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While the honor of having the sweetest swing in baseball may seem like it’s a subjective one, few would disagree that Ken Griffey Jr. possessed the sweetest swing there ever was. He was a natural, and his inborn abilities coupled with his youthful enthusiasm ignited an entire city’s passion for baseball. Behind the center-field wall […]

Across the decades, various New York Yankee, New York Giant, and Brooklyn Dodger baseball names have acted on-screen. Babe Ruth, for one, appeared in silent-era features; played himself in The Pride of the Yankees (1942), the Lou Gehrig biopic; and starred in various short subjects. Gehrig was toplined in Rawhide (1938), a B-Western. Jackie Robinson […]

It was remarkably kind for his hometown newspaper to place a headline on Patrick Francis Creeden’s obituary calling him a “baseball legend.” [1] The historical record shows a total of one week in organized baseball – and not one hit. Never one day in the minor leagues. Five games with the Boston Red Sox in […]

“Yes sir, it’s great to be a Yankee,” Fred Sanford said.1 Making it even greater, he was traded from the nearly bankrupt St. Louis Browns to the pinstriped promised land. Presented with the opportunity of a lifetime, Sanford flopped. After the right-hander had lost 21 games for the Browns in 1948, the Yankees paid $100,000 […]

Born on Washington’s Birthday in 1874 in Rochester, New York, William Joseph “Bill” Klem became one of the greatest umpires to ever take the field. “I was born of German parents in the Irish section near ‘Dutchtown’ in Rochester, New York,” Klem later said.1 Both father Michael Klimm and mother Elizabeth were from Bavaria. Bill was […]

In the New York State League, he came to be known as “Bill Ging with the Wonderful Wing.” William Joseph “Bill” Ging was born in Elmira, New York, on November 7, 1872, the second son of Lawrence and Mary Ging. Lawrence was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States in 1860 before marrying […]

All right up there, drop down the ladder from your clubhouse. A new member is joining you. Henry, show him the secret handshake. Willie, educate him on the secret password. Babe, don’t hog all those s’mores. Junior, slide over a bit. Gentlemen, please welcome Jim Thome to the 600 Home Run Club. It may seem […]

In his seven seasons in the major leagues, Frederick Harrison Corey played every position on the diamond, appearing in 237 games at third base, 93 as the pitcher, 46 in right field, 38 at shortstop, 29 in center field, 11 at second base, 8 in left field, 7 at first base, and one at catcher. […]

The careers of Jerry Stephenson and his father Joe embrace over 100 years of major-league experience. Jerry broke into the big leagues in 1963 and has been involved with the game ever since. Joe broke in with the New York Giants during World War II and scouted for the Red Sox from 1948 until nearly […]

John Michael “Red” Corriden, the first-base coach for the 1947 New York Yankees, was a baseball lifer. From 1908 until he retired from baseball after the 1958 season, a span of fifty-one years, Corriden served as a player, coach, manager, and scout. The 1947 season was Corriden’s first as a Yankees coach. He was brought […]

During his lifetime, Col. Frank Leslie Smith (1867-1950) adhered to a simple credo: the ends justified the means. The motto served him well as he built formidable business connections and amassed political clout on local, regional and national stages. By that same measure, it established the framework for his ultimate downfall. But during his youth, […]

As baseball grew more popular, people wanted to keep up with a sport in which half of the season was spent on the road away from the hometown. Also, people had to work, and since games were played in the afternoon, many could not attend. Enter the baseball writer. Henry Chadwick was the one of […]

The Grandstand Baseball Annual 1996 reprinted an article titled “Baseball Research Before SABR,” by Frank Phelps, which had originally appeared in the 1990 SABR membership directory. GBA’s editorial comment stated that Phelps’s article serves as the “definitive research road map,” and that “all the big names are there who contributed to baseball’s early foundation.” When […]

“I’ve been told as long as I can remember, ‘You’re too small. You’ll never pitch in the big leagues. You’re too short.’ I’ve always used that to kind of fuel my fire” – Shane Nance, June 12, 2002.1 “When you get sent down, your goal is to get back up. I got some things figured […]

  “Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win! … Braves Win!!” That call still gives fans of the Atlanta Braves goosebumps.1 That’s how Skip Caray ended his description of the play that sent the 1992 Braves to their second consecutive World Series. He repeated his signature “Braves Win!” line a few times more than […]

Returning home for the third game of the 2015 World Series after suffering two disappointing losses in Kansas City, the New York Mets hoped to turn things around on their home turf. The Royals were feeling confident after taking a 2-0 lead in the Series. They had shown they were not intimidated by the young […]

Many baseball fans are familiar with the story of Armando Galarraga’s lost perfect game in 2010.1 In the days before instant replays were used to review close plays at first base, an honest mistake by umpire Jim Joyce with two out in the ninth inning was all that separated Galarraga from perfection. What is less […]

On April 9, 1965, the former Houston Colt .45s took the field as the Houston Astros, inaugurating indoor baseball in the Astrodome with a 2-1 exhibition win over the New York Yankees. Three nights later, on April 12, a standing-room-only crowd of 48,546 (42,652 paid1), including Commissioner Ford Frick, National League President Warren Giles, and […]

It was a pleasant 76-degree day on the north side of Chicago.1 The outfield vines had taken on an autumnal hue and waved gently in the soft southerly breeze on the first Friday of fall. There might have been a trace of magic still lingering in the air for the 2:20 P.M. start after Thursday’s […]

These St. Louis Cardinals were a gang of swaggering roughnecks who deferred to no one, not even the defending world champions. Their preening and trash-talking started even before the World Series began and continued during and after their 5-2 loss in the opener. In Game Two Philadelphia turned to a tall, well-bred gentleman from the […]

A key cog in Detroit’s starting rotation since the mid-1960s, Tigers pitcher Earl Wilson headed into the 1970 campaign having posted the fourth-most wins among all American League hurlers since 1962 – including a league-leading 22 victories in 1967. Additionally, the big right-hander could provide rare offensive punch from his position. Frequently used as a […]

As a founding franchise of the American League, at least in its major-league incarnation, the Boston club has had its share of colorful and fascinating owners. Though the club enjoyed considerable on-field success at the beginning of each century, it is perhaps most famous for its 86-year championship drought, a period dominated by its most […]

Many minor leagues folded after Pearl Harbor. Most of the rest went under during or after the 1942 season. By 1943, the American Association, the Eastern, International and Pacific Coast leagues and the Southern Association were still operating, providing a reserve source of talent for the major leagues. Below those levels there was a problem. […]

This article appears in SABR’s “The Base Ball Palace of the World: Comiskey Park” (2019), edited by Gregory H. Wolf.   Comiskey Park opened during the summer of 1910,1 and the Chicago White Sox broke in their new home with a 2-0 loss to the St. Louis Browns. After hosting decades of American League baseball […]