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Ever since the award was established in 1955, there have been two types of World Series MVPs. On the one hand, there are the guys you’d expect to win the trophy: baseball superstars and future Hall of Famers like Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Mike Schmidt, and Johnny Bench, who simply do in the Series what […]

To some, Andy Pettitte’s name is immediately associated with the Mitchell Report, Human Growth Hormone, and ties to his old friend Roger Clemens. To others he will forever be known as a member of the “Core Four” — one of a quartet of homegrown Yankee legends that led the team to a phenomenal string of […]

Francisco Estrada, a Mexican catcher, played just one game in the major leagues. U.S. fans may recall him as a throw-in when the New York Mets traded away Nolan Ryan. In his homeland, however, he was a baseball institution. “Paquín” — Spanish for “Frankie” — played 26 summers in the Mexican League. He added an […]

The neighborhood surrounding 11th and Wharton Streets in South Philadelphia is known for producing entertainers Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Fabian Forte, and Chubby Checker. John Marzano wasn’t a teen idol. He didn’t star in Beach Blanket Bingo and he didn’t invent “The Twist.” However, at one point in his baseball career, Marzano was considered the […]

“Hoot, you’re on your way. Nothing can stop you now.” — From “Ghetto to Glory”   Prophetic words indeed. The 1964 World Series was a coming-out party for Bob “Hoot” Gibson. Pitching complete-game victories in Games Five and Seven, Gibson and his teammates on the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals had just disposed of the vaunted […]

“He’s a heck of a guy. He’s enthusiastic and great for the (University of Hartford) program. He’s the reason why a lot of us are here. He is a man with big dreams. His dreams became our dreams. We believed in him.” — University of Hartford player Brian Crowley in the aftermath of Bill Denehy’s […]

Longtime scout Joe Stephenson once called Ken Brett “a combination of George Brett [his brother], Fred Lynn, and Roger Maris. He was the best prospect that I ever saw.”1 Ken Brett’s numbers never quite lived up to the reputation. “The worst curse in life,” Brett would later offer, “is unlimited potential.”2 After becoming the youngest […]

Unfortunately, Tim Wakefield just ran out of time. The knuckleballer spent 17 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, recording 186 of his 200 career victories with the franchise – just six short of the team record held by Cy Young and Roger Clemens. He was also a member of two World Series champions, including the […]

Cuban outfielder Leo Posada played in 155 games for the Kansas City Athletics from 1960 through 1962. However, his pro baseball career spanned 16 seasons as a player (1954-69) in the U.S. minors, plus a stint in Mexico. He also spent five winters in his homeland’s league, from 1955-56 until the circuit ceased to operate […]

Dave Roberts stole that base in the ALCS. Doug Mientkiewicz caught the last out of the World Series. Trot Nixon was a perennial Red Sox fan favorite whose dirty uniform symbolized an unrestrained style of play. Nomar Garciaparra’s sweet swing won consecutive batting titles (1999, 2000) and made the Fenway faithful swoon. Super-utility César Crespo, […]

During the 1980s, Harold Reynolds stood out as one of the best second basemen in the American League. A three-time Gold Glove Award winner, Reynolds showed tremendous range and a strong throwing arm at the keystone position for the Seattle Mariners. He was also an adequate hitter and a threat to steal bases. Reynolds led […]

When Sam Parrilla got the chance that every minor-leaguer hopes for, he thought of his father. But more than paternal pride ran through his mind; baseball’s indestructible link between fathers and sons sparked memories for the Puerto Rican native upon joining the Philadelphia Phillies at the beginning of the 1970 season. “My father, he’s a […]

After a difficult childhood, a traumatic year in Vietnam, and replacing a legend in San Francisco, Garry Maddox came to Philadelphia in 1975. The “Secretary of Defense” proceeded to win eight consecutive Gold Gloves in center field. As a Phillie, he experienced great depths (an inexplicable error that ended Philadelphia’s 1978 pennant aspirations) and scaled […]

Vada Edward Pinson, Jr., star center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1960s, was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 11, 1938. When he was seven, his family moved to Oakland, California. His father found work as a stevedore at the Bay Area docks, while his mother did domestic work. In 1952, Pinson enrolled […]

Al Leiter spent 18 years in the majors and enjoyed pitching success in both leagues. During his career, he managed to earn two World Series rings and play on three different teams in the fall classic. Although Leiter never became one of the star pitchers of his day, he made important contributions to his teams’ […]

By the numbers, Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield’s start against the White Sox on June 10, 1996, looks like one of the worst games of his 19-season career. On a foggy night, Wakefield yielded a career-high 16 hits, along with eight runs, as Chicago steamrolled the struggling Red Sox 8-2 before a crowd of […]

April 9 was Opening Day in 1982 … at least, that’s what it turned out to be for numerous teams in the Northern cities of the major leagues. Teams like the Milwaukee Brewers and the Toronto Blue Jays were unable to play their scheduled Opening Day contests on April 5 after waves of snow rushed […]

When the Negro National League opened play in 1920, its membership included the Chicago Giants, piloted by Black baseball veteran Joe Green and federated in Rube Foster’s organization after many years as an independent club. The Giants won only five league games in their debut season but were two outs from starting 1921 with back-to-back […]

Facing the Milwaukee Braves in the late 1950s was a proposition as daunting as a church group protesting suggestive song lyrics during rock ’n’ roll’s emergence at the time. It wasn’t exactly a futile journey. But it might have felt that way for NL squads. Henry Aaron was a highly significant factor for the Braves’ […]

Esteban “Steve” Bellán was the first Latin-born player in professional baseball. While Roberto Clemente, Tony Perez, David Ortiz, and Mariano Rivera, among others, are household names and heroes to both Hispanic and non-Hispanic baseball fans in the early years of the 21st century, the name of Steve Bellán is mostly unrecognized. The half-Irish, Cuban-born player […]

Baseball comebacks are even more remarkable and unique when compared to other sports. In timed sports, there is always a moment when the game is over, even if it “ain’t over.” In baseball, a team can be down five runs in the final inning, have no one on base, two outs, and two strikes on […]

The 2001 major-league season saw the debut of Pittsburgh’s new ballpark, PNC Park. On May 15 rookie Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals traveled to PNC Park for the first time and won 8-3 over a struggling Pittsburgh Pirates ballclub. When Kevin McClatchy purchased the Pirates in 1996, one of the goals in the […]

This article was originally published in “From Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium: Great Games in Philadelphia’s Lost Ballpark” (SABR, 2022), edited by Gregory H. Wolf. “You see, Mr. Gaffney, in 1794, when this law was passed, the communities were very small, consisting of little towns and villages where they had cock-fighting, dog-fighting, and other […]

His fastball has long since died. He still has a few curveballs which he throws at us routinely. — Nicholas Burns, United States State Department Spokesman   Most baseball fans tend to take their idle ballpark pastimes far too seriously. On momentary reflection, even a diehard rooter would have to admit that big–league baseball’s most […]