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“This could be Art’s best year. I expect it to be. He does too.” — Minneapolis Millers’ manager Gene Mauch1   The Houston Buffs were visiting the Minneapolis Millers on April 29, 1959, and a slugfest materialized with Minneapolis prevailing, 9-5, behind the hitting of Art Schult and Lou Clinton and the pitching of Nels […]

There was excitement in the Tampa Bay area when the 2008 season began. The team, known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for their first 10 seasons of existence, was rebranded as the Rays.1 They had developed a core of young players. After finishing with a 66-96 record in 2007, Tampa Bay was expected to […]

The 1949 World Series opened with Allie Reynolds facing Brooklyn’s best pitcher, Don Newcombe. Yankees manager Casey Stengel wanted the 1950 World Series to start that way as well. Reynolds against Philadelphia’s best pitcher. But it did not work out that way as Jim Konstanty rather than Robin Roberts started Game One. Eddie Sawyer’s gambit […]

Part of the beauty of baseball is just how unpredictable the national pastime really is. No matter what the standings show, or what the prospects for a particular team are, on any given day at the ballpark, there is a chance that you might see something you’ve never seen before. That was certainly the case […]

Philadelphia Athletics rookie Bobby Shantz hurled nine innings of no-hit ball in a relief appearance on May 6, 1949, a feat not seen since 1917, when the Boston Red Sox’ Ernie Shore took the ball from an ejected Babe Ruth to complete baseball’s “imperfect perfect game.” Shantz had made his major-league debut for Connie Mack’s […]

You could understand if the self-assured New York Mets felt more than certain that they would complete a three-game sweep of the upstart San Francisco Giants when the teams squared off on May 22, 1986, at Candlestick Park. The Mets had beaten the Giants in the first two games, 2-1 and 7-4, boosting their record […]

The San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals began a three-game series on Memorial Day, May 26, 1975. The visiting Padres won the first contest, 9-6. A moderate crowd of 10,060 came through the gates at Busch Stadium to watch the second game. The Cardinals (16-23) had lost seven of their last 10 games and […]

In 1964 Connie Mack Stadium was described as a “sprawling network of steel and concrete, hemmed in by a drab, dreary, fraying residential district”1 Nevertheless, 26,381 spectators jammed into the stadium on a Saturday afternoon for Knothole Day, a promotion where free tickets were given to kids 14 and under (the paid attendance was only […]

“Is baseball in danger?” – Chicago Tribune, September 5, 1920.1   The charges of “attempted crookedness” sparked by a game between the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies on August 31, 1920, had repercussions well beyond what anyone could have expected. It was a game that, due to the chain of serious events it precipitated, […]

“Big Bill” Brennan was a large man, weighing 235 pounds and standing 6-foot-2½. He had a loud voice and could be heard all over the ball field. Brennan’s voice served him well not only as an umpire, but also as a football coach at the University of Tennessee Medical College. Brennan was born on October […]

In the course of three decades, Doc Moskiman went from medical school to retailing athletic goods. In between, he appeared in five major-league games with the 1910 Boston Red Sox, playing first base and right field. He hit safely once, drove in one run, and scored one run. He made no errors in 18 chances. […]

Like many successful owners, longtime Kansas City Royals magnate Ewing Kauffman could be highly demanding, both publicly and privately. Yet he was one of the few also celebrated by the community and his players for his generosity and obvious caring for their wellbeing. Kauffman made his fortune as a pharmaceutical entrepreneur in the decades after […]

“It was all so new,” reminisced Pete Broberg about suiting up for the Texas Rangers in their inaugural season in 1972. “A new city, new stadium, a new look. We weren’t wearing the flannels anymore; we had the new stretchy ones.”1 It was the dawn of a new era in football-crazed Texas as the Washington […]

Mike Derrick made the major leagues in 1970, the culmination of a dream he had pursued since he was a young boy growing up in the area of Columbia, South Carolina. A first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder in the minor leagues, his first 14 appearances in the big leagues were as a pinch-hitter for […]

Billy Sullivan played first base in high school and college. His reputation as a dead-pull, lefty hitter convinced the Chicago White Sox to sign him after the 1931 college season at Notre Dame and bring him directly to the big leagues. Sullivan arrived, a little in awe of his surroundings and thinking he might have […]

Rocky Nelson came to Cleveland in the spring of 1954 with an impressive pedigree. He had won the Most Valuable Player award in the International League in 1953 and followed it up with a fine performance in the Cuban Winter League, where he won the batting championship. The Indians expected Nelson to win the starting […]

Born as Colonel Buster Mills, this outfielder-turned-soldier during World War II got a little extra kick out of going up to ranking officers and introducing himself as Colonel Mills. His father was Elvis, a merchant who owned a general store in Ranger, Texas, about 65 miles east of Abilene in the west central part of […]

There have been 36 major leaguers nicknamed Cy, and only one of them had the first name Cyrus (Cy Malis). There were three Cyrils and one Ceylon. The most notable Cy was, of course, Cy Young – and there were four Cy Youngs, though the actual first names of the four Cy Youngs were Denton, […]

From a North Carolina family, many of whom worked as spinners in a wool mill, Kenneth Lanier Wood became a major-league baseball player and later went into the insurance business. Wood, a right-handed outfielder who stood an even six tall and was listed at 200 pounds, was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, on July 1, […]

“That is one of finest at-bats that I have ever seen!” announced Vin Scully on May 12, 2004. “And then to top it all off with a home run, that is really shocking.” Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Alex Cora just hit a home run off Chicago Cubs right-hander Matt Clement in an 18-pitch at-bat. Cora […]

The name Don Bessent sparks the memories of Brooklyn Dodgers fans of a certain age for helping his slumping team revive during the 1955 pennant race. But, for most fans, he’s a candle that burned brightly, but quickly. Fred Donald Bessent was born on March 13, 1931, in Jacksonville, Florida, the eighth and last child […]

Ken Hogan, whose first game as a professional came in the major leagues, but who played in only three more games thereafter, was probably the fastest, most instinctive outfielder ever to roam the amateur and semipro ballfields of Cleveland. He drew raves for his ability to cover ground in center field. The Cincinnati Post said, […]

Twenty-five-year-old Jim McAndrew emerged from spring training 1969 to start the second game of the year for a New York Mets team that boasted one of the game’s top young rotations. Yet due to a series of misfortunes, injuries, and bad luck—a continuation from the previous year where the Mets were shut out in his […]

The Pacific Coast League’s San Diego Padres had played in Lane Field since their inaugural season in 1936. By the mid-1950s, however, the waterfront ballpark’s wooden construction had been ravaged by years of San Diego Bay’s salty winds. Termites had also eaten away at the structure. In 1958, the brand-new Westgate Park opened its doors. […]