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In more than 200,000 games in major-league history through the 2021 season, only 15 unassisted triple plays have been recorded. Just 35 games have ended on a steal of home. These extremely rare occurrences have never happened in the same major-league game.1 One minor-league game, however, did feature both an unassisted triple play and a […]

Pitcher Andy Messersmith made a deep impact on the Angels’ record book during his five seasons with the team. While some fans might remember him as a Los Angeles Dodger or a free-agent signing with the Atlanta Braves, Messersmith began his career in the majors as an Angel from 1968 to 1972. At the start […]

The Boston Red Sox had the opportunity to sign Jackie Robinson at a supposed tryout at Fenway Park in April 1945.1 Instead, it was more than 14 years later – after every one of the other 15 teams in the American and National leagues had integrated, and after Robinson himself had been retired for nearly […]

As baseball has shifted to the “three true outcomes” in the twenty-first century,1 triples have become an endangered species.2 A game with five triples3 stood out as an exception in 2019. Yes, the game was at Coors Field, and yes, the score shows that the game was a slugfest, but the Reds hadn’t hit five […]

Norm Bass got a surprise when he arrived at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City before an early-season game in 1961. Ray Herbert had been scheduled to start for Kansas City that night against the Minnesota Twins, but Athletics manager Joe Gordon told Bass he would be on the mound. Gordon wanted to spring the starting […]

The Washington Nationals’ record was 19-31. They were in a five-game losing streak. Several of their expected starters were injured,1 there were calls for manager Dave Martinez to be replaced,2 the bullpen was historically bad,3 and Martinez had been ejected from the previous night’s game. But despite their forgettable start, the Nationals’ season ended with […]

One of baseball’s most beloved and enduring mascots is Milwaukee’s Bernie Brewer. Fans at Miller Park thrill to the sight of Bernie celebrating a Brewer home run or victory by gliding down from his upper-level dugout on a giant yellow slide. The origins of Bernie take us back to the Brewers’ inaugural year of 1970. […]

This is a true baseball story. In 1969 two minor-league teams were supposed to play each other 28 times. Somehow they lost count and played 29. When the Elmira Pioneers beat the Waterbury Indians on August 11, 1969, the daily newspapers covering the Eastern League reported that the Pioneers had won the teams’ season series, […]

The consensus top talent in the 2001 amateur draft was University of Southern California right-hander Mark Prior.1 But the Minnesota Twins, who had the first overall pick, did not want to meet Prior’s contractual demands. That left the Twins choosing among other candidates, including Georgia Tech third baseman Mark Teixeira and Middle Tennessee State right-hander […]

On Sunday evening, April 4, the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles opened their 2004 seasons at Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The game-time temperature was 43 degrees.1 The two teams had had very different seasons in 2003. The Orioles had finished in fourth place in the American League East, 30 games behind the […]

Fenway Park was back in the October sunshine. Winning the 1975 American League pennant was not just a good thing for Boston, for New England; it was a tonic for baseball fans across America. Since the Red Sox had last been in the World Series in 1967, new multisport facilities had proliferated throughout baseball, the […]

As August 1966 was about to turn into September, the chase for the American League pennant had deteriorated into a race for second place behind the Baltimore Orioles. The White Sox hosted the Minnesota Twins in a Sunday doubleheader at Comiskey Park on August 28 that was attended by 21,576 fans who got more innings […]

At the start of the 2026 season, Johnny Vander Meer remained the only major-league pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters. On June 11, 1938, the Cincinnati Reds’ left-handed fireballer no-hit the Boston Braves, and in his next start on June 15—the first night game at Ebbets Field—Vander Meer no-hit the Brooklyn Dodgers. From Vander Meer’s double […]

Any thought of the inevitability of the Boston Red Sox winning the 2007 American League pennant and World Series was likely dispelled by the way Game Two of the AL Championship Series turned out. Yes, the Cleveland Indians had been thrashed in Game One, a 10-3 defeat, but they turned the tables in Game Two. […]

Candy Cummings, at first glance, appears to be one of the least qualified pitchers in the Baseball Hall of Fame. His major-league won-lost record is usually listed as 21-22, because most career totals begin with the formation of the National League in 1876. Cummings earned his stardom in amateur play during the late 1860s and […]

Early in his 16-year major-league career, Johnny Callison was labeled “the next Mickey Mantle.” His manager with the Phillies, Gene Mauch, said Callison could “run, throw, field, and hit with power. There’s nothing he can’t do well on the ball field.”1 These encomiums proved burdens that the always sensitive Callison found difficult to live up […]

For a couple of months in 1954, Tom Herrin was a big leaguer, a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. It was the culmination of 5½ years of work in the minor leagues following his signing in February 1949 by Red Sox scout George Digby. He was a sophomore at Louisiana Tech at the […]

In a career that spanned from 1885 to 1905, Count Campau demonstrated power at the plate, grace in the outfield, and exceptional speed. He was an itinerant minor-league star who played for teams in at least 19 cities, including three stops in the majors. A respected and effective leader, Campau served as the captain or […]

Tillie Shafer was born to wealthy California parents who indulged his whim for sports, and he jumped from college to college competing in baseball, track, and rowing. In contrast, from the moment he joined the New York Giants, the shy, good-looking lad from an affluent family was harassed by the hard-nosed veterans, some from the […]

William Rufus Wheaton was born in New York City on May 7, 1814. Part of his education was achieved at the Union Hall Academy, located on the corner of Madison Avenue and Oliver Street. After graduation, Wheaton read law with John Leveridge, a well-known East Side attorney.  Wheaton was later admitted to practice by Chancellor Walworth […]

George Pfister spent 56 years in Organized Baseball. However, he played just once in the majors, with the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers. It came on September 27, in the second to last game of the NL pennant-winners’ season. Pfister, then 23 years old, came in for the last five innings – but there was just one […]

When the curtain rose on the New York Yankees’ 1929 season, for the first time in team history each ballplayer wore a numbered jersey. Catching for New York that day was John Grabowski, the large block 8 on his back signifying his spot in the batting order. One of three backstops that Yankee manager Miller […]

Outfielder Chaney White had a 17-year career in the Negro major leagues from 1920 through 1936. During that time, he was a member of numerous championship teams that included squads in various Negro Leagues, the Cuban Winter League, the Florida Hotel League, and the California Winter League. In 1934, at age 40, he was still […]

High and Inside The Newsletter of the BioProject Committee Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) September 2020 Past newsletters Editor: Andrea Long From the Directors The BioProject on Social Media Update on BioProject Submissions From the Editor Local Connections & Chance Encounters, by Jack Zerby Hometown Holmes, by Niall Adler Project Team From the Co-Directors […]