The most important player on the field is the pitcher. The baseball is literally in his hand to start every play. Starting pitchers log the most innings.
Wally Pipp has been reduced to an answer to a trivia question. He’s a footnote on the career of a great player. But Pipp deserves better: he
Eddie Collins buried his bats during the off-season in shallow holes in his backyard that he called “graves” in order to keep them “lively.” That’s odd, for
There was always something unusual about Eddie Grant, but he was comfortable with that. He didn’t mind being different. In a brief life that stretched only 35
The greatest big-game pitcher of his era, Bob Gibson may have been the best big-game pitcher of all-time. His teammates, who benefited by winning two World Series
When his name first appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot in 2003, Ryne Sandberg received 244 votes, or just below 50%. In 2004, the former Cubs’
Ed Delahanty’s success on the diamond obscured a troubled personal life marred by gambling and booze. His debts frequently mounted to the point that “Big Ed” would
Long before Bartolo Colon was turning heads with his wide ass, soft belly, and large frame, there were other “big-boned” pitchers in baseball. One of the best
Cecil Travis spent nearly four years serving in World War II and came back with injured feet after they had froze in the Battle of the Bulge.
This is the third installment of my “Top 20” series, looking at the top players for a specific franchise based solely on Wins Above Replacement. Quibble if
If there’s a baseball bat around it’s hard to resist picking it up and taking a stance. We’ve all done it. Some of us who played baseball
Traditions die hard with the New York Yankees. They haven’t changed their uniforms in decades. The team used the same PA announcer, Bob Sheppard, for almost sixty
A few years ago I penned a list article about the New York Yankees top players ranked according to WAR (Wins Above Replacement). I stated at the
Want a reason that Marvin Miller should immediately be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame? It’s the best rule change in the history of baseball. It’s
Harold Baines was on the Hall of Fame ballot for five years, never receiving as many as 50 votes. When he dipped below five percent in 2011,
Joe Mauer hasn’t squatted behind the plate since 2013. But he’ll still be a Hall of Fame catcher someday. Won’t he? The popular Twin, a humble hometown kid,
Earlier this month, Ivan Rodriguez was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s not surprising that Rodriguez will get a plaque, but it is quite shocking
Today we learned that a trio of former big leaguers will get their plaques in Cooperstown during the last weekend in July. They are Jeff Bagwell, Ivan
After pondering a strange ballot that included five players (some of them unlikely), three executives, and two managers, the Baseball Hall of Fame’s veterans committee has elected
If you ask me, there’s no better place to watch a baseball game than Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs played their first game at Wrigley Field in
If you never saw Willie McGee then you missed one of the most unique and gifted players of the 1980s. McGee was a switch-hitting outfielder with blazing
When Carl Yastrzemski retired in 1983 he didn’t go on a farewell tour. That type of thing wasn’t done in baseball at that time, and Yaz wouldn’t
Rick Reuschel was an underrated pitcher. He had a career that stacks up well against some lower-level Hall of Famers and several borderline Hall of Famers. But
Let’s play a facts game about baseball managers. FACT: Every man elected to the Hall of Fame as a manager won at least three pennants. FACT: Only
The wild card format was introduced in Major League Baseball in 1994 when the league also split into three divisions. Each league had four playoff teams (the
According to his manager, Steve Yeager went down “like he’d been felled by a bullet.” Fans near the on-deck circle were stunned and silent. Some turned away and
At spring training in Bradenton in 1935, Babe Ruth didn’t see any point in going north with the Braves. But ultimately, he did go and as a
Almost as much as any other facet of the game, the usage of starting pitchers has evolved quite a bit throughout the history of baseball. Originally, in
Every year when a team wins the first few games of the baseball season there’s a tendency for fans to get excited. How many games can my
Joe Jackson batted .375 with 12 hits in the eight games of the 1919 World Series. He led the Chicago White Sox with six runs batted in