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Who is the only person to have been home plate umpire and pitcher for no-hitters?

Bill Dineen’s career 170–177 record does little to suggest the flashes of brilliance in his career, which included three wins as pitcher for the Red Sox in the 1903 World Series. His best game as a pitcher was a no-hitter hurled against the Chicago White Sox on September 27, 1905.

As an umpire, Dineen had a fantastic reputation, and over the course of his lengthy career he was umpire during five no-hitters. While other people have pitched or umpired no-hitters, Dineen is the only individual to have pitched a no-hitter and served as home plate umpire.

Dineen’s no-hitter history includes one notorious event. On June 23, 1917, Dineen was working third base. Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth walked the first batter of the game. Furious at the call of the home plate umpire, Ruth punched the umpire and was thrown out of the game. Ernie Shore replaced Ruth and retired every batter he faced — Ruth was credited with being part of a combined no-hitter, despite not having recorded a single out.

Who was the fi rst black player in major league baseball?

While Jackie Robinson is the man who broke baseball’s shameful colour barrier, he was not the first African-American to play in the major leagues.

Catcher Moses “Fleetwood” Walker was a member of the Toledo Blue Stockings when they joined the American Association (a predecessor of the American League) in 1884. Walker played in only 62 games in an injury-plagued season, and was released at the end of the year.

Others followed Walker, but by the 1900s there were no black players in the major leagues. While the big leagues never had a formal ban, owners adhered to an unwritten rule that prevented African-Americans from playing until 1947, when Dodger General Manager Branch Rickey made the bold move of bringing Jackie Robinson to Brooklyn.

Who applied the “unfavourable chance deviation theory” to baseball?

Though he’d later go on to be a successful manager, winning the World Series with the 1986 Mets, Davey Johnson had a solid career as a player, too. Not only could he play, but he had a brain in his head as well … though perhaps he over-thought things once in a while.

When Orioles pitcher Dave McNally was struggling with his control, Johnson, a former math major, resorted to theories of mathematical probability. “Haven’t you ever heard of the unfavourable chance deviation theory?” Johnson asked. “Aim for the middle of the plate when you’re wild. The ball will end up in the corners, which is where you want it, anyway.”

They Said It …

Reporter: “Do you think Ty Cobb is up there looking down at you as you chase the record?”

Pete Rose: “From what I know about the guy, he may not be up there. He may be down there.”

Where was baseball fi rst played?

The origins of baseball are murky at best. While the legend that baseball was invented by Abner Doubleday and first played in Cooperstown, New York, was once the “official” story, it was, alas, baseless. The committee that gave Doubleday and Cooperstown the nod has been accused not of trying to find out where baseball was invented, but of trying to prove that it was invented in the United States.

Various places in the United States and Canada have claimed to be the birthplaces of baseball, but in reality the game developed from a number of bat-and-ball games played in England. In fact, there are many references in British writings to a game called “base-ball” or “baseball.” The game is even referenced in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (written in 1799).

The United States can lay claim to hosting the first organized baseball game played between two clubs. On October 6, 1845, the Knickerbocker Club took on the New York Nine at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Who was the fi rst black umpire in the majors?

In the history of baseball’s integration in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Emmett Ashford is often overlooked.

“Ash” first made history by becoming the first African-American to umpire in professional baseball when he took the field in the Southwest International League in 1951. There he became known for his exaggerated calls and ritzy wardrobe. But it wasn’t until 15 years later, on April 1, 1966, that he got his shot as the first black major league umpire.

Which team played their fi rst game in the snow?

After the National League’s successful expansion into Canada with the Montreal Expos in 1969, the American League decided to go international as well, adding the Toronto Blue Jays for the 1977 season.

Quickies

Did you know …

• that the baseball tradition of spring training came about in 1885 when the Chicago White Stockings went to Hot Springs in Arkansas to prepare for the new season?

But the weather seemed to be uncooperative. Snow blanketed the field at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium for the scheduled home opener on April 7. The Blue Jays organization was determined to get the first game in, and the Jays and Chicago White Sox took to the field in weather that may have resulted in a postponement on any other day. The Jays won their franchise opener 9–5 on the strength of two home runs by Doug Ault.

Who wrote the book Ball Four ?

