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From 1980 to 1982, Greg Minton of the San Francisco Giants reigned as one of the premier relief pitchers in baseball. His 70 saves over that span ranked fifth behind Bruce Sutter (89), Dan Quisenberry (86), Rich “Goose” Gossage (83), and Rollie Fingers (80).1 Minton was at his best in 1982, going 10-4 with a […]

The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies were a formidable team. As the team developed during the early 1960s (climbing from eighth in the National League to seventh to fourth over the 1961, 1962, and 1963 seasons), the Phillies now presented a solid top-to-bottom lineup. Led by manager Gene Mauch, the team featured All-Star right fielder Johnny Callison […]

In baseball, as in every team sport, the team with the better players has an obvious advantage over its opponent; however, sometimes the line between winning and losing is a thin one, and it may also hinge to some degree on pure, dumb luck. Such was the case on May 10, 1972, when the Texas […]

Greater Boston native son Tony Conigliaro was a star for the Boston Red Sox. He hit a home run over Fenway Park’s left-field wall on the first pitch he saw as a member of the Red Sox.1 He hit 24 homers in his 1964 rookie year, setting a major-league rookie record for the most home […]

Frank Robinson wasn’t used to seeing Olympic Stadium so full. He looked up at the structure’s Teflon sky and told himself, “Hey, there’s fans in the upper deck!”1 Indeed, throughout Robinson’s three years as manager of the Montreal Expos, big crowds had been rare. Yet to many of the 31,395 spectators, some who recalled the […]

“Of all the skills wrapped up in the complex game of big league baseball, none is practiced with more ingenuity and less publicity than the fine art of diamond larceny.” – Martin Abramson1 A wiring system sending signals to an in-ground junction box and a vibrating device or maybe a telescopic sight from a World […]

Enthusiasm reigned among Washington’s baseball fans after the Senators beat the New York Americans to kick off the 1903 season at American League Park in the nation’s capital. It diminished with the second game, played a day later, which New York won 7-2 for the first victory in franchise history. Three of the visiting squad’s […]

A season was drawing to a close. In Baltimore, an era was also drawing to a close as the Orioles prepared to play their final game at Memorial Stadium. It was the only home the Orioles had known since they moved to Baltimore in 1954. For many fans, it was bittersweet to see the ballpark, […]

The 1961 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees moved to Cincinnati’s Crosley Field for a pivotal third game with the Series tied at a game apiece. The Reds, under temperamental manager Fred Hutchinson, had won the National League pennant by four games over the Los Angeles Dodgers.1 They were in […]

The Baltimore Orioles began 1966 questing to break into the upper echelon of the American League after two straight seasons of 90-plus wins and third-place finishes — two games behind the Yankees in 1964, and nine games behind the Twins in 1965. An extra-innings contest against an inferior Red Sox team — 62-100 record and […]

Branch Rickey, who had shaken the foundations of Organized Baseball in 1947 when he orchestrated Jackie Robinson’s integration of the sport with the Brooklyn Dodgers, was still innovating seven years later. He had left as Brooklyn’s general manager to take over the same spot with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1950. Before the 1952 season he purchased […]

Remember the name: Walker Cooper. Granted, the All-Star catcher is typically not placed in the same conversation with the likes of Roush, Lombardi, Robinson, Perez, Votto, and other great Reds sluggers. But for one shining moment on a blistering July afternoon — the hottest July 6 ever recorded in Cincinnati history1 — the Atherton, Missouri, […]

Pumpsie Green holds two places in Boston Red Sox history – one well-known and eternal, the other obscure and perishable. The switch-hitting infielder, born Elijah Jerry Green, is remembered as the Red Sox’ first Black player, integrating the major leagues’ last segregated team on July 21, 1959. He played in 327 games in four seasons […]

After a three-season Negro National League liftoff, Minnie Miñoso’s career as integrated baseball’s first Afro-Latino star blazed almost entirely in the American League, from 1949 debut with the Cleveland Indians through late-season appearances with the Chicago White Sox more than a quarter-century later. Miñoso crossed over to the National League only once, in 1962, when […]

Don Baylor was a hustling player who ran the bases aggressively and stood fearlessly close to home plate as if he were daring the pitcher to hit him. Quite often they did, as Baylor was plunked by more pitches (267) than any other player in the 20th century, leading the American League eight times in […]

Joe Schultz Sr. – known as “Germany” for his ancestry – played in 11 major-league seasons from 1912 through 1925. By the end of that time, he had played for every National League team then in existence except for the Giants. His primary position was right field, but he was frequently used as a pinch-hitter […]

Paul Blair is considered one of the premier defensive center fielders of his era. He made his major league debut on September 9, 1964, and played in 1947 games over a seventeen-year major league career, with his final game coming on June 20, 1980. He batted and threw right-handed but tried switch-hitting for a brief […]

With the possible exception of Sandy Koufax, no Dodger pitcher ever threw harder than Rex Barney. Throughout the late 1940s, Barney’s fastball was the talk of baseball. In 1947, at the age of twenty-two, he struck out Joe DiMaggio with the bases loaded in a World Series game. On a rainy night at the Polo […]

New York Yankees scout Joe Devine approached a young, struggling outfielder toiling in the lower minors with the following advice: “Frank, the closest you’ll ever come to center field in Yankee Stadium is in a postcard. But I think you could make the major leagues as a manager.”1 The right-handed-hitting youngster, who’d unsuccessfully tried switch-hitting […]

Most great players have something similar during their careers: a dominant year, a key series in which they made their name — or a signature play. Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter’s even had a nickname. His “Mad Dash” in Game Seven of the 1946 World Series took place on the brightest of stages. It’s certainly […]

Baseball and baseball players need people like Grover Resinger — those who dedicate their lives to the sport so that others may achieve the success they never had. “People say I do nothing but talk baseball,” said baseball lifer Resinger. “Is there anything else?”[fn]Tom Loomis, “Grover Resinger – Another Bit of Tigers Class,” Toledo (Ohio) […]

The leadoff men of the 1960s were known mainly for slapping singles and stealing bases. Into this game stepped Don Buford, a versatile switch-hitter with speed and a little power, and also the ability to draw walks and get on base. He had some success for a few years with the White Sox, but it […]

Editor’s note: This essay is from SABR’s “Pitching, Defense, and Three-Run Homers: The 1970 Baltimore Orioles” (University of Nebraska Press, 2012), edited by Mark Armour and Malcolm Allen. The seed that sprouted into the powerful Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1960s and ‘70s was planted by two baseball lifers who despised each other. Together they […]

SABR Quebec Chapter meeting reportCage aux Sports Resto-Bar, MontrealNovember 5, 2011 Present: Jack Anderson; Jack Beausoleil; Jacques Doucet; Robert Duval; Ghislain Henri; Maxwell Kates (SABR-Toronto, guest); Alain Usureau; Norm Watt (SABR-Toronto, guest); Bill Young (Meeting Chair) Regrets: Alain Dumas; Daniel Papillon; Alexandre Pratt; and Philippe Cousineau who sent this comment from Paris … Missed Game […]