1 However, this list would not be complete without the inclusion of the 1978 Boston Red Sox, who led the American League East by as […]

The 24,220 fans attending the second game of the day-night doubleheader might have expected a pitching duel: Both starting pitchers were former Cy Young Award winners.1 However, most fans would have understood if Max Scherzer had skipped this start or gone on the injured list. He had broken his nose just the day before during […]

An aging veteran, who had battled weight problems all season and was placed on waivers a few weeks before was an unlikely choice to hurl the Tigers’ first no-hitter. But that is what George Mullin did on his birthday, no less, as he redeemed himself and mowed down theSt. Louis Browns to make Detroit baseball […]

Early in the spring of 1953, someone asked Bob Trice about his chances of winning the International League’s Rookie of the Year Award. Some might have considered it a long shot for a pitcher who had just advanced four minor-league levels in a single jump. Trice, however, embraced the idea. “I’d like that,” he said. […]

September 30, 1962, was a warm, sunny day in Chicago as the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs took the field for the last game of the season. Both teams resided in the National League basement. The Cubs would finish with a record of 59-103. The Mets would end up even worse, 40-120. The Mets’ […]

What is the best day of the year? If you were to ask this question of a Brewers fan, more often than not you would get an answer of “Opening Day!” along with a facial expression that speaks, “Was that rhetorical?” For many fans, Opening Day is a holiday; a guaranteed vacation day each year, […]

On their way to an abysmal 23-112-2 (.169) last-place finish in the 1890 National League pennant chase, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys auditioned no fewer than 20 different starting pitchers. On June 19 player-manager Guy Hecker handed the ball to new arrival Billy Gumbert, a 24-year-old righty just recruited from the local amateur league ranks. The prospect […]

Wrigley Field at night, as pictured in 2014.   After rain washed out the Chicago Cubs’ initial attempt at an inaugural game under the lights on August 8, 1988, there was an anticlimactic sense to their first official night game at home the following day. True, the game itself was historic. When umpires halted the […]

On May 21, 1990, the Cincinnati Reds visited Wrigley Field to start a two-game set against the Chicago Cubs. Jose Rijo outdueled Greg Maddux that night, the Reds winning 4-3. Andre Dawson laced a double in the home half of the second inning but was later thrown out at home to start a double play. […]

By 1959, after the Dodgers had been spirited off to Los Angeles, as far removed from Brooklyn as the expanse of the continental United States would allow, some of Roger Kahn’s 1955 World Series-winning “Boys of Summer” were still in Dodger blue.1 Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, and Jim Gilliam were everyday position players, and Don […]

On June 6, 1962, the Mets’ woes continued when they were swept by the Phillies in a doubleheader. The loss in the first game was painful; it was the first time they been shut out in 1962, their debut season. In the second game, Al Jackson pitched seven shutout innings before Tony Taylor homered to […]