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A full-page ad in the August 6, 1951, issue of the Corning (New York) Evening Leader promoted an event “Important to All Local Baseball Enthusiasts.”1 Hall of Famer Connie Mack, legendary president of the Philadelphia A’s and recently retired after 50 seasons as their manager,2 was coming to the small city in New York’s Southern […]

Most fans dream of seeing a no-hitter in person, but decades can pass without an opportunity close to home. For instance, Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field hosted National League baseball from 1909 to 1970 – more than 4,700 games – without a no-no.1 Fans at Boston’s hitter-friendly Fenway Park could have attended Red Sox games from September […]

The 1961 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees moved to Cincinnati’s Crosley Field for a pivotal third game with the Series tied at a game apiece. The Reds, under temperamental manager Fred Hutchinson, had won the National League pennant by four games over the Los Angeles Dodgers.1 They were in […]

As the first Red Sox season after World War II got underway, the team got off to a very strong start, winning its first five games before dropping the second game of a doubleheader with the Philadelphia Athletics on Sunday, April 21.1 The Washington Senators came to town, managed by Ossie Bluege, and played a […]

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner became the champion of player free agency and trade transactions, routinely looking past his top prospects to build out his roster. His 1984 team was built around free-agent acquisitions Dave Winfield, Don Baylor, Steve Kemp, and Phil Niekro, as well as Ken Griffey, Omar Moreno, Toby Harrah, and Butch […]

“It was a dark and stormy” day. It was the kind of day that might have inspired Edward Bulwer-Lytton to open his 1830 novel, Paul Clifford, with the now cliché “It was a dark and stormy night.”1 It was the kind of day the fictional Snoopy, in myriad Peanuts cartoons, would start with those same […]

St. Louis Cardinals fans saw one of their favorite sons reach a milestone on June 4, 1982. Right-handed pitcher Bob Forsch, in his ninth season in St. Louis, won the 100th game of his major-league career as the high-flying Cardinals defeated the defending World Series champion – but now flailing – Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2, […]

The fans at Griffith Stadium were in for a treat in the first game of the September 9, 1916, doubleheader between the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Senators. The game featured a dream pitching matchup between the veteran Walter Johnson and 21-year-old Red Sox phenom Babe Ruth. It was the fifth time the two […]

After a tense pitchers’ duel that saw Red Ruffing of the Yankees defeat Cincinnati and Paul Derringer 2-1 in Game One of the 1939 World Series, the Reds turned to the second of their two aces, Bucky Walters, to try to even the Series against veteran Marcellus “Monte” Pearson. Reds manager Bill McKechnie professed to […]

The outlook was not good for the Texas Rangers when they squared off against the Baltimore Orioles in the finale of an early-season three-game series at Arlington Stadium. Not only was Texas winless in four home games to start the season, the Rangers had yet to even have a lead while allowing first-inning runs in […]

With Babe Ruth’s 50th home run of the year in the record books, newspaper accounts of the game celebrated the accomplishment in a manner that suggested it might be a once-in-a-lifetime event. The Chicago Tribune wrote, “Such batting as Babe Ruth has done this season never before has been accomplished. Perhaps it never will be […]

Pete Rose’s return to the Cincinnati Reds on August 17, 1984, marked a high point in a desperately low season for the team. At 51-70, the Reds had little left to play for and only the San Francisco Giants gave the Reds a cushion from the dampness of the NL West basement. Rose, Cincinnati-born and […]

The Chicago White Sox exploded, according to sportswriter Robert Markus of the Chicago Tribune, “like so many 4th of July skyrockets” on Wednesday, July 7th, knocking off the Detroit Tigers, 7-0.1 This game signaled the emergence of a new offensive threat, 23-year-old Harold Baines. The third-year player walloped three consecutive home runs, one of which […]

On June 10, 1991, Major League Baseball awarded one of the two National League expansion franchises, set to begin play at the start of the 1993 season, to South Florida businessman H. Wayne Huizenga. Part-owner of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, Huizenga paid the $95 million expansion fee but looked at ownership of the Florida Marlins […]

The St. Louis Cardinals’ fan base extends over a lengthy section of middle America, partly due to the previous lack of teams out west and partly due to the powerful signal of their radio flagship station, KMOX 1120. On a clear night, when conditions are right, the voice of Cardinals announcers (historically Jack Buck and […]

Steve Ontiveros played in 10 major-league seasons (1985-1990, 1993-1995, 2000). A long and lithe right-handed pitcher, Ontiveros played for the Oakland Athletics (1985-1988, 1994-1995), Philadelphia Phillies (1989-1990), Seattle Mariners (1993), and Boston Red Sox (2000). A model of perseverance, the right-handed-hitting Ontiveros twice overcame injuries and struggles in the minors to return to the major […]

They called him “The Blazer.” As a minor leaguer he drew comparisons to Jackie Robinson. Don Blasingame wasn’t as talented as Robinson, but he was good enough to play 12 years in the major leagues, with appearances in an All-Star Game and a World Series. He married a Miss America finalist, who was the daughter […]

When Bowie Kuhn was named the fifth Commissioner of Baseball in early 1969, he was touted by owners as the man needed to modernize and strengthen the game of baseball, which was declining in popularity as pro football’s increased. It was a time, Daniel Okrent noted, when professional baseball was fighting for survival.1 Kuhn, a […]

Pitching in a pennant race must have seemed tame to Skinny Brown; when he was 19 years old, he jumped out of a shot-up bomber into the cold waters of the English Channel. Brown took the game seriously, but not himself. He said, “It takes a lot of guts to walk out there with the […]

Drafted out of high school, Don Aase began his professional baseball career with what might have seemed like something of a nightmare season for a pitcher — he was 0-10. When he made it to the major leagues five years later, he was hailed as almost the Second Coming for his debut year with the […]

In August 1953, as St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Ray Jablonski was putting the final touches on a brilliant rookie campaign, Gus Mancuso, the club’s broadcaster and a former longtime National League catcher, said, “The thing about Jabbo is that he’s got terrific potential as a hitter. Give him a year or so and he […]

At first blush, it might appear that a kid growing up in the western Massachusetts area known as the Pioneer Valley wouldn’t be playing baseball in a hotbed of the national pastime. But for those who excel at an early age and persist, there are rewards to be reaped, and this was exactly the case […]

In the long history of the Rookie of the Year Award, Butch Metzger gained the dubious distinction as the recipient with the fewest innings played over a major-league career. This was a bizarre idea to teammates and coaches alike, who once projected a far more productive path for the righthander. In 1976, Metzger tied Hooks […]

A shortstop by trade, Bob Bailor could also play the outfield quite well. In fact, he played every position but first base and catcher during his 11 big-league seasons. Bob Murphy, the late New York Mets radio announcer, said, “He’s not a heavy hitter, but he is a tough competitor.” Like Rex Hudler and Joe […]