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Per Bobby Valentine, on the eve of what was to be the most important game of Bobby Jones’s baseball life, Jones’s wife, Kristi, spoke briefly with the Mets manager. Kristi said to Valentine, “Is Bobby pitching tomorrow?” After Valentine said, “Yes, he is,” Kristi said, “You won’t be sorry. He’ll pitch the game of his […]

The game between the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies was one of the most exciting games of the year at Coors Field. The Braves entered the game with a 76-48 record, 2½ games ahead of the second-place New York Mets in the National League East Division. The Rockies were 62-63, good enough for fourth place, […]

The game on Thursday, May 1, 1958, pitting the Pirates against the née Brooklynites, came in the midst of the Bucs’ first visit to Los Angeles after the Dodgers’ relocation. In the first two games of the five-game series, the Pirates prevailed, and would do so again in the third contest. Indeed, the game itself […]

Philadelphia Phillies manager Eddie Sawyer faced a dilemma. Who would pitch the first game of the World Series? His ace, Robin Roberts, had started three games in five days, including a 10-inning pennant-clinching effort on the last day of the season. He needed rest. Curt Simmons, whose 17 wins in the league were second only […]

“I knew I had a no-hitter after the first inning,” said Larry Dierker with an air of seriousness before breaking into a chuckle. “Walking back to the dugout, I wondered, ‘When was the last time I got through the first inning without giving up a hit?’”1 Dierker had come close to a no-hitter before. As […]

When Dodgers player-manager Leo Durocher had Frenchy Bordagaray pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the fifth, the 5,010 paying fans at Ebbets Field witnessed the Lip’s final game as a player. During the offseason, Durocher signed a player-manager contract under which he not only managed Dem Bums for the 1945 season, but promised to […]

Every player goes through it. The speed slows just a bit, the reflexes do not fire as quickly as they once did, and there is someone waiting to take the player’s job. The impending task of finding a career after their baseball career becomes paramount. It is hard on the fans too, especially if the […]

Cincinnati’s roots in professional baseball date to 1876, and the Queen City has seen a lot of baseball history—including the first major-league game to feature three members of the 500-home-run club. It happened on June 10, 2005, when Ken Griffey Jr. and the Cincinnati Reds hosted Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and the Baltimore Orioles in […]

Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra was in his eighth season with the Boston Red Sox in 2002, with the 1999 and 2000 American League batting titles to his credit, and he was as big a fan favorite as the Red Sox had enjoyed for years. His jersey number 5 was worn on the T-shirts and jerseys of […]

The contrast between the two teams could not have been starker. The mighty Pirates, one of the oldest franchises in baseball, were perched atop the NL East standings, while the last-place Expos were struggling to compete in what was only their second year of existence. A few weeks earlier, Pittsburgh had christened monolithic Three Rivers […]

On an otherwise ordinary Tuesday evening in mid-August of 2016, the Tampa Bay Rays clobbered the Padres. This mattered little with regard to either team’s standing or playoff aspirations. The Rays hardly amounted to an offensive juggernaut that year and yet they nevertheless came within one run of a couple of franchise home records that […]

After winning the 1968 World Series, the Detroit Tigers seemed poised to be successful for years to come. They were a group of young players who had developed together since the early ‘’60s, led by veteran Al Kaline. They had overcome daunting adversity: From the 1967 Detroit Riots and the loss of the pennant on […]

George Foster experienced American League baseball for the first time in his 18-year career on August 15, 1986, a little over a week after his tumultuous relationship with the New York Mets ended after controversial remarks.1 With 347 career home runs, the 1977 National League Most Valuable Player joined a youthful Chicago White Sox roster […]

“I don’t like [the DH] at all. It’s just a horse$#!* rule. When we win because Gates Brown or Frank Howard or one of our other designated hitters got a big hit, I’m still going to say the same thing: It’s a horse$#!* rule!” — Tigers manager Billy Martin1   In 1973, opposition to the […]

The 1959 season marked 57 years since the Minneapolis Millers became charter members of the American Association in 1902. The Millers had independent ownership until Mike Kelley sold the franchise to the New York Giants in 1946.1 They were a Triple-A farm team for the Giants from 1946 through 1957, then became a Boston Red […]

It was early in the evening on March 9, 1934, as the City Light truck made its way down Fourth Avenue South in downtown Seattle. The driver saw a rotund older man step from the curb to cross the street a short distance ahead. The truck slowed to allow him to cross, but when he […]

Before signing a $100,000 bonus contract with the 1957 Milwaukee Braves, John Stephen DeMerit had been a standout athlete since he was a youngster. In the fifth grade he set a record for the 100-yard dash (12.1 seconds) at the Port Relays, an annual event held in his hometown of Port Washington, Wisconsin, 27 miles […]

The tallest player in American League history from his 1939 debut until well after he retired, 6-feet-8-inch “Big Mike” Naymick came to the Cleveland Indians organization with a mountain of potential.1 Delivering his pitches with a high leg kick that disoriented many batters, Naymick was said to throw faster than celebrated teammate Bob Feller, but […]

The most electrifying defensive shortstop of his generation, Mark Belanger set the standard by anchoring a great Baltimore Orioles infield for most of 14 seasons. During this stretch, Baltimore won 90 or more games 11 times with six postseason appearances capped by the 1970 world championship. Belanger and Ozzie Smith are the only shortstops to […]

When Dave Hoskins of the visiting Dallas Eagles warmed up before his start against the Shreveport Sports on the evening of June 9, 1952, he had reason to be apprehensive. Earlier that day, Hoskins, the Texas League’s first Black player, had received three letters threatening his life. At the time Louisiana was not particularly hospitable […]

A few more feet was all Clint Conatser needed. His hard shot to center with the bases loaded and the Braves trailing 4-1 in the eighth inning of Game Six of the 1948 World Series was caught by Cleveland’s Thurman Tucker against the outfield fence; had the ball hit or cleared the wall just above […]

On the evening of September 21, 1964, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Art Mahaffey was pitching a gem of a baseball game. In the top of the sixth inning it was a scoreless duel in between Mahaffey and the Cincinnati Reds’ John Tsitouris at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. With two outs, 25-year-old Reds rookie Chico Ruiz […]

“Turkey Stearnes — that cat could play and hit. He could’ve made it.” — Thomas “Monk” Favors1 Over the years, the Baseball Hall of Fame’s research department routinely requested retired baseball players to submit a form whose details painted a picture of the player’s birth, family, and early years, and a sketch of his playing […]

Outfielder Greg Harts got into his only three big-league games with the New York Mets during the 1973 pennant race. The lefty was called up from Double-A and got a hit in two pinch-hit at-bats. His only other appearance came as a pinch-runner; he never played in the field in the majors. Harts ran well […]