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Bob Zupcic hit .217 in Double A one year, then .213 the next – and found himself in the major leagues the year after that. The former first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1987 was a large right-handed outfielder (6-foot-4 and 220 pounds as a ballplayer) prized for his defensive talents. He played […]

It had been a few years; some New York Yankees fans might say it seemed like an eternity. But eight years after the Yankees participated in their last fall classic, they were back in the playoff hunt, as the calendar flipped to September 1972. They entered the final month of the season in third place, […]

Few if any baseball men have worked harder for longer than Mel Didier. He pitched just two years in Class D, but he spent more than 60 years in professional baseball as a scout and executive. As former Los Angeles Dodgers GM Fred Claire said, “I don’t know of anyone who has been in more […]

David Palmer was an example of local boy makes good. Sort of.  Palmer, who played for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Detroit Tigers, used to make the 3½-hour drive to Montreal from his hometown of Glens Falls, New York — which is halfway between Montreal and New York — to watch the […]

Sadly, there are many stories like that of pitcher Roy “Dixie” Walker in the annals of baseball. He was a gifted athlete, said “to have as much speed as Walter Johnson.”1 His failing was that he lacked control. Not just of his fastball, but of his life. He had a temper, a proclivity to drink, […]

Channeled into baseball by an overbearing, perfectionist father, Eric Show became a decent, if controversial, pitcher for the San Diego Padres. Although generally not considered the top pitcher for the pitching-poor club, as of 2018 he held the Padres record for career wins (100). During his major-league career, he spent 10 years with the Padres […]

Using an effective submarine delivery, pitcher Billy Rhines won 113 games in nine major-league seasons. Like rookies Mark Fidrych in 1976 and Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, Rhines burst onto the big-league scene with phenomenal success. As a 21-year-old rookie on the Cincinnati Reds in 1890, he achieved an 18-2 record in his first 20 starts. […]

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 […]

Praised for his outfield defense and savvy base running skills, Matty McIntyre was the starting left fielder and leadoff hitter on two Detroit Tiger pennant winning teams. Although a broken ankle in 1907 somewhat diminished his defensive abilities, McIntyre was still able to contribute with the bat upon his return and was considered to be […]

“That kid’s got a hell of a stance! Everything’s perfect! He ought to become a great hitter!” Legend has it that Ted Williams uttered these words while critiquing a photo of an 18-month-old boy.1 He was absolutely right; that boy, Wade Boggs, went on to win several batting titles on his way to becoming one […]

Signed to the Boston Red Sox by Frank “Bots” Nekola, the same scout who signed Carl Yastrzemski, outfielder Joe Lahoud faced some stiff competition trying to break into the majors. At the time, his path intersected with those of both Yaz and local Boston favorite Tony Conigliaro. Lahoud came from Danbury, Connecticut, born there on […]

If Calvin Schiraldi had never been called upon to pitch in the sixth game of the 1986 World Series, we might think of his career in baseball as a story of encountering and overcoming adversity — a series of comebacks. But Red Sox manager John McNamara did call Schiraldi in from the bullpen in the […]

On July 23, 1916, the St. Louis Browns defeated the Cleveland Indians by a score of 5-2. The Browns scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning to boost their record to 38-49. The victory in itself was rather ordinary, but the win began an incredible streak for the Browns, who went 23-2 […]

For the second time in 18 days, a sellout crowd of over 55,000 came to Yankee Stadium hoping to witness right-handed starter Roger Clemens’ 300th career win.1 Clemens, who had begun his career with the Red Sox and won three Cy Young Awards there, had won number 299 in Boston on May 21, beating Red […]

Going into the final game of the Kansas City Royals’ three-game series against the Boston Red Sox in July 1980, one word could be used to describe the weather, the Royals, and several of their hitters: hot. A 99-degree game-time temperature and 13 runs later, that word still applied, as the Royals thumped the Red […]

When manager Lou Piniella’s Mariners opened a weekend series in Baltimore on Friday night, May 17, 1996, it presented a matchup of two ballclubs on the rise. Seattle came in with a record of 21-18, after reaching the postseason for the first time in franchise history the year before. Led by the sweet swings of […]

On May 8, 1966, Sportsman’s Park hosted its last major-league baseball game. The venerable facility stood on grounds that had been in use for baseball since 1866. St. Louis’s first professional team played there in 1875. Over the years the Cardinals and their late intracity rival Browns shared the ballpark. It was the site of […]

The 1944 baseball season in St. Louis was the same as it had been the last few years, and remarkably different at the same time. The Cardinals won 105 games for second straight year and captured the flag by a comfortable 14½ games. That the Browns were able to win the 1944 pennant — regardless […]

After the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Yankees 4-3 in St. Louis to even the World Series at one game apiece, the teams traveled to New York for Game Three. Wartime exigencies forced both teams to travel on the same train. It was an awkward arrangement, but there was no intermingling between the […]

On their way to the World Series championship in 2018, the Boston Red Sox won more than 50 regular-season games at home (57) and more than 50 on the road (51). They won precisely twice as many games as they lost, 108-54. The 108 victories were the most in franchise history; the prior high had […]

There were plenty of storylines entering this intrastate battle on October 5, 2001. The season was on the line for the San Francisco Giants: a loss meant elimination from playoff contention. For the major leagues, this game was part of a larger picture. Initially scheduled for September 14, it was rescheduled after the September 11 […]

Yes, it was early in the season but the Washington Nationals were not in a good place coming into this Monday night game. At 4-5 with a five-game losing streak, they were third in the NL East, 3½ games behind the division-leading New York Mets. This was the first time in three years that they’d […]

On October 1, 1961, ending a quest that had enthralled both the baseball world and the American public, New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris capped one of the most spectacular seasons in baseball history when, with one swing of the bat, he became the major-league single-season home-run leader. The New York Yankees had begun the […]

A crowd of 34,078 showed up for Opening Day 2012 at Tropicana Field. A group of 120 season-ticket holders carried an enormous American flag on the field for the pregame ceremony. The 2011 wild-card banner was lifted to the rafters, joining those from 2008 and 2010. Jim Dundee, son of boxing legend Angelo Dundee, threw […]