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His first name, translated from Spanish, means “welcome.” But Bienvenido Rodríguez was not welcome in the big leagues. Although Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby integrated Organized Baseball in 1947, no dark-skinned man ever caught in major league ball (as it was then defined) from 1884, when Moses Fleetwood Walker debuted for the Toledo Blue Stockings, […]

Few people have the talent and good fortune to have successful careers in two such diverse fields as professional sports and the film industry. Ernie Orsatti was one of those lucky few. In his nine-year career with the Cardinals (1927-1935), Orsatti hit .300 or better in six seasons, twice hit over .330, and finished with […]

It’s not easy following in the footsteps of a famous big brother. Arthur “Doc” Hillebrand, two years older than Homer, was one of the most well-known athletes in the country at the turn of the century. A two-time All-American as a tackle on the Princeton University football team, Art was enshrined in the College Football […]

Armando Antonio Galarraga was born on January 15, 1982, in Cumana, Sucre, Venezuela. His mother, Mariza, was a chemistry teacher and his father, Jose (known as Pepe) was a biologist.1 The 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher spent parts of six seasons in the major leagues. He is best known for what transpired on June 2, 2010, at […]

Through the 2016 season, Chris Guccione has been a major-league umpire for eight full seasons. Before that, he was an “up and down” umpire, for the eight prior seasons (2000 through 2008), and he had worked five years in the minor leagues, from 1995 through 1999. Like most umpires, he had to work many years […]

Starting 217 games as a Browns pitcher and relieving in 49 more, Barney Pelty was, along with shortstop Bobby Wallace, the common thread on a team that flirted with destiny and fell into oblivion. Armed with an excellent curveball that kept opposing hitters off-balance, the 5’9″, 175-lb right-hander recorded 22 career shutouts, but also was […]

Jack Hayes was a doctor’s son and former pre-med student — an apt coincidence, since he needed medical attention often during his major league career. “He should be recognized as the holder of some sort of record for being injured every season,” the Chicago Tribune’s Irving Vaughan wrote.1 When Hayes was healthy, his White Sox […]

Alan Nathan never played in a big-league baseball game. Or in the minor leagues. Or at the collegiate level. He last grabbed a mitt and ran out on the field as a Maine high school freshman before deciding his exceptional foot speed was better suited for the track team. This lifelong Boston Red Sox and […]

Overcoming potentially career-ending shoulder injuries in the early 1950s to develop into one of the most feared sluggers of his era, Roy Sievers became just the 18th player to hit 300 home runs. With a powerful and graceful swing that Casey Stengel called “one of the sweetest,” 1 Sievers, known as Mr. Clutch for his […]

Born in Barre, Vermont, of an immigrant father who worked in the granite industry. Died in Barre, Vermont, 70 years later. Hearing those bare facts, you might think Walt Lanfranconi’s story is that of the quintessential Vermonter, living his life out in obscurity in the town where he was born and raised. Walt Lanfranconi answers […]

Burt Hooton is one of a few quality pitchers who parlayed the use of a devastating signature pitch into a long and effective major league career. Hurlers who relied on a distinctive pitch include Christy Mathewson (“fadeaway”); Carl Hubbell (screwball); Roy Face (forkball); Mariano Rivera (cutter); and Hooton, who baffled big league hitters with a […]

After serving his country for three years during World War II, Chuck Diering played parts of nine seasons (1947-1956) for three major league teams. Regarded as a top-notch defender by his contemporaries, the lithe center fielder became the first player to earn team Most Valuable Oriole honors when big league baseball returned to Baltimore in […]

If one had to summarize Bill Madlock’s career in song, the best two numbers to choose would be Noël Coward’s “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” and Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing if You Ain’t Got That Swing.” The former because “Mad Dog” was his nickname, the latter because it took only one cut for […]

“I’m on the bench with two out. My heart was breaking. Just a terrible feeling I had, as well as we played all game. You sit and try to comprehend what we just did. It’s hard to believe. It’s something you sit back and say, ‘Geez, how did we do it?’ I don’t (understand). I […]

“Sleepy Bill” Burns pitched for five major-league teams in five seasons from 1908 to 1912. At his peak, he beat Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson. The great Ty Cobb, a left-handed batter, said he would rather bat against the right-handed Johnson than face Burns, a tough lefty.1 Burns was blessed with natural ability, but he […]

“Mertie is a rather giddy young man, parts his hair in the middle, wears patent leathers, and dotes on the ladies.” — The Sporting News1   Mert Hackett was a catcher for five years in the 1880s, including three with Boston of the National League where he was their reserve catcher on the 1883 club […]

Satchel Paige threw his first pitch in professional baseball in 1926 for the Chattanooga White Sox, an inappropriately-named team in the lower levels of the segregated Negro Leagues. He played his last game in organized baseball in 1966 — a full 40 years later — for a Virginia club called the Peninsula Grays. In between, […]

Tim Teufel, who played mostly at second base but filled in at all three other infield positions, had good line-drive power, with 86 home runs in the majors. After breaking in with the Minnesota Twins in September 1983, he went on to play 10 full seasons. He spent a little over half that time with […]

Leon Brown’s older brother Curtis was a one-game major-leaguer, appearing with the Montreal Expos in May 1973. Leon, who was also an outfielder, didn’t have a whole lot more time at the top level. He got into 64 games for the New York Mets in 1976. Yet both of the Brown brothers pursued their dream […]

In the early years, baseball had its share of Buck Weavers, but the most famous among them was not the “original.”  That distinction, according to sportswriter Fred Lieb, goes not to the White Sox infielder, but to William Clinton Bond Weaver, known more commonly today by his other nickname, “Farmer.”1 This Buck Weaver started his […]

Before John Stefero was 30 years old, his baseball statistics included 18 broken fingers1, a fractured hand, and a cracked kneecap. “A catcher’s life,” he sighed. Over three major league seasons, the left-handed hitter also earned a World Series ring in 1983, standing ovations and curtain calls from his hometown fans, and enough memories and […]

Phil Rizzuto had the nickname “Scooter” because of how he got from place to place. He’d earned the moniker as a 5-foot-6 minor leaguer, with short and quick shuffles to any ball or base that needed him.1 He embodied it with the New York Yankees for 13 seasons, turning more double plays than all but […]

Struggling at third base during the first two months of the 1998 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates summoned their top-rated prospect, 19-year-old Aramis Ramírez, from Triple A. Ramírez, who had just 40 games of professional experience above Class A, went hitless in his first 24 big-league at-bats before breaking through with a game-clinching two-run double on […]

“Ebbets Field just isn’t the same.” – Roscoe McGowen1 Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field was a special place for baseball fans of all ages. Baseball’s literature tells the story of the National League’s Brooklyn Superbas, Robins, and Dodgers – over 3,400 games in 45 seasons (1913-1957) and 28 World Series games in nine different postseasons.2 Ask any […]