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Like inbound and outbound trains, they were two pitchers headed in opposite directions. One was making his 471st start, the other, only his fourth. One was winding down a magnificent career that would eventually lead him to Cooperstown. The other was the reigning Minor League Player of the Year, so honored by The Sporting News […]

“I really wasn’t scared,” a grinning Chris Pittaro quipped. “That’s a lie. I was scared. Nervous. Everything.”1 And who could blame him? The 23-year-old had just made his major-league debut as the third baseman for the defending World Series champion Detroit Tigers on Opening Day 1985. Despite a fine 1984 campaign, when he batted .284 […]

Granted, it was only the first week of the 1951 season, but the Washington Senators, perennial denizens of the American League second division, were perched atop the standings as they hosted the defending world champion New York Yankees on Saturday, April 21. The Senators were 4-0 with a pair of road wins at Philadelphia to […]

It was evident to at least one person that Dennis Eckersley was destined to be a top pitcher in the big leagues. But the man who held this opinion, Frank Robinson, had to do some prodding to convince others. Cleveland’s rookie manager in 1975, a veteran of 19 seasons in the majors and as accomplished […]

In late February 1985, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Pete Peterson signed veteran right-handed pitcher Rick Reuschel to a one-year deal with the Hawaii Islanders, Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. The contract provided Reuschel an opportunity to compete for a spot with the Pirates in spring training. In June 1982 he had been […]

Manager Fred Hutchinson of the St. Louis Cardinals had useful infield options as he set his team to open the 1958 season. Steady fourth-year man Don Blasingame was solid at second and sophomore Eddie Kasko and 23-year-old Dick Schofield figured in the mix for shortstop and third base with veteran Al Dark; Ken Boyer, in […]

As a September call-up in 1970, right-handed pitcher John Harold “Hal” Haydel joined the American League’s West Division’s first-place team, the Minnesota Twins. On September 7, the day after the 26-year-old Louisiana native reached the big leagues after nine minor-league seasons with five organizations,1 the Twins hosted the Milwaukee Brewers for a Labor Day doubleheader […]

The Chicago Cubs overcame two ejections and the first-place New York Mets in the opener of a five-game series at Wrigley Field on August 4, 1986. Dennis Eckersley earned his second win over the Mets in six days and Ron Cey drove in two key runs, leading the Cubs to a 4-2 victory. After surging […]

The minor league American Association was formed in 1902, mainly from teams in the Western League, predecessor of the American League.1 The Minneapolis Millers and St. Paul Saints (often referred to as the “Apostles” in the early twentieth century) were charter members of the league, which eventually attained Triple-A status. The Millers and Saints had […]

When Jerry Koosman took the mound at Metropolitan Stadium for the final game of 1979, a sense of déjà vu must have been felt. Three years before, he made good on his chance to achieve a milestone every starting pitcher aims for when the schedule begins: 20 wins. He’d finish that 1976 season with 21, […]

Monday, September 6, 1993, was Labor Day in Canada and the United States. The Expos were at home, and for the first time since Opening Day more than 40,000 patrons (40,066) had spun through Montreal’s Olympic Stadium turnstiles anxious to take in the game. It was the last month of the season and the red-hot […]

The Pittsburgh Pirates were leading the National League East Division in June 1975 when they promoted 21-year-old John Candelaria to patch up their injury-eroded rotation. In Candelaria’s third big-league start, against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, the Brooklyn native dazzled his hometown and outdueled superstar Tom Seaver by taking a no-hitter into the […]

“I think this might go down as one of the great games in the annals of World Series history,” proclaimed Philadelphia Phillies manager Jim Fregosi after his team fell to the Toronto Blue Jays in a wild, high-scoring affair.1 Declaring a game as one of the all-time greatest is not something you’d expect from the […]

He was as natural a ballplayer as you would ever want to see. His swing was as beautiful as a Michelangelo sculpture and his throws from right field were so powerful and accurate that a cartoonist for the Montreal Gazette drew a caricature of Ellis Valentine that had a cannon where his right arm should […]

In a 1968 interview, former pitcher Bob Logan said this of his friend and one-time teammate, Frank Sigafoos: “He was a swell guy, one of the best, quiet and unassuming . . . he never bragged about himself and he had great talent.”1 Indeed, Sigafoos had a standout career as a skilled infielder at the […]

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 […]

In April 1954, as Philadelphia Athletics third baseman Jim Finigan was launching his major-league career, The Sporting News contributor Art Morrow characterized him “as a fellow who could not miss major league stardom.”1 Earle Mack, a son of future Hall of Fame skipper Connie Mack, echoed the sentiment five months later: “[Finigan] played good, steady […]

The Philadelphia Phillies are the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in North American sports, with a heritage that dates back to 1883. In their history, the Phillies have played nearly 20,000 games and approximately 180,000 innings. This is the story of a man who participated in only one of those innings. The big-league career of […]

It’s perhaps difficult to blame Jim Steiner for “jumping” to the Mexican League for the 1946 season. Once there, unlike several other American ballplayers who made the move, Steiner stayed for a few seasons. Steiner began his pro career as a teenager and put in 11 seasons in minor-league ball (four times batting over .300) […]

Catcher Pete Daley played in seven major-league seasons, including five with the Red Sox backing up Sammy White. In 233 games behind the bat for Boston, his defensive skills earned him a fielding percentage of .996; in 1,005 total chances, he was charged with only four errors. Despite irregular playing time with Boston the 6-foot, […]

World War II veteran Dick Kryhoski was a lefty-hitting first baseman for seven years in the majors. The son of Polish immigrants played for five teams, including the final St. Louis Browns club and the first edition of the modern Baltimore Orioles. Richard David Kryhoski was born on March 24, 1925, in Leonia, New Jersey. […]

The dreaded trip to the woodshed altered many a young life; however, in the case of a young Washington, D.C., native, the effort was futile. Luzerne Atwell Blue was born on March 5, 1897, in the District of Columbia. Lu always claimed he was the youngest of seven sons; however, a look at the 1900 […]

Approximately 200 diehard fans returned to a cold and cloudy Ebbets Field on February 23, 1960. Among those present were former players Ralph Branca, Roy Campanella, Carl Erskine, and Tommy Holmes, reminiscing about the glory days in the iconic ballpark — opened in 1913 and vacated following the close of the 1957 season. Attendees sadly […]

Willy Miranda epitomized the “good field, no hit” shortstop. He was a lot more than good in the field, though—Tom Lasorda, to name just one, thought the flashy little Cuban was the best he ever saw at short.1 Wielding the same battered, patched, and secretly doctored glove for nearly his entire pro career, Miranda was […]