Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych with Big Bird, 1977. Photo was used for the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The electronic umpire being tested during the Brooklyn Dodgers’ spring training in March 1950. The device relied on mirrors, lenses and photoelectric cells..

Jimmy Piersall of the Mets hits the 100th home run of his major league career and celebrates by running around the bases backwards, June 23, 1963.

Wendy Peffercorn

Hank Aaron is mobbed after his eleventh-inning homer gave the Milwaukee Braves a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals and the National League pennant, September 23, 1957.

Babe Ruth, Lloyd Waner, Lou Gehrig, and Paul Waner shake hands before the start of the 1927 World Series

⚾️In the 1970s, the Oakland Athletics introduced "ball girls" (young girls who would sit in foul territory to retrieve baseballs grounded foul by batters).
⚾️Debbie Sivyer, was one of the first ones hired. She was paid five dollars an hour and would use the money to buy ingredients for what would become her famous cookies. She instituted a "milk-and-cookies" break for the umpires.
⚾️In 1976, at the age of 19, Sivyer married Randall Fields, taking the name she would soon use for her business, “Mrs. Fields”.
⚾️Mrs. Fields began her business in 1977 in Palo Alto, California, and at its height franchised 650 retail bakeries in the United States and over 80 in 11 different countries.

Brooklyn Dodger rookies stretch during Spring Training, 1948

Mickey Mantle watching Game 3 of the 1951 World Series after injuring his knee in Game 2, October 6, 1951.

Indeed, triples were Earle Combs’ specialty. He hit at least 10 in every season in which he played at least 122 games. Three times (1927, 1928, and 1930) he ran out 20 or more, leading the league each time. His 23 three-baggers in 1927 are the most in an American League season since 1917, equaled only by Cleveland’s Dale Mitchell in 1949. The Deadball Era trio who had better single-season totals is impressive – Sam Crawford, Joe Jackson, and Ty Cobb.
He got off to great start, hitting .400 in the first twenty-four games. Then misfortune struck when he fractured his ankle and was out the rest of the 1924 season. His injury contributed to the Yankees’ missing out on the pennant when they finished 2 games behind the first-place Washington Senators.
Combs returned for the 1925 season, his ankle fully recovered. He slammed out 203 hits, scored 117 runs, and batted .342. But the Yankees did not win the flag. Ruth was out much of the season, and several other players had sub-par years. The Yankees finished in seventh place.
The 1926 Yanks-with Ruth back in shape, Lou Gehrig coming into his own, and Tony Lazzeri at second base-won the pennant and faced the St.Louis Cardinals in the World Series. They lost to the Cardinals when in a memorable moment Pete Alexander struck out Lazzeri with the bases loaded, just after Lazzeri had lined Alexander’s previous pitch barely foul into the left field seats.
Then came the magnificent year of 1927. Lindbergh flew the Atlantic solo, Dempsey and Tunney had their controversial long count fight in Chicago, and the Yanks with arguably the greatest team ever sailed easily to the pennant. Ruth hit his then astounding 60 homers, and Earle Combs set a club record with 231 hits not to be broken until Don Mattingly eclipsed it in 1986 with 238 hits. Showing his great patience at the plate, Combs set the table time and time again for Ruth and Gehrig and their cohorts.
Defensively the only knock on Combs was his weak arm. As the years went by, he strengthened his throwing arm through exercises, but it was never the rifle he would have wanted. Accordingly, Bill James in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract ranks Combs only 34th in his pick of center fielders.

Lou Gehrig on TV

https://fb.watch/r0iaR733nc/

Buck O'Neil singing "Take me out to the ball game".

https://fb.watch/r5hdM2CWd2/

Babe Ruth and the Yankees on the first Opening Day for the new Yankee Stadium, April 18, 1923.

Babe Ruth giving hitting advice...


Things never change...Just the terminology.
Two Types of hitters over the years:
1930 Choke Hitter and Swing Hitters
1990 Contact Hitters and Power Hitters
2024 Line Drive Hitters and Launch Angle Hitters
Question:
In 2024, would Babe Ruth be a launch angle guy?

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1440623383208144

Awesome photo

Still pitching at 75:

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Doesn't take much to make it a Baseball Movie:

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Great photos!! And 3 excellent movies!

