BR Bullpen:Featured Article Archive

Featured Articles appearing on the main page.

2010 European Cup

The 2010 European Cup was the 47th European Cup. Held in June and September in Brno, Rotterdam and Barcelona, it featured Fortitudo Bologna of the Italian Baseball League winning their third title, their first in 25 years. Former major leaguers in the tournament included Gene Kingsale, Jim Brower, Eddy Garabito, Pat Ahearne, Dusty Bergman and Greg McCarthy as well as future major leaguer Junior Guerra. Danny Gonzalez and Jakub Hajtmar won the pool MVPs, while Juan Pablo Angrisano drove in Jairo Ramos Gizzi with the winner in the title game.

Oscar Levis

Oscar Levis was one of the best Jamaican players ever. Only Justin Masterson has won more games in the majors by a Jamaican, through 2022; Levis was 38-35 in the big leagues. Levis was noted for his spitball and "fake spitter". His skin color and spitball both kept him out of the white major leagues as he spent his career in the Negro Leagues and the Cuban Winter League. He was involved in three notable games in Cuba - one of the best pitching duels in league history, a no-hitter and a contest in which a future Hall-of-Famer hit three inside-the-park homers. The first player born in Jamaica, this fact was not recorded for many years, due to mistaken information on his birthplace as well as the Negro Leagues being classified as major leagues decades after his passing.

Scott Sanderson

Although he was never a major star, pitcher Scott Sanderson had a solid 19-year career as a starting pitcher in the Major Leagues, finishing with a record of 163-143 and a 3.84 ERA in 472 games. He won Gold and Silver medals with Team USA while in college, then starred in Venezuela and in the Caribbean Series on his path to The Show. A one-time All-Star, he reached 15 wins on three occasions and made numerous pitching leaderboards. He pitched in one World Series and later worked as a player agent and broadcaster.

2015 Pan American Games

The 2015 Pan American Games were held in Toronto, ON, starting on July 10th. They were the first Pan American Games to feature women's baseball as a medal event in addition to men's baseball. In the men's field, Canada became the second team to win the Gold Medal at multiple Pan American Games, let alone consecutive ones (only Cuba had done so before). The US won the inaugural women's title. Both Gold Medal games featured the US vs. Canada. Prominent players to appear were former major leaguers Jeff Francis (Canada), Vicente Padilla (Nicaragua) and Casey Kotchman (USA) while heading to MLB stardom were Canada's Tyler O'Neill, Cuba's Adolis García and the US's Josh Hader. Other big names were four-time Cuban MVP Alfredo Despaigne and Kelsie Whitmore and Stacy Piagno, two of the first women to play in the independent leagues.

Tiago Da Silva

Tiago da Silva has played in Taiwan, Italy, San Marino, Venezuela, Mexico, the US and the Dominican Republic. He has been on the Brazilian national team and Italian national team, competing in the Baseball World Cup, World Baseball Classic, Intercontinental Cup and European Championship, winning Gold, Silver and Bronze. He has been very successful as both a starter, winning All-Star pitcher and Italian Series MVP honors in Italy, and as a reliever, finishing among the save leaders in the Mexican League and Venezuelan League. He even was a position player early in his career for Brazil and in Italy.

Larry Jansen

Larry Jansen won exactly 122 games in both the major and minor leagues, including leading the league once at each level. He was the last AAA player to win 30 games in a year and was the winning hurler in the game in which Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard 'Round the World. He twice won 20 games in the majors (once leading the National League) and also made two All-Star teams, winning one All-Star Game. Known for his control, he finished first or second in the National League in fewest walks per 9 innings on four occasions and twice led in strikeout/walk ratio.

1990 Montréal Expos

The 1990 Montréal Expos were not expected to do much, at least according to outside experts. They had notoriously collapsed in the final two months of 1989, after leading the NL East until early August, finishing at .500, well behind the division-winning Chicago Cubs, and had undergone a veritable player exodus in the off-season. Still, they finished 85-77, 3rd in the 1990 NL East, led by All-Stars Dennis Martínez and Tim Wallach (who was named Expos Player of the Year for the third time) plus talented rookies Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom and Delino DeShields.

