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 […]
The 1929 Cubs featured a quartet of fearsome right-handed hitters, a foursome of .500 or better sluggers named Rogers Hornsby (slugged .679 that year), Hack Wilson (.618), Riggs Stephenson (.562) and Kiki Cuyler (.532). They all posted on-base percentages above .400 that year, Wilson’s .345 batting average was the lowest […]
Rickey Henderson’s 25-year journey across the big leagues saw him don uniforms for nine different franchises, a voyage that ultimately produced 297 longballs to pair with his 1,406 thefts. Many of the members of the 250-homer, 250-steal club experienced a fairly nomadic existence, with 10 of them playing for at […]
In the famed 1941 season, the one that peaked with an historic hitting streak and a legendary batting title, neither the streaker (Joe DiMaggio) nor the titleist (Ted Williams) paced the AL in hits. Instead, that overshadowed accomplishment belonged to Washington’s shortstop, Cecil Travis. With his 218 knocks, Travis became […]
The 2025 Tigers have scored 309 runs – an impressive output at this stage of the season but not really anything exceptional to trace through history. The worthiness of any exploration lies along a convergent path, one that places that runs scored tally alongside the team’s runs allowed (Detroit has […]
When the 1911 season rolled into action, the remarkable Rube Waddell was no longer part of the big league firmament. Looking back, we can peer – with something beyond awe – at the southpaw’s knack for making batters trudge away from the plate having gone down on strikes. The numbers […]
Entering the contest in the top of the ninth on October 8, 2022, Guardians right-hander Emmanuel Clase had a straightforward mission: hold the opponent scoreless and give his offense an opening in which a single run would win the game (and in this case, the series). Clase did his part […]