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Quietly dependable though seldom spectacular for most of his five full major-league seasons as an infielder, Steve Yerkes grasped immortality when he played a central role in one of baseball’s legendary episodes. In the bottom of the 10th inning of the deciding game of the epic 1912 World Series, Yerkes raced home with the winning […]

Hopelessly out of contention in the 1889 National League pennant chase, the Indianapolis Hoosiers devoted their September schedule to auditioning new talent. Among the club’s recruits was Jack Fee, a 21-year-old pitching prospect with little previous professional experience. In seven late-season appearances, Fee posted two victories and showed enough promise to be placed on the […]

Tommy Umphlett had a superb rookie year in 1953, finishing second to the Detroit Tigers’ Harvey Kuenn, in American League Rookie of the Year voting. It wasn’t close. Kuenn received 23 first-place votes and Umphlett received the other one. Umphlett drove in more runs (59 in 137 games, compared to Kuenn’s 48 RBIs in 155 […]

The lesser known and less accomplished of the two unrelated Elliotts who played for the Boston Braves in the late 1940s, Glenn “Lefty” Elliott is best remembered because he wore eyeglasses on the ballfield and surrendered Jackie Robinson’s first major-league base hit. A 5’10”, 170-pound soft tosser from Oregon, “Silent Glenn” Elliott spent parts of […]

Scooter Tucker was not unlike millions of boys who have aspired to play in the big leagues. It was a dream of his from an early age to play professional baseball. His influential mentors as a youth taught him how to play the game. His sports role models were former major leaguers from his hometown. […]

There have been 34 major-league ballplayers born in England. Yeadon, West Yorkshire, in England was a “traditional Victorian textile village,” according to the Aireborough Historical Society. It was the birthplace on July 6, 1881, of Walter Carlisle, son of Ann and Matthew Carlisle. Matthew was a painter, per the 1881 England census. His mother brought […]

Reynaldo “Rey” Ordóñez Pereira defected from Cuba at the age of 22. He spent two years in the minor leagues after being signed by the New York Mets before he became their everyday shortstop in 1996. He developed a reputation as a stellar defensive shortstop over the course of his career. But his struggles to […]

Most pitchers toiling for the St. Louis Browns in the 1930s merited little distinction. Rollie Stiles, who was with the club in 1930-31, at first glance seems to fall within that category. A losing career record, an ERA near 6, a WHIP near 2 call for oblivion. However, Stiles does rate distinction, if only for […]

Elmer William Valo was born in Slovakia but lived the American dream during nearly sixty years in professional baseball. He insisted he was not a “natural athlete,” saying, “Being a baseball player is not a glamorous job, it’s hard work.”1 In twenty years as a major league player, he reached base as often as Joe […]

Jimmy Jones ended his major-league career with one sweep of his arm. The last-place New York Giants were struggling on August 6, 1902, having lost three straight to Pittsburgh and facing Jack Chesbro, who was on the way to a 28-win season. The Giants were in a foul mood and complained about umpire Bob Emslie […]

Reaching the major leagues takes so much hard work and talent that it’s always interesting to read about players who get there and then turn their backs on the game. Examples include Jack Shepard, the promising Pittsburgh Pirates catcher of the 1950s, who abruptly left baseball for an attractive job opportunity;1 Bruce Bochte of the […]

The career of turn-of-the-20th-century pitcher Red Donahue presents a study in contrasts. Toiling for the woeful National League St. Louis Browns in his early years, the auburn-haired right-hander posted dismal numbers. Indeed, in 1897 Donahue set a still-standing major league record for single-season losses from the modern pitching distance of 60 feet, six inches: 35. […]

Before the Wizard of Oz, the St. Louis Cardinals had Mr. Shortstop. Marty Marion never turned a backflip, but he was the National League’s premier defensive shortstop in the 1940s and is the only man to win a Most Valuable Player award with his glove. No Scooter or Rabbit or Pee Wee, he was a […]

In the late 19th century, real estate investor, stockbroker, and fruit and produce wholesaler George Vanderbeck gained attention in sporting circles as a prominent minor-league baseball magnate. Between 1890-94, he was involved in the launch of three franchises and rubbed shoulders with notable contemporaries such as Charles Comiskey, Ban Johnson, and Connie Mack. Although refined […]

The city of Ellsworth, Maine, is the county seat of Hancock County and the self-proclaimed “heart of Downeast Maine,” named after Oliver Ellsworth, one of the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention that led to the founding of the United States of America. He was later a United States senator and chief justice of the […]

Babe Ruth, John Montgomery Ward, George Sisler, Smoky Joe Wood, Lefty O’Doul, Bobby Darwin. Bobby Darwin? At first glance he seems to be out of place among this list of major-league luminaries. However, closer examination reveals that he indeed does belong. Why? Because he is one of a handful of major-league pitchers who successfully transitioned […]

A generation after Johnny Bench’s last game, he remains the gold standard for baseball catchers of any era. By the age of 20 he had redefined how to play the position, and by 22 he was the biggest star, at any position, in all of baseball. Catching eventually took its toll, moving him to the […]

The bottom of the first inning of the game between the Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles on September 5, 1989, showed the athleticism of Brad Komminsk that had excited scouts and executives for over a decade. With two outs, Cal Ripken, Jr. took John Farrell’s first pitch to deep left-center field. Chasing the ball, Komminsk […]

Clarence “Lefty” Russell was the most sought-after pitcher in the minor leagues during the summer of 1910. The Baltimore Oriole southpaw was the sensation of the Eastern League, baffling hitters with his crackling fastball, roundhouse curve, and elusive spitball. Russell’s domination of opposing batters quickly drew the attention of quite a few major league teams, […]

“THIRD DAY OF RECORD HEAT KILLS 37 IN NEW ENGLAND,” the front page of the Boston Globe boomed on the morning of July 5, 1911. Across Eastern Massachusetts, the searing heat was blamed for twisting freight rails, warping sidewalks, canceling some Fourth of July ceremonies, and causing a trolley crash that injured 33 people after […]

With Babe Ruth’s 50th home run of the year in the record books, newspaper accounts of the game celebrated the accomplishment in a manner that suggested it might be a once-in-a-lifetime event. The Chicago Tribune wrote, “Such batting as Babe Ruth has done this season never before has been accomplished. Perhaps it never will be […]

While Ken Griffey Jr. didn’t join the contingent of players who skipped minor-league baseball altogether, he did skip one traditional step during his quick ascension to the major leagues in 1987 and ’88: Triple A. But 6½ years after breaking out as a teenage phenom for the Seattle Mariners in 1989, Griffey made an impromptu […]

A day after dropping the opening game of the 1925 World Series to the Washington Nationals, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned to right-hander Vic Aldridge, their hottest pitcher during their push for the National League pennant. Minimizing the fallout from two bases-loaded, no-out situations, Aldridge made Glenn Wright and Kiki Cuyler’s home runs stand up for […]

Baseball comebacks are even more remarkable and unique when compared to other sports. In timed sports, there is always a moment when the game is over, even if it “ain’t over.” In baseball, a team can be down five runs in the final inning, have no one on base, two outs, and two strikes on […]