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Fenway Park in Boston was supposed to host the 1945 All-Star Game on July 10, but it was canceled on February 21 after the Office of Defense Transportation asked the American and National Leagues to curtail travel by 25 percent as part of the war effort during World War II.1 As NL President Ford Frick […]

Of the 755 home runs that Henry Aaron hit from 1954 through 1976 with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers, 754 cleared fences in 31 different big-league ballparks. Aaron’s only major-league inside-the-park home run came on May 10, 1967, in the first game of a doubleheader between the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. It […]

A World Series berth was 161 games and an NL playoff away. Coming off a third-place finish in 1972 with an 83-73 record – 13½ games out of first place – the Mets began ’73 with a 3-0 shutout against the Phillies and a declaration of power from a beloved member of the blue-and-orange squad. […]

Retired prematurely at age 25, Salomón Torres reemerged in his 30s as one of baseball’s most durable relief pitchers, including 84 appearances for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2004. On June 12 of that season at Network Associates Coliseum, the Pirates entrusted him with a four-run eighth-inning lead against the Oakland A’s. Torres, however, was ejected […]

Nearing an ignominious record for consecutive losing seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates dealt center fielder Nate McLouth for prospects in June 2009, then called up promising minor leaguer Andrew McCutchen to replace him. McCutchen’s Pittsburgh debut, a day after the controversial trade of All-Star and Gold Glove-winner McLouth, showcased the talents eventually instrumental to leading the […]

Mike Trout became the youngest player in American League history to hit for the cycle and drove in a season-high five runs as host Los Angeles handed Seattle its fifth straight loss. A crowd of 34,095 was on hand at Angel Stadium of Anaheim to see Trout add to his incredible résumé. The Angels started the season […]

It was the culmination of the 1971 baseball season. Game Seven of the World Series pitted the defending world champion Baltimore Orioles vs. the upstart Pittsburgh Pirates. For the Orioles, it was their third consecutive World Series appearance, losing to the New York “Miracle” Mets in 1969 and defeating the Cincinnati Reds in 1970. It […]

“Many base ball critics have been trying to pass [him] out of the picture for the past several seasons,” mused D.C. sportswriter John. M. Keller, but Walter Johnson continued to forestall the effects of age.1 The 37-year-old Big Train went the distance to lead the Washington Senators to a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red […]

Hard-throwing Bill Caudill pitched in the majors from 1979 through 1987. The righty struck out a batter per inning at a time when that was much less common. “Caudill doesn’t have much finesse,” said The Scouting Report annual for 1983, the year after he emerged as a closer with the Seattle Mariners. “He throws a […]

How many big-leaguers since World War II have been born in England? How many have appeared on Topps “Rookie Stars” cards in three separate years? The answers (as of 2020): seven in each category.[1] Keith Lampard, who played 62 games for the Houston Astros in 1969-70, claimed both odd distinctions. Christopher Keith Lampard was born […]

Eddie Mathews, the only man to play for the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta, burst into stardom in 1953, the team’s first season in Milwaukee, when he belted 47 home runs at the age of 21. He hit 370 homers before his 30th birthday, and many believed that if anyone could top Babe Ruth […]

A speedy line-drive-lashing lefty with a strong arm, veteran Wally Moses joined the Red Sox midway through the 1946 season, shored up right field during Boston’s run to the American League pennant, and batted .417 in four World Series games. A well-liked and respected Georgian who spent 41 seasons in the majors, 17 as a […]

Nino Espinosa was a right-handed pitcher with good control whose career ended prematurely because of a shoulder injury. After that, he became a scout in his native Dominican Republic until his tragic death from a heart attack at age 34. Arnulfo Acevedo Espinosa was born on August 15, 1953, in Villa Altagracia, about 30 miles […]

Baseball fans love streaks. And though the number 8 is not as recognizable as 56 or 2,632, it is nonetheless a cherished part of the national pastime’s lore. After bouncing around the minor leagues for 11 seasons, 30-year-old Dale Long was the unlikely center of national media attention in 1956, his second full season with […]

Northeastern Wisconsin’s growth followed on the heels of the Midwest’s economic hub, Chicago. Timber from the extensive white pine forests built the Windy City while the growing metropolis’ needs fueled the economies of small lumber boomtowns peppering the north—towns with names like Mountain, Soperton, Padus, Carter, and Wabeno. In a similar manner, baseball’s development depended […]

In July 1967, shortly after he assumed the helm of the Minnesota Twins, The Sporting News cheered new skipper Cal Ermer’s fortune following his long minor-league apprenticeship: “If baseball were like the movies, with the hero always getting the girl, Ermer wouldn’t have had to wait 20 years for his ship to come in,” the […]

Flamboyance, like flakiness, is in short supply in 21st-century major league baseball. José Lima, the Dominican who pitched for five teams in the majors from 1994 to 2006, was one of the last distinct “characters.” Zany and irrepressible, extreme and exasperating, Lima was a born showman who loved being the center of attention. He was […]

John Henry Johnson — the lefty pitcher, not the Pro Football Hall of Famer or the baseball executive1 — pitched in eight big-league seasons from 1978 to 1987. He enjoyed his greatest success as a 21-year-old rookie. Primarily a starter in his early years, Johnson moved to the bullpen and was effective at times, though […]

There is no great mystery about catching for the New York Yankees in wartime. That was the thought of Mike Garbark in the summer of 1944. His biggest fear was being able to catch two games back to back in a doubleheader during the humid summer heat.1 Nathaniel Michael “Mike” Garbark, II was born on […]

A utility player is one capable of playing several different positions. Often utility players are not great hitters, yet they are valuable in their ability to fill in for injured regulars, give others in the lineup a much-needed rest, serve as late-inning defensive replacements, and occasionally pinch-hit. In short, they provide teams with a greater […]

Hard-throwing left-hander Herb Hippauf’s major-league career was confined to three brief, ineffective relief appearances within a six-game span during the Braves’ 1966 inaugural season in Atlanta. Forced out of baseball the following season by chronic elbow pain, Hippauf parlayed his passion for the game, a keen eye for talent, and an exemplary work ethic into […]

Third baseman Charlie Hayes was a solid journeyman. He played for seven teams over 14 years in the majors from 1988 through 2001. He had a good glove, a strong arm, and some pop in his bat. His best offensive numbers came in 1993 with an expansion club, the Colorado Rockies. Yet the moment for […]

It simply should not have taken six years for Gary Carter to get into the Hall of Fame. He was one of the best catchers of his era, and many observers put him in the top ten in major-league history. He was an outstanding defender with a strong arm who did all the other things […]

His father was a Texas Ranger half a century before the baseball team was formed. Mark Langford was a real Texas Ranger, according to the 1920 census, a “state ranger” who worked the “Tex-Mex border”. Mark Langford’s mother immigrated from Sweden and his father came from Kentucky. Mark married a woman from Mississippi, and he […]