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Remembered for his blazing fastball, Monty Kennedy had an abbreviated minor-league baseball career that was quickly interrupted by military service. Perhaps because of this lack of development time, Kennedy struggled constantly with his control during his time with the Giants and the club eventually ran out of patience with him. However, Kennedy displayed flashes of […]

John “Fats” Dantonio is representative of many ballplayers whose promotion to the big leagues was facilitated by the exit of major-league players called into military service during World War II. He was an average minor-league player before the war years, 25 years old with only four professional seasons under his belt when he first appeared […]

Pitcher Joe Slusarski rolled with a lot of punches in his career. The college star won medals with Team USA in the late 1980s and made Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list in 1990. Two years later, arm problems rooted in a freak accident left “Slu” a journeyman. From 1993 through 1999, he spent roughly […]

David Green was one of baseball’s big “what if” stories. The imposing Nicaraguan was often called “the next Roberto Clemente.” His talent has also been compared to that of Vladimir Guerrero, André Dawson, and Darryl Strawberry — even Willie Mays. Alas, personal troubles and nagging injuries stopped him from realizing this vast potential. Looking back […]

In the history of the St. Louis Cardinals, there have been many wonderful shortstops. Think of the flamboyant Leo Durocher, the slick-fielding MVP Marty Marion, and the Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith. To their number add Charles Dallan Maxvill, who went from barely making the team to building a major-league career that lasted 14 years, […]

The life of Alexander Bannwart unfolded like that of a junior-grade Baron Munchausen — except that Bannwart’s adventures were real, not make-believe. He first stepped onto the public stage in 1906 when, despite being bereft of professional ballplaying experience, he somehow managed to land a berth with the Lowell (Massachusetts) Tigers of the Class B […]

Second-generation big-leaguer David Segui1 debuted in 1990 and batted .291 over all or parts of 15 seasons. A switch-hitter with moderate power, he started and ended his career with the Baltimore Orioles around stints with six other teams. Segui was briefly the majors’ all-time fielding percentage leader among first basemen with at least 1,000 appearances […]

He had just 11 big-league at-bats in 1990, but Brian Traxler was still a cult figure. Over 13 years as a pro, the first baseman delighted fans across the minors, the Caribbean winter leagues, Asia, and independent circuits. His immediate appeal was visual. “Trax” was rotund — leniently listed at 5-feet-10 and 200 pounds, he […]

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 […]

In over a century of existence, through 2016 the New York Yankees have been run by only five different ownership groups.1 To their great fortune and that of their fans, the three longest tenured were well-capitalized and committed to winning. They also had a terrific knack for finding great baseball men to work for them. […]

The St. Louis Cardinals won a World Series championship in 2006, their first season at the new Busch Stadium. (Kevin Ward/Flickr.com. Used by permission: CC BY-SA 2.0.)   Introduction The St. Louis Cardinals have achieved a level of success in Major League Baseball that has been outdone only by the New York Yankees. Through the […]

The exterior of the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, is pictured in 2021. (Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, licensed under Creative Commons 4.0)   When most people think of the Louisiana Superdome,[1] they don’t associate it with baseball. More likely, they relate the domed stadium in downtown New Orleans with football: the New Orleans Saints […]

In 1911, Angie Tullar, a prominent resident of Wellsville, New York, gave her community the use of a parcel of land for public recreation. Over time, this generous donation provided the residents of her small village with a front-row seat to watch baseball players ranging from Ty Cobb to Tony Conigliaro. Tullar Field, a ballpark […]