Bobby Ávila

Bobby Ávila was a three-time American League All-Star, noted for both his offensive and defensive talents, who also was prominent for his off-field endeavors after his playing days. He starred in three different countries. He won the 1954 AL batting title and was a key part of the Cleveland Indians squad that held the junior circuit record for wins in a season for over four decades. In the Mexican League, he nearly broke one of Cool Papa Bell's records while setting the record for walks in a season (later broken). He was an All-Star in the Cuban Winter League as well. He was president of the Mexican League after his playing career ended and entered politics, becoming the mayor of Veracruz, his hometown. He was inducted into Mexico's Hall of Fame and had two stadiums named after him.

Dock Ellis

Dock Ellis was an All-Star pitcher and later Comeback Player of the Year. He won 138 games in the majors and often made the league leaderboards in pitching. He won one World Series ring. He was part of Pittsburgh's historic lineup featuring only African-American and Afro-Latino players. He was one of the more controversial figures of his generation. An outspoken African-American pitcher in an era when it was still frowned upon for players to speak up and out against injustices small or large, he may be the only man in history to throw a no-hitter while zonked on the hallucinogenic LSD. After baseball, he helped troubled youth overcome their own issues with drugs and alcohol.

2013 World Baseball Classic

The 2013 World Baseball Classic was the third edition of the World Baseball Classic. It was held March 2-19 2013, the first to be held after a planned four-year break following the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The Dominican Republic national team won the tournament, defeating Puerto Rico, 3-0, in the finals, to complete the tournament with an unblemished 8-0 record. 2B Robinson Canó was named tournament MVP. For the first time, qualifiers were held, with Brazil and Spain and making their debuts after winning qualifiers. Other stars of the event included Japan's Kenta Maeda, the USA's David Wright, the Dominican's Fernando Rodney and Pedro Strop, the Netherlands' Andrelton Simmons, Cuba's José Abreu, Canada's Michael Saunders, Taiwan's Chien-Ming Wang and South Korean Seung-hwan Oh.

Tommy Leach

Tommy Leach was a top star in the National League during the Deadball Era. He led his leagues in runs, triples and home runs and was among the era leaders in many departments. The third baseman-outfielder helped his teams win four NL pennants and one World Series. He had the first hit and first run in World Series history. He holds the record for triples in a World Series and for fewest home runs by a league leader. He had the third-most inside-the-park home runs in major league history. He later was a scout and minor league manager, guiding his teams to two pennants.

Dolf Luque

Dolf Luque, The Pride of Havana, pitched 20 years in the majors. He was in two World Series (many years apart), and had a top season going 27-8 with the 1923 Cincinnati Reds. He won two ERA championships and twice led the league in winning percentage. At the end of his major league career, he was the oldest player in the league two years running. He was the first Latino pitcher in the majors and the first to pitch in a World Series. He set the record for wins by a Latino player in the majors, a mark he held for several decades. He also was one of the greatest pitchers in Cuban Winter League history, then managed successfully in that circuit for years. A good hitter for a pitcher, he won a batting title in Cuba as well.

1919 World Series

The 1919 World Series series is most remembered for the Black Sox Scandal. On the field, the underdog Cincinnati Reds defeated the prestigious Chicago White Sox (pictured) by five games to three to earn their first World Championship. However, the team's achievement has been diminished by the fact that eight of the White Sox players were later accused of accepting money to fix the outcome of the Series, and were eventually all permanently banned from organized baseball. To this day, there is still considerable debate as to whether or how much the accused players tried to deliberately lose the Series, and which team would have won had the games been played entirely on the level. The 1919 World Series was one of the most historically important World Series ever played, along with the 1903 World Series which created the pattern for future series. The 1919 Series could easily have been the last one to be played, given the disgust over the unholy gambling business that took place around the games. However, the firm reaction of newly-appointed Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis was able to restore the public's fate in the fairness of futures series. Apart from the scandal, the series was also important for being the last one of the Deadball Era: the home run played almost no role in the eight games, something that would never be true from that point forward. In spite of the tainted nature of the results, it also raised tremendous public interest, indicating that major league baseball had survived the shock of World War I with its popularity unscathed; it would only grow exponentially in future years.

Benny Distefano

Benny Distefano played in five major league seasons, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a first baseman and also seeing some action in the outfield. Never able to win a regular role in the majors, he played nine seasons in AAA. He was one of the few players to hit a triple in their first MLB at-bat. He hit clean-up in the first AAA All-Star Game. In the majors, he was the last left-handed catcher. He also spent time in Nippon Pro Baseball, the Venezuelan League (winning two triples titles) and the Dominican League. After his playing career ended, he was a coach.

