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Don Richard “Richie” Ashburn, a Hall of Fame outfielder, who made the most putouts of any outfielder in major-league baseball during the 1950s, started out as a catcher, which should not be surprising because throughout his long career in baseball, Richie Ashburn had always been his own man. His independent quality even emerged during his […]

Opening Day at Milwaukee’s County Stadium, April 10, 1980. Visiting Boston scores two runs in the top of the inning to tie Brewers at 5 apiece. Bottom of the inning, two outs, bases loaded. Up to the plate steps Sixto Lezcano. A packed house of 53,313 screaming as one, urging Sixto to send them home […]

In 1973, Jason Miller’s angst-enabled play That Championship Season won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. The drama, set in Scranton, Pennsylvania, focused on the 25th-anniversary reunion of the players and the coach of a high-school basketball team that won the state championship. Full of booze, brooding, bigotry, bitterness, betrayal, and bruised feelings, […]

On the Chicago Cubs’ Opening Day in 1930, 7-year-old Bobby Wolf and future President Ronald Reagan had something in common. Neither had ever seen a major-league baseball game. That afternoon young Bobby listened to Pat Flanagan on Chicago radio station WBBM describing the action as the Cubs edged the Cardinals in St. Louis, 9-8. Hack […]

Bob Brower, currently a vice president with the Boras Corporation, has signed, advised, and represented many players, some of whom made the major leagues. He has personally been involved with Mark Teixeira, Max Scherzer, Matt Holliday, Andruw Jones, and many others. While the role of an agent representing major league players is somewhat public, it […]

Andy Seminick was a rock-solid catcher who had a career year in 1950 and had a lot to do with the Phillies winning their first pennant in 35 years. He was the antithesis of bonus babies like Curt Simmons, Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, and Stan Lopata because he was anything but highly sought after. He […]

Baseball suffered during the depression years of the 1930s and was further affected by the player shortage during World War II. The war ended and veterans returned to a free country with a robust economy. Peace and prosperity meant it was time to fill rosters and take in a game. Joe Mayer was a young […]

Eddie “Eppie” Miller, was, by the fielding metrics of his time, the finest fielding shortstop in the National League. He was seven times an All-Star during a career of 14 years.1 His contemporary, Marty Marion, stated that Miller was the best shortstop he ever saw.2 Eddie was always outspoken, managing to talk his way off […]

When the Washington Senators arrived in Pompano Beach, Florida, for spring training in 1971, manager Ted Williams couldn’t help but gush over his first overall pick in the January draft a year earlier. “That kid has major leaguer written all over him,” the Hall of Famer said of 20-year-old Detroit native William Roger “Bill” Fahey. […]

A quick, short tale of a man named KrukWho ran the bases for 30 yearsWhen he finished up, we shed no tears’Cause on TV he became our Puck 1   Yes, it is Kruk-as-Puck that keeps extending his career in baseball. Ten years as a player, where his bat spoke for him, but as a […]

Seemingly the only assured thing in Dave Campbell’s career as an infielder was the inconsistency. Over an eight-year career with the Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, and Houston Astros, Campbell was only able to play one season as a full-time regular—with the Padres in 1970. Otherwise, his career was stalled by being […]

A promotional poster advertising the September 4, 1916 matchup between Mordecai Brown and Christy Mathewson. This game would be the last of 24 times in which the two future Hall of Famer pitchers would face each other. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)   “Great Masters Are Through.”1 On September 4, 1916, famed pitching foes […]

After the 2003 season, which saw the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees take the fight for the pennant to Game Seven of the American League Championship Series, with New York winning and the Red Sox once again out in the cold, both teams had made moves to bolster their rotations. At Thanksgiving, the […]

It was a chilly spring evening at Coors Field. The Pirates were hoping to rebound from their 6-1 loss on the previous evening when their team leader, Andrew McCutchen, returned to the lineup. McCutchen had struggled on the Pirates’ Western road trip, getting only three hits in 23 at-bats before the team’s arrival in Denver. […]

One year after the debut of the “Bo Knows” Nike ad campaign,1 Bo Jackson, the first modern athlete to play both professional baseball and football in the same year, led his Kansas City Royals team with three home runs and seven RBIs in a 10-7 win over the New York Yankees. The Royals were playing […]

Cal Ripken Jr. homers on September 6, 1995, during his record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game. (Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles)   The outcome of this game was of little importance to the fans of two cities separated by less than 200 miles. The New York Yankees’ record was mediocre, a pedestrian 60-61, only slightly better than […]

The underachieving Milwaukee Braves were on the verge of losing their eighth consecutive game and falling further behind in the pennant race. They trailed by a run in the bottom of the ninth of their July 22, 1959, contest against the Cincinnati Reds. Second baseman Roberto “Bobby” Ávila, acquired one day earlier and in the […]

At a time when a pint of Kentucky bourbon cost $1.251 and a round-trip train ticket between Chicago and Niagara Falls, the honeymoon capital of the world, cost $8,2 the stars of the Negro Leagues played one of the most dramatic ballgames ever. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Chicago, 30,000 fans gathered to watch […]

In 1979 the Seattle Mariners were in their third season and, like most expansion teams, had struggled to win games since day one. They opened with a 64-98 record in 1977, finishing in sixth place in the seven-team American League West Division, then fell to last place in 1978 with a mark of 56-104. Heading […]

Certain baseball players were seemingly born with a baseball bat in their hands. They could roll out of bed in the morning, step into the batter’s box, and spray line drives all over the ballpark. The names roll off the tongue: Ted Williams, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb, Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, Pete Rose, […]

Ballpark discounts and giveaways have fueled memorable moments, including some that certain teams would rather forget. In the second half of a doubleheader on September 26, 1942, after the New York Giants gave free admission to any child who brought scrap metal for the World War II effort, mobs of kids stormed the Polo Grounds […]

The Grantland Rice-Fred Russell (Nashville) SABR chapter meeting took place on Saturday, October 21, 2017 at 10 a.m. at the East Branch of the Nashville Public Library. Five members were present: Peggy Gripshover, Dave Roberts, John Reynolds, Hugh Atkins, and Skip Nipper. Tom Bell and Keith Brown joined as guests. Keith’s wife, Renay, was not […]

On July 13, 1953, officials from the Cotton States League and its eight teams were enjoying cocktails and dinner at the Willow Room in Hot Springs, Arkansas, prior to the annual all-star game scheduled for that evening. The festive occasion was interrupted when a United States marshal arrived to serve papers in a $50,000 civil […]

The 1882 New York Metropolitans were a strong independent professional club, winning 101 games against top competition, before joining the upstart American Association as a major-league team in 1883. (SABR-Rucker Archive)   On May 8, 1961, the name of the National League’s newest expansion club was officially announced. The fledgling team was to be called […]