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Baseball is a game full of statistics; however, they rarely tell the whole story. Such is the case with Roger Holt, an infielder who grew up in a small town in rural Florida and made it to the major leagues with the New York Yankees late in the 1980 season. Holt – a contact hitter […]

“Honest Jack” Boyle was a “19th century multi-position sensation.”1 He was the first of only five major-league players to log 500 games at catcher and at least two seasons of 100 games or more at first base (with Joe Mauer, Joe Torre, Gene Tenace, and Mike Napoli).2 Boyle abandoned boxing to become a major-league catcher […]

Playing with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1910 through 1913, Jimmy “Runt” Walsh became one of the most notable utility players of his era. In 1911 he became the third major leaguer to that point to play every position during a single season.1 Recruited by his ex-Phillies teammate Otto Knabe, the colorful Walsh jumped to the […]

Larry Lintz was built like a whippet — 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds — and ran like one. He came up as a middle infielder with the Montreal Expos in 1973 and stole 50 bases the following season, his most active year in the majors. In addition to being an exciting baserunner, he was a good […]

Jesse Orosco appeared in 1,252 regular-season games during his career, the most of any major-league pitcher. As of Opening Day 2015, the active hurler with the most appearances was LaTroy Hawkins with an even 1,000, so Orosco’s record endured for at least some time. The lefty spent most of his 24 seasons in the majors […]

A Pawtucket native, left-hander Henry John LaRose was first called on in relief against the Tigers, as the Red Sox and Yankees battled to the wire in September 1978. He’d been brought up to the big leagues to pitch for Boston just a few days earlier. With just 11 games on the schedule, and the […]

Outfielder Mark Corey looked like a surefire star after winning batting titles in his first two pro seasons. He tore up rookie ball in 1976, hitting .400 with 17 homers; the next year he hit .310 with 15 homers in Double-A. As it turned out, though, Corey never did break into the crowded Baltimore outfield. […]

The career of Henry “Hunky” Hines spanned more than 20 years, from 1887 at the age of 19 through 1910 at the age of 42.1 His career took him from Minneapolis to St. Louis, and from Brooklyn to Oakland. When he was signed to play for the club in Davenport, Iowa, in 1903, the Davenport […]

By the time Mike Schmidt retired early in the 1989 season, he was regarded as perhaps the greatest all-around third baseman in baseball history. No major-leaguer hit more homers during the 1980s, but he was not a one-dimensional threat: he curbed his tendency to strike out and stole bases when needed. In the field, he […]

During the 1892 season while playing for St. Louis, Cliff Carroll had the misfortune of being fined by the club when a ball inadvertently rolled into his pocket. The incident, which occurred in the sixth inning on August 17 of that season, was his major claim to fame, although in his time he was a […]

“When Red Sox slugger Jim Rice gets impatient, look out.” So began Bill Liston’s game story in the next day’s Boston Herald.1 The Boston Red Sox started the 1978 season on the road, losing their first two games to the Chicago White Sox, both 6-5, picking up a win, then splitting a pair in Cleveland. […]

This article was published in “The Stars Shone on Philadelphia: The 1934 Negro National League Champions” (SABR, 2023), edited by Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin.   The 1934 Negro National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Stars and the Chicago American Giants was a closely contested, contentious nailbiter of a series. Not only did […]

The Cincinnati Reds had endured a rough winter. Confessions of game-fixing tarnished their long-coveted championship. Three key players were holdouts. A beloved team executive passed away. But the slings and arrows of baseball’s fortune could not diminish Cincinnati’s celebration of Opening Day. As a record crowd overflowed Redland Field, the Reds opened 1921 by surging […]

The rumors were swirling in July 1988. The Boston Red Sox were 43-42 and nine games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers in the American League East. Would Boston make a change at the top? “It would come as a surprise to me,” said manager John McNamara, when he was told about speculation that he would […]

The 1967 baseball season was winding down, with less than 25 games to go. On Wednesday, September 6, half of the 10 American League teams were in the thick of a tight pennant race. The dark-horse California Angels (72-66) were in fifth place, trailing the league-leading Minnesota Twins (78-60) by six games. Sandwiched between those […]

It began just after 3:00 in the afternoon when Cincinnati’s ace, Eppa Rixey, served one up to Cubs second baseman Sparky Adams. Sixteen innings later it ended after Charley Dressen scored on a single by Wally Pipp. Between those two pitches, the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs battled through the longest and one of […]

A breakdown of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski’s 452 career home runs makes for interesting reading. The former Red Sox captain hit 237 homers at Fenway Park and 215 on the road. He hit 65 four-baggers against the Tigers, more than any against other team. He hit 266 homers before the All-Star break, 91 in […]

The 1981 American League Championship Series was primed for epic status before it began. Billy Martin, fired twice as manager by the New York Yankees, now led his up-and-coming Oakland Athletics against the Yankees in the postseason. Martin made no secret of his animus, telling reporters, “I’m going to beat [Yankees owner George] Steinbrenner’s ass […]

On April 15, 2013, Mike Napoli’s bat and Dustin Pedroia’s hustle gave the Boston Red Sox a 3-2 win in their traditional late-morning home game on Patriots Day and Marathon Monday, the Red Sox’ second walk-off in three days over the Tampa Bay Rays. Just minutes after this game ended, the day’s significance was forever […]

The Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants began a three-game series at Ebbets Field on the evening of Friday, April 22, 1955. The Dodgers started the season winning their first 10 games while the Giants, winners of the 1954 World Series by sweeping the Cleveland Indians, had lost five of their first seven. The […]

In the throes of a nine-game losing streak, the Chicago Cubs were in last place in the National League with a 23-37 record when they visited the league-leading Pittsburgh Pirates, who were up 16½ games on Sunday, June 26, 1960. Manager Lou Boudreau’s team faced a daunting task in the first game of a doubleheader […]

The Detroit Stars held first place in the Negro National League when they arrived in Ohio to play the Columbus Buckeyes in July 1921. The Stars appeared set to maintain their pace when they took an early lead in the series opener at Columbus’s Neil Park on July 9, but the Buckeyes capitalized on shaky […]

Jim Hutto may be best remembered among baseball trivia buffs for a game in which his biggest accomplishment was simply not getting hurt. On May 2, 1970, when the Phillies lost catchers Tim McCarver to a broken hand and Mike Ryan to a broken finger in the same half-inning, rookie utilityman Hutto was called on […]

Down two games to one in the 1934 World Series, the Detroit Tigers evened the count in Game Four with a resounding 10-4 win in a lengthy 2 hours and 43 minutes before 37,492 disappointed Sportsman’s Park fans. It was a game full of misadventures, dominated by Dizzy Dean’s attempt to run the bases. After […]