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Wilson was meant to be. The no-hitter he pitched for the White Sox on August 11, 1991, changed not only his life, but also the way a country’s new generation embraced baseball. Asked about the game over the years, he would repeat, “It was a gift from God.”1 Indeed, it seems it was. Wilson Álvarez […]

g nettleHe was blessed with cat-like reflexes, an accurate arm, and the ability to get his throws off quickly. His range at third base was as sweeping as a ten-foot leaf rake. He broke into the big leagues in Minnesota, honed his craft in Cleveland, and finally burst into stardom under the bright lights of […]

“Billy Williams,” said his manager Leo Durocher, “never gets excited. Never gets mad. Never throws a bat. You write his name down, in the same spot every day, and you forget it. He will play left, he will bat third. Billy Williams is a machine.”i This was not wholly hyperbole—at the time Durocher made this […]

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has produced 257 major-league baseball players, including Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar, and Ivan Rodriguez. Although the list of Puerto Rican-born players is long and impressive, no other player from the islands has hit more home runs than Carlos Delgado. During a 17-year career with the […]

Milt Pappas thought he deserved to be in the Hall of Fame. Wasn’t his won-lost record practically identical to Don Drysdale’s — even a bit better? Wasn’t Drysdale elected? Pappas was an outstanding pitcher for a long time; his closest comps include Orel Hershiser and Catfish Hunter as well as Drysdale.1 But he is remembered […]

In what may be a unique event in the annals of baseball history, Al “Zeke” Zarilla had to buy a ticket to his major-league debut. He didn’t have to buy a plane ticket or a train ticket but the brand-new baseball recruit had to buy a game ticket to the game in which he was […]

Most great players have something similar during their careers: a dominant year, a key series in which they made their name — or a signature play. Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter’s even had a nickname. His “Mad Dash” in Game Seven of the 1946 World Series took place on the brightest of stages. It’s certainly […]

Hall of Famer Arky Vaughan spent most of his career playing shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was a valuable member of the Brooklyn Dodgers for his last four years in the major leagues. He played a key role as a reserve on the pennant-winning 1947 squad. Vaughan’s presence on the team in any role […]

Versatile in the field and with some extra-base pop in his bat, Don Savage overcame a chronic knee injury and other health problems to become a wartime member of the New York Yankees. In many ways, the arc of Savage’s baseball career can be traced through his physical condition. The knee injury, as well as […]

“Now, if I can just get the chance…” an optimistic Pat Dodson remarked during spring training with the Red Sox in 1988.1 Dodson excelled at the Triple-A level, becoming the International League MVP, and was a top prospect in the Red Sox farm system. However, his chances were limited, and success didn’t translate to the […]

Terry Hughes was a ballyhooed prospect. “I wanted to sign Hughes more than any boy I’ve ever seen,” said Boston Red Sox scout Mace Brown. “He’s got all the equipment.”1 After the Chicago Cubs made Hughes the second overall pick in the June 1967 draft, their manager, Leo Durocher, said, “All I know is that […]

In Homer’s Iliad, Diomedes was one of the strongest Greek warriors. He was also the youngest — unlike his namesake, Dominican pitcher Diómedes Olivo. Olivo made his big-league debut with the 1960 Pirates at the age of 41. As of 2018, he was still the second-oldest “rookie” in major-league history, behind only Satchel Paige. Like […]

Unlike quite a number of major leaguers, World War II veteran Art Schallock didn’t play baseball during his time in the service. He worked as a radio operator in the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater of Operations, serving aboard the USS Coral Sea. Per the aircraft carrier’s tribute site, the Coral Sea saw […]

Lázaro Salazar was a great two-way player and manager in Cuban professional baseball and the American Negro Leagues, as well as in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, from 1930 until 1957. In addition to winning two MVP awards in the Cuban Winter League, he won four batting championships in three countries, won more than […]

Switch-hitting shortstop U.L. Washington played eight full major-league seasons and parts of three others from 1977 to 1987, most of them with a toothpick in his mouth. A product of the early-1970s Royals Baseball Academy, he played in three postseasons for Kansas City and started every World Series game for the franchise’s first pennant-winning team […]

In a major-league career spanning all or parts of 11 seasons (1985-1995), switch-hitting middle infielder Manuel Lee spent his first six years playing mostly second base for the Toronto Blue Jays while he backed up fellow Dominican Republic native Tony Fernández at shortstop. After Fernández was traded, the s trong-armed Lee started at shortstop for […]

Left-hander Jehosie Heard stepped onto a major-league mound for the first time on a chilly Chicago spring day in April 1954. As he walked out to the mound at Comiskey Park, Heard became the first African-American to play for the Baltimore Orioles. The team was in Chicago for a four-game series against the White Sox; […]

“If you were to ask me who is the smartest hurler in our league, there could be but one answer, and that is ‘Cockrell.’” – W. Rollo Wilson1   Phil Cockrell’s arrival in the North is one person’s story of the Great Migration, the movement of millions of African Americans from the South as they […]

In 1989, the Yankees closer got his big start as the late-inning specialist for the Holyoke Millers of the Eastern League. Not Mariano Rivera, but Duke, the closer in Major League portrayed by Milwaukee Brewers reliever Willie Mueller. Willard Lawrence “Willie” Mueller Jr. was born in West Bend, Wisconsin, 35 miles north of Milwaukee, on […]

Right-hander Kenny Hill flashed the kind of stuff that made batters think twice before they came to the plate. He had a wicked split-finger fastball which made his low-to-mid-90s heater look even faster, and his hard slider was generally regarded as one of the best in baseball. Three times he won a career-best 16 games, […]

Canadian Rhéal Cormier had two distinct major-league careers. Through most of the 1990s he was a middle-of-the-rotation starter for the St. Louis Cardinals and Montreal Expos. After Tommy John surgery, however, he reinvented himself as a successful late-inning, short stint, relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds. Along the way […]

After serving his country for three years during World War II, Chuck Diering played parts of nine seasons (1947-1956) for three major league teams. Regarded as a top-notch defender by his contemporaries, the lithe center fielder became the first player to earn team Most Valuable Oriole honors when big league baseball returned to Baltimore in […]

On July 4, 1939, between games of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, nearly 42,000 baseball fans sat quietly in the stands waiting for their team’s first baseman to address the crowd. It was Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, something that sounds like, and perhaps should have been, a happy occasion. But it wasn’t. A few weeks […]

In their long and storied history, the New York Yankees have sent many fine pitchers to the mound in the World Series. Hall-of-Famers like Lefty Gomez, Whitey Ford, and Mariano Rivera have left their mark on the record books with their autumnal performances in pinstripes. Arguably, though, the Yankees’ top all-time Fall Classic hurler is […]