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Albert William Kaline was born December 19, 1934, to Nicholas and Naomi Kaline in Baltimore. His father, a broom maker by trade, was a semipro baseball player, and began working with young Al to develop a pitcher’s arm. Nicholas would squat down, while his son threw a variety of pitches. By the time he was […]

Jackie Jensen, the blond rugged Californian who attained great heights on both the football gridiron and baseball diamond, also waged a complex struggle with anxiety that he seemed to have conquered only at the very end of his life, a life that ended too early. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame and […]

Outfielder Jim Dwyer played for seven major-league teams over parts of 18 seasons (1973-1990) without ever making 300 plate appearances in a single year. His 103 pinch hits tie him with Mike Lum for 17th all-time as of 2021. The streaky, left-handed pull hitter enjoyed his greatest success with the Orioles. During his eight seasons […]

Rollie Sheldon’s introduction to big-league baseball came with the 1961 New York Yankees. With a record of 109-53, that team ranks as one of the winningest in the franchise’s history.1 Sheldon’s record in his rookie year was 11-5, topped among the starters by Whitey Ford (25-4) and Ralph Terry (16-3). Though he was 24 at […]

Chicago fans were outraged when the White Sox traded their most popular player, Minnie Miñoso, to Cleveland in December 1957 with Fred Hatfield for Early Wynn and Al Smith. Wynn was a 37-year-old right-handed pitcher who had posted a losing record for the Indians that season, and his best days appeared to be behind him. […]

Milt Pappas thought he deserved to be in the Hall of Fame. Wasn’t his won-lost record practically identical to Don Drysdale’s — even a bit better? Wasn’t Drysdale elected? Pappas was an outstanding pitcher for a long time; his closest comps include Orel Hershiser and Catfish Hunter as well as Drysdale.1 But he is remembered […]

Paul Robert Burris was born on July 21, 1923, in the small town of Hickory, North Carolina, population at the time approximately 6,000. At the age of one, he moved with his family to Charlotte, 50 miles southeast of Hickory. He grew up in Charlotte, and graduated from high school in 1941, having attended both […]

In 1955 the Kansas City Athletics coaching staff “observed [rookie right-hander Art] Ditmar during spring training and prophesied that he was destined for distinction on the mound.”1 This bright assessment was echoed three years later by New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel, who said, “I believe … Ditmar could grow into one of the big […]

James Thomas “Jim” Northrup, who was born and raised in a small town in Michigan, starred in several sports, including baseball and football, at Alma College, also in Michigan. Later, he made it to the major leagues and enjoyed a fine career as an outfielder with the Detroit Tigers. Highlighting his fourth full season with […]

Commissioner Ford C. Frick presided over 14 of the most turbulent years in the game’s history: the first franchise moves in half a century, expansion of the major leagues, the near-death of the minors, growing unrest among players, the rise of television, and the exploding popularity of football. With change swirling around him, Frick often […]

Third baseman Andy Carey had a turbulent Yankee career as one of Casey Stengel’s chosen whipping boys and an equally turbulent personal life. The most famous story about Carey, repeated in many books on Stengel’s dynasty, involves his “called shot.” In his favorite place to hit, Fenway Park, the Yankees were trailing the Red Sox […]

For generations, many American fathers have raised their sons with dreams of emulating their baseball hero, Mickey Mantle. Chipper Jones’s father was no different. From an early age, his son reminded him of The Mick: a small-town country boy with charming good looks, a Southern drawl, and a preternatural ability to hit a baseball from […]

When it comes to two-way players, Babe Ruth was the archetype. Martín Dihigo, Bullet Joe Rogan, and Leon Day became Hall of Famers. Another Negro Leaguer, Ted Radcliffe, was renowned as “Double Duty.” In recent years, Shohei Ohtani has also attracted widespread attention. A lesser-known example of the breed is Joe Pactwa. The lefty reached […]

To many in the game, Ron Negray’s talent portended something better than a 6-6 lifetime record over less than 200 innings in the majors, scattered over four seasons from 1952 through 1958. Front office executives at times questioned his competitiveness. Maybe he was just too nice a guy. Ronald Alvin Negray was born February 26, […]

Sam Jones was an intimidating pitcher. He was big (6 feet 4 and 200 pounds), threw hard, had a massive sweeping curveball, and could be quite wild. Three times he led the National League in both strikeouts and walks (1955, 1956, and 1958). He narrowly missed this feat a fourth time in his finest season, […]

Butch Nieman had a short but productive major-league career. Considered a replacement player during World War II, Nieman patrolled the Boston Braves outfield on a regular basis from 1943 to 1945 and can best be described as a streak hitter with a penchant for delivering the big hit in the clutch. In his three-year stint […]

In high school in Grove, Oklahoma, Jim Beauchamp was a standout athlete in all sports. But in baseball, he really stood out and with his speed and power drew comparisons to another Oklahoma native son, Mickey Mantle.1 But injuries and bad luck deprived him of stardom and relegated him to a 10-year major-league career as […]

Tall, trim Oklahoma native Ralph Terry won 107 major-league games over 11-plus seasons, from 1956 into 1967. His most stellar and productive campaign was 1962, when he led the American League in wins, with 23, and compiled a 4.0 WAR for pitchers. Yet, he is most notably recalled for being on the mound in crucial, […]

“Hitters would dig a hole and really get anchored with their back foot. Willie Mays dug in sometimes with both feet and he looked up and realized it was Drysdale. I don’t think he was even thinking at the time. He called time out and filled up the hole as if to say, ‘I made […]

Fourteen consecutive years in first place. Bobby Cox’s teams hold a unique distinction in major-league baseball. Prior to The Streak, the team finished last three years in a row. Robert Joe Cox was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 21, 1941. He recalled his younger days: “We moved from Oklahoma when I was about three […]

Jimmy Piersall played 20 years of professional baseball, including parts of 17 in the major leagues. He is best known for his nervous breakdown and hospitalization during his rookie season of 1952, an ordeal that led to a best-selling autobiography and two movies. Few could have imagined in 1952 that Piersall would have 15 years […]

Sports columnist Charles Johnson wrote of the 1961 Twins team: “Actually it’s strange that a team which hasn’t played .500 ball at home can keep the spectators excited, enthused and applauding.”1 It was more than just the fact that it was the first year of major-league baseball in Minnesota. It was the kind of competitive […]

Carl Furillo, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Preacher Rowe, and Gil Hodges were all members of the 1952 NL All-Star team. (Photo: SABR-Rucker Archive)   On September 23, 1952, with autumn in the air, fans filed into Ebbets Field to watch a Dodgers doubleheader against the Phillies. Home-team patrons came to […]

Wilmington, Delaware’s earliest professional baseball team, the 1884 Quicksteps (50-12) of the disbanded Eastern League and “major league” Union Association (2-16, .111), played at “Wilmington Ball Grounds” on the southwest corner of Front and Union Streets, a semi-rural area on the southern edge of town. The 1913 Wilmington Chicks of the Tri-State League were the […]