Baseball History

No One Has Been a Hall of Famer Longer Than Sandy Koufax

Jan 19, 2021

Baseball History, Features, Hall of Fame

On January 19, 1972, former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Just three weeks past his 36th birthday, "The Left Arm of God" became the you...

Sadly, There’s No Photo of the First High-Five

Jeff J. Snider

Jan 18, 2021

Baseball History, Features, Los Angeles Dodgers

If the legends are to be believed, the high-five was invented on October 2, 1977. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Dusty Baker came into the final weekend of the season sitting on 29 home runs. Thirty homers w...

Preparing for MLB’s 60-Game Season… for the Third Time!

Dustin Osborne

Jun 28, 2020

Baseball History, Major League Baseball

In perusing Twitter while avoiding the real world, I stumbled across this fascinating tweet from John Thorn, the Official Historian for Major League Baseball: https://twitter.com/thorn_john/status/127649884041...

Garry Templeton’s Disappearing — and Reappearing — Record

Jeff J. Snider

Feb 11, 2020

Baseball History, Features, St. Louis Cardinals, Statistics

UPDATE: We received word on April 17, 2020, that the stats at Retrosheet (and, at some point, Baseball-Reference) will be updated soon to reflect the research in this article. About three years ago, I wrote ...

A play for its time: Ron Swoboda’s catch in the 1969 World Series

Tom Gibbons

Oct 24, 2019

Baseball History, Features, Hall of Fame, New York Mets

For baseball fans of a certain age, the play is etched into our memories. It is the top of the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 1969 World Series. Brooks Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles hits a drive that lo...

Young Yaz: How Patience and Perseverance Paved The Way to a Historic Moment

Jason Kelly

Sep 19, 2019

Baseball History, Boston Red Sox, Headlines, San Francisco Giants

There has not been much to cheer about at the friendly confines of Fenway Park this season, with elimination from playoff contention looming ever closer. However, this past Tuesday night brought something tr...

A Creepy Tale of Teams Hosting the MLB All-Star Game

Robbie Stratakos

Jul 9, 2019

Baseball History, Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball, Opinions & Predictions

Teams and fans vie for their city to host the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The lead-up to the festivities is exciting, and it generates buzz. Except there's a dark tale rarely, if ever told about the ML...

Jack Cuddy: The Man Who Didn’t Appreciate Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day

Tom Gibbons

Jul 5, 2019

Baseball History, Major League Baseball

Sports writer Jack Cuddy passed away 54 years ago, but his work is finding a new audience this week. Specifically, people are reading a piece Cuddy wrote 80 years ago in advance of Lou Gehrig Appreciation Da...

The Los Angeles Angels Are Truly The Franchise Touched by Tragedy

Tom Gibbons

Jul 3, 2019

Baseball History, Los Angeles Angels, Major League Baseball

The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs were labeled for decades as clubs haunted by misfortune. But it was mostly for on-the-field stuff. Their frustration, futility, meltdowns, and near-misses possessed elemen...

Life Gave Bill Buckner a Bad Hop, but He Handled it with Grace

Tom Gibbons

May 28, 2019

Baseball History, Headlines

A child's drawing of Bill Buckner was displayed proudly on a wall in the Chicago Cubs clubhouse at HoHoKam Park in Mesa. An entire elementary school class in Chicago signed it, telling Buckner he was their favo...