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Outfielder Greg Harts got into his only three big-league games with the New York Mets during the 1973 pennant race. The lefty was called up from Double-A and got a hit in two pinch-hit at-bats. His only other appearance came as a pinch-runner; he never played in the field in the majors. Harts ran well […]

The opening lines of Grantland Rice’s poem “Red Lucas, Ball Player,” say it all: “Just a ball player, that’s all- He can field, he can pitch, he can hit …” During his National League pitching career, Charles Frederick “Red” Lucas finished 204 of 302 starts; was one of the all-time best control pitchers, walking just […]

None other than noted baseball statistics guru Bill James observed and commented, “At the age of 21, Tuck Turner hit .416 and scored 91 runs in 80 games; he also drove in 82 runs.” His career degenerated quickly after that. “I can’t remember that I ever read anything about him, and I have no idea […]

Catcher Jack Lapp came to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908 as a late-season gamble recruited from outlaw baseball. He stuck with the team and become part of the “pennant trust” that captured four American League flags from 1910 through 1914.1 Lapp never quite eclipsed Ira Thomas, then Wally Schang, to emerge as the team’s first-string […]

Red Shannon is one of the 53 players who played for both the Boston Braves and the Boston Red Sox. His career embraced five consecutive years in the American League, bookended by two disconnected years in the National, first for the Braves and later with the Cubs. Shannon’s debut was with the Braves, in the […]

The 1890 season was perhaps the most turbulent in baseball history. Conflict between owners and players over a salary cap and the reserve clause sparked the creation of a third major league. The Players League would compete with the two established leagues for players and fans. Although the addition of eight new major league teams […]

Johnnie Dawson’s life was bookended by unknowns. His early life was full of uncertainties and the end of his life passed without mention. Even his date of birth is up for debate. Most sources agree that Dawson was born on November 8, but the year varies from 1914 to 1915 to 1916. The birth year […]

Harry Raymond was a light-hitting third baseman who played mostly for the Louisville Colonels of the American Association in the late 1880s and early 1890s. While his statistical performance as a hitter was hardly exceptional, with a career batting average of only .235, Raymond was at the center of several remarkable events. He was part […]

The once thick and perfectly groomed dark hair grew thin and gray over a professional career spanning a remarkable sixty-nine years. From 1920 to 1989, Johnny Neun served in the capacities of player, coach, manager, instructor and scout. Along the way, he earned a reputation as a great baseball mind, an excellent storyteller, and an […]

A light-hitting, rifle-armed shortstop who played a key role in baseball’s biggest scandal, Swede Risberg was a rising young player in the American League when he was banned from the game at age 25. The youngest member of the Black Sox, he always found his home state of California and the Pacific Coast League preferable […]

On September 2, 1969, Phil Hennigan made his major-league debut in Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium in relief of Cleveland Indians starter Luis Tiant. Entering the sixth inning with his club trailing 5-1 and the Twins threatening more, Hennigan retired the always-dangerous Rod Carew on one pitch by inducing the future Hall of Fame famer to fly […]

“(For Dykstra) no dare was too bold, no drink too strong, no car too fast, no poker hand too big.”  — Jeff Pearlman, author of The Bad Guys Won!1 “The Dude would be an experience even if it had nothing to do with baseball. You could meet the Dude away from the field and come […]

While the Boston Red Stockings of 1871 had many players who would go on to distinguished baseball careers, outfielder Frank Barrows was not one of them. In his only year in the new National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, Barrows played in 18 games for Boston, batted.151 (13 hits in 86 at-bats), and drove […]

Gene Krapp, a diminutive right-handed spitballer, holds an iconic spot in the legendary halls of baseball journalism. Celebrated baseball writer Fred Lieb wrote in his memoir about the influence that writer Charley Dryden had upon Lieb’s career. Lieb was especially impressed with Dryden’s ability to occasionally slip a double entendre past an editor. Lieb wrote, […]

Twenty-four games and 19 plate appearances with two hits for the 1968 Baltimore Orioles were the extent of Lorenzo “Chico” Fernández’s major league action, but he spent over 40 years in professional baseball. After a nearly fatal beaning ended the Cuban-born infielder’s 12-season playing career, Fernández coached in the Orioles and Dodgers organizations for more […]

A Tennessee native who played baseball and basketball at Georgia Tech,1 Bob Tillman caught the eye of Red Sox scout George Digby, who signed him out of Middle Tennessee State on January 18, 1958. Tillman, a 6-foot-4 right-hander, earned a place in baseball history with his first official major-league at-bat, which left the yard in […]

Right-handed pitcher Howie “Spud” Krist overcame a series of ailments and potentially career-threatening injuries to post an undefeated season (10-0) for the Cardinals in 1941 after a three-year absence from the major leagues. As an important member of the Cardinals’ World Series teams in 1942 and 1943, Krist sported a 37-11 lifetime record before a […]

Ask a Tigers fan of recent vintage to associate “Blue Jays” and “extra innings” and the memories will not be positive. On August 10, 2014, Detroit squandered a 5-0 victory, eventually losing when Jose Bautista sliced a game-winning single in the 19th inning. Thirty years before, the Tigers and Blue Jays faced off in an […]

Fledging leagues need paying customers to survive, but sometimes owners have to give away free samples to entice potential consumers to pay for products. This kind of thinking led to Fans’ Day, when, “[f]or the first time in many years admission to a big league game was free”1 as the Federal League’s Brooklyn entry’s “gates […]

On Saturday, April 16, 1955, pregame activity at Busch Stadium was lively hours before the 1:30 p.m. tilt between the Cubs and the Cardinals. While Chicago manager Stan Hack amused reporters talking about his badly swollen hand, St. Louis skipper Eddie Stanky and his coaching staff were busy hosting a morning baseball clinic for more […]

The 1924 World Series marked the fourth straight post-season appearance for the New York Giants and the first for the Washington Senators. Despite having Walter Johnson, who is still regarded today as one of the greatest pitchers of all time, the Senators had experienced limited success since the American League became a major league in […]

On a pheasant-hunting trip during the offseason, Fergie Jenkins said he would try to win 20 games again. His teammate, Billy Williams, stated that he would try to hit 40 home runs for the first time in his career.1 The 26-year-old Jenkins had won at least 20 games for three consecutive seasons coming into 1970. […]

Americans will always remember 2001 for the terrorist attacks that were perpetrated on US soil on September 11 of that year. Although baseball seemed trivial in the immediate aftermath of that day’s events, President George W. Bush – in a decision reminiscent of President Franklin Roosevelt’s “green light” letter during World War II – encouraged […]