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From 1955 to 1965 Bill Virdon established his reputation as one of the finest and fastest center fielders of his generation, and was known for his accurate throws from the deep center-field power alleys in spacious Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ironically, one of his throws that inadvertently hit his manager may have led to his […]

On August 29, 1977, Gene Richards was nearing the end of what was one of the finest rookie seasons in baseball history. His 56 stolen bases during that season were an all-time rookie record. However, on this particular evening, he stood silent at first base at San Diego Stadium, next to a man who had […]

Nobody in Hollywood would have tried to produce a script that would end like this,” said New York Yankee manager Bob Lemon after his charges came back from a two-games to none deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1978 World Series. Having reached the Fall Classic on the broad shoulders of sluggers […]

For Alec Distaso, pitching was a prelude to helping his fellow man. The righty made only two major-league appearances with the Chicago Cubs in April 1969, but he spent over 30 years providing two basic human needs. As a policeman, he offered safety; as a public housing administrator, he gave shelter. He also served his […]

Monongahela Cemetery in North Braddock, Pennsylvania offers some of the most spectacular views in the Pittsburgh area. Overlooking the Monongahela River Valley, the cemetery has its origins in a charter issued on February 24, 1893, by “the Hon. John H. Barley, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the establishment of a cemetery in […]

In a poll of National League sportswriters conducted in April 1964, Larry Bearnarth was tabbed as the New York Mets’ best young pitcher.1 The franchise’s first bonus player and the first hurler to win four consecutive major league decisions, the tall blond right-hander established a club record with 58 appearances during his rookie season. Bearnarth’s […]

Don Richard “Richie” Ashburn, a Hall of Fame outfielder, who made the most putouts of any outfielder in major-league baseball during the 1950s, started out as a catcher, which should not be surprising because throughout his long career in baseball, Richie Ashburn had always been his own man. His independent quality even emerged during his […]

As the unofficial but recognized spiritual adviser to the ever-mercurial Manny Ramírez, Ino Guerrero had a distinctive role on the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox.1 Given the nature of the team’s offensive prowess, his official role as batting-practice pitcher would seem to be enough for most people, and yet his role as the attendant […]

Charles Radbourn’s pitching achievements were hailed by contemporaries and sportswriters for decades as some of the greatest feats of nineteenth century baseball. Little known today, many considered an 18-inning game in 1882 as the finest athletic contest ever seen on a baseball diamond. That game was won, not by the pitcher Radbourn, but by the […]

When a ballplayer leads the league in multiple offensive categories for only one season, it may be said that he had a “career year.” This term may take on even more significance if the player never comes close to duplicating the statistics he put up in his magical season. One might suggest that Ken Williams […]

Perhaps the greatest example of the old baseball cliché “good field, no hit,” Raymond Francis Oyler was the regular shortstop for two late-1960s Detroit Tigers teams, including the world champion 1968 squad, as well as the original Seattle Pilots the following season. Ray compiled a sub-”Mendoza line” .175 career batting average—the lowest of any player […]

Talk of Don Mattingly’s worthiness for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame most often focuses on his offensive statistics. Perhaps not enough is said about his defense. Mattingly has one of the best career fielding percentages of any player – ever – at any position. His .9959 percentage means that every 1,000 times the ball […]

The first of two players in franchise history to wear double-zero on the back of his Cleveland Indians uniform, Paul Dade in 1977 explained his unique decision: “I went through the free-agent draft last winter [1976-77] and was selected by only two clubs, Oakland and Cleveland, and Oakland wasn’t really interested in me. Nobody really […]

Sled Allen may have been born in Missouri, but he found both his home and his calling in the West Texas town of Lubbock. He fielded a baseball team there in the 1920s and won what was then the country’s most prestigious semipro tournament in 1925. He was a top wrestling promoter and later became […]

For a couple of months in 1954, Tom Herrin was a big leaguer, a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. It was the culmination of 5½ years of work in the minor leagues following his signing in February 1949 by Red Sox scout George Digby. He was a sophomore at Louisiana Tech at the […]

In Candlestick Park on September 2, 1963, the final nine outs were tallied by closer Lindy McDaniel, insuring the 20th win of the season for the tall Chicago Cubs left-handed starter. This particular win, coming off a 20-loss campaign the preceding year, would etch the youngster’s name with a mere six other hurlers who, since […]

The score stood at 11-1 when Tim Lollar left the mound and Wes Gardner took over in the seventh inning in the sixth game of the season at Chicago. With Boston’s comfortable lead, Gardner could relax a little for this, his first game in a Red Sox uniform and his debut in the American League.  […]

Baseball is a game in which one or two numbers can become burned into collective memory, ultimately defining a player’s career. In the case of Babe Ruth, the numbers are 60 and 714. In the case of Ty Cobb, they are 4,191 and .367 (even though those numbers were shown to be inaccurate more than […]

Although the question about who is the best major league baseball team is quite subjective, the answer that is given on many occasions is the 1927 New York Yankees. The team that was dubbed “Murderers’ Row” included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs, Tony Lazzeri, Herb Pennock and Waite Hoyt. All are members of the […]

It was cold, windy, dreary, and damp in the nation’s capital when the cellar-dwelling Detroit Tigers (5-16) and fifth-place Washington Senators (10-11) arrived at Griffith Stadium to see if they could salvage the final contest of an originally-scheduled four-game series. Rain had canceled the previous two games and probably should have wiped out this game, […]

Thirteen teams played in the Middle States League, an integrated minor league, in 1889. The season opened with one Negro team, the Cuban Giants, representing Trenton, New Jersey, and five white teams in Pennsylvania.1 Six more white teams and a Negro team known as the New York Gorhams joined the league in midseason, but nine […]

The 1952 World Series pitted the New York Yankees versus the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees had edged the Cleveland Indians by two games, giving them four consecutive American League pennants. In the previous three years, they were also victorious in the World Series. While leading the National League for almost the entire season, the Dodgers […]

A riot was the last thing John Hauck needed. Five months earlier, in February 1886, the Queen City’s wealthiest brewer had made a splash by buying the Cincinnati Reds of the American Association, then promising not to have them play home games on the Sabbath.1 Hauck’s Sunday stance was applauded by the local Law and […]

Bill Hallahan “cast a spell of impotence over the bats of the slugging Athletics,” gushed St. Louis scribe J. Roy Stockton after the Cardinals southpaw’s overpowering three-hit shutout of heavily favored Philadelphia.1 Hallahan “pitched magnificently,” in the eyes of sportswriter S.O. Grauley of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “His curve ball was just wild enough to keep […]