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In 1903 Honus Wagner, unquestionably the most outstanding baseball player of his era, predicted that Pittsburgh pitcher Bucky Veil would be “a great star.”  Wagner may well have been right, had intervening circumstances not derailed the rookie’s promising major-league career Nevertheless, in his short stay (1903 and 1904) with the Pirates before it was curtailed […]

With a good Irish name like Paddy and a commonplace surname like Smith, it turns out that this major leaguer’s father was Italian. Paddy’s father, Angelo Amato, and his brother, Dominic Amato, moved to the United States from Monte San Giacomo near Salerno, Italy. They married the Houlihan sisters from Kingston, New York, whose parents […]

During a stellar career at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, Charlie Moran1 was “considered the crack college shortstop in the country”2 and had several major league clubs bidding for his services. Once he entered the professional ranks he soon developed a reputation as a trouble-maker and malingerer, wearing out his welcome with such celebrated managers […]

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 […]

Fred Schulte played center field for the pennant-winning 1933 Washington Senators. His three-run homer in Game Five of the World Series against the Giants pulled the Senators even. But New York won on a 10th-inning homer by Mel Ott that tipped off Schulte’s glove. The victory gave the Giants the championship. In his 11-year big-league […]

His potential was glimpsed when future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, months removed from his Rookie League debut in 1965, was said to have the ability to “throw as hard as Dick Selma.”1 That fall, Eddie Stanky, who managed Selma in the Florida Instructional League, claimed the right-handed hurler could become “the best relief pitcher […]

“I express my thoughts. I’m a screamer, a yeller, and a cusser. I never hold back,” Dallas Green said after he was named manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1979.”1 With his no-nonsense confrontational style, attention to detail, unmatched work ethic, and passion for baseball in the “old-school” tradition, Dallas Green led the Phillies to […]

Tom Veryzer got into 996 big-league games from 1973 through 1984, mainly as a shortstop. He didn’t provide much offense, hitting just .241 with 14 homers, but in those days, one could still hold down a starting job at short at the top level on the strength of sound fielding. Veryzer was solid enough to […]

A case could be made for the Hairston family to be labeled the “First Family of Baseball.” Former major leaguer Sam Hairston Sr. and his ballplaying descendants’ careers spanned nearly 70 years, including the Negro Leagues of the 1940s, the early days of the integration of major-league baseball, and the modern-day game. The family includes […]

Timothy Andrew Flood1 was an aggressive ballplayer, a scrappy left-handed-hitting (and occasionally switch-hitting)2 second baseman from St. Louis who fought for every advantage on the field and every dollar for his pocket. His baseball career of over 20 years in duration was notable for service as a major-league and minor-league player, a minor-league manager, and […]

Ronald Michael Diorio was born in St. Mary’s hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut, on July 15, 1946. His parents, Charles and Gilda (Follachio) Diorio, were first generation Americans, with roots in the Calabria and Abruzzi regions of Italy. Charles, a Waterbury native born in 1906, worked as a plumber. Gilda worked in the shop as well. […]

University of Tennessee football and baseball star Hunter “Dodo” Lane darted in and out of professional ball in less than 24 months, yet still ascended to the major leagues. The infielder became a “one-hit wonder” with a 1-for-15 performance for the 1924 Boston Braves, before opening a successful politically-involved law practice in the Memphis area. […]

In 1958, a 20-year-old left-hander from rural Oklahoma was making a name for himself pitching for the Rochester Red Wings. Cal Browning was dominating the International League for the St. Louis Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate, using his fastball to lead the league in strikeouts and earn a spot on the league’s All-Star team. He and Bob […]

Chris Hartje’s fleeting big-league career consisted of nine games with the 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers. In 16 at-bats, the right-handed hitting catcher recorded five hits and just as many runs batted in. Hartje, who served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II, was attempting to resurrect his professional baseball career with the Spokane […]

Joe Shaute, a sheriff after his baseball days ended, frequently handcuffed Babe Ruth. Ruth was the first hitter Shaute faced in the majors and he struck him out.1 Two innings later, he did it again. Overall, Shaute fanned Ruth 20 times in 82 big-league at-bats while holding him to just a .232 average. “Joe enjoyed […]

Pitcher Mark Worrell, who was known for his funky sidewinder delivery, will forever be linked to two home runs – one he hit and the other he gave up. In his second major-league game, on June 5, 2008, Worrell blasted a three-run homer in his first career at-bat. Three years later, in his final game […]

In 1954 Gus Triandos, a powerfully built catcher who hit a lot of home runs, was languishing in the New York Yankees’ farm system. To the one-year-old Baltimore Orioles, a team that had a severe shortage of talent, Triandos seemed plenty good enough. And he was: After being sent to the Orioles in a blockbuster […]

Infielder Jeff Richardson played in the major leagues every other year from 1989 through 1993: in 53 games with the Cincinnati Reds from July 14, 1989, through the end of the season, and then brief stints with the Pittsburgh Pirates in May 1991 and the Boston Red Sox in April and May 1993. All told, […]

“All in all, it was not a bad first weekend in the Bronx. Looking back, I am proud of the fact that it all began in Yankee Stadium. To get your first at-bat, base hit, and home run in the same box where Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle stood is pretty special.” – Tim Salmon1 […]

When Ontario Premier David Peterson aimed a laser pointer upward on June 3, 1989, technicians took the cue and hit the switch to begin opening gigantic roof panels at SkyDome. The world’s first fully retractable roof was finally in motion,but the Saturday night sellout crowd gathered for a variety show booed as a rainstorm soaked […]

Baseball folklore has it that Abner Doubleday “chased the cows out of Elihu Phinney’s cow pasture on an afternoon in 1839”1 and thus was inspired to invent the game of baseball. While home on leave from the United States Military Academy, as the story goes, Cadet Doubleday (Class of 1842) drew up the rules and […]

The season was barely three weeks old. The visiting Cardinals were looking for their 10th victory of the season, while the hometown Dodgers were looking for win number nine. Before a crowd of 46,687 on a Friday night, St. Louis’s José Jiménez squared off against Los Angeles’ Chan Ho Park. Jiménez pitched seven innings to […]

It was a battle for fourth place in the NL East – not the most coveted prize. The Cardinals held a half-game lead over the Phillies. St. Louis’s record was 36-33, Philadelphia’s 38-36. To arrive at a similar, middling place, though, the teams took different paths. The Phillies started well. They had winning streaks of […]

Editor’s note: This article was published in the Spring 2021 edition of “Beating the Bushes,” the SABR Minor Leagues Committee newsletter.   When major league baseball announced it had formed agreements with the Atlantic League, the Frontier League, and the American Association in 2020, it was introduced as a new partnership with independent minor league […]