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A few guys populate Baseball’s Hall of Fame who deserve the title of “hard luck hero.” Addie Joss comes to mind, a superb right-handed pitcher from the first decade of the 20th century who died of tuberculosis at the age of 31 after nine seasons, 160 wins, a perfect game, a no-hitter, seven one-hitters, and […]

If one wished to find the spiritual reincarnation of prototypical renaissance man Leonardo Da Vinci within the all-time register of major league baseball players, they would do well to consider one William Grover Slayback. Slayback, who walked with the gods of baseball during the summer of 1972 while pitching for the Detroit Tigers, would most […]

Roberto Clemente’s greatness transcended the diamond. On it, he was electrifying with his penchant for bad-ball hitting, his strong throwing arm from right field, and the way he played with a reckless but controlled abandon. Off it, he was a role model to the people of his homeland and elsewhere. Helping others represented the way […]

In just three big-league seasons, right-handed pitcher Rankin Johnson pitched for five big-league teams: the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Chi-Feds, Chicago Whales, Baltimore Terrapins, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Experienced historians will recognize three of Johnson’s teams as Federal League teams, and thus can pin down the era as primarily 1914 and 1915. He came […]

The man the Boston Globe called the “ultimate utility man,” Randy Kutcher, played from 1986 through 1990 for the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox.1 Primarily an outfielder, he played every position on the field except for first base and pitcher, though his time at catching was limited to the final three innings […]

Red Smith, a small, shy man with a commonplace name, was an uncommonly stylish writer. Amid the purple bombast of the sports pages, “he was the first who gave us a license to really write English,” a colleague, Jerry Izenberg, said.1 “He was not just a great sports writer,” fellow Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Anderson […]

Dick Williams’s intense competitiveness and versatility earned him 13 years as a major league utility player. He parlayed those strengths into one of baseball’s most successful managerial careers, though not one of the winningest, and the record suggests that he was probably one of the two finest managerial turnaround artists1 between Joe McCarthy and Lou […]

For someone who participated in only 855 major-league games spread over nine seasons, Ed Abbaticchio has had more questions raised about his life than most baseball fans might expect. Was he the first Italian American big leaguer? Was he the first professional dual-sport athlete? Was he the creator of the spiral punt? Why did he […]

Jesse Houston had a very impressive debut season in 1937 with the Cincinnati Tigers of the Negro American League (NAL). It was also the debut season for the Cincinnati franchise in the NAL, and Houston helped it secure the second-best record by contributing at least nine wins, including a no-hitter that wasn’t widely reported and […]

Russ Nixon spent more than half a century in baseball. A catcher who played 12 years for the Red Sox, Indians, and Twins, he went on to coach and manage at levels from rookie ball to the major leagues, with five seasons as a big-league manager.     The son of farmers Thomas and Edith Nixon […]

As the owner of the Boston Red Sox for 43 years, few if any people have influenced the history of the team as much as Tom Yawkey. He was a man of immense wealth who spent millions on the Red Sox and on gifts to dozens of charitable organizations. He saved a dying franchise in […]

 “LaMarque was probably the most unassuming of all the Monarch players. … He didn’t stand out. And he liked it like that. Lefty quietly went about his business.”  – Ray Doswell, curator, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum1   Jim LaMarque, who like so many southpaws was nicknamed Lefty, said he almost quit in 1942, his first year […]

From 1950 to 1955, Robin Roberts was the top right-hander in the National League while pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies. For most of the remainder of his 18-year career, he was a crafty veteran who had a remarkable resurgence with the Baltimore Orioles. Either way, he would go out, take his turn on the mound […]

Once considered a prospect with tremendous promise, Alberto Lois was an outfielder and pinch-runner for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1978 and 1979. Lois had a strong arm and considerable speed, able to run 60 yards in 6.2 seconds by his own account.1 At one point he even drew comparisons to a “young Roberto Clemente.”2 Despite […]

Known as “Old Stone Face” for his colorless, stoic demeanor, Frank Navin controlled the destiny of the Detroit Tigers for three decades, becoming one of the game’s most influential owners and important power brokers. During his lengthy tenure as Tigers president, Navin was, at various times, an implacable foe of the American League’s strong-willed president, […]

A longtime utility infielder who played a dozen years for three National League teams, Mike Mordecai made more appearances for the Montreal Expos than for any other club, but had his most memorable moments with key postseason hits that helped the Atlanta Braves and the Florida Marlins win World Series titles. An Alabama native who […]

Hard-throwing Bill Caudill pitched in the majors from 1979 through 1987. The righty struck out a batter per inning at a time when that was much less common. “Caudill doesn’t have much finesse,” said The Scouting Report annual for 1983, the year after he emerged as a closer with the Seattle Mariners. “He throws a […]

Buffalo hadn’t hosted a major-league baseball game in over a century. The Queen City was once home to the National League’s Buffalo Bisons, who last played on October 10, 1885,1 and the Federal League’s Buffalo Blues, who last played in Buffalo on September 8, 1915.2 While Buffalo witnessed several successful minor-league teams throughout the twentieth […]

In late July 1978, comedian Bill Murray traveled to Grays Harbor County in Washington State to film a segment for a Saturday Night Live television special.1 The location was a world apart from the hustle and bustle of New York, where SNL was normally produced. Despite being only moderately successful at that point in his […]

On the morning of October 2, 2005, the Philadelphia Phillies still had a chance at their first playoff berth since they won the National League pennant in 1993. Philadelphia trailed the Houston Astros by one game in the wild-card standings entering the final day of the regular-season schedule. A Phillies win in Washington, coupled with […]

The Cincinnati Red Stockings and Pittsburgh Alleghenys were two of the six inaugural members of the American Association in 1882.1 The Red Stockings won the pennant in that first season, while the Alleghenys finished fourth. With the American Association’s success in 1882, two new professional associations, the Northwestern League (NWL) and the Interstate Association (ISA), […]

Joe DiMaggio was just getting started on “this streak business”1 and was one of the hottest hitters in baseball when his New York Yankees were slugging their way toward a three-game sweep of the first-place Cleveland Indians in mid-June of 1941. DiMaggio had hit safely in 28 consecutive games, one shy of the Yankees’ club […]

Many Atlanta Braves fans were apprehensive as new management rebuilt after a disappointing second half in 2014.1 The front office seemed to be willing to write off at least the 2015 season in anticipation of moving into a new state-of-the art ballpark2 for the 2017 season. General manager John Hart, who replaced Frank Wren on […]

Editor’s note: During our Stay Home With SABR initiative, enjoy these light-hearted Dispatches From the Mudville Bureau by Joanne Hulbert of SABR’s Boston Chapter to stay engaged with baseball until the games return. Check out what’s new and keep up with all the news in the Boston Chapter on Facebook at BostonSABR or on Instagram […]