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As the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles prepared to meet in the winner-take-all Game Seven of the 76th World Series, there arose a commotion over a column written by Baltimore Sun sports editor John Steadman. The Pittsburgh media provided the Pirates and their fans with the gist of Steadman’s opinion, which was that the Bucs […]

After Ted Williams belted three home runs in a game for the first time, in the opening game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians on July 14, 1946, Tribe manager Lou Boudreau instituted his famous infield shift in the second game to defend against the left-handed hitter. The second and last time the Splendid […]

Mark Worrell enjoyed a memorable few days in Washington, DC, in early June of 2008. Recalled by the St. Louis Cardinals from Triple-A Memphis on June 2, the right-handed relief pitcher with the funky side-arm delivery1 made his major-league debut the next night against the Washington Nationals. He worked a scoreless ninth inning, allowing a […]

Before Yogi Berra came up with his now famous quip, “It looks like déjà vu all over again,” Chicago Cubs outfielder Hank Sauer could very well have originated that witticism, after he scorched Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Curt Simmons with three home runs for a second time on June 11, 1952. Sauer’s three solo homers were […]

Either a Detroit Tigers win or a Baltimore Orioles loss would clinch the 1968 American League championship for Mayo Smith’s squad. On September 17 the Tigers got both. The next day’s game at Tiger Stadium was rained out. To the casual fan, the September 19 game with the New York Yankees, 18 games behind the […]

Roses have thorns. Gardens have snakes. And ballparks have foul balls. Foul balls aren’t always the downside of the sport. When they land in a fan’s outstretched hands, or roll into a child’s grasp, everyone shares the vicarious pleasure of the souvenir. But there’s no denying that every foul ball is also a missile – […]

Overshadowed by his more famous big brother Gene DeMontreville during most of his career, Leon was thought by many to have as much talent as his sibling. Early in his career, Chicago Cub manager Frank Selee predicted that, with more experience, Leon would turn out to be a better player than Gene.1 However, Gene played […]

The Black Sox Scandal shocked the sporting public and led to fundamental changes in the governance of professional baseball. Central to this astonishing fix were eight Chicago White Sox ballplayers, including star center-fielder Oscar “Happy” Felsch. An unpretentious Milwaukee native, the “Pride of Teutonia Avenue” only left his hometown to play ball. Felsch, one of […]

Until the Negro Leagues were officially recognized as major leagues in December 2020, Dan Bankhead was on record as the first African American to pitch in the majors. He remains best known for that fact, as well as another: he and four brothers all played in the Negro Leagues. However, Bankhead’s big-league career was brief […]

Benjamin Ambrosio (Palmer) Oglivie was born in Colòn, Panama, on Friday, February 11, 1949. He was born into a Panama which offered certain privilege and opportunity, fed by the construction, completion, and use of the Panama Canal. Additionally, the post-World War II era affirmed a sense of optimism. Prior to 1949, the founders of the […]

Always hustling and full of pep, Russell “Lena” Blackburne was a superb defensive infielder from 1908 to 1926. Though a solid hitter in the minors, he struggled to hit major-league pitching. After his playing career ended, he served for three decades as a coach, manager, and scout. He is perhaps best known for a unique […]

With the clarity of hindsight it seems appropriate that an action photograph of Robert Gaston by noted African-American photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris shows what looks like Gaston launching a home run. As the backup to Josh Gibson and teammate of Buck Leonard, Gaston certainly saw his share of home runs. Gibson abandoned the Homestead Grays […]

Ed Gharrity was a player, manager, umpire, scout, and coach during his professional career. Invited to spring training with the Washington Senators in 1916, he made an immediate positive impression. Catching for the rookies in an intrasquad game against the regulars in Charlottesville, Virginia, he threw out four would-be basestealers in the 1-1 tie. That […]

In 1950 Casimir James Konstanty, a sometime gym teacher and baseball nomad, and Edwin Sawyer, a manager who had never played in the big leagues, led the Philadelphia Phillies to their first pennant in 35 years. Eddie Sawyer summoned Konstanty from the bullpen 74 times that season to set a record for appearances. Along the […]

“We drive on to Minneapolis. We are all relaxed at the game, cheering the Twins to an easy win, chanting ‘Bombo! Bombo! Bombo!’ each time the Twins’ right fielder Bombo Rivera is announced. He is a good young player, but not great. It is his name that intoxicates the crowd.”   W.P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe […]

Escaping the Pennsylvania coal mines, which claimed the life of his brother Calvin, Jacob Ellsworth Daubert went on to a fifteen-year major league career with the Brooklyn and Cincinnati ball clubs. Frequently compared to the legendary Hal Chase, Daubert was arguably the premier National League first baseman of the Deadball Era. A slashing chop hitter […]

In a major-league career spanning all or parts of 11 seasons (1985-1995), switch-hitting middle infielder Manuel Lee spent his first six years playing mostly second base for the Toronto Blue Jays while he backed up fellow Dominican Republic native Tony Fernández at shortstop. After Fernández was traded, the s trong-armed Lee started at shortstop for […]

Eddie Onslow could be described as a major-league baseball player, appearing in four different American League seasons; but he was really an International League star of the first magnitude. A brief sketch of Onslow’s major-league career shows a 15-year span (1912-1927), but a closer look reveals a log of a mere 224 plate appearances over […]

Saddled with the burden of replacing one of baseball’s legendary players, Carl Yastrzemski carved out his own iconic Hall of Fame career, eventually escaping Ted Williams’ extraordinary shadow to win three batting titles and seven Gold Gloves, and earn 18 All-Star selections. In Boston, where he played the entirety of his 23-year career, he is […]

Except for a brief September call-up in 1953, Eddie Phillips spent his entire 11-year pro baseball career in the minor leagues. Yet, during those 2½ weeks with the St. Louis Cardinals, he established a record for most runs scored in the major leagues (four) without a plate appearance or taking a defensive position. His pinch-running […]

“Former Well-Known Hamilton Ball Player Died in Chicago” headed the modest notice in the Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator on March 19, 1923. 1 The obituary briefly refers to careers in both baseball and medicine. What is not mentioned: Peter Burke Wood was a talented, intelligent, loyal, strong-willed, and troubled individual who, despite an intermittently brief major […]

Few Major League players were traded as often as pitcher Louis Norman “Bobo” Newsom. The name Bobo came about because Newsom never could or would remember anybody’s name, so he called everyone Bobo and thus earned that nickname for himself. Barrel-chested, standing six-foot-three and weighing more than 200 pounds, the colorful right-hander was talkative and […]

Pitcher Brian Kingman compiled an 8-20 record with the 1980 Oakland Athletics. Prior to 1980, instances of pitchers losing 20 games in a season occurred with great regularity. After Kingman’s 20-loss season, however, his place in baseball lore was cemented for 23 long years until it finally happened again. The stinging effects of Kingman’s 20-loss […]

Throwing sinkerballs with his right-handed, three-quarters delivery, John Flinn pitched a dozen seasons of professional baseball, but only 42 games in the majors. As a big-leaguer, Flinn won five, lost two, posted a respectable 4.17 ERA and held Hall of Fame members to only two hits in 23 at-bats (Carlton Fisk notched both). But it […]