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 […]
The bases are filled, a batter steps to the plate and settles in to await the delivery. The ball hurtles toward the plate, the batter swings, and soon after, the bases are empty and the space around the plate is filled with four teammates. A grand slam – it’s one […]
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 […]
In the fall of 2020, I started watching baseball with my then-6-year-old son for the first extended period of time. As his dad is a Yankees fan, he of course absorbed that they were the good guys, and he quickly picked up on the starring figures in this spectacle: The twin […]
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 […]
Down by a run, down to their three final outs, the Dodgers start to rally back and conclude the surge with a swing that makes World Series history. Before the momentous swing, an intentional walk hits pause in the tension while also ratcheting the tightness. And then the history-making swing […]
Later today, before Jack Flaherty delivers the first salvo of the 120th Fall Classic, presumptive NL MVP Shohei Ohtani will be a central focus during one set of lineup introductions. AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge will absorb the same sort of attention in the other roll call. Before a single […]
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 very first time the Mets faced the wrenching possibility of postseason elimination – Game 5 of the 1973 NLCS against the defending pennant-winners, the Reds – the club received an imposing harmony of contribution. The NL’s ’73 Cy Young Award winner, Tom Seaver, gave the club an ace-like line, […]
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 […]