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A glorious, romantic, and competitive era of Cuban amateur baseball was the early 1940s.1 During that time, there was a quartet of star pitchers: Conrado Marrero, Julio Moreno, Rogelio Martínez, and Sandalio Consuegra. All four entered the big leagues in 1950 with the Washington Senators. Consuegra – often known as Sandy in the U.S. – […]

One lone ballplayer from the U.S. Virgin Islands played in the Negro Leagues: Alphonso “Piggy” Gerard, who did so in 1945-48. Thus, when the Negro Leagues were officially recognized as major leagues in December 2020, Gerard’s honor as a pioneer was amplified. The outfielder also played during 14 seasons in Puerto Rico, where a very […]

“There was no better teammate. … He’ll do anything to win.” – James “Cool Papa” Bell1   When legendary pitcher Satchel Paige became the first to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971 based on his Negro League accomplishments, he told Afro-American reporter Sam Lacy that he thought there were others […]

A collegiate star at the University of New Orleans, outfielder Ted Wood also stood out for Team USA in international competition in the late 1980s. The first-round draft pick never got an extended trial in the majors, as he appeared in just 47 games from 1991 to 1993. He continued to chase the dream longer […]

Superman had his fortress of solitude. Mike Pérez had the pitching mound. On it, there was no hesitation, no bullying, no talking. Teased by neighborhood kids for his stutter, Pérez found solace on the mound, where his strong right arm balanced the odds and silenced the opposition bats. Drive and determination took Pérez all the […]

At the turn of the twentieth century, Native American baseball players found themselves becoming integrated into the professional ranks of baseball. Charles Albert “Chief” Bender, a member of the White Earth Band of Chippewa, became a Hall of Fame pitcher for Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics. Louis LeRoy of Stock-bridge-Munsee, the boy with the “ten thousand […]

John (Jack) Burwell Reed played the outfield in the regular and post-season for the fabled 1961 New York Yankees, and contributed to their pennant-winning efforts in 1962 and 1963. He was Mickey Mantle’s defensive replacement for most of these three seasons.  Jack was a terrific high school/college athlete in Mississippi, winning the state quarter-mile run […]

Elmo Plaskett had only two cups of coffee in the major leagues, but those brief stints barely hint at the full picture of a talented hitter who was devoted to baseball all his life. Plaskett, who died in November 1998 at the age of 60, remains a hero in the Virgin Islands. The city of […]

During a 16-year professional baseball career spanning 1959 to 1974, Roberto Peña was a stalwart shortstop in his homeland, the Dominican Republic. He played for two winter league champions and earned posthumous retirement of his uniform number by the Santiago-based Águilas Cibaeñas. Over parts of six big-league seasons (1965-1971), Peña broke in with the Chicago […]

The expansion Washington Senators had little to cheer about at the end of their inaugural season in 1961. They had lost 100 games and finished in the cellar, tied with the Kansas City A’s. Their hitting was dead last in the league. If there were any bright spots to look forward to in 1962, they […]

Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, speaking to Negro League historian James Riley, had this to say about his teammate Johnny Davis’s talent: “Perhaps too many gifts. Had Davis not divided his time between pitching, catching and playing the outfield, Johnny might have starred in the Majors.”1 John Howard Davis was probably born on February 6, […]

When Calvin Griffith sold the Minnesota Twins in 1984, he was the one of the last of the family owners whose franchise represented their principal business and source of wealth. Griffith spent nearly his entire life in baseball, spending his young adulthood working in one capacity or another for the Washington Senators organization that his […]

Before Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders made “two-sport athletes” a vogue term in the 1980s and ’90s, there was Dick Groat. Groat lacked the power of Jackson or the speed of Sanders. But what he lacked in physical gifts he more than made up in guile and spirit. His collegiate career at Duke University earned […]

Despite winning three professional batting titles, outfielder Luis Mercedes played only 70 major-league games over parts of three seasons (1991-1993) for the Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants. After retiring, he became a renowned hitting instructor in his native Dominican Republic. Luis Roberto Mercedes Santana was born on February 15, 1968, in San Pedro de […]

Willie Mays recorded 141 career triples and led the National League three times in that category. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)   The Giants were in the middle of a 21-game road trip when they took on the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia (formerly Shibe Park) on Thursday, September 15, 1960. The […]

Willie “Pops” Stargell, the captain of the Pittsburgh Pirates, had announced at the beginning of 1982 that this season – his 20th full season in the majors, all with the Bucs – would be his last. After a magnificent 1979 season in which he had become the first player to be voted MVP of the […]

Eddie Plank had 287 major-league victories to his credit when he took the mound for the opening game of a doubleheader between the host St. Louis Terriers and the Brooklyn Tip-Tops on May 29, 1915. A native of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Plank had spent his previous 14 seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics, posting seven 20-win seasons […]

When has a criminal paid his or her debt to society? When has an apparent psychiatric disorder been cured, or at least managed? When does an offender who violated social mores deserve a second chance? These are some of society’s weightier, knottier questions, and in an ideal world, people come to baseball parks to escape […]

Carlos Bernier’s game-changing speed fueled the native Puerto Rican’s rise through the minor leagues after Jackie Robinson integrated major-league baseball in 1947. Reaching the majors in 1953 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bernier’s debut as a pinch-hitter in a 4-2 loss to the New York Giants at Forbes Field on April 22 made him – in […]

We all remember our first time. We felt anxious, excited, nervous, hoping that we wouldn’t get hurt or screw it up. Ultimately we hoped for a happy ending. There’s only one first time when your team goes from being an expansion punching bag to a kick-ass pennant contender (what were you thinking about?) For Montreal […]

It was a “sticky, gray day and the sun never did break through the heavy haze,” according to Tommy Holmes of the Brooklyn Eagle.1  A crowd of 29,074 arrived at Shibe Park for Opening Day 1950. The city bustled with excitement and “lines of traffic from every direction were jammed and tangled. The holiday spirit […]

Politics and sports collided uneasily before Game Two of the 1992 World Series when a member of the U.S. Marine Corps color guard displayed the Canadian flag upside down; although “American [meaning U.S.] viewers didn’t see the gaffe … it was included on the feed … to Canada.”1 The Globe & Mail’s Stephen Brunt had […]

After their 18-inning victory in Game Three, the Los Angeles Dodgers were back on the field less than 17 hours later, with left-hander (and Boston native) Rich Hill pitching against the Red Sox, hoping to see his team even up the Series at two wins apiece. Starting for the Red Sox was another lefty, Eduardo […]

Major League Baseball’’s revenue generating power exploded during the 1950s and 1960s due in large part to franchise relocations and expansion, though in truth it had to be dragged into the lucrative expansion era. William Shea drummed up support, at least on paper, for a third major league to be called the Continental League in […]