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The most electrifying defensive shortstop of his generation, Mark Belanger set the standard by anchoring a great Baltimore Orioles infield for most of 14 seasons. During this stretch, Baltimore won 90 or more games 11 times with six postseason appearances capped by the 1970 world championship. Belanger and Ozzie Smith are the only shortstops to […]
Clad in the uniform of his hometown team, Paul Molitor stood on third base after he collected the 3,000th hit of his major-league career. The first player ever to reach the milestone with a triple, Molitor enjoyed a number of memorable moments in a Minnesota Twins uniform through the final three seasons of his 21-year […]
In the summer of 1955, Robert Leroy Powell became the first player from Flint, Michigan, to make the major leagues. Bob signed a $36,000 bonus contract with the Chicago White Sox following the spring quarter at Michigan State University, where he starred as a hard-hitting outfielder for the Spartans’ baseball nine. As it happened, Powell […]
For many people, Steve Rogers is the guy who gave up the game-winning home run to Rick Monday in the 1981 National League Championship Series. However, to think of him for just that one pitch does a disservice to a player who was a five-time All-Star, an ERA leader, and the ace of the excellent […]
Charlie Eakle, meter reader, Was a part-time major-leaguer. When his two-game trial was done, ’Twas back to work where he’d begun. According to a contemporary report, Charlie Eakle played two major-league games with the 1915 Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League while simultaneously holding down a full-time job with Baltimore’s gas and electric company. […]
“Don’t ever get comfortable, because the game has a way of humbling you.” – Terry Adams1 A relief pitcher most of his career, Terry Adams won his first and only World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2004. Standing 6-feet-3-inches tall and weighing 225 pounds, the fiery right-hander was an imposing presence on the […]
William Orange Forman, who pitched briefly for Washington in 1909 and 1910, was born on October 10, 1886, in Venango, Pennsylvania, the youngest of William (Billy) and Almira (Myra) Forman’s three children. The elder Forman came to northwestern Pennsylvania during its oil rush, and made a living drilling wells and refining their product. Young Will […]
Bill Renna was a journeyman outfielder who played in 370 games over six seasons for four American League teams. He batted over .300 for the Yankees, served as a backup for Boston’s Ted Williams, and in 1954 led the league in turning double plays as a right-fielder. His career, Rich Marazzi once wrote, was “a […]
Wendell Smith built a media career that would eventually be recognized in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He’s best known for his campaign to integrate major league baseball, which resulted in Jackie Robinson’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Wendell Smith, however, was more than an activist. During his 35-year career, he evolved […]
A Deadball Era outfielder, Frank Delahanty rated middle-of-the-pack among the ballplaying Delahanty brothers. The accomplishments of his six-year major league career were decidedly modest. Frank was little more than a journeyman, nowhere near the player that his Hall of Fame brother Ed had been. Nor was Frank in the same baseball class as his brother […]
“Dave Roberts is a novice manager, but he seems born to the task,” longtime San Francisco sportswriter Bruce Jenkins wrote about the offseason Dodgers hire in mid-2016. “He took a disjointed clubhouse and made it whole, instilling a good-times brand of confidence and telling SI.com, ‘I put my hand on each player every single day […]
The 6-foot tall, 210-pound catcher for the Jersey City Jerseys looked like a giant to the boy. It was Camera Day at Jersey City’s Roosevelt Stadium in 1960. The Jerseys were the Cincinnati Reds’ Triple-A club. The catcher was Dutch Dotterer, a charming and intellectual athlete. Years later, Santa Ana High School’s Athletic Director, Frank Alvarado, would […]
Between games of a doubleheader in Chicago on May 5, 1963, on a day the White Sox honored Minnie Minoso for his outstanding seasons there, a 31-year-old rookie with the Washington Senators was feted by a marching band and presented with a new car and other gifts.1 The player was Richard Eugene Phillips, the pride […]
Dwight Smith entered the major leagues with a bang, thanks to a dynamic rookie season that included clutch hits, a playoff appearance, Rookie of the Year votes, and even a chance to sing the National Anthem. He never matched the success of that first season, but Smith still had a respectable eight-year career in the […]
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 […]
Bob Feller was a 35-year-old veteran of 15 major-league seasons in 1954 when the Cleveland Indians won 111 games and swept to the American League pennant by eight games over the New York Yankees. His fastball had lost a good deal of its luster and manager Al Lopez had reportedly wanted to release him during […]
Infielder Charlie Montoyo played just four games in the big leagues, with Montreal in 1993. However, his extensive minor-league experience led to a lengthy career as a manager in both the minors and the majors. Montoyo faced several challenges during his life and career but still managed to succeed both on and off the field. […]
“It’s really a dream come true – the happiest moment of my life. To get a chance to play before my home town.” – Don O’Riley The classic dream of kids who love baseball is that they will be good enough to play professionally and make the major leagues. If that can be done with […]
John Young carried an impressive 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame during his baseball playing days. Even more impressive than his physical stature on the field, however, was the stature he later gained as a baseball ambassador for the underprivileged. In founding the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program, Young left an indelible mark on the game that […]
It was a long slog to the major leagues for Jack Merson. He broke into Organized Baseball in 1940, signed as a teenager by the Washington Senators and assigned to play second base for the Newport (Tennessee) Canners in the Class D Appalachian League. He made the majors near the end of the 1951 season, […]
“Wot! Youse didn’t see de Brooklyns dumped? … Dere eyes wuz filled with cotton.” — Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 30, 1896 In their home opener on Wednesday, April 29, 1896, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the National League hosted the Washington Senators, and enthusiastic Brooklyn fans filled Eastern Park for the matchup. The ballpark was […]
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies were meeting for the second consecutive year in the 1978 National League Championship Series. LA took the series in 1977, ousting the Phillies in four games. “Three is my lucky number,” said Philadelphia manager Danny Ozark. “I wear number 3 and this is our third time here. […]
“If the ball drops, I might have had an inside-the-park [grand-slam] home run. I was just a step away from second base when he [Tommie Agee] caught it.” — Paul Blair after the second of Tommie Agee’s iconic catches.1 On October 12, 1969, the Mets had returned from Baltimore with the World Series tied […]
“Always stand on principle … even if you stand alone.” — John Adams1 During the 1970s, four American League games ended in forfeit. Three were the result of fans throwing caution to the wind – near the end of the Senators’ farewell to Washington in September 1971, during the Cleveland Indians’ 10-cent beer night […]