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The Winter Meetings have been Organized Baseball's annual offseason ritual since the early days of the game. This is SABR's second volume on their history, covering 1958 - 2016, plus a special section on the Negro Leagues winter meetings. The latter years of the 20th century included many monumental changes in the business of baseball. This volume covers multiple rounds of expansion, the advent of free agency, several work stoppages, collusion among the owners, and the elimination of the American and National League presidents' offices and consolidation of the two leagues as a single business entity. With contributions by 40 members of the Society for American Baseball Research: Abigail Miskowiec, Andy Bokser, Bob Whelan, Chad Hagan, Charles H. Martin, Chip Greene, Chris Jones, Christopher Matthews, Clayton Trutor, Dan Levitt, Darren Munk, David M. Kritzler and Alan P. Henry, Donald G. Frank, Duke Goldman, Gregory H. Wolf, Hawkins DuBois, Jason C. Long, Jason Myers, Jeff Barto, Jerry Swenson, Jessica Frank, John Bauer, John Burbridge, Kent Henderson, Luca Rossi, Mark Armour, Mark S. Sternman, Michael Huber, Mike Lynch, Paul D. Brown, Paul Hensler, Robert K. Whelan, Rodger A. Payne, Ross E. Davies, Steve Cardullo, Steve Weingarden, Steve West, Tim Rask, Tom Cuggino, Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr.

You have to be a very good pitcher to lose 20 games in one season. Why would a manager keep putting you out there to pitch, time after time, if you didn't have a chance to win the game? More than 25 percent of the pitchers in the National Baseball Hall of Fame are pitchers who lost 20 or more games in a single season. One of them even lost 20 or more games for 10 years in a row!The names in this book are often well-known names. Cy Young lost more than 20 games in three different seasons. Other 20-game losers were Steve Carlton, Walter Johnson, Phil Niekro, Robin Roberts, and Red Ruffing, to name a few.We've included here every one of the 23 Hall of Famers who are 20-game losers, as well as some lesser-known names, over sixty biographies in all. Mike Maroth and Brian Kingman, the two most recent pitchers to lose 20 games, are here. So is Jack Nabors thanks to his 1-20 season. You will find Guy Hecker, whose record of 52-20 constituted the best winning percentage of any 20-game loser. And we feature one woebegone pitching staff which had four 20-game losers in the same season.By our count 499 major-league pitchers have had seasons in which they lost 20 or more games. Only two of them had ERAs over 6.00. This take on pitching records offers plenty of quirks to explore. 53 members of SABR combined their efforts to create this truly fascinating book.

This book was inspired by the last Negro League World Series ever played and presents biographies of the players on the two contending teams in 1948 - the Birmingham Black Barons and the Homestead Grays - as well as the managers, the owners, and articles on the ballparks the teams called home.Also included are articles that recap the season's two East-West All-Star Games, the Negro National League and Negro American League playoff series, and the World Series itself. Additional context is provided in essays about the effects of Organized Baseball's integration on the Negro Leagues, the exodus of Negro League players to Canada, and the signing away of top Negro League players, specifically Willie Mays.The lack of detailed press coverage of the Negro Leagues, the fact that not every player was a star with a lengthy career, and gaps in public records of the era (especially in regard to African Americans) present a situation in which it is not possible to detail the life of every single player as fully as in other SABR publications. In the face of such challenges, the SABR researchers who have contributed player biographies and feature articles to this book have done utmost diligence to uncover every possible nugget of information that is currently available and, in many instances, new discoveries have been made. Many of the players' lives and careers have been presented to a much greater extent than previously. This book represents the collaborative efforts of 49 authors and editors from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).

