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Fred Goldsmith, one of baseball’s earliest curveball pitchers, was a burly right-hander whose mastery of the tricky delivery made him an important contributor to three pennant-winning teams during his six seasons in the National League (1879-1884). Later in life, long after most of his contemporaries had passed on, the elderly Goldsmith mounted a campaign to prove […]

The numbers for Nippy Jones in the 1957 World Series don’t look like much: three games, three plate appearances, two at-bats, no runs, no hits, one hit-by-pitch. But the “shoe-polish incident” in the tenth inning of Game Four, when Jones was able to confirm that a pitch from Tommy Byrne had struck his foot by […]

In the spring of 1962, Meredith “Moe” Morhardt was in an enviable position. The left-handed hitting first baseman was starting his first full season with the Chicago Cubs and had been assured that he wasn’t going to be sent back to the minors. There was only one problem – he wasn’t playing. By mid-May, Morhardt […]

Who was the only player to play for major league clubs in St. Louis in three different leagues in three successive years? The answer is Tom Dolan, who played for the St. Louis Browns in the American Association in 1883 and 1884, jumped to the St. Louis Maroons in the Union Association in 1884, and […]

He was a “little chap with dynamite in powerful wrists”, a ballplayer who suffered through great personal tragedy but played on for 14 major-league seasons before dying at age 39 of a heart attack. Donald Eric McNair was his name; he called himself Eric, though others called him by different nicknames — “Boob” and “Rabbit” […]

The Cleveland Naps met the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 11, 1914. The pitching matchup was intriguing: The Naps started Willie Mitchell, a 24-year-old left-hander with a biting curveball, and the Red Sox sent a 19-year-old lefty, Babe Ruth, to the mound for his major league debut. The Naps were anxious to […]

Gene Autry was the kind of man who paid the bills for old friends in their old age, rode in the front seat beside his chauffeur, and showed up in the bar of his resort hotel to lead guests in a sing-along. During his heyday as a singing cowboy, his fans ranged from the obvious […]

As the leadoff or number-two batter for some of the highest-scoring teams in baseball history, Woody English scored 400 runs from 1929 through 1931 while playing shortstop or third base for the Chicago Cubs. As noted by Bill James, “English in 1930 had 214 hits and 100 walks, which enabled him to score 152 runs, […]

Never possessed of an overpowering fastball or a devastating curve, Ed Lynch relied instead on his command, and his wits. The latter, it was said, were among the sharpest of their time, and led to a second act as a baseball executive. “I’m a competitive person and I have confidence in my abilities,” Lynch told […]

Bill Baker immersed himself in baseball as a player, coach, umpire, and youth program leader. His playing skills were just adequate–good enough to hold a roster spot over seven seasons on three clubs, including a World Series champion, but with enough deficiencies that he rarely started. And when he finally reached the majors as a […]

Davey Williams did not much like being the answer to a trivia question, but he was. The question is: Who caught the relay when Willie Mays made his famous over-the-shoulder catch against Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series? Williams was the Giants’ second baseman and did in fact take the relay throw to hold […]

Left-hander Bill Foxen was the most talented of a trio of Deadball Era pitching brothers, and the only one to have a major league career. That career, however, never quite lived up to expectations and lasted only three-plus seasons. In retrospect, there may have been a reason: Foxen was actually five years older than he […]

After being drafted three times and not signing, Bill Bonham was not drafted after his senior season at UCLA. “I really didn’t have a great record with UCLA,” Bonham said. “Too, I think a lot of clubs thought I had a bad attitude.”1 Bonham eventually signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Cubs. Less than […]

Raúl Ramón Mondesí possessed a wide array of skills making him a sought-after player early in his career despite a questionable temperament. A powerful arm in right field, he struck fear in baserunners. The might of his swing pushed runners home and balls over the fence. Most surprising given his 5-foot-11 and roughly 220-pound physique, […]

When one examines the Miracle Braves’ performance it is obvious that the bulk of the pitching effort rested with just three men: Dick Rudolph, Bill James, and George Tyler. Starting 107 of the 158 games the team played, they won 68 of the Braves’ 94 victories. Yet, when Boston clinched the pennant against the Chicago […]

Editor’s note: This article was first published in the Fall 2012 edition of “Outside The Lines,” SABR’s Business of Baseball Research Committee newsletter. The salary chart at the bottom has been updated since the original article was published. Perusing the list of annual leaders in various statistical categories is a favorite pastime of baseball fans. […]

Praise rained down on Nolan Ryan of the California Angels following his historic 19-strikeout performance on August 12, 1974, which set an American League record for a nine-inning game and tied the NL/AL record held by Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver.1 “He had great stuff,” declared Boston Red Sox skipper Darrell Johnson, whose team had […]

Eric Davis was used to overcoming serious injuries. His aggressive, all-out style of play had landed him on the disabled list 11 times in his first 13 years in the big leagues.1 In the 1990 World Series as a member of the Reds, he suffered a life-threatening injury when he dove for a ball and […]

On Saturday, July 10, 1926, the temperature in Washington reached 99 degrees, the hottest day of the year. In the late afternoon and evening, heavy storms rumbled through the city, downing trees and blowing glass from windows. The next morning, the Washington Post reported the storm’s toll in graphic headlines – “ARTERY OF WOMAN’S ARM […]

Rick Wise was a welcome success story for the Philadelphia Phillies. After he pitched his Portland, Oregon, high school to a state championship in 1963, the Phillies signed the 17-year- old to a major-league contract. Based on his $12,000 signing bonus, Wise was considered a “bonus baby.” The rules at the time required that he […]

As part of its Opening Day lineup of nationally televised games aired on April 1, 2013, ESPN featured for one of its marquee matchups the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants going head-to-head with their ancient arch-nemesis, the Los Angeles Dodgers. On a sunny Southern California afternoon, and in a ballpark that was unveiling […]

Harold Treadwell wasn’t the best pitcher on the 1922 New York Bacharach Giants roster. The submarining right-hander’s 6-9 won-lost record and 4.35 ERA against Negro League competition wasn’t outstanding, but he was one of the two most-used Bacharach hurlers on a mediocre team.1 Dave Brown of the Chicago American Giants (13-3, 2.90) was among the […]

The Atlanta Braves recorded a major-league-best 925 victories during the 1990s, none so convincingly as their final regular-season game of the decade. The World Series-bound Braves pummeled the hapless Florida Marlins, 18-0, at Turner Field in Atlanta on October 3, 1999, rapping out 21 hits by 15 different players.1 The game tied a 114-year-old team […]

At 2:30 P.M. on Sunday, June 25, 1972, the police chief, fire chief, and elected officials in Auburn, New York, assembled for an emergency meeting. A state-owned dam on an outlet of Owasco Lake, just south of the city, showed dangerous signs of weakening after the torrential rains of recently departed Hurricane Agnes. If the […]