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The Wilson Álvarez no-hitter journey began in the Maracaibo Little Leagues. The boy from Parroquia Santa Lucía became known for constantly achieving seamless performances. As a kid, Álvarez threw 11 no-hitters.1 His 12th provided the foundation for a career in the major leagues.  The Texas Rangers called the 19-year-old Álvarez up in 1989 for an […]

“He can pitch,” said Montreal Expos skipper Gene Mauch about rookie right-hander Steve Rogers, who tossed a brilliant one-hit shutout over the Philadelphia Phillies to earn his first big-league win in his second start. “Rarely does a man with such experience have the confidence in his control of so many pitches.”1 Described by Pat Jordan […]

After decades of waiting, Denver would finally have a major-league Opening Day of its own. The expansion Colorado Rockies, along with the Florida Marlins, joined the National League for the 1993 season. Expectations for on-field success were appropriately tempered, but the excitement for big-league baseball was palpable. Five thousand spectators showed up at Mile High […]

America’s Memorial Day festivities in 1948 included parades honoring fallen veterans and doubleheaders graced by the heroics of World War II comrades-in-arms. At Shibe Park in Philadelphia, former Navy and Marine Corps pilot Ted Williams drove in three runs in a win over the hometown A’s. Cincinnati Reds portsider Ken Raffensberger, inducted into the Navy […]

Some days home-run power makes the difference in a baseball game. Other days speed wins games. Every so often, a team lucks into both at once, and the outcome is (usually) a dominant win. The Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League benefited from bursts of both power and speed on July 1, 1982. […]

In the top of the eighth inning of a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City1 on April 22, 1957, with his team behind by two runs and runners at second and third with one out, Phillies manager Mayo Smith sent out John Irvin Kennedy to run for […]

Jim Hutto may be best remembered among baseball trivia buffs for a game in which his biggest accomplishment was simply not getting hurt. On May 2, 1970, when the Phillies lost catchers Tim McCarver to a broken hand and Mike Ryan to a broken finger in the same half-inning, rookie utilityman Hutto was called on […]

The Minnesota Twins were scheduled to open their 1962 home season on Friday, April 13. The date proved unlucky for a ballgame as six inches of snow blanketed the Twin Cities, forcing a postponement to the next day. It took a flamethrower, sprinklers, and a helicopter hovering over the outfield to melt the snow and […]

The 2006 version of the Los Angeles Dodgers was one of the franchise’s greatest offensive teams. The Dodgers had the second most runs scored by a Los Angeles team, 820 (22 behind the 1962 squad, which played three more games). They weren’t known for hitting home runs, with only 153 for the season, second to […]

Chasing their fifth consecutive American League pennant and 14th in 16 years, the New York Yankees had experienced a more difficult season than expected as they hosted the Kansas City Athletics on September 19, 1964. Beginning play that day, the Yankees were embroiled in a tight three-way battle for first place. New York was in […]

While playing for the Oakland A’s in 1976, Reggie Jackson once commented that if he played in New York, they would name a candy bar after him.1 Jackson must have been prescient because that is exactly what happened, and that confectionery treat would make a big contribution to the dramatic lore of Yankee Stadium. A […]

As July 1973 drew to a close, the Milwaukee Brewers were struggling to stay alive in the American League East. An incredibly hot stretch that began on June 1 (in which they went 15-1, mostly on the road) had propelled them into first place for about a week in the middle of June. But their […]

When healthy, Eric Davis possessed a rare combination of power and speed, but he could never stay completely healthy in his career. Injuries and inconsistent performance limited Davis to 113 games in his first two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. But in the next five seasons, 1986 to 1990, Davis hammered 148 homers and swiped […]

In 1956 the Dodgers won their fourth pennant in five seasons and faced yet again their archenemies, the New York Yankees. In nine World Series at Ebbets Field, the Dodgers went 14-14. (Photo: SABR-Rucker Archive)   For the sixth time in 10 years, October baseball was the exclusive preserve of the same two boroughs of […]

Would “The Kid” still have it? Opening Day of the 1946 season saw Ted Williams come back after three years in military service during the Second World War. He’d set a rookie record in 1939 that still stood in 2020, with 145 RBIs. In 1941, he hit .406 — the last batter in major-league baseball […]

Should the National League permanently adopt the designated hitter, Puerto Rican infielder Mario Ramirez’s big league career from 1980 through 1985 will serve as a time capsule of forgotten strategy. A lifetime .192 hitter in just 184 games, known primarily for his glove, he was nevertheless used as a pinch hitter on 39 occasions and […]

As one of six rookies on the Philadelphia Phillies’ 1964 Opening Day roster, John Herrnstein experienced his finest season in a major-league career that would end two years later. The left-handed native of Chillicothe, Ohio, seemed to be a favorite of Phillies manager Gene Mauch, who moved him about his baseball chessboard frequently during the […]

Nearly a quarter-century before Thurman Munson perished in a midseason plane crash in 1979, another active major league catcher suffered a similar fate. While Munson was a former MVP with two World Series rings at the time of his tragic demise, Orioles backstop Tom Gastall was a second-year bonus baby whose career was just getting […]

Tommie Agee was one of the key components to the 1969 Miracle Mets, solidifying the defense and serving as the club’s chief power source, albeit from the leadoff spot. His on-field heroics during the ’69 season—including socking the only home run to ever reach Shea Stadium’s upper deck—helped propel the Mets to their first postseason […]

John Schuerholz spent 26 seasons as a big-league GM, winning 16 division titles, six pennants, and two World Series. In Kansas City he oversaw that franchise’s first World Series. After moving to Atlanta, he took over a team that had lost more than 90 games four consecutive years and won the next 14 division titles […]

Statistics can tell you a lot about a baseball player. In the case of George Kelly, they don’t say nearly enough. The first baseman for the New York Giants when they dominated the National League in the early 1920s, he was a clutch hitter par excellence and an astonishing defensive player. A quick-wristed slasher who […]

A Gold Glove shortstop but perennial weak hitter, Edwin Albert Brinkman played 15 seasons in the majors, the first 10 of them with the expansion Washington Senators. Traded to Detroit in October 1970 in the infamous Denny McLain deal, he led the Tigers to a division title and was voted Tiger of the Year in […]

Left-handed pitcher Spike Merena had a rather brief baseball career – four games in the big leagues and 77 games in all. His major-league career began with the Boston Red Sox on September 16, 1934, and ended exactly two weeks later, on the last day of the month. John Joseph Merena had grown up in […]

What came to be known as the Yankees Dynasty began under the twenty-four-year stewardship of Jacob Ruppert. Known as “Colonel” because of his prior service in the National Guard, Ruppert owned and operated a profitable brewery, served four terms in the United States Congress, and in 1915 purchased half of the New York Yankees. His […]