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“I’m expected to do it here anyway.” — Stan Musial, August 5, 19541    Stan Musial had many great games at Ebbets Field, and this one was one of the greatest. He had two homers and a sacrifice fly as the Cardinals, hitting safely in every inning, defeated the Dodgers 13-4 to snap a four-game […]

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 […]

“Sometimes it doesn’t pay to get out of bed. The Reds found this to be true today. Collapsing like a one-horse shay, especially in the finale, they dropped both ends of a sloppily-played doubleheader…”1 In this era, doubleheaders were a regular occurrence on the baseball calendar.2 Many were part of the regular-season schedule, while others […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

“This year Columbus is fighting desperately for the lead with Milwaukee. Both teams are traveling at top speed and both are composed of youngsters sensational and veterans reliable, who are trampling upon opposition with no regard for feelings.” — Pittsburgh Press, July 6, 1913   Before a pivotal three-game series at Milwaukee’s Athletic Park from […]

The 1920 American League pennant race was as tight as one could get. Three teams were within a half-game as the middle of August approached. Cleveland (70-40, .636) was in a virtual tie with Chicago (72-42, .632). New York (72-43, .626) was a half-game behind them and breathing down their necks. Cleveland hit the rails […]

Kirk Rueter admitted that he was “scared to death” when he made his big-league debut for the Montreal Expos on July 7, 1993.1 The 22-year-old soft-tossing southpaw had good reason to be nervous. Rueter was facing the San Francisco Giants, a team that had bolstered its lineup in the offseason with free-agent superstar Barry Bonds […]

By some standards, Ed Swartwood toiled in relative obscurity, playing nearly his entire career in the American Association, an under-appreciated major league in the 19th century. Even the teams he played on weren’t impressive. During the league’s inaugural season, 1882, he came up with the Pittsburg Alleghenys, a poor club during his three summers there. […]

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 […]

As the 1929 season began, the Chicago Cubs were in trouble.  They were without the services of their starting catcher, 28-year-old Gabby Hartnett, whose arm had gone dead.  While Hartnett would eventually regain his throwing abilities, he played in only 25 games that year, just one as a catcher.1 Initially, 38-year-old Mike Gonzalez and Earl […]

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 […]

“Yes, I knew him. He had huge hands with crooked fingers. He was a catcher, you know.” “Hell Yes, Babe was here. When? I don’t know, maybe on Ben Egan day? No! I don’t recall ever seeing him. No! I don’t know of anyone who did.” “Yes, I knew Ben. A great guy, everyone liked him. He […]

Son of a great baseball man, scout and executive Mel Didier, Bob Didier has been in the game for more than five decades, almost as long as his father. He was a professional catcher from 1967 through 1976, including one full season and parts of five others in the majors. He has since served as […]

Buddy Hunter described himself as an S.O.B. – a South Omaha Boy. Harold James Hunter was born in Omaha on August 9, 1947, and went to South High in the Nebraska city. As of 2014 he still lived about 20 miles south of downtown Omaha. Hunter’s parents were both involved with cattle. His father, Harold […]