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(On arriving at Kauffman Stadium for the first time) “As we drive up we see the Crown. There was a little mist and I’m thinking ‘this is an unbelievable sight.’ The lights are on. It doesn’t get any better than that. Then all of a sudden we pull in, we go into the clubhouse, and […]

In 1965, Giants second baseman Hal Lanier and his father, Max, manager of the Class A Lexington Giants, discussed one of Max’s new players. Hal asked, Max answered: “The guy can hit, huh?” “A ton.” “Can he run?” “He doesn’t run, he flies.” “Has he got an arm?” “Like a cannon.” “Has he got power?” […]

Joe Black helped lead the Brooklyn Dodgers to the 1952 pennant, going 15-4 with 15 saves, and a 2.15 ERA. He won the NL’s Rookie of the Year Award and became the first African American pitcher to win a World Series game. “Let’s put it this way,” Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen told reporters, “Where would […]

While Jackie Robinson and some of the other pioneers who helped break the odious color barrier now receive credit for their accomplishments, others who showed just as much courage have been forgotten. Jim Tugerson is one such player. Tugerson was born in Florence Villa, Polk County, Florida on March 7, 1923, and christened James Clerence […]

Ray Webster played in 47 major-league games in 1959 and 1960, and 732 games over eight seasons in the minor leagues, playing for teams ranging from Quebec to Hawaii. He was primarily a middle infielder but also played 75 games at third base and 35 in the outfield. During his time in the big leagues, […]

Center field at Yankee Stadium is hallowed ground. Once upon a time, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle patrolled this section of the House That Ruth Built. Now, granted, Bernie Williams — whose 16-season New York Yankees career lasted from 1991 to 2006 — may at best be a borderline Cooperstown inductee, but he is a […]

“How does it feel to be the smallest player in the majors,” a Houston reporter asked Fred Patek in 1968. “A heck of a lot better than being the tallest player in the minors,” countered the rookie shortstop.1 Patek’s quip matched his quickness on the field and the basepaths for 14 years in the major […]

“Has a pitcher ever made his major league debut as a pinch-hitter?” asked Cleveland sportswriter Harry Jones in his column after the Indians’ 1960 Opening Day 4-2 loss to the visiting Detroit Tigers.1 Detroit scored two runs in the top of the 15th inning to take the lead. After a one-out double in the bottom […]

“And the 3-2 pitch. Fly ball to deep left field — it’s mile high and it’s out of here!”1 Not the “shot heard round the world.” But a shot that reverberated among the 80,000 plus fans that rose as one as Colorado Rockies TV play-by-play announcer Charlie Jones called the first Mile High Stadium home […]

Few players in the history of major-league baseball have displayed each of the prized “five tools,” meaning the ability to hit for average and for power, to run, to field, and to throw. On that  short list belongs the name of Ellis Burks, who began his major-league career as a 22-year-old rookie for the Boston […]

Larry Lintz was built like a whippet — 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds — and ran like one. He came up as a middle infielder with the Montreal Expos in 1973 and stole 50 bases the following season, his most active year in the majors. In addition to being an exciting baserunner, he was a good […]

After his playing days, Cecil Cole watched a lot of baseball games in his hometown of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, with local sportswriter Jim Kriek. “A brief chat with him could make the day brighter,” Kriek recalled. “We had a lot of good conversations and laughs, not only about baseball, but everything in general.” Kriek was well […]

Best known today as the field manager of the Providence team of the National League that won the inaugural World Series championship in 1884, Frank Bancroft was better known among his contemporaries as a highly proficient businessman. He was “one of the game’s first great promoters,” using his showmanship skills to produce profits for small-market […]

The career of Al Schulz might be summed up as “promise unfulfilled.” He received several opportunities in the minor and major leagues, but through a lack of ambition never achieved the success that had been expected of him. Although he was possibly the best left-hander in the Federal League, this was, as his one-time manager […]

On a sultry Wednesday afternoon at Ebbets Field, the Robins and Pirates played for 4 hours and 15 minutes in the first game of a doubleheader.1 A “paltry 1,500 ‘bushers’ were on hand to appreciate” the longest game in the 41-year history of the National League.2 A Brooklyn newspaper account noted that “forty-seven safeties, one […]

It’s unlikely that any of the 16,936 fans attending a mid-August night game in 1960 between the visiting San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals would have guessed they were witnessing the two winningest pitchers of the new decade, facing each other for the first time in their careers.1 Juan Marichal, San Francisco’s 22-year-old […]

After Stan Musial’s official announcement on August 12, 1963, that this would be his last season as a player, he was showered with appreciation in the seven National League cities he played at in August and September: Los Angeles, Houston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and, finally, Chicago in late September.1 As Musial’s illustrious 22-year […]

The 1942 Negro League World Series was the first championship series since 1927 that pitted teams from two separate Black baseball leagues. The Homestead Grays, champions of the Negro National League, faced the Kansas City Monarchs, winners of the Negro American League pennant. The Series featured great teams and players, controversy, and perhaps the most […]

When Guy Hecker tossed a no-hitter against the Alleghenys of Pittsburgh on September 19, 1882, it was a first in several ways: It was the first time the losing team scored a run in a no-hitter. It was the first time a team recorded a second no-hitter for the franchise. It was the first time […]

Coming into this Saturday night game in St. Louis, the focus was on the Florida Marlins’ new catcher, superstar Mike Piazza, who had just joined the team in a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Afterward, however, all anyone could talk about was another slugging All-Star, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire, and […]

August 18, 1995, was a warm day in Denver. Thunderstorms popped up before game time and a fine mist lingered until after the game started. It was very unusual during the early years of the Colorado Rockies for them to start a game when precipitation was falling. However, this time it was decided to start […]

The St. Louis Cardinals must have been pinching themselves. On September 22 they were in third place in the National League, five games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies. Nine days later, after the Phillies’ epic collapse and their own eight-game winning streak, the Cardinals were in first place, one-half game up on the Cincinnati Reds, […]