Yankees manager Joe McCarthy knew the only way to win the 1936 World Series was by neutralizing Carl Hubbell’s screwball. None of his players had faced a screwballer all year, and that was a problem. Fortunately, McCarthy had the answer… […]
Category: New York Yankees
Mickey Mantle: Got Those Kansas City Blues
Along with the weight of being Joe DiMaggio’s successor, Mickey Mantle also had to endure being labeled a draft dodger, steering clear of shyster businessmen, avoiding exploding fireworks, and most of all, keeping from being sent back to the minors. […]
Country Brown: It felt like I was in the Major Leagues
In the decade before the Dodgers and Giants moved west and the Major League added more teams, each corner of the country had their own minor league heroes who to them, were anything but minor. The west coast worshipped Steve Bilko, the southwest cheered for Joe Bauman, the northeast loved Luke Easter, and down south, no one player was cheered more than Country Brown. […]
Joe DiMaggio: Deadpan Joe from the Coast
With three games left in their 1932 schedule, the San Francisco Seals found themselves without a shortstop. That’s when the Seals’ centerfielder recommended they try out his teenage brother named Joe – Joe DiMaggio… […]
1921 Orioles: Bill Holden
The way a typical Orioles inning went in 1921 was the number one and two hitters, Maisel and Lawry, would get themselves on base, and use their speed to swipe an extra base and get into scoring position. The consummate contact hitter Merwin Jacobson would advance the runner. Then Big Bill would come to bat, ready to slug them all home… […]
1921 Orioles: Rabbit Lawry
The power behind the 1921 O’s could be found in their outfield. That summer the three regulars hit a combined .334 with 80 doubles, 37 triples and 34 homers. While all three would have career years with Baltimore, 1921 belonged to left fielder, Otis Lawry… […]
1921 Orioles: Ben Egan
Every successful team needs a respected veteran to help guide the younger players and inspire with their experience. The 1921 Orioles were luck as they had two of these valuable assets – third baseman Fritz Maisel and catcher Ben Egan. Tall and gangly, Ben Egan was a baseball lifer. The Upstate New Yorker began […]
1921 Orioles: Fritz Maisel
Fritz Maisel was the veteran backbone of Jack Dunn’s “Endless Chain of Champions.” Deceptively short and stocky, Maisel possessed blinding speed on the bases, a valuable asset in the hit and run Deadball Era style of playing. […]
Nick Cullop: Triumph & Tragedy in Atlanta
Anyone who’s done their share of baseball research by culling through old newspapers knows how easy it is to get sidetracked by an interesting article totally unrelated to the thing you’re looking for. That’s what happened when I was going through a 1925 Dallas sports page and stumbled on an Associated Press article that caused me to abandon what I was originally searching for and set my artistic sights on an obscure outfielder whose major league career totaled just 173 games spread over 5 mediocre seasons with 5 different teams. […]
Adolfo Arguijo: The General
Despite having won three straight pennants and a World Series, the 1924 Yankees pitching staff was in need of a major rebuilding. Among all the spring training hopefuls was a tall, mysterious Mexican nicknamed “The General.” […]