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This chapter is not about a single game. Instead, it is about three games, the first post-season interleague series intended to create a baseball “Championship of America” or a “World’s Championship.” Although nearly all baseball fans rattle off 1903 as the first World Series, this 19th-century match-up is recognized among baseball historians as the real […]

Baseball’s All-Star Game was played at Griffith Stadium in 1937 and 1956, and now it was time for another generation of local baseball fans to gather at the new District of Columbia Stadium to watch the feats of the greats. History told us later that the 1962 All-Star Game featured 18 future Hall of Famers.1 […]

In a tight contest that lasted almost five hours on May 28, 1979, the Kansas City Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4, ending what was then the longest game in Royals Stadium history. George Brett launched a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 16th inning to give the Royals their fifth consecutive victory. […]

Gary White, a catcher recently battling cancer, collected the decisive RBI single for his only hit of the 1999 Intercontinental Cup tournament, as Australia won its first gold medal in international baseball competition in an 11-inning, 4-3 thriller against Cuba.1 It was November 14, 1999, at Homebush Stadium, the site of the 2000 Sydney Olympic […]

Even before playing an inning of major-league baseball, Babe Ruth was something of a legend.1 Partly this came from his on-field accomplishments. At age 19, just before the 1914 season, he joined the International League Baltimore Orioles, signed by owner-manager Jack Dunn after Dunn saw him throw a no-hitter in a 1913 semipro game in […]

The 1920 best-of-nine World Series opened on October 5 at Ebbets Field, where temporary bleachers were erected on the outfield. In a tight pitching duel featuring just five hits by both teams, Cleveland’s Stan Coveleski emerged victorious, 3-1, over the Brooklyn Dodgers. (Photo: Library of Congress)   The Cleveland Indians were making their initial appearance […]

Len Boehmer spent most of this Sunday afternoon in the New York Yankees’ bullpen, just hoping for the opportunity to play. The 27-year-old infielder had spent nearly eight years in the minor leagues, save for three at-bats for the 1967 Reds, before surprisingly making the Yankees in the spring of 1969. For the season’s first […]

The Cleveland Indians had left Boston, and the Detroit Tigers arrived for a Tuesday night game with the Red Sox on June 21, 1955. Until the seventh-inning stretch, the game was a pitchers’ duel between right-handers Willard Nixon of the Red Sox and Ned Garver of the Tigers. Despite threatening weather, the game drew more […]

Yankee Stadium had been open for seven seasons when the summer of 1930 rolled around. The home team, featuring Babe Ruth, whose slugging changed the way major-league baseball was played, had brought its New York fans four American League pennants and three World Series championships in those years. When the Stadium wasn’t being used by […]

Fred Merkle had his boner and Steve Bartman his bobbled foul ball. For Candy Maldonado, a momentary lapse and blinding lights contributed to a play less infamous but just as devastating for the unfortunate protagonist. It was October 13, 1987, as Game Six of the National League Championship Series pitted Maldonado’s San Francisco Giants (90-72) […]

Alfonso “Chico” Carrasquel was the first great Hispanic defensive player in the major leagues. His play at shortstop made him as recognizable a big-leaguer as there was for several years. Carrasquel may not have revolutionized the position defensively like latter-day greats Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel – but he brought panache, born of his innate […]

After graduating from Duke University in 1974, John Poff made it to the majors for 31 games in 1979 and 1980. He hit .218 in 91 plate appearances. The first baseman-outfielder retired after the winter of 1981-82. “My career in baseball was frustrating,” he later said. “I wanted and felt I deserved a lot more […]

He lost more games than he won. He had trouble getting the ball over the plate, leading the National League in wild pitches five times and in bases on balls four years in a row. He was a minor figure in the most reviled trade in baseball history. Yet Jimmy Ring has been compared to […]

Ovid Nicholson’s chief baseball skills were bunting and speedy base running. In 1912, he stole 111 bases in 123 games, vaulting from Class-D ball to a six-game stint in the majors. A contributor to the SABR/Baseball-Reference Encyclopedia quite reasonably posed the question as to what else Nicholson could have done to win a job with […]

At the conclusion of the Boston Red Sox’ disappointing 1993 season, general manager Lou Gorman, manager Butch Hobson, and assistant general manager Mike Port met with a couple of the team’s controlling partners, Haywood Sullivan and John Harrington, to talk about the status of the team and coaching staff.  The quintet resolved to make a […]

“The D is silent.” — Jamie Foxx as “Django” in “Django Unchained”   Joe Zdeb probably smiled when he first heard that line because he’s been saying it his entire life. Rare is the article in Zdeb’s early career that doesn’t include some reference to his name. Writers, or Zdeb himself, would typically settle on […]

Mickey Lolich described himself as “the beer-drinker’s idol.” With his portly physique and likable disposition, the pitcher was popular with Tiger fans during his 13 seasons in their uniform. His talented left arm didn’t hurt his cause either. Of Yugoslav descent, Lolich was born in Portland, Oregon, September 12, 1940, the same day that Schoolboy […]

Forced into service after his team’s 14-inning tie on Opening Day, 29-year-old Georgian rookie pitcher Ralph Head started the second game of the season for the woeful 1923 Philadelphia Phillies. A Purple Heart recipient from the Great War, Head performed well in his debut, then won his first decision with a complete game in his […]

When Willie Montanez walked to the plate from the on-deck circle he would flip his bat end over end like a baton. When he swung and missed he had a high, circular finish reminiscent of a matador twirling his sword at a charging bull. At first base, he would sometimes tap runners on the rear […]

He was equally as adept at coordinating pitchers and throwing out baserunners as he was as a leader and strategist in the dugout. However, Alfonso Ramon Lopez chose to credit his supporting cast of players for his successes rather than himself. Much like his mentor Casey Stengel, Lopez knew that he could not have won […]

Bob Brower, currently a vice president with the Boras Corporation, has signed, advised, and represented many players, some of whom made the major leagues. He has personally been involved with Mark Teixeira, Max Scherzer, Matt Holliday, Andruw Jones, and many others. While the role of an agent representing major league players is somewhat public, it […]

The first American to win both a World Series ring and an Olympic gold medal, Pat Borders played parts of 17 major league seasons (1988-2005) for nine different teams.1 When the Blue Jays won consecutive championships in 1992 and 1993, he caught more innings than any American Leaguer both years and earned 1992 World Series […]

Baseball has yet to take firm hold in the island of Jamaica, even though it is surrounded by other nations with a strong tradition in the sport. As the 2018 season ended, four men of Jamaican birth have made it to the majors, all of whom learned the game in the United States. The first […]

Pitcher Jim Hannan appeared in 276 major-league games as a starter and reliever from 1962 through 1971, winning 41 of his 89 decisions. During both his playing days and post-playing days, he participated in and had an impact on several historic baseball moments. On the field, he was a senior member of the Washington Senators […]