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Pressure was David Cone’s lifeblood. In 1996, with the Yankees, the right-hander threw seven no-hit innings on his return from a career-threatening aneurysm that had sidelined him most of the season. Only a strict pitch count prevented him from going all nine against a power-hitting Oakland club that Labor Day. “I’ll never wonder if this […]

A major-league record eight batters hit for the cycle in 1933.1 Four of those occurred in the month of August, and every one of the August contests involved the Philadelphia Athletics. In the span of four games, Athletics teammates Mickey Cochrane (August 2 against the New York Yankees) and Pinky Higgins (August 6 against the […]

Almost 90 games into the 1890 season, the National League had a tight pennant race on its hands. On August 5, the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Beaneaters were both within two games of the leader, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, and the Cincinnati Reds were in fourth place, six games back. At the other end of the […]

For all of his tremendous success in the batter’s box, Babe Ruth felt just as at home on the pitcher’s mound. “As soon as I got out there I felt a strange relationship with the pitcher’s mound,” Ruth said. “It was as if I’d been born out there. Pitching just felt like the most natural […]

Few major-league ballparks of the modern era seem less celebrated than Houston’s Colt Stadium, a single-decked, roofless park that saw use for only three seasons.1 Colt Stadium was always meant to be temporary,2 just a stopgap to last until the completion of the Astrodome – the “Eighth Wonder of the World” – a ballpark whose […]

The Philadelphia Phillies returned home on September 21, 1964, holding first place in the National League after winning six games on a three-city road trip. With 12 games to play, Philadelphia’s lead was 6½ games over the second-place Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. The city and team were looking forward to the World Series. […]

Frank Verdi accumulated 1,832 hits across 18 seasons playing minor-league baseball (1946-63) — but appeared in just one major-league contest. He played a single inning at shortstop for the Yankees in 1953 and never got to bat. Verdi is perhaps most remembered for his 24 years of managing in the minor leagues and independent ball, […]

As of 2016, three major-league pitchers had triple-digit lifetime ERAs.[1] One was Frank “Socko” Wurm, a 20-year-old veteran of World War II who allowed four runs to score in one-third of an inning with the Brooklyn Dodgers in September 1944. After his rocky debut, the lefty never got a chance to lower his 108.00 mark. […]

A three-year pitching mainstay for the University of Pennsylvania, right-hander Harry Imlay was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in June 1913.1 Three months and nine ineffectual relief appearances later, he was jettisoned by the Phils, sold to a minor league club. But rather than report, Imlay abandoned Organized Baseball, opting to pursue the calling that […]

Southpaw Pat Caraway garnered national attention in his rookie season with the Chicago White Sox in 1930 for his unorthodox pitching motion. “[He has] one of the most elaborate, complete and amusing windups ever seen in the majors,” mused sportswriter Hardin Burnley. “The lanky human slingshot twists himself into an intricate knot before suddenly hurling […]

The 1970 All-Star Game, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, was tied at 4-4 with two out in the bottom of the 12th inning. For the National League, Pete Rose was on second base and Billy Grabarkewitz on first. When Jim Hickman lined pitcher Clyde Wright’s offering to center field, hometown hero Rose broke from second […]

Glenn Edward Hoffman played nine seasons of major-league baseball (1980-1987, 1989). He spent the vast majority of his career with the Boston Red Sox (1980-1987) and much briefer stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1987) and California Angels (1989). He was a member of the Red Sox’ 1986 American League championship-winning team. The right-handed hitting […]

Rodney McCray is known as “Crash” for the time he made his mark and then some on an outfield wall in the minor leagues. But though his major-league time was brief and he totaled only three hits at the top level, McCray left a positive impression on the game and baseball did likewise to him. […]

Tommie Agee was one of the key components to the 1969 Miracle Mets, solidifying the defense and serving as the club’s chief power source, albeit from the leadoff spot. His on-field heroics during the ’69 season—including socking the only home run to ever reach Shea Stadium’s upper deck—helped propel the Mets to their first postseason […]

In the months leading up to his graduation from high school in 1968, Bill Greif, a 6’5″, 200-pound, multi-sport athlete, was in demand. He starred in track and field, started on the basketball team, led the football team to a state championship as the starting quarterback. As a pitcher he had been attracting baseball scouts […]

“When Mr. Reardon speaks you are under the impression that he has just spit out a hand grenade.” — Harry A. Williams, Los Angeles Times1   Beans Reardon learned a lot about umpiring at the age of 16 when he worked as a riveter’s assistant. “Riveting was good education for umpiring,” he recalled. “If I […]

It was only after a stint in the United States Air Force that right-hander Dave Hillman entered professional baseball. Named (indirectly or otherwise) after Darius the Great, king of Persia from 550-486 BC, Darius Dutton Hillman was born on September 14, 1927, in the small southwestern Virginia town of Dungannon. The population of Dungannon at […]

Through the 2021 season, 29 of the 30 major-league teams have started a shortstop from the Dominican Republic on Opening Day at least once.1 Fifty-two different Dominican-born shortstops have achieved the feat, including 15 who became All-Stars the same year, four Gold Glove winners, and one MVP.2 Only Rafael Robles of the 1969 San Diego […]

Jim Boyer was born and raised in Maryland. He died in Maryland and is buried there. And when he left the American League’s umpiring staff in 1950 after almost seven seasons, it was to take a job in the Old Line State. Unfortunately, Boyer never umpired a major-league game in Maryland, since the St. Louis […]

“Good field, no hit” is an assessment of an athlete with lopsided skills on the baseball diamond. In essence, his contributions are far greater on defense than offense. Many of these men were catchers. In fact, of the ten major-league players with the worst career batting averages (minimum 1,000 at-bats), six were backstops. Barney Gilligan […]

There are many quotes regarding the importance of living life. Just look it up on the internet; it’s a fact! One such quote is “It is not the years in your life but the life in your years that counts.” That quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln … and Adlai Stevenson … and Dr. Edward […]

In 1928, right-hander Ed Carroll’s six losses did more to win him a major-league berth than the six games he won that same year. He went on to an undefeated rookie year, pitching for a last-place team. Edgar Fleischer Carroll came from Baltimore, where he was born on July 27, 1907, the son of William […]

Lexington Park served as the home of the St. Paul Saints from 1897 through 1956, opening one year later and closing one year after its counterpart in Minneapolis, Nicollet Park. It was built by Edward B. Smith, who operated a St. Paul real estate company (and had been a part-owner of a National League team […]

“Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don’t move.” — Satchel Paige   Three decades before Don Larsen threw his perfect game in the ’56 World Series, a 22-year-old Negro League pitcher “down the Shore” beat his big-city counterpart to the postseason punch. Claude “Red” Grier joined […]