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New York’s reception of Roberto Alomar was the major storyline before the 1996 American League Championship Series. Despite spitting on an umpire on September 27, the Orioles’ second baseman was permitted to compete. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani recommended silent protests to his upset constituents, while vowing that spectators caught heaving projectiles would be […]

The official list of no-hitters thrown in the Eastern League says simply that Evans Killeen and Don Williams1 combined to hurl a seven-inning no-no for the Albany (New York) Senators against the Allentown (Pennsylvania) Red Sox on July 9, 1958.2 That breakdown doesn’t do justice to the balance of labor between the pitchers, though. Starting […]

Baseball fans and former players love comparing great teams from different eras. So with the New York Yankees, baseball’s most storied franchise, in the midst of a historic 1998 season, comparisons to previous championship squads were inevitable when former Yankees greats gathered before a crowd of 55,638 at Yankee Stadium for the 52nd annual Old […]

With a score of 2-2 after two innings, the August 13, 1950, game between the Rochester Red Wings and Jersey City Giants of the Triple-A International League wasn’t shaping up as much of a pitchers’ duel. Then the game’s starters took control. Rochester’s Tom Poholsky, a 20-year-old prospect, and Jersey City’s Andy Tomasic, a 32-year-old […]

It had been more than 116 years since the Boston Red Sox had found themselves in a road game where they trailed the New York Yankees by multiple runs with two outs in the ninth inning – but rallied and won the game. On June 2, 1908, the Red Sox were playing the New York […]

There was nothing on the line as the Washington Senators hosted the Boston Red Sox on October 4, 1913, in the final game of the season for both teams. The Philadelphia Athletics already had won the American League; Washington had clinched second place, and Boston fourth, by splitting a doubleheader the day before. The Boston […]

There are many ways to gain attention as a professional baseball player, and over the course of his career, Iván Calderon got plenty of attention. At first, it was as a five-tool prospect for the Seattle Mariners; a can’t-miss kid with tremendous power and raw talent who tore through the minor leagues. A short-time after […]

Signed by Boston Red Sox scout Milt Bolling, Mike O’Berry was, by the start of his second year, “considered the best receiver in the organization.”1 The Red Sox catcher at the time was three-time All-Star Carlton Fisk. O’Berry was not a high draft pick. He had been selected in the 22nd round of the June 1975 draft out […]

Bert Campaneris had a distinguished 20-year major-league career that included six All-Star selections, six American League stolen-base crowns, and a major role in the Oakland Athletics’ three world championships in the 1970s. Dagoberto Campaneris was born on March 9, 1942, in Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba. His father was a mechanic in a factory. Campaneris had three […]

It was a damp night at Shea Stadium in early August 1977. The last-place Mets, toiling through extra innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, looked done for after the would-be National League champions took a 7-6 lead in the top of the 11th. But they managed to put runners at first and second with one […]

When asked to make a list of the best hitters of the late 1940s and early 1950s, few would mention left-handed slugger Ferris Fain, but perhaps they should. Fain broke in with the Philadelphia Athletics as a 26-year-old rookie in 1947 and established a reputation as a daring first baseman with a discerning eye at […]

Righty Elías Sosa was a useful reliever for eight different big-league teams. He appeared in 601 games at the top level from 1972 through 1983. He posted 83 saves, with a high of 18 in both 1973 and 1979. Though Sosa was never a big strikeout pitcher, “he’s got a good fastball and excellent slider,” […]

Joe Azcue caught just shy of 1,000 major-league baseball games for six different big-league teams — all but his first 14 games played in the American League. An All-Star with the Cleveland Indians in 1968, Azcue was solid on defense with a .992 lifetime fielding percentage. José Joaquín (Lopez) Azcue was born on August 18, […]

If you’ve seen Frank Zupo’s 1958 Topps baseball card, you probably remember him. The lefty-hitting catcher appeared in only 16 major-league games for Baltimore between 1957 and 1961 — but Zupo’s pronounced unibrow and “Noodles” nickname have gained him longer-lasting fame than his on-field accomplishments. Nonetheless, at 17 years, 11 months, and 13 days, he […]

“An indispensable playoff weapon here on pocket change.” – Sportswriter Mike Lopresti commenting on Timo Pérez, October 17, 2000.1 “I’m still very new at this; I don’t know everything that entails fame. I love the fans. All game long, they’re yelling at me and having fun with me.” – Timo Pérez, October 16, 20002   […]

Venezuelan catcher Bo Díaz played for all or part of 13 seasons in the majors, plus 14 more in his homeland’s winter league. He helped the Philadelphia Phillies win a National League pennant in 1983 and was part of six champion teams with the Leones del Caracas. Díaz made it to the majors on the […]

Born February 10, 1976, in Waco, Texas, William Lance Berkman is best known as one of the Houston Astros “Killer B’s.” From 1999 through 2005, Berkman teamed with Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio to form one of the best offensive trios in the National League. Berkman was one of the greatest switch-hitters […]

John Fowler was one of the true pioneers of American baseball, one overlooked by the National Baseball Hall of Fame for more than a century after his death until he was elected in 2022 to Cooperstown — the same village where he had grown up as a teenager. In Black baseball history, he is the […]

“He’s too young to throw a no-hitter!”1 With the words of Cincinnati Redlegs manager Birdie Tebbetts still ringing in his ears, 17-year-old southpaw Dave Skaugstad took the mound on September 29, 1957 at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Appearing in his second major-league game, he relieved 20-year-old rookie Jay Hook, who’d held the National League pennant-winning Milwaukee […]

On December 14, 1977, the Boston Red Sox traded pitcher Fergie Jenkins, who had clashed with manager Don Zimmer, to the Texas Rangers for 6-foot-5, 210-pound left-hander John Poloni and $25,000 cash.1 Poloni had made his major-league debut with the Rangers in September after spending the season at Triple-A Tucson. “It’s not that we wanted […]

Bill “Wee Willie” Sherdel was a durable, rubber-armed starter and reliever who frustrated batters with a mesmerizing slowball during his 15-year big-league career from 1918 through 1932, most notably with the St. Louis Cardinals. Described by a contemporary as “one of the great left-handers” in baseball, Sherdel’s career is defined by a seven-year stretch (1922-1928) […]

Frank O. Mancuso was the younger brother of a better-known big league catcher, August “Gus” Mancuso, a two-time All-Star who enjoyed a 17-year major league career and produced his best seasons with the New York Giants from 1932 through 1938. Gus spent more than 40 years in baseball, serving as a minor league manager, a […]

When Bob Uecker was sent down to the minor leagues in 1961 after breaking camp with the Milwaukee Braves, manager Charlie Dressen told him, “There is no room in baseball for a clown.” 1 Dressen could not have been more wrong. While no one would dispute that professional baseball is a business, Bob Uecker has […]

This article is the third and last in a series about the most famous sign in any baseball stadium and the man behind it. From 1931 until 1957, the Dodgers’ last season in Brooklyn, clothier Abe Stark’s sign, which offered a free suit to a batter who hit in on a fly, adorned the right […]