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On the day that Chicagoans were celebrating their country’s independence in 1929, Chicago Cubs slugger Hack Wilson provided fireworks of his own by punching Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ray Kolp in the visitors dugout in the second game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field. But the July 4 fisticuffs didn’t stop when the Cubs and Reds […]

Fully bought into rallying cries like “Humm Baby” and “Don’t get your dauber down,” the 1987 San Francisco Giants picked up right where they left off the previous season, coming from behind to beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3, in 12 innings on Opening Day at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. In 1986 — their […]

“It was all my fault,” Philadelphia Athletics first baseman Ferris Fain said in a postgame interview. “I threw the ball while I was still pivoting, and it was five full feet from the bag.”1 The 26-year-old rookie was lamenting his second-inning error on a groundball off the bat of Stan Spence that allowed the Washington […]

Going into the 2024 postseason, the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers had met 172 times in the regular season since 1998, each team winning 86 games and losing 86 games. The wild-card Mets and National League Central Division champion Brewers continued this trend by splitting the first two games of their 2024 NL Wild […]

Acquired in an offseason trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, hard-throwing Kirby Higbe tied teammate Whit Wyatt for the NL lead in wins (22) to help lead the Dodgers to the NL pennant in 1941. (Photo: SABR-Rucker Archive)   The 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers got their season started on the wrong foot – and to add insult, […]

“There are worse places to open a baseball season than the Astrodome, but no team is based in Death Valley or on Alcatraz. … [Atlanta Braves manager Bobby] Cox counts himself among the game’s traditionalists and thinks the Dome should be torn down and a shopping mall erected in its place. He hates it for […]

True, a hitter going for .400 doesn’t like outs – but was this taking things a little too far? Bob Dunbar of the Boston Herald let it be known that Boston Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams had “bored a couple of holes through the left-field fence with his new rifle. … Teddy’s sharp-shooting ability […]

The morning after the Yankees hosted the Indians in a doubleheader on June 24, 1970, the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote, “Yankee Stadium was filled with trouble makers yesterday, but the biggest one, as far as the Indians were concerned, was New York center fielder Bobby Murcer.”1 Murcer led off the bottom of the ninth inning […]

One of the more exciting days on the baseball calendar is the trade deadline on July 31.1 Networks and sports talk shows fuel the speculation and rumor mill about who could be on the move. Team officials must determine if their club is a pretender or a contender, a buyer or a seller. With the […]

For most of pro baseball’s first century, when a “sore arm” sidelined a pitcher for an extended period, it began a descent in skill too often resulting in an untimely exit from the game. Frequently, these players were victims of whisper campaigns, having their courage and valor called into question. Surgeons were unable to repair […]

He could have been nicknamed “Tugboat” or, for that matter, “Giuliani the Magician,” for the many varied and workmanlike roles Angelo John Giuliani played during his life dedicated to baseball.  From a fledgling full-time backstop in the minors to sharp-eyed scout in the majors, Giuliani’s resume was a convincing testimonial of a player who, having […]

Rubén Gómez was the second pitcher from Puerto Rico to reach the majors — and the first to start and win a World Series Game. He led the New York Giants to a 6-2 win in Game Three at Cleveland on October 1, 1954. A limber 6 feet even and 170-175 pounds, Gómez was amazingly […]

Tommie Agee was one of the key components to the 1969 Miracle Mets, solidifying the defense and serving as the club’s chief power source, albeit from the leadoff spot. His on-field heroics during the ’69 season—including socking the only home run to ever reach Shea Stadium’s upper deck—helped propel the Mets to their first postseason […]

“He’s the best I have.”1 So said Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst when asked about Reggie Cleveland being traded to the Red Sox in December 1973. High praise, especially considering the Cardinals staff still included Bob Gibson. Boston GM Dick O’Connell called Cleveland “one of the best pitchers around.”2 In the winter of 1973, it was […]

Jerry Moses aspired to become a major-league ballplayer, and declined football scholarships at Southeastern Conference (SEC) universities to pursue his dream. A 1970 American League All-Star, Jerry became the youngest Red Sox to hit a home run, at age 18 and 289 days, with a pinch-hit rocket off Jim “Mudcat” Grant on May 25, 1965. […]

Fleet-footed Dode Paskert was one of the finest defensive center fielders of the Deadball Era. “It is no exaggeration to say that Paskert is one of the greatest judges of a fly ball in the game today,” wrote Baseball Magazine‘s J. C. Kofoed in 1915. “Those who have seem him circle, hawk-like, turn his back […]

Tom Grieve has passed 50 years in baseball, 49 of them spent with the Texas Rangers franchise. He played, was general manager, and worked as a broadcaster for the Rangers, rightfully earning him the sobriquet “Mr. Ranger.” Thomas Alan Grieve was born on March 4, 1948, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Alan and Polly (Hopkins) Grieve. […]

Dorian “Doe” Boyland was a good prospect who never got a proper chance to show what he could do in the major leagues. The first baseman received three trials with the Pittsburgh Pirates — in 1978, 1979, and 1981. He got into a total of 21 games, but started none of them and played in […]

In an effort to lessen the fledgling United States’ dependence on manufacturing in other countries, Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s secretary of the treasury, created the Society for the Establishment of Useful Machines, whose aim was to harness the power of a 77-foot waterfall, the Great Falls of the Passaic River. That act led to the […]

A left-handed batting rookie who averaged .322 for Pittsburgh during the second half of the 1949 season, speedy outfielder Tommy Saffell–often a leadoff hitter–figured that he would be in good shape with the Pirates in 1950. Saffell, who spent six years working his way up in the minor league system, knew that he could hit […]

Don Buddin played shortstop for the Red Sox in 1956 and then, after a year of Army service, from 1958 through 1961. After leading the league in shortstop errors in both 1958 and 1959, he became the butt of near-constant abuse from sportswriters and fans alike. Because of the numerous miscues, Boston Globe writer Bob […]

The “Iron Man” of the Texas League1 “A spitter jumping like a West Texas jackrabbit”2   Baseball history is quite familiar with Burleigh Grimes, the last legal spitball pitcher in the major leagues; and maybe Urban “Red” Faber, the final American Leaguer. But what about minor-league pitchers who were grandfathered in? Enter Paul Wachtel (WAH-tell), […]

It is rare for a single moment to pivot a career. Dick Stockton is an exception, not rule. Before 1975, Stockton moved from Syracuse University via KDKA Pittsburgh’s revolutionary news to pro basketball’s Boston Celtics. After 1975 he aired a Klondike of more national sports, including the Red Sox, A’s, and network baseball postseason and […]

“Nobody has ever called Shea Stadium a cathedral,” wrote George Vecsey of the New York Times after the last major-league baseball game was played there on September 28, 2008.1 Even so, for many it inspired love and loyalty that its handsome but dull replacement, Citi Field, could not. When New York City Mayor Robert F. […]