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Lou Piniella was a key member of the expansion franchise Kansas City Royals. Piniella earned the nicknamed “Sweet Lou” because of his sweet swing and (facetiously) his temper tantrums. As a member of the Yankees of the 1970s, Piniella was never the best player on a team of superstars, but he was always a fan […]

After college Bill Essick had to choose between life as a musician and one in baseball.  He chose baseball and left his native Illinois to begin his minor-league pitching career in Salt Lake City.  After a brief promotion to the major leagues and roughly a dozen years as a successful minor-league manager, Essick joined the […]

Stan Javier’s baseball heritage included his former major-league father and a Hall of Fame teammate of his father’s. One might think that situation would propel a youngster from the Dominican Republic to relentlessly pursue a major-league career for himself. Instead, baseball was viewed by Javier as just another sport he played while growing up, and […]

Cleveland Indians General Manager and Hall of Fame outfielder Hank Greenberg once said of Bobby Avila, “He has that something extra that makes a great hitter. Call it competitive instinct. … He’s always fighting the pitcher, never choking up and never giving an inch. … In a tough spot, I’m always glad to see Bobby […]

Former Red Sox pitcher Frank Sullivan wore uniform number 18 with distinction before later Sox pitchers Jason Johnson, Tomo Ohka, and Daisuke Matsuzaka were born. During his eight seasons with the team, Sullivan won 90 games and was named to two American League All-Star teams. As of the end of the 2009 season, his career […]

Smart, tenacious and personable, Nelson (Nellie) Briles attributed much of his baseball success to his strong family ties. He once called his family the “foundation” of his life.1 “With five children in the family,” he once recalled, “my parents managed to somehow keep me playing the game. I’ll never be able to repay them. Words […]

In major-league baseball when a team dominates its opponents for several years, it’s usually because it has a solid nucleus of players. For instance, in the early 1970s in the American League the Oakland Athletics captured three successive World Series. In the National League the Cincinnati Reds were a powerhouse. Both clubs had a strong […]

The appellation applied by baseball to turn-of-the-century right-hander George Lewis Cross was largely a matter of time and place. When he entered professional ranks in 1891 with a team from his hometown of Manchester, New Hampshire, he was called Lew Cross, the name that he had grown up with. During mid-1890s tours of duty with […]

When wild-eyed rookie right-handed pitcher Bruce Kison was thrust into relief with two outs in the first inning of Game Four of the 1971 World Series against the overwhelmingly favored Baltimore Orioles, the Pirates were in a three-run hole and in danger of losing their third game of the Series with just one victory. But […]

It might have been the coal mines or baseball. Dee Miles had the talent and probably made the right choice. His father, Gustavus Miles, was a coal miner from Alabama who worked a couple of decades in the mines, becoming a mine foreman by 1920. He and his wife, Idella, a Tennessean by birth, had […]

Nino Espinosa was a right-handed pitcher with good control whose career ended prematurely because of a shoulder injury. After that, he became a scout in his native Dominican Republic until his tragic death from a heart attack at age 34. Arnulfo Acevedo Espinosa was born on August 15, 1953, in Villa Altagracia, about 30 miles […]

Eldon John “Rip” Repulski was a major-league ballplayer from Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, who enjoyed storytelling. This was especially true after his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Boston Red Sox came to a close in 1961, and Rip eventually opened a cocktail lounge on St. Germain Street in St. Cloud, […]

With his short arms and legs, long torso, and ample midsection, right-hander Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons may not have looked like a major-league pitcher during his 19-year career with the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1925 to1943. But with one of baseball’s most effective knuckleballs and a deceptive, whirling delivery, he won 217 games. […]

The elder statesman of the Baby Birds staff that vaulted the Baltimore Orioles into pennant contention in the early 1960s was a mere 22-year-old. He is the only AL pitcher to lead the circuit in wins during a rookie campaign and the only one in either league to do so since Chicago Cubs righty Larry […]

The children of the elite often will have difficulty establishing their own identities and achieving success, particularly if their interests parallel those of a parent. Such was not the case with Joe L. Brown, whose father was Joe E. Brown, the popular comic actor, film star, and baseball aficionado who (unlike practically all celebrated sports […]

For a man who spent much of his life on the road as a baseball scout, Patrick Francis “Pat” Colgan was well grounded in his adopted community, Carbondale, Pennsylvania. He served as vice president of Carbondale’s Columbia Hose Company No. 5 for more than a decade. He was also active in many other community organizations. […]

The St. Louis Cardinals captured three National League pennants during the 1980s. The team’s stalwart second baseman during the successful run was Tom Herr, a line-drive hitter who played outstanding defense and had a knack for getting on base. In his All-Star season of 1985, Herr hit .302 with career bests in home runs (8) […]

Though he played ten years in the majors, when people look back at Ossie Vitt’s career, they tend to remember the player mutiny against him by the team called the “Cleveland Crybabies” when he was manager of the Indians in 1940. He managed the Indians from 1938 through 1940, and 18 seasons in the minor […]

Most fans dream of seeing a no-hitter in person, but decades can pass without an opportunity close to home. For instance, Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field hosted National League baseball from 1909 to 1970 – more than 4,700 games – without a no-no.1 Fans at Boston’s hitter-friendly Fenway Park could have attended Red Sox games from September […]

The College World Series is the desired destination for every Division I collegiate baseball player. Eight teams and thousands of fans from around the country descend on Omaha, Nebraska, each June, giving the CWS an atmosphere unlike any other baseball event in America. Founded in 1947, the CWS was played in Kalamazoo, Michigan, for two […]

Walter Johnson, “The Big Train,” one of the most storied and talented pitchers ever to grace a major-league pitcher’s mound, threw only a single no-hitter in his 21-year career. If one argues that such a game defines a pitcher’s “best game,” then certainly the sparkling one-hitter Johnson threw at the Chicago White Sox on May […]

Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck faced a dilemma after the 1976 season. The White Sox had finished that campaign, their fourth consecutive losing season, with a 64-97 record. Only 914,945 fans attended games at Comiskey Park. The team needed stars to improve the record and increase attendance. The start of free agency, however, boosted […]

Bill Mazeroski’s Baseball yearbook gave a blunt assessment of the Montreal Expos’ chances for the 1987 season: “If they think they can win with these imposters, they’ve got another think coming.”1 Sports Illustrated had more tact in its season preview, although it predicted that the Expos would lose 98 games and finish dead last in […]