It Could Have Been So Much Worse

Joe Posnanski wrote this week about the release of full economic data on the business of baseball by Forbes Magazine.  I can barely balance a check book and maybe gate receipts, market valuations and operating revenues confuse me more than I know, but they look to be telling a fascinating story.  It’s about how major league […]

Touring the Bases With…Carmen Fanzone

A former versatile infielder turned accomplished musician who once played the “Star Spangled Banner” before a game at Wrigley Field, Fanzone–a flugelhorn player–was originally signed by the Red Sox and spent five years in the majors from 1970-1975, four of them with the Chicago Cubs.  Click here to watch a video of a conversation I had […]

Touring the Bases With…Gene Conley

The winning pitcher of the ’55 All-Star Game and the only person to win championships in two major sports, the man basically went an entire DECADE without a day off; Red Sox Hall of Famer Frank Sullivan told me that kind of streak should be in the same conversation as DiMaggio’s.  A truly remarkable and nice man….Click here to […]

Rambling on About My Glory Days – Greatness Comes in Big and Little Sizes

I usually get these questions from my students “Who did you play for?” or “What position did you play?” Adults usually follow up with “Who was the best pitcher you ever faced?” and “Who was the best player you ever played with or against?” I assume all former major league players get the same questions. […]

Naming Wrongs

Shortly after I started working at the Hall of Fame library, I discovered a wonderful book published in the 1990s by Peter Filichia, titled Professional Baseball Franchises. It lists every minor-league team from the 1880s forward, including nicknames, league affiliations, classifications, renamings, and years of existence. It is indispensable for locating where people played, which […]

Rambling on About My Glory Days – Spring Training: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

“Jack, you are like a son to me, but we have to send you down.” If I heard those words from manager Tommy Lasorda once, it seemed like I heard them a thousand times. I wanted to respond with, “Could you consider me a distant cousin or something instead, and keep me on the team?” […]

Jimmie Foxx Pitching in 1945: A Surprising Story

Back in July 1980, the Boston Globe recalled that Jimmie Foxx’s “final appearance in the majors was as a pitcher. “In 1945, when he was 37, Foxx had slipped badly and was hanging on by his fingertips with the Phillies. One day, Ben Chapman, Phils’ manager, came to Jimmie.” Chapman told Foxx, “We’re desperate. Would […]

And Another Thing…

I’ve gotten a lot of favorable response to the “re-invention” of baseball in my last blog. One other subject I wanted to cover but didn’t manage to fit in was the fan experience at the ballpark. Living in Cooperstown, I don’t get to many major league games any more, but I used to go to […]

Rambling on About My Glory Days – How I Became a Lifetime .380 Hitter – No Thanks to Nolan Ryan

Now that I have your attention and before you think of me as a liar, let me explain.

A Hurler Who Hit Better Than The Rest

A look at Louisville Colonels’ pitcher Guy Hecker’s 1886 season, when he became the first and only pitcher ever to lead a major league in batting. In the winter of 1885, it looked like a good bet that Guy Hecker would not be suiting up in a Louisville Colonel uniform for the 1886 season, a […]

Starting the Routine

Things are starting to get established down in Jupiter. Yesterday, it was Tony LaRussa’s time in front of the media.  You can hear some of his remarks here.  A lot of what you’d expect out of TLR, a lot of working hard, have a chance to compete, etc.  Tony’s not likely to tip his hand […]

Rambling on About My Glory Days – The Night and Day of Professional Baseball

Sure, playing in the big leagues is everything it is cracked up to be. Along with unbelievable salaries, players are given everything – free equipment, more than adequate per-day meal money, great clubhouse spreads after the game and the obvious adulation. The hotels are five star hotels with first class treatment. Major league players cruise […]

Alabama, the Cradle of Baseball Greatness

A little while ago I started to realize that Alabama has produced some of the greatest players in baseball history. I remembered reading Bill James making a point somewhere in his Historical Baseball Abstract from the ’80s about sports players tending to come from poor areas. I thought about Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, and […]

How A Baseball Simmer Challenged History

Robert Bofors’ study of caught stealing estimates during the Deadball era proves to be illuminating.

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