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“Everyone dreams about playing in the majors, but I never thought I’d get the chance. Almost no one else from there had ever done it, so I didn’t think about it. Baseball was just for fun.” — Kevin Tapani1 When he was growing up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Kevin Tapani didn’t expect […]
An article appearing in the Galveston Daily News during 1912 reads, “It was the first of the seventh when the redoubtable Christy Mathewson stepped into the pitching box to perform for the last three innings. He was greeted by an ovation from grandstand and bleachers as he trotted upon the field and grinned one of […]
Brother against brother? The brothers united as batterymates? Les freres Gaston faced both scenarios. They played against each other in 1926 when Alex Gaston was a catcher with the Red Sox and brother Milt was a pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, and they were batterymates after Milt was acquired by Boston and brother Alex […]
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 […]
From 1960 to 1971, outfielder Tony González enjoyed a fine major-league career, He was never an All-Star – no insult, considering that Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Roberto Clemente were his peers – but he might have accomplished even more had he not suffered from back and eye problems. (The latter could have stemmed from […]
Erv Palica, a laconic Californian, was little more than a bit player during the 1947 season, but four years later he was at the epicenter of a midseason controversy that may have cost the Dodgers the 1951 pennant. Palica was born on February 9, 1928, in Lomita, California, a small town west of Long Beach. […]
On July 27, 1955, the players and staff of the Cleveland Indians presented a brand-new $3,000 Oldsmobile to coach Red Kress for his untiring work with the team. The Indians’ third baseman, Al Rosen. summed it up by saying that the team wanted to do something for Red to pay him back for all he […]
It doesn’t take long to make a lasting impression that sticks with someone throughout his professional baseball career. Some of the things Derek Bell said over the course of his career surprised many and outraged others. This did not seem to faze Bell in the slightest. “What can I say?” Bell would ask. “I just […]
On a warm September evening in 1995 at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, Oriole shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. helped restore America’s faith in baseball. The contentious nature of the previous year’s strike had left many of the sport’s dedicated fans wondering what the future held for their beloved national pastime. Following the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, the […]
Few multi-purpose stadiums in North American history can rival Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium for the number, variety and stature of events held there. Set in a vast fairgrounds complex on the shore of Lake Ontario, the municipal facility originally known as Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) Stadium served as the largest sports and entertainment venue in Canada’s […]
On July 15, 1942, Washington Nationals1 manager Bucky Harris stuck by 22-year-old rookie right-hander Early Wynn for 11 innings, through 15 hits and 4 walks. Wynn rewarded Harris with a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Wynn first pitched for Washington in September 1939, making three late-season starts at age 19. He threw 20⅓ innings, […]
Stan Wasiak’s nearly five-decade bus ride in professional baseball reached its final stop on August 28, 1986. Wasiak, known as “the King of the Minors,” spent a record-setting 37 consecutive years as a minor-league manager in cities from Valdosta, Georgia, to Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Appleton, Wisconsin, to El Paso, Texas. Working at every level […]
The Minneapolis Millers produced a rich history in the American Association and in 1955 won their ninth pennant, tying them with the St. Paul Saints for the most first-place finishes since the league was formed in 1902. However, the Millers had only one appearance in the Junior World Series, the postseason matchup between the champions […]
On a cool 1960 September evening in Bloomington, Minnesota, one of the greatest rivalries in minor-league baseball came to an end. But nobody knew. When the St. Paul Saints visited Metropolitan Stadium to play the Minneapolis Millers on September 8, little did anyone know that it would be the last game ever between the two […]
There was no highly hyped home-run chase in 1919. That’s one of the many things Babe Ruth put on the baseball map. First, he raised the home run to an art form and a focal point, after decades of 90-feet-at-a-time offense in the Deadball Era. Then, when Ruth slammed 60 home runs in 1927, every […]
As the Cubs occupied themselves with preparations for Game Four of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians, their fans were busy trying to convince themselves that the home team could overcome the previous night’s 1-0 loss — the second Cleveland shutout of the Series — that had put Chicago into a 2-1 Series deficit. […]
The Cleveland Naps of the American League struggled early in the 1911 season. The players were deeply saddened by the death of their ace pitcher, Addie Joss, in April. Manager Deacon McGuire resigned after the team won only six of its first 17 games. And Nap Lajoie, the star second baseman, for whom the team […]
Roy Campanella with a mighty swing during spring training with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 1950s. (SABR-Rucker Archive) Baseball fans making their way to Ebbets Field for Game Five of the 1953 World Series were in a festive mood even while a weather prediction of overcast skies took shape.1 Police officers yearned for […]
Praise rained down on Nolan Ryan of the California Angels following his historic 19-strikeout performance on August 12, 1974, which set an American League record for a nine-inning game and tied the NL/AL record held by Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver.1 “He had great stuff,” declared Boston Red Sox skipper Darrell Johnson, whose team had […]
Heading into the 2005 season, the Chicago White Sox had been consistent contenders in the American League Central Division since their last divisional title in 2000. Chicago, as was its wont during that period, constructed its 2004 squad to compete one-dimensionally via the long ball – much to the dismay of manager Ozzie Guillén. The […]