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In Game One of the 1929 World Series, the Chicago Cubs set a Series record by striking out 13 times. Twenty-four hours later, they did it again, but this time they had a better excuse. In Game One the Cubs fell victim to Howard Ehmke, who recorded almost as many strikeouts in that game as […]

This game started at 4:20 on a crisp fall afternoon.1 It ended 5 hours and 22 minutes later on a dramatic home run by Benny Agbayani into the “picnic area” bleachers in left-center. The capacity crowd of 56,270 had the ballpark moving on its foundation as the popular Hawaiian’s teammates carried him off the field.2 […]

Anyone old enough to recall the spectacular 1961 major-league baseball season will likely remember Luis Arroyo. During that magical summer, the left-handed Arroyo became an indispensable performer on one of baseball’s greatest teams; in 65 relief games he posted a 15-5 record, 2.19 earned-run average, and 29 saves (19 according to the rules in place […]

“It was supposed to happen.” — Yankees manager Joe Torre1   It was a perfect storm. This early September game was the final contest of a three-game set between the Yankees and Red Sox at Fenway Park. This series had already seen stellar starting pitching performances, but pitching in this game would prove noteworthy. Boston […]

The Pirates’ 1976 season and Danny Murtaugh’s managerial career concluded with a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals on October 3, 1976. Both teams disappointed that year, the Cardinals dropping from 82-80 in 1975 to 72-88 beginning the season’s final Sunday. For Pittsburgh, although it had won only two fewer games than in its Eastern […]

The last game of the 1950 season found the Philadelphia Phillies clinging to a one-game lead over the Brooklyn Dodgers, who were closing fast. If the Phillies lost, a three-game playoff for the pennant would be needed and that did not bode well for the Whiz Kids, whose starting pitching was razor-thin due to injuries […]

The 1998 Houston Astros strode into the postseason with the confidence that came with being the franchise’s best team ever. They won 102 games in the regular season, the only time the Astros have produced more than 100 wins in a season. Most prognosticators and pundits favored them to make the World Series and play […]

The storylines heading into the Saturday, August 25, 1979, night game between the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates were intriguing. The last time the Pirates had won the NL East Division was four years earlier. The team had then spent three seasons trying to get past their in-state rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. Heading into […]

“Even their nickname has backfired. The Dodger jockeys have taken to calling ’em Fizz Kids.” — Harold C. Burr, Brooklyn Eagle1 The coin toss came up tails. The Phillies lost again — a familiar sight over the past week. In the umpires’ locker room before the game on September 30 in Brooklyn, Baseball Commissioner Ford […]

He grew up in the Henry Clay Village area of Wilmington, Delaware, on Brandywine Creek, near the Experimental Station of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company, manufacturer of dynamite, gunpowder, and other explosives. The products blew up occasionally, so the area may not have been a pleasant residential community. As a youngster he ran […]

Billy Hatcher had a knack for picking the right moment. A cursory glance at his stats gives the impression of a solid yet unremarkable career, a journeyman right-handed outfielder who hopped around the major leagues for 12 seasons, playing for seven teams. But a closer look reveals a series of highlights that most other big […]

Three days before World War II ended, Philadelphia Phillies scout Fred Mathews convinced the mother of Stephen George Ridzik that she should let her 16-year-old son become a professional baseball player.1 Julia Ridzik agreed to sign the contract, provided that Steve finish his last two years of high school. Thus began a 22-year pitching career […]

The day the Yankees won Game Two of the 1953 World Series, 17-year-old Frank Leja was in New York signing a contract that made the sports pages across the country. The second-youngest Yankee ever reportedly received a $100,000 bonus.1 But like many mid-1950s “bonus babies,” Leja was a victim of the revised “bonus rule” of […]

Kenneth Smith Harrelson was born on September 4, 1941, in Woodruff, South Carolina. In the sixth grade, he moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he and his older sister would grow up. Harrelson was the youngest child of a single mother, Jessie, who was his biggest supporter, closest confidante, and best friend. Jessie worked hard to […]

Among numerous icons from Cuba’s somewhat murky pre-revolution past, swarthy-skinned pitching ace José de la Caridad Méndez Báez stands at the very apex of the heap. Among the young nation’s first true national sporting heroes, the rawboned fastball hurler maintains an indelible image as one of the earliest icons of island baseball history. But it […]

Less than one percent of players hit a home run in their first major-league at-bat. Achieving the hitting Triple Crown – leading a league in batting average, homers, and RBIs – in the minors is similarly unlikely.1 Through 2023, an exclusive fraternity of just three members have achieved both of those feats: Gene Hasson, Bob Nieman, […]

Days after his graduation from college in June 1915, Rupert Mills was signed by the Newark Peppers of the Federal League. A Newark native and a locally renowned schoolboy athlete, Mills was deemed the potential fan magnet desperately sought by Peppers management. Unhappily, the new recruit proved unequal to the task, batting an anemic .201 […]

With almost a century having passed since the end of his fitful professional career, right-handed pitcher Hi Jasper is an elusive subject, a hard man to pin down. But two Jasper characteristics are unmistakable. He had ability — such astute talent evaluators as Jimmy Callahan, Frank Chance, and Pants Rowland recognized his merits. Yet Jasper’s […]

From 1975 through 1982, Dennis Lewallyn pitched in parts of eight seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, and Cleveland Indians. The 6-foot-4 righty totaled a year and a half of major league service time, going 4-4 in 34 games. “I threw a sinker, slider, change-up; did not throw a lot of pitches in […]

A career backup outfielder, Lynn Jones had nearly a 35-year career in professional baseball as a player and well-traveled coach and manager. Jones played eight seasons in the majors – five with the Detroit Tigers and three with the Kansas City Royals – before embarking on a coaching career that touched the lives of thousands […]

If a player collects six hits in his first day in the majors and no one sees or reads about it, did it still happen? Unfortunately, rookie first baseman Guy Sturdy’s stellar doubleheader debut on September 30, 1927, for the seventh-place St. Louis Browns occurred on their last home date of the season, and one […]

During the Deadball Era, luck and persistence were nearly as important as talent in determining the ultimate success of a young player. In The Glory of Their Times, Al Bridwell spoke about the breaks that helped him reach the major leagues. Others of more modest talent reached the major leagues through persistence. Dale Porter’s career […]

Editor’s note: This article was selected as a winner of the 2014 McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award.   The Montreal Expos played 36 seasons (1969-2004). For the last 28, their home was Olympic Stadium – a cavernous concrete edifice built for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. From the outset, “The Big O” was notorious: hailed as […]

Sportsman’s Park was home of the St. Louis Browns from 1902 to 1953. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.)   Introduction Achieving on-field success has often proved elusive to owners of the Baltimore Orioles and its predecessor teams, the St. Louis Browns and Milwaukee Brewers. The franchise, dating back to the inception of the American […]