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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 […]

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 […]

In the early 1950s, the Boston Red Sox signed two left-handed pitchers named Bob Smith. They both batted right-handed and they both were about the same height and weight. Robert Gilchrist Smith was the first one signed, in 1948. He is the subject of a separate biography. In 1950 scout Chuck Koney of the Red […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

An accomplished but often self-interested and combative man, Philadelphia Phillies co-owner John I. Rogers was regularly at odds with fellow 19th-century National League magnates. Yet for 20 years, he was a significant force in league executive conclaves. A hard-nosed Philadelphia lawyer, Rogers was intimately involved in league governance, serving on the playing rules, arbitration, and […]

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 […]

Sam Jones was an intimidating pitcher. He was big (6 feet 4 and 200 pounds), threw hard, had a massive sweeping curveball, and could be quite wild. Three times he led the National League in both strikeouts and walks (1955, 1956, and 1958). He narrowly missed this feat a fourth time in his finest season, […]

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, […]

Dominican righty Josías Manzanillo pitched professionally from 1983 through the winter of 2005-06. He made 41 stops in the professional ranks, with many return trips as he shuttled back and forth between the minors and majors and was traded on numerous occasions. Manzanillo played for eight major league franchises (Mets, Pirates, Red Sox, Reds, Mariners, […]

Albert Edward Smith’s one season in the major leagues was with Boston’s 1883 National League championship club. At 6 feet even and 200 pounds, Smith was called “a tall, powerfully built fellow of fine physique,” by The Paper Trade Journal.1 Smith didn’t play baseball very long, but even so he became a mystery for baseball […]

When the 2015 season opened, Dominicans made up nearly 10 percent of the major leagues’ talent pool.1 They weren’t so common in 1971, though, when Frank Taveras made it to the majors for the first time. He was just the 28th of his countrymen to reach the top level — this list has now grown […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Henry Aaron hit 44 home runs in his first season as an Atlanta Brave. (SABR-Rucker Archive)   The Braves began their first season of play in Atlanta in 1966 after moving south from Milwaukee, the city they had called home from 1953 until 1965. The team featured a number of strong hitters, including catcher-first baseman […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]