Mike Schmidt officially introduced himself to the Major Leagues on September 12, 1972, subbing in for the Phillies’ starting third baseman, Don Money. Schmidt officially said goodbye to the big leagues on May 28, 1989, starting at third and batting cleanup for Philadelphia. The 12-time All-Star didn’t go yard in […]
The very first Opening Day home run in the modern era came from an unlikely source: the bat of pitcher Jack Powell. On April 19, 1901, in front of the home crowd in St. Louis, the hurler helped his cause in what was ultimately an 8-7 loss to Chicago (on […]
In the ninth inning of Game 6 of the 1953 World Series, Brooklyn – facing elimination – was down two runs to the Yankees, only three outs away from seeing their season reach a dead end. Gil Hodges flew out, but then Duke Snider drew a walk to bring Carl […]
Quick (and be honest with your response): who hit the most World Series home runs as a first baseman? Riffle through the mental rolodex …. of course, Lou Gehrig. This bit of trivia is probably unsurprising, as Gehrig – who ended up with 10 four-baggers – famously walloped NL […]
The very last games of a season being played to determine a champ, a series of games played within a tight window on the calendar. By its very formula, the World Series is an alchemist of drama, a stoker of tension and breathlessness. Sometimes, though, it really transmutes the ingredients […]
During the 2024 regular season, Juan Soto claimed partnership as one-half of one of three distinct hitting duos in the old pastime’s history to each produce a 40-HR, 100-walk, 100-RBI season. The 25-year-old Soto and his hitting mate in the feat, Aaron Judge, joined Tigers Norm Cash and Rocky Colavito […]
The grandeur of postseason baseball is that with the condensed number of games and expanded importance of each contest, the moments turn to MOMENTS and more easily cast us back to “remember when.” A swing in the bottom of the ninth in Cleveland can instantly be a teleporter to Wrigley […]
On October 10, 1981, pinch-hitter George Vukovich stepped into the box to face Montreal’s Jeff Reardon. It was the start of the bottom of the 10th, the Expos and Phillies were knotted at five, and Philadelphia was trying to force a decisive Game 5. A pitch, a swing … and […]
There’s something extra special about a postseason home run: a big blast on the biggest of stages. Mazeroski and Carter won the World Series with one. Chambliss, Boone, Ordóñez, Ishikawa and Altuve sent their respective teams to the Fall Classic with one. Ruth (maybe) called one and Fisk desperately waved […]
On August 11 this year during a Sunday afternoon in the Bronx, Yankees outfielder Juan Soto clubbed his 29th and 30th dingers of the year. Since that multi-homer performance, I’ve been following New York’s box scores with an increased focus on Soto’s line, for I realized then that should Soto […]