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Going into a night game on Friday, August 17, 2001, the Cincinnati Reds were 48-72, in fifth place, 20½ games behind the Houston Astros in the National League Central Division. Their opponent, the Milwaukee Brewers, were 50-68, in fourth place, 17½ games behind the Astros. Baseball often provides great examples of life lessons; this game […]

Outfielder Jason Lane had debuted with the Houston Astros in 2002. By 2005 he was the starting right fielder for that year’s pennant-winning squad; his personal highlights that season included belting 26 home runs and driving in 78 runs, hitting a home run and catching the final out of the pennant-clinching NLCS Game Six against […]

The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, two teams firmly entrenched at the bottom of the National League standings, squared off in an unlikely pitchers’ duel at the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia on August 22, 1921. Fans who attended were treated to a “herculean pitching battle”1 fought by two unlikely mound combatants, journeymen slingers Elmer Ponder […]

On July 8, 1984, before a reported crowd of 3,846 at Pawtucket’s McCoy Stadium, the Pawtucket Red Sox swept a doubleheader with the Rochester Red Wings. The pair of wins, coupled with a split by the Maine Guides in their twin bill with the Syracuse Chiefs, propelled Pawtucket into a tie for first place with […]

The four up-and-coming hurlers pictured on card #621 of the 1975 Topps set (1975 Rookie Pitchers) combined for 1,067 major-league appearances. Jim Kern pitched in 416 games, Rawly Eastwick in 326, John Denny in 325, and Juan Veintidos in zero. To collectors, Veintidos remains a mystery face, a “phantom,” one of that limited fraternity of […]

The Brooklyn Dodgers were driving toward another pennant in the summer of 1951, with Jackie Robinson leading the way. He had a .356 batting average and .453 on-base percentage on the morning of July 21. Brooklyn hosted the St. Louis Cardinals that afternoon at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers had moved into first place on May […]

The third time was supposed to be the charm for manager Hughie Jennings and the Detroit Tigers. The skipper had led the Detroiters to the World Series in each of his three seasons at the helm, but unfortunately had dropped the first two against the Chicago Cubs. The 1909 Series pitted two of the best […]

On July 14, 1966, two days after the All-Star Game, the San Francisco Giants started a six-game road trip in Philadelphia. The Giants were in first place in the National League and had been for most of the season, but they had been inconsistent since a 12-game winning streak in May. When they arrived in […]

In 1895, Sammy Samuels became the fifth Jewish player to appear in major league baseball and one of just six in the 19th century. Samuels’ brief stint with the St. Louis Brown Stockings was notable for his struggles at the plate and at third base. In the decades that followed, his poor play would be […]

Harry O’Neill played in just one major-league baseball game, had no times at bat, and no putouts or assists. Still, he won a measure of immortality as one of only two major leaguers who lost their lives during World War II. He was killed in action on March 6, 1945, during the battle for the […]

With his outstanding assortment of curveballs, John Burke pitched his way out of the treacherous coal mines of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, into the major leagues. Though he only appeared in four games, Burke spurned at least that many offers to focus on his studies financed with his pitching prowess. While he was still in his […]

Right-hander Chuck Rainey was a first-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox, the 19th pick overall in the January 1974 draft. A little more than five years later, he broke into the big leagues with Boston, pitching for the Red Sox, Cubs, and Oakland Athletics in a major-league career that lasted six seasons. Red […]

Was it nature or nurture? Plenty of both figured in the life of Milton Joseph Bolling III, a former Red Sox shortstop who spent 43 years with the organization. He was born on August 9, 1930, in Mississippi City, Mississippi, while his parents were on vacation; but he grew up in a baseball town – […]

Dee Moore’s major-league career consisted of less than 100 games with three teams, spread over four seasons spanning 11 years. A career .232 hitter, he was characterized not by his ability but by his versatility. During his 98 major-league games, Moore pinch-hit, played left field, first base, and third base, and pitched and caught. Other […]

Four swings made Dusty Rhodes famous. The pinch-hitting hero of the 1954 World Series, when the underdog New York Giants swept the Cleveland Indians, Rhodes delivered key hits in three of the four victories. And he never had to pay for another drink in New York. “You know what Rhodes was?” his manager, Leo Durocher, […]

Right after the Shibe Park public address system announced, “Now batting for the Philadelphia Phillies, number 14, Del Ennis, left field,” either Gene Kelly or later Byrum Saam — both of whom did radio play-by-play for the Phillies — would say, “It’s Ding Dong Del” or “Here comes Ennis the Menace.” The radio listener could […]

Frank Cashen was one of the most successful front-office executives of his time, taking part in the winning of five pennants and three World Series, and one of the more educated and erudite.  “Frank is very bright man, a man for all seasons,” remembered a former New York Mets vice president. “You hear about people […]

Every team goes through it in every season. Untimely injuries test an athlete’s mettle as well as a club’s depth of personnel. Pitchers are hampered by a torn rotator cuff and sore shoulders, as well as the dreaded elbow maladies that may result in Tommy John surgery. Of course, position players are not immune to […]

As of the end of the 2020 season, 789 players born in the Dominican Republic had played major-league baseball. Of the 363 who were primarily nonpitchers, 57 made All-Star teams and 35 appeared in a World Series for the eventual champions, but only 12 completed their careers with exactly one hit.1 Before Orioles rookie Carlos […]

A baseball journeyman who never found a permanent team or position, whose name few fans even knew how to pronounce, Felix “Phil” Chouinard performed for 18 seasons in big cities and small towns, mostly in the Midwest. He earned most praise, however, as player-manager of a United States Navy team during World War I. Felix […]

If one had to summarize Bill Madlock’s career in song, the best two numbers to choose would be Noël Coward’s “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” and Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing if You Ain’t Got That Swing.” The former because “Mad Dog” was his nickname, the latter because it took only one cut for […]

The Boston Red Sox have fielded four Bakers over the course of their history: Al, Floyd, Jack, and Tracy. Tracy Baker appeared in one game in 1911. Floyd Baker got into 102 games in 1953 and 1954. Jack appeared in 14 games, an even dozen in 1976 and two in 1977. Right-handed pitcher Al Baker […]

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2022 as part of SABR’s Baseball and the Supreme Court Project. 1914 Cracker Jack cards (L-R): Joe Tinker (3), Eddie Plank (6), Mordecai Brown (32), Rube Marquard (43).   In 1914 and for some time before, companies (mainly tobacco and confectionary producers) used trading cards as promotional […]

Boston Red Sox analyst and former major-league pitcher Lenny DiNardo speaks to the Southern New England SABR Chapter on November 27, 2021.   The Lajoie-Start Southern New England chapter’s first in-person meeting in two years drew a crowd of 40 members and guests to St. Philip’s Parish Center in Greenville, Rhode Island, on Saturday, November […]