Search Results

As a young teenager growing up in The Bronx, I was a devout Yankees fan. Then along came the New York Metropolitans and an opportunity to witness National Leaguers on the main stage. Sandy Koufax became my idol. He and I have the same heritage. My dad had a color photo of Sandy laminated on […]

On May 16, 1902, an unprecedented and unparalleled event occurred in baseball history. It was the first and only time two deaf professional athletes—Luther Haden “Dummy” Taylor and William Ellsworth “Dummy” Hoy—competed against each other in an epic encounter at the Palace of the Fans, home of the Cincinnati Reds. A diverse crowd of 5,000 […]

Interview with Chris Cundiff by Bill Nowlin on August 16, 2015. I started working as the Red Sox batboy in 1992. I used to help Dean [Lewis] wait on the umpires, so I know most of them. I’ll stop down there and say hello. They’re all pretty good. Always exceptions. After Dean rubs up the […]

Many baseball fans of a certain age remember with some nostalgia the 1955 Bowman “TV set” of baseball cards, which featured a number of umpires. Television was new for many Americans at that time; it was maybe three years earlier that my family got the first set in the neighborhood I grew up in and […]

Yankee Stadium, from its opening April 18, 1923, has had the reputation of being a good park for lefthanded batters and a sad place for righthanded batters. The fact that two of the greatest hitters of all time were lefthanded batting Yankees (Ruth and Gehrig) has contributed to this impression of Yankee Stadium as a […]

Let’s face it, in whatever quarters folks ponder baseball, be it in schoolyards or saloons, certain names come to mind. Babe Ruth. Hank Aaron. Bonds. McGwire. Sosa. Naturally. They are our home run heroes. And we all have our favorite home run memories. From the World Series telekinesis of Fisk willing his long hit fair […]

It was recently reported that Eddie Lopat, who pitched for the Chicago White Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Baltimore Orioles, compiled a phenomenal 40-13 W-L record versus the Cleveland Indians during his major league career (1944-1955).1 For the years that he was a full-time, full-season player (from 1944 through 1954), his W-L record against the Tribe was 40-12 (which yields a […]

From 1901 to 2002, the average seasonal difference between a team’s home-winning percentage and its road-winning percentage was .082.1 But has it changed much over the last 100 years and has the change been significant? What teams have enjoyed an especially good home-field advantage? There is a slight downward trend over the century, but quite […]

In 1980 George Brett, while ultimately falling short, came close to hitting for a .400 average. The question naturally arises as to the probability of anyone hitting .400. The commonly held view nowadays is that night ball, transcontinental travel fatigue, the widespread use of top quality relief pitchers, big ballparks, large size fielders’ gloves and […]

“For the hour will come when Your vigor will fade, And Fortune, ye know is a slippery jade; The Partition’s but flimsy, `twixt glory and shame And Solomon like Napoleon is now lost to fame.” — Anonymous   Homer King Solomon ruled supreme for one brief and brilliant year. He wore the flowing purple in […]

This article was originally published in “Unions to Royals: The Story of Professional Baseball in Kansas City,” the 1996 SABR convention journal.   In the wake of the Black Sox Scandal, baseball ownership searched for new leadership to salvage the game’s rapidly sinking reputation. When Chicagoan Albert Lasker proposed a new three- member commission, to […]

This article was originally published in “Baseball in Pittsburgh,” the 1995 SABR convention journal.   While Forbes Field had its share of legendary home runs—Mazeroski’s 1960 Game 7 World Series clout and Babe Ruth’s final three—the old park was the scene of some memorable defensive moments as well: unassisted triple plays by Pirate shortstop Glenn […]

Hall of Famer Cap Anson’s hits total varies widely by source. While some maintain that he never amassed 3,000 hits at all, others credit him with achieving this milestone on July 18, 1897. One day later, July 19, Honus Wagner—who would become the first or second batter (depending on which source is believed) to reach […]

Willie Mays smiles during the spring of 1951 shortly before his call-up to the major leagues. After hitting .353 with four home runs in his first season with the Class B Trenton Giants in 1950, he was batting .477 with the Minneapolis Millers in the first month of the 1951 season when he was called […]

Once tabbed by Ty Cobb as “a sure 30-game winner in the major leagues,” Smoky Joe Williams is often mentioned by oldtimers as black baseball’s greatest pitcher, superior even to Cannonball Redding, Bill Foster, Frank Wickware, and Satchel Paige. (In the twilight of his career with the Homestead Grays, Williams bested Paige, 30 years his […]

This appendix is related to the article, “Honus Wagner: Baseball’s Prototypical Five-Tooler?” by Herm Krabbenhoft.  This appendix is related to the article, “Honus Wagner: Baseball’s Prototypical Five-Tooler?” by Herm Krabbenhoft.   Tables A-1 through A-8 provide the career performance results for each Hall of Famer whose career commenced before Willie Mays began his Big League […]

Researching Baseball Records The primary way the technological revolution has affected the way we do records research is not so much in giving us new sources; it is in the way it has allowed us to access those sources more easily. Researching an individual, team or league record for a game, a season or a […]

SABR Salute: Emil Rothe Editor’s note: The SABR Salute, first bestowed upon writer Fred Lieb in 1976, was designed as a manner of recognizing the contributions of some of the older members of the Society. Subsequent SABR Salutes appeared in the SABR Membership Directory and honored members who had made great contributions to baseball historical […]

SABR Salute: Ellery Clark Editor’s note: The SABR Salute, first bestowed upon writer Fred Lieb in 1976, was designed as a manner of recognizing the contributions of some of the older members of the Society. Subsequent SABR Salutes appeared in the SABR Membership Directory and honored members who had made great contributions to baseball historical […]

SABR Salute: Bob Davids Editor’s note: The SABR Salute, first bestowed upon writer Fred Lieb in 1976, was designed as a manner of recognizing the contributions of some of the older members of the Society. Subsequent SABR Salutes appeared in the SABR Membership Directory and honored members who had made great contributions to baseball historical […]

SABR Salute: Mark Rucker Editor’s note: The SABR Salute, first bestowed upon writer Fred Lieb in 1976, was designed as a manner of recognizing the contributions of some of the older members of the Society. Subsequent SABR Salutes appeared in the SABR Membership Directory and honored members who had made great contributions to baseball historical […]

SABR Salute: Bob Lindsay Editor’s note: The SABR Salute, first bestowed upon writer Fred Lieb in 1976, was designed as a manner of recognizing the contributions of some of the older members of the Society. Subsequent SABR Salutes appeared in the SABR Membership Directory and honored members who had made great contributions to baseball historical […]

SABR Salute: Ralph Horton Editor’s note: The SABR Salute, first bestowed upon writer Fred Lieb in 1976, was designed as a manner of recognizing the contributions of some of the older members of the Society. Subsequent SABR Salutes appeared in the SABR Membership Directory and honored members who had made great contributions to baseball historical […]