2012 National League Championship Series

The 2012 National League Championship Series pitted the winners of the previous two World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals, defending 2011 champions, against the San Francisco Giants, winners of the big prize in 2010. The two teams had met only once before in the postseason, in the 1987 NLCS, when the series went the distance with St. Louis prevailing over the Giants. The Giants would win this Series, 4 games to 3, after falling behind 3 games to 1. Marco Scútaro was named NLCS MVP, hitting .500 and scoring six runs.

Milt Wilcox

Milt Wilcox pitched for 16 seasons in the major leagues. While never an All-Star, he won over 100 games and struck out 1,000 batters. He appeared in two World Series, losing one at age 20 and winning another at age 34; the latter year, he won a career-high 17 games. He won the Allie Reynolds Award as the top pitcher in the American Association one year, one of two times he made a postseason All-Star team in AAA. He was the third pitcher in AL history to come within one out of a perfect game only to fall short.

Pat Ahearne

Pitcher Pat Ahearne played for teams in the United States, Venezuela, Taiwan, the Czech Republic, Canada and Australia and played for a Russian team in the European Cup as well. He won the finale of the 1992 College World Series to give Pepperdine University its first College World Series title. He was the Pitcher of the Game in the 1995 AAA All-Star Game, the year he had his only chance at the majors. He later would lead a Triple A loop in wins. Ahearne won a Double A ERA title in a season he began outside of organized baseball, one of two ERA titles he picked up in a year's span. He set the career ERA record in the Czech Republic.

2013 Korean Series

The 2013 Korean Series was the 31st Korean Series. The Samsung Lions (logo pictured) beat the Doosan Bears to become the second team to win three straight titles, following the Haitai Tigers (1986-1989). They would win in 2014 as well to match Haitai's record run. They were also the first team to rally from a 3 games to 1 deficit to win a Series. Game 2 set a record for the longest postseason game in Korea Baseball Organization annals. Samsung right fielder Han-lee Park was named Korean Series MVP after 5 runs and 5 RBI in the final 3 games to overcome a 1-for-14 start.

Donald Lutz

Donald Lutz made his major league debut in 2013, becoming the first big leaguer raised in Germany, even though he was born in the United States. He only spent two seasons in the majors before injury ended his major league career; he is attempting a comeback in Australia in 2015. He is the brother of Sascha Lutz, a teammate on the German national team in 2008. He was the second major leaguer to come out of the MLB European Academy. Lutz has hit for three cycles in the minors and was once rated the Cincinnati Reds' top power prospect. He has played in leagues in the US, Germany, Australia and Mexico.

Eddie Zosky

Eddie Zosky is a former shortstop who played five seasons in the major leagues, non-consecutively, from 1991 to 2000 for the Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros. He also played in the Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates minor league systems. He is Jewish. Zosky was a collegiate star prior to playing professionally, becoming a member of Fresno State University's athletic Hall of Fame. He developed into a promising shortstop prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays in the early 1990s, being named their starting shortstop of the future multiple times, though elbow problems and a lack of offense ended his hopes of stardom. In total, he played 1,100 games over 12 seasons professionally, though only 44 of those games were at the major league level.

2008 Olympics

The baseball competition at the 2008 Olympics was held in Beijing, China from August 13 to August 23 at Wukesong Baseball Field at the Wukesong Culture and Sports Center. The complex featured two competition fields and a training field. It was the final time that baseball was included in the Olympics until at least 2020. It featured the third different Gold Medal winner in the past three Olympics in baseball. Notable names included Hyun-jin Ryu, Stephen Strasburg, Yu Darvish, Pedro Luis Lazo, Rhéal Cormier, Alfredo Despaigne, Shinnosuke Abe, Wei-Yin Chen and Seung-yeop Lee.

Freddy Sanchez

Freddy Sanchez overcame serious health issues as a child, where it was expected he would never be able to walk, to become a baseball star. He would go on to win a batting title, make 3 All-Star teams and be on a World Series-winning club. Sanchez hit .297 in 10 major league seasons and once reached the 200-hit and 50-double levels. He helped out others with disabilities, helping in the creation of a Miracle League field in the Pittsburgh area.