The '67 Red Sox fulfilled a seemingly Impossible Dream, overcoming 100-to-1 odds by climbing out of ninth place to capture the pennant for the first time in 21 years. Thousands of delirious fans streamed onto the field at Fenway Park mobbing the team, dismantling the scoreboard, climbing the screen behind home plate. It truly was, in the words of Sox radio announcer Ned Martin, "pandemonium on the field." As Peter Gammons once wrote of this great season, "It wasn't always the way it is now, and might never have been but for '67." This book is a tribute to the members of the Impossible Dream team, including biographies of all 39 players that year as well as appreciations of this remarkable season by an all-star lineup featuring Joe Castiglione, Ken Coleman, Gordon Edes, Peter Gammons, Jim Lonborg, and many more. The book also presents over 300 rare photographs and memorabilia from this special Red Sox season. A project of the Boston chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, this volume gathers the collective efforts of more than 60 SABR members and friends of the non-profit research society.

A collaboration of 34 SABR members. This book includes biographies of all the umpires in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, other notable arbiters, essays about professional female umpires, umpiring in the Negro Leagues, explorations of the baseball rules, umpire equipment, and much more.During the work on this book, we interviewed 56 major league umpires, former umpires, supervisors and umpire administrators, and others whose jobs cause them to interact with umpires. We hope to shed light on the umpiring profession past and present, the work involved on the field, and the arduous challenges and sacrifices it takes to become an umpire at the top of the profession.We have tried to look at the occupation from many different angles. No book can cover all facets of the job, but we hope to give readers a fuller appreciation of baseball and those charged with the integrity of the game.HALL OF FAME UMPIRESAl BarlickNestor ChylakJocko ConlanTommy ConnollyBilly EvansDoug HarveyCal HubbardBill KlemBill McGowanHank O'DayOTHER NOTABLE UMPIRESEmmett AshfordCharlie BerryAugie DonatelliTom GormanSteve PalermoBabe PinelliErnie QuigleyBeans ReardonRev. Dr. Crew Chief Ted BarrettChris GuccioneHISTORICAL DATARetired Numbers (and un-retired) from the Umpires Media GuideHonor Rolls of BaseballUmpires who Played and/or Managed in the Major LeaguesUmpire RecordsUmpires and No-HittersHistorical Timeline of Major League Umpiring from the Umpires Media GuideUmpires in PostseasonOTHER UMPIRES, OTHER PLACESUmpires in the Negro LeaguesThree Arizona League UmpiresAround the World of Umpiring by Clark G. "Red" MerchantLarry Young and International UmpiringCuban UmpiringUmpiring in KoreaPROFESSIONAL WOMAN UMPIRESAmanda Clement: The Lady in BlueThe Stained Grass Window by Perry BarberYanet Moreno, the First Woman Umpire in Any Country's Major LeagueMore essays:Umpire Schools: Training Grounds for the Guardians of the GameAn Umpire School DiaryA Visit to the Wendelstedt Umpire School in 2017The Evolution of Umpires' Equipment and UniformsTed Barrett's Chest Protector and Plate BrushWhat Do Umpires Do Exactly?When the Rules Aren't the RulesBaseball Q & A - Applying the RulesUmpire MechanicsUmpire Changes During A GameA History of Umpire EjectionsThrowing Out 17 Players In One GameDave Mellor, Director of Grounds, Fenway ParkDean Lewis, Umpires Room AttendantChris Cundiff, BatboyReplay As An Umpiring ToolLarry Vanover - the first umpire to make a call at the Replay Operations CenterRich Rieker, Director of Umpire DevelopmentUmpire Observer Kevin O'ConnorRoss Larson, Instant Replay CoordinatorReplay Behind the Scenes - At the BallparkAndy Andres, Field Timing CoordinatorDan Fish, Replay Headset CoordinatorJeremy Almazan, Replay Headset CoordinatorJohn Herrholz, Ballpark Camera TechnicianUmpire AnalyticsThe Chest Protector

