Which Man Has Had the Best Overall Career in MLB History?

A blogging friend, Bill Miller, wrote about Walter Johnson’s hitting proficiency a while ago; it was something I had not known about. His post prompted me to come up with this question: Which man has had the best overall baseball career in MLB history, covering the roles of pitcher, position player and/or hitter, and manager? […]

Big Trouble at The Lambs for John McGraw: Part I

John McGraw’s legacy is that of a fiery, rough and tumble sort, whose pugnacious nature on the baseball diamond was matched only by how he acted off the field. He could cuss and fight with the best of them, and scrapped his way to a Hall of Fame career in baseball, first as a player […]

100 Years Ago Today

In early December 1911, Washington Nationals president Tom Noyes welcomed his new manager Clark Griffith to town for the first time.  Griffith was given a posh new office in the Southern building and no sooner had he looked over his new digs, than he was off to the winter meetings to hunt for talent during […]

La Pregunta De Los 64,000 (Question Of The 64,000)

El tercer manager con más victorias en Grandes Ligas anunció su retiro después de 33 temporadas dirigiendo clubes. Necesitaba 35 victorias para empatar a John McGraw en segundo lugar de todos los tiempos. El abogado logró construirse una historia por su inteligencia, incluso por tomar riesgos ante decisiones difíciles y esa fue su contribución al […]

Ruth En Santiago De Cuba (Babe Ruth In Santiago De Cuba)

Debido a las fuertes lluvias caídas en La Habana los días 15 y 16 de noviembre de 1920, se decidió suspender definitivamente el último juego entre los Gigantes de Nueva York, reforzados por Babe Ruth y los Alacranes de Almendares, club de la Liga Invernal de Beisbol Profesional. El Napoleón del baseball, John McGraw, empleó […]

“Pop” Paved the Way

If I were to ask you who were the best black baseball players, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston might readily come to mind. Chances are it would take you awhile to think of John Henry “Pop” Lloyd. You might never get there. In that case the list would be sorely lacking. Better pick […]

Forerunner Foster

Long before Muhammad Ali asserted that he was the greatest, Rube Foster staked that claim for himself and his teams. Foster, author Robert Charles Cottrell says, could be considered more influential than Jackie Robinson. Read “The Best Pitcher in Baseball: The Life of Rube Foster, Negro League Giant” because: 1. Foster consistently put the best […]

Due To Darkness

The 1922 World Series featured a rematch of the previous year’s championship series between the New York Giants and New York Yankees. The series also included one of the most controversial calls in World Series history, up to that point, in game two of the series. The entire series was being held at the Polo […]

Ten-Man Baseball

I just finished reading Leigh Montville’s biography on the Babe “The Big Bam“. I’m ashamed to say that this was the first Babe Ruth biography that I have read, especially after reading a ton of bio’s about much more obscure players. One of the many factoids that stood out to me was this…. In December […]

“Havana Heat” by Darryl Brock

Fans of Darryl Brock will find much to admire in his novel Havana Heat. It is very reminiscent in feel and tone to his classic If I Never Get Back and its sequel Two In the Field. There is no time traveling in this novel but it is a  travel back in time. The hero […]

Marvelous Mack

Connie Mack, “The Tall Tactician”, Major League Baseball’s longest-tenured manager for 50 seasons with the Philadelphia A’s, employer of the $100,000 infield. If ever you wanted to discover something about Mack or the dawn of baseball, chances are you will find it in “Connie Mack and the Early Years of Baseball“ by Norman L. Macht. […]

Even More Interesting Research Finds

One of the pleasures of doing research for a book or article is the discovery of interesting facts that have nothing to do with what’s being researched, but demand attention.  Here are even more interesting and odd research finds that I’ve discovered over the past year. What Happens In Baltimore Stays in Baltimore January 8, […]

Buying A Manager

“I came here with $100,000 to get a new manager and two new players for the Chicago club.” said Chicago Cubs President Charles H. Weeghman as he arrived in New York City for the annual National League baseball meetings of 1916. “I have in mind for a leader two men who have attained national prominence […]

The Pittsburgh Americans? It Almost Happened

Over the first 30 years of the modern era, Barney Dreyfuss’ Pittsburgh Pirates battled John McGraw’s New York Giants for National League supremacy, but had Ban Johnson gotten his wish, the Pirates might have been the class of the American League instead. On October 11, 1899 a group of executives from the Western League, including […]