In combination with McGwire chasing the 500 home run plateau (he's
currently at 497), three players are closing in on the 3,000 hit mark. Tony
Gwynn (Padres), Wade Boggs (Devil Rays) and Cal Ripken (Orioles) will join
the 3,000 hit ranks this season. Gwynn and Boggs are currently at 2994 while
Ripken has 2968. Like the 500 home run plateau, 3,000 hits is a pass to
Cooperstown and a distinction rarely achieved. Only 21 prior players in major
league history have 3,000 hits. To illustrate the true achievement, lets list
some players who DID NOT reach the 3000 level:
Babe Ruth               Lou Gehrig
Frank Robinson     Rogers Hornsby
Joe DiMaggio         Mickey Mantle
Mike Schmidt         Ernie Banks
    The 3,000 hit mark, like 300 wins for pitchers, is a landmark that may not
be approached any time soon after this season. Players who achieve this must
have durability and longevity, playing for 20 years and longer. We should
cherish the historical moments as they come, for they will not be repeated
often!

For a list of those who did hit 3000, see http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com

For more on Ripken, see:
http://adams.patriot.net/~rbarthle/cal/index.html
For more on Boggs, see:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Pressbox/3496/boggs.htm
For more on Gwynn, see:
http://hometown.aol.com/CruiznSD/gwynn.htm

Greatest Teams of all Time!
http://pages.prodigy.net/macknife13/bbgreat.htm

House of David Team!
http://www.geocities.com/~peppergame/

Wahooism: The Wahoo Controversy
http://www.ultranet.com/~kuras.bhxi3d.htm

Baseball Almanac
http://baseball-almanac.com/

Every true fan misses the summer of 1998 and the great home run race between
Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. The 1999 season, in comparison, has not produced
near the same excitement. Mark McGwire however, is approaching a milestone
which only 15 prior players in major league history have ever achieved.
Sometime in August of 99, McGwire should hit home run # 500. He is currently
at 493. Just how significant is the number 500 in home run history??
Well, let's consider.....Lou Gehrig came close (493), as did Willie Stargell
and Stan Musial (at 475). Duke Snider, Dale Murphy and Johnny Bench never
came close. Neither did DiMaggio, who hit 361.
Who has a shot (besides McGwire) among active players?? Well, barring
injuries Griffey will do it (382) and possibly McGriff at 383.
I don't see a lot of hope for Ripken (399). If his health holds out, I think
Canseco could do it (428) and Bonds will come close (423). Here is the
current list:

Hank Aaron             755
Babe Ruth               714
Willie Mays              660
Frank Robinson      586
Harmon Killebrew  573
Reggie Jackson     563
Mike Schmidt          548
Mickey Mantle        536
Jimmie Foxx           534
Ted Williams           521
Willie McCovey       521
Ernie Banks            512
Eddie Matthews     512
Mel Ott                     511
Eddie Murray          504
Mark McGwire        494


To track McGwire and his 500th see:
http://www.homerunrecord.com/mcgwire.html

This bulletin on Al Rosen was specially requested by a young lady member of
our list. She is a big Al Rosen fan, and after doing some research on Al, I
can understand why. His career spanned the years 1947 to 1956, though he did
not become a regular with the tribe until 1949. He was on the active roster
and did appear in the 1948 World Series. He was also a star on the famous
1954 Indians, who set a record with 111 victories, since surpassed by the
1998 Yanks.
Rosen, nicknamed "Flip," was the American League MVP in 1953, a unanimous
choice by the sportswriters. His 43 homers, 115 RBI's and .336 batting
average were "Triple Crown" numbers, but he fell one percentage point short
of the crown (Mickey Vernon batting .337). Al was born in 1924 in
Spartanburg, S.C. and resides now in California. He served in the Navy during
W.W.II and was one of the few Jewish players during his time in major league
ball. He retired in 1956, finishing with a career batting average of .285,
192 home runs, and 717 RBI's in just over 1000 games. He was elected to the
American League All Star team each year from 1952 to 1955. If his career had
lasted longer, he may have been elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.


For more on Rosen, read:
The Boys of Summer of 1948-Russell Schneider (Sports Pub. 1998)
Our Tribe-A Baseball Memoir-Terry Pluto(Simon &Schuster 1999)
see:
http://www.indians.com

Best and Worst Teams of All Time Site!
http://members.aol.com/tomho13/top30.html

Library of Congress: Baseball Cards 1887-1914!
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammen/bbhtml/bbhome.html

Deadball Era Home Page!
http://www2.cybernex.net/~jfox/legends/legends2b.html

Little Known Facts That Will Make You the Life of the Party!