Rick Lancellotti

Rick Lancellotti was a slugger who won three home run crowns in the minors, one in Japan and one in the Senior Professional Baseball Association. A .252 hitter in the minors, he smacked 348 home runs in his professional career (not counting winter ball), but only two in the major leagues. He topped 100 RBI three times in the minor leagues. A combination of low OBPs and defensive question marks prevented him from getting many chances in The Show. Lancellotti played in the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Italy and Japan.

2001-2002 Cuban National League

The 2001-2002 Cuban season featured the only championship to date by Holguín in the Cuban Serie Nacional. Home run leader Michel Abreu (pictured) won the MVP while Kendry Morales won Rookie of the Year after setting several rookie marks. Pedro Luis Lazo led in wins, Osmani Urrutia in average and José Contreras in ERA. The Súper Liga was played for the first time and was dominated by Frederich Cepeda offensively while Maels Rodríguez threw what would be the only no-hitter in Súper Liga history. The four star infielders of the Cuban national team of the 1980s and 1990s all played their final season.

Charlie Hough

Charlie Hough was a knuckleballer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Florida Marlins. Hough's career record was 216-216, the most wins ever by an exactly .500 pitcher. He spent the first 12 seasons of his major league career as a reliever and the last 13 as a starter. He made one All-Star team and ranks among the top 100 all-time in wins and the top 50 in strikeouts, and is the all-time Rangers leader in wins and strikeouts. He later was a coach in the minors and the majors and a senior adviser to the Dodgers.

Owen Ozanich

Owen Ozanich has pitched for the French national team in the European Championship and in qualifiers for the World Baseball Classic. He has led the French Division I in wins and ERA and has gone 43-10 for the Rouen Huskies in French regular season and postseason play and in the European Cup tournament. He has also played in the Australian Baseball League and had played NCAA Division I ball in the United States. Ozanich has played infield and outfield at times in his career in addition to his work on the mound. Among his notable wins have been against the German national team and the championship game of the French Division I season.

Spread of Baseball Project

The Spread of baseball project is an effort to document how the game of baseball spread from the New York City area in the mid-19th century to other areas. The Knickerbocker Rules, codified in 1845, gave clubs a set of common rules by which to play, and led to an increase in the game's popularity in the years before the Civil War. SABR's Origins Committee has documented thousands of pre-professional games, including the first known games in each state and country.

2008 Caribbean Series

The 2008 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was the thirty-eighth edition of the second stage of the Caribbean Series. It was held in Santiago in the Dominican Republic from February 3 through February 8, 2008. The series featured four teams from Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Venezuela. The Tigres del Licey won the Series and were managed by Hector de la Cruz. The Most Valuable Player was Ramon Ortiz, a pitcher with Licey. Miguel Tejada became the all-time Series leader in home runs; Rafael Furcal and Jose Offerman were also established stars, while Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Nelson Cruz were early in their careers.

Ed Morris

Ed Morris was a star left-handed pitcher who set several records, some of which still stand. One of the first players from California to star in the major leagues, he was the ace of the Pittsburgh Alleghenies in the mid-1880s. He was arguably the top southpaw hurler of the 19th Century. He played for Pittsburgh in three different leagues. He was nicknamed "Cannonball" for the velocity with which he threw. He was a temperamental player who would often sulk, earning him accusations of not trying his best. Off the field, he had jobs ranging from the ownership of a billiards hall to deputy warden of a jail.

1989 Baltimore Orioles

The 1989 Baltimore Orioles rose from the ashes of a 107-loss season (which famously began with a record 21-consecutive losses) in 1988 and battled for the American League East pennant. The Orioles held first place for 98 days before eventually being eliminated on the next-to-last day of the season by the Toronto Blue Jays. The team's 33-win improvement ranks as one of the greatest in history. Closer Gregg Olson won the BBWAA's Rookie of the Year Award and Craig Worthington won the Sporting News rookie award, while other key contributors included Mickey Tettleton, Randy Milligan, Cal Ripken Jr., Phil Bradley, Jeff Ballard and Bob Milacki.

Luis Polonia

Luis Polonia was a speedy journeyman with a high batting average who played 12 years in the big leagues. His speed resulted in many triples but he was not a wise baserunner and led his league in times caught stealing five times (3 in the majors, 2 in the minors). He appeared in 1,379 major league games with a .293 average. He was in the top five in triples four different times, and in the top five in stolen bases three times. Not a particularly strong defensive outfielder, Dennis Lamp once said "If you hit him 100 fly balls, you could write a book about it: Catch-22."

