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Although the home grounds of the Baltimore Orioles of the nineteenth century occupied several locations, the team found a permanent setting at Union Park between 1891 and 1899. Baseball in Baltimore began around 1855. In 1882, as a charter member of the American Association, they were known as the Lord Baltimores. They won only 19 […]

Lexington Park served as the home of the St. Paul Saints from 1897 through 1956, opening one year later and closing one year after its counterpart in Minneapolis, Nicollet Park. It was built by Edward B. Smith, who operated a St. Paul real estate company (and had been a part-owner of a National League team […]

Good things come in small packages. Bob Durnbaugh was listed at 5 feet, 8 inches tall during his career but the measurements must have been done with his cleats on. He endeared himself to fans and teammates by being “the hustlingest baseball player (they) ever saw.”1 Hustle and attitude are one thing, but Durnbaugh had […]

The frail young boy was undersized for his age and sickly. His doctor recommended outdoor exercise. Although he certainly did not look like an athlete, the lad took up baseball, despite the objections of his overprotective mother. Though smaller than his teammates (as an adult he stood 5-feet-7 and weighed 140 pounds), he developed a […]

John Farrell began his professional baseball career as a right-handed pitcher with an 0-5 record for the 1984 Class-A Waterloo Indians in the Midwest League. He’d been drafted three times by that point, but it was certainly an inauspicious start to a career that saw him manage the 2013 Boston Red Sox to a world […]

Al Aber’s money pitch was the sinker. When he executed it to his full potential, American League hitters flailed at his offerings. Al Rosen, a fine hitter in his day and one of Aber’s teammates in Cleveland, remarked that “he’s a left-handed Bob Lemon.”1  Neither Aber, a southpaw, nor Lemon, a right-hander, could hurl a […]

Henry “Hank” Gehring wasn’t a household word around the neighborhoods of St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1900, but in the coming years the right-handed pitcher made a name for himself while leaving a distinctive mark or two upon baseball history. Gehring called St. Paul home during his entire career in organized ball. He made the climb […]

During the 1922 season, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Lew Fonseca raced back to catch a pop fly in short right field. The right fielder also raced in and the two collided, knocking each other dizzy. Seeing the ball lying on the field with the runners circling the bases was too much for Red Lutz, the […]

The first of three Grillis to play major-league baseball, Guido John Grilli had the briefest career of the three. In 1966 he was 0-1 for the Boston Red Sox and 0-1 for the Kansas City Athletics.    Grilli put in his time in the minor leagues. He was first signed by Red Sox scout George […]

Francisco Estrada, a Mexican catcher, played just one game in the major leagues. U.S. fans may recall him as a throw-in when the New York Mets traded away Nolan Ryan. In his homeland, however, he was a baseball institution. “Paquín” — Spanish for “Frankie” — played 26 summers in the Mexican League. He added an […]

It is well known among baseball fans that Pete Rose is the major leagues’ “hit king,” with 4,256 hits in 24 seasons.1 But few can name the minor-league hit leader, Spencer Harris. In 26 minor-league seasons from 1921 to 1948, Harris accumulated 3,617 hits. He collected 94 more hits in limited major-league action. If viewed […]

During his 18-year professional baseball playing career, Darnell Coles spent complete, consecutive seasons in the same uniform only once. Originally drafted as a shortstop by the Seattle Mariners with the sixth overall pick in June 1980, he played parts of 14 major league seasons (1983-1997) with eight different teams, primarily as a third baseman and […]

George Tsamis, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound former left-handed pitcher, made his mark on the diamond managing in the independent leagues. Tsamis described himself as a “players manager” who asks “players to give 100 percent and run out every ground ball, and hustle, show up on time. If you don’t, you’ll be disciplined; but if you can’t […]

The tale is familiar to followers of baseball legend: Young boy growing up in rough-and-tumble circumstances, running roughshod over parents and teachers, unrepentantly scoffing at law and decency, finally ends up in front of the local magistrate who has him declared incorrigible and packed off to the nearest reformatory. There, the lad discovers an outlet […]

On a road trip in 1954 with the Philadelphia Phillies, Stan Lopata, called “Big Stash” in the press and Lop by his teammates, was having trouble making contact with the ball. He and his roommate on the Phillies, outfielder Johnny Wyrostek, had just finished eating breakfast at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. While Lopata […]

After spending five seasons in the minor leagues, in addition to a late-season call-up in 2004, rookie Clint Barmes was thrilled to be named the Colorado Rockies’ starting shortstop on Opening Day 2005. With the sold-out Coors Field crowd on their feet and the score tied 10-10 in the bottom of the ninth, Barmes launched […]

“I’m sure God never meant me to be a ball player,” Taft Wright said. “If he had, I wouldn’t be built so close to the ground and always worrying about my weight and being muscle bound.”1 Sportswriters called him “Fat Wright” and “Round Man.”2 Wright was a born designated hitter — born decades too soon. […]

Chick Morgan could have boasted of playing in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers, or of a 17-year career spanning three decades as a professional player. Yet, somehow, it seems quite plausible that his greatest satisfaction could have been that 80 years after he began his first season in the minors, his great grandson […]

In August 1985, The Cosby Show was tops on television, Back to the Future was a box-office hit, and Mike Young was one of baseball’s hottest hitters. That month, Young went deep nine times in a 14-game stretch for the Baltimore Orioles. He finished the season with 28 homers – 20 of which came after […]

On June 27, 2024, the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers traveled to Baltimore for a four-game series with the Orioles. It marked the first time the two teams had faced each other since the Rangers swept the Orioles in the 2023 American League Division Series. The home team responded with retribution, winning the first […]

“A high popup! He’s gonna do it! At shortstop, Jeter. Jeter on the outfield grass … makes the catch! The Yankees win! The Yankees win! And Doc Gooden pitches a no-hitter!” – New York Yankees radio announcer John Sterling, May 14, 19961   Tears emerged in David Cone’s eyes.2 His teammate Dwight Gooden, whom he […]

On July 17, 1972, young Mark Murphy of Newark, New York, beat out 2,302 other fans to win the Pony Night promotion offered by the Newark Co-Pilots of the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. Murphy opted not to keep the prize animal, instead selling it back to its original provider for an unspecified sum.1 […]

Rockford Peaches manager Bill Allington needed a starting pitcher for Game Seven of the 1950 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) championship series. The ace of his pitching staff, Lois “Flash” Florreich, was out of commission after injuring her shoulder sliding into home plate in Game Three of the series.1 Allington’s decision wasn’t difficult. Fortunately […]