A National Baseball Hall of Fame career began on this date 56 years ago. The rookie first baseman for the San Francisco Giants got four hits as he led his team to a 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30, 1959. Willie McCovey singled in his first big league at bat off Robin […]
Category: Shoestring Catches
Strat-o-Matic is a baseball simulation that began as a cards and dice game in the early 1960s before entering the computer age. These featured games on Shoestring Catches are part of season replays or tournaments played with cards and dice with a few exhibitions thrown in for fun. Today’s game matches the Montreal Expos and […]
The last time the Chicago Cubs played in the World Series was 70 years ago. On July 27 during the 1945 season, the Cubs made an acquisition that helped in the cause. Hank Borowy was considered the ace of the New York Yankees pitching staff. He was 10-5 and was named to the all-star team […]
The top performances in Major League Baseball this week were by Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies and Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. Hamels threw the 13th no-hitter in the history of the Phillies on Saturday, July 25. The lefty allowed a pair of walks and struck out 13 in the 5-0 victory […]
One pitch, one swing, one homer. That was the debut of Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City Athletics on July 23, 1964. Campaneris hit a home run on the first pitch that he ever saw in the major leagues off of Jim Kaat of the Minnesota Twins. “Campy” hit another homer later in the game […]
This time of year my focus always turns to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. A visit to the induction ceremony should be on any baseball fan’s bucket list. My list was checked in 2000. Tony Perez, Sparky Anderson, Carlton Fisk and Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman were the highlights of the weekend. But from […]
Cincinnati Reds righthander Brooks Lawrence was poised to earn his 14th straight win without a loss 59 years ago this week. With one out in the ninth inning, the Reds led the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 on July 21, 1956. Lawrence faced future National Baseball Hall of Fame legend Roberto Clemente. With one swing, Clemente would […]
The top performances in Major League Baseball this week were by Randal Grichuk of the St. Louis Cardinals and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Grichuk was three-for-three as the Cardinals won 12-2 at home against the New York Mets on Saturday, July 18. After getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded […]
It’s amazing how baseball’s present can always be connected to its past. As the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game finished, David Price of the Detroit Tigers was the winning pitcher. Zack Greinke of the Los Angeles Dodgers was on the wrong end of a 6-3 American League victory thanks to a first-inning homer by […]
Like most kids growing up, I had a dream of playing Major League Baseball. Notice the word “had” in the first line. By the time I was 10-years old, the dream was over. Ruined in little league by poor talent. After the realization that I wasn’t big league material, it was time to figure out […]