It was long assumed that professional athletes engaged in hijinks while on the road, but until Jim Bouton’s 1970 book Ball Four blew the lid off of ballplayers’ not-so-wholesome lifestyle, few knew just how much trouble big leaguers actually got into.

Bouton had been a pitcher for nine seasons from 1962–70 (he later made a comeback bid in 1978), and freely implicated himself while storytelling. Ball Four depicted major league players as heavy drinkers and frequently unfaithful to their spouses.

Many players and some owners criticized Bouton for the book. Even some baseball wives were upset with him. Nancy Marshall, wife of pitcher Mike Marshall, said that many wives “didn’t want to think about the times when their husbands were on the road, let alone read a story that confirmed their worst suspicions.”

Quickies

Did you know …

• that in 1910, the cork center was added to the official baseball?

What previously unexplored market did the Detroit Tigers tap into when they signed Gates Brown and Ron LeFlore?

Though signed four years apart, in 1968 and 1972 respectively, it’s hard not to think of Gates Brown and Ron LeFlore as part of the same baseball class, since both were picked up by the Detroit Tigers out of prison.

Brown had been serving time in a prison in Ohio for breaking and entering convictions, and he played on the prison baseball team. His coach was so impressed with his abilities that he brought him to the attention of major league scouts. The Tigers eventually signed Brown after a bidding war for his services. Though never a major part of the starting lineup, Gates was strong off the bench, batting .370 off the pines in 1968.

Ron LeFlore was an even bigger success, after his prison years. LeFlore had had drug problems as a youth and was eventually imprisoned after he and a group of friends held up a bar in Detroit, making off with $35,000. While in prison, LeFlore played for the prison ball team, and though he was never a fan of the sport, he excelled. He was given a tryout with the Tigers after another inmate contacted a friend who knew then-Tigers’ manager, Billy Martin. LeFlore made the team and proved to be a valuable contributor. Ironically, he was especially adept at stealing bases. He led the league in stolen sacks twice, including 97 swipes in 1980.

They Said It …

“Happy left office for reasons of health; that is, the owners got sick of him.”

Sportswriter Red Smith on the departure of commissioner Happy Chandler.

How many players have played in both the Little League World Series, the College World Series, and the Major League Baseball World Series?

Only two players have pulled off the unlikely triumvirate of World Series appearances.

Ed Vosberg was the first. Vosberg’s Little League World Series performance included a one-hitter in the semi-finals of the 1973 tournament. Later, he was a member of the 1980 NCAA champions, the University of Arizona. Finally, he pitched three innings of relief for the Florida Marlins in the 1997 World Series.

The other veteran of the three different World Series is Jason Varitek. His Little League World Series performance was less impressive — he went zero for seven in 1984. He later helped Georgia Tech win the 1994 College World Series. As a pro, he was part of the curse-breaking 2004 World Championship won by the Boston Red Sox.

Varitek actually did Vosberg one better; in addition to the three World Series, he also played on the U.S. team in the 1992 Olympics.

How long was the 1989 World Series delayed by the Bay Area earthquake?

The 1989 season was an unhappy one for baseball. It was the year that Pete Rose was banned for life and commissioner Bart Giamatti died suddenly of a heart attack. But the misfortune that befell the World Series that year went far beyond baseball — a massive earthquake rocked the San Francisco Bay area, killing 63 people and injuring thousands.

The scope of the disaster made the disruption of the series — which featured the two Bay Area teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics — a minor inconvenience.

Quickies

Did you know …

• that Cal Ripken has the lowest career batting average of all members of the 3,000 hit club? His .276 lifetime average is just a shade below Rickey Henderson’s .279.

The quake occurred during the opening ceremonies of Game 3 on October 17, and forced the suspension of the series. Play resumed 10 days later, on October 27. The Athletics went on to sweep — the only World Series win for a team that many thought had “dynasty” written all over it.

How many times did the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees meet in the World Series?

World Series showdowns between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees were starting to feel like annual events in the 1940s and 1950s, with the Yankees having the better of the Dodgers year after year before the Bums finally triumphed in 1955.

In the history of the rivalry, the two teams faced each other in the Series seven times: 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956. In fact, aside from appearances in the Fall Classic in 1916 and 1920 (at a time when the team was known as the Robins), the Brooklyn squad never played a World Series against a team other than the Yankees.