This volume by members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) presents the 50 greatest games in Montreal Expos history. The games described here recount the exploits of the many great players who wore Expos uniforms over the years—Bill Stoneman, Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Steve Rogers, Pedro Martinez, and others. The book details games from the earliest days of the franchise, to the glory years of 1979- 1981, the what-might-have-been years of the early 1990s, and the sad, final days. It describes the famous first game at Shea Stadium on April 8, 1969, when the Expos defeated that year’s eventual world champion New York Mets. It also details the first regular season major league game ever played outside the United States, when fans jammed little Jarry Park and began a love affair with the team. These game summaries don’t just retell the runs, hits, and errors. They give a context to the times and individuals involved. The article about Dennis Martinez’s perfect game also describes how he overcame his struggle with alcohol to resurrect his career. The piece about Curtis Pride recounts how he reached the major leagues despite the disadvantages of deafness, and what it felt like when 45,000 fans cheered as Expos coach Jerry Manuel spurred him through gestures to acknowledge the crowd. Foreword by Dave Van HorneAPRIL 8, 1969Bienvenue to Major League Baseball by Norm KingAPRIL 14, 1969Mack Lays Claim to Jonesville by Norm KingAPRIL 17, 1969Stoney Sets Record for Fastest No-Hitter by a Franchise by Adam J. UlreySEPTEMBER 25, 1970Mauch’s Prediction Comes True by Norm KingOCTOBER 2, 1972Stoney’s Second No-No by Norm KingJULY 26, 1973Steve Rogers Tosses One-Hit Shutout To Win First Big-League Game by Gregory H. WolfSEPTEMBER 17, 1973Montreal’s First Lead in a Pennant Race by Rory CostelloJUNE 11, 1974Expos Blow Up Big Red Machine by Gregory H. WolfAPRIL 21-22, 1976Tim Foli Gets on his Cycle by Norm KingMAY 29, 1977Parrish Goes 5-for-5, Hits Three Consecutive Homers by Alan CohenJUNE 9, 1978Larry Parrish’s Bat, Ellis Valentine’s Arm Highlight Expos’
Come-From-Behind Victory by Gregory H. WolfJULY 20, 1978Chris Speier Hits for the Cycle by Norm KingJULY 30, 1978Expos Visit the Launching Pad by Alan CohenOCTOBER 1, 1978Twenty Wins for Ross the Boss by Gregory H. WolfMAY 29-31, 1979How ’bout them Expos by Norm KingJUNE 17, 1979Back-to-Back-to-Back Jacks by Norm KingSEPTEMBER 24, 1979Expos Regain First Place from Pirates by Rod MickleburghAUGUST 12, 1980Triple (Play) Your Pleasure by Norm KingAUGUST 24, 1980“This is a dumb man’s game.” by Norm KingSEPTEMBER 10, 1980Expos Rookie Gullickson Whiffs 18 by Gregory H. WolfMAY 10, 1981Lea Pitches a Giant No-Hitter by Gregory H. WolfSEPTEMBER 21, 1981This Game Had it All by Norm KingOCTOBER 3, 1981We’re Going to the Playoffs by Mark S. SternmanOCTOBER 11, 1981Rogers Leads Expos to NLCS by Norm KingOCTOBER 16, 1981Rogers Wins Game Three of NLCS by Norm KingSEPTEMBER 22, 1982Speier Goes Crazy with Eight RBIs by Brian P. WoodAPRIL 13, 1984Pete Rose Gets His 4,000th Major League Hit by Bill SchneiderSEPTEMBER 24, 1985Dawson Hits Three Home Runs by Tom HeinleinMAY 2, 1987Raines Makes Grand Return to Expos by Mark SimonAUGUST 16, 1987Tim Raines Hits for the Cycle by Tom HeinleinJULY 28, 1991

