This day in baseball: The longest hit streak comes to an end
Posted: August 20, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, history, Joe Wilhoit, MiLB, Minor League Baseball, sports, Tulsa Oilers, Wichita Jobbers 2 CommentsThe longest hit streak in professional baseball history ended on August 20, 1919, when Joe Wilhoit of the Wichita Jobbers was held hitless by the Tulsa Oilers in the Western League. From June 14th to August 19th, 1919, Wilhoit went 153-for-297, giving him a .515 batting average en route to the record streak. The streak included four home runs, nine triples, and twenty-four doubles.
The Sporting News
Quote of the day
Posted: August 14, 2019 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Effa Louise Manley, history, life, Major League Baseball, MLB, quotes, sports Leave a commentPeople say, ‘Don’t live in the past.’ But I guess it depends on how interesting your past is.
~Effa Manley
Wikipedia
This day in baseball: Double steal fiasco
Posted: August 13, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Dave Fultz, Detroit Tigers, Harry Davis, history, Philadelphia Athletics, sports Leave a commentOn August 13, 1902, the Philadelphia A’s attempted a double steal against the Tigers. Harry Davis took off from first base while Dave Fultz, the runner on third, waited for the Tigers to make the throw. However, Detroit conceded second base to Davis, thus holding Fultz to third.
Not willing to give up the play so easily, Davis returned to first base on the next pitch. He took off for second base again, this time drawing a throw. Fultz managed to score from third on the throw, and Davis was called safe at second.
Davis was credited with just one stolen base out of the ordeal.
Harry Davis (Wikipedia)
Baseball Legend Joe DiMaggio, by Geoffrey Giuliano
Posted: August 1, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: audiobooks, Baseball, books, Geoffrey Giuliano, history, Joe DiMaggio, Major League Baseball, Marilyn Monroe, MLB, New York Yankees, sports Leave a commentI came across this audiobook, Baseball Legend Joe DiMaggio, through the local library and spent my lunch break yesterday listening to it. Written and narrated by Geoffrey Giuliano, I wondered at first why this biography came only in audio format, with no hard copy or even ebook version. As I listened, however, the reason quickly became apparent.
The recording opens up with a broad, sweeping biography of DiMaggio, which takes up only about the first five or ten minutes of the hour-long book. This biography serves to set the foundation for the rest of the book, which turns out to be a sort of audio documentary of Joe DiMaggio’s life.
The audiobook features recordings of a variety of interviews, some with DiMaggio himself, others with broadcasters from both that era and the present day. Also included are snippets from actual radio broadcasts during that era. Giuliano provides the context for the various audio clips, which cover everything from DiMaggio’s early life to his war service, his 56-game hitting streak to his marriage to Marilyn Monroe, his relationship with his teammates to his life post-baseball.
Overall, I found it a fascinating experience to listen to the various clips. As I mentioned, the entire audiobook is only about an hour long, which made for an enjoyable lunch break. If you enjoy listening to old interviews and other audio clips, it’s worth checking out.
This day in baseball: Welch wins 300
Posted: July 28, 2019 Filed under: 19th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, history, Major League Baseball, Mickey Welch, MLB, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Alleghenys, sports Leave a commentPitcher Mickey Welch of the New York Giants reached the 300-victory milestone on July 28, 1890, making him the third pitcher in baseball history to reach the mark. Welch defeated Pittsburgh 4-2 that day, and would go on to record seven more victories before retiring from the game.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
MLB Logos Through the Years
Posted: July 18, 2019 Filed under: 19th Century, 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: Baseball, history, logos, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports Leave a commentThis video popped up on my YouTube feed yesterday. (Thanks, YouTube, for stalking my viewing history to offer up this suggestion…) While the video is a tad lengthy, it’s also quite fascinating. It provides a history of logos of MLB teams, and even takes into account location and team name changes — for example, how the 1960s Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers, or how the Brooklyn Superbas eventually evolved into the present-day Los Angeles Dodgers.
Some of these logos I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Others I did remember, and they made me feel a bit nostalgic. Sports evolution, every aspect of it, is an interesting phenomenon.
This day in baseball: Anson reaches 3,000
Posted: July 16, 2019 Filed under: 19th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Cap Anson, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports Leave a commentOn July 16, 1897, Chicago Colts first baseman Cap Anson became the first player in major league history to collect 3,000 hits when he singled off Baltimore pitcher George Blackburn. Anson was forty-five years old when he reached the milestone as Chicago lost to Baltimore, 2-1.
These days, some controversy remains as to whether or not Anson should be considered the first player to reach this milestone. This hit total disregarded a rule in place for the 1887 season that counted bases-on-balls as hits. Anson had collected 60 walks during the 1887 season.
Cap Anson (Wikipedia)