He appeared in four World Series. Polonia, though, is as notable for his star performances in the winter in over two decades of play. He is among the top 10 contact hitters in Dominican League history and led the league in numerous categories. As of 2012, he is the all-time Dominican League leader in hits, triples and runs and the all-time Caribbean Series leader in hits, doubles and Series played. He also appeared for the Dominican national team in both the World Baseball Classic and Pan American Games.

Al Rosen

Third baseman Al Rosen was a four-time American League All-Star and won the 1953 American League MVP Award. He was the first rookie to lead the American League in home runs, doing so in 1950. He topped 100 RBI on five different occasions. He barely missed out on a Triple Crown in 1953, with controversial circumstances costing him the batting title. After his major league career ended, Rosen spent 15 years in the front office of big league teams as club president and general manager. A World War II veteran, Rosen was arguably the greatest major leaguer born on February 29th. He won a Texas League MVP on his way up to the big leagues.

2007 Japan Series

The 2007 Japan Series was the 58th match-up of the champions of the Central League and Pacific League, Japan's top two circuits. The Series was a rematch of the 2006 Japan Series, which Nippon Ham had won in five games. Both teams had worse records in the regular season than in 2006. Chunichi had not had the CL's best record but the Central League had gone to a playoff format for the first time in its 58-year history and they topped the Yomiuri Giants in the postseason. Chunichi won in five games to end a 53-year title drought. The Series features Yu Darvish setting a single-game Japan Series strikeout record and the only perfect game in Series history (a combined effort by Daisuke Yamai and Hitoki Iwase). The Series MVP was Norihiro Nakamura.

Robert Eenhoorn

Sir Robert Eenhoorn had a brief major league career spread out over four seasons, but was a productive player in the minors and has been a big factor in Dutch baseball for many years. As a player, he appeared in the Olympics twice. He later managed the Dutch national team in both the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic. Eenhoorn won both MVP and Coach of the Year honors in the Dutch Hoofdklasse, leading that league in both home runs and doubles. He currently is the Technical Director for the Dutch national team, performing that role so well that it won him a knighthood in his homeland.

Frenchy Bordagaray

Frenchy Bordagaray had an eleven-year career in the major leagues, six of which were with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He appeared in the 1939 and 1941 World Series. Bordagaray was known as a colorful character who said "All the stories about me are true". He was the only major leaguer to sport facial hair in a 55-year period. He set a record for pinch-hit batting average in a season. A two-time .300 hitter, his career batting line was .283/.331/.366. As a minor league player-manager, he was named MVP the same year he helped guide the club that integrated the circuit.

1990 Kinston Indians

The 1990 Kinston Indians were the fourth Kinston Indians club. They went 88-47 to lead the Carolina League in both the first half and second half. They failed to win their second title, though, as they fell in the finals. Managed by Brian Graham, the team included 12 future major leaguers. The most notable player to come from the team was Jim Thome, with Curt Leskanic and Robert Person both reaching 50 wins in the majors. Ken Ramos won the league's batting title as was joined on the Carolina League All-Star team by teammates Nolan Lane and Rouglas Odor. Kinston reached 100,000 in attendance for the first time since 1964.

Ming-Tsu Lu

Ming-Tsu Lu has had a long and productive career in Taiwanese baseball. He played every position except for shortstop and pitcher during his career but was primarily an outfielder after starting out as a catcher. He won a Little League World Series then starred on the international stage from 1984-1987. Lu began his professional baseball career in Japan on such a hot note that he led to a rule change as a rookie. He only played four years in Japan, then set a record in his native Taiwan, where he ended his playing career. He later was an announcer and coach in Taiwan. He coached for his homeland in both the World Baseball Classic and Olympics.

Josh Hancock

Josh Hancock was a right-handed pitcher who pitched for six seasons with four major league clubs including the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a member of the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals team which won the World Series. During college, he had appeared in a College World Series. He once tied for a AAA league's lead in shutouts. Hancock battled injuries and weight problems during his career. He died in a automobile accident during the 2007 season, which was followed by a legal case by Hancock's relatives.

