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When the United States entered World War II on December 7, 1941, one question among the many to be answered was: What will baseball’s place in American society be during wartime? Thanks to a letter written by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1942, baseball’s role became clear. In that communication, known as the ”Green […]

In 1943 the New York Giants, a perennial first division team, finished last.  The next year, 1944, the St. Louis Browns, who had owned a winning record only once in 13 seasons, won the team’s only pennant.  World War II upset the baseball world, too. By won-lost record, World War II did not transform the […]

As the 1929 major-league season came to a close, the two best teams in baseball prepared to do battle in the upcoming World Series. Joe McCarthy’s National League champion Chicago Cubs cruised into October 11 games in front of the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates. In the junior circuit, Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics racked up 104 victories […]

Jean Faut, a child of the mid-1920s, was destined to become one of two All-American Girls Base Ball League players to earn MVP honors twice.  She noted that during the Depression and the beginning of World War II, there wasn’t much for kids to do in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, except play ball or go swimming […]

“Do you feel they’ll make the big-league grade?” This question (referring to Black ballplayers) was posed to Bob Feller in October 1946. As reported in The Sporting News on October 30, 1946, Feller said without hesitation, “I have seen none who combine the qualities of a big-league ballplayer – not even Jackie Robinson.”1 Induction Day […]

If a baseball fan scanned the list of National League batting leaders in the New York Times on September 15, 1940, they would note a tight race among the top five hitters. Three points separated them with just two weeks left in the season1: Cooney, Boston, .319 Mize, St. Louis, .318 Hack, Chicago, .317 Gleeson, […]

As a franchise that began 130 years ago, the Philadelphia Phillies have made an indelible mark not only on the city where they play but also on the whole sport of baseball. This is a team that has maintained the same name longer than any other team in professional sports. And with some of the […]

Players wearing the uniform of the San Francisco Giants have performed many amazing feats in the four decades since the franchise moved west from New York. but no player has produced a more intriguing record than Billy Pierce did during the 1962 season. As the Giants engaged a season-long pennant race that culminated in a […]

Jackie Robinson playing in a spring training game vs. Havana Cubans. (AUTHOR’S COLLECTION)   Separated by fewer than three miles, the Hotel Los Angeles near la Habana Vieja (Old Havana) and the Hotel Nacional in the city’s Vedado district were worlds apart. Sitting on a bluff overlooking El Malecón, Havana’s famed coastal roadway, the Nacional […]

ORIGINAL BULLPEN PLACE FOR FRUGAL FANS THE TERM “BULLPEN” IS generally believed to have come into baseball with the advent of relief pitchers who usually warmed up in the area where Bull Durham signs were located. The term, however, goes all the way back to the beginning of major league baseball itself, and its original […]

Manager Paul Richards, right, seen here shaking hands with New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel in 1958, is often credited with the invention of the “Waxahachie Swap,” where a pitcher changes place with a position player before returning to the mound. Richards was born in Waxahachie, Texas. (SABR-Rucker Archive)   Baseball managers have platooned players […]

The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, comprising 58 leagues, held its 47th annual Winter Meetings in Minneapolis December 7-11, 1948, to engage in, among other things, its yearly “carnival of buying and selling baseball talent.”1 More than 1,200 people in all, 1,100 of them officially registered delegates, attended.2 In advance, there was speculation that […]

It was an event The Sporting News said featured “Paul Bunyan hospitality.”1 Bringing nearly 1,200 visitors to the North Star state, the 48th annual gathering of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues was held in Minneapolis December 8-10, 1948. Prior to the convention, Charles Johnson, sports editor at the Minneapolis Tribune, wrote in his […]

While the winter chill still held Chicago in its grip, longtime White Sox fan and season ticket holder Dan Ferone informed Chicago White Sox management that he had decided to cancel his season tickets. Soon afterward, Mike Veeck, promotions director of the Chicago White Sox and son of club owner Bill Veeck, wrote to Ferone […]

Charlie Dressen. (SABR-Rucker Archive)   As soon as the last pitch of a baseball season is thrown, owners of major-league franchises and executives in front offices focus on the year ahead. Offseason decisions, even from clubs that have experienced success, occasionally surprise outside observers when prominent players are traded, sold, or released—or when managers and […]

This appendix accompanies the article “Player Win Averages” written by Pete Palmer and published in the Spring 2016 Baseball Research Journal. To scroll down to pitchers, click here.   Player Win Averages-Batters Player Games PW RW Barry Bonds 2986 120.3 123.2 Henry Aaron 3298 97.2 94.6 Willie Mays 2992 95.7 87.5 Mickey Mantle 2401 92.4 […]

Baseball traveled through rough waters beginning in the late 1960s, as it navigated increasing player unrest and the growing power of their union. Court cases, strikes, hearings, lawsuits — it was challenging to follow baseball in this period without a law degree. The off-field headliners — Curt Flood, Bowie Kuhn, Marvin Miller, Andy Messersmith, Charlie […]

Background The 1972 baseball Winter Meetings played host to over 1,300 people at the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii, from Saturday, November 25, through Friday, December 1. “It looms as the largest in history,” said Jack Quinn, general manager of the Pacific Coast League’s Hawaii Islanders, “and it marks the first time that all convention […]

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Journalism History, Vol. 32, No. 1, Spring 2006.   Had baseball card collecting been popular in the 1920s, fans of the nascent Negro leagues likely would have coveted the cards of Andrew “Rube” Foster, C.I. Taylor, Ed Bolden, and John Blount. Because these men were team owners and […]

Lobby card for “Kill the Umpire” (1950) starring William Bendix. (Author’s collection)   Most baseball fans would agree that the best umpire is the invisible umpire. Sure, the umps on the field ensure that the rules of the game are followed. They call balls and strikes. They determine if the fielder who dives for the […]

This article was originally published in The SABR Review of Books, Volume V (1990).   On October 15, 1988, with a runner on first, Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers jerked a slider from the Oakland A’s Dennis Eckersley into the stands for a 5-4 victory. Newspaper reports noted that it was the first […]

As the major-league ownership gathered in Chicago, Illinois from December 8 through 10, 1931, the Great Depression was a silent partner to the discussions. Unemployment rose dramatically in 1931, topping out at 16 percent and showing no signs of relenting. Attendance dropped at almost every ballpark during the 1931 season, and overall attendance for the […]

One of many things that makes baseball the most enjoyable sport is statistics. Players are considered great because of their statistical achievements. We are all familiar with the records for home runs in a season or career. Career strikeouts. Pitchers winning 20 games in a season. Batters hitting .300. All of these are interesting and […]