Search Results

Since he became a workhorse pitcher in 1908, Walter Johnson had become a model of both consistency and durability.1 Between 1910 and 1919 Johnson pitched in 454 games; he won 265 of them, including at least 20 in each of those 10 seasons. During the 10 seasons Johnson cemented his legacy as one of the […]

Believe it or not, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. had been in somewhat of a slump in the early part of the 1984 season. Although he started the season well, hitting safely in all but four of the Orioles’ first 23 games, in early May his batting average dropped from .352 on April 30 […]

“Wot! Youse didn’t see de Brooklyns dumped? … Dere eyes wuz filled with cotton.” — Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 30, 1896   In their home opener on Wednesday, April 29, 1896, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the National League hosted the Washington Senators, and enthusiastic Brooklyn fans filled Eastern Park for the matchup. The ballpark was […]

In a span of 16 pitches in the sixth inning, Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson did what no other pitcher in baseball postseason history had ever done: He yielded four consecutive hits – a single, double, triple, and home run, in that order (a natural cycle) – in the same inning to an opposing team. […]

From 1901 through the end of the 2015 major-league season, one of the two teams has scored 20 or more runs in at least 236 games.1 Only twice has each team scored at least 20 runs. Both games involved the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs, and both games were played in Chicago. The first, […]

No one knew it was the Athletics’ last home opener in Philadelphia, though if you looked closely you could see the writing on the peeling walls of recently rechristened Connie Mack Stadium. But Opening Day 1954 felt less like the end of an era and more like the beginning of one. The uniforms were new, […]

The Chicago White Sox were scheduled to open their season on Thursday, April 6, 1972, in Comiskey Park, hosting the Oakland Athletics. Midway Airport reported winds ranging from 9 to 23 mph that day, with some traces of fog, a bit of rain (0.02”), and some thunder, following the 5:25 A.M. sunrise.1 Not that it […]

Things weren’t looking that good for the Red Sox heading into the bottom of the ninth. It was the home opener of the 1952 season at Boston’s Fenway Park. Jimmy Dykes and his Philadelphia Athletics held a 4-1 lead. Right-hander Bob Hooper was dealing. He’d allowed seven scattered hits and walked three, but the Red […]

The National League celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the league founding in 1925. The St. Louis Cardinals had a pregame ceremony at their home opener, led by St. Louis Mayor Victor Miller. A Golden Jubilee pennant was raised along with the American flag, while a brass band played “The Star Spangled Banner.” The band continued […]

Tom Seaver became a New York Met in a very unusual way. In 1966 a rule prevented any team from signing a college player while his season was still in progress. Since the Atlanta Braves had signed Seaver illegally, Commissioner William Eckert voided the contract and allowed any team to match the Braves’ offer of […]

In a game played before a Fenway Park crowd of 34,113, the Minnesota Twins turned two triple plays against the Boston Red Sox, a feat that had never happened before in the major leagues. Despite the rare accomplishment, the Twins lost to the Red Sox, 1-0. Left-hander Tom Bolton, a veteran of the Red Sox […]

A hit that wasn’t a hit turned an exciting, but hardly unique, pitchers’ duel into baseball history. The scene was Chicago’s South Side Park; the opponents were two Players League teams, the Chicago Pirates and Ward’s Wonders of Brooklyn. Played before a crowd estimated at between 4,000 and 4,500, the game was the first of […]

Baseball fans, more than fans of any other sport, are lovers of nostalgia, and the end of a star player’s long career evokes fond memories, even more so when that player has spent his entire career with one team. Craig Biggio made it to the major leagues as a catcher with the Houston Astros in […]

In September 1883 a key late-season series in Boston pitted perennial powerhouse Chicago against a fine nine from Beantown. The Windy City team blew into the Hub holding first place, riding an 11-game win streak and appearing destined for a fourth consecutive National League title. Boston, however, was knocking on the door, a game and […]

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 […]

The Detroit Tigers found themselves on a nice little four-game winning streak in early June of 1937. They had taken the final two games of a three-game series against the New York Yankees on June 5-6, and then swept the Philadelphia A’s in a two-game series heading into Friday’s contest against the Boston Red Sox […]

“You know what they say about Chicago. If you don’t like the weather, wait fifteen minutes.” — Ralph Kiner1   Ralph Kiner was about to see more of Chicago than he bargained for. While taking batting practice, the Pirates slugger learned he was traded to the visiting Chicago Cubs. “What’s the number? Kiner asked. “22,” […]

It took five major-league seasons for Gary Peters to have a breakout year in his career; but when he finally did, he made the most of it by winning Rookie of the Year honors in the American League. One of the first games that propelled him into the spotlight was a 13-strikeout one-hitter, a near-perfect […]

The St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup remained the same, going with the regulars that won them Game One of the 1967 World Series. Boston Red Sox manager Dick Williams made both positional and tactical moves, replacing slumping Ken Harrelson with Jose Tartabull in right field, adding speed to the lineup. He moved George Scott — the […]

Ben Oglivie was the first, but not the last, hitter in Milwaukee Brewers history to hit three home runs in a game. As of Opening Day 2015, Brewers had hit three home runs in a game 19 times. But Oglivie is the only one to accomplish it three times.1 Milwaukee acquired Oglivie from Detroit before […]

The New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds faced off in Game Two of the best-of-five National League Championship Series on October 7, 1973, at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium. The first game had been a heartbreaker for the Mets. Tom Seaver went the distance but lost when Johnny Bench hit a game-winning home run in the bottom […]

The third time’s the charm. After going 0-2 in his first two starts for the 1969 New York Mets, Jerry Koosman reminded fans why he nearly won the previous year’s National League Rookie of the Year voting.1 On April 23, 1969, the sophomore southpaw scored his first “W” of the season with a five-hit, 2-0 […]

The New York Mets stopped being the laughingstocks of baseball and became unlikely World Series champions on the afternoon of October 16, 1969. After the Mets joined the National League in 1962, they spent most of the decade known as a bunch of lovable losers. All that ended on a pleasant fall afternoon with temperatures […]

Unlike the gentleman who preceded him as baseball’s home-run king, Hank Aaron was not, by any stretch, a flamboyant figure. Babe Ruth brought excitement into every train car, barroom, and ballpark. His home runs were mammoth; his presence, electrifying. Aaron was the opposite in demeanor, bringing a quiet consistency to fans in Milwaukee and Atlanta; his career total bases […]