How did the current day Oakland A's end up with the elephant logo?

    The association of the A's with elephants dates back to the turn of the
century. The Philadelphia A's were one of the charter teams of the new
American League formed in 1901. John McGraw, manager of the Baltimore
Orioles, left to manage the New York Giants in 1902. He took a parting shot
at Connie Mack and the A's by commenting that it looked like the "American
League" had a "white elephant" in Philadelphia. Mack immediately adopted the
term as the team's nickname. By 1918 they had an elephant logo on the team
sweaters and an elephant shoulder patch by 1920. From 1921 to 1928 the "A" on
the front of the uniforms was replaced by a logo of a blue or white elephant.
      The elephant logo was retired after the 1928 season and did not appear
on A's uniforms until 1955, the year following Mack's sale of the team to
Kansas City. When Charles Finley purchased the team and moved it to Oakland,
the elephant was replaced with a mule(?). The elephant emblem was resurrected
by the Oakland A's in 1988, and remains the logo of the team.

for more on the Oakland A's see:
http://www.oaklandathletics.com/

for more on the Philadelphia A's see:
http://athleticssociety.freeservers.com/

Stan Hochman...Phila Daily News (7-22-99) Shoeless Joe & the Hall of Fame

Shoeless Joe Jackson hit .375 for Chicago in the 1919 World Series. Banged
out 12 hits, a modern-era record that lasted until 1964. Handled 17 chances
without an error. Hit the only home run in the whole crooked series. Does
that sound like a guy who conspired with teammates and gamblers to fix it?

Well, maybe Jackson didn't have to kick the ball around, or swing at pitches
in the dirt, because his sleazy teammates were doing such a splendid job of
screwing up? Swede Risberg committed four errors and hit .080. Happy Felsch
batted .192. Eddie Cicotte (a 29-game winner) and Lefty Williams (a 23-game
winner) combined to lose five games.

When the rumors of a fix hummed around the ballclub before the series,
Jackson begged owner Charles Comiskey to let him sit it out, which would
indicate he wanted no part of the conspiracy.

If Jackson, a .351 hitter and a brilliant fielder during the season, sat out
the series, there is no way the White Sox would have beaten Cincinnati, thus
helping the fixers cash their bets. So maybe Jackson was choosing the easy,
cowardly way out?

At some point in the series, Williams came to Jackson's hotel room and tried
to hand Jackson an envelope containing $5,000, but Jackson refused. Williams
angrily tossed it on the bed and left.

Maybe Jackson refused to accept the $5,000 because he'd been promised
$20,000? He did keep the money, bank it, use it.

Even though an Illinois jury acquitted Jackson and seven teammates of
throwing the World Series, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis
slapped all eight players with lifetime suspensions without due process.

Does a lifetime suspension end when a player dies? If there's enough doubt
about Jackson's guilt, enough evidence of corrupted justice, shouldn't
baseball allow the veterans committee to vote Jackson into the Hall of Fame?

So many unanswered questions, so many unquestioned answers. Jackson walking
out of the cornfield in the movie, "Field of Dreams." So what if they
couldn't find an actor to hit lefthanded. And the movie, "Eight Men Out," all
those smart-aleck sports writers scarfing down Comiskey's free food. And some
elements of Jackson's barefoot innocence in "The Natural."

Jackson is a fascinating character. Attention must be paid because the more
we learn about him, the more we learn about justice in America, journalism,
baseball, and prejudice.

Donald Gropman has revised "Say It Ain't So, Joe!," his 1979 biography of
Jackson, to provide new evidence he feels bolsters Jackson's plea of
innocence. There's a long-winded lawyerly petition signed by Ted Williams and
Bob Feller that argues for lifting the lifetime suspension, not because
Jackson is innocent, but because he is dead.

Jackson belongs in the Hall of Fame because he hit .356 for 13 seasons,
because he was a remarkable outfielder with an incredible arm, a swift
baserunner. Sure, there's the Pete Rose rule, barring any person on
baseball's ineligible list from being an eligible candidate, but Jackson died
in 1951. Shazam, doesn't he come off the ineligible list?

And now, both Jackson and Rose are on the list of 100 greatest players, with
the 25 best to be honored at the World Series. If you're troubled by the
current guidelines about voting for the Hall of Fame being based on
character, integrity and contributions to the game, you also must concede a
fistful of drunks and skunks are already there, who got in before the
righteous paragraph was added to the ballot.

