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The late-season doubleheader between the St. Louis Cardinals and homestanding Philadelphia Phillies at Shibe Park was a matchup between two teams at opposite ends of the standings. Entering play, the first-place Cardinals, who had already clinched the National League championship and punched their ticket to the 1944 World Series, had a record of 99-46 and […]

It was 92 degrees, with humidity that made it feel like triple digits. The suffocating torpor that hovered over Philadelphia was a metaphor for the Athletics’ season and where the franchise was headed. Two years earlier they had won their third straight American League pennant, but by 1933 the splendid Al Simmons was gone, stalwart […]

Two solo home runs – and excellent pitching – helped the streaking Boston Red Sox win their 10th game in a row and 16th of their last 17, in the opener of a three-game Labor Day weekend series with the Texas Rangers. The winning streak had started on August 24, with a 5-4 win over […]

It was the third doubleheader in as many days for the weary Boston Beaneaters. Shortstop Herman Long, nursing a badly bruised arm after being hit by a pitch in the opening game of the previous day’s twin bill, was relegated to the bench, and first baseman Tommy Tucker, who’d played every game so far this […]

The Boston Beaneaters made a remarkable run in September 1891 to overtake the Chicago Colts, and they ultimately clinched the National League pennant on October 1 amid Chicago’s protests that Boston had gained an unfair advantage with the help of other teams in the league. The Colts had held the league lead for most of […]

In the spring of 1891, Boston Beaneaters pitcher Kid Nichols worked out with players from the Kansas City Blues team in Kansas City of the Western Association, where he had gotten his professional start in 1887 as a 17-year-old. One of the daily newspapers reported on his prediction for the 1891 season: “He says the […]

The Philadelphia Athletics continued a season-long trend in their final meeting of the season with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. The Athletics, who had won 11 of the first 13 games between the two in 1883 while outscoring the Alleghenys 104-55, maintained their dominance of the Alleghenys with a 19-2 victory. Athletics first baseman Harry Stovey provided […]

It is the top of the ninth inning – a rookie pitcher takes the mound and looks to cap off a shutout win in his first start at home. On a hot summer night, 22-year-old Boston Red Sox rookie Lynn McGlothen found himself just three outs from glory. Three outs from defeating the division leaders […]

“You see, it’s like this. You get the guy out a couple of times and the law of averages is bound to catch up with you.”  – White Sox starter Billy Pierce.1   Left-hander Billy Pierce led both leagues with a 1.97 earned-run average in 1955. His 20 wins led the American League two years […]

It was early in the 1949 season, with only about a dozen games played. The New York Yankees were off to a 10-2 start; they hadn’t lost a home game yet, winning seven in a row at Yankee Stadium. The Boston Red Sox were 5-6. They were visiting the Stadium for three games and had […]

Even with Dave Goltz, the Twins’ best pitcher, on the mound, on Wednesday, July 26, 1978, the Twins lost the first of a two-game midweek series with the Toronto Blue Jays, baseball’s most hapless team. The Twins were now 12½ games out of first place in the American League Western Division, and getting back in […]

The Minneapolis Millers of the American Association were the Triple-A minor-league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for two stretches, 1937-38 and 1958-60.1 Ted Williams had won the Triple Crown for the Millers in 1938 and, as it happens, “The Kid” was with the Boston Red Sox from 1939 through 1960, including this game in […]

In his first season managing the Minneapolis Millers, Gene Mauch led the team to the pinnacle of minor-league baseball. The Millers marched through the postseason in 1958, beating Wichita in six games, sweeping Denver for the American Association championship, and then sweeping Montreal in the Junior World Series. The encore would not be so easy. […]

The San Francisco Giants journeyed to Los Angeles for a late-season three-game series with the Dodgers beginning on September 21, 1970. As the series began, the Dodgers, were in second place in the National League West but 12 games behind the Cincinnati Reds. The Giants, in third place, were just one game behind Los Angeles. […]

The Tampa Bay Rays were the defending American League pennant winners in 2009. Just 11 years after their expansion season in 1998, the Rays ran through the gauntlet that is the American League East in the regular season, eclipsed Chicago and Boston in the playoffs, and were then crowned AL champs. The ultimate dream of […]

On a day when a sparse crowd was hoping to see its home team sweep its first series of the season, Atlanta Braves fans left the game with a shocking surprise. With a 5-0 lead in the ninth inning, a Braves victory seemed a sure thing. Even after their reliable closer gave up two singles […]

From 1925 until 1933 the Philadelphia Athletics finished in third place twice, second place four times, and first place three times (winning the World Series in 1929 and 1930). Beginning in 1934, however, the A’s were on a downward spiral that saw them with just two fourth-place finishes between 1934 and 1968. As for the […]

From 2007 to 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies won five consecutive division titles and two National League championships, highlighted with a World Series victory in 2008. The core of the team — first baseman Ryan Howard, second baseman Chase Utley, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, center fielder Shane Victorino and starter Cole Hamels — remained intact during this […]

The fans were excited as they entered Marlins Park for the Friday night game pitting the Miami Marlins against the St. Louis Cardinals. While playing in the United States, Ichiro Suzuki had 2,998 hits and was only two away from the magic number of 3,000. The Marlins made it known that Ichiro would be in […]

Over the course of six major-league seasons, Tom Jenkins appeared in a little more than one year’s worth of games. He broke in with the Boston Red Sox in September of 1925 and last played for the St. Louis Browns in June 1932. By the time his time in the big leagues was done, he […]

It was remarkably kind for his hometown newspaper to place a headline on Patrick Francis Creeden’s obituary calling him a “baseball legend.” [1] The historical record shows a total of one week in organized baseball – and not one hit. Never one day in the minor leagues. Five games with the Boston Red Sox in […]

Like many athletes of an earlier era, Jack Lewis played a fair amount of baseball before ever becoming part of the historical record of the game. His minor-league record indicates that his first year in Organized Baseball was in 1909 with the McKeesport Tubers of the Ohio-Pennsylvania League, and that he played 31 games for […]

There are numerous examples of young ballplayers with great potential whose careers may have been ruined due to mismanagement by team owners or other circumstances. In the 1950s, the opportunity for bonus babies to gain experience in the minor leagues was delayed because the rules required them to stay on major-league rosters. At other times, […]

Mike Mitchell was a strapping 6’1″, 185-pound right fielder with speed, power, and, according to noted baseball historian Bill James, the best outfield arm of the Deadball Era’s first decade. In addition to stealing 107 bases from 1909 to 1911, Mitchell led the National League in outfield assists in 1907 and triples in 1909 and […]