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Enos Kirkpatrick played in four major league seasons in two different leagues. He spent part of 1912 and all of 1913 in the National League with the Brooklyn Dodgers; he then jumped to the Federal League, donning the uniform of the Baltimore Terrapins in 1914 and 1915. Overall, Kirkpatrick’s professional career lasted 11 seasons, from […]

In June 1947, three months before his husky right-handed hurler delivered the fifth no-hitter in franchise history, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack forecast the expected stardom of 26-year-old Bill McCahan. “[Y]ou will see another great pitcher in this boy,” Mack said. “Let me make a prediction. He will be another [Spud] Chandler.”1 Being compared to […]

Irish Meusel was the starting left fielder on New York Giant teams that won four consecutive National League pennants from 1921 to 1924. He was one of the leading sluggers of the era, a clutch hitter known for his ability to drive in runs. In 1923 he struck out only 16 times while leading the […]

On September 21, 1922, manager Tris Speaker of the Cleveland Indians employed 11 rookies in a 15-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Making his debut that day was a slick-fielding first baseman from the Southwestern League, Uke Clanton. Local beat writer Francis J. Powers remarked that “he leaps higher than any first baseman in […]

With a professional playing career that spanned 1987 to 2003, Bill Haselman spent 13 major-league seasons as a backup catcher for four different teams. He first reached the majors in 1990 with the Texas Rangers, a team he had three stints with, and appeared in a career-high 77 games in 1996 with the Red Sox. […]

A practicing dentist in the offseason, pitcher Ed Lafitte was a lanky, square-jawed journeyman in the American and Federal Leagues during the Deadball Era. No one knew just what to expect when righty Doc Lafitte took the mound. His hurling was often wild and occasionally brilliant, sometimes both in the same game. His historic contributions […]

Perhaps no other sport offers redemption to a player more often, or more quickly, than baseball. It can be a dangerous motivator for a young ballplayer. This is especially true for one who has been given his first opportunity to play every day. Or for a player who has been lauded for his skill on […]

Over the years, there has been no shortage of adjectives to describe the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals.  Raucous, rambunctious, and rowdy have been just a few of the terms used to portray the Deans, Durochers, Martins, and Medwicks of the club.  Yet not everyone on the team fit the public’s perception of this hell-raising, pennant-winning […]

A shortstop by trade, Bob Bailor could also play the outfield quite well. In fact, he played every position but first base and catcher during his 11 big-league seasons. Bob Murphy, the late New York Mets radio announcer, said, “He’s not a heavy hitter, but he is a tough competitor.” Like Rex Hudler and Joe […]

“He is a major leaguer if ever one was born.” That was Branch Rickey’s scouting report on 17-year-old Bill Bell. To underline Rickey’s point, the tall right-hander pitched back-to-back no-hitters in Class-D ball the next spring. Then he pitched a third one later in the same season. Bill Bell couldn’t miss. Until he did. Even […]

“Now, if I can just get the chance…” an optimistic Pat Dodson remarked during spring training with the Red Sox in 1988.1 Dodson excelled at the Triple-A level, becoming the International League MVP, and was a top prospect in the Red Sox farm system. However, his chances were limited, and success didn’t translate to the […]

When Baltimore broke though in 1979, ending New York’s stranglehold on the American League East title, the postseason was a new experience for John Lowenstein. Since the year he broke into the majors with Cleveland in 1970, “Steiner” had been on two teams that played .500: Cleveland in 1975 and Texas in 1978. In Game […]

One of only 21 Montanans to make it to the major leagues, Herbert Eugene Plews was born in Helena on Flag Day, June 14, 1928, the only child of Herbert and Marie Plews. Father and son had different middle names. Had things worked out otherwise, he might well have been born in Australia. His grandfather […]

Growing up in the early 1900s, southpaw Joe Giard was a pitching phenom on the sandlots of central Massachusetts. After four successful years with minor-league teams, Giard made his major-league debut in 1925 with the St. Louis Browns. He compiled a middling ERA of 5.04, but won 10 games against five losses, for a commendable […]

In the one season he played baseball at the major-league level, George Schmees played right field in 20 games, center field in 19 games, left field in nine games, and first base in four games. And he even pitched in two games. He committed one error in right field, one error in center field, one […]

Despite frequent citations over the years, it is not common knowledge that the Braves got their nickname and first Indian-head logo under James E. Gaffney. Then again, nearly a century and two franchise moves have gone by since the owner of yesteryear (December 1911 to January 1916) rechristened his team. The change celebrated his ties […]

During a relatively short late 19th century playing career, Tommy McCarthy forged a reputation as an inventive baseball strategist, a fine defensive outfielder, and a good, if not exceptional, batsman. A significant member of pennant winners in both the American Association and the National League, McCarthy lingered in memory as the lesser half of the […]

After Bob Bowman’s rubber-armed 1939 rookie campaign, St. Louis Star-Times sportswriter Ray J. Gillespie asked the 28-year-old to explain his remarkable endurance. In his folksy West Virginia drawl, Bowman made plain that “Pitchin’ every day beats workin’ in the [coal] mines, accordin’ to my way of figgerin’.”1 Having nearly led the St. Louis Cardinals to […]

“He knows more about baseball than I’ll ever know,” Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson once said of George Scherger.1 Pete Rose, answering skeptics about his own ascension to player-manager in August 1984, told the press not to worry. “I have George Scherger [as bench coach], who just happens to be the smartest baseball man […]

Peanuts Lowrey, who was the 1964 Phillies’ first-base coach, enjoyed a 13-year career as a player with the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies, playing in 978 games. Regarded as one of the best utility players and pinch-hitters of his generation, he was usually found roaming the outfield but he also […]

Hub Pruett was an unassuming lefty with a screwball so good that Babe Ruth once told him, “If all pitchers were like you, no one would have heard of me.”1 But Pruett’s peak was brief. It served merely as the prologue to a lengthy and remarkable career outside the game. Hubert Shelby Pruett was born […]

To casual baseball fans, the story of Seattle’s Sicks’ Stadium1 essentially ended on October 2, 1969, the day the ill-fated Seattle Pilots played the final game of their only season in the American League there. But the park in South Seattle hung on until 1979 and continued to host professional and amateur teams for part […]

Edwin Díaz fired another fastball, but Teoscar Hernández fouled it off, the third in a row on a 3-and-2 count. Díaz—who had been credited with 32 saves in each of the last two seasons with the New York Mets—was trying to close out a 5-2 win for Puerto Rico over the Dominican Republic in the […]

Winning the most games during the regular season by no means guarantees a team a World Series championship. As of 2023, neither of the two teams tied for the most regular-season wins in major-league history – 116 wins – had done so. The 1906 Chicago Cubs were 116-36 (.763) over a 154-game schedule but lost […]