Charles Comiskey is in the Hall of Fame. Read Gropman's scholarly book and
you'll wonder why. Comiskey underpaid his players, mistreated them, made them
pay to launder their own uniforms. Jackson had to sue the owner to get back
pay, plus the $700 he earned when the White Sox finished second in 1920.

That trial produced some convincing testimony of Jackson's innocence in the
World Series fix scheme. Sleepy Bill Burns, the catalyst in the fix,
testified under oath he had never talked to Jackson about it.

Do you accept the word of a crook, a scoundrel? Do you believe gamblers about
to risk hundreds of thousands of dollars betting against the White Sox would
accept the word of Williams, who claimed he was speaking for Jackson when he
discussed the fix?

Williams, also under oath, swore he never received Jackson's permission to
use his name with the fixers.

The jury decided Jackson was entitled to his back pay. But the judge
overruled the verdict and slapped Jackson in jail for a brief time, because
his testimony conflicted with testimony he had given in the original fix
trial.

Read that and it becomes easier to understand why Jackson did not wage a
public campaign to clear his name, why he was content to move to the South,
to play semipro ball, to avoid the clutter and corruption of big cities.

Forget the pompous, mumbo-jumbo petition at the end, the book is interesting
reading. You find out how lazy, though talented, sports writers caricatured
Jackson, building on that one episode of playing shoeless because breaking in
new spikes hobbled him.

The most enlightening parts of the book involve Jackson's brief time --
1908-1909, 40 ABs -- in Philadelphia. He was signed by Connie Mack to play
for the A's. Fearful of life in the big city, twice Jackson got on a train
heading north, only to abandon the trip halfway and return south.

When he finally joined the A's, he was hazed by his teammates as some kind of
pitiful rube. Mack saw the tremendous potential in Jackson, but he couldn't
ease the culture shock, and eventually, he had to send him to the minors. He
then swapped him to Cleveland for outfielder Briscoe Lord.

Lord! It might have been the worst trade in Philadelphia's history of
wretched trades. Just think about how Jackson's life might have turned out
different had he been able to cope with Philadelphia's baseball scene.

Did he agree to help fix the 1919 World Series? I'm not sure. Jackson gave
conflicting testimony before the grand jury. Maybe because he was represented
by Comiskey's attorney and got bad advice?

Was he guilty of knowing about a plot to fix the World Series and not
revealing it? Probably, but did he try to reveal it, only to be squelched by
a conniving owner? And was there even a law at the time about being an
accessory to fixing a sporting event?

It has been 80 years. It might be time to forgive and forget.

Major League Baseball shocked the sporting world on the eve of the All
Star Game in Boston last week. It included among the nominees for the "All
Century Team" both Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, two players who were
suspended from baseball for life. Rose was suspended by Commissioner Bart
Giamatti for betting on baseball games, some possibly involving the team he
managed, the Cincinnati Reds. Jackson was suspended in 1920 for his
involvement in "throwing" the 1919 World Series. Seven of his team mates on
the White Sox also received life suspensions. Both players have filed for
reinstatement; all their requests being denied.
     Current Commissioner, Bud Selig, approved the inclusion because both
players have to be considered among the all time greats. What will be the
response of major league baseball if either Rose or Jackson get elected to
the team? Will they permit Rose to make appearances along with other members?
Will they exclude him as they did in Boston last week? If he is eligible
(along with Jackson) for election to the team, should they be eligible for
entry into the Hall of Fame? Rose led all major league players in hits in his
career, a record which seems destined to be "safe" for decades to come.
Jackson was without a doubt one of the greatest hitters who ever played in
the game. Do they belong in the Hall of Fame? Should they be reinstated to
major league ball? Let me know where you stand!

for more on Jackson see:
http://www.blackbetsy.com

for more on Rose see:
http://www.peterose.com

to vote for the all century team see:
http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/

for the official hall of fame statement on Rose and Jackson see:
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/visit/faq.html

"IRON HORSE"- A TRIBUTE TO LOU GEHRIG at:
http://www.nmia.com/~browns/gehrig.htm

NEGRO LEAGUES at:
http://negroleaguebaseball.com

SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN BASEBALL RESEARCH (SABR), Cleveland
http://www.sabr.org/

