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After graduating from Duke University in 1974, John Poff made it to the majors for 31 games in 1979 and 1980. He hit .218 in 91 plate appearances. The first baseman-outfielder retired after the winter of 1981-82. “My career in baseball was frustrating,” he later said. “I wanted and felt I deserved a lot more […]

Dan O’Dowd was a baseball man from the beginning. Born in Morristown, New Jersey, on September 6, 1959, Dan grew up working on his parents’ (Marty and Anna Mae) dairy farm and in O’Dowd’s Milk Bar on Route 46 in Pine Brook. As it is for most, his love of baseball was cultivated from playing […]

One of the most popular players ever to play for the Boston Red Sox, Rico Petrocelli will always be remembered for his familiar “Fenway Stroke” that sent many an opposing hurler’s offerings into the net atop the left field wall. Although he was not physically imposing at 6-feet and 175 pounds, he hit 210 home […]

The second Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues was outfielder Luis Olmo, who joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943, a year after Hiram Bithorn made his debut with the Chicago Cubs. These men led the way for more than 200 boricuas who have since followed. Bithorn’s life ended suddenly at the age of […]

The Cleveland Indians’ return to prominence in the mid-1990s is well known. So is the plan that general manager John Hart used to orchestrate it. The plan focused on developing young players and signing them to long-term contracts before they became eligible for arbitration and free agency.  What perhaps is not so well known is […]

Team captain Sal Bando was the glue that held the volatile Oakland A’s together during their three-year run as World Series champions (1972-1974). Respected by teammates, peers, and his managers, Bando was Oakland’s unequivocal leader, a durable, rough-and-tumble third baseman who averaged 23 home runs and 90 runs batted in over an eight-year span in […]

Roy Evans was an impressive prospect; he had a devastating curveball and worked his control and change of pace with authority. For a big guy, he wasn’t noted for his fastball. Regardless, Evans was routinely striking out 15, 20 or more hitters a game as a teenager playing semipro ball in his hometown of Emporia, […]

He was a leadoff man. He played all through the eclipse of baseball’s greatest franchise. So, mainly for worse he came to symbolize an era. Alas, Horace Meredith Clarke was never a star, but he was a pesky hitter with speed and a good glove. Perverse as it may be, his durability and visibility made […]

When his parents wanted him to have a backup plan in case the baseball thing didn’t work, his father taught him to be a locksmith. He was the second youngest starting pitcher1 to make his debut for the Brewers (20 years, 139 days), started second most games, and saw his career cut short while still […]

“Versatility will keep me in the game a long time,” said Eddie Jurak in 1983.1 Indeed, Jurak was a true utility player. Primarily a shortstop, he appeared at every position as a professional save pitcher and catcher. Spring training 1984 summed up his job approach. He carried four different gloves with him, one suited for […]

Immortalized by two dramatic World Series home runs, one in 1984 for the Detroit Tigers and another in 1988 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kirk Gibson was noted for his competitiveness and clutch hitting. Plagued by injuries, he never lived up to the hype created by his manager, Sparky Anderson, when he referred to Gibson […]

The career of the greatest pitcher in St. Louis Cardinals history was winding down in the summer of 1975. Bob Gibson had twice won the National League Cy Young Award and once was Most Valuable Player. Three times he pitched complete games in the Game Seven of the World Series, winning two of them.1 Gibson […]

“Naturally we’re going to miss him,” said Philadelphia Phillies manager Eddie Sawyer about left-hander Curt Simmons. “No team can lose a pitcher of Curt’s caliber without feeling it.”1 In his breakout campaign, the 21-year-old southpaw made his last start on September 9 of the Phillies’ most exciting season in history since their last pennant, in […]

On July 12, 1938, approximately 10,000 fans entered Griffith Stadium to see their Washington Senators take on the league-leading Cleveland Indians. Just six days earlier, the 1938 All-Star Game had been held at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. Washington’s third baseman Buddy Lewis and Cleveland’s center fielder Earl Averill had started in the midsummer classic for the […]

The roof was open for the 25,661 baseball fans in attendance at Safeco Field on August 12, 2015.1 It had been rainy in the morning, but only clouds remained when the getaway day game began in the early afternoon. Both the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles were in the middle of the American League pack, […]

The Kansas City Royals were on the threshold of experiencing their greatest franchise moment to date: their first World Series. The year before, the California Angels clinched the American League West Division crown during the season’s last week, outpacing Kansas City by three games. From 1976 to 1978, the Royals lost three consecutive American League […]

You hear the phrase “On paper, they are the best team in the league” all the time in professional and collegiate sports. Of course, the ready-made answer to that statement is that the outcomes of games or contests are not decided on paper. This may have applied to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee […]

After the massive collapse the Boston Red Sox suffered in September 2011, when they went from having the American’s League’s best record on August 31 to losing 20 of their last 27 games and missing the playoffs, fans expected that changes would occur. And they did: Manager Terry Francona was fired, and not long after […]

The Philadelphia Phillies were mired in the NL East cellar when they arrived at Shea Stadium for a three-game series against the New York Mets. They were hoping to turn things around after losing their previous five games. The Mets were 38-32 and 4½ games behind division leader Pittsburgh. They had won four of their […]

The Minnesota Twins were tied with the Kansas City Royals for third place in the American League West Division, one game under .500 with a 70-71 record, as they prepared for the Chicago White Sox, who were only a half-game behind the two teams. Minnesota had played sub-.500 baseball nearly all season; the team last […]

In 1997 and 1998, Fernando Tatis played in 210 games for the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals, hitting .266 with 19 homers and 87 RBIs. The Dominican native grabbed national attention in 1999 when he made baseball history by hitting two grand slams against Chan Ho Park in one inning on April 23. He […]

On June 23, 1993, Seattle Mariners right fielder Jay Buhner hit a first-inning grand slam against the Oakland A’s at Seattle’s Kingdome, but he had even more thrills in store for the Wednesday night crowd of 18,625 – especially those who stuck around near midnight. Thirteen innings and more than four hours later, Buhner’s triple […]

Game Five of the 1982 American League Championship Series on Sunday, October 10, 1982, was the most important contest fans at Milwaukee County Stadium had been treated to since its former occupants, the Braves, fell to the New York Yankees, 6-2, in Game Seven of the 1958 World Series. While the Brewers had made the […]

“A ludicrous way to end it all,” wrote Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle after Dick Groat had walked to force in the winning run in the 21st inning.1 “At least the team won,” said right-hander Gaylord Perry after pitching 16 scoreless innings and not figuring in the decision. “That’s the breaks of the […]