Baseball History Archives | Baseball Essential

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

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...

Juicy Speculation: Home Runs are Up – and That Means Something Must be up With the Baseball

Tom Gibbons

Apr 4, 2019

Baseball History, Major League Baseball, Opinions & Predictions

On March 28 – generally considered Opening Day, despite the two games played earlier in Japan – a record 48 home runs were hit. Over the weekend, Paul Goldschmidt became the first player to hit at least four...

The Marvin Miller Model That Made so Many Ballplayers Rich is in Trouble

Tom Gibbons

Dec 30, 2018

Baseball History, Major League Baseball, Offseason

The surface looks fairly solid for baseball’s labor side. Manny Machado and Bryce Harper are expected to sign record-breaking contracts in the hundreds of millions. The Philadelphia Phillies entered the o...

Baseball History: Starting Pitcher Getting Knocked Out Early Doesn’t Always End Badly

Jeff J. Snider

Oct 2, 2018

Baseball History, Features

I was watching a game on ESPN the other day, and Rick Sutcliffe and Jon Sciambi got into a discussion about starting pitchers getting knocked out of games in the first inning. Sutcliffe, a former Cy Young Award...

Five Most Effective Deadline Acquisitions in MLB History

Tom Dorsa

Jul 31, 2018

Baseball History, Major League Baseball, Transactions

Depending on the team and players you show support for, the Major League Baseball trade deadline can either be a heartbreaker or a ray of sunshine on a dark winter's day. Depending on your association with the ...

Quiz: A Look Through MLB All-Star Game History

Tom Dorsa

Jul 17, 2018

Baseball History, Features, Major League Baseball

The 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game is nearly upon us. The annual best-of-the-best matchup of American League and National League is turning 89 this year, and Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. is play...

The Best Second-Best Seasons in Baseball History

Tom Dorsa

Jul 3, 2018

Baseball History, Major League Baseball

There are no perfect stats, but wins above replacement is about as close as they come. To properly measure how valuable a player has been to their ball club in relation to a replacement-level dude sitting in Tr...

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