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In the midst of the 1908 pennant race, Sporting Life declared that “Robert S. Rhoades of Cleveland is one of the most dependable of modern pitchers. … His habits are good, his conduct exemplary, and in all ways is he a credit to his club and profession.”1 Embodied in this passage are two hallmarks of […]
Roy Evans was an impressive prospect; he had a devastating curveball and worked his control and change of pace with authority. For a big guy, he wasn’t noted for his fastball. Regardless, Evans was routinely striking out 15, 20 or more hitters a game as a teenager playing semipro ball in his hometown of Emporia, […]
In 1941, the book on 23-year-old Eddie Pellagrini was as a “good field, no hit” shortstop. “[He] may not hit as well as [others] but he’s certainly a fine prospect … ‘Pellagrini is a faster fielder than [most],’” said San Diego Padres player-manager Cedric Durst. It thus came as a surprise five years later when […]
One of the best pitchers of the 1970s, Dock Ellis feared success nearly as much as he feared failure. He both angered and amused. His antics cut across racial and cultural lines, as he challenged old prejudices and “normal” ways of doing things. Ellis pitched a no-hitter in 1970 and the next year led the […]
Dick Hughes had a memorable rookie season in the big leagues in 1967. He led the world champion St. Louis Cardinals with 16 wins, while losing just 6 and posting a 2.67 ERA. At age 29, Hughes was runner-up to Tom Seaver for 1967 National League Rookie of the Year honors. The bespectacled right-hander, who […]
When you examine the life of Abner Doubleday you eventually have to come to the point expressed by classic detective Joe Friday: “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” Okay, so here are two facts about General Abner Doubleday’s life. First, his military career was lengthy and he “was the highest ranking officer in the […]
Bob Emslie, National League umpire and newlywed in 1893. (Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Robert Daniel Kean Emslie, the least-known famous umpire in baseball history, made his earthly debut on January 27, 1859, in Guelph, Ontario, the fourth son and seventh of eight children born to Alexander and Mary Graye,1 immigrants from […]
Perhaps no Virgin Islander made a greater lifetime contribution to baseball than Elrod Hendricks (1940-2005). The native of St. Thomas also embodied Baltimore Orioles tradition; only Brooks Robinson wore the orange and black for even half as many games. Ellie’s major-league career spanned 12 seasons from 1968 to 1979, but he also spent a remarkable […]
During a professional pitching career that spanned the Deadball Era, right-hander Bobby Keefe won more than 200 games. Regrettably for him, only 16 of these victories came while in a major league uniform. A curveball artist, Keefe’s time in the bigs was sidetracked by untimely health problems, a periodically sore arm, and the perception that […]
The one year he ventured to the East Coast to play, Charlie Graham suffered through one of the worst seasons any Boston baseball team has ever experienced. Graham spent the rest of his lifelong baseball career in the West, and transitioned from player to manager to become a very prominent and successful team owner. Charles […]
Tommie Agee was one of the key components to the 1969 Miracle Mets, solidifying the defense and serving as the club’s chief power source, albeit from the leadoff spot. His on-field heroics during the ’69 season—including socking the only home run to ever reach Shea Stadium’s upper deck—helped propel the Mets to their first postseason […]
Of the thirteen World Series (1903-1917) covered by Philadelphia sportswriter Billy Weart, the most important was in 1908. Non-writers overcrowded the press box, causing the scribes to form the Base Ball Writers’ Association, with the goal of securing ballpark creature comforts in the press facilities, which were often congested with fans who were unwilling to […]
Central Indiana proved a fertile spawning ground for late-nineteenth-century baseball talent. Among those from the region making their mark in the game were future Hall of Famers Amos Rusie and Sam Thompson. Soon thereafter, early Deadball Era standouts, including Cooperstown-bound Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown and 204-game winner Al Orth, joined their ranks. The subject of […]
At 6-feet-1 and weighing 165 pounds, Julio Lugo was built for the infield. He was tall, slender, and fast. He played for seven major-league teams: the Houston Astros, Tampa Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. Julio Cesar Lugo was born on November 16, 1975, in […]
Hard-throwing Bill Caudill pitched in the majors from 1979 through 1987. The righty struck out a batter per inning at a time when that was much less common. “Caudill doesn’t have much finesse,” said The Scouting Report annual for 1983, the year after he emerged as a closer with the Seattle Mariners. “He throws a […]
Jim Derrington’s major-league career was brief, but historic. When Derrington took the mound for the Chicago White Sox at the age of 16 years, 306 days on the final day of the 1956 season, he became the youngest pitcher since Willie McGill in 1890 to start a major-league game. Derrington, who singled off Kansas City […]
His story is typical of many pitchers in the early history of the game. A blazing fastball provided an opportunity to escape a life of working the local coal mines. But wildness and constant conflicts with team management over his salary limited him to just ten major league games. His talent allowed him to pitch […]
In the 1951 St. Louis spring training camp, considerable focus turned to Bobby Tiefenauer as the answer to Philadelphia Phillies reliever Jim Konstanty, a high bar for the 22-year-old rookie to reach. Konstanty was the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, It was hoped that Tiefenauer’s knuckleball could match Konstanty’s success with off-speed sliders and […]
“Nobody has ever called Shea Stadium a cathedral,” wrote George Vecsey of the New York Times after the last major-league baseball game was played there on September 28, 2008.1 Even so, for many it inspired love and loyalty that its handsome but dull replacement, Citi Field, could not. When New York City Mayor Robert F. […]
Former Site of Bugle Field at Federal Street and N. Highland Avenue, January 2020. (Courtesy of David B. Stinson.) Baltimore in the early part of the twentieth century “languished in ballpark poverty.”1 The city, once home to one of the finest squads in the professional game, had hosted only minor-league teams since 1902, and […]
When brothers B.J. Upton and Justin Upton were acquired by the Atlanta Braves before the 2013 season, they became major-league teammates for the first time. The highly touted duo thrilled Braves fans soon after coming to Atlanta, as they both smashed home runs in the ninth inning on April 6, propelling the Braves to a […]
Before the start of the 1951 season, many baseball writers predicted that the Philadelphia Phillies would be competitive in the eight-team National League, but not repeat as pennant winners. A poll in The Sporting News of 204 scribes forecast the Phillies to finish third behind the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, the Phils garnering […]
On Wednesday evening, October 21, 1992, Torontonians could have gone to see Tom Selleck in Mr. Baseball, attended the Toronto Ski Show or hung out with Keith Richards at the Squeeze Club, but over 52,000 opted to spend the cool, wet night inside SkyDome watching Game Four of the World Series between the Blue Jays […]