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If the people who devise scenarios for professional wrestling matches ever got to script a baseball game, they might come up with something similar to the July 15, 1969, throwdown between the Williamsport (Pennsylvania) Astros and the Auburn (New York) Twins of the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. Why? Because the game featured lots […]

On July 12, 1972, 21-year-old Bert Blyleven threw a five-hit complete game as the Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-1. It was the Twins’ 1,000th victory since they moved from Washington, D.C., to Minnesota prior to the 1961 season.1 Fast-forward to September 1985. Blyleven was 34 and had spent most of the intervening seasons […]

In late July 1978, comedian Bill Murray traveled to Grays Harbor County in Washington State to film a segment for a Saturday Night Live television special.1 The location was a world apart from the hustle and bustle of New York, where SNL was normally produced. Despite being only moderately successful at that point in his […]

Connie Mack had been there from the beginning. When the Philadelphia Athletics helped establish the upstart American League in 1901, he was at the helm. He masterminded the club to five American League pennants and three World Series titles through the 1914 season. Then, as the A’s dropped into the league cellar in 1915 — […]

Had Fred Haney not cared about maintaining his job as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the story of one of the more improbable starts in major-league history might have turned out differently. “[Haney] said, ‘That’s it, no more – if you hurt your arm, they’ll run me out of town, so go take your shower,’” […]

The attendance at Cleveland’s League Park for a Tuesday afternoon game was pretty small at 2,500 — which might be just as well, because of the loss that Indians fans endured that day. Manager Steve O’Neill’s Cleveland squad was hosting the Boston Red Sox, led by shortstop-manager Joe Cronin. One wouldn’t have known it at […]

It was a bad day. The weather was drab, home plate was missing, and the Minnesota Twins lost their last game ever at Metropolitan Stadium. When the grounds crew reported for work they discovered that vandals had gotten into the ballpark and had sliced through the rubber tarpaulin that covered the home-plate area and removed […]

“Every kid dreams of pitching in the major leagues and I will never forget my debut.” — Kenny Greer, 20221 That statement is true of any rookie pitcher, but Kenny Greer’s first big-league game was especially memorable. Greer, a 26-year-old New York Mets righty in his sixth pro season, entered in the 17th inning of […]

On May 24, 1963, the Minnesota Twins used two dramatic home runs to extend their winning streak to five games. Harmon Killebrew’s grand slam put the Twins ahead in the fifth inning, and after the Chicago White Sox tied the score, Jimmie Hall ended the game with a two-run blast in the bottom of the […]

The Texas Rangers found themselves in need of a third baseman. Late-season injuries, including Rangers utilityman Brad Miller going on the 10-day injured list, paved the way for Josh Jung to start at third base.1 The Texas Rangers called up Jung from the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League on September 7, […]

Barry Bonds’ home runs typically identified themselves at impact, soared dismissively over outfield fences, and culminated in ceremonially paced processions around the bases.1 But one Bonds homer, hit in his second big-league season of 1987, broke from the norm, bounding past the glove of a diving infielder, taxing the full capacity of his game-changing footspeed, […]

On March 9, 1914, youthful pitching prospect Harry Juul1 took two giant strides toward adulthood. Within hours, he signed a major-league playing contract with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League, and he married former high school classmate Hilda Marie Johnson. Shortly thereafter, Harry informed his doubtful father, “Yes, Pop. It’s true. Hilda and I […]

Catcher Fred “Bootnose” Hofmann played in part or all of nine major-league seasons (1919-25; 1927-28). He never played in The Show for a team other than the Yankees and the Red Sox, but his minor-league career (which began in 1915) continued through 1937. Hofmann also served as a minor-league manager, coached with the St. Louis […]

When the Washington Senators called up right-handed hurler Jim Heise from the minor leagues in early summer 1957, the team was “desperate” for pitching.1 They were in last place with a major-league worst 22-47 record and had dropped 11 of their previous 15 games on their way to their third consecutive sub-.400 season. At that […]

Ed Giovanola was a utility infielder who played in 218 major-league games over the course of five seasons from 1995 to 1999. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Giovanola was a versatile infielder who played second base, third base, and shortstop during a professional baseball career that spanned 10 seasons. In the majors, he played […]

 The fourth man from the Bahamas to play in the major leagues, Ed Armbrister was a spare part in Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine. His career was modest (265 at-bats in 224 games), but he won World Series rings in 1975 and 1976. Yet for Boston Red Sox fans, Armbrister was in the wrong place at […]

During the 1920s and 1930s the New York Giants captured seven National League championships. While they had great outfielders like Mel Ott and Ross Youngs as well as solid pitching, most prominently Carl Hubbell, it was their infield that anchored the team in its success. George Kelly, Fred Lindstrom, and Bill Terry each had a […]

Cuban infielder Giraldo Sablón – known in the U.S. as Chico Ruiz – ignited two tinderboxes. On September 21, 1964, his steal of home scored the game’s only run, starting the collapse of ten straight losses that cost the Philadelphia Phillies the National League pennant. On June 13, 1971, he waved a handgun in the […]

“They used to say Brantford could put its left-fielder five feet from the foul line, the right-fielder five feet from the other line and Jimmy Wilkes would cover the rest.” — Bob McKillop1 “Riding the bus again!” Jimmy Wilkes said, his voice cracking with excitement. “I love it. Now, that brings back memories.”2 The 69-year-old […]

The New York Giants were known as the “Windowbreakers” when they smashed the single-season record for home runs in 1947. Leading the assault were the four big bats in the middle of the lineup: Johnny Mize with 51 homers, Willard Marshall with 36, Walker Cooper with 35, and Bobby Thomson with 29. Marshall, the left-handed […]

Gerald (Red) Fahr had an average major league fastball and curveball. At 6’5” and only 185 pounds he gave the “impression that he was composed only of arms and legs.”1 His gangly appearance made him appear out of control, but he had an uncanny ability to put the ball exactly where he wanted it. Howard […]

Over the years, the Boston Red Sox have featured a number of philosophers or other intellectuals among their ranks. They’ve had Aristotle, Archimedes, Beckett, Cicero, Dante, Darwin, Emerson, Euclides, Godwin, Jonson, Hobson, Pascal, and Webster.1 They also had someone who might have been confused with Friedrich Nietzsche, the author of Beyond Good and Evil: an […]

Tall left-hander Frank Scanlan was a top-flight prospect who reached the 1909 Philadelphia Phillies while still a teenager. Prior to that, he had been an underage pitching standout at the University of Notre Dame. In addition to a talented arm, the Phillies phenom also had impressive ballplayer bloodlines, having three brothers in the professional ranks. […]

“To my mind Jahn is the brainiest batter in either of the major leagues today. I make no exceptions and do not hesitate to predict that within a few years Art Jahn will have the baseball world raving about him. He will be one of the greatest hitters the game ever knew in years to […]