In modern baseball history, only one team not named the New York Yankees has ever won three consecutive World Series. That team was the Oakland Athletics, who captured major league baseball's crown each year from 1972 through 1974.Led by such superstars as future Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers, in the final years before free agency and the movement of players from one team to another forever changed the game, the Athletics were a largely homegrown aggregate of players who joined the organization when the team called Kansas City its home, developed as teammates in the minor leagues, and came of age together in Oakland.But it was the way in which they did it that immortalized those teams. For if the story of the Oakland Athletics' championships is that of one of baseball's greatest teams, it's also the story of enigmatic owner Charles O. Finley and how those players succeeded in spite of Finley's larger-than-life persona and meddlesome ways. Indeed, before the Yankees' George Steinbrenner, there was Charles Oscar Finley, of the Athletics.Featuring the contributions of 46 members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), Mustaches and Mayhem: Charlie O's Three-Time Champions shares the stories of each of the roster players on each of the A's championship teams, in addition to the managers, coaches, Finley himself, the team's radio announcer, and even Charlie O, the mule, Finley's legendary mascot. Summaries of each spring training and World Series, too, will complete the tale of one of baseball's most colorful and successful teams.Biographies included: Charlie Finley, Charlie O (the Mule), Sal Bando, Vida Blue, Bert Campaneris, Rollie Fingers, Dick Green, Dave Hamilton, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Ted Kubiak, Blue Moon Odom, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, Jerry Adair (coach), Matty Alou, Brant Alyea, Dwain Anderson, Curt Blefary, Bob Brooks, Larry Brown, Ollie Brown, Orlando Cepeda, Ron Clark, Tim Cullen, Dave Duncan, Mike Epstein, Adrian Garrett, Larry Haney, Mike Hegan, George Hendrick, Ken Holtzman, Joe Horlen, Vern Hoscheit (coach), Mike Kilkenny, Darold Knowles, Allan Lewis, Bob Locker, Angel Mangual, Gonzalo Marques, Marty Martinez, Dal Maxvill, Denny McLain, Bill McNulty, Don Mincher, Irv Noren (coach), Bill Posedel (coach), Jim Roland, Diego Segui, Art Shamsky, Don Shaw, Bill Voss, Gary Waslewski, Dick Williams, Glenn Abbott, Jesus Alou, Mike Andrews, Pat Bourque, Rico Carty, Billy Conigliaro, Vic Davalillo, Chuck Dobson, Ray Fosse, Rob Gardner, Phil Garner, Tim Hosley, Deron Johnson, Jay Johnstone, Paul Lindblad, Rich McKinney, Jose Morales, Bill North, Horacio Pina, Wes Stock (coach), Manny Trillo, Alvin Dark, John Donaldson, Bob Hofman, Jim Holt, Leon Hooten, Bill Parsons, Gaylen Pitts, Champ Summers, Claudell Washington, Herb Washington, Bob Winkles, and Monte Moore (broadcaster).

Canadian baseball has a rich, diverse, and deeply rooted history, one that spans fully two centuries. As was true in the United States, the stories reflect the competitive and entrepreneurial spirits of a rapidly changing time. Baseball's development north of the border was shaped by the same social and economic influences, and at roughly the same times, as it was to the south. Arranged chronologically, the essays in his volume tell the tales of the influential figures and milestone events that defined and directed the game's growth in Canada. The articles shine a spotlight on the movers and shakers, the pioneers, the leagues and games and tournaments, and the regions all across the country that hosted them.Crowds as large as 10,000 viewed matches between London and Guelph in the 1870s, at a time when the combined population of the two cities was less than 27,000. Thousands flocked to Vancouver's Powell Street Grounds in the 1920s and 1930s to watch their local heroes, the Asahi, a team of Japanese Canadians. The Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team played their first game in 1895. Almost 100 years later, over four million people would spin the turnstiles to see the Toronto Blue Jays. Canadians played in the Negro Leagues and in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGBPL), and Canada has been home to both affiliated minor leagues and "outlaw" leagues.This book is an initiative of the Centre for Canadian Baseball Research and the Hanlan's Point (Greater Toronto) Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research. It is the collaborative effort of more than 30 SABR members, almost all of them Canadian.

The National Pastime is the annual review of baseball historical research and regional topics published by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Each year the publication focuses on the history of baseball in a different region or city, following the annual SABR convention from one major league territory to another.

