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Citi Field has been home of the New York Mets since 2009. (COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK METS)   As part of the expansion of the National League in 1962 a franchise was given to New York City. From 1962 to the current day, the Metropolitans’ ownership has been fairly stable. Joan Payson and her […]

The 1940s witnessed a special group of major league shortstops, including the likes of Lou Boudreau, Phil Rizzuto, Marty Marion, Pee Wee Reese and Johnny Pesky. During his own career, Vern “Junior” Stephens was considered to be as good or better than any of his illustrious peers, yet within a few years after his retirement, […]

How many teams sign a pitcher who was 22-2 in high school with the plan of making him a third baseman? And then write him a signing bonus of $35,000 – and accept him writing in the figure “1” on the check to convert it into $135,000? The Kansas City Athletics did both, all without […]

One might think a pitcher with a 29-45 career record had been something of a bust, but Ken Sanders had the misfortune to often play for losing teams. His best season is indicative of the situation: with the last-place A.L. West 1971 Milwaukee Brewers, he was 7-12 despite a major-league-leading 31 saves and an ERA […]

E.P. “Cy” Twombly Jr. never took to sports. Despite owning a nickname that evoked major-league baseball’s all-time wins leader, and having a father who might have preferred him to become a left-handed pitcher, he became a (decidedly right-handed) artist of international renown.1 It was his father whose prowess on the mound had earned the moniker […]

Twenty-four games and 19 plate appearances with two hits for the 1968 Baltimore Orioles were the extent of Lorenzo “Chico” Fernández’s major league action, but he spent over 40 years in professional baseball. After a nearly fatal beaning ended the Cuban-born infielder’s 12-season playing career, Fernández coached in the Orioles and Dodgers organizations for more […]

“Jarvis fires away … That’s a fly ball, deep to left, back, back … HEY HEY! He did it! Ernie Banks got number 500! The ball tossed to the bullpen … everybody on your feet … this … is IT! WHEEEEEEEE!”— Jack Brickhouse, WGN-TV, May 12, 19701 When the curtain rang down on the 1969 […]

For eight years after World War II, Doris Jane “Sammye” Sams, an excellent fast-pitch softball player from Knoxville, Tennessee, enjoyed an outstanding career in the pro All-American Girls Base Ball League (now known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League). By the time her final season ended in 1953, Sammye, as friends called the right-handed […]

Left-hander Howie Pollet was a pitching prodigy, but arm injuries stunted his career. Howard Joseph Pollet was born in New Orleans on June 26, 1921 to Elodie (Wilson) and Joseph King Pollet, a policeman. The family name is French, but they pronounced it “pol-LET” rather than “Poh-LAY.” Growing up in New Orleans, Howard’s next-door neighbor […]

When Oregonians turned to the sports section of their newspapers on June 20, 1971, they got a shot of optimism for another year of Northwest League (Class A) baseball, set to begin that afternoon. An Associated Press story highlighted a switch-hitting Bend Rainbows prospect who gave hope for a climb past the team’s 1970 mark […]

As Bob Lemon watched Willie Mays make his historic catch in Game One of the 1954 World Series against the Cleveland Indians, he may have recalled another spectacular catch by a young center fielder 8½ years earlier. That was the day, April 16, 1946, when rookie outfielder Bob Lemon saved Bob Feller’s Opening Day victory […]

On a crisp mid-October day in 1984, Alan Trammell played a key role in putting the Detroit Tigers on the verge of the World Series championship their fans and city had been waiting for since the “Sock It to ’Em Tigers” team of 1968 upended the St. Louis Cardinals. The Tigers led their National League […]

On May 31, 1942, the Cincinnati Reds prepared to host the Pittsburgh Pirates in a Memorial Day doubleheader. The previous two days had been disastrous for the Reds; a rash of injuries had decimated their outfield ranks. Ival Goodman was already nursing an injured ankle as the series began. On Friday, Hank Sauer, too, suffered […]

Over the last century of major league baseball, many marvelously talented ballplayers have represented their hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hall of Famer Al Simmons, 1917 World Series hero Happy Felsch, and Yankee all-star Tony Kubek were gifted Cream City natives remembered by even casual fans. Ken Keltner should be recollected in the same class. Not […]

Hooty Phillips, father of Lefty Phillips. (Courtesy of the Nashville Metro Archives)   The John William “Lefty” Phillips story begins with another ballplayer, his father, John “Hooty” Phillips.1 Father and son played for their hometown Nashville Elite Giants, among other teams. Neither Hooty nor Lefty Phillips is especially well-known, although Hooty Phillips had a longer […]

Good things come to those who wait. Patience is a virtue. Those aphorisms were more than just empty clichés to right-hander Orie Arntzen, who debuted as a 33-year-old for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943. Nicknamed “Old Folks” for obvious reasons, Arntzen won only four of 17 decisions for one of the worst teams of the […]

Vivian Sheriffs Anderson played third base for her hometown Milwaukee Chicks in 1944, the city’s only year in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The spirited infielder suffered a season-ending injury in June of that remarkable season and missed out on the Chicks’ championship. Even though Anderson’s time in the AAGPBL was brief, the league provided […]

Left-hander George Brunet pitched professionally in a record 33 consecutive seasons. After his major league career with nine different teams ended in 1971, he pitched in Mexico until he was 54 in 1989.1 He eventually set the minor league record for strikeouts and earned a place in the Mexican League’s hall of fame. Counting winter […]

Days before the start of the 1889 National League season, New York Governor David Hill vetoed legislation that would have rescued the Polo Grounds from imminent demolition by New York City officials. With his club’s ballpark lost, New York Giants principal owner John B. Day activated his fallback plan. Until Day could build a new […]

Here are the SABR Defensive Index™ rankings through games of June 12, 2016. For the fourth consecutive season, the SDI will be used to help select the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award™, presented by SABR. The SABR Defensive Index accounts for approximately 25 percent of the Rawlings Gold […]

Here are the full SABR Defensive Index™ rankings, through games of August 3, 2014. The SABR Defensive Index draws on and aggregates two types of existing defensive metrics: those derived from batted ball location-based data and those collected from play-by-play accounts. The three metrics representing batted ball data include Defensive Runs Saved from Baseball Info […]