Let’s start this essay with a FUN FACT: the Spanish term for pinch-hitter is bateador emergente, or emergency batter. Now there’s a phrase I’d like to see catch on in anglophone play-by-play accounts. It enhances the drama of the situation. I don’t think there are fewer emergencies in contemporary baseball than in ye olden times, […] The post The Vanishing Pinch-Hitter first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more

Ted Williams said, “Johnny Mize was one of baseball’s most outstanding hitters.” Indeed, Mize, a first baseman, was a feared slugger who clouted 369 homers and a compiled a career batting average of .312. He was the first player to knock 50 homers (51 in 1947) and strike out less than 50 times. The big, […] The post Often Overlooked Johnny Mize Put Up Impressive Numbers first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more

For nearly a decade, four-time home run champ Frank “Home Run” Baker and strikeout king Walter Johnson waged one of the most intense rivalries in the American League. From 1909 through 1913, the Philadelphia Athletics slugger dominated the Washington Senators fireballer. When Johnson was considered unhittable by many American League batters, Baker batted .385 against […] The post Walter Johnson’s Beanball Stymied Nemesis Home Run Baker first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more

At some point during the 2024 season, you might hear your hometown play-by-play announcer say, “He’s only a (single/double/triple/homer) away from the cycle.”  More than likely, it will be a triple, since that it is the least likely result of any plate appearance that results in a hit. If said hitter does complete the cycle, […] The post Uni-Cycling, Bi-Cycling, Tri-Cycling…And Beyond? first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more

A common Seamhead quest is to see a ballgame at every major league ballpark. Some attempt to do it in one season; others (myself included) take their time. And some aficionados sign up for those bus tours that promise eight ballparks in eight days; in other words, if it’s Tuesday, this must be Detroit. That’s […] The post Magical History Tour: Of Beatles And Ballparks first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more

At the end of the 1965 season, Sandy Koufax, though just one year away from retirement, was riding high.  He led the National League in wins (26), ERA (2.04), and complete games (27) while setting a major league record with 382 strikeouts.  Less than a decade later (1973), Nolan Ryan astounded the baseball world by […] The post The 400 K Club first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more

Every now and then we read about a scout, coach, or manager who is described as a baseball “lifer.”  Well, that word also applies to someone serving a life sentence in prison.  Read into that what you will. Being a lifer is better than being on death row, I guess.  Of course, organized baseball does […] The post Major Managers in Minor League History first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more

Chances are you knew about spitballs long before you learned about baseball history.  Somewhere in elementary school – or maybe in preschool if you were a prodigy – you learned how to chew up wads of paper into soggy little balls which you could throw at someone else or the blackboard.  Eventually, you learned that […] The post Texas League Spitballin’ first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more

“A committee of researchers and historians is working to ensure more than 3,400 Negro Leagues players from the relevant years and leagues receives that recognition in the official MLB statistical database maintained by the Elias Sports Bureau. It’s a detailed, demanding and difficult process — but one that recently received the organization and cohesion it […] The post MLB Works to Incorporate Negro League Stats Into Record first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more

Centennial years are a big deal.  When I was a teenager, they made a big deal about the Civil War Centennial.  The same was true several years ago when World War I “celebrated” its centennial.  And if we make it to 2041, I have no doubts that the 100th anniversary of Pearl Harbor will kick […] The post The Grand Strand first appeared on Seamheads.com ..read more