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Self-effacing and relentlessly confident, Joe McCarthy was a relatively silent yet authoritative force behind the success of the New York Yankees during 1930s and most of the 1940s. McCarthy’s Yankee teams regularly dominated the American League, and in many seasons New York faced little competition for the pennant. Although he was once famously scorned by […]
When Willie Montanez walked to the plate from the on-deck circle he would flip his bat end over end like a baton. When he swung and missed he had a high, circular finish reminiscent of a matador twirling his sword at a charging bull. At first base, he would sometimes tap runners on the rear […]
When the Red Sox season ended on September 28, 1975, Andy Merchant trotted off the field and the Red Sox had only their third American League postseason berth since 1918. The Red Sox had clinched the division title the day before, thanks to the New York Yankees, who had swept a doubleheader from the second-place […]
Two days in the major leagues – back to back. Swede Carlstrom’s big-league career began on September 12, 1911. He wrapped up his career on September 13. He didn’t enjoy an auspicious debut with the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Globe noted that Carlstrom, “late of the Lawrence [Massachusetts] club,” had a difficult game at shortstop. “The young […]
A bright future appeared to lie ahead for Boston Braves outfielder Max West after he became a major-league regular in 1938 at the age of 21 and was the team’s top offensive performer a year later. Following a memorable appearance in the 1940 All-Star Game, when he hit a home run to win the contest, […]
Not to be confused with the American League first baseman or the cigar-wielding comedian of the same name, who were roughly his contemporaries, George Burns of the National League was the most consistent hitter in major-league history, batting .287 for his 15-year career, but never higher than .303 nor lower than .272 in a full […]
As is the case with so many Negro League ballplayers who were born before the twentieth century or just after it began, details of William Hoskins’ birth and early years are wanting. His draft registration card, issued in 1940, offers as much clarity as is available about his origins, including his reported birth on March […]
Reliever Brad Lesley was big — 6-feet-6 and 230 pounds — and hyper-intense on the field. His good-natured screaming and stomping got him nicknamed “The Animal.” Lesley’s self-motivational antics, size, and power pitching drew many comparisons, namely with Mark Fidrych, Al “The Mad Hungarian” Hrabosky, Goose Gossage, and Dick “The Monster” Radatz. Yet as Lesley […]
Willie Harris batted only once for the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series. The speedy left-hander used that plate appearance to earn a place in White Sox history. The White Sox were tied with the Houston Astros 0-0 in the top of the eighth inning of Game Four. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén […]
Sheriff Blake, was not really a sheriff, but rather a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher whose best days came during a six-year period for the Chicago Cubs, from 1925 to 1930, when he averaged 12 wins and 216 innings per season as a dependable starter and occasional reliever. After winning a career-high 17 games and tying for […]
Pitchers have nightmares about a bullet back to the mound. Imagine having sight in just one eye to snare the ball. That was Howie Judson’s reality in his seven-year major-league career. Howard Kolls Judson was born on February 16, 1925, in Hebron, a village of about 600 residents in McHenry County, 75 miles northwest of […]
As the third-base coach on the 2004 Red Sox, Dale Sveum earned the first of two World Series rings that were the high points of a lengthy and multifaceted career in professional baseball. Through his efforts as a player, coach, and manager, the former high-school football star earned a reputation as a savvy, classy baseball man, […]
Bill Campbell could be excused for deeming life as unlucky as a crooked draw. His mother died giving birth to him on September 7, 1923, in Atlantic City. Dad kept the secret from him till Bill was 11. He lived with his father, a traveling paint salesman, then aunts, then Dad again, changing schools six […]
Mike Paxton, a right-hander for the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, pitched for parts of four seasons in the major leagues and never had a losing record. Like most pitchers in the 1970s, he began his career as a starter. Once in the majors, he split time as a starter (63) and reliever (36). […]
Gabby Street may not have been much of a batsman in his career. His high mark for batting average was .238 in 1905, a season he split between Cincinnati and the Boston Beaneaters. Perhaps he was aided by only 105 at-bats, the second lowest total of his career. There may have been a slight decrease […]
When there is a discussion regarding who is the best major-league baseball team in history, the conversation usually begins and ends with the 1927 New York Yankees. They ravaged the rest of the American League, posting a 110-44 record. At the time, it was the top mark in the AL and tied the 1909 Pittsburgh […]
July in Chicago can feel like a sweltering, steamy greenhouse, with occasional respite from the heat offered only by stray gusts of cooler air off Lake Michigan. July 14, 1914, by contrast, was a far more pleasant day. By 3 P.M. the temperature sat in the low 80s, and clear, sunny skies were the backdrop […]
The attendance at Cleveland’s League Park for a Tuesday afternoon game was pretty small at 2,500 — which might be just as well, because of the loss that Indians fans endured that day. Manager Steve O’Neill’s Cleveland squad was hosting the Boston Red Sox, led by shortstop-manager Joe Cronin. One wouldn’t have known it at […]
On June 24, 1946, the Spokane Indians, a Class B Western International League team full of World War II veterans and promising prospects, traveled by bus across Washington state for their next series in Bremerton. While the team stopped for dinner in Ellensburg, word came that third baseman Jack Lohrke had been recalled by the […]
The first Boston Red Sox no-hitter at Fenway Park was by right-hander George “Rube” Foster in 1916, the fifth season of play at the ballpark.1 A member of the Red Sox ever since his major-league debut in 1913, Foster – also known as “Goose Egg” – had thrown five shutouts in 1914 and five more […]
In pursuit of their first postseason berth in 26 years, the Milwaukee Brewers traded for reigning American League Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia in July 2008. Sabathia made an immediate impact in Milwaukee, winning his first nine decisions as a Brewer. Win number nine came in the most dominant start of his 19-season Hall […]
The final game of the 1983 Eastern League season completed one chapter in New England baseball history, while serving notice that an exciting new chapter was poised to begin. The story that was ending belonged to the Lynn (Massachusetts) Pirates, Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate. The Pirates were successors to the Lynn Sailors, who were created in […]
Wes Ferrell is perhaps the best-hitting pitcher in baseball history. Over his 15-season major-league career, Ferrell hit .280 with 38 home runs, 57 doubles, and 12 triples.1 Ferrell put together his best season in 1935, with the Boston Red Sox. Based on the combined strength of his pitching and hitting, his 10.6 Wins Above Replacement, […]
This article appears in SABR’s “Wrigley Field: The Friendly Confines at Clark and Addison” (2019), edited by Gregory H. Wolf. First, they were the “Chicago Base Ball Club.”1 They would not be the Cubs until much later. Some sportswriters and baseball fans – at various times and for different reasons – also knew Chicago’s […]