The victims of the first-ever perfect game in World Series history, the 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers had little time to regroup and recharge in their return to the diamond just a day later: a must-win Game 6 at Ebbets Field. A Duke Snider single in the first eliminated any concern about […]
On the season’s final day in 1980, the Royals skipped to a 4-0 win, able to generate the offense even without that season’s AL MVP – George Brett – in the lineup. Taking the day off, Brett finished the year short in his pursuit of being the first batter since […]
On July 6, 2025, Tarik Skubal and his Tigers were in Cleveland to take on Gavin Williams and his Guardians. Detroit’s southpaw was in complete – cruising beautifully – control, logging seven scoreless innings in which he fanned 10 with no walks. Williams nearly matched the reigning AL Cy Young […]
In his farewell season in 2016, David Ortiz positively scoffed and sneered and even snarled at that old figure, Father Time. Playing his final game of the year just a couple of months shy of his 41st birthday, Ortiz concluded his age-40 campaign with 38 round-trippers and a .620 slugging […]
Major League Baseball’s story in the 21st century has been significantly devoted to single-season longball feats – a Major League record here, an AL record there, a shuffling of NL and AL rookie records, perhaps a new record for catchers this season. The narrative has been much less consumed by […]
Baseball Reference’s accounting delivers a list of 58 position players who generated at least 20.0 WAR through their age-24 seasons. There are three who are credited with a number above 40.0, with the Angels’ Mike Trout (47.5) ahead of the Tigers’ Ty Cobb and the Yankees’ Mickey Mantle. The Seattle […]
Almost exactly 38 years ago, on July 20, 1987, the Yankees’ Don Mattingly tied the nine-inning, AL record for putouts as a first baseman, with 22. The landmark achievement, which had been accomplished twice before in the league (both occurrences coming in 1906), gave Mattingly a line in the record […]
Late in the Giants’ season in 1923, first baseman George Kelly came to the plate five times, and, in the old refrain, “fell a triple shy of the cycle.” No matter, for Kelly, instead, homered three times in an exquisite 5-for-5 day at the plate. The performance marked only the […]
On May 25, 2008, in front of more than 46,000 folks at Dodger Stadium, Clayton Kershaw struck out seven Cardinals batters, including three in the first inning. That Sunday afternoon, Kershaw was just a couple of months past his 20th birthday and wearing #54 on the back of his Dodger […]
In 1978, the lanky, towering right-hander J.R. Richard became the first Astros pitcher to lead the NL in any one of the three Triple Crown categories, pacing the Senior Circuit with 303 strikeouts. As a follow-up, Richard ticked off another box, the first ERA title for Houston (that same season, […]