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...

Hilltop Park’s First Game

Yankee history—a farrago of excellence, myth, and icons—began, in fact, in Baltimore. After two seasons in the city abutting Chesapeake Bay—1901 and 1902—the Orioles departed for New York City, a result of Frank Farrell and Bill Devery buying the defunct operations...

22 Innings, 7 Hours

Baseball, unlike other sports, has no boundary of time.  On June 24, 1962, the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers issued a reminder at Tiger Stadium.  It took 22 innings, seven hours; an epic test of endurance inched the players toward completing the contest,...

New Owners in the Bronx

During the waning days of World War II, ownership of the New York Yankees transitioned—Dan Topping, Del Webb, and Larry MacPhail grouped to purchase the Yankees on January 26, 1945 from the heirs of Colonel Jacob Ruppert.  $2.75 million changed hands for 86.88 per...

Mazeroski, Pittsburgh, and the 1960 World Series

At 3:37 p.m. on October 14, 1960, Bill Mazeroski became a blue-collar legend.  A stellar second baseman with eight Gold Gloves, Mazeroski played his entire 17-year career in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform, never more prominent than in the moment he slammed a Ralph Terry...