1942 Colored World Series

The 1942 Colored World Series marked the resumption of the Colored World Series after more than a decade, and was the first of seven consecutive official postseason series to crown a champion of the two Negro Leagues. This series featured future Hall of Fame performers Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith, and Jud Wilson. Games were played in five different cities (including one game that was thrown out) and the series was notable for the appearance of Paige in every single venue. The Kansas City Monarchs swept the Washington-Homestead Grays in four games, though the series included one exhibition game, and the results of one game were thrown out after a protest.

Koichi Tabuchi

Koichi Tabuchi was a catcher, first baseman, coach and manager in Japan. He made the Best Nine team five years in a row and was a 11-time All-Star. The slugger set a college home run record and later won a home run title in the Central League and went deep 474 times in Nippon Pro Baseball. He was the center of one of the more notable trades in Japan in the 1970s. Unlike some sluggers, Tabuchi did not hit many doubles, usually hitting high and long homers when he connected. After finishing up as a player, Tabuchi worked as a baseball commentator and then as a manager. He most recently has been a hitting coach, including a stint with the Japanese national team that included the 2008 Olympics.

Lou Brissie

Lou Brissie pitched seven seasons in the major leagues. He nearly died as a paratrooper in the US Army during World War II, but after many operations and much hard work he went on to a successful major league career. He was on the 1949 American League All-Star team. Overall, he was 44-48 with 29 saves in the majors. He later worked as a scout as well as for the American Legion and the State of South Carolina. Brissie is a member of the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame and also has been honored by the Hall of Fame and by the Governor of South Carolina.

1946 World Series

The 1946 World Series was the first played with rosters not depleted by the War since 1941. It opposed the St. Louis Cardinals, taking part in their fourth World Series in five years, against the Boston Red Sox, who were making their first World Series appearance since Babe Ruth was a young left-handed pitcher in 1918. The Series would turn out to be a classic, seven-game, see-saw affair, with one play in particular, Enos Slaughter's mad dash around the bases in Game 7, still controversial 60 years later. In the end, the Cardinals won the Series, prolonging the Red Sox's title drought and sending them to wait until 1967 for another World Series appearance, while the great Ted Williams was held to a paltry .200 average in his only post-season appearance, thanks in part to a defensive shift devised by the Cardinals.

Beau Mills

Beau Mills is a highly regarded prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization. The first round draft pick has played mostly first base in the minors, but he also has experience at third from his high school and college careers. The Indians like what they have seen so far from Beau, and his career seems to be progressing nicely. The Tribe recently awarded him their highest honor for position players in their system - the Lou Boudreau Award. Mills is a second generation professional ballplayer. His dad, Brad, made it to the majors with Montréal.

Dave Nilsson

Catcher/first baseman Dave Nilsson was, arguably, the most accomplished Australian baseball player in history. He was the first Australian to make the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. He was MVP of the first major international competition in which the Australian national team won a Gold Medal. He won a Silver Medal in the Olympics. In the Australian Baseball League, Nilsson set numerous records. His career was sidelined several times due to injuries, including foot, shoulder, knee and virus problems. He later led a group that purchased the ABL and tried to keep it afloat under a new name and structure. Nilsson was part of the first All-Australian battery in major league history. Australian baseball analysts Flintoff & Dunn write that "David Nilsson owns the biggest profile in Australian baseball history".

Longest game in Organized Baseball history

The longest game in Organized Baseball history occurred in 1981 between the Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings of the International League at Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium and lasted 33 innings. The game began on April 18 and lasted 32 innings before being stopped, with play to resume later in the season. On June 23, the game resumed with it only taking one additional inning to settle the game as Pawtucket won it by a score of 3 - 2 in the bottom of the 33rd inning. The game included future Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr. as the two third basemen. Bob Ojeda and Marty Barrett also went on to notable careers in the major leagues.

Tuffy Rhodes

Tuffy Rhodes has been one of the top foreign players in the history of Nippon Pro Baseball. He holds many records for gaijin, including home runs and RBI in a career. He tied the single-season NPB home run record that had been held by Sadaharu Oh for decades. The Japanese reaction to Rhodes' chase generated controversy both in Japan and the United States as he was pitched around by Oh's team. Rhodes was the second foreign player in NPB history to cover the required 10 seasons to no longer be deemed a foreigner. He holds the all-time Japanese record for ejections. Rhodes retired before the 2006 season but returned in 2007 as a productive player for the Orix Buffaloes. In 2007, he set numerous "firsts" for foreign players while extending his records for foreign hitters. Rhodes began his career as a speedster who developed his power stroke while in the high minors. In the US, he tied the record for home runs on Opening Day while he was with the Chicago Cubs.

