“Whaddya say, whaddya say!” was Stan Musial’s standard, smiling greeting…
The Philadelphia Athletics Complete A “Double Triple Steal”!
You may be wondering what the heck a “double triple steal” is. You’re not alone.
New Blog Topic: HIGH VELOCITY PITCHING – BLESSING OR CURSE
Just recently, a friend forwarded me a story that appeared in the Washington Post back in May of 2019…
Ballplayers and Children, Part Four: Lou Gehrig
My ongoing series: Ballplayers and Their Sons got me thinking about the Iron Horse and his well-known interaction with kids, so I thought I’d give him some overlooked attention…
Ballplayers and Their Children, Part Three: Hack Wilson and Son Bobby.
The diminutive Hack Wilson was one of the most accomplished power hitters in the game during the late 1920s and early 1930s…
New Blog Topic: SOME VERY STRANGE BASEBALL RULES
For as long as most of us can remember, the basic rules of baseball haven’t really changed much since we discovered the game…
New Blog Topic: The Best Catchers Of All Time – In Terms of Throwing Out Base Stealers
While doing the research about great catchers, one of the interesting stats I uncovered was that Roy Campanella has the highest “caught stealing” percentage in major league history…
Ballplayers and Their Children, Part Two: “Sad” Sam Jones
In the featured photo from the George Brace collection with his two son, George and Paul,
New Blog Topic: WHERE HAVE ALL THE GREAT BASEBALL NICKNAMES GONE?
Here we see “Double-X” teasing “The Splendid Splinter” about his scrawny biceps. There was a time when many baseball players had colorful nicknames that followed them their entire careers. Some of them weren’t exactly flattering, but they stuck.
Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe: A Great Negro League Ballplayer NOT in the Hall of Fame
As we near the close of this year’s Black History Month, I thought this might be a good time to salute Ted “Double-Duty” Radcliffe…
New Blog Topic: “Who is the Mystery Person”?
Check out this neat color photo of Willie Mays’ great catch in the 1954 World Series off the bat of Vic Wertz. It’s from Game One, played at the Polo Grounds on September 28, 1954…
Stan Williams, RIP
“I don’t like the Dodgers, and they don’t like me. They have completely divorced me over the years, and I pull against them every night.’’ –Ex-Dodger, Stan Williams…
New Blog Topic: WHAT GAME ARE WE WATCHING?
For longtime baseball fans like us, the game has always meant a great deal and we’ve been watching it for as long as we can remember…
The Original Wrigley Field Scoreboard, October 4, 1935
The featured photo above was taken during the 1935 World Series between the Tigers and Cubs.
THE AMAZING STORY OF REX BARNEY
“I should have been up there with the greats. I should have gone right up the ladder, but too many rungs were missing.” -Rex Barney
“Owners Aren’t Angels”: The Story of the 1943 Phillies
“If there is a ‘jerk’ connected with the Phillies, it is William D. Cox, president of the baseball club…and he’s an all-American jerk!”…
New Blog Topic: THE MUSIC OF BASEBALL, PART TWO
It started when I wrote a blog about baseball’s National Anthem, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” I followed it with another blog, highlighting the Music of Baseball, four classic tunes about our great game…
New Blog Topic: Let’s Have Some Fun on President’s Day, 2021
Since I’m always looking for ways to connect baseball history with national holidays, the thought occurred to me that maybe we could have some fun even with Presidents’ day…
The Confusing History of Baseball In Washington, D.C.!
My post the other day about Hall-of-Famer Bucky Harris led to the usual confusion about the Washington franchise…
New Blog Topic: MLB CONTINUES TO POISON REAL BASEBALL
As Yogi would say, it’s deja view all over again. Another season is arriving and we will be presented with a game that is called baseball, but one that is increasingly foreign to longtime fans…
Let’s Remember the “Boy Wonder,” Hall-of-Famer Bucky Harris
“If you can’t play for Bucky Harris, you don’t belong in the major leagues.” -Joe DiMaggio…
New Blog Topic: Thoughts About Leo, Jackie, and Willie
It’s really a shame Leo Durocher wasn’t around to run interference for Jackie Robinson in 1947…
New Blog Topic: Records that Will Never Be Broken
To most longtime fans, baseball is still the greatest game every invented. Not only do we relish what happens between the lines, but we’ve always loved the numbers – the stats and the records…
Ballplayers and Their Children, Part I
Today, I’m reintroducing a series I started a few years ago, which at the time I called Ballplayers and their Children.
New Blog Topic: MLB VS. THE PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATION
I don’t think any of you will dispute the fact that baseball today is just as much – or maybe more – about the money as it is about the game on the field…
The Beautiful Color Restorations of Chris Whitehouse
Those of us who frequent baseball history web sites know that there are a few very talented baseball artists out there…
New Blog Topic: THE SHORT CAREER HALL CALL
Just recently, a colleague of mine wrote an excellent essay on former Yankee first baseman and current Miami Marlins manager, Don Mattingly…
FROM THE LIGHTER SIDE: BASEBALL, FUNNY SIDE UP!
The funniest and strangest material on earth can be found in the archives of baseball stories, wisdom and hilarious impromptu comments…
New Blog Topic: THE MUSIC OF BASEBALL
Just recently I [Bill Gutman] wrote a blog about Take Me Out to the Ballgame, calling it the
National Anthem of baseball. It still is…
February Baseball Trivia Contest Now Open: So You Think You Know A Lot About Babe Ruth! (Still time to enter, contest ends Feb. 25th)
Your score not important, just participate to be eligible to win the Grand Prize Giveaway, a $50 Amazon gift card…
New Blog Topic: A YOUNG KID MEETS ROGERS HORNSBY!
The story dates back to July, 1960. That’s the month my widowed grandfather, Lou Livacari, moved in to my family’s home in Lincolnwood, Illinois…
Living in the Shadow of Mickey Mantle!
We often forget what an emotional investment we’ve made to the game of baseball. It usually starts early-on in our youth and continues throughout our lives…
New Blog Topic: SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR HEROES
The death of Hank Aaron caused a ripple effect throughout not only the baseball world, but in many other quarters as well…
New Blog Topic: BASEBALL’S HOT STOVE LEAGUE
All baseball fans know just what the Hot Stove League is. Theoretically, it can be applied to any baseball talk or discussion during the offseason…
Hank Aaron, RIP
The baseball world was again saddened with today’s news that one of the greatest ballplayers of all time, Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron (February 5, 1934- January 22, 2021) has passed away…
New Blog Topic: “Baseball’s Eccentrics and Zany Characters”
“The trouble with Bordagaray is that he thinks he’s a Babe Ruth and wants to be paid accordingly…trouble is, he’s not Babe Ruth, not by a mile”…
Our Annul Baseball Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.
As is my usual custom, I always like to find a connection between baseball history and national holidays…
NEW BLOG TOPIC: THE LOUISVILLE SLUGGER
Please note: As we compose new blog entries, we will now send each one out to all our subscribers as we post them. -GL
DON MATTINGLY: FAME SECOND TO FAITH AND FAMILY
I loved watching Don Mattingly play baseball. A flawless fielder and an imposing figure in the batter’s box: powerful sloping shoulders, intense concentration…
Captain Ted Williams Recalled to Active Duty, January 9, 1952
“If there was ever a man born to be a hitter it was me”…