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It came on a full count. A fastball a little bit up in the zone, right in his wheelhouse. From the instant it left the bat there was no doubt that it was bound for the right-field stands. The only question was whether it would end up in the bleachers or in the upper deck. […]

Propelled by rising youngsters and veteran newcomers, the Atlanta Braves emerged from six seasons of woebegone play to challenge for the National League West lead in May 1991. Left-hander Steve Avery, the vanguard of Atlanta’s youth wave at age 21, continued his early-season breakthrough in a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 12 […]

It is the bottom of the eighth inning of Game Two, and the Boston Red Sox are squarely facing the prospect of heading to Detroit having lost the first two games of the 2013 ALCS at home. The score is 5-1 Tigers, but the Red Sox have a glimmer of hope. The bases are loaded […]

The expectation that the 2003 NLCS would end with a quick coronation for the Chicago Cubs was diminished when the Florida Marlins stormed back from a 4-0 deficit to win Game One on third baseman Mike Lowell’s 11th-inning home run. The gaudy headlines about the Cubs’ vaunted pitching staff1 failed to underscore the fact that […]

Willie “Pops” Stargell, the captain of the Pittsburgh Pirates, had announced at the beginning of 1982 that this season – his 20th full season in the majors, all with the Bucs – would be his last. After a magnificent 1979 season in which he had become the first player to be voted MVP of the […]

Gene Baker was not, as is sometimes reported, the first Black manager in minor-league baseball. But it was still a significant step forward when the 36-year-old took the reins of the Batavia (New York) Pirates of the Class D New York-Penn League on the night of June 19, 1961. There’s no firm record of a […]

At the time, releasing Doyle Alexander seemed like a no-brainer. Swallowing 2 2/3 years of Alexander’s four-year, $2.2 million contract was a small price for New York Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner to pay to rid the club of such a major disappointment. Signed to that deal immediately after his March 1982 acquisition from the […]

When even the most casual baseball fan envisions a first baseman, they conjure an image that looks a lot like Ryan Howard. In other words, a surprisingly athletic, imposing 6-foot-4, 250-pound frame that looks more natural at defensive tackle than on the baseball diamond. For a time, Howard’s production was the pinnacle of that prototypical […]

“Hometown boy makes good” is a classic trope of film, fiction, and sports pages. The dirty-faced boy from the sandlots grows up to be the star of the local nine, the surrogate son or brother, buddy or boyfriend of every fan. When the hometown boy fails to make good — or good enough — the […]

Hector Headley Lopez, the Panamanian-born third baseman for the Kansas City Athletics, saw his solid career shift to a better team when the A’s traded him to the New York Yankees on May 26, 1959. After more than four seasons in Kansas City as a regular infielder, mostly at third base, Lopez continued to play […]

The history of baseball is filled with one-season wonders whose unexpected rise and success capture the imagination and interest of fans and sportswriters. One of those sentimental stories belongs to southpaw Ray Prim, who at the age of 38 led the National League in ERA (2.40) as a member of the pennant-winning Chicago Cubs in […]

Four swings made Dusty Rhodes famous. The pinch-hitting hero of the 1954 World Series, when the underdog New York Giants swept the Cleveland Indians, Rhodes delivered key hits in three of the four victories. And he never had to pay for another drink in New York. “You know what Rhodes was?” his manager, Leo Durocher, […]

The year 2008 was supposed to be the coming-out party for Nate McLouth, then an outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He made his first All-Star team, captured his first Gold Glove, and tied for the NL lead with 46 doubles. But the party was short-lived. Due to injuries, McLouth never achieved that level of success […]

Left-hander George Brunet pitched professionally in a record 33 consecutive seasons. After his major league career with nine different teams ended in 1971, he pitched in Mexico until he was 54 in 1989.1 He eventually set the minor league record for strikeouts and earned a place in the Mexican League’s hall of fame. Counting winter […]

Al Leiter spent 18 years in the majors and enjoyed pitching success in both leagues. During his career, he managed to earn two World Series rings and play on three different teams in the fall classic. Although Leiter never became one of the star pitchers of his day, he made important contributions to his teams’ […]

On baseball’s biggest stage, Chicago Cubs right-hander Claude Passeau tossed the game of his life: a one-hit shutout against the Detroit Tigers in Game Three of the 1945 World Series. Though often overlooked in discussions about the best pitchers of his era, Passeau was a durable workhorse and five-time All-Star who averaged 15 wins and […]

By some standards, Ed Swartwood toiled in relative obscurity, playing nearly his entire career in the American Association, an under-appreciated major league in the 19th century. Even the teams he played on weren’t impressive. During the league’s inaugural season, 1882, he came up with the Pittsburg Alleghenys, a poor club during his three summers there. […]

For the four years from 1931 through 1934 Edward Arthur Brandt, largely forgotten today, was one of the top left-handers in the National League. Toiling for the mediocre Boston Braves, Dutch, as he was called by his teammates, reeled off victory totals of 18, 16, 18, and 16 and was a big reason why the […]

Although there isn’t a strong correlation between hair color and personality, it’s fair to say that the stereotypical redhead is hot-tempered, fiery and passionate. With his carrot-topped thatch, Wade Killefer personifies this description and was a natural to be called “Red” from birth. Add to the mix a stocky 5’9″ 175-pound frame, a keen intellect, […]

John Boyce Taylor – known as “Steel Arm Johnny” for his pitching – was the second of four tremendously talented baseball-playing brothers. One of them, Ben, was eventually inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Eldest brother Charles, known in baseball as “C.I.,” was a brilliant manager; along with Rube Foster, he […]

In August 1985, The Cosby Show was tops on television, Back to the Future was a box-office hit, and Mike Young was one of baseball’s hottest hitters. That month, Young went deep nine times in a 14-game stretch for the Baltimore Orioles. He finished the season with 28 homers – 20 of which came after […]

“That night might have been the best thing anyone has done in baseball in the last 10 years.” — Mike Downey, August 28, 1985 ***** In 1985 Eddie Murray drove in a career-high 124 runs, had a career-high 37 doubles (a total he matched in 1992), and reached the 30-home-run mark (31) for the fourth […]

Ron Kline is one of a number of professional athletes who entered politics after their professional athletic careers came to a close. The most notable baseball player turned politician is Jim Bunning, US Senator from Kentucky (1999-2011), though others (Vinegar Bend Mizell and Fred Brown, for instance) also served in political office.1 Ron Kline became […]