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It was still relatively early in the season and only 6½ games separated the American League-leading New York Yankees from the sixth-place Cleveland Indians. The 16-10 Tigers and 14-13 Red Sox were in third and fifth place. Managers Red Rolfe of the visitors and Steve O’Neill of the home team announced their starters for the […]

The Springfield Cardinals and Amarillo Sod Poodles were trying to stay in their respective division races in the Double-A Texas League in August 2022. Springfield, a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate, had struggled in the first half of the season, finishing 31-38, in last place in the Northern Division. Amarillo, a part of the Arizona Diamondbacks […]

The mighty New York Mets held a 19-game lead over their closest National League East competition, the Philadelphia Phillies, at the start of September 1986. But the Mets, trying to stay in top shape for the playoffs, didn’t slack off the rest of the way. From September 1 to the end of the season, they […]

By August 2001, the Seattle Mariners were not just on a roll, they were on pace to challenge the major-league record for the most wins in a season. This day, they were playing on the road against the first-place New York Yankees (73-50) in front of a hostile crowd at Yankee Stadium. After losing the […]

In reviewing the previous day’s game at Ebbets Field against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Bob Broeg had much to say of the St. Louis Cardinals’ skipper in the July 19, 1957, edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Red-necked Fred Hutchinson lost the National League lead and his temper. Whether he’ll regain either soon is a question […]

Cecil Fielder may have appeared to come from nowhere in 1990, but it had been a long road to major-league success. Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in June 1982,1 Fielder was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays before the 1983 season.2 At age 21, Fielder made his major-league debut on July 20, 1985, and […]

Having beaten the New York Yankees in the 1957 World Series, holding a 3-games-to-2 edge in 1958, returning home, and lining up Warren Spahn (albeit on short rest) for Game Six and Lew Burdette (if necessary) to start Game Seven, the Milwaukee Braves seemed in prime position to take the 1958 title. New York had […]

When the Kansas City Packers began a 26-game road trip in the first week of August 1915, they sat atop the Federal League standings with a record of 57-40, 2½ games ahead of second-place Chicago. Within a week, however, it was the Packers looking up from the lower berth at the Chifeds, as they first […]

In late December 1959, it was widely published that Washington Senators owner Calvin Griffith “had looked one million dollars in the eye and expressed no interest.” It was an offer not for his Washington franchise but for just two of his ballplayers, first baseman Harmon Killebrew and pitcher Camilo Pascual. One of those published reports […]

It came on a full count. A fastball a little bit up in the zone, right in his wheelhouse. From the instant it left the bat there was no doubt that it was bound for the right-field stands. The only question was whether it would end up in the bleachers or in the upper deck. […]

Arguably the best second baseman in Los Angeles Dodgers history, Davey Lopes’s playing career was loaded with noteworthy achievements. Appearing in four straight All-Star Games, he once collected the most votes of all players. He won a Gold Glove, two stolen base titles, set a team record for homers by a second baseman, and an […]

One of the most popular players ever to play for the Boston Red Sox, Rico Petrocelli will always be remembered for his familiar “Fenway Stroke” that sent many an opposing hurler’s offerings into the net atop the left field wall. Although he was not physically imposing at 6-feet and 175 pounds, he hit 210 home […]

A promising young left-hander, Carney Flynn flunked three National League pitching auditions during the mid-1890s. Despite the brevity of his tenure, Flynn still managed to establish two enduring major league standards for pitching ineptitude: most baserunners allowed per nine innings (24.65), and highest ERA for anyone who pitched more than 30 innings (11.27).1 But on […]

When Rafael Palmeiro retired, he joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Eddie Murray as the only players to accumulate more than 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. A Hall of Fame-caliber career it was.1 But, with all Palmeiro accomplished, he is best known for wagging his finger at Congress as he denied ever having used […]

Despite 100-plus big-league victories, a half-dozen straight workhorse campaigns of 200-plus innings tossed, and a crucial role in a historic mid-’60s American League pennant drive, Pedro Ramos’s small degree of diamond immortality will likely always rest upon two individual pitches tossed in the midst of an erratic 15-season sojourn. Both fateful deliveries came while he […]

Signed as a shortstop by the New York Giants in 1949, Foster Castleman appeared in 170 games with them in four seasons (1954-57). Finally in 1958 the Baltimore Orioles platooned the right-handed-hitting Castleman with switch-hitter Willy Miranda at shortstop. Castleman had begun his pro career as a heralded fielder, but three knee surgeries had taken […]

Left-hander Ron Perranoski’s sinking fastball, sharp-breaking curve and ability to thrive in critical situations made him one of baseball’s top relievers. Over 13 seasons (1961-1973) with four teams, mostly the Dodgers and Twins as well as the Tigers and Angels, he pitched in five postseasons and three World Series — earning championship rings with Los […]

Brian Daubach was a first baseman-DH who was trapped in the minor leagues from 1990 to 1998. In 1999 he played for the Boston Red Sox and became a 27-year-old rookie sensation, earning the nickname “The Bellville Basher.” From 1999 to 2002, Daubach hit 20 or more home runs for Boston in his first four […]

“The best defensive centerfielder I have seen here in a long time. I think one of the highest compliments you can pay him is that he’s as good as Garry Maddox.” — Richie Ashburn1   On the evening of July 20, 1969, families across the globe gathered in front of their television sets to watch […]

Perfect execution usually equals success in baseball. For Jim Burton, one slider that dipped low and away sent him into the pantheon of World Series goats. Jim Scott Burton was born to Hubert and Alyce Burton on October 27, 1949, in Royal Oak, Michigan, a suburb 15 miles north of Detroit. Hubert Burton was a […]

The Clown Prince of BaseballDid 5,000 gigsFor 50 years he shared the billWith circus dogs and talking pigsAnd by the 9th inningHe’d be back at the motelWith an early morning wake-up callAnd the next night he’d be someplace else.1   Max Patkin never made it to the big leagues as a player. But that did […]

“Yeah, we followed his lead, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that his kind of poise, his mentality, his way of going about his business, well, that’s what won him over 300 games.” — Chipper Jones1   The Atlanta Braves were on the cusp of nirvana. The World Series trophy was […]

For some ballplayers, World War II presented opportunities that probably would not have existed if a large number of players had not been lost to the war effort. For those who had already established themselves as professionals, the war called for a sacrifice beyond those made by others who served: Even those who were fortunate […]

Lookin Up It lasted so long it went so fast it seems like yesterday it seems like never — “A Career,” from Days Like This, by Dan Quisenberry1   Sigh. There never was, and maybe there never will be, a major-league pitcher quite like Dan Quisenberry. He literally and figuratively came out of nowhere. Because […]