Yogi Berra was already a legend. Berra was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. My recollections of Berra have nothing to do with his playing days. Growing up in the 1970s, Berra was a manager and a coach during my formative years. His 1973 Topps baseball card was one of my favorites […]
Category: 1980s Baseball History
As a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Steve Carlton was striking out the New York Mets hitters at a record pace. The future National Baseball Hall of Fame legend finished with an all-time best 19 strikeouts in an amazing performance against the Mets on Sept. 15, 1969. Despite setting a new standard, Carlton had […]
Winning your first game as a starting pitcher is quite an accomplishment, but add a major league record and you can be in a class by yourself. In this case, however, it’s a group of two. J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros and Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers share the big league mark with […]
Finally. It may have taken Dave Stieb awhile to pitch a no-hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays, but after four close calls, he finally was able to accomplish the feat 25 years ago on Sept. 2, 1990. The right-hander lost his first try on the ninth inning homer by Rudy Law of the Chicago White […]
Ideally, major league baseball trades are supposed to benefit both organizations. In the long run, it usually works out that one team often seems to get the better end of the deal. The Toronto Blue Jays are currently reaping the rewards for a transaction made on July 31, 2009. The Cincinnati Reds traded Edwin Encarnacion […]
Strat-o-Matic is a baseball simulation that began as a cards and dice game in the early 1960s before entering the computer age. These featured games on Shoestring Catches are part of season replays or tournaments played with cards and dice. Today’s game matches the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1981 Houston Astros. I’m always amazed […]
The recent induction of John Smoltz into the National Baseball Hall of Fame always brings the discussion of the trade that brought him to the Atlanta Braves. Many view it a lopsided deal, but was it? Smoltz was sent to the Braves from the Detroit Tigers for Doyle Alexander on Aug. 12, 1987. Yes, Smoltz […]
Never really been a fan of trade deadline deals. Most of the time, the teams I follow are often sellers. Case in point, my favorite team, the Cincinnati Reds recently moved pitchers Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake. At least they are now on teams where I have some interest. When I was a teenager, the […]
Two teams splitting a doubleheader isn’t really that unusual. Joel Youngblood was part of a win and a loss on August 4, 1982. The unique part of his story is that the win was in Chicago and the loss in Philadelphia. Youngblood began the day in Wrigley Field as the centerfielder for the New York […]
This time of year my focus always turns to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. A visit to the induction ceremony should be on any baseball fan’s bucket list. My list was checked in 2000. Tony Perez, Sparky Anderson, Carlton Fisk and Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman were the highlights of the weekend. But from […]