While Babe Ruth is the consensus pick for best slugging pitcher of all time (in 1915 he fell just three dingers short of the league leader, in almost 300 fewer at-bats), he should perhaps be considered a hitter trapped in a pitcher’s body. Considering only players who pitched their entire careers, the […]
Read MoreMark McGwire is sixth on the all-time home run list, and first among first-basemen. 547 of his 566 career homers have come while he was playing first. Second base is not a traditional power position, and even the greatest to play it have not exactly racked up the dingers. Possible Hall-of-Famer Ryne […]
Read MoreIn the early days of professional baseball, fielders did not use gloves. All plays had to be made barehanded, easy fly balls and scorching line drives alike. There was no rule specifically forbidding gloves, but they were considered “sissy” devices. Supposedly, the first man to don a glove was St. […]
Read MoreWhen Jackie Robinson broke into baseball in 1947, Latin Americans had already been playing the game for decades. Colombian-born Luis “Jud” Castro was the first. The 25-year-old second baseman played in 42 games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902, and never again played in the majors. Though his story is less well known than Robinson’s, one […]
Read More
