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On the Saturday before graduating from high school in June 1961, 18-year-old Lew Krausse Jr. watched from a box seat at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC, as hurler Norm Bass tossed the Kansas City A’s first shutout of the season.1 Sitting with Krausse was his father, former major-league pitcher Lew Krausse Sr., and their host, […]

After the Negro Leagues ended their regular seasons, October was an excellent time for league teams to go barnstorming, untethered from their home cities and hopping from location to location to squeeze the last gate receipts from the season before cold weather and football put an end to the baseball year. The Chicago American Giants, […]

Despite five straight World Series titles, Casey Stengel had yet to manage the American League to an All-Star Game victory when he set his lineup at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on July 13, 1954. Stengel ended his midseason drought this hot afternoon as the AL stopped a four-game NL winning streak in a record-setting slugfest. “They’ll […]

Fans often remember the ends of seasons more readily than the beginnings. What is often associated with the beginnings of the 1975 season for the Cincinnati Reds is that on Saturday, May 17, 1975, the Reds stood at 19-19 and in second place 5½ games behind the rival Los Angeles Dodgers and just a half-game […]

“Bender’s control, his absolute mastery over the batters and his speed were almost ideal,” gushed the Philadelphia Inquirer about Charles Bender’s no-hitter, the first in the history of Shibe Park.1 Cleveland Naps batters were “Benderized and hypnotized” by the Athletics hurler, opined the Cleveland Plain Dealer, noting in the racially insensitive parlance of the era […]

Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart grew up in Oakland, playing youth baseball together.1 Whether it was at Bushrod Field in North Oakland or on diamonds in East Oakland,2 they played regularly with buddies who also made it to the majors, such as Gary Pettis and Lloyd Moseby. The Oakland area has a proud tradition of […]

William Joseph Rohr was born on July 1, 1945, in San Diego, California, right in the middle of the baseball season. Rohr began playing baseball when he was 8, and despite weighing only 145 pounds in high school, he finished his career at Bellflower High with a 26-3 record, pitching four no-hitters for his varsity […]

One of the shortest men ever to play major-league baseball, one of the first to wear a batting helmet after being nearly killed in a game, and once rumored to be the heir apparent to the great Honus Wagner, William Joseph Barbeau enjoyed a full baseball career. Barbeau bounced around the minor leagues, mostly the […]

Gambling posed a serious threat to baseball in 1919. Rumors of a “fixed” World Series were widespread. Owners of major- and minor-league teams were anxious to get control of the situation and restore the public’s confidence in the sport. “The very life of baseball depends upon keeping it above suspicion of any sort,” said Dr. […]

Starting pitcher Mark Lemongello spent parts of four seasons (1976-1979) with the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays. An intense right-hander, he had good command of his sinker-slider repertoire, but a lack of control over his infamous temper contributed to his demise in professional baseball. Mark Limongello was born on July 21, 1955, in Jersey […]

Paul Snyder was the indispensable man behind the scenes of the Atlanta Braves’ success. If anyone has said a bad word about him, it has not been recorded in the hothouse world of baseball. A baseball lifer since he started his career as a Braves minor-league outfielder-first baseman in 1958, Snyder is a rarity in […]

In 1970, Tommy Harper became a member of what was once among the most exclusive “clubs” in baseball. That year, his first with the Milwaukee Brewers, he hit 31 homers and stole 38 bases, thereby joining the “30-30 Club.” At the time, the only other members of the club were Hank Aaron, Bobby Bonds, Willie […]

As of 2023, the total number of men from the US Virgin Islands to reach the major leagues has reached 16 (factoring in a technicality). Yet none has had a better single season with the bat than Joe Christopher. In his finest year, 1964, he hit .300 with 16 homers and 76 RBIs for the […]

Best remembered for pitching three complete-game victories as a rookie to help the Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1909 World Series, Babe Adams was one of the Deadball Era’s greatest control pitchers. His record of 1.29 walks per nine innings over the course of his 19 years in the majors, 18 with the Pirates, ranks second […]

A slap hitter and exceptional bunter who specialized in fouling off pitches and drawing walks, Roy Thomas was an exemplary practitioner of “inside baseball,” but his skill package would have been useful to teams of any era. Playing mostly center field for his hometown Philadelphia Phillies, the left-handed hitter and thrower was nearly the equal […]

On August 1, 1902, manager Bill Armour of the Cleveland Bronchos found himself with a seriously depleted pitching staff. Two off-days the previous week had been filled with exhibitions that went 15 and 13 innings respectively. Then Bill Bernhard injured his knee sliding into a base. Addie Joss was sick and Gene Wright was nursing […]

When the curtain rose on the New York Yankees’ 1929 season, for the first time in team history each ballplayer wore a numbered jersey. Catching for New York that day was John Grabowski, the large block 8 on his back signifying his spot in the batting order. One of three backstops that Yankee manager Miller […]

On June 14, 1952, Billy Harrell signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians which began a 15-year professional baseball odyssey. Across this career, he appeared in 153 major league games (136 with Cleveland and 37 with the Boston Red Sox) and 1520 minor league games with eight different teams. While his big league stats were […]

One can statistically evaluate with some degree of accuracy the worth of a baseball player to his team. However, sometimes a player stands out because of characteristics that inspire his teammates and draws the admiration and respect of fans. Eddie “The Brat” Stanky was one of those. Stanky was a gritty, scrappy player, not gifted […]

“Amazing,” said Ray Crone when asked by the author to describe fan support in Milwaukee in the 1950s.[1] A tall, lanky right-handed pitching prodigy signed by the Braves in 1949, Crone debuted in 1954 and pitched a ten-inning complete game in his first start in the major leagues. However, after four inconsistent seasons and a […]

“Baseball is in the heart of all Latin people. They feel in baseball. They think in baseball.” — Pancho Coimbre Baseball in Puerto Rico has a long and storied history; many fans of the game on the island are willing to regale one another at the drop of a hat about the careers and exploits […]

 A nickname like Squanto is a pretty good clue that George Francis Wilson was portrayed as Native American. Newspaper stories remarked on Wilson’s dark complexion and Indian nickname, though it is possible that people just dubbed him Squanto the way they might call another player Nig (Nig Cuppy, for instance) or another such name. There […]

When Joe Nathan graduated from high school, he seemed destined for great things. Just not necessarily on the baseball diamond. “He was one smart dude,” recalled Tom Walraven, his baseball coach at Pine Bush (New York) High School, describing Nathan as a “thin little kid who batted .230” while playing shortstop his senior year.1 “I […]

The Minneapolis Millers had a number of locales to hang their hats during their nearly 80 years of professional baseball, but the ballpark most closely associated with the team was the one described by former Minneapolis Tribune writer Dave Mona as “soggy, foul, rotten and thoroughly wonderful Nicollet Park.” In 1896, Nicollet Park replaced a […]