After the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, the teams did not meet in October again until 1963. They later renewed their rivalry in three memorable World Series confrontations in 1977, 1978, and 1981.

Who was the fi rst team to have a permanent spring training home?

Spring training had existed since the 19th century, but teams would generally move around from state to state, and sometimes their spring training would take place near (or even in) the city they represented in the regular season.

While spring training is, nowadays, played in Grapefruit League (Florida) or Cactus League (Arizona) locations, the first “permanent” spring training base was the New York Giants’ camp in Marlin Springs, Texas. The Giants trained there from 1908 to 1918.

Quickies

Did you know …

• that in the 1890s, American baseball teams played soccer in the off-season in order to keep their stadiums operating through the winter months? Often the same players who were on the baseball teams would also play soccer. The first American soccer championship was won by the moonlighting Baltimore Orioles of baseball’s National League. (Not the same Orioles who would later become the New York Yankees.)

Why did the Seattle Pilots only last one season?

Long before the Mariners entered the American League in 1977, the Seattle Pilots got the city on the Major League map in the 1969 season. The Pilots were one of four expansion franchises that year, the others being the San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos in the National League, and the Kansas City Royals in the American League.

The Pilots were rushed into existence. The original plan was that they, and their expansion partners, would not play until 1971, but folks in Missouri — particularly Senator Stuart Symington — were making noise about scrapping baseball’s antitrust exemption. They were hot over the decision to allow the Kansas City Athletics to move to Oakland, and weren’t prepared to wait two years.

So, the Royals — and the Expos, Padres, and Pilots — began life in 1969. The Pilots were not financially prepared, nor did they have an adequate stadium. Their home field was a converted minor league facility that seated 17,000 fans. Worse, they were barely able to cover the expansion fee.

Though they outdrew four other major league teams, their attendance was woeful and it was clear the Pilots would not last long enough for a new domed stadium to be built. So, when a group led by Bud Selig emerged with a plan to buy the Pilots and move them to Wisconsin, the nail was in the coffin for Seattle baseball for the time being, and the Milwaukee Brewers were born.

Which team played out of two home stadiums in 2003 and 2004?

The Montreal Expos had been struggling to bring in crowds for years, particularly since the 1994 strike put an end to a season in which the Expos seemed destined for the postseason and were thought by many to be poised for a World Series run. By 2003, the state of the team was dire, and Major League Baseball had assumed ownership.

With Expos fans already pointing fingers at MLB for the team’s woes, baseball decided that the Expos would have two homes for the 2003 season, and would play 22 games out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The arrangement continued in the 2004 season, which would ultimately be the team’s last as a representative of Montreal. In 2005, the Expos became the Washington Nationals — though to this day, Expos fans refer to the team not-so-lovingly as “the Gnats.”

Who were the division leaders when the 1994 season was halted by a strike?

One way or another, 1994 was destined to become a historic season for major league baseball. It was the first season with six divisions, and three rounds of playoffs were planned.

The postseason never arrived, however, as a players’ strike ended the season on August 11. The playoffs and World Series were scrapped.

The sudden end to the season was most keenly felt by fans of the teams that had playoff hopes, and in particular, the division leaders. The New York Yankees (AL East) and Montreal Expos (NL East) were the class of baseball, and held commanding leads in their divisions (six and a half and six games respectively). The Chicago White Sox held a one game lead in the new AL Central, while the Texas Rangers were also up by one in the AL West.

Notable Moments in the Early Days of Baseball

1845:	The rules of baseball aredeveloped by Alexander JoyCartwright.
1846:	The Knickerbockers and agroup of cricket players playthe first“official” game ofbaseball.
1867:	The first (known) curveball inbaseball is thrown by CandyCummings.
1869:	An all-professional team, theCincinnati Red Stockings, takes the field for the firsttime.
1876:	The National League iscreated.
1882:	The American Baseball Association is established.
1889:	The Players’ League is created.
1900:	The American League is created.
1903:	The first World Series is played between the Boston Pilgrims and the PittsburghPirates.

The Cincinatti Reds led the NL Central by a slim half game, and the Los Angeles Dodgers were up three and a half games in the NL West.

Teams leading their divisions at the time of the strike were named division champions. The previous year’s league champions — the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays — were listed as reigning league champions going into the next season, and the Jays as reigning World Champions.