BASEBALL: DOWN BY THE STATION
http://www2.netdoor.com/~crogers/

My earliest baseball memory dates to 1960 and the World Series of the
Pirates and the hated (yet hallowed) Yankees of Mantle, Maris, Ford and
Berra. Being a Phillies fan, I didn't have to pay much attention to October
baseball, as they were usually eliminated from the race by Memorial Day! I
think the summer of 1960 was the year I realized that there was something
special about the game of baseball and my association with it. I remember
vividly going to school and instructing my mother to watch game seven of the
series, which was an afternoon game. I doubt that she did, but the game was
on when I arrived home a little after 3pm. I don't recall who the
neighborhood kids were rooting for, but I think that even then we associated
ourselves with the underdog Pirates. I do recall the ninth inning home run,
hit by Bill Mazeroski, Pirate second baseman, which dramatically concluded
the series and sent the trophy to Pittsburgh.
Watching the films today seems very anti-climatic, but the memory lingers,
and it was 20 years (the Phils of 80) before I was that excited about a ball
game again. I do have a large picture, hanging in my office, of Maz's home
run, autographed by him, Berra (the left fielder), and the pitcher and
catcher. Though my aging mind doesn't allow me to recall their names at the
moment, the memory and the excitement associated with it will never die!

for more on Maz and the 60 Pirates:
see:
http://www.usaor.net/maz/index.html
http://www.pirateball.com
read:
Twin Killing: The Bill Mazeroski Story, John T. Bird

Little Known Facts That Will Make You the Life of the Party!

Who pitched the greatest game in baseball history?? Cy Young?? Walter
Johnson?? David Cone?? No.....No......No!

On 5-26-59, Harvey Haddix turned in the greatest pitching performance in
baseball history, and LOST THE GAME! He pitched a perfect game (27
consecutive outs) for nine innings. The Braves had not scored a single run!
Unfortunately, neither did Haddix's team, the Pirates. The game went into
extra innings, and Haddix continued his perfect performance in the 10th, 11th
and 12 th innings. He had retired 36 consecutive batters, in the same game, a
record never equaled before or after this day. The 13th began with a throwing
error, the runner was then sacrificed to second. Haddix then issued an
intentional walk. The next batter homered and Haddix lost the game!
Lew Burdette, the winning pitcher for the Braves, bragged for years, that "he
won the greatest game ever pitched."

David Cone pitched a perfect game for the Yankees yesterday. What was totally
ironic was that he did it on Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium. Berra was
honored and created a reenactment of the last pitch of Don Larsen's perfect
game from the 1956 World Series. Larsen was also in the stands for Cone's
game. What are the chances of that happening?  No matter! It happened! That's
one of the great things about the game we love. We never know what is going
to happen on any particular day!
      For those of you who are not baseball fanatics; a perfect game is
exactly what it sounds like: Perfect! No batter reaches base: No hits, No
walks, No errors, No hit batsmen, No dropped third strikes, No baserunners at
all! The feat has only been accomplished on 13 occasions since 1900 prior to
yesterday...it is truly one of baseball's most exciting possibilities!

5/5/04          Cy Young                Boston Red Sox vs Phila A's 3-0
10/2/08        Addie Joss              Cleveland Spiders vs Chicago White Sox
1-0
4/30/22        Charles Robertson  White Sox vs Tigers  2-0
10/8/56        Don Larsen             Yankees  vs Brooklyn  2-0 (World Series)
6/21/64        Jim Bunning           Phillies vs Mets  6-0
9/9/65         Sandy Koufax         Dodgers vs Cubs 1-0
5/8/68         Catfish Hunter         A's vs Twins 4-0
5/15/81        Len Barker             Indians vs Blue Jays 3-0
9/30/84        Mike Witt                Angels vs Rangers 1-0
10/16/88      Tom Browning       Reds vs Dodgers 1-0
7/28/91        Dennis Martinez     Expos vs Dodgers 2-0
7/28/94        Kenny Rogers        Rangers vs Angels 4-0
5/17/98        David Wells           Yankees vs Twins 4-0
7/18/99        David Cone            Yankees vs Expos 6-0

http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/
voting on line for the ALL CENTURY TEAM WILL BEGIN SOON!
You will be able to choose 25 players....from the list on this website!
6 pitchers, 2 catchers, 2 each at infield positions and 9 outfielders....
Lets circulate our choices! Please Post your picks to the list! Send to
OldBallGame@onelist.com

My choices...

