Yes, you read it well. A final result of a baseball game was 2 1/2 to 2. According to a story, it happened in a baseball game in 1893. Here is the story of how. During a game between the Allentown and Pottsville franchises of the Atlantic League, back then called the Pennsylvania State League,…
In today’s episode of Baseball Shorts, we pay attention to the fact why the Peoria Chiefs sport a Dalmatian dog as their (cap) logo. With a name like the Chiefs, one can expect that the club from Peoria once had a native American-themed logo. With the political correctness spreading like a wildfire, the club slowly…
In this episode of “Baseball Shorts,” we pay attention to a bat called Black Betsy. Which baseball great called his bat like this? Read on and you will learn. In my search about information of the song Black Betty by Ram Jam, I bumped into an article about Black Betsy. First I thought that Black…
Normally, relief outings last only a few innings with one exception: When a long man is brought in. In that case, a starting pitcher that didn’t make the rotation, is sent to the mound because the actual starter’s stuff isn’t working. 114 years ago, something similar happened with a notable feat that the game ended…
In today’s episode of “Baseball Shorts,” we pay attention to the double squeeze. A rare form of offense that was mainly used by the 1913 Philadelphia Athletics. We all know what a squeeze play is: With a runner on third, the batter is laying down a bunt with the expectation to be thrown out at…
For those Dutch baseball fans who thought, the curfew rule in the Dutch hoofdklasse is unique, forget about it. There was a time in MLB when curfews happened more often. But it wasn’t a rule, it was merely an agreement between two teams. The curfew rule in the Dutch hoofdklasse prohibits to start a new…
Nowadays, we don’t know any better. A baseball game lasts nine innings. Except in Europe and during international tournaments where games can last only seven innings due to the mercy-rule (with a ten-run difference). But there was a time in which there was no rule that baseball games had to last nine innings. Read on…
Quite a long title for an item called baseball shorts… Anyhow, in this episode of baseball shorts, we will talk about a player who hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat, but never hit one afterward. We are talking about Hoyt Wilhelm, a famed knuckleballer. Old Sarge, as he was nicknamed, Made his…
Most of the time, this item is about things that happened in a far past. Not this time. Today’s subject happened in a very recent past: A player to be named later trade. In independent baseball, silly things happen sometimes. Decades ago, a player was traded for a bag of baseballs and a couple of…
Well, the title of this blog post ain’t short but in this episode of “Baseball Shorts” we will talk about how the baseball cap got introduced and how it became popular. In the early days of baseball, it was the player’s responsibility to wear something to keep the sun from blinding them. For sure there…
