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Daniel Staub? Who the hell is Daniel Staub? Nobody has ever heard of a ballplayer named Daniel Staub. But everyone has heard of Rusty Staub, and for the French and English fans of a brand-new ball club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he was known — and loved — as Le Grand Orange. Daniel Joseph “Rusty” […]

Labeled “a right-handed Eddie Lopat … [George Susce] was regarded as a junkman, just like the great [New York] Yankee lefthander.”1 The son, brother and uncle of professional baseball players who made their mark collectively over seven decades, Susce dreamed of reaching the big leagues ever since his days as a child selling scorecards and […]

Catchers, like musicians, use both hands for their craft: the gloved one captures the ball while the other acts as a conductor’s baton to guide the action. Johnny Bench, arguably the best player to don the tools of ignorance, stated, “The catcher is in the middle of everything. He sees it best.”1 The statement is […]

“There is something inspiring to discouraged ball players in the career of William Hinchman, of the Pirates. A man who had had his show and apparently failed, it took years of patient plodding before another opportunity presented itself.”1 That’s how author J.C. Kofoed introduced his Baseball Magazine article on Hinchman, who had an all-star-worthy year […]

In the late 1970s Mike Gordon played a dozen games as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs. Gordon epitomized the huge challenge faced by 18-year-old high-school players to advance through the minor leagues to become a major leaguer. While Gordon’s strong work ethic enabled him to overcome the obstacles to briefly play in the major […]

For three years at the turn of the last century Nick Altrock was arguably the best left-handed pitcher in the game. His talent, pitching smarts, and extraordinary fielding ability helped him win 62 games for the Chicago White Sox from 1904 through 1906 and beat Mordecai Brown in Game One of the 1906 World Series. However, […]

A prominent and popular member of the Philadelphia A’s dynasty of the Deadball Era, Rube Oldring patrolled the outfield grass of Columbia Field and Shibe Park for 12 seasons. He combined power, speed, and average for Connie Mack‘s championship teams of the 1910s, although frequent injuries limited his playing time. When healthy, Rube was described […]

Though he claimed never to have played the game of baseball, nor to have watched a game before the age of 30, Will Harridge’s 59 years of service to the American League earned him a plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He served as league president for 27 years, as long as Ban Johnson, […]

To the layman, the life of a professional baseball player is nothing but glitz and glamour. Large salaries, first-class travel and accommodations, and the adoration of millions are considered the norm for athletes who play at the highest levels. While that may be true for a Mike Trout or a Mickey Mantle, it is definitely […]

Eddie Waitkus was a slick-fielding first baseman who in an 11-year big-league career for three teams batted a solid .285 and struck out only 204 times in 4,681 plate appearances. Although a fine ballplayer, he would today likely be little remembered but for what happened to him on June 14, 1949, in a room at […]

In simple terms, Barry Zito’s baseball story follows an arc much like a curveball — snapping out of his left hand and rising quickly to his profession’s highest achievement, then breaking and tumbling into what he himself has described as “a letdown.”1 Zito spent only a year in the minor leagues and won the American […]

Ivan de Jesus Sr. is often remembered as being involved in the worst trade in the Philadelphia Phillies history, but the stigma associated with that trade didn’t actually define his playing career. He is otherwise known for being a durable, serviceable shortstop for the Chicago Cubs and the Phillies and for making two World Series […]

This infielder was the original “Sugar Bear” — several years ahead of Floyd Rayford, who bore the same nickname in the 1980s. With their pleasant, sleepy-eyed expressions, both men resembled the easygoing cartoon character in the ads for Post Super Sugar Crisp cereal. Yet contrary to popular belief, that is not how Blanks got his […]

Steve Crawford was a pitcher who spent most of his 10 major-league seasons fighting for a job on a major-league roster, the majority of them with the Boston Red Sox. He was a once-promising prospect, but became almost a forgotten man by 1986. He would have been left off the Red Sox’ postseason roster that […]

Phillies manager Eddie Sawyer selected Bob Miller to start the fourth game of the 1950 World Series. Miller was 11-6 during the season, a solid performance, but as Ken Heintzelman’s 3-9 record obscured a strong finish in September, Miller’s was deceiving as well. He was pitching at less than full capacity. He had pitched well […]

Jim Kaat knew how to win ballgames. In 1971 Kaat would win at least 10 games for the 10th straight year. From 1964 to 1970, he won 35 more games than he lost. The Twins had taken the first two American League West titles in 1969 and 1970 but struggled in 1971, falling out of […]

After a season spent at or near the top of the league and the ultimate prize within sight, the exhausted Athletics arrived in St. Louis on September 20 with a 2-½ game lead over the Browns. As fans back in Philadelphia anxiously awaited news and planned a victory parade, the Athletics and Browns split the […]

August 18, 1995, was a warm day in Denver. Thunderstorms popped up before game time and a fine mist lingered until after the game started. It was very unusual during the early years of the Colorado Rockies for them to start a game when precipitation was falling. However, this time it was decided to start […]

Game Six of the 1985 World Series was played in Kansas City under a full moon, a fact that may have led people of a superstitious nature to believe it was an explanation for the events of the ninth inning. However, if a full moon were an adequate explanation, then the Royals would have to […]

The 1994 major-league season brought about two significant changes with regard to the makeup of each league’s standings. Since 1969, the National and American Leagues had used a two-division format, one East and one West, to accommodate the burgeoning expansion in the big leagues. The NL and the AL had both grown by four teams […]

Before the game, the players, coaches, and grounds crew observed a moment of silence in memory of the lives lost 19 years earlier to the day on September 11, 2001. Due to the pandemic, there were no live fans, only the “flat fans”1 the Tampa Bay Rays had installed throughout the stands. The Rays (28-16) […]

The Cincinnati Reds (3-5) were visiting the Detroit Tigers (5-4) for a three-game series. Yes, this was interleague play, but not the usual interleague schedule. With the 2020 COVID-19 travel protocols in place, the schedules were designed to create matchups that would minimize travel. AL Central teams like the Tigers played NL Central teams like […]

When Pat Gosney shipped off for US Army duty in the summer of 1952, he left with a good story to tell his buddies: Just before entering military service, he’d pitched a three-hit shutout against a major-league team. The story came with a few caveats, which Gosney no doubt admitted by and by. The shutout […]

Nineteen members and guests of the Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter attended the March 25, 2014, monthly roundtable, held at its usual location, The Original Crusoe’s Restaurant in South St. Louis. Chapter president Brian Flaspohler called the meeting to order. Chapter secretary Jim Leefers gave a brief report on updating the e-mail list by use of the […]