McGraw and McGillicuddy

One was pugnacious.  The other, almost regal. When John Joseph McGraw took the field, he embraced baseball games as bouts, thus earning his nicknames Mugsy and Little Napoleon. When Cornelius McGillicuddy managed the Philadelphia Athletics, he wore a suit rather than...

The Lone Star Years of Román Mejías

During the Colt .45s’ inaugural season—1962—Houstonians could point to few bright spots in the team’s 64-96 record.  Román Mejías was one of them. Mejías played in 146 games, swatted 162 hits, and finished the season with a .286 batting average.  Initially...

The Great Groat

Dick Groat does not have the fame of Bill Mazeroski, the immortality of Roberto Clemente, or the legend of Willie Stargell.  Nevertheless, he was a mainstay of the Pittsburgh Pirates for a majority of his major league career, which spanned 1952 to 1967. In the October...

The Hall of Fame Case for Vada Pinson

Vada Pinson guarded the outfield grass at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field in the 1960s like a sentry guards on outpost—with determination, concentration, and resolve.  In his “Counterpoints” editorial for the November 13, 1995 edition of USA Today, Tony...

The 18-Inning Game

From 1928 to 1943, Carl Hubbell, a New York Giants pitcher who enjoyed the nickname “The Meal Ticket” because of his prowess on the mound, built a Hall of Fame career on his left arm.  Pitching against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 2, 1933, Hubbell added...