Ehhh…Close Enough
My octogenarian neighbor invited me to fight him this past summer, and it all started with a hat.
1952 Topps
The Worst Pitcher in 1952 Topps
I had to change the axis on my player performance graph to capture just how awful Ed Blake’s MLB career was.
Plan A: Play Baseball; Plan B: See Plan A
Education. Health. Duty to one’s country. These are the demons you must slay to be a baseball player if your name is Hoot Evers.
Trade Bait in the Biggest Ever Transaction
Imagine a player trade so large that it makes more sense for the general managers to just switch caps rather than move the underlying players. The thought must have run through the minds of Yankee and Oriole fans alike in 1954 as the teams swapped 17 players after more than two weeks of negotiations.
Dynamite and Middle of the Rotation Pitching
This pitcher once blew off part of his hand with explosives he found on the road outside his house.
Gil Hodges Gets Some Respect
Gil Hodges’ early death 50 years ago came as a shock. His addition to Cooperstown this year was not.
Umpires Didn’t Have a Prayer Against Deacon Murray
Unfortunately, God doesn’t seem to be an Athletics fan.
Bob Addis Was Thinking Outside the Box
An autographed semi-high number card joins my set building project.
More Likely to Steal a Basketball than a Base
Did you know a slow-footed catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals also played professional basketball?
Strikeout King and Protector of Umpires, Max Surkont
Though Max Surkont had a 61-76 record for his career, he finished 40-36 for the Braves and never once posted a losing year in that span. He moved with the team to Milwaukee in 1953 and promptly became a local favorite, earning a lifetime supply of sausages.