In this issue our cover story looks at the history of "Greenberg Gardens." After playing his whole career in Detroit, in 1947 Hank Greenberg was sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates installed an inner fence in a portion of Forbes Field, reducing the distance down the left field line of the ballpark by 30 feet, with intention of helping Greenberg to hit more home runs. The area between the new fence and the outer wall became known as Greenberg Gardens, and local newspapers kept a tally of how many Garden homers were hit. Greenberg retired after the 1947 season, but the Gardens remained through 1953.   ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:   "Pitching Against Alzheimer's: A Study of Baseball Reminiscence Programs" by Lou Hernandez, Monte Cely, and Barry Mednick  Reminiscence programs focused on music, singing, cinema, art and crafts have become popular offerings to people living with dementia. The first baseball reminiscence program in the US was the Cardinals Reminiscence League, begun in 2011 as a joint effort by the Alzheimer’s Association, St. Louis University, the Veteran’s Administration, and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum. Since then, baseball reminiscence programs have been founded in Texas, New York, Connecticut, and elsewhere. This paper summarizes the results of the Baseball Memories Research Study launched under the umbrella of SABR’s Baseball Memories Chartered Community, studying the effects of these programs on the quality of life for participants and their caregivers.   "The Doomed Pilots of 1969: The Results of Advice Ignored" by Andy McCue In the early 1960s, Seattle’s city fathers were confident their city was an attractive and growing market. In 1961, the city commissioned a Stanford Research Institute study to assess what was needed to gain major league sports, especially baseball. The think tank’s study came back cautiously positive. Attracting major league baseball was possible, the report said, if the city could meet three conditions. It would need to provide a major league quality stadium and the team would need to find support from both the political/financial leadership and the fan base. Ultimately, they would founder on all three, sinking the Seattle Pilots franchise barely after it had left the dock.   "Were Pitchers More Likely to Throw at Black Batters? 1947-66" by Jerry Nechal A generally accepted narrative of the early days of baseball integration is that White pitchers deliberately threw at Black batters. Besides the need for statistical confirmation of the anecdotes, there are other important questions to ask: If widespread targeting did happen, how long did it last? Was the practice curtailed as more Black players entered the leagues? The ranking of batters by the number of times hit per season 1947-56 reveals evidence to support the narrative. This study will explore the answers to these questions by examining data covering a longer time period, 1947 through 1966.As well as articles about why fewer triples are hit today than in the past, the forgotten "six-man" variant of baseball, using data visualization on the 2020 season, the tribulations faced by the Phillies when trying to enter the National League, and the remarkable 1919 season of the Klein Chocolate Company baseball team, among others.

Biographies of the ballplayers of the 1883 Philadelphia Athletics, champions of baseball's American Association, a 19th century major league, plus a history of the ballpark, the Jefferson Street Grounds.

"Few athletes have sparked the creative imaginations of artists more than Jackie Robinson. His presence can be seen in cinema, on television and on stages, big and small; even tucked within the pages of written fiction. As we approach the seventy-fifth anniversary of Robinson's integration of the Dodgers, he continues to inspire, including a recent appearance in the premiere episode of HBO's groundbreaking Lovecraft Country. Robinson's tale serves as such ripe material for creatives because of how singular and inspiring it is. Over time, those creative representations have shaped the story of Jackie Robinson, taking him beyond his true, complicated personhood and elevating him to an inspirational symbol. The only other American athlete to ascend to the level of folklore is Babe Ruth, a son of immigrants whose "rags to riches" journey resonated with the hopes of early twentieth century Americans. Robinson's tale, by contrast, embodies American society's post-war aspirations for itself and the conflicts that would shape it, including the fight for civil rights and roles that education, athletics, the military, and professional sports played in racial integration. Not an Easy Tale to Tell looks at the stories behind the stories that have shaped the way we think about Jackie Robinson. Not only does it separate the fact from fiction, but it looks at why that fiction was created. It also posits the idea that sometimes the fiction is just as important. Contributors to this volume examine Robinson's portrayals in Hollywood movies, children's books, musicals and plays, and documentaries. Artists keep returning to Robinson because he is one of the most inspirational figures of the twentieth century not in spite of, but because of his complexities. He did more than change the game of baseball-he changed America. By doing so, he inspired multiple generations of artists to look to him to help them tell their stories. In utilizing Robinson as a symbol, they invariably highlight, time and again, how his actual story is not an easy tale to tell"--

