Playing minor league baseball has always been difficult with long bus rides and sleepless nights between stops. There is also a certain amount of anonymity that goes with being in the minors. A popular question from fans is “Who is that guy?” As I sat in the stands at Victory Field in Indianapolis, no one […]
Category: The Deadball Era
There are a lot of people today who claim that the pace baseball is slow. Just takes too much time and not enough action. Those people would have been happy to be at Navin Field when that afternoon’s contest lasted one hour and 13 minutes on Aug. 8, 1920. Detroit right-hander Howard Ehmke tossed a […]
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 […]
After an unimpressive beginning to his major league career, Dazzy Vance eventually became a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. Vance started in the big leagues in 1915 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees and went 0-4 that season. Vance also had a stint in 1918 with the Yankees, […]
There should be a lot anticipation when a pair of National Baseball Hall of Fame members are the starting pitchers for both teams, but sometimes it just doesn’t meet the expectations. In the second game of a doubleheader on Sept. 4, 1916, two legends took the mound in what turned out to be the final […]
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 with a few exhibitions thrown in for fun. Today’s game matches two teams from the […]
Only three players in the history of major league baseball share a record that could be equaled on any day of the season, but obviously getting seven hits in a game is a difficult achievement. National Baseball Hall of Fame member Wilbert Robinson was the first to do it. He was followed by Cesar Gutierrez […]
Relief pitchers coming out the bullpen for more than a couple of innings is certainly a rare occurrence in today’s game, but 100 years ago working on the mound was very different. Zip Zabel of the Chicago Cubs established a major league record in 1915 that will likely never be challenged as he ended up […]
The date was June 2, 1925. One day after pinch-hitting against Washington, Lou Gehrig was inserted into the lineup at first base 90 years ago for the New York Yankees. By 1939, he had played a major league record 2,130 straight games that would stand until Cal Ripken, Jr. passed the mark in 1995. The […]
There have been only 15 unassisted triple plays in the Major Leagues since 1900 with the Cleveland franchise involved in six of the solo efforts. Neal Ball had the first in the modern era on July 19, 1909, while playing shortstop for the Cleveland Naps against the Boston Red Sox. Ball began his his time […]