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Columbus Jets logo.   The state of Ohio has a rich baseball history. The city of Columbus has played a major role in that history, even though, unlike its sister cities Cincinnati and Cleveland, it has never hosted an American or National League team. It has been the home of an array of minor-league teams […]

Lee Lowenfish. Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. 683 pp. Notes, bibliography, index, photographs. Branch Rickey. Branch Rickey’s Little Blue Book. Edited by John J. Monteleone. Preface by Stan Musial. New York: Macmillan, 1995. 142 pp. Index. Murray Polner. Branch Rickey: A Biography. Revised Edition. Foreword by Branch B. Rickey. […]

Let me propose a hypothesis: The Cubs and Pirates are each other’s biggest rival. A few years ago I mentioned the idea to Cubs expert Art Ahrens (we were both in our cups), and he looked at me as if I were crazy. But I was researching the Cubs and the Pirates—my two favorite teams—and […]

The Caguas Criollos won back-to-back Caribbean Series crowns in 2017 and ’18, beating Mexicali 1–0 in 10 innings on February 7, 2017, and defeating Aguilas Cibaeñas from the Dominican Republic on February 8, 2018. The Criollos’ fifth Caribbean Series title puts them in elite company: Only the Dominican Republic’s Tigres del Licey have won more […]

New York Giants owner Andrew Freedman fired 13 managers between 1895 and 1902. He wasn’t the first to second-guess the actions of a manager, though he did help establish a time-honored tradition. In the years since, more than a few reputations and careers have suffered the ill-effects of the practice. Fans, owners, and journalists rightly […]

This article was originally published in “The SABR Book on Umpires and Umpiring” (SABR, 2017), edited by Larry R. Gerlach and Bill Nowlin. Bernice Gera, center, makes a call at the Jim Finley umpire school in 1967. (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)   “Are you blind?” is a familiar cry for fans sitting in […]

This spring, baseball attention will be focused on Henry Aaron as he strives to reach and pass that magic number in the home run summit of fame — 714.   There is another historic home run number that is being approached and soon some one will be achieving that milestone.   That will be the 100th home […]

A note from the editor of The National Pastime.SABRen, welcome to “The Burgh,” home to some truly significant episodes in baseball history, being not only the home to the great Negro Leagues teams the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, but to a major-league team who came by their name honestly — no pun intended — […]

Rachel Robinson and Ken Burns discuss Jackie Robinson’s legacy. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)   Ken Burns’s film, Jackie Robinson, perfectly fits the definition of a documentary by providing a factual record or report. As a Black member of the audience, it was extremely important for me to hear from Black people in cultural context and […]

For the Astrodome to be built, many intricate pieces had to fall into place. In describing one of the most important factors, Craig Cullinan Jr. confidently asserted, “Baseball was the heart, lungs, brain, life blood of the whole thing. … Without it, there was nothing – no franchise, no stadium, no hotels.”1 Although Roy Hofheinz […]

This article was selected for inclusion in SABR 50 at 50: The Society for American Baseball Research’s Fifty Most Essential Contributions to the Game. Who has the highest single season batting average in major league history? The modern fan would probably say that Rogers Hornsby’s .424 in 1924 is the highest. Old timers would point […]

Joe Torre’s frustrating 1975 season was “highlighted” by the July 21 game against the Astros where he grounded into four consecutive double plays. Batting ahead of him was Felix Millan, who had 4 singles, but was wiped out each time Tone hit the ball. For Torre, it was a National League record for grounding into […]

Who are the best players in the history of the Pirates? Everyone responding to that question will, of course, approach it differently. Some may rely on their personal recollections of thrilling plays and great moments, others might look at old newspapers and read about World Series exploits, and still others will review the record books […]

This is (roughly) the tenth anniversary of the transfer of a unique and valuable baseball property. On September 6, 2000, Major League Baseball and Morgan, Lewis and Bockius LLP (a very big and very prominent Philadelphia-based international law firm)1 issued a joint press release announcing “that the law firm has transferred its domain name—mlb.com—to Major […]

This article was selected for inclusion in SABR 50 at 50: The Society for American Baseball Research’s Fifty Most Essential Contributions to the Game. Introduction In his December 29, 2005 internet blog, John Thorn, the noted baseball author and SABR member, mentioned that the shotgun that killed Ty Cobb’s father in 1905 had been part […]

“They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays.” – Ted Williams1   Willie Mays played in a record 24 All-Star games. Here, he talks with, left to right, Charlie Neal, Henry Aaron, Ted Williams, and Stan Musial before the second game of 1959. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)   It starts with the numbers, […]

Tom Seaver scouting report, 1965. (Click to enlarge.)   Just as an iceberg reveals only a small part of its mass, the public face of baseball shows only a fraction of the work required to assemble clubs and stage games. The nonplayer personnel are, in many ways, the unsung heroes of the game. For years, […]

IN 1954, the Washington Senators were an abominable team They finished the season ensconced in sixth place in the American League, with a 66—88 record. The previous year, they were a fifth-place ballclub, completing the campaign at 76—76. In 1952, they also ended up in fifth place, with a 78—76 mark. In mid-decade, Ernest Barcella, […]