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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 […]

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 […]

In 2019 a record 42,823 batters struck out1 — more than 17 per game. Dozens of pitchers today average a strikeout or more every inning. Yet the single-game record of 21 strikeouts by a pitcher, set in 1962, still stands. Changes in the game — strict pitch counts and the rarity of starters going even […]

“El Presidente! El Perfecto!” That was broadcaster Dave Van Horne’s call on July 28, 1991, at Dodger Stadium, after Dennis Martínez completed the only perfect game in Montreal Expos history. Other Montreal pitchers had thrown no-hitters – Bill Stoneman in 1969 and 1972, and Charlie Lea in 1981. Also, just two days before Martínez’s gem, […]

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. […]

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 […]

Henry Aaron combined power and speed as one of the game’s great all-around players. (SABR-Rucker Archive)   The Milwaukee Braves suffered their worst defeat of the 1963 season, 11-1, on Friday night, July 26, at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds, who won their sixth of eight contests vs. Milwaukee. On Saturday afternoon, July 27, […]

A “sticky wicket” of summer heat1 shrouded Crosley Field as the third-place Cincinnati Reds and the league-leading Philadelphia Phillies met on Saturday, July 18, 1964. The squads were pairing up for the 10th time this season in the second game of a five-game series. So far, the Phillies were up on the Reds six games […]

When baseball’s stars convened in Pittsburgh for the 1994 All-Star Game, emerging pennant races and milestone quests shared headlines with labor-management discord. A strike shuttered the majors a month later, relegating the unfinished campaign to an ignominious place in the game’s history, but the National League’s 8-7 win over the American League in 10 innings […]

Is it better to start a World Series with a rested team or with one riding the wave of momentum? The defending World Series champion New York Yankees clinched the 1962 American League pennant on September 25, five days before the end of the season.1 In the National League, the San Francisco Giants trailed the […]

The inside-the-park home run is not only a gift to the swift. The hefty Prince Fielder hit two of them.1 Slow-footed catcher Gus Triandos, bulky first baseman Dick Stuart, and 40-year-old Bill Buckner did it too.2 The Toronto Blue Jays’ first inside-the-park home run came off the bat of Doug Rader, a 33-year-old veteran known […]

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 […]

Buddy Hassett was a New York boy who played for two of his hometown teams and almost made the trifecta. The first baseman had two distinctions: his ability to put the bat on the ball and his tenor voice. “The Bronx Thrush” would sing “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” at the drop of a leprechaun. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The young prospect was having a hard time adjusting to the backstop position in the major leagues. Offensively, he was a threat from the beginning of his career.   He was a classic bad-ball hitter who could get wood on the ball no matter where the pitch was: high, low, outside.   He hit them […]

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 […]

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 […]

One of the most popular players ever to play for the Boston Red Sox, Rico Petrocelli will always be remembered for his familiar “Fenway Stroke” that sent many an opposing hurler’s offerings into the net atop the left field wall. Although he was not physically imposing at 6-feet and 175 pounds, he hit 210 home […]

In a pro career that lasted from the winter of 1958-59 through summer 1973, righty-hitting corner infielder Rick Joseph played parts of five major league seasons with the Kansas City Athletics (1964) and Philadelphia Phillies (1967-1970). The Dominican Republic native was the Triple-A Pacific Coast League’s 1967 Most Valuable Player. Ricardo Emelindo Joseph Harrigan was […]

In 1964 the Philadelphia Phillies found themselves mired in the throes of one of the greatest collapses known to our national pastime. Many fans blamed manager Gene Mauch for over-using starting pitchers Jim Bunning and Chris Short down the stretch. Others blamed the loss of Frank Thomas to injury. In addition, there were rumors of […]