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José Antonio Zardón Sánchez played just 54 games in the majors during a single season, 1945. However, his career also took him to Venezuela and Mexico, in addition to 11 years in the US minor leagues (1944-54) and five seasons of winter ball in his homeland. The outfielder was known most for his speed and […]

With champion teams, history often remembers the stars and forgets the supporting cast. Joe Ostrowski was one of those overlooked contributors. As the New York Yankees won three straight World Series in 1950, 1951, and 1952, the bespectacled lefty control pitcher provided bullpen depth; he was the club’s primary reliever in 1951. Yet within a […]

When Ned Garver won his 20th game on the last day of the 1951 season for the lowly St. Louis Browns in 1951, he became the first pitcher in major league history to win 20 games for a team which lost 100. One of the most durable pitchers of his era, the right-handed Garver led […]

Eleanor Callow was more than just the greatest power hitter in All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) history. On top of being the all-time leader in home runs and triples, Callow was perhaps the league’s best all-around position player. A speedy outfielder with a strong throwing arm, Callow ranks in the Top 10 in career […]

Dick Gyselman made it to the major leagues for 82 games with the Boston Braves in 1933-34, but his greatest achievement, arguably, is a mark he set in the lower circuits–his 2,500 games played at third base is the all-time minor league record. In a professional career that totaled nineteen seasons, the six-foot, two-inch Gyselman […]

Lennie Pearson was one of the mainstays of the Newark Eagles for more than a decade, but it wasn’t until the 1946 Negro World Series that Pearson came out of the shadows. The first baseman batted an astounding .393 in the Series against the Kansas City Monarchs to help the Eagles put their stamp on […]

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 […]

On the night of May 1, 1979, the St. Louis Cardinals were playing the Houston Astros at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Roger Freed, the Cardinals’ much-traveled first baseman-outfielder, had been restless, relegated to pinch-hitting duty in the first month of the season. Like many pinch hitters, he was unable to find his stroke, but […]

IN THEIR FIRST two games since play resumed following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and Major League Baseball’s subsequent week-long suspension of operations, the Mariners held Anaheim to eight hits, 16 strikeouts, and eight walks over 18 innings. For Mariners right-handed pitcher Aaron Sele, starting against the Anaheim Angels in front of 44,768 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

By the time Mike Schmidt retired early in the 1989 season, he was regarded as perhaps the greatest all-around third baseman in baseball history. No major-leaguer hit more homers during the 1980s, but he was not a one-dimensional threat: he curbed his tendency to strike out and stole bases when needed. In the field, he […]

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 […]

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 […]

“I will never forget my brief but memorable big league stay.”1 That’s what Jay Kleven told author George Rose for the 2004 book One-Hit Wonders. Kleven, a catcher, appeared in two games for the New York Mets in June 1976. He spent less than two weeks in The Show that month and was out of […]

As a 30-year-old in 1945, George Alvin “Bingo” Binks was the American League’s top rookie batter. He hit .278 in 145 games. His 32 doubles ranked second in the A.L. His 81 runs batted in, tops on the Senators, were fifth in the league. Yet he is best remembered for a fielding blunder that critics […]

On June 20, 1972, well-traveled baseball clown Max Patkin came to Dunn Field in Elmira, New York, to entertain 927 fans of the Elmira Pioneers of the Double-A Eastern League. The Pioneers, a Cleveland Indians farm team, did their part to entertain the fans by beating the Pittsfield (Massachusetts) Rangers 8-5. The teams were scheduled […]

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 […]

In 1981 the Baseball Hall of Fame’s annual induction ceremony took place, as usual, in August in Cooperstown, New York. But one traditional component of the festivities – the Hall of Fame Game – had a different look and feel that year.1 With major-league players on strike since June 12, the Oakland Athletics and Cincinnati […]

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 […]

Detroit Tigers rookie Lou Whitaker could not have picked a better time to hit his first career home run. The 21-year-old second baseman came to the plate with two out in the bottom of the ninth, a runner on first base, and the Tigers trailing the Seattle Mariners by a run on July 28, 1978. […]

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 […]