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“Caldwell could be as great as Matty or Walter Johnson, but instead of choosing their careers, he is evidently going to be another Rube Waddell.” — Grantland Rice, 1914 “Caldwell might have been the Mathewson of the Yankees, but he turned out to be the Bugs Raymond of the local Americans. …His irregular habits destroyed […]

Cy Block was never shy about speaking up for himself. When he thought he had been wronged, which was often, he went straight to the top. At different times he confronted Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, National League President Ford Frick, and Dodgers President Larry MacPhail over his disputes with baseball management. His voice carried as […]

Though he played ten years in the majors, when people look back at Ossie Vitt’s career, they tend to remember the player mutiny against him by the team called the “Cleveland Crybabies” when he was manager of the Indians in 1940. He managed the Indians from 1938 through 1940, and 18 seasons in the minor […]

The tale is familiar to followers of baseball legend: Young boy growing up in rough-and-tumble circumstances, running roughshod over parents and teachers, unrepentantly scoffing at law and decency, finally ends up in front of the local magistrate who has him declared incorrigible and packed off to the nearest reformatory. There, the lad discovers an outlet […]

Through dedicated and honorable achievement, baseball executive John Heydler rose to the position of National League president, and the league became known as “the Heydler circuit.” He retired in 1934 after 32 distinguished years of service in the league office. J.G. Taylor Spink of The Sporting News called him “a veritable Rock of Gibraltar” who […]

Preceding by two decades the “Fernandomania” craze, Von McDaniel’s splash on the major-league scene in the summer of 1957 earned him the nickname Mr. Vonderful. Weeks removed from delivering his high-school valedictorian address, McDaniel tossed a two-hit shutout against the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers in his first professional start, while a month later a two-base […]

Julio “Monchy” de Arcos (1922-1966) was a Cuban executive and scout. He was associated with the major leagues as early as 1941, when the Brooklyn Dodgers trained in Cuba’s capital, La Habana. Thanks to his friendship with Leo Durocher, then Brooklyn’s manager, he was the Dodgers’ interpreter and batboy. In the mid-1940s, de Arcos became […]

Max Macon was the top pitching prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm system before he blew out his arm in his first spring training appearance. The left-hander, so skinny he could “close one eye and look like a needle,” was the rare pitcher who hit well enough to make a comeback as a position […]

Like Gummo Marx, Willie Delahanty is the forgotten member of a famous brothers act. A decidedly lesser talent, the youngest Delahanty never scaled the professional heights attained by his five ball playing siblings or garnered the public attention accorded them. About the only distinction that can be claimed by Willie is the fact that he […]

In Candlestick Park on September 2, 1963, the final nine outs were tallied by closer Lindy McDaniel, insuring the 20th win of the season for the tall Chicago Cubs left-handed starter. This particular win, coming off a 20-loss campaign the preceding year, would etch the youngster’s name with a mere six other hurlers who, since […]

Hall of Fame pitcher Red Ruffing surrendered 254 home runs in his 22-year career, but one stood out in his mind more than the rest – a ferocious clout at Yankee Stadium on May 8, 1936, by a big right-handed hitter, George “Pooch” Puccinelli of the Philadelphia Athletics. “There was a detonation when the bat […]

The first Latin player for the Boston Red Sox was Frank Arellanes. His family was said to have come to California in the late 1700s from Puebla, Mexico. Frank was born on January 28, 1882, in Santa Cruz. He and two older brothers, Abel and Edward, played for the Santa Cruz Beachcombers, but only Frank […]

For most people, spending a decade as a reliable major leaguer with a .290 career batting average would stand as the achievement of a lifetime. But the argument could be made that Frank Baumholtz’s baseball accomplishments ranked third behind a standout basketball career and an impressive record of service in World War II. However you […]

Mention brothers from the Dominican Republic who were major-league outfielders in the 1960s, and most people will understandably think of Felipe, Matty, and Jesús Alou. But Manny and Elvio Jiménez also fit the description. While Elvio appeared in just one game, Manny Jiménez spent all or parts of seven seasons (1962-1964, 1966-1969) with the Kansas […]

Frank Skaff’s big-league playing career spanned a mere 38 games and 75 at-bats in 1935 and 1943. That was far fewer than observers projected when the talented athlete emerged on the stage. However, Skaff spent six decades in Organized Baseball as a player, coach, manager – including 79 games with the 1966 Detroit Tigers – […]

For eight years after World War II, Doris Jane “Sammye” Sams, an excellent fast-pitch softball player from Knoxville, Tennessee, enjoyed an outstanding career in the pro All-American Girls Base Ball League (now known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League). By the time her final season ended in 1953, Sammye, as friends called the right-handed […]

Fittingly, pitcher Leroy Matlock was called “the Black Carl Hubbell” in press releases promoting a 1937 barnstorming tour.1 Hubbell, who entered the Hall of Fame in 1947, had completed a high-profile streak of 24 wins in a row earlier in 1937 for the pennant-winning New York Giants. Matlock, also a lefty, had 26 straight victories […]

In 1978 Cincinnati Reds’ manager Sparky Anderson, referring to the San Francisco Giants’ mound corps, said, “That’s the best pitching staff in baseball and Knepper is their best pitcher.”1 A year later, future Hall of Famer Willie McCovey echoed this sentiment when he compared his club’s rotation to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ fearsome staffs of […]

Over 13 minor-league seasons, Steve Stroughter batted .304 with a .377 on-base percentage and .485 slugging percentage. The lefty-hitting outfielder was 30, however, when he received his lone major league opportunity – 51 plate appearances for the 1982 Seattle Mariners. Stephen Lewis Stroughter was born on March 15, 1952, in Visalia, California, about 190 miles […]

Behind the scenes maneuvering resulted in Bud Lally being added to the National League’s staff of umpires for the second half of the 1896 season. In an era of rough and tumble baseball, Lally’s experience as a professional boxer was thought to be an asset. But his lack of knowledge and experience soon became apparent, […]

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2021 as part of the SABR Century 1921 Project.   1921 New York Giants team photo (SABR-RUCKER ARCHIVE)   The New York Giants and their manager, John J. McGraw, were optimistic that the 1921 season would result in a World Series triumph. Hopefully, this would end the […]

This article was originally published in The 1939 Baltimore Elite Giants (SABR, 2024), edited by Frederick C. Bush, Thomas Kern, and Bill Nowlin.   In 1938 the Baltimore Elite Giants had taken part in the Negro National League II playoffs and were looking forward to the 1939 season under a new manager. George Scales had […]

The St. Louis Cardinals won a World Series championship in 2006, their first season at the new Busch Stadium. (Kevin Ward/Flickr.com. Used by permission: CC BY-SA 2.0.)   Introduction The St. Louis Cardinals have achieved a level of success in Major League Baseball that has been outdone only by the New York Yankees. Through the […]

In over a century of existence, through 2016 the New York Yankees have been run by only five different ownership groups.1 To their great fortune and that of their fans, the three longest tenured were well-capitalized and committed to winning. They also had a terrific knack for finding great baseball men to work for them. […]