Cualquier aficionado al be¿isbol en la actualidad reconoce que la Repüblica Dominicana estä bien representada por varios jugadores claves por todas las ligas mayores de be¿isbol. Cuando este libro se publica, unos 800 jugadores nativos de la Repüblica Dominicana han jugado en las mayores-un total de 300 mäs que cualquier otro pai¿s luego de Estados Unidos.El primero fue Pedro Alejandro San, quien lanzó en la Eastern Colored League en 1926 con los Cuban Stars East. Al año siguiente se le unió en el equipo Tetelo Vargas. Pocos años después, el paracorto Horacio "El Conejo" Martínez se unió a los New York Cubans en 1935. Martínez participó en cinco Juegos de Estrellas de las Ligas Negras.El primer dominicano en jugar en la Liga Nacional o la Liga Americana fue Osvaldo "Ozzie" Virgil, en 1956 con los New York Giants, comenzando una carrera de nueve años.En 1983, Juan Marichal-originario de Montecristi al igual que Virgil y San-se convirtiö en el primer pelotero dominicano en ser exaltado al Salön de la Fama del Be¿isbol en Cooperstown. Desde entonces se le unieron Pedro Marti¿nez y Vladiminir Guerrero, y nadie duda que muchos otros les seguirän segün pasen los an¿os.Este libro se creó por medio de los esfuerzos combinados de 41 miembros de la Sociedad para la Investigación del Béisbol de Estados Unidos (SABR) y reúne las biografías de 54 jugadores dominicanos. El libro está disponible en inglés y español.

In this issue, we remember the enormous contribution of Jim Bouton, pictured on the cover in a portrait by artist Gary Cieradkowski. Throughout baseball’s hidebound history, rebels and mavericks have emerged to challenge the status quo in the sport and the wider society, none more so than Bouton. His book Ball Four ultimately changed baseball, the sports media, and American literature. During his playing days, Bouton spoke out against the Vietnam War, South African apartheid, the exploitation of players by greedy owners, and the casual racism of the teams and his fellow players. When his baseball career ended, he continued to use his celebrity as a platform against social injustice. Fifty years after Ball Four’s publication and now two years after Bouton’s death, Robert Elias and Peter Dreier look back at the legacy.   ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: “When the Fans Didn’t Go Wild” by J. Furman Daniel, III & Elliott Fullmer While the circumstances of the 2020 MLB season were far from ideal, it did present a unique research opportunity. Home-field advantage has long been observed in all major team sports, including baseball. Over the past several decades, researchers have sought to explain this persistent phenomenon. While multiple explanations have been advanced, the most common centers on the effect of attending crowds. Cheering (or booing) fans, the argument goes, affect the performance of players or umpires, leading to advantages for the home team. Because the 2020 MLB season was played without crowds, we are able to test the impact of fans on game outcomes through this unique natural experiment. “Impact of the Varying Sac-Fly Rules on Batting Champs, 1931–2019” by Herm Krabbenhoft The back-and-forth character of the sacrifice fly rule (i.e., at-bat or no at-bat) over the course of the twentieth century has resulted in some interesting “What if?” situations. For instance, one of baseball’s oldest (and at-one-time highly revered) batting metrics is batting average, with the player with the highest batting average being regarded as the batting champion of his league. But which players would have won baseball’s batting crowns if the rule had been consistent? What if the current sacrifice fly rule had been in effect for the 1931–53 period? Who would have won the batting titles, then? “‘Country’ Base Ball in the Boom of 1866,” by Robert Tholkes As baseball spread throughout the United States after the Civil War, not every newspaper was supportive of the notion. “Violent exercise,” reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer, would lead to “the production of fevers and bowel diseases.” The Raleigh Daily Sentinel disapproved of Southerners spending time on amusements, noting that “Intellect, energy, frugality and hard labor will raise the South, and nothing else can.” And as incidents of Sunday ballplaying proliferated, stiff opposition was raised by the Sabbatarians and other religious groups, like the State Street Congregational Church of Brooklyn’s Missionary Society. The Society’s diatribe warned that the game had turned from “a reasonable exercise into a moral contagion…insidiously diffusing and infusing itself into the minds and brains of thousands upon thousands of our young American people, from thirty years of age downward to little children…exhibiting a reckless abandon and mad ecstasy.” Additional articles reexamine Hank Aaron’s home run record, the career of Al Kaline, and the uncanny walk-off prowess of Ryan Zimmerman. One study looks at whether the perception that PED use prolonged MLB careers is correct. The “fourth out rule” and the earliest use of uniform numbers in the minor leagues are also investigated, among 18 articles in all.