Chronicle-Telegraph Cup

The Chronicle-Telegraph Cup was a postseason trophy series that was played once, in 1900. It was a challenge cup, created by the Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph. The newspaper offered a silver cup to the winner of a best-of-five series between its local club, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who finished second in the National League, and the league's champion, the Brooklyn Superbas. The series was held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Exposition Park in mid-October. The Superbas prevailed in the series,three games to one, to take the cup. The teams were evenly matched in every aspect of their games except fielding, as the Pirates' fourteen errors led to ten unearned runs, dooming the club. The Pirates would go on to win the next three National League pennants and appear in the first modern World Series played in 1903. The Brooklyn club, who had won the last World's Series ten years earlier, would not win another postseason series until 1955. The series would be the last intra-league championship series in Major League Baseball history.

Martín Dihigo

Martín Dihigo (pronounced Mar-TEEN DEE-go) is widely considered the be one of the greatest two-way players in baseball history, along with Babe Ruth, Bob Caruthers and Bullet Rogan. The Matanzas native was the first man to be a member of the Hall of Fame, Salon de la Fama (Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame), and Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame. Dihigo played every position except catcher during his career, which ran from 1922 to 1950. A top hurler who won over 250 wins as a pro, he also won two batting titles. Dihigo hit for power as well and also showed off a fine glove; Ted Page rated his throwing arm from the outfield as being superior to that of Roberto Clemente. At least two fellow Hall-of-Famers said he was the best player they ever saw. He set offensive and pitching records in both Cuba and Mexico. On the mound, these included Mexican League single-season records for ERA and strikeouts, the Cuban Winter League career record for wins. At the plate, his records included the most doubles in a Cuban Winter League game and the first six-hit game in Mexican League history. Throughout his career, he played year-round, spending summers in the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela and the winters in Cuba. He managed championship teams in Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico. Dihigo won four Cuban Winter League MVP awards, the most of any player.

Lou Limmer

Lou Limmer was a first baseman for 13 years, two in the Major Leagues and eleven in the minors. He won two minor league home run titles, fell one shy in a third year and was in the top 5 seven times. A former American Association Rookie of the Year, Limmer twice led the Caribbean Series in home runs. He hit two historic home runs in the majors - the last by a member of the Philadelphia A's and the only homer by a Jewish batter against a Jewish pitcher with a Jewish catcher. He drove in 1,041 runs in Organized Baseball. He also was once nicknamed the "Babe Ruth" of Batting Practice.

Atsuya Furuta

Atsuya Furuta is the manager of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. A player on the Japanese team in the 1988 Olympics, he was voted the greatest catcher in Nippon Pro Baseball history in 2000. He was the first person to hit for the cycle in an All-Star Game in Japan. He was the first catcher to win a batting title in the Central League. A two-time Central League MVP, he has also won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award. One of the few players to hit four home runs in a game in NPB, Furuta has battled knee problems for years. He became Japan's first player-manager in three decades when he took over the reigns of the Swallows in 2006.

Mike Easler

Mike Easler was known as "The Hitman" due to his aptitude at the plate, but it took him over a decade before he got a shot at regular action in the major leagues. A two-time batting titlist in AAA, Easler was traded from one organization to another, often for players who would never make the majors. Eventually, he settled into a role with the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming an All-Star. He later went on to success with the Boston Red Sox and Nippon Ham Fighters. When his playing career ended, Easler became a minor league manager, then established himself as a hitting coach at both the minor and major league levels.

1983 Expos

The 1983 Expos were strong competitors in the 1983 NL, involved in a tight pennant race until mid-September before finishing with a disappointing 82-80 record. The team lost their original bullpen coach, Mel Wright, to cancer. Tim Raines became the first player in 68 years to have 70 stolen bases and 70 RBI in the same season. Al Oliver led the league in doubles and Andre Dawson won both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award while setting a club record for home runs. Other prominent names on the team included Gary Carter, Jeff Reardon and Tim Wallach.