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Steve Bartman foul ball is blown up at Harry Carry’s restaurant, 2004

Throughout baseball history, the interaction between fans and ballplayers has proved an interesting experience when such an encounter occurred. Known as “bugs” during the Deadball Era and the Roaring Twenties, those devoted patrons who exhibited no inhibition insisted upon introducing themselves to major league performers, when an opportunity arose. Such was the case for Detroit Tigers portly outfielder Robert “Fats” Fothergill. Also referred to as Bob, Fothergill supplied a wicked bat for the Tigers in the 1920s. Bob topped the .300 mark each season from 1922 through 1929 with Detroit. Fothergill’s best campaign occurred in 1926 when he batted .367. One year later, the outfielder established a career high for RBIs with 114.
In the summer of 1927, a fan accosted Bob and posed various questions before boldly inquiring about how long it took a man like him, who weighed over two hundred pounds, to learn how to hit .300. Always known for his quick wit, Mr. Fothergill countered with a lengthy response that covered many different topics, other than the one put forward by this bug.
“There are 12 months in the year,” responded Fats Fothergill, “and 366 days in some years, and 52 weeks in any year, and seven days in each week, and 24 hours in each day, and 60 minutes in each hour, and 60 seconds in each minute, and some can kick a football 40 yards, and some kick it farther, and some kick it less, and you can throw a baseball, or you can muff it, or you can kick it, and sometimes you drive a golf ball 200 yards if the ground is hard and you are driving downhill and a gale is blowing behind you, and no one knows how deep the Pacific Ocean is 17 miles, 41 yards, nine feet, and four inches from the Golden Gate, and the price of potatoes on September 17 depends on many things, while the moon is full ever so often and Christmas trees may be cheaper next year and they may not, and the goose hangs high. Now let me ask you just one question: How long is a piece of string?”
This fan offered no response to Bob Fothergill, before he joined an approaching friend and walked away. The patron did make a comment about this interaction to his companion.
“The guy is sure bugs,” asked the man who hammered Fothergill with numerous questions.
In other instances, spectators, while viewing a game in person at the ballpark, preferred to make their voices heard from the stands, rather than act like baseball groupies. In 1925, infielder Edward “Eddie” Farrell debuted for John McGraw’s New York Giants on June 15. Farrell received no time in the minor leagues and joined the Giants days before his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in dentistry. John McGraw had signed Eddie in 1923 with an eye toward the infielder joining the club once he completed his college studies. Also nicknamed Doc because of his vocation besides baseball, Farrell performed a utility role for New York in 1925 and 1926.
Receiving an opportunity to gain more playing time for the Giants in 1927, Doc blossomed as a hitter, batting .387 for the club in 42 games through June. Unfortunately, Farrell performed atrociously in the field at shortstop, committing 17 errors while playing that position in 36 contests. On June 12, the Giants packaged Eddie in a deal that sent him to the Boston Braves. Before Farrell exited the Big Apple, he had experienced a particularly horrendous game defensively at the Polo Grounds. Doc fumbled ground balls, threw wildly to bases, and did everything contrary to what a manager expected from a ballplayer. A generous portion of the Polo Grounds crowd started razzing Farrell as the game progressed. One patron offered an allowance, loudly expressing an alibi for Eddie’s inferior performance.
“That’s all right, Doc,” yelled the fan, “you’re a dentist and you got a right to gum ‘em up if you want.”
Oh those ballpark bugs. Offering tart and funny opinions from the stands, or asking ponderous questions when encountering a baseball player. Baseball history aside, as Bob Fothergill pondered: How long is a piece of string?
-Author Ronald T. Waldo

