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The Detroit Tigers headed to Cleveland for a three-game, two-day set with the Indians in August 1958. The Tigers were holding down fourth place in the American League. The Indians were right behind them in fifth. Both clubs, as well as the whole league, were double-digit games behind the first-place New York Yankees. Nobody was […]
After the 2002 All-Star Snafu in Milwaukee — which ended in a tie when the National League ran out of pitchers — Major League Baseball took steps to prevent a recurrence. One was telling managers to hold back some pitchers in the case of extra innings. The other was to let the outcome of the […]
After sweeping a six-game road trip at Pittsburgh and St. Louis, the Houston Astros returned to the Astrodome on June 1, 1989, for an 11-game homestand that was full of drama and featured four walk-off wins in a six-game span. They took the first two of a four-game series against Los Angeles – the second […]
With the 1908 American League championship on the line at South Side Park in Chicago, Tigers manager Hughie Jennings handed the ball to Bill Donovan (17-7). Donovan, sometimes called Smiling Bill, had every reason to smile after the game. His two-hit shutout of the surprisingly error-prone White Sox gave Detroit a 7-0 victory, and their […]
When Babe Ruth was traded to the New York Yankees by Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee in January 1920, he was already the most feared slugger in the game. He led the American League in home runs for the first time in 1918 with 11 and in 1919 he established a new single-season record […]
Like most forces of nature, Paul Lo Duca’s twin eruptions in June 2007 were remarkable for both their spontaneity and the havoc they left behind. Frustrated with his team’s recent struggles and what he considered undue expectations from the press, on June 23 the New York Mets catcher littered the diamond with his equipment after […]
As the 1901 season moved into its final two weeks, the Cleveland Blues (later the Indians) were all but limping to the finish. Although they had had played .500 ball over the previous six weeks, going 22-22 between August 1 and September 14, as they came into a Sunday afternoon contest against the Detroit Tigers […]
Perhaps no baseball season has ever begun with more uncertainty than the 1918 pennant chase. As the season began, the United States had been at war for a year, during which time major-league players had been largely unaffected by the world’s events. On July 1, 1918, however, the sport’s privileged existence was shattered when Secretary […]
The champagne was ready in the Astrodome. With a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-five National League Championship Series, the Astros were one win away from their first trip to the World Series. Considering the obstacles that both they and their opponents, the Phillies, had overcome, no one was apt to be counting on an easy […]
As Detroit Tigers first baseman Norm Cash prepared to dig in against California Angels right-hander Nolan Ryan, who was just one out away from a no-hitter, he looked at home-plate umpire Ron Luciano and asked with all seriousness, “Aren’t you going to check my bat?”1 Known for his unusual humor, Cash had sauntered to the […]
“The outlook wasn’t rosy for the Redland tribe that day; The score was six to nothing with one inning left to play. But in the final session they got busy with their sticks, And when the smoke of battle cleared, the score was nine to six.”1 In New York, the Giants were pulling away […]
When San Francisco Giants leviathan Barry Bonds went on the disabled list for a torn triceps muscle in the third week of the 1999 season,1 he had some unexpected company. That same day Baltimore Orioles’ Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr. landed on the disabled list for the first time in his then-19-year career.2 Bonds’ spot […]
“If you pitch the second game, Newk, I’ll give you tomorrow off to go fishing.” – Brooklyn Dodgers manager Burt Shotton1 With less than four weeks remaining in the 1950 regular season, the Brooklyn Dodgers boarded the train bound for Philadelphia to open a four-game series with the National League’s first-place Phillies. The Dodgers […]
“It’s too hot for a sermon today. Go home, keep the commandments, and say a prayer for Gil Hodges. — Father Herbert Redmond1 Every baseball game has a story. This one has several. Sometimes the story just centers on the action and statistics generated inside the ballpark. This one stretches well beyond. And sometimes the […]
The first baseball game in Ebbets Field was an exhibition between the Brooklyn Superbas and New York Yankees that drew a sellout crowd of 25,000 while an estimated 10,000 fans were turned away. (Photo: Library of Congress) On September 20, 1912, Brooklyn team president Charles Ebbets gave up hope that his new stadium could […]
Cy Young pictured in 1903. (SABR-Rucker Archive) In the course of his Hall of Fame career, Cy Young threw 76 shutouts. Ten of them came in 1904, his 15th major-league season and fourth with the Boston Americans.1 The 37-year-old Young began a remarkable early-season stretch in 1904 by holding the Philadelphia Athletics without an […]
Five major league teams, four NLCS home runs, three 20-home-run seasons, two All-Star Game appearances, one Flap-Down = No. 00, Jeffrey Leonard. In the scope of baseball history, Jeffrey Leonard’s career was a brief candle, a poorly understood player whose home-run strut fretted the baseball universe in a brief but spectacular hour upon a national […]
Considering that his professional career almost ended before it started, Joe Sambito made the most of his opportunity. His future in the game teetered several times, but for a period of five years, 1977-1981, the left-hander from Long Island, New York, with a good fastball and a nasty slider was arguably one of the best […]
Tim Naehring played for the Boston Red Sox during portions of eight seasons — from 1990-97. He hit .282 overall, with 49 home runs and 250 RBIs. Known for his versatility, he played various infield positions before becoming the team’s regular third baseman in 1995. Unfortunately, his time in the major leagues was frequently interrupted […]
Following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ loss to the Chicago Cubs on October 1, 2000, 60-year-old Willie Stargell emerged to throw a ceremonial final pitch at the soon-to-be-demolished Three Rivers Stadium. Even though most people who followed the Pirates knew “Pops” was in poor health his frail, spectral appearance that afternoon was shocking. He was almost unrecognizable, […]
In Candlestick Park on September 2, 1963, the final nine outs were tallied by closer Lindy McDaniel, insuring the 20th win of the season for the tall Chicago Cubs left-handed starter. This particular win, coming off a 20-loss campaign the preceding year, would etch the youngster’s name with a mere six other hurlers who, since […]
In life James Donaldson Brown’s journey took him from humble beginnings in Laurel, Maryland, to a nondescript death in an Oregon logging town. In between his birth and death he completed an odyssey that entailed stops in at least 28 minor-league cities, one foreign country and two major-league cities. He crisscrossed the county playing in […]
One day in the mid-1930s, in the New York City borough of Staten Island, teenager Karl Drews anxiously watched as older boys of his small community of Eltingville climbed into a truck to go to a baseball team tryout. As the truck was about to depart, Drews pleaded with the older boys to take him […]