Since its inception, The National Pastime has featured excellent research and essays about baseball history. This year, though, we asked our contributors to point their lenses not toward the past, but toward the future.

Babe Ruth continues to interest and fascinate us over 100 years after his fateful trade from Boston to New York. As Michael Haupert writes in “The Business of Being the Babe,” “Babe Ruth is frequently lauded as the greatest player in Major League Baseball history, and arguably the first true superstar athlete. Ruth transcended the game of baseball, and with the aid of agent Christy Walsh, he profited tremendously from that transcendence. Whether barnstorming, making movies, or modeling underwear, Ruth had a Midas touch that allowed his income to exceed even his famously outsized spending habits.”

What are Major League Baseball''s greatest comeback games? This book set out to collect the stories of those games, but rather than throw together an anecdotally-determined collection of games, SABR decided to see if there was an objective measure, a way to determine which was the greatest comeback game of all time, and to rank the games. Retrosheet''s Tom Ruane created a master list of 630 games and ranked them mathematically in terms of how unlikely the win was, and therefore how great the comeback had been. The games in this volume are presented in rank order, from number 1 through 64.We also added the greatest postseason comeback games. These seven contests are presented in a separate section devoted to postseason games. And to make sure that every current team in MLB was represented in this volume, we treated the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants as different from the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, and added the greatest comeback by the Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, and several other teams.In the end, every major-league team in represented in Baseball''s Greatest Comeback Games, but the Phillies lead the list with six comeback wins in the top 64. Tied for second for most comebacks are four American League teams: the Red Sox, Indians, Tigers, and Yankees.This book was a team effort by 60 members of the Society for American Baseball Research, who researched and wrote about all 80 games presented herein.

Celebrate the 1969 Miracle Mets in this new, updated SABR edition of The Miracle Has Landed. Seven seasons after the Mets debuted with the most losses in modern baseball history, the franchise was still seen as a laughingstock, with 100-to-1 odds to win the World Series when 1969 began. The first year of divisional play started out as the Cubs'' year, while most onlookers figured the Mets would be happy if they could play .500 ball. Tom Seaver''s "Imperfect Game" against Chicago showed that the Mets could play with the big boys, but the Cubs still had a double-digit lead on the Mets in the middle of August. The Cubs stumbled, plagued by worn-out players, black cats, and bad luck, and magnificent Mets pitching turned the tide.The Miracle Has Landed celebrates the lovable Mets like no other book, complete with photos and artifacts of the time. A project of the Society for American Baseball Research, this volume gathers the collective efforts of more than thirty SABR members and features profiles of every player, coach, broadcaster, and significant front-office member connected to that great Mets squad. Included are biographies of the recently departed "Franchise" player, Tom Seaver, and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, beloved manager Gil Hodges, the talented outfield of Cleon Jones, Tommie Agee, and Ron Swoboda, drill sergeant backstop Jerry Grote, crucial mid-season acquisition Donn Clendenon, scrappy shortstop Bud Harrelson, and a pitching staff that went far deeper than just Seaver and Ryan. More than fifty years later the Miracle Mets are still revered, the first world champion expansion team and the club that stole New York''s heart.

The flagship publication of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), the Baseball Research Journal is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed publication presenting the best in SABR member research on baseball. History, biography, economics, physics, psychology, game theory, sociology and culture, records, and many other disciplines are represented to expand our knowledge of baseball as it is, was, and could be played.

The flagship publication of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), the Baseball Research Journal is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed publication presenting the best in SABR member research on baseball. History, biography, economics, physics, psychology, game theory, sociology and culture, records, and many other disciplines are represented.