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At 6′ 2″ and 180 lbs, Vean Gregg was a lanky, loose-jointed southpaw who had a world of confidence, a wicked curve ball, and a roller-coaster career hampered by arm injuries. As a 26-year-old rookie for the 1911 Cleveland Naps, Gregg was only three years removed from pitching in the deepest bush of the remote […]

When and where someone happened upon a young infielder named Jim West is imprecise. It may very well have been in 1929, when he played for the Birmingham Negro Industrial League.1 Although lacking details of West’s early life and baseball career, his fine play at first base – perhaps noted by Bill Gatewood – prompted […]

The manager of the Hotel del Comercio in Caracas, Venezuela, summoned George Genovese for a phone call from the San Francisco Giants in November 1963. It sent Genovese’s hopes soaring. “Maybe I’m their new manager,” he said to his wife, June. When the call was completed, Genovese was crestfallen. His career as a manager was […]

Paul Foytack is most remembered for one game at the end of his career. On July 31, 1963, while pitching for the Los Angeles Angels against Cleveland, Foytack became the first pitcher in major league history to yield home runs to four consecutive batters. That moment characterized two of Paul’s qualities. First was his propensity […]

Strong quick wrists, an open, positive demeanor, and unwavering confidence made young Ed Spiezio an outstanding baseball prospect. Cardinals Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst once told The Sporting News that Spiezio was the “the finest looking young hitter” he had ever seen.1 In five seasons with the Cardinals (1964-1968), Spiezio played on three National League […]

On July 30, 1948, the New York Giants were within one out of a franchise-record four consecutive shutouts when Chicago Cubs lefty swinger Bill Nicholson connected for a drive into shallow right field. Les Layton, inserted in the game as a defensive replacement in right, raced to the ball. He seemingly secured the out as […]

At 15 Victor Rodriguez started playing competitive adult baseball against men twice his age. Before the season was over, he was a minor leaguer with the Baltimore Orioles. He spent parts of two seasons in the major leagues and played in Organized Baseball for 19 years. Victor Manuel Rodriguez was born on July 14, 1961, […]

For an obscure two-season pitcher, mid-1880s left-hander Cyclone Miller had a disproportionate effect on the major league record book. For example, without Miller and his contribution to the troubles of the 1884 Providence Grays, it is improbable that teammate Hoss Radbourn would have won 60 games that year, the all-time major league single-season record. Nor […]

No less an authority than Ted Williams referred to him as “the greatest young hitter I’ve ever seen.”1 His immense power drew comparisons to Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew and Eddie Mathews, while his value was glimpsed in an unexecuted one-for-one swap with the California Angels’ future Cooperstown inductee Nolan Ryan. (The talks collapsed only […]

Forever known in Toronto Blue Jays lore as the team’s first Cy Young Award winner, Pat Hentgen by his accomplishments on the mound has been anointed as one of the best pitchers in Blue Jays history. Standing at 6-feet-2 and 210 pounds, Hentgen was a high-command fastball/curveball pitcher who had a stretch of being one […]

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 […]

Here are the SABR Bookshelf listings for Spring 2015. To get your NEW book listed on The SABR Bookshelf, make sure a review copy is sent to: The SABR Bookshelf, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004. An e-book file will also suffice; please send the e-book in PDF, EPUB […]

On the very last day of the 1975 season, the Oakland Athletics employed four pitchers to no-hit the California Angels. Before a home crowd of 22,131, Oakland’s manager Alvin Dark had a plan to have Vida Blue, his ace starter, go only five innings and then rest him for the playoffs. Relievers Glenn Abbott, Paul […]

Talk about a spree, in which one player had a huge impact in three consecutive games. The second of the three games was the greatest comeback in Red Sox history. The Boston Red Sox entered the first game of the June 18, 1961, doubleheader with a dead-even record of 30-30. The sixth-place Washington Senators were […]

In late December 1959, it was widely published that Washington Senators owner Calvin Griffith “had looked one million dollars in the eye and expressed no interest.” It was an offer not for his Washington franchise but for just two of his ballplayers, first baseman Harmon Killebrew and pitcher Camilo Pascual. One of those published reports […]

When Pat Gosney shipped off for US Army duty in the summer of 1952, he left with a good story to tell his buddies: Just before entering military service, he’d pitched a three-hit shutout against a major-league team. The story came with a few caveats, which Gosney no doubt admitted by and by. The shutout […]

Suspended baseball games, especially if completed months after they began, can lead to box scores full of substitutions, often resulting from trades and other transactions. Sometimes, they create anomalies in the record books,1 such as players being credited with feats backdated to occur before their debut games. This Washington Nationals-Houston Astros game, begun on May […]

After a successful inaugural season in 1943, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) expanded into Milwaukee and Minneapolis.1 It soon became obvious that the move into larger metropolitan areas was a mistake, as both teams struggled to draw fans.2 The Minneapolis entry, which had been previously known as the Millerettes and Lakers, picked up […]

The death of pitcher Bob Miller in September 2020 left only one survivor from the Philadelphia Phillies 1950 Whiz Kids, left-handed hurler Curt Simmons. Simmons was a key member of that 1950 pitching staff, going 17-8 during the pennant-winning season. Late in the season, he was called up to active duty in the Army and […]

The end was coming. Such is the reality any time a 46-year-old pitcher climbs atop a major-league mound. Charlie Hough hobbled and limped his way on and off of the field throughout the 1994 season for the Florida Marlins. But as spring turned into summer — and despite the longevity that had afforded the knuckleballer […]

If the last word on the 1986 World Series was “unforgettable,” the first word was “freezing.” The heaters were on full blast in both dugouts at Shea Stadium, pitchers were allowed to blow on their hands, and bats were wrapped in towels. The fall classic felt like winter, but both teams would rather be in […]

Dave “Boo” Ferriss, an ex-GI discharged from the Army Air Corps in February 1945, began his major-league career with an astonishing eight consecutive wins in 1945. The start of his career was unprecedented, since Ferriss had minimal time as a professional player prior to his debut.1 In his first three starts for the Boston Red […]

Unless they announce their retirement in advance, very few players know how and when their career will end. After more than a quarter-century in their organization, Phil Niekro always assumed he would play out his career with the Braves, the only team he had ever known. But things didn’t exactly work out the way he […]

A Mother’s Day crowd of 24,243 at Denver’s Coors Field saw San Francisco Giants rookie center fielder Fred Lewis become just the seventh major-league player to hit his first career home run as part of a cycle.1 The 26-year-old Lewis also cracked his first career triple and second career double. He had been with the […]