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Jimmy Archer was the regular catcher for the Chicago Cubs from 1911 through 1916, earning a spot on Baseball Magazine‘s “All-America Team” each year from 1912 to 1914. Renowned for popularizing the snap throw from a squatting position, Archer enjoyed a reputation for having the best throwing arm of any catcher in the Deadball Era. […]

On August 8, 1962, Minnesota Twins left-hander Jack Kralick was nursing a two-hit, 2-1 lead over the Kansas City Athletics in the seventh inning when Kansas City right fielder George Alusik hoisted a two-run homer. The smash led to a 4-3 Twins loss. Protecting a similarly narrow ninth-inning 1-0 lead 18 days later, Kralick had […]

Few players in the years before World War II started their professional baseball careers in the major leagues, but “Bennie” Huffman broke into the Big Show in 1937 with the St. Louis Browns. If it had not been for a serious shoulder injury that summer as well as the later onset of World War II, […]

A manager remembered for trying to convert Christy Mathewson to a first baseman. A sportswriter considered “a loudmouthed front-runner with little-to-no credibility.”1 A team president banned from his league. Such is Horace Fogel’s place in baseball history, with much of this colorful reputation well deserved.2 Yet Fogel is also a tragic figure, led to heights […]

He was not the first man to be recognized as a threat to break Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs in a season, but Frank Howard was surely one of the first to draw such attention while still in the minor leagues, or even in college. This gentle, humble man would be no match […]

After a nine-year career in Japan, where he won an unprecedented seven consecutive batting titles, seven consecutive Gold Glove awards, and three consecutive MVP awards, Ichiro Suzuki became the first position player from Nippon Professional Baseball in the major leagues in 2001. Proving many doubters wrong, his stellar hitting continued in the U.S. against major-league […]

Life has its defining moments. For many ballplayers, the remembered moments come from first appearances to championship wins and include everything in between. But the life of a ballplayer is often defined by moments off the playing field and away from the crowds. A defining moment in the life of young Todd Stottlemyre came when […]

Confidence was a word used a lot in reference to Jim Mason. When he played well – which was rare – it was because he had his confidence. When he struggled, it was because he’d lost it. Dick Young said he was “a big guy with a small tolerance for pressure,”1 and that may explain […]

He was known as Shorty, The Rabbit, or sometimes The Mosquito. He used his short stature, his speed, and his pesky nature as a hitter and runner to advantage. These traits earned him the center field slot for one of the best baseball teams in baseball history, the 1906-1908 Chicago Cubs. At 5-foot 6-inches1 and […]

The courses of the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Beaneaters had diverged by the time Boston arrived in Philadelphia for a three-game series on Monday, August 26, 1889. A week before, Boston had stretched its lead in the National League pennant chase with three victories over the second-place New York Giants, while the Phillies continued to […]

“He just pitched beautiful,” raved Chicago skipper Leo Durocher about Fergie Jenkins, whose complete-game victory captured the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds (43-35) and solidified an 11-1 homestand for the Cubs.1 Entering the game, the Cubs had won 16 of their previous 18 contests, including their last five. Cellar-dwellers in 1966, Durocher’s first season […]

The expansion Montreal Expos had finally developed their first Canadian player. In an attempt to find a major gate attraction, the fledgling team had signed 18 Canucks − 14 of whom were pitchers − in their first six years.1 None of them panned out until 21-year-old Larry Landreth walked out to the mound on September […]

The New York Mets clinched their first postseason berth since 1973 with a win over the Chicago Cubs on September 17, 1986. As the players—19 games up on the second-place Philadelphia Phillies with 17 to play—celebrated around Shea Stadium’s mound, jubilant fans poured out of the stands to celebrate with their heroes. During the festivities, […]

David Ortiz had been designated to hit, and that he did. With an eighth-inning single in the Boston Red Sox’ 11-8 win over the Seattle Mariners on July 9, 2013, Ortiz had 1,688 base hits as a designated hitter, tying the all-time mark held by Harold Baines. As the Red Sox, who led American League […]

The 1871 Fourth of July festivities in Middletown, Connecticut, were modest and reserved, save for what the Hartford Evening Post labeled “the usual popping of fireworks and pistols.”1 The main social event was a base ball game at the new grounds built on the property of local businessman Dewitt Clinton Sage. He had gifted the […]

Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright made his first big-league start at Houston’s Minute Maid Park on August 6, 2013, and lasted only an inning. It was about as bizarre a start as one could imagine, in what turned out to be one of the wildest wins of the Red Sox’ 2013 World Series championship […]

When the August 15 game between the Boston Americans and Chicago White Sox was rained out, it was rescheduled as the first game of a doubleheader to be played on Wednesday, September 27, at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds. Having won American League pennants in both 1903 and 1904, Boston was the reigning league champion, but […]

It was the 10th game of the 2013 season, with the Tampa Bay Rays (4-5) visiting Fenway Park to play the Boston Red Sox (5-4) on a Saturday afternoon. Friday’s series opener had been rained out, turning a scheduled four-game series into a three-game set. In a battle of left-handers, the starting pitcher for manager […]

Described as “the largest throng to see a night game in the Mound City,” a capacity crowd of 33,527, including 267 servicemen, packed Sportsman’s Park to see the invading Brooklyn Dodgers face the hometown St. Louis Cardinals on August 25, 1942.1 The Sporting News praised the game as “one of the tensest, most dramatic games […]

The 1940 season was the finest of Bobo Newsom’s 20-year major-league career. After losing a 5-1 decision to the St. Louis Browns on Opening Day, Newsom won his next 13 decisions. On July 17, Newsom had a streak of seven consecutive complete games ended when he had to leave a game against the Boston Red […]

The National League celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the league founding in 1925. The St. Louis Cardinals had a pregame ceremony at their home opener, led by St. Louis Mayor Victor Miller. A Golden Jubilee pennant was raised along with the American flag, while a brass band played “The Star Spangled Banner.” The band continued […]

“If you think what goes on between the white lines has anything to do with running a baseball team today, you’ve got a lot to learn.” – Clark Griffith, Twins executive vice president and son of owner Calvin Griffith1   Entering the 1981 season an ongoing labor dispute between owners and players lingered over the […]

It didn’t take long for St. Louis Cardinals fans to appreciate Bruce Sutter. In the Cardinals’ second game of the 1981 season, the right-handed relief ace pitched three nearly flawless innings to earn the save in a 7-3 victory over the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies on April 12 at Busch Stadium. Sutter, the […]

For nearly two months in the summer of 1981, major-league stadiums were empty. On June 12, after a year of negotiations failed to produce an agreement on the structure of baseball’s free-agent compensation system, the players voted to strike. With the work stoppage still in progress on July 14, the All-Star Game was postponed. Instead, […]