The Birth of the Designated Hitter

Baseball—like any other living organism—evolves, adjusts, and adapts with beauty emerging from minutiae, memory, and, in some cases, masochism reinforced by decades of unrequited love.  See Red Sox Boston; 1919-2003.  See Cubs, Chicago; 1909-2015.  On January 11,...

The Hall of Fame Case for Tommy John

Forget about the 288 wins. Forget about the four pennant-winning teams. Forget about the pioneering surgery that bears his name. You might as well.  The Baseball Hall of Fame voters have. Thomas Edward John, Jr., the Terre Haute native who stayed in his hometown to...

Reggie Hits No. 500

Reggie Jackson was the King Midas of baseball.  Everything he touched turned to gold. The Kansas City A’s had a 62-99 record in 1967, Jackson’s rookie season.  But Jackson only played in 35 games.  When he became a starter, the A’s won three World...

Willie Mays Returns to New York

On May 25, 1951, Willie Mays played in his first major league game.  19 years and 50 weeks later, Mays returned to the city that embraced his early career. Entering the major leagues with the New York Giants under the managerial reign of Leo Durocher, Mays became a...

The Midnight Massacre

Not since 1957, when the Dodgers and the Giants vacated Brooklyn and Manhattan, respectively, had baseball in New York City suffered an emotional blow equivalent to the impact on June 15, 1977, when the New York Mets committed an unpardonable sin in the eyes of the...