Pitcher

Grover Cleveland Alexander
Walter Johnson
Christy Mathewson
Satchel Paige
Bob Feller
Cy Young
Note: to Coletta....I didn't pick the Phillie!!! (Carlton), though Alexander
was a Phillie eons ago.

Catcher

Mickey Cochrane
Josh Gibson

First Base

Jimmie Foxx
Lou Gehrig

Second Base

Rogers Hornsby
Napoleon Lajoie

Shortstop

Ozzie Smith
Honus Wagner

Third Base

Mike Schmidt (I did pick the Phillie!)
Brooks Robinson

Outfield

Hank Aaron
Ty Cobb
Joe Dimaggio
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Mickey Mantle
Stan Musial
Babe Ruth
Tris Speaker
Willie Mays
sorry.....no room for the new guys!!!

oops.....Martinez did not strike out five straight....he did not tie Hubbel's
record.....should have read the papers more carefully....sorry!

Some great ALL STAR memories:
1999- Martinez strikes out Larkin, Walker, Sosa, McGwire and Bagwell to tie a
65 year old record of Carl Hubbel!
1997- Sandy Alomar's (Indians) hometown 7th inning game deciding home run!
1994- John Kruk's (Phils) famous at-bat vs. Randy Johnson!
1981- Mike Schmidt's (Phils) two run game winning homer!
1971- American League ends their nine year losing streak!
1970- Famous home plate collision between Pete Rose (Reds) and Ray Fosse
(Indians)!
1964- Johnny Callison's (Phillies) 9th inning game winning three run homer!
1959- First of four years (59,60,61,62) that saw TWO All Star games per year!
1955- Stan Musial's (Cardinals) game winning 12th inning home run!
1952- Bobby Shantz (A's) strikes out Jackie Robinson, Whitey Lockman and Stan
Musial, in succession, and the game is called for rain, before Shantz gets a
chance to tie Hubbel.
1949- First black players in all star history with Jackie Robinson, Roy
Campanella, Don Newcombe of the Dodgers and Larry Doby of the Tribe!
1944- Rip Sewell's (Pirates) famous high-arc ephus pitch!
1941- Ted Williams(Red Sox) ninth inning game winning homer!
1938- Leo Durocher's (Cardinals) bunt home run!
1934- Carl Hubbel of the New York Giants strikes out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig,
Jimmy Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin, in succession!!!
1933- First all star game ever! Teams managed by Connie Mack (A's) and John
McGraw (Yanks), with an aging Ruth winning the game with a home run!

Hall of Famer Steve Carlton pitched for several teams but spent his most
productive seasons (1972-1986) with the Phillies. He broke in with the
Cardinals in 1965 and ended his career with short stints in San Francisco,
Chicago, Cleveland and Minnesota. His 1972 season, with the Phils, a last
place club which won only 59 games, was one of the best seasons of modern
time. He pitched in 41 games, going the distance in 31 contests; winning 27
and losing 10. Pitching in 341 innings, he walked only 87 batters, striking
out 310. He He won his first of four Cy Young Awards. He accounted for over
45% of the lowly Phillies victories for the season. His percentage of  "team
wins" is the highest for "post 1900" pitchers.
Carlton slipped in 1973,  winning 13 and losing 20, also with a poor team.
The Philadelphia sporting press did not treat Carlton kindly, theorizing that
his nightly drinking habits and "weird" lifestyle was not conducive to peak
performance. Carlton stopped talking to the press and continued this policy
until he left the game in 1987. He continued pitching with the Phils and was
dominant into the 1983 season when he won his 300th game. He was a major
contributor to the great Philly teams of the late 70's and early 80's. They
finished first in their division in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1983. He
led them to the World Series title in 1980 and back to the series in 1983.
He also won Cy Young Awards in 77, 80 and 82. His career strikeout total of
4,136 is second only to Nolan Ryan and tops for lefthanders.
Wille Stargell, Pirate slugger of the 70's, described facing Carlton as
"trying to eat soup with a fork". In his farewell speech, when his number
"32" was retired at Veteran's Stadium, Carlton told fans that baseball
"really was a field of dreams and that it really is "heaven" down here".

for more on Carlton see:
http://www.carlton32.com
http://www.phillies.com
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/

