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“Nature formed but one such batsman as [Dan] Brouthers and then destroyed the die.”1 — Boston Globe, June 3, 1889 Brouthers “is the best batter that ever faced a pitcher—bar nobody. He is the daddy of all hitters.”2 — Cincinnati Enquirer, October 15, 1893   One of the greatest hitters in baseball history, first baseman […]

Right-handed pitcher Sam Dodge (0-0 in his career) appeared for the Boston Red Sox in 1921 and 1922, but never took part in anything but losing efforts. The Red Sox themselves didn’t do too well in those years, finishing fifth in 1921 (23½ games out of first) and dead last in 1922.  The “crack pitcher” […]

Matt Murray spent seven seasons working his way up through the minor leagues, finally making it to the majors in 1995 — when he pitched briefly for two first-place teams, the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were swept in the Division Series by the Cleveland Indians, who went on to […]

Catcher Rick Cerone had an 18-year career in the major leagues (1975-92), but he used his athletic talent and fame well beyond the baseball field. An excellent multiple-sport athlete in his youth, his real love was baseball. Prior to his major-league career, he was a college baseball star, and after his time in the majors, […]

Pitcher Jim Hannan appeared in 276 major-league games as a starter and reliever from 1962 through 1971, winning 41 of his 89 decisions. During both his playing days and post-playing days, he participated in and had an impact on several historic baseball moments. On the field, he was a senior member of the Washington Senators […]

Meteoric: transiently brilliant; as a meteoric rise to fame1   Southpaw pitcher Karl Spooner exploded onto the Major League Baseball scene with two record-setting games at the end of the 1954 season. His flame quickly faded following a shoulder injury during spring training 1955, and he struggled through that season. A member of the only […]

“There never was a better umpire in the history of the game than Jack Sheridan.”1 — Nap Lajoie   Hall of Fame umpires Bill Klem and Billy Evans concurred: Jack Sheridan was the greatest umpire who ever lived.2 Sheridan worked in major and minor leagues from 1885 to 1914. He was a fearless arbiter in […]

Bob Chance – a lefty-hitting, righty-throwing right fielder and first baseman – played on three major-league teams in six seasons in the 1960s. At 6-foot-2, Chance was big and powerful. Gripping the bat with his right palm wrapped around the knob of the bat, he hit colossal home runs, some of which allegedly traveled over […]

Duke Maas pitched in the American League during seven seasons from 1955 to 1961, most notably with the New York Yankees. He appeared in relief in the 1958 and 1960 World Series. Maas won the game that clinched the 1958 pennant for New York. In 1959 he started 21 games, fashioning a 14-8 won-loss record […]

At the turn of the twentieth century, Native American baseball players found themselves becoming integrated into the professional ranks of baseball. Charles Albert “Chief” Bender, a member of the White Earth Band of Chippewa, became a Hall of Fame pitcher for Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics. Louis LeRoy of Stock-bridge-Munsee, the boy with the “ten thousand […]

Mace Stanley Brown was on the leading edge of early relief pitching specialists that began to emerge in the game in the 1930s. The right-hander enjoyed a Major League career that spanned eleven years and three teams but, despite an All-Star game appearance in 1938 and service in the U.S. Navy in 1944-1945, he is […]

“It was like taking a kid and throwing him into brain surgery without going to medical school.” — David Clyde1   After being chosen as the top overall pick in the 1973 June amateur draft, left-handed pitcher David Clyde made the rare leap from high school to the big leagues with the Texas Rangers.2 The […]

During the first seven seasons of the 2000s, no team in the National League won more games or enjoyed more success than the St. Louis Cardinals. Guided by Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, the Cardinals won 658 games, five division titles, and one World Series. During the 2004-2006 seasons, La Russa handed the […]

In his prime, Long Bob Ewing—the “Long” referring to his 6’1″, 170-pound frame—was the workhorse of the Cincinnati Reds’ staff, becoming their winningest pitcher of the Deadball Era and the most significant spitball pitcher in the history of the franchise. Toiling for six managers in eight years on a succession of teams that never finished […]

“Great catches are a lot like pretty girls. The last one you see is always the best one.” — Bob Sudyk of the Cleveland Press, after seeing a spectacular catch by Sandy Valdespino on June 18, 1967   In 1967 Sandy Valdespino was a bench player for the Minnesota Twins.  On June 18 the Twins […]

On September 30, 1880, in his only appearance in a professional base ball game, a 24-year-old Chicagoan whose previous athletic accomplishments occurred in performances in local amateur base ball contests took the mound for the professional Chicago White Stockings in a game that had little relevance to anyone or anything beyond delivering a favor to […]

Here are the SABR Defensive Index™ rankings through games of June 12, 2016. For the fourth consecutive season, the SDI will be used to help select the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award™, presented by SABR. The SABR Defensive Index accounts for approximately 25 percent of the Rawlings Gold […]

In 1990, 26-year-old Randy Johnson was in his third year as a big-league pitcher and his first full season with the Seattle Mariners. He was better known for his lack of control and unprecedented height than as someone who could win multiple Cy Young Awards and become a Hall of Famer. At 6-feet-10, the “Big […]

At 2:30 P.M. on Sunday, June 25, 1972, the police chief, fire chief, and elected officials in Auburn, New York, assembled for an emergency meeting. A state-owned dam on an outlet of Owasco Lake, just south of the city, showed dangerous signs of weakening after the torrential rains of recently departed Hurricane Agnes. If the […]

“Oh, no, not Larry Jaster.” Many Dodgers players probably mumbled that and more when they found out that the 23-year-old left-hander for the St. Louis Cardinals would be starting against Los Angeles on April 24, 1967. Jaster faced the Dodgers five times in 1966 and racked up five shutouts. He had already seen them once […]

Dissatisfied with the return on his $2.4 billion investment after a year as owner of the New York Mets – a sub-.500 record and no playoffs – Steve Cohen doubled down after the 2021 season.1 He committed a chunk of his sizable fortune for a stable of accomplished free agents, pushing the club’s 2022 payroll […]

On the day after it hosted its 1,750th and final major-league game in October 1993,1 Arlington Stadium was described by the Dallas metropolitan “hometown” Fort Worth Star Telegram as “a child playing dress-up in a grown-up’s clothes” and “a minor-leaguer masquerading as a major-league ballpark.”2 In fact, Arlington Stadium was a converted minor-league park. Known […]

On the night of Wednesday, September 27, 1967, the Kansas City Athletics played their last two home games. The Athletics were leaving Kansas City, their home for 13 years after being moved from Philadelphia. The club’s owner, Charles O. Finley, had received permission from his fellow American League owners to move the team to Oakland. […]

On October 14, 1965, the Minnesota Twins lost a heartbreaking World Series Game Seven to Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0. While the disappointment was palpable, there was every reason to believe the Twins would soon be back in the Series. The team had won the pennant convincingly with a record of 102-60, […]