Who had the best record in baseball in 1981, but failed to make the playoffs?

The 1981 season was marred by the first-ever midseason players’ strike. Players walked out in June and didn’t return until August.

Rather than simply continuing the season with the playoff races that were in progress at the time of the strike, owners decided to split the season in two: teams leading their divisions when the strike began were automatically awarded playoff spots, while teams leading their divisions at season’s end would also make the playoffs, and there would be an extra round to determine division champions.

This worked out nicely for the teams that earned playoff spots, but for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, it was a travesty. The Cardinals’ overall record in the 1981 season was the best in the NL East, and yet, because they finished second to two different teams in each half, they missed the playoffs.

Quickies

Did you know …

• that the first baseball catcher’s mask was a fencer’s mask introduced by Harvard’s Fred Thayer in 1877? It wasn’t until 1890 that the major leagues adopted the idea of all catchers wearing protective masks.

The biggest outrage was that the Cincinnati Reds were excluded from the postseason. Not only did they have the best record in their division — they had the best record in all of baseball. But the Los Angeles Dodgers edged them by half a game in the first half, and the Astros by a game and a half in the second half.

Who was the last umpire to use an external chest protector when working behind the plate?

Nowadays umpires working home plate are required to wear a chest protector that fits under their uniforms, but for much of the 20th century the sported an external protector known as the “bubble” — a large cushion protector that they would hold in front of their bodies like a shield. National League umpires were the first to get rid of the clunky protector, and the American League followed suit in 1977.

But like many changes in sports, the outside chest protector was grandfathered out of existence. Umpires who were active at the time of the rule change were permitted to continue using the bubble for the remainder of their careers. The last umpire to use the bubble in a game was Jerry Neudecker, who retired in 1985.

Who were the Colorado Silver Bullets?

The Colorado Silver Bullets were not notable because they were sponsored by Coors Brewery. Nor were they notable because they were an all-female team. What was notable about the Silver Bullets is that they were an all-female team playing against male competition.

At first they planned to play primarily against teams from the independent Northern League, but after being shellacked in their first games in 1994, they set more modest goals, and began playing against semi-pro and amateur teams. They finished the year 6–37.

By their fourth year, 1997, the Silver Bullets had managed a winning record, 23–22, but by then the novelty of a barnstorming team of female players had worn off, and attendance had declined. Coors pulled out as a sponsor, and the team was disbanded.

Who won 20 games in his fi rst year in the majors, but failed to bring home Rookie of the Year honours?

Tom Browning’s 1985 season was one that even a veteran would take pride in. He boasted a 20–9 record with a 3.55 ERA for the Cincinnati Reds. But this was a time when the stolen base was prized, perhaps more than at any other time in baseball history, and Vince Coleman’s 110 thefts captured the hearts of voters, despite his mediocre bat. It helped that he was playing for a playoff-bound team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Coleman went on to steal more than 100 bases two more times, though he never blossomed to any great extent at the plate. Browning had some solid years, but only approached the 20-win mark once, winning 18 games in 1988.

Who managed for 27 years, winning 1,902 games, but never reached the World Series?

Sometimes you can keep on winning without winning it all. Gene Mauch had a successful career managing some outstanding ball clubs. In a career that spanned the years from 1960 to 1987, he skippered the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, and California Angels, capturing division titles in 1982 and 1986, both times with the Angels. Sadly, his teams were unable to win in the playoffs, and Mauch never appeared in a World Series as manager.

He did come close. In 1986, the Angels were one strike away from winning the American League Championship Series in five games, but reliever Donny Moore gave up a home run to Boston’s Dave Henderson; the Sox went on to win that game, and the next two games after that. Mauch lasted only one more season as a manager.

Who was the fi rst team to sport an identifying logo?

Merchandising was not a consideration for early baseball teams. The purpose of uniforms was to distinguish one team from another. And so, logos served little purpose.

The first team to incorporate a logo into their uniforms were the Detroit Tigers, who stitched a small, red tiger on their caps in 1901.

How many women played in the Negro Leagues?

The Negro Leagues not only provided an opportunity for black men to play baseball at a professional level, it also provided an opportunity for three women to play with the men.

