George Springer’s very first brush with the postseason, a single-game elimination affair in the 2015 AL Wild Card Game, occurred – somewhat appropriately, it now seems – in New York against the Yankees; for over the next 10 years, as the outfielder/DH has piled up an extraordinary amount of playoff […]
When Babe Ruth made the last of his three World Series starts on the mound, he was batting in an untraditional spot for a pitcher – sixth. On the mound on this ninth day of September in 1918, Ruth kept the Cubs off the board for the first four innings […]
At the end of their spectacular journey in 1970, the World Champion Baltimore Orioles could look at their collective postseason work (a sweep against the Twins in the ALCS, a five-game hold over the Reds in the Fall Classic) and point to and acknowledge a few standout individual batting performances: […]
In 2001, Randy Johnson – author of 21 regular season wins, an MLB-best 2.49 ERA and a universe-vibrating 372 strikeouts – had the chance to continue his otherworldliness into the postseason. Chance received, challenge accepted, opportunity knocked outta the park. In six appearances that October and early November, the southpaw […]
Let the historical records show that as of today, there are 89 pitchers in postseason history that can stake the claim to at least 10 starts and that right-hander Aníbal Sánchez is one of them. Let the organizational impulses show that there are 26 pitchers to have at least 10 […]
Detroit’s Bill Donovan issues his first pitch to Pittsburgh’s leadoff hitter, Bobby Byrne … Christy Mathewson and Smoky Joe Wood duel it out for the final three innings … Walter Johnson receives a chance at redemption … Pete Alexander comes on in relief to fan Tony Lazzeri with the bases […]
It’s October 10, 1948. A reported 86,288 fans are on needles and pins at Cleveland Municipal Stadium to see if the Indians can clinch the franchise’s first World Series title since 1920. The incomparable Bob Feller gets the start for Cleveland, a shot at redemption after losing Game 1 to […]
During the Yankees’ three-game sweep of the Rangers in the 1999 ALDS, Derek Jeter came to the plate 13 times and in that baker’s dozen opportunities to provoke a bit of chaos for the opposition, managed quite nicely, going 5-for-11 with a double, a triple and two walks. All smashed […]
There are 185 instances of a postseason batter – perhaps surrounded by bunting, perhaps hearing extra jeers or cheers from a crowd feeling the intensity, perhaps extra-energized by the heightened tension that seems to come with every delivery from mound to dish – generating at least two home runs in […]
In his entry for “tater,” Paul Dickson (The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, Third Edition, 2009), mentions that “the term may have originated in the Negro Leagues as potato but took on new life when George Scott made a habit of calling his home runs “taters” after coming to the Boston Red […]