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Hy Vandenberg was a big right-handed pitcher, 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, who debuted in the majors in 1935 but didn’t win his first game until 1940 and didn’t win his second until 1944. Thanks to the war years, he was able to compile a 15-10 record in the big leagues and win 139 games in […]

In the long history of professional baseball, almost 100 major-league players were nicknamed “Doc.” About half of them were medical professionals: physicians, dentists, an optometrist, a pharmacist, and even a veterinarian. Among the physicians was John Lavan, a graduate of the University of Michigan medical school who also earned a doctorate in public health. Lavan […]

He wasn’t flamboyant like his contemporary Dizzy Dean and didn’t have a signature pitch like Carl Hubbell’s screwball, but stout right-hander Bill Lee of the Chicago Cubs had a five-year run in the 1930s when he could lay a legitimate claim to be the best pitcher, or at least one of them, in baseball. From […]

In 1989, following his junior year of high school, 16-year-old Marc Newfield led his Orange County, California-based Mickey Mantle League team to a national championship. That summer, Newfield demonstrated such prodigious power that his teammates nicknamed him “Captain Crunch.”1 One teammate recalled, “You should have seen him in the league. He just bombed balls … […]

In a career that spanned from 1906 to 1940, Jack Lelivelt was one of the great hitters and managers of minor-league baseball. As a hitter, he had more than 3,000 hits and averaged .328 over 20 seasons, including six seasons in the American League. His major-league career was curtailed by leg injuries. As a manager, […]

Although he became a star for the most famous team in baseball, for whom he helped win three pennants and a World Series, Jim Bouton’s most lasting contribution to the sport would come a few years later, after he lost his fastball and returned to the major leagues as a struggling knuckleballer for an expansion […]

A seven-game major-league career rarely affords a player much chance to leave a lasting impression on the game. Still, the imprint left by turn-of-the-century left-hander Warren McLaughlin is fainter than that of most marginal big leaguers. The availability of box scores from the era permits baseball reference works to construct a statistical line for McLaughlin, […]

In a poll of National League sportswriters conducted in April 1964, Larry Bearnarth was tabbed as the New York Mets’ best young pitcher.1 The franchise’s first bonus player and the first hurler to win four consecutive major league decisions, the tall blond right-hander established a club record with 58 appearances during his rookie season. Bearnarth’s […]

Although he had far from the best year of his career in 1948, Connie Ryan was a valuable utility infielder for the Boston Braves that season — primarily backing up incumbent Eddie Stanky (and later his replacement, Sibby Sisti) at second base. Ryan was an intense competitor as well as an occasional sparkplug for the […]

Few, if any, baseball players have ever had as many peaks and valleys in their careers or in their lives as José Rijo. Raised in poverty in the Dominican Republic, he signed a contract with the New York Yankees at age 15. After three years in the minor leagues, he made it to the majors […]

In an era when baseball players were supposed to be upper-class gentlemen and amateurs, Doug Allison didn’t fit the mold. He came from working-class origins and he was one of the first players to turn professional. Allison introduced two innovations that now are universally followed by all modern catchers. Douglass1 L. Allison was born in […]

He was the Montreal Expos’ Jim of all trades. As general manager, manager, vice president, scouting director, even broadcaster, Jim Fanning held almost every position a ball club could have, primarily for the Expos, but for the Atlanta/Milwaukee Braves, Colorado Rockies and Toronto Blue Jays as well. This baseball Renaissance man was an only child […]

First baseman Billy Jo Robidoux tore up the Texas League in 1985. At age 21, he was in his fourth year of pro baseball, playing for the Double-A El Paso Diablos in the Milwaukee Brewers system. He led the league in batting average (.342), base hits (176), runs batted in (132), and runs scored (111).1 […]

Born May 25, 1845, Lipman Emanuel Pike was the first great Jewish baseball player, playing professionally from 1866 to 1881. While no comparable statistical records exist for his career through 1870, from 1871 through 1881 Pike appeared in 425 National Association and National League games, hitting .322 with a slugging average of .468. Despite being […]

Patience and power made Ken Singleton one of baseball’s premier switch-hitters. After beginning his 15-year career (1970-1984) with the Mets and Expos, he was a three-time All-Star right fielder for the Orioles and the designated hitter for Baltimore’s 1983 World Series champions. After retiring, Singleton became a popular Yankees broadcaster. Kenneth Wayne Singleton was born […]

It was Ted Williams who dubbed Bobby Doerr “the silent captain of the Red Sox” and a more down-to-earth Hall of Famer might be hard to find. A career Red Sox player, Doerr’s fame enjoyed a resurgence in 2004 with the publication of David Halberstam’s book about him and his famous teammates.1  Born in the city of […]

Most of the former ballplayers we read about were well known, or at least regulars, on their respective big league clubs. But since ball clubs usually have 25-man rosters, the majority of players were neither stars nor regulars. Instead, they played backup roles, riding the bench and waiting for their turn while the starters played […]

With the possible exception of Sandy Koufax, no Dodger pitcher ever threw harder than Rex Barney. Throughout the late 1940s, Barney’s fastball was the talk of baseball. In 1947, at the age of twenty-two, he struck out Joe DiMaggio with the bases loaded in a World Series game. On a rainy night at the Polo […]

Stefan Wever’s “ticket to ride” was a fastball clocked at 95 miles per hour. The 6-foot-8, 245-pound right-hander dominated the minor leagues and became the tallest player in New York Yankees history1 when he took the mound against the eventual American League champions, the Milwaukee Brewers, on September 17, 1982. His dream-come-true quickly turned into […]

The leading member of the 1947 Yankees’ catchers-by-committee group, Aaron Robinson was behind the plate in seventy-four games, more than any of his fellow backstops. But perhaps his most important role that season was helping groom his eventual successor, future Hall of Famer Yogi Berra. Aaron Andrew Robinson was born on June 23, 1915, in […]

Hard-throwing southpaw Dave Koslo was touted as Carl Hubbell’s successor when he debuted for the New York Giants in 1941.Though he never developed into the dominant ace many predicted, he won ten or more games in six of seven seasons (1946-1952) and finished with 92 wins in 12 big-league seasons. His career, however, is defined […]

Editor’s note: During our Stay Home With SABR initiative, enjoy these light-hearted Dispatches From the Mudville Bureau by Joanne Hulbert of SABR’s Boston Chapter to stay engaged with baseball until the games return. Check out what’s new and keep up with all the news in the Boston Chapter on Facebook at BostonSABR or on Instagram […]

In the summer of 1951, the New York Giants under manager Leo Durocher began to employ an elaborate sign-stealing scheme. The Giants needed to overcome a 13.5-game deficit to the Brooklyn Dodgers to set up a historic playoff. The question is not whether the Giants stole signs, but what effect the sign-stealing had on the […]

The last home game of the 1952 season at Braves Field was played before 8,882 fans and nearly 32,000 empty seats on a Sunday afternoon in late September. Under the circumstances, this wasn’t much of a surprise. There are plenty of numbers one can use to describe the ’52 Braves, most of them bad. Boston’s […]