Ole Pete came to the Baker Bowl Phillies as a rookie in 1911. He posted a
rookie season record of 28-13, and he became one of the most dominating
pitchers of all time. He followed up with seasons of
19-17, 22-8, 27-15, 31-10, 33-12 and 30-13. His 1915 ERA was 1.22 and it
never surpassed 2.00 in the next several seasons. His 16 shutouts in 1916
remain a record which will never be surpassed.  Sold by the Phils to the Cubs
in 1917, he spent his W.W.I years as an infantryman in France, where he
developed epilepsy and increased his already prolific drinking escapades. He
was best remembered for striking out Tony Lazzeri of the Yanks in 1926 to
save the World Series for the Cardinals. Legend has it that he was dead
drunk, asleep in the dugout when he had to be awakened to enter the game. He
denied this story in later years.
      He returned to the Phils in 1930, however his career was over, and he
was only a shell of what he once was. He left baseball, and his remaining
years were spent in poverty, alcoholism and his battles with cancer. He was
elected to the Hall of Fame in 1938, and was allegedly supported by monthly
checks from Ty Cobb during his last years of life. He passed away in 1950,
and a movie, The Winning Team, was made about his life. Ironically, the man
who was named for a president was also portrayed by one, Ronald Reagan, who
played "Ole Pete" on the screen.

For more on Ole Pete see:
www.phillies.com
Ironically, the Phillies barely mention him in their history pages!

http://icdweb.cc.purdue.edu/~winterp/bbstl.html
A great site on baseball in St. Louis

www.baseballhalloffame.org/

http://www.polaris.net/~shoeless/shoeless.htm
An absolute must for baseball history nuts. An extensive site containing
everything you ever wanted to know about Shoeless Joe Jackson, with extensive
coverage of the 1919 World Series and scandal. Also great file of photos on
Jackson.

http://www.carlton32.com/
This is advertised as his official web page. Reasonably priced autographed
material available and an alleged e-mail link to Steve Carlton himself.

Is there anything else that can be said about Babe Ruth? We all agree he was
a great ball player, but he has been surpassed by Maris, McGwire and Sosa!
His single season record has been broken, and Aaron has topped his life-time
home run mark. Is it the name that keeps him at the top of the heap? Or is it
our penchant to treasure all things from the past as better than the present.
Let's take a quick look at Ruth.
     Obviously it was his home run prowess that made Ruth popular in his day.
His charasmatic personality and relationship with fans around the country
also put him on the front pages every day. Was he actually that good? Or did
he just hit a few more homers than his comtemporaries. Lets look at his home
run totals in comparison to the other sluggers he played with. Players listed
are the players who came closest to Ruth in home runs in that season,
irregardless of league.

1919    Ruth      Red Sox   29 home runs
            Cravath Phillies     12 home runs

1920    Ruth      Yankees    54 home runs
            Sisler    St. Louis    19 home runs

1921    Ruth      Yankees    59 home runs
            Meusel  Yankees    24 home runs
            Williams St. Louis  24 home runs

1923    Ruth      Yankees    41 home runs
            Williams Phillies    41 home runs
            Williams St.Louis   29 home runs

1924    Ruth      Yankees    46 home runs
            Fournier Brooklyn  27 home runs
            Hauser   Phila A's   27 home runs

1926    Ruth      Yankees    47 home runs
            Wilson   Cubs         21 home runs

1927    Ruth      Yankees     60 home runs
            Gehrig  Yankees     47 home runs

1928    Ruth      Yankees     54 home runs
            Cuyler   Cubs          31 home runs
            Bottomley St. Lou   31 home runs

1929    Ruth      Yankees     46 home runs
            Klein     Phillies       43 home runs

1930    Wilson   Cubs           56 home runs
            Ruth       Yankees     49 home runs

1931    Ruth       Yankees     46 home runs
            Gehrig    Yankees     46 home runs
            Klein       Phillies      31 home runs
  In 1932, 1933 and 1934, though he did not lead the league, Ruth added 97
home runs to his total.
     In conclusion, in the listed seasons, which include 11 years of Ruth's
career, and 538 of his 714 home runs, He "Out-homered" his closest
competitors by 190 home runs! This is a far greater disparity than the 72 to
66 ratio of McGwire to Sosa!

My Pick for Baseball's Greatest Team!
1st base.........Lou Gehrig
2nd base........Rogers Hornsby
3rd base.........Mike Schmidt
Shortstop.......Honus Wagner
Left Field........Babe Ruth
Center Field...Willie Mays
Right Field......Ty Cobb (out of position...who cares)?
Pitchers...........Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Bob Feller, Steve Carlton
Bullpen............Dizzy Dean, Randy Johnson

Agree? Disagree?.....post your picks!

