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The Yankees' manager, in his second season at the helm, was confident that his team would beat the Phillies in the World Series. The Phillies Were a Fast, Hustling Team "Not that I'm underestimating these Phillies. My reports show they are a fast, hustling club and they have good pitching. In fact, I respect their pitching more than anything else and if they do beat us it will be ...

The 1950 Boston Red Sox infield produced one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history, but let's get one thing straight. The Boston infield of Walt Dropo at first base, Bobby Doerr at second base, Johnny Pesky at third base, and Vern Stephens at shortstop was not the greatest infield of all time. But for one season, the unit was unrivaled as a hitting machine. No infield has ever matched its ...

Joe Mauer won the 2009 American League batting championship, hitting.365, which set a record for the highest batting average by a catcher, surpassing the .362 of Bill Dickey in 1936 and Mike Piazza in 1997. The batting title was Mauer's third in the last four seasons. Bubbles Hargrave's Batting TitleThe only other catchers to win a batting title are Bubbles Hargrave and Ernie Lombardi, both of whom played a long, long ...

It is easy to understand why, until Babe Ruth and the home run became king, Ty Cobb was considered the greatest of all baseball players, a conclusion that is still held by some experts. Taken in the context of his era, Ty Cobb was vastly superior to all but a few players. Only Honus Wagner, who was better than even today's hero, Derek Jeter, could seriously challenged Cobb's supremacy. Ty Cobb's Triple CrownTy ...

It's an almost certainty that in 2009 every American League team will have struck out at least 1,000 times. Oakland has 998 strikeouts, Chicago has 986, New York has 975, Minnesota is at 973, and Baltimore has the fewest with 970. The league average for team strikeouts is 1,052. The Mets Will Not Have 1,000 Strikeouts The only National League teams that have fewer than 1,000 strikeouts are the Mets (907) and the ...

On September 21, 1970, Vida Blue pitched a no-hitter against the soon-to-be American League Western Division champion Minnesota Twins. The 20 year-old Blue had just missed a no-hitter on September 11 when, with two outs in the eighth inning, Kansas City outfielder Pat Kelly singled. Vida Blue's No-HitterIn his fourth start of the season, Blue retired the first 11 Twins before walking Harmon Killebrew. In the fifth inning, A's shortstop Bert Campaneris made ...

Baseball fans are funny people, but baseball players can be even stranger, at least to those who never follow the game. An unwritten rule, which is no longer respected, is that when a pitcher is working on a no-hitter, it is never mentioned. Because if it is mentioned, the next batter the pitcher faces will get a hit, at least according to superstition.The great broadcaster Mel Allen would tell listeners, "There ...

Many older fans claim that today's players aren't as intense as players from the past. They point out that free agency has led to much player movement, which has decreased team loyalty and increased concern for individual performance. But how much have things really changed? The Braves Appeared Ready to Win AgainThe Milwaukee Braves won the 1957 World Series, beating the Yankees in seven games. Each team won their respective league's 1958 pennant, ...

At the end of play on October 2, 1980, the Houston Astros led the Los Angeles Dodgers by three games, with three games left to play for each team. The teams would face off at Dodger Stadium for what promised to be a dramatic series. All Houston had to do was win one game. They didn't. Both Teams Had Solid PitchingBoth teams had solid pitching. The Astros starters included 19 game winner ...