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Willie Stargell began 1975 with a new assignment. For the first time in 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Stargell was the club’s Opening Day first baseman.1 Already Pittsburgh’s all-time home-run leader, he celebrated by belting two more homers and going 4-for-4 as the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-4, on April 10 at frigid […]

Washington Senators outfielder Jim Lemon struggled offensively over the final five weeks of the 1958 season. In the Senators’ final 36 games, he didn’t hit a home run and drove in just three runs. After the season Lemon underwent surgery on his left knee. With his knee repaired and after receiving some advice in the […]

Daniel Nava celebrates with teammates after hitting a grand slam in his first major-league at-bat on June 12, 2010. (Courtesy of the Boston Red Sox)   In 2008 Daniel Nava signed with the Boston Red Sox for $1. He worked his way up in the system and got his call to the big-league club on […]

When Roberto Clemente watched a Ferguson Jenkins pitch on the inside corner of the plate pass for a strike on September 13, 1972, young teammate Fernando Gonzalez didn’t understand. The pitch was in Clemente’s wheelhouse, and when Gonzalez questioned his mentor about why he held up on such a pitch, Clemente, an 18-year veteran, told […]

Game Three of the 1982 World Series was the first Series game in Milwaukee since 1958. It was the first World Series for the Milwaukee Brewers, who had entered the league in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots, and the 13th World Series for their opponents, the St. Louis Cardinals. Milwaukee had a heavy-hitting lineup that […]

  “On a cool, clear, September night, only 6,702 attended the funeral of the beloved Dodgers, a hushed and bereaved gathering come to pay respects to a memory … only 6,702 could muster the courage to bid a fond farewell, perhaps because it hurt too much to say goodbye.” That was Phil Pepe of the […]

Two American League pitchers squared off on the Saturday just before Labor Day in 1906, and both of them pitched 23 innings of one-run baseball. The game resolved itself in the 24th inning, when Boston’s Joe Harris faltered. The win went to Jack Coombs of the Philadelphia Athletics. Harris threw 20 consecutive scoreless innings – […]

“The next Olympic Games must not have the same character. They must be kept more purely athletic, they must be more dignified, more discreet and more in accordance with the classic artistic requirements. The Games must be more intimate, and, above all, the Games must be less expensive.”1 — Baron Pierre de Coubertin   As […]

When Phil Rizzuto went to his first Major League tryout, a New York Giants coach told him he was too small to play in the big leagues and suggested he should make a living by shining shoes.1 But in a later tryout with the Yankees, Rizzuto impressed scout Paul Krichell, who recommended they sign the […]

“Judy Johnson was the smartest baseball player I ever came across.” — Ted Page1   Despite his father’s aspirations for William “Judy” Johnson to become a boxer, Judy never entered the ring. Instead, Johnson took his game to the diamond. For that, baseball owes him a debt of gratitude. In the Negro Leagues, if Satchel […]

Jack Killilay put in six seasons of minor-league ball before joining the 1911 Boston Red Sox and he put in five seasons after departing the Red Sox. His one year in the majors was a 4-2 season in 1911 (61 innings, with a 3.54 earned-run average) from his debut on May 13 to his last […]

Hugh Miller was a quiet man with a penchant for strife. His life was a constant seesaw ride—minor-league phenom, big-league flop, decorated war hero, hobbled veteran. His lows were lengthy and commonplace, his highs brief and extraordinary. Miller, born in St. Louis on December 22, 1886, was the second of four sons of John and […]

Alva Williams hit .239 in his first year in the majors. He hit .239 his last year in the majors. In between, he played five years for the Washington Senators hitting well above that mark in each of the five seasons for a combined .276 average for Washington. That first year in the majors was […]

Family, friends, and teammates could easily have called Charles E. Brown “Charlie Brown” instead of Buster Brown. Given that he would own the worst career winning percentage (.331) for a pitcher with a minimum of 150 decisions, a name that long after his death would have recalled the perpetually defeated Peanuts comic-strip character would have […]

Tom Ferrick was a baseball lifer. The right-hander won Game Three of the 1950 World Series, pitching in relief for the Yankees, a high point of a playing career in the majors that spanned 12 years. He served three years in the Navy in World War II and pitched for five teams from 1941 to […]

He grew up in a small Nebraska town with a high school that did not field a baseball team. He signed professionally with an organization that notoriously signed hundreds of prospects with the expectation that such quantity would yield quality. Yet Johnny Hopp diligently overcame these obstacles to carve out a successful 14-year career in […]

Bobby Malkmus was a small, light-hitting, versatile middle infielder who made his major-league debut for the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 during their frantic midseason search for a second baseman. Poor hitting (2-for 22) and the club’s acquisition of All-Star Red Schoendienst marked the end of the Malkmus experiment after less than four weeks. Malkmus returned […]

Bobby Bragan was a backup catcher whose pinch-hit double in Game Six of the 1947 World Series was his final moment of glory as a major-league player. However, Bragan left an enviable legacy as a manager and executive at the major and minor-league levels. He managed three major-league clubs, developed the farm system of the […]

Don Leppert signed his first professional contract shortly after his 23rd birthday, scouted on Korean War-era military-service teams in a sport he had not intended to play as a pro. He reached the majors a few months before his 30th birthday, when the defending World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates sought to strengthen their bench. He […]

Art Fowler’s journey through the world of baseball took him from rural South Carolina to the New York Yankees and three World Series rings. A friendship with Billy Martin that started with a brief encounter in 1950 would lead him to a second career as a pitching coach, and make him half of one of […]

For more than 70 years, pitcher Joe Cleary was the last native of Ireland to play in the major leagues. Appearing in just one game in 1945, Cleary had the misfortune to post a lifetime 189.00 earned run average, the highest on record for pitchers who retired at least one batter, when he yielded seven […]

Outfielder Johnny Barrett played five seasons of major-league baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves from 1942 through 1946, when he compiled a .251 batting average in 588 games. His best season was 1944, when he led the National League in stolen bases (28) and triples (19) to help Pittsburgh to a second-place finish […]

At a certain point one begins to wonder how hard it really was to make the Boston Red Sox in the 1920s. This was a dead decade for the Sox. This was a team that finished in last place eight times and never finished closer than fifth place. This was a team that finished as […]

John Walter Cooney, the son as well as the brother of major-league baseball players, competed as a major-league pitcher, infielder, and outfielder for 20 seasons, primarily in the National League with the Boston Braves. Known as a fine defensive outfielder, he compiled a .286 career batting average, briefly managed the Braves, and even umpired a […]