Little Known Facts That Will Make You the Life of the Party!

Bob Feller, ace Indians pitcher of the 40's and 50's, hurled three no hitters
in his career. Upon his retirement he was tied with Cy Young and Johnny
Corcoran for this honor. Though surpassed by both Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax
in later years, the astonishing thing about Feller is that he also threw 12
one-hitters. If we factor in the four seasons he missed due to World War II
we can assume he may have pitched several more. Assumptions aside, the man
had to be one of the most dominating pitchers in the game.

for more on Feller:
http://www.indians.com
http://www.bobfellermuseum.org/

The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told
          By the Men Who Played It-Lawrence Ritter
                                                       Quill Publishing (1992)

      Originally published in 1966, Ritter's classic amounts to one of the
most "universally read" books on baseball.  His oral history allows 26
players to recall their times and their game. His interviews, and over 100
classic photos, stop the baseball clock and take us back to the days of Rube
Marquard, Babe Herman, Stan Covelski, Smoky Joe Wood and Wahoo  Sam Crawford.
It changes our perception of the "historical" game and helps us understand
the appeal of the 1899-1925 era. The book is also available in audio tapes in
the actual voices of the players themselves. This book is the "Glory" of any
baseball library.

for more on the era see: The Charles M. Conlon photo collection
http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/conlon/

ROCKY COLAVITO
     Born in the Bronx in 1933, he was an accomplished ball player by the age
of 10. He dropped out of Theodore Roosevelt High School at 16 to concentrate
on his baseball career. The Yankees, Phila. A's, Cleveland Indians and the
Phillies pursued him, the Indians signing him in 1950. He was brought up to
the parent club in 1956 after hitting .368 with San Diego in the Pacific
Coast League. There he showcased his rifle arm by hurling balls over 436 feet
from home plate to the center field stands. In 1958 he smashed 41 homers for
the Tribe and became a fan favorite. They would line up by the hundreds at
the players exit after each game. Colavito would sign autographs for every
fan! In 1959, he stroked four homers in one game, and did it in four
consecutive times at bat, equaling a feat performed only three prior times in
baseball history.
     In April 1960, Frank Lane, Cleveland owner, traded him to Detroit for
batting champ Harvey Kuenn. Lane described the trade as "even-up," hamburger
for steak. The Cleveland fans however, described it as horrible.
Fans boycotted Tribe games and never forgave Lane for his blunder. In 1961
Colavito stroked 45 home runs and 140 RBI's for Detroit. There are some who
believe the current day Tribe still carries "the curse of Rocky Colavito."
Though he was traded back to Cleveland in 1965, he never regained his former
success. In 1976, Cleveland fans voted him the most memorable personality in
Tribe history.

for more on the Rock see:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Pressbox/3496/colavito.htm
read:
The Curse of Rocky Colavito-A Loving Look at a Thirty Year Slump-
Terry Pluto (1995) Fireside Press

Little Known Facts That Will Make You the Life of the Party!

    With the upcoming all star game, lets look at some All Star History. The
following are the TOP TEN ALL STAR CROWDS, the game results and the winning
managers (why not)?

1981  Cleveland Municipal Stadium  72,086  NL 5-4 Dallas Green, Phils
1935  Cleveland Municipal Stadium  69,831  AL 4-1 Mick. Cochrane Det.
1954  Cleveland Municipal Stadium  68,751  AL 11-9Casey Stengel Yanks
1989  Anaheim Stadium 64,036 AL 5-3 Tony LaRussa Oakland A's
1976  Phila Vet Stadium 63,974 NL 7-1 Sparky Anderson Cinc. Reds
1939  Yankee Stadium 62,892 AL 3-1 Joe McCarthy Yankees
1996  Phila Vet Stadium 62,670 NL 6-0 Bob Cox, Atlanta Braves
1994  Pitts. Three Rivers 59,568 NL 8-7 Jim Fregosi, Phillies
1982  Montreal Olympic Stadium 59,057 NL 4-1 Tom Lasorda, Dodgers
1979  Seattle Kingdome 58,905 NL 7-6 Tom Lasorda, Dodgers

for more on All Star Game History See:
http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/allstar.html
http://www.allstar99.com
http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/

Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown N.Y.
Heaven for the baseball history nut!
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/

Skilton's Baseball Links
John has over 5,000 baseball links on this page!
I have spent "DAYS" here.
http://www.baseball-links.com/

They've Stolen Our Team-1960's Washington Senators
A personal favorite!
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/4429/

The Sporting News History Vault
http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/histories/html

"Moonlight" Graham (Field of Dreams) website
Scholarship fund
http://www.cardmall.com/moonlight-graham/

Please submit your favorite Baseball History Sites to the List!
Thanks.........have fun surfing!

