One and done. With the current post-season set up for Major League Baseball, the one-game playoffs have become a regular occurrence. However, through out most of baseball history it was very rare and didn’t happen for the first time until the 1940s. The first tie between two teams after the regular season ended was in […]
Category: Shoestring Catches
October 3 is a big day in our family as our son was born on that date. We knew he would love sports because he chose to arrive on important day in baseball history, exactly two weeks earlier than expected. That Sunday, my football team, the Green Bay Packers didn’t play, so he knew there […]
One doesn’t have to be a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays to be happy for LaTroy Hawkins. As the Blue Jays clinched the American League East title on Wednesday, Sept. 30, Hawkins was on the mound in Baltimore at the end of the game. Although the Blue Jays were already guaranteed a spot in […]
The Washington Senators were about to leave town and never return. The Senators would be heading west before the end of 1971 to become the Texas Rangers and the fans in Washington weren’t happy about the move. Washington’s final game in Robert F. Kennedy Stadium was far from a memorable event for the action on […]
As the Chicago Cubs celebrate their latest post-season appearance, the organization is looking for its first World Series title since 1908. Although the Cubs didn’t play in their current ballpark until 1916, that facility did celebrate a baseball championship a year earlier. The Chicago Whales of the Federal League edged the St Louis Terriers and […]
The top performances in Major League Baseball this week were by Jarrett Parker of the San Francisco Giants and Carlos Carrasco of the Cleveland Indians. Parker had three home runs for the Giants in their 14-10 victory at Oakland on Saturday, Sept. 26. He hit a solo shot in the second inning off A’s starter […]
Walter Alston won seven National League pennants and four World Series titles. Alston was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. He posted 2040-1613 record as the manager of the Dodgers both in Brooklyn and in Los Angeles from 1954 to 1976. The 2,040 victories is currently the ninth on the all-time […]
Phil beat Joe for his 20th victory of the 1979 season. It sounds pretty simple, but for the Niekro brothers they joined an exclusive club on Sept. 26. Phil Niekro of the Atlanta Braves and Joe Niekro of the Houston Astros became the second set of siblings to reach the 20-win plateau in the same […]
The stars were aligned in the right order for the 1969 New York Mets. After seven years of unsuccessful seasons by the Mets in the National League, they became world champions. Three of their stars were set to help make history on Sept. 24. Ironically, none of the players were named Tom Seaver or Jerry […]
Yogi Berra was already a legend. Berra was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. My recollections of Berra have nothing to do with his playing days. Growing up in the 1970s, Berra was a manager and a coach during my formative years. His 1973 Topps baseball card was one of my favorites […]