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In the minor leagues, Ramón Monzant won 61 games and lost only 25, spanning 784 innings, for a .709 record. No minor leaguer who hurled at least 1,000 innings ever came close to that rate.1 Alas, he was merely mediocre for the New York and San Francisco Giants of the National League, for whom he […]

Fritz Brickell’s biggest claim to fame is probably that he was the Los Angeles Angels’ starting shortstop for the first seven games of their inaugural season in 1961. But he had a brief major-league career and died of cancer at the age of 30. Fritz Darrell Brickell was born on March 19, 1935, in Wichita, […]

When he stepped to the plate as the leadoff hitter for the Kansas City Athletics on the final day of the 1958 season, 18-year-old second baseman Lou Klimchock was looking for his first major-league hit, not to make modern major-league history. Playing in just his second major-league game, Klimchock achieved both. On the mound that […]

Immediately following his graduation from Tufts College Dental School in June 1916, catcher Ralph Carroll joined the Philadelphia Athletics, where his tenure was brief (10 games) and distinguished only by the fact that the club dropped every game in which Carroll appeared. Or perhaps that was not much of a distinction, as the hapless A’s […]

Except for two games in the 1890 Players League, Fred Doe devoted his entire baseball career to the minor leagues in New England. On the diamond, Doe quickly progressed from player to manager during the period 1885 to 1888. In the 1890s, Doe became a non-playing manager and in the early 1900s he moved up […]

One of the best-hitting catchers in minor-league history, Everett “Yam” Yaryan batted .357 and slugged 41 home runs in 1920 for Wichita, Kansas, in the Western League. Only Perry Werden and Ernie Calbert had previously hit more homers in one minor-league season, and neither was a catcher.1 Yaryan’s banner year was his springboard to the […]

Over the history of baseball, there have been myriad players who have been, deservedly or undeservedly, tagged with the moniker of “goat.” These competitors have been involved in circumstances that changed outcomes at critical instances in momentous games. Two of the most famous such persons, Ralph Branca and Bill Buckner, have direct ties to the […]

He’s been termed a “reluctant pioneer.” All Pumpsie Green wanted to do was play professional baseball. He didn’t even aspire to the major leagues at first, and would have been content playing for his hometown Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League. That said, Pumpsie Green took pride in the fact that he helped accomplish […]

According to J.C. Kofoed of Baseball Magazine, Big Ed Reulbach was “one of the greatest pitchers that the National League ever produced, and one of the finest, clean-cut gentlemen who ever wore a big league uniform.” A statuesque 6’1″, 190 lb. right-hander, Reulbach employed the technique of “shadowing”——hiding the ball in his windup—as well as […]

Tom McGuire must have found it odd to be on the mound for the first-place Chicago White Sox on August 9, 1919, at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. The spitballing McGuire had never made an appearance in Organized Baseball. His professional baseball career had been played entirely in independent, “outlaw” leagues like the United States […]

Called “the Edison of the sport,” by James C. Isaminger in a 1922 obituary, “Uncle Ben” Shibe was a major contributor to the development of the national pastime. It was his business savvy that helped turn a nascent game at his birth into a multi-million dollar enterprise by his death. As co-owner of the Philadelphia […]

John McFetridge has the longest gap between his first and second major league seasons of any player who debuted in the nineteenth century. Nearly thirteen full years elapsed between his initial pitching appearance with the Phillies in 1890 and his next sighting in Phils garb in an official National League game in 1903. Born on […]

The headline in the Cleveland Press read, “Scout Doyle is dispatched to see mysterious southpaw schoolmaster pitching phenom perform.” Nowhere in the article is the “phenom” mentioned by name, nor do they divulge where scout Billy Doyle was headed. The article does state that a telegram was received stating “Will pitch Saturday…”1 The mystery was […]

Twelve managers have won more games than Bill McKechnie. None has won more respect. Deacon Bill McKechnie was the first to lead three different teams to the World Series and the first to win championships with two different teams. In 25 seasons as a manager, between 1915 and 1946, he earned respect as a baseball […]

During his lifetime, Col. Frank Leslie Smith (1867-1950) adhered to a simple credo: the ends justified the means. The motto served him well as he built formidable business connections and amassed political clout on local, regional and national stages. By that same measure, it established the framework for his ultimate downfall. But during his youth, […]

Thirty men registered plate appearances for the 2004 Boston Red Sox, but one of the biggest contributors to the offensive juggernaut did not face a single pitch. Had it not been for the December 27, 2002, announcement of Ron “Papa Jack” Jackson as the team’s new hitting coach, Boston’s stunning rise to the zenith of […]

Long before Bill Veeck sent a midget up to bat, Joe Engel sent a teenage girl out to pitch to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Engel, “the Barnum of the Bushes,” was minor league baseball’s premier showman for nearly four decades. “I don’t care what you say about me,” he said, “as long as you […]

The small town of Colony, Oklahoma, began as an agricultural settlement for Native Americans trying to adapt to a new way of life. In 1886 about 120 Cheyenne and Arapahos left their tribal lands in an attempt to assimilate themselves into the American culture. They became farmers, growing such staples as wheat and cotton. Six […]

Manager Paul Richards, right, seen here shaking hands with New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel in 1958, is often credited with the invention of the “Waxahachie Swap.” Richards was born in Waxahachie, Texas. (SABR-Rucker Archive)   Paul Richards was one of the most celebrated managers who never won a pennant. He took on seemingly hopeless […]

The Red Sox faithful’s devotion to Nomar Garciaparra, cultivated through multiple All-Star seasons and batting titles, had seemingly reached its breaking point after a July 1, 2004, loss to the Yankees. While Garciaparra sat out the game due to his Achilles tendon injuries, his perennial rival Derek Jeter reached base twice and dove headfirst into […]

Ron Fairly was born to be a major leaguer on July 12, 1938. His father Carl had a 10-year minor league career and reached the International League with Toronto and the American Association with Indianapolis. The year Ron was born was one of Carl’s best seasons as he hit .302 and slugged .406 for the […]

Bunny Brief started his professional career in 1910 as a 17-year-old playing in his hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. The first-year Resorters finished second in the Class D West Michigan League. Brief gave notice that he was a hitter to be reckoned with by leading the league with 10 triples. During his 19-year career, Brief […]

The SABR Quebec Chapter held its spring meeting on May 23, 2020. The pandemic forced us to do so virtually, but this first experience was nonetheless quite successful. Christian Trudeau, one of our chapter’s founding members in 2005, who had been prevented from attending our meetings in person in recent years after moving 1,000 km […]

E ho’omau ’ia ka mo’olelo. “History will continue to be made.” Maehara Stadium, August 2024 (Courtesy of Jake Rinloan)   Since its opening in 1973, Maehara Stadium has been the premier baseball park on the island of Maui. Cherished by communities on Maui, neighboring Hawaiian islands, and beyond, it has hosted countless events – mostly […]