Post from wcybersis@...


"Baseball's Great Experiment"
- The Jackie Robinson Story

By Charles W. Colson


At New York's Shea Stadium, two years ago, baseball
commissioner Bud Selig announced that number 42 would
be retired by the major leagues forever. It was a
mark of honor for the man who had worn that number-the
man who broke baseball's color barrier in 1947:
Jackie Robinson.

February is Black History Month, and our kids have
been hearing a lot about Robinson's quiet dignity in
the face of racial bigotry on the ball field. But
what many of them are not hearing is the source of
Robinson's ability to turn the other cheek: It was
his faith in Jesus Christ.

Robinson was born in 1919 into a culture steeped in
racism. And from early childhood it drove Robinson
mad. Historian Jackson Lears, writing in the New
Republic, says Robinson had "a reputation as a mad
brawler, always ready to smash in the teeth of any
white man who insulted him." Later, at UCLA, he
gained a reputation as a thug.

But it was also at UCLA that Robinson began to
encounter the forces that would free him from some of
his rage. One was a nursing student named Rachel
Isum, whom he later married. The other was a black
minister named Karl Downs, whose hard-hitting sermons
taught Robinson that Christianity was not a synonym
for racial submission.

By 1945 Robinson had developed a firm conviction that
God had an important purpose for his life. That
purpose became clear when Robinson was summoned to
the office of Branch Rickey, general manager for the
Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey was determined to make
history by putting the first black player on a major
league team. But first Rickey made certain Robinson
understood what he would face: everything from racial
epithets to physical assaults to hotel clerks
refusing him accommodations.

Rickey challenged Robinson, telling him he was
"looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to
fight back"-a phrase that has since become legendary.
What is less well known is that Rickey also handed
Robinson a copy of a book by Giovanni Papini called
The Life of Christ. And he reminded Robinson of the
words of Jesus: "Resist not evil: but whosoever shall
smite Thee on Thy right cheek, turn to him the other
also."

By quoting Scripture, Lears writes, Rickey "was
hitting Robinson in the heart, invoking the Methodist
Christianity that they shared."

Robinson's struggle began as soon as he walked out
onto the ball field wearing a Dodgers uniform. During
his ten years with the Dodgers, he endured racist
remarks, death threats, and unfair calls by umpires.
But Robinson's faith helped him keep his anger in
check. Every night, he got on his knees and prayed
for self-control.

"Through all the frustrations," writes Lears, "his
Christianity sustained him."

Robinson left baseball in 1956 and spent the rest of
his life working in the civil-rights movement.
Despite personal tragedies and setbacks, Robinson's
faith in Christ never wavered.

Before Black History Month ends, make sure your own
children learn about Jackie Robinson. But beware:
Some biographies of Robinson written for children
don't even mention his Christian faith. Our kids
deserve to know the full story of the hero who broke
baseball's color barrier.

The man whose faith helped him overcome racial
prejudice to make baseball history and become a great
national legend.



Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fel
lowship Ministries

Little Known Facts That Will Make You the Life of the Party!

     Fidel Castro, historical revolutionary and dictator of the island of Cuba
might have been a major league ballplayer. Though many feel his talent was
exaggerated, he was a star pitcher at the University of Havana. How different
things may have been had he been successful in his 1947 tryout with the
Washington Senators. Ironic? Now pitching, for the Washington
Senators....Fidel Castro!!!

for more on Fidel see:
http://cnn.com/resources/newsmakers/world/namerica/castro.html

for more on Cuban Baseball see:
http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Sports/Cuban_Baseball_
Exhibition_Series/news_stories_1.html

Little Known Facts That Will Make You the Life of the Party!

     Johnny Vander Meer, a pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds, accomplished a
baseball feat which will be very hard to duplicate. On June 11, 1938, Vander
Meer pitched a no hitter versus the Boston Braves, winning the game 3-0. So
what? you may ask. Though no hitters are rare they are not unheard of. What
did Vander Meer do in his next start?  On June 15, 1938, in the first night
game ever played at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Vander Meer tossed his second
straight no hitter in defeating the Dodgers 6-0. He remains the only hurler
to ever accomplish this "miracle of the mound."