Charlie Manuel

Charlie Manuel has spent over 40 years in professional baseball. He won one minor league batting title and hit well at several stops, but failed to produce in limited opportunities in the major leagues. Going on to Japan, he won two home run titles in the Pacific League. His personality made him a larger-than-life character in the world of Japanese baseball. He was involved in one famous beanball incident, hit a key home run in the 1979 Japan Series and became the second American to be named MVP of the Pacific League. He later became a successful hitting coach. He managed the division-champion 2001 Indians and has managed the Philadelphia Phillies to second-place finishes in back-to-back seasons.

Josh Gibson

Josh Gibson is considered one of the greatest hitters of the Negro Leagues. A catcher, he spent much of his career with the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords and counted Buck Leonard and Satchel Paige among his teammates. He was inducted into the Mexico's Salón de la Fama in 1971 and into the American Hall of Fame in 1972 by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. Gibson is widely considered among the very best power hitters in baseball history, but never played in Major League Baseball as racial segregation excluded African-Americans from playing in the leagues during his lifetime. He won 12 home run titles not counting the winter leagues and also led his leagues in batting average, doubles, triples, RBI and slugging. While there are many who argue he was the greatest Negro Leaguer, catcher, or hitter in baseball history; there are also counter-arguments for each claim.

1903 World Series

The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series played. It was played in October 1903 between the league champions of the American and the National Leagues. The Boston Americans (AL) defeated the favoured Pittsburgh Pirates (NL), 5 games to 3. The Americans were led to victory by pitchers Bill Dinneen and Cy Young. Pittsburgh pitcher Deacon Phillippe threw five complete games and was the winner in each of his team's victories. The series was the result of the peace pact signed in January 1903 in Cincinnati, OH between the presidents of the two leagues - Ban Johnson for the American League and Harry Pulliam for the National League - that ended two years of bickering, contract jumping and name-calling that was hurting both leagues' attendance. As a result, the National League, established in 1876, recognized the newly-formed American League, which had played its first season in 1901, as an equal.

Shigeo Nagashima

Considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of Nippon Pro Baseball, Shigeo Nagashima was the star third baseman for the Yomiuri Giants from 1958 to 1974. He is unquestionably the most popular player in the history of Japanese baseball. Nagashima's legacy is closely intertwined with that of long-time teammate Sadaharu Oh as the "ON" attack led Yomiuri to a record nine straight Japan Series victories. While considered a great natural athlete, Nagashima was renowned for his practices - he got a house by the river so he could run every day there and he built a room in his home to practice his swings in constantly. He combined God-given talent with an excellent work ethic. He is also the father of Kazushige Nagashima.

Baltimore Orioles (IL)

The Baltimore Orioles (IL) were a team in the International League that played in Baltimore, MD. The club played from 1903 through 1914 and 1916 through 1953. The team joined the Eastern League in 1903 after the city lost its American League franchise to New York City. Due to Federal League pressure in 1915, the Orioles left Baltimore for Richmond, VA. After the collapse of the Federal League, the International League's Jersey City franchise moved to Baltimore and took on the Orioles name. In the early 1920s, under the direction of Jack Dunn, the team won seven consecutive league championships (1919 to 1925) and three Little World Series becoming the greatest minor league dynasty of all-time. For the next, thirty years the team remained a respectable member of the International League. The team ceased being an independent club in 1942 and the franchise ended in 1954 after the St. Louis Browns moved to the city and adopted the team's name. The club produced such stars as Babe Ruth and Lefty Grove and numerous other prominent baseball personages passed through as players or managers over the decades.

Charlie Metro

Charlie Metro is a former Major League outfielder, coach, manager, and scout. He was involved in baseball in various capacities for 47 years, and while he epitomizes the old-school baseball man, who has done everything in his career and knows every facet of the game, he was also an innovator and the author of a very entertaining autobiography. He was born Charles Moreskonich in Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania in 1919. His father's, first name, Metro, became his nickname, "Little Metro", and eventually his baseball last name because it would fit more easily in the boxscores. He was signed in 1937 by the St. Louis Browns, he made his Major League debut six years later and stayed in the big leagues there for three years. Metro managed the Denver Bears in to the American Association playoffs in 1960 and 1961. He later managed in the Major Leagues as a member of the Chicago Cubs’ "College of Coaches" in 1962 and with the Kansas City Royals in 1970 after having been the team's director of player procurement since their founding a year earlier. Metro retired from baseball in 1984.