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Hall of Famer Paul Molitor’s illustrious 21-year career included seven All-Star Game appearances and four Silver Slugger Awards. He was instrumental to the Milwaukee Brewers’ only American League pennant, in 1982, and the Toronto Blue Jays’ repeat World Series title, in 1993.1 A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, and a product of the University of […]

Box scores don’t lie. But sometimes they cannot tell the whole truth. Like a classic novel, whose layers are best understood by reading its criticism, a box score’s secrets can be revealed through game stories. Context enables a deeper understanding of history, allowing the pieces of the puzzle to expose the entire picture. The April […]

Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers threw a five-hitter and collected two singles and an RBI in a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of a doubleheader at Forbes Field on July 11, 1965. It was Koufax’s ninth consecutive win and 15th of the season, the most in the majors. […]

Going into this June 1967 Crosley Field game between San Francisco and Cincinnati, the mound opponents seemed a baseball version of David vs. Goliath. Starting for the visitors was right-hander and five-time All-Star Juan Marichal, then in his eighth season. Only weeks before, after a win against the Dodgers, he had become, “percentage-wise, the top […]

Kirk Rueter admitted that he was “scared to death” when he made his big-league debut for the Montreal Expos on July 7, 1993.1 The 22-year-old soft-tossing southpaw had good reason to be nervous. Rueter was facing the San Francisco Giants, a team that had bolstered its lineup in the offseason with free-agent superstar Barry Bonds […]

The 1959 season marked 57 years since the Minneapolis Millers became charter members of the American Association in 1902. The Millers had independent ownership until Mike Kelley sold the franchise to the New York Giants in 1946.1 They were a Triple-A farm team for the Giants from 1946 through 1957, then became a Boston Red […]

The New York Mets arrived in St. Louis for a weekend series in September 1991. They were on a three-game winning streak after sweeping the Chicago Cubs in a two-game series at Wrigley Field. In the series opener against the Cardinals on September 13, Kevin McReynolds’ two-run homer in the 10th inning gave the Mets […]

The 2007 and 2008 seasons had ended in disappointment when the New York Mets missed the playoffs on the final day of each season. In 2008 the team also bade goodbye to Shea Stadium, its home for 45 seasons. It was hoped the opening of the Mets’ new ballpark would bring better days in 2009. […]

Ray Lankford made his major-league debut on August 21, 1990, as the center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, pushing 1985 National League MVP and four-time All-Star Willie McGee over to right field. Lankford went 2-for-4 with an RBI against the Atlanta Braves. The next day he went 2-for-2, adding two bases on balls. St. […]

Eight-time Gold Glove winner Mark Belanger was celebrated for his wondrous defense at shortstop but jeered for his weak offense. A lifetime .228 hitter, Belanger was pinch-hit for 333 times in his 18-season career, retiring as the American League’s all-time leader in that category.1 Belanger’s Baltimore manager Earl Weaver even devised a strategy to limit […]

San Diego Padres staff ace Gaylord Perry was the National League’s most dominant pitcher during September 1978. Taking the hill for a Thursday night matchup against NL West Division rival San Francisco, Perry was seeking his 20th win in a season for the fifth time in his career, and was only 20 strikeouts shy of […]

“The best birthday present I ever got.” – Ralph Mauriello, September 6, 19581 Ralph Mauriello had been born on August 25, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York, and less than two weeks after his 24th birthday, after six minor-league seasons, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers. Within two weeks of joining the club, he had his […]

During the winter of 1911-1912, Dr. William D. Scanlan was obliged to make a life-altering decision. For the past seven years, he had been a pitching mainstay for the woeful Brooklyn Superbas. But during that same period, Doc Scanlan had also completed his medical studies, satisfied New York state licensing and internship requirements, and begun […]

Bubba Morton spent parts of seven major-league seasons between 1961 and 1969 as a platoon outfielder and pinch-hitter with the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Braves, and California Angels. He was a spray hitter with occasional pop, had a penchant for getting on base, and played excellent defense. Don Mincher once called him “the perfect teammate.”1 Morton […]

There are many middle infielders tagged by scouts as “good field, no hit.” For the most part, these players are steady performers in the field. They make all of the routine plays with ease and the more challenging ones seem as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Their offensive contributions are minimal; causing fans […]

On May 26, 1956, the Cincinnati Redlegs and Milwaukee Braves faced off in the second game of a three-game series in Milwaukee. The result was one of the most unusual and memorable games in the history of each franchise. On the mound for the Redlegs was Johnny Klippstein, a hard-throwing right-hander in his seventh season […]

Billy Jurges, a star shortstop for the Chicago Cubs (1931-1938, 1946-1947) and the New York Giants (1939-1945), played a part in Babe Ruth’s called home run during the 1932 World Series, and perhaps provided some of the inspiration behind Bernard Malamud’s novel The Natural and the movie by the same name. He helped prompt the […]

In 1887, future Hall of Fame hurler Tim Keefe was interviewed and praised pitcher Charlie Sweeney. He regarded him as the “greatest twirler that ever lived, and that his equal does not now exist, and … never will.”1 Keefe was referring specifically to Sweeney’s 1884 performance, in which he won a combined 41 games with […]

Smoke. That’s what they called him. He was respected and admired, but first he was humiliated and discarded. Down to his last chance, Dave Stewart had a stunning rebirth in his hometown and became a four-time 20-game winner, a two-time ALCS MVP, a World Series MVP, and a three-time World Series champion. But before all […]

A backup catcher who amassed only 984 plate appearances in 12 seasons, Wallace Larry Haney nevertheless was a member of some historic teams, including the 1974 Oakland Athletics. Upon retiring as an active player, the right-handed hitting Haney spent an additional 34 years in professional baseball as a coach and scout, and his dedication to […]

Even the most casual of baseball fans are aware of Christy Mathewson’s on-field accomplishments, but the baseball career of his younger brother Henry Mathewson is less than common knowledge. And while the events leading to the death of the famous “Matty” have been told several times, few know of the tragic life of Henry or […]

Jim Landis had a memorable stint with the Go-Go White Sox of the late 1950s, and is considered to be one of the best defensive center fielders in big-league history. He also played with the Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, and Detroit Tigers before finishing his career with a short but memorable stint […]

Arguably one of the slowest runners in baseball, Edward Frank Burtschy earned the nickname “Molasses Shoe,” or “Moe” for short. The bulky 6’3”, 208-pound hurler may have tarried on the base path but the hard throwing righty, in the vernacular, could bring it. The problem was where. Blessed with a blazing fastball and cursed that […]

Entrance to Four Mile Run Park in Arlington, Virginia, in the twenty-first century. (City of Arlington)   Take a flood-prone elementary school. Add a peppery, baseball-mad mayor and a group of disgruntled neighbors. Mix in dozens of minor-league ballplayers, ranging from top prospects to unwanted, unsigned good-enough-to-dream types. Oh, and throw in a bunch of […]