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Describing his philosophy of building pitching staffs, Sparky Anderson once remarked, “To get the real top-flight pitchers, you have to strip yourself of so much talent that if you make such a deal, you find you don’t have enough left to win. So you try to obtain a pitcher who has pitched well against your […]

Though he didn’t invent the pitch, Eddie “Knuckles” Cicotte was perhaps the first major-league pitcher to master the knuckleball. According to one description, Cicotte gripped the knuckler by holding the ball “on the three fingers of a closed hand, with his thumb and forefinger to guide it, throwing it with an overhand motion, and sending […]

In 2004, as the Boston Red Sox won their first world championship in 86 years, right-handed sinkerball pitcher Derek Lowe earned the rare distinction of winning the clinching game in the Division Series, the League Championship Series, and the World Series itself. He won 176 regular-season games pitching for seven different major-league teams, but his […]

When Elvis Presley died, Mark Clark didn’t cry. He cried when Bake McBride was traded. “Can you believe that? Elvis meant absolutely nothing to Mark?” his mother, Marjorie Clark, said. “He didn’t cry for Elvis, but he cried for Bake.”1 When the king of rock ‘n’ roll died in August of 1977, the 9-year-old Clark […]

“The best birthday present I ever got.” – Ralph Mauriello, September 6, 19581 Ralph Mauriello had been born on August 25, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York, and less than two weeks after his 24th birthday, after six minor-league seasons, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers. Within two weeks of joining the club, he had his […]

St. Cloud, Minnesota, native Jim Eisenreich retired from baseball in 1998, capping a career that spanned 15 major-league seasons and included two World Series appearances. Still, with all of his success, Eisenreich’s baseball career may be most remembered for how it was almost ended before it ever really started.   Eisenreich was born on April 18, […]

Matt Young’s place in baseball history is secure. On April 12, 1992, the 33-year-old left-hander became only the third pitcher to throw a complete-game no-hitter and lose the game. Pitching in the first game of a doubleheader for the visiting Boston Red Sox against the Indians in Cleveland, Young lost 2-1. Since his complete game […]

Terry Steinbach grew up in an athletic family that focused on the fun of the games they played. Although he didn’t give a lot of thought to college scholarships or professional aspirations during his formative years, Steinbach took his baseball talents to a 14-year career in the major leagues that included three World Series and […]

“Pretty as the first flush of a June morn and as shapely as a peachblow vase filled with violets and many-hued pansies.” That’s how the Chicago Tribune described a tall, blond, and strikingly handsome 21-year-old Harley Parker in his 1893 debut for the Chicago Colts.1 Thirteen years later, when the right arm of the less […]

Who was the last player to bat for the Washington Senators in the franchise’s final game and also the last active player from that team? Who played both complete games of a doubleheader at shortstop without handling a single chance? Who became one-half of the first set of American League teammates – and only the […]

During a fifteen-year major-league career that spanned the Deadball and Lively Ball Eras, Jack Fournier was one of the premier power hitters in baseball. His batting accomplishments were impressive: While compiling a lifetime .313 batting average, he led the National League in home runs once; led the American League in slugging percentage once; hit three […]

Considering that his professional career almost ended before it started, Joe Sambito made the most of his opportunity. His future in the game teetered several times, but for a period of five years, 1977-1981, the left-hander from Long Island, New York, with a good fastball and a nasty slider was arguably one of the best […]

Benigno Ayala lives up to his given name, which means “kind” or “friendly.” Following a productive career as a role player, he has bestowed greater gifts on the baseball world, through his work with the Baseball Assistance Team (BAT). Quite a few of his fellow Puerto Rican pros have fallen on hard times since they […]

During a late season call-up in 1986, Kevin Seitzer burst upon the American League looking like the next Kansas City Royals star, the heir-apparent to future Hall of Famer George Brett at third. He arrived with his trademark hunched-over batting stance that produced sensational batting averages in the minor leagues and a brash attitude that […]

Tom Simpson’s career in the major leagues was fairly brief, but he did put in a full season with the Chicago Cubs in 1953 and pitched in 30 games. Simpson was a 6-foot-1 right-hander, listed at 190 pounds. He had five years of minor-league experience behind him when he joined the Cubs. Thomas Lee Simpson […]

Atlanta Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal’s defense had been maligned in the Atlanta press just six days earlier,1 but on August 10, 2003, in the fifth inning of a nationally televised game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Furcal leapt high to rob Cardinals pitcher Woody Williams of a run-scoring base hit before turning just the 13th […]

After a successful inaugural season in 1943, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) expanded into Milwaukee and Minneapolis.1 It soon became obvious that the move into larger metropolitan areas was a mistake, as both teams struggled to draw fans.2 The Minneapolis entry, which had been previously known as the Millerettes and Lakers, picked up […]

Hoping to build on the Boston Red Sox’ win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Game One of the 2007 American League Division Series, 27-year-old Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka threw 31 pitches in the top of the first inning of Game Two. With the first six, he struck out leadoff batter Chone […]

It took the dual attractions of a Jackie Robinson number-retirement ceremony and a postgame fireworks show to lure the Pirates’ first non-Opening Day sellout crowd since June 5, 1977, to Three Rivers Stadium on July 12, 1997.1 The surprising Bucs, who had been dubbed “The Freak Show” by announcer Greg Brown because of their unexpected […]

Darryl Kile was no stranger to quashing claims that his best days were behind him. After a 12-21 record in his first two major-league seasons, he made the All-Star team and pitched a no-hitter in 1993. After three straight years of earned-run averages above 4.00, he rebounded in ’97, landing a 19-7 record and a […]

The opener of a season-ending doubleheader between Wright State University and Indiana Central University in 1978 ended up being a notable moment in both baseball and rock music lore, thanks to an outstanding outing by a Wright State pitcher later known as a prolific, critically acclaimed songwriter and performer. With Indianapolis’s Indiana Central already bound […]

The play is known as “The Slide” and it served two functions. The first was immediate; it allowed the Atlanta Braves to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in Game Seven of the 1992 National League Championship Series and advance to the World Series. The second ushered in an era of futility for the Pirates that […]

Despite the promise of the previous two seasons, by 2013 Pirates fans were more jaded than ever. There had always been the hope that the losing-season streak, now 20 years long, inevitably had to end at some point. Now, after back-to-back late-in-the-season collapses, there was a feeling that nothing would end the streak. But just […]

On July 17, 1904, future Hall of Famer Clark Griffith pitched the homestanding New York Highlanders to a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers in a contest that was atypical for the era in several respects. First, the game, a makeup of an earlier rainout between the clubs, was played on a Sunday. Avoidance of […]