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The Baltimore Orioles fell to fourth place in the six-team American League East Division on August 28, 1974, eight games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox. Loser of six of their last seven games, and 20 of their last 34, Baltimore had a record of 63-65. The Orioles had never been under .500 this late […]

Ralph Kiner’s 301 home runs, the product of an unparalleled slugging spree in the late 1940s and early 1950s, ranked first in Pittsburgh Pirates franchise history when Willie Stargell made his big-league debut in 1962. Blossoming into a prodigious, consistent power threat over the next decade, Stargell overtook Kiner in 1973 with his 302nd career […]

Before the 1980 season, Detroit manager Sparky Anderson had a goal of 90 wins.1 The Tigers had won 85 games the year before but finished fifth in the tough American League East Division. Anderson, starting his first full season in Detroit after having had success with the Big Red Machine in Cincinnati, was looking for […]

On July 12, 1972, 21-year-old Bert Blyleven threw a five-hit complete game as the Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-1. It was the Twins’ 1,000th victory since they moved from Washington, D.C., to Minnesota prior to the 1961 season.1 Fast-forward to September 1985. Blyleven was 34 and had spent most of the intervening seasons […]

Manny Mota is frequently considered to be the Montreal Expos’ first player.1 Although Mota was the initial player chosen by the Expos in the National League expansion draft in October 1968, he wasn’t the first player under contract with the fledgling organization. That honor went to pitcher Dave Hartman, who was drafted by Montreal in […]

The Brooklyn Dodgers were all smiles after they swept the Yankees at Ebbets Field, leaving them just one game away from their elusive World Series championship. Duke Snider, the hero of the fifth game after hitting two home runs, was asked if it was his biggest day as a player. Snider responded, “No, that’ll be […]

Baltimore Elite Giants pitchers at Oriole/Terrapin Park, 1940. Left to right: Emery Adams, Satchel Davis, Eddie Dixon, Woody Williams, Willie Hubert, and Bill Barnes. (Courtesy of David Stinson and Bernard McKenna)   The 1939 Negro National League Championship Series featured a matchup between the Homestead Grays, in pursuit of their third consecutive league championship, and […]

Tim Naehring played for the Boston Red Sox during portions of eight seasons — from 1990-97. He hit .282 overall, with 49 home runs and 250 RBIs. Known for his versatility, he played various infield positions before becoming the team’s regular third baseman in 1995. Unfortunately, his time in the major leagues was frequently interrupted […]

After Fred Thomas of the Boston Red Sox left for the Navy in July of 1918, third base was a tough position for manager Ed Barrow to fill. Catcher Wally Schang played there on occasion, but the hot corner was mostly played by a succession of career minor leaguers. All had strengths and weaknesses as […]

Baseball has had its share of memorable nicknames, particularly in a bygone era. The moniker ‘Cuddles’ bestowed on Clarence Marshall is certainly one of these. Marshall pitched for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns in parts of four seasons between 1946 to 1950. He was a tall righty with a lively fastball but […]

Davey Williams did not much like being the answer to a trivia question, but he was. The question is: Who caught the relay when Willie Mays made his famous over-the-shoulder catch against Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series? Williams was the Giants’ second baseman and did in fact take the relay throw to hold […]

A nimble catcher before becoming one of the finest defensive third basemen of his era, Lave Cross spent most of his long career with four Philadelphia franchises.1 First came stints with the American Association’s Athletics and Players’ League’s Quakers, before a half-dozen seasons with the talented but underachieving mid-1890s National League Phillies. His fortunes then […]

At the turn of the century, professional baseball players had a general reputation for fast living and coarse behavior. While there were some notable exceptions, like Christy Mathewson, most players had little formal education, and many were poorly equipped for the transition after their playing careers ended. One exception to this portrayal is Simon Burdette […]

Cap Anson, baseball’s first superstar, was the dominant on-field figure of nineteenth-century baseball. He was a small-town boy from Iowa who earned his fame as the playing manager of the fabled Chicago White Stockings, the National League team now known as the Cubs. A larger-than-life figure of great talents and great faults, Anson managed the […]

Early in his career on the baseball diamond he was a man without a position. Luckily for him, the power emanating from his bat allowed him to hang around the major leagues long enough to settle into the only position he could play reasonably well. He came from Native American – or, in the common […]

Chances are if one were to poll SABR members about the greatest left-hander in the history of the Dodgers franchise, the most frequent response would be, “Sandy Koufax.” But they would be incorrect. Without a doubt, the honor of greatest southpaw in organizational history belongs to Vincent E. Scully. Since the emergence of baseball broadcasts, […]

“He’s wild, his fast ball isn’t fast, his curve ball is just a wrinkle, he gives up a lot of walks, he weakens in the eighth or ninth inning, and we knock him out of the box —but we can’t beat him.  He must live right.”1 So exclaimed Chicago White Sox manager Jimmy Dykes after […]

Clad in the uniform of his hometown team, Paul Molitor stood on third base after he collected the 3,000th hit of his major-league career. The first player ever to reach the milestone with a triple, Molitor enjoyed a number of memorable moments in a Minnesota Twins uniform through the final three seasons of his 21-year […]

One of the early relief specialists in the majors, George “Sarge” Connally started just 67 times in 304 games across a 12-year big-league career (1921; 1923-29; 1933-34). Connally never shied away from hard work. In 1933, at the age of 34, he exemplified his other nickname—“Rubber Arm”—by making eight relief appearances for Cleveland from June […]

Left-hander Dean Stone spent parts of eight seasons in the major leagues, pitching for six different teams and compiling a career record of 29-39 with a 4.47 earned run average in 686 innings. His most celebrated moment was almost certainly his being the winning pitcher of the 1954 All-Star Game without officially facing even one […]

Bob Friend was one of baseball’s more consistent starting pitchers during his era and a workhorse for the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates. That year the right-hander led the team in games started and innings pitched while posting an 18-12 record and 3.00 earned-run average in a major comeback from a disappointing 1959 campaign. Durable at 6-feet […]

Rinky-dink in a most charming way, Jarry Park — or Parc Jarry to Quebec’s French-speaking population — was home to the Montreal Expos from 1969 through 1976. The little ballpark seated just 28,456, and that was only after additions pumped it up from its amateur capacity of 3,000. Since the era of wooden stadiums ended, […]

These are The SABR Bookshelf listings for Spring/Summer 2011. To get your NEW book listed on The SABR Bookshelf, make sure a review copy is sent to: The SABR Bookshelf, Society for American Baseball Research, 4455 E. Camelback Rd., Ste. D-140, Phoenix, AZ 85018. To ensure a listing in The Baseball Index — SABR’s online […]