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Class D. For generations of players and fans, the name signified primitive ballparks, bumpy bus rides, dashed dreams, and other trappings of the very lowest level of the minor leagues. That ended in December 1962, when a reorganization and streamlining of the financially struggling minors eliminated Classes B, C, and D and made Class A […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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?” […]

“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 […]

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, […]

“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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

Tommy Lasorda. You could almost say he needs no introduction. Famous and familiar for his nearly 20 years as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lasorda was the personification of the Dodgers and baseball’s best-known ambassador. Profane or charming, pugnacious or proud, outrageous or simply outspoken, Lasorda could be all these and more. Lasorda’s major-league […]

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 […]

To his contemporaries, he was a hard-nosed player, a throwback to earlier days, when players like Ty Cobb played the game as if their lives depended on it. Opponents labeled him “hard-headed” and “red-nosed.” Latinos had their own title for him: El Divino Loco or the Divine Madman. But it was Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Bob […]

During Welcome Back, Kotter’s run as a popular television sitcom, one of the “Sweathogs” – Robert Hegyes’ fictional Epstein character – routinely identified himself as a “Puerto Rican Jew” to comedic effect. Less than a decade after the show aired its final episode in 1979, a real-life Dominican Jew commenced his nine-season (1988-1991, 1993-1997) big-league […]

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 […]

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 […]

The little Hawaiian with the big round glasses had good hands and range, plus just enough pop in his bat to play during 11 major-league seasons. A second baseman by trade, Lenn Sakata also saw a good bit of action at shortstop. It is often noted that in May 1982, he was the last Baltimore […]

Rella Swamp holds the distinction of being one of the 17 original 1943 Rockford Peaches in the inaugural year of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Swamp played in one game as a late-inning defensive replacement and also batted once in a second game. Her 10-game stay on the Rockford roster ended as she […]