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It might be difficult to imagine in the modern era, with big-money cable TV contracts and team-owned TV stations – but imagine entering the season not knowing where you would be able to watch your favorite team play. In 1972 Boston Red Sox fans found themselves in such a position. The Red Sox had a […]

It had been 41 years since the Cleveland Indians were in the postseason. Of course, back in 1954, there was just the World Series. There was no Division Series or Championship Series, just two eight-team leagues, with the respective winners facing off in the fall classic. Expansion over the years, from those eight clubs to […]

The Yankees were expecting a huge crowd at the Polo Grounds on May 11, 1919, for the first American League game to be played on a Sunday in New York. After all, the Giants had played to a full house in the same ballpark the week before for the first Sunday game for either league […]

“Bob Trice has richly earned this reward,” proclaimed Ottawa Athletics manager Frank Skaff, in response to Trice’s September 1953 call-up by Philadelphia’s American League club.1 There was no doubt that Trice’s promotion was warranted. The 27-year-old right-hander had successfully made the jump from the Class C (Québec) Provincial League to the International League that season, […]

The largest crowd to ever watch a baseball game was 115,300 at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday, March 29, 2008, for an exhibition between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the reigning World Series champion Boston Red Sox.1 It outdrew the crowd of “about 114,000”2 who had seen a game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground […]

Less than two years after the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him in the first round of the June 2006 amateur draft, Clayton Kershaw made an impressive major-league debut. He pitched six innings, struck out seven, and held the St. Louis Cardinals to two runs as the Dodgers won 4-3 in 10 innings on May 25, […]

The New York Mets were 12-10 in 2002 as they began a weekend series at home against the Milwaukee Brewers in late April. The Mets had missed the postseason in 2001, finishing third in the National League East Division with an 82-80 record. New York had made some changes to its roster in the offseason. […]

Eric Davis is described in his SABR biography as having “all the tools, and when his body was right, he was one heck of a ballplayer.”1 Unfortunately, he dealt with injuries for a good part of his amazing career, limiting his playing time. In 17 years in the major leagues, Davis never played more than […]

On August 2, 1997, Ryne Sandberg announced his second retirement from the Chicago Cubs, a season after the star second baseman had returned from his earlier retirement. “Everyone has their time,” Sandberg said. “My time has come.”1 He played his final game on September 28, the last day of the 1997 season, at St. Louis’s […]

“Oh, no, not Larry Jaster.” Many Dodgers players probably mumbled that and more when they found out that the 23-year-old left-hander for the St. Louis Cardinals would be starting against Los Angeles on April 24, 1967. Jaster faced the Dodgers five times in 1966 and racked up five shutouts. He had already seen them once […]

The 1972 AL East race was beginning to take shape when the Detroit Tigers visited Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium in late June for a three-game series with the Orioles. Through 56 games, Detroit was in front of the AL East with a one-game lead over the second-place Baltimore. The season had got off to a later-than-usual […]

The New York Yankees were hurting. The 1961 AL Fireman of the Year, Luis Arroyo, had not pitched since the end of April and was on the disabled list with a sore elbow.1 Mickey Mantle had torn a muscle in his right thigh on May 18 while running out a grounder for the final out […]

The largest crowd to witness a baseball game in Canada so far, 59,260 boisterous fans, jammed Montreal’s Olympic Stadium for a doubleheader between the Expos and Pittsburgh Pirates on July 27, 1979.1 The fans had plenty of reasons to be enthusiastic that evening. Not only were the Expos involved in the first real pennant race […]

The Boston Red Sox started 1946 by winning their first five games, then slumped by losing three out of four. Their third loss in that brief downturn – a 12-5 decision to the New York Yankees on April 24 – dropped them a game behind the first-place Yankees in the American League standings. It was […]

“ ‘Now they want a Bill Veeck Night! It’s a good idea, but here’s another suggestion. Let’s have a ‘Joe Earley Night.’ “I pay my rent and my landlord spends it on things that keep business stimulated. I keep the gas station attendant in business by buying gas regularly. I keep the milkman in clover […]

SABR Larry Dierker Chapter meeting recapSeptember 10, 2018Spaghetti Western restaurant, 7:00 pm There were 18 members present for this month’s Larry Dierker Chapter meeting on a rainy night in Houston. Please take note of the next three months’ meeting dates as they are different: Monday, October 15, 7:00 p.m. at the Spaghetti Western on Shepard […]

A hitting star for more than a decade in the minor leagues, Joe Hicks batted over .380 twice and compiled a career batting average of .313 while playing in the White Sox, Senators, and Mets farm systems. Hicks’s major-league career was brief and a lot less successful (a .221 career average in 416 official at-bats), but […]

Baseball suffered during the depression years of the 1930s and was further affected by the player shortage during World War II. The war ended and veterans returned to a free country with a robust economy. Peace and prosperity meant it was time to fill rosters and take in a game. Joe Mayer was a young […]

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter leapt into the waiting arms of relief pitcher Bruce Sutter after the last out of the 1982 World Series. Fireworks lit up the sky above Busch Stadium. Fans roared with delight; many jumped onto the field and joined the celebration. Porter, voted the Series MVP, said afterward, “I didn’t […]

Luis Arroyo was a chunky little Puerto Rican southpaw whose out pitch was the screwball. He spent just four full seasons in the majors, plus parts of four others, from 1955 through 1963. He enjoyed modest success overall as a big-leaguer, but he had one outstanding season. That was 1961, when he helped the New […]

Juan Berenguer combined a high-90s fastball and a menacing appearance to become the first Panamanian-born pitcher to win a World Series ring, starting 27 games for the Detroit Tigers in their 1984 championship season. And he did it again three years later, earning the monikers “Señor Smoke” and “El Gasolino” for the 1987 Twins. Berenguer […]

“For quickness in getting rid of the ball and accuracy, I’d have to pick Grote”1 — Lou Brock   If one were to visit Shea Stadium on October 17, 1969, the first thing they may have noticed was the condition of the playing field. The turf was shredded, causing big holes all over. Firecrackers and […]

“He would come in and relieve Satchel, and when they put Johnson out there, we thought we’d have it easy then. And he would come in and throw harder than Satchel did! Just like jumpin’ from the frying pan into the fire.” – Warren Peace, Newark Eagles1   Connie Johnson made his White major-league debut […]

When Willie Montanez walked to the plate from the on-deck circle he would flip his bat end over end like a baton. When he swung and missed he had a high, circular finish reminiscent of a matador twirling his sword at a charging bull. At first base, he would sometimes tap runners on the rear […]