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  Best Defensive Third Basemen

  It is important to remember that there are fewer third basemen in the Hall of Fame than any other position. The position has traditionally been looked at as a corner power-hitting place in the lineup. Therefore, trying to find a good power hitter who can also play defense is a challenging proposition. Most winning teams [...]

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  Christy Mathewson: The Christian Gentleman

  Once, in the ninth inning of a game against the Cubs, the great Christy Mathewson looked into his fine-fielding catcher, the Californian Chief Meyers, for the sign. Suddenly, Meyers called “Time!”, jumped up and headed to the mound. “What’s the matter?”, asked Mathewson. “Skip wants a double-play ball,” responded Meyers. Mathewson glanced toward the dugout [...]

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  Rube Waddell: The First American League Ace

  In the early part of the 20th century, baseball fans came out in droves to watch “Rube strike ‘em out!” Yes, Rube Waddell was the new American League’s star pitcher. He was a flame-throwing strikeout ace–and he was really something to see. Before some games, he would paint, on the sidewalks and streets, “Come watch [...]

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  Roger Connor: The First Giant

  Roger Connor was the best first baseman in baseball during his 18 year career. He set a record for career home runs that was not broken until Babe Ruth broke it in 1921, 24 years later. What made Connor a star was his combination of power and superb fielding–an amazing balance on both sides of [...]

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  Bill Lange: How Good Was He?

  When asked about center fielder Bill Lange, A. H. Spink, founder of The Sporting News, responded, “Lange was Ty Cobb enlarged, fully great in speed, batting skill and baserunning.” Others agreed, only giving the nod to Buck Ewing as the greatest 19th century player because of his expertise at catcher. While Lange was widely acknowledged [...]

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  David “Davy” Force: The Gold Glove

  David “Davy” Force was not baseball’s first great short stop. Players such as Dickey Pearce and George Wright helped to develop the position in the 1860s and early 1870s. Yet, Force is clearly remembered as the first great defensive player at the position. He played on a number of teams for 19 years in the [...]

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  UBTG DREAM TEAM BASEBALL POLL

  Recently, Ultimate Baseball The Game (UBTG) launched a “dream team” project, a Dream Team Baseball Poll designed to tally respondents’ favorite picks of all time at each position. I was asked to submit my all-time dream picks, and I decided to publish the following post in hopes of spurring some lively discussion. As many of [...]

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  Monte Ward: Leader, Scholar and Athlete

  John Montgomery “Monte” Ward, all 5′ 9″ and 165 pounds of him, was one of the top pitchers of his generation. He was also one of the top shortstops of the 1880s and 1890s. And, he was one of the most influential “movers and shakers” in the history of baseball. As legends of baseball go, [...]

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  Amos Rusie: The Pitcher Who Changed the Game

  Amos Rusie threw so hard, many fans swore they couldn’t see the ball when it left his hand. Experts believe he could “bring it” at 100mph–and that he routinely threw in the high 90s. His catcher, Dick Buckley, under his glove, placed a thin strip of lead covered in a handkerchief, and added a sponge [...]

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  Big Sam Thompson: The First Great Clutch Hitter

  In the 1880s, a new baseball star appeared on the horizon. He was 6′ 2 1/2″ tall and around 225 pounds, a pretty big fellow for his era, and his teammates, and the fans, called him “Big Sam”. Samuel Luther “Big Sam” Thompson was indeed a formidable force with a bat in his hands. He [...]

Japanese Baseball

The Koshien Stadium Experience

David Maher, a photo-journalist, is based in Japan. He has lived there for many years and is a keen observer of Japanese culture. He contributes to Japan Tourist, an English language website–a good source for what to see and do in Japan–on the beaten track or off. This week, my son Brian (a friend of [...]

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Masaichi Kaneda: The Emperor

In Japan, during the 1950s and 1960s, Masaichi Kaneda, Shigeo Nagashima, Sadaharu Oh and Katsuya Nomura were the faces of professional baseball. Nagashima, a third baseman, and Oh, a first baseman, were power-hitting teammates for the Yankees of Japan, the Yomiuri Giants. Nomura was the home run-slugging catcher for the Nankai Hawks, and Masaichi Kaneda [...]

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Isao Harimoto: The Greatest Hitter in Japanese Baseball History

On a nice Spring afternoon in 1959, our father took us to see the Toei Flyers (now called the Nippon Ham Fighters… of Yu Darvish fame) play the Nankai Hawks at Namba Yakyujo, home of the Hawks in Osaka, Japan. The Flyers’ left fielder was an emerging rookie named Isao Harimoto, a left-hander who was [...]

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Kazuhisa Inao: The Greatest “Big Game” pitcher in Japanese Baseball History

Those of us who grew up during the ’50s in Japan all knew about Kazuhisa “Iron Man” Inao. In fact, he earned that nickname on his way to 276 career victories and a revered place in Japan’s Baseball Hall of Fame. Victor Starffin and Tadashi “Bozo” Wakabayashi, great pitchers in their era, were now retired. [...]

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Eiji Sawamura: The First Great Japanese Pitcher

I first heard the legend of Eiji Sawamura when I was in elementary school. My Japanese friends in our neighborhood, and their fathers and grandfathers, told me about how he had struck out Ruth, Gehrig, Gehringer and Foxx… in order. My father confirmed the story, and filled in the missing parts of the legend. It seemed hard [...]

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Victor Starffin: The Greatest Pitcher in Japanese Baseball History?

Victor Starffin, except for a fluke of history, might have been a member of the American baseball Hall of Fame. He was the first pitcher to win 300 games in Japanese baseball history, and was elected to the Japan Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1960. Much of his family history is speculative and disputed, [...]

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History of Baseball: First Major League Player Born in China

One of my brother’s friends in New York recently asked him if he knew of any Major League baseball players that were born in China. As it turns out, there is one, and his story is indeed stranger than fiction. Henry Lees “Harry” Kingman played for the New York Yankees in 1914. Only a “cup [...]

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History of Baseball: The Man From Maui

A previous post about the great pitcher, Tadashi “Bozo” Wakabayashi, prompted an ongoing conversation about who is the greatest Hawaiian athlete of all time. There are many candidates… Buster Crabbe, Gerry Lopez, the legendary Duke Kahanamoku… and several other worthy athletes. For my money, the greatest athlete in the history of Hawaii is… the man [...]

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History of Baseball: The Man From Hawaii

On Wednesday, October 26th, Game 6 of the World Series 2011 was postponed due to rain. And, the article in this column about Goro Mikami struck a chord with American and Japanese baseball history enthusiasts. In fact, I received comments regarding the great Osaka Hanshin Tigers pitcher, also mentioned in the article, Tadashi “Bozo” Wakabayashi. [...]

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History of Baseball: Japan’s First Pro Ballplayer in America

The history of baseball is often a reflection of American culture. Sometimes, the history of baseball in Japan merges with the history of baseball in America. A friend of mine was recently involved in a heated debate with a business associate about who was the first professional baseball player from Japan to play in the [...]

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