Toni Stone was the first of these. She made her professional debut in 1949 with the San Francisco Sea Lions. She went on to play for the New Orleans Black Pelicans and the Indianapolis Clowns, finishing her career with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1954. Stone had a female teammate on the Indianapolis squad — Marnie “Peanut” Jackson pitched for the Clowns from 1953 to 1955, going 33–8. Finally, Connie Morgan played for the Clowns, replacing Stone after she left the team.

Ironically, though they played in a league that existed because racial intolerance would not allow black players in the major leagues, the women faced discrimination because of their gender. Toni Stone may have had the worst experience — she received almost no playing time after moving from the Clowns to the Monarchs, and was hated by her teammates.

What was the name of the professional baseball league for women that began play during World War II?

In 1943, Philip K. Wrigley founded a professional league for women. The goal of the league was to maintain a profile for baseball during the war years, when many of the top male stars were overseas and public attention was drifting away.

For convenience and clarity, the women’s league is generally referred to as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, but it actually went by several names during its history. Between the founding of the league in 1943 and its demise after the 1954 season, it went by the names All-American Girls Professional Softball League, All-American Girls Baseball League, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and American Girls’ Baseball League.

Was the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League actually a softball league?

The women’s baseball league actually began its existence playing a game that more closely resembled softball. The original ball was 12 inches in diameter, and the pitchers threw underhanded from a mound only 40 feet from home plate. Bases were 65 feet apart.

The ball became smaller over the years, shrinking five times between 1944 and 1954. The distance between base paths was lengthened several times, topping out at 85 feet in 1954. Pitchers were still required to throw underhand, or, by 1946, sidearm, but overhand pitching was not permitted until 1948. Even then, the mound was only 50 feet from home plate and would not move to 60 feet until the last year of the league’s existence.

Who competed in the fi rst known organized game of baseball?

The first team to play using modern rules were the New York Knickerbockers, who played by what was known as the Knickerbocker Rules (developed by their founder, Alexander Cartwright). The first organized game was played between the Knickerbockers and a team known as the New York Nine. Despite inventing the rules for the game, the Knickerbockers were trounced, 23–1, in a game played at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Who is known as “The Father of Baseball”?

While it’s impossible to credit any individual with inventing baseball, many are comfortable with saying the modern game of baseball was invented by The Father of Baseball, Alexander Cartwright. Cartwright took what was, until then, a crude stick-and-ball game and established rules that created a game that would look familiar to fans of the sport that is played today. He set the distance between bases at 90 feet, established that each team should have nine players, and forbade the former method of getting runners out by throwing the ball at them.

Besides the New York Yankees, what franchise has won the most American League pennants?

The New York Yankees have won an astonishing 40 American League Championships in their history. To put it in context, you could add together the number of pennants won by any three other American League teams and still not come up with a number that beats the Yankees’ total.

The nearest competitor to the Yankees is the Athletics franchise, which has divided pennants between two cities: Philadelphia and Oakland. (The team also played in Kansas City, but had no first-place finishes there.)

If we limit our search to the number of pennants won in one city, the Boston Red Sox top the list with 12 American League flags.

What is “the Buckner Ball” and where is it today?

The ball that went between the legs of Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, crushing the dreams of Red Sox fans, was subsequently named The Buckner Ball. The ball was put on auction in 1992 and went to actor Charlie Sheen for $93,500. Sheen later put the ball on auction in 2000, and songwriter Seth Swirsky was the top bidder, though Swirsky refers to it as “the Mookie Ball” (the groundball that Buckner misplayed was hit by Mookie Wilson). Sheen lost money on his investment, as the ball only sold for $63,500.

Was the 1919 World Series the fi rst to be fi xed?

Though suspicions were never proven, there was plenty of speculation that three World Series were thrown prior to the famous Black Sox Scandal of 1919.

The first suspected tanking of a series took place in 1914. The heavily favoured Philadelphia Athletics were inexplicably swept in four games by the Boston Braves. Conspiracy theorists believe that the players were angry with owner Connie Mack, who paid them poorly, and decided to let the Braves win the series.

In 1917, many pointed fingers of suspicion at Heine Zimmerman, third baseman for the New York Giants, who held onto the ball during a rundown, allowing the series-winning run to score. (Zimmerman may have been unfairly accused, as there was no one to throw the ball to, but he was later implicated in another gambling scandal.) And then, in 1918, rumours were swirling that the Chicago Cubs had intentionally thrown the World Series against the Boston Red Sox.