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Late-19th century American life could be grisly. Annually, from 1880 to 1900, some 35,000 workers died and another 500,000 were injured.1 Away from the workplace, the deadly and maiming effects of fires, explosions, and railroads took up volumes of newsprint. Medical and public health advances that would add decades to American lifespans lay mostly on […]

Red Thisted never saw a professional baseball game until he was 20 years old. He made up for lost time, though. Over the course of four decades, he attended every home game played my Milwaukee’s ballclub, plus all of the away games when not prevented by wartime travel restrictions. From the start of the 1926 […]

Even though his 13 years in the Steel City fell between the World Championship seasons of 1909 and 1925, Wilbur Cooper was arguably the greatest pitcher in Pittsburgh Pirates history. Cooper holds the franchise single-season record for ERA (1.87 in 1916) and the all-time records for victories (202) and complete games (263). An exceptional control […]

Mark Langston, Mike Campbell, John Halama, Carlos Guillén, Freddy García, Brad Halsey, Dioner Navarro, Javier Vázquez, Alberto González, Steven Jackson, Ross Ohlendorf, Luis Vizcaíno. These dozen men were traded, in different transactions, for Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. While they share a bond, their major-league careers took different paths. Several would play in the World […]

As of the end of the 2014 season, 18,400 players are recognized by Baseball-Reference as having played in the major leagues. Of this group 595, or a little over 3 percent, share an interesting distinction: They played their first major-league game for a team that won the World Series that year. Eleven of this group […]

Manny Mota never seemed to age. “He’s scary,” said Steve Garvey, his teammate with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I wish just one spring he would show up with one gray hair.”1 That was in June 1979, a couple of months before the Dominican set the career record for pinch hits. Mota wound up with 150 […]

“Not getting booed at Ebbets Field was an amazing thing. Those fans knew their baseball, and Gil was the only player I can remember whom the fans never, I mean never, booed.”1 — Clem Labine “… epitomizes the courage, sportsmanship and integrity of America’s favorite pastime.” — back of a 1966 Topps baseball card “Gil […]

After tearing up the Ohio and Pennsylvania League for the Youngstown Steelmen, pitcher Ed “Doc” Moyer appeared in six games with the 1910 Washington Senators. In a deflating debut in relief on July 20, 1910, against Cleveland, Moyer was greeted by the Naps’ 3-4-5 batters with three blistering base hits to lead off the sixth, […]

“His rise from the ‘bushes’ to the big show has been phenomenal,” gushed one report about Big Bill Steele.1 Two years removed from the sandlots, Steele jumped from a Class B league to the majors, debuting with the St. Louis Cardinals as a September call-up in 1910. That fall the spitballer won his first three […]

Terry Leach had an unusual delivery, took an abnormally long and circuitous route to the major leagues, eventually found uncommon success, and recounted it all in a book entitled Things Happen for a Reason. There were in fact lots of reasons for the things that happened during Leach’s unique baseball career, which spanned 18 professional […]

One of the most important games hurled by Clement Walter Labine took place at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn on October 9, 1956. The day before, Don Larsen had pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0, in the fifth game of the World Series. Dodgers manager Walter Alston […]

When Scott Williamson joined the Cincinnati Reds at spring training in 1999, he was a non-roster invitee with long odds of making the team. Before the year was over, however, the hard-throwing right-hander was an All-Star and the National League Rookie of the Year. Although injuries prevented Williamson from replicating the success of his rookie […]

“National Disgrace! Worst. Loss. Ever!” — Headlines on the back pages of the New York Daily News and New York Post on September 4, 2019.1   Who won the ballgame last night? In the 1950s, that question was often answered by New Yorkers after a quick stop at one of the 1,500 newsstands that dotted […]

There were other events, including the meanderings of a runaway horse named Red, worthy of ink on the front page of the Brooklyn Eagle on Sunday, October 4, 1953, but after the Dodgers had evened up the World Series the day before, the banner headline, “Let’s Be Unmerciful!” expressed the sentiment of the Brooklyn faithful.1 […]

The California Angels’ best player of 1979, Don Baylor, came to Toronto in a bad mood. In an interview for the Orange County Register, Baylor criticized the Angels front office for not acquiring enough pitching help for the team.1 By the end of this game at Exhibition Stadium, Baylor had a 3-for-7 day with 8 […]

The St. Louis Cardinals evened things up, winning Game Two of the 2013 World Series, 4-2, and ending Boston’s five-game World Series winning streak over St. Louis, dating back to their sweep in 2004. One could well say that rookie right-hander Michael Wacha was the star of the game for St. Louis. After debuting with […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw started Game Five of the World Series throwing nothing but strikes. Boston’s Mookie Betts flied out to left-center on his second pitch. Andrew Benintendi grounded a single up the middle on the third strike he saw. And Steve Pearce swung at Kershaw’s next pitch, hitting a two-run homer to […]

On May 2, 1917 the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs squared off at Chicago’s Weeghman Park for the first game of a four-game series. At 10-7 the Cubs sat in second place, only a half-game back of the eventual National League champion New York Giants. The Reds were in sixth place with a mark of […]

Boston Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu was just 1-for-20 in spring training in 2025.1 He missed much of the preseason with a gastrointestinal virus. His first spring appearance was at Fort Myers, Florida on March 16; he was 0-for-2 in that game. A day later—and 10 days before the Red Sox March 27 season […]

At the end of the 1948 season, the New York Yankees fired their manager, Bucky Harris. The team had just completed what was for them a subpar year, finishing in third place behind the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians. Harris was not without credentials, having guided the Yankees to the 1947 World Series championship, […]

Unlike most other sports, baseball has no clock, so a team never has to “beat the clock” as well as an opponent. There are very few times when actual minutes are measured instead of outs in baseball. When a relief pitcher is not yet ready to come into a game, a manager will come out […]

On April 30, 1887, their Opening Day and National League debut game, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys hosted and defeated the defending league champion Chicago White Sox, 6-2. Pittsburgh’s offense was led by Alex McKinnon’s four hits (two singles, a double, and a triple) and two runs scored. Teammate Fred Carroll, whose defensive versatility enabled him to […]

Philadelphia Phillies manager Eddie Sawyer faced a dilemma. Who would pitch the first game of the World Series? His ace, Robin Roberts, had started three games in five days, including a 10-inning pennant-clinching effort on the last day of the season. He needed rest. Curt Simmons, whose 17 wins in the league were second only […]

The first journey of the Washington Nationals into postseason baseball, the 2012 National League Division Series, began on December 5, 2010, when they signed free-agent outfielder Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million contract. Werth was an important contributor to the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2007-10 postseason runs, including the World Series crown in 2008. He brought […]