It used to be a rarity for a Canadian to crack the lineup of a major league baseball team, and even more uncommon for a northerner to shine in this American-dominated sport.
Since it’s MLB #openingday, we’re looking at the story of right-handed pitcher Ferguson Jenkins of Chatham, Ontario! #hofweekly
Fergie was an anomaly; a Canadian who took both the American and National Leagues by storm as he toured the majors for 19 years.
Fergie signed his first pro contract with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1962. After three years in the minors, he was called up as a relief pitcher for the Phillies in 1965, but before he had a chance to unleash his burgeoning talent, the team traded him to the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs made Fergie a starting pitcher in 1966, and the young Canadian was soon hurling his way into the record books. He won at least 20 games in seven of his 19 seasons on the mound, six of which were consecutive years between 1967 and 1972. In 1971, his best season, he led the National League with a 24-13 record, 263 strikeouts, and a 2.77 ERA. He received the Cy Young award that year as the best pitcher in the game.
When Fergie failed to win 20 games in 1973, however, he was traded to the Texas Rangers, the last placed team in the Western Division. The Cubs must have been kicking themselves when, in his first season with the Rangers, Fergie bounced back with 25 wins and only 12 losses. The Rangers finished in second place, and Jenkins was dubbed American League comeback player of the year.
Fergie spent 1976 and 1977 with the Boston Red Sox before returning to Texas for three more seasons. He played his last two seasons with the Cubs, retiring in 1983.
Known as one of the best control pitchers in history, Jenkins's outstanding record includes more than 3,000 strikeouts and fewer than 1,000 walks, a rare combination of power and control. He was also only the fourth pitcher in history to have won more than 100 games in both the American and National Leagues. His career 284 wins against 226 losses, as well as his ERA of 3.31 are remarkable when one considers that he played 12 of his 19 seasons at Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, both of which are known as hitters' ballparks.
In addition, many of his losses can be partly attributed to his team's hitting ability. Jenkins never played for a pennant-winning club, and his team was shut out in 77 of his starting games.
Fergie was four times named Canada's top male athlete of the year and was the first baseball player to receive the Lou Marsh Trophy (now known as the Northern Star Award) as Canada's outstanding athlete, in 1974. He received the Order of Canada in 1980 and was honoured by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1987. In 1991, he became the first Canadian to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown.
Fergie Jenkins was awarded the Order of Sport & inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.

Not bad work if you can get it...

Babe Ruth and Ted Williams choose sides schoolyard style before a hitting contest at a Field Day in Boston in 1942.

Babe Ruth making balloon animals at Comiskey Park

Brooks Robinson with his 16 Gold Gloves.

Rocky Colavito meets a very young fan. 1965

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Rare footage of 17-year-old female pitching phenom Jackie Mitchell striking out New York #Yankees legend Babe Ruth during an exhibition game in Chattanooga, Tennessee! (April 2, 1931)

https://fb.watch/rc5ep9yDeS/

That's very cool. Had no idea there was video. Somewhere I have a Krystal Hamburgers card of hers.

Standing ovation for the great Bob Uecker at the home opener in Milwaukee!

https://fb.watch/rcxlje5YxQ/

Joe Medwick lays on the ground after getting hit in the head by a pitch, 1940

The one and only season for MLB’s Seattle Pilots was 55 years ago in 1969. Under manager Joe Schultz, the expansion team compiled a 64-98 record and finished last in the American League West.
Offensively, the team’s leaders were first baseman Don Mincher (25 home runs, 78 RBI), outfielder Tommy Davis (80 RBI) and infielder Tommy Harper (MLB-high 73 stolen bases). On the pitching side, Seattle’s double-digit winners were Gene Brabender (13-14 in 40 games/29 starts) and Diego Segui (12-6 with 12 saves in 66 games/eight starts).
The A.L.’s other expansion team that year -- the Kansas City Royals -- finished fourth in the West division at 69-93. Meanwhile, the expansion clubs that joined the National League in 1969 -- the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres -- ended up with identical 52-110 marks.
Amid serious financial problems, the Pilots’ ownership group declared bankruptcy after that inaugural season and then sold the team to a group headed by Bud Selig, who moved it to Milwaukee and changed the name to the Brewers.
Seattle’s second opportunity in MLB came in 1977 when the Mariners joined the A.L. as an expansion franchise, along with the Toronto Blue Jays.

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April 3, 1919 - One of the most bizarre off-the-field incidents in history takes place in Jacksonville, Florida. New York Yankees outfielder Ping Bodie competes against an ostrich named "Percy" in a spaghetti-eating contest! Bodie wins the competition when Percy passes out after its 11th plate of pasta.

Scoreboard from the last game at Crosley Field, June 24, 1970

Sicks' Stadium, Seattle, April 10, 1969 - From the very get-go, the Major League's first venture into the Northwest was an epic disaster after the league rushed the Pilots expansion team into the 1969 season. Here the night before the Pilots inaugural home opener against the Chicago White Sox, construction workers are feverishly still adding bleacher seats that would continue into the next day and after the first pitch, some fans had to wait until the third inning to get seated!
Despite the snags in getting Sick's Stadium ready, the Pilots did give their new but brief fans a 7-0 win as starter Gary Bell threw a 9-hit shutout and first baseman Don Mincher hit the first Major League home run in Seattle, his two-run blast in the third inning off Chicago's Joe Horlen gave the Pilots a 2-0 lead.
The win also improved the Pilots record to 2-1, in fact for an expansion team they played solid baseball for most of the first half of the season with a record just under the .500 mark. But as the 4th of July approached the losses started to come in bunches and pile up. They would finish their only season in Seattle with a 64-98 record and 33 games behind the first place Minnesota Twins.
And the bleachers and their win-loss record was just the tip of the iceberg on the issues that plagued the first year team in Seattle.
So the next season the franchise would move to Milwaukee and become today's Brewers and the one year debacle in the northwest was done with. Although this all reflected badly on the city of Seattle, it never should have, this was not their fault. Originally, Seattle's expansion team was not suppose to begin till the 1971 season along with the expansion Kansas City team (Royals). But an impatient politician in Missouri by the name of Stuart Symington would have none of that and insisted that the Royals start in 1969, and since the league would not let one team enter by itself they pushed an unprepared Pilots organization up two years, and chaos ensued as a result.
The only silver lining out of the 1969 Seattle Pilots season was it produced one of the great baseball books of all time called "Ball Four', written by the Pilots relief pitcher Jim Bouton.

Mickey Mantle on deck during BP

4/3/89
Ken Griffey Jr. makes his big league debut at the age of 19 and doubles off Dave Stewart in his first career at-bat.

Maury Wills with some of the bags he stole, 1960s.

21 of 23 World Champion Giants prefer Camels.

"Babe Ruth Steps From The Plate To The Microphone!" (Quaker Oats & NBC Radio Press Release - April 4, 1934)

Babe Ruth relaxing with his dog in Miami Beach, 1947.

Tony Gwynn could have came out of retirement and went 0 for his next 1,183 & he’d still be at a career .300 BA…
Pete Rose could come out of retirement and go 750 for his next 750 & Gwynn would still have a higher career BA…
Respect to Ty and all the great hitters of baseball history….

I would say Ty Cobb pre-war and Ichiro Suzuki post-war are the two best hitters ever. And I love them both!

See the young man in this picture? He was 18 years old when it was taken at the train station in Mobile, Alabama, in 1952. There is $1.50 in his pocket. In that bag by his foot are two changes of clothes. (And if his mama was anything like most other mamas in the South, probably some sandwiches and other snacks.) He was on his way to Indiana to take a job.
He was going to play baseball for the Indy Clowns of the Negro Leagues. Apparently, he was pretty good at it. A couple of years later, he was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers. He played for the Brewers for 2 seasons, then moved across town to the Braves, and later followed them to Atlanta. Eventually, he was the last Negro League player to be on a major league roster.
He still hangs around the baseball world. At the moment, he's the senior vice president of the Atlanta Braves. Even though the team has changed stadiums (twice) since then, his retired number, 44, still hangs on the outfield wall of the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium near where he belted a homer to break Babe Ruth's all-time record (which he held for 33 years).
Happy 85th birthday to "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron.

Fashionestas?

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Amazing image of Henry Louis Aaron!

Here is a great colorized photo of Hank Greenberg, one of my all-time favorite ballplayers. He was the first MLB player to go into the service in WW2, put up with all kinds of antisemitism, mentored Ralph Kiner and went into the Hall of Fame. Might have hit 500 homers if not for 47 months in the service.

"Baseball's Miracle Man" ~ Great footage of the St. Louis Browns one-armed outfielder Pete Gray in action! (1945)

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=376016738760824&__cft__[0]=AZXfg5Op7gWAyzuZ0F4qxwVCYTRiFSi6fVFbBJvVvG3OQX75I DJw9SOk5VWk9C4y2cT5nitrIKQerE2zm5F-2ApoavLDfwMNpaBb54gcdDF7ekfDRTBzKPBwnTROjyGs8JZx0h A0nW5Jiqa-edeLL1l9aIijA9kRsyQsP3CPvpkPtINd6ZrtDKQ8FOauVrfChI Ztd25BWFOsUpASbUL-dHR4-H7_hk7zits9V8RDGMyxJQ&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

AAGPBL color footage:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=97...331866&__cft__

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Video of something Willie Mays rarely did....


https://www.facebook.com/share/v/wdQX7CKvVyVssqNq/

.1952 Topps display at Woolworth's.

I would love to get an 8x10 photo of that Woolworth's display.
So cool.
Bob

'Mad Bum' & 'Buster' in the minors:

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Nice! Spent many good times at that ballpark.

.Pittsfield, Massachusetts city officials release a 1791 document, believe is the earliest written reference to baseball.