Classic Baseball Radio

The 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs an the Detroit Tigers is all square heading into Game 3 game apiece.

The Cubs starting pitcher is 36-year-old veteran Claude Passeau, and he's about to throw a near perfect game with just 28 plate appearances by the Tigers. While his name is not brought up in discussions of the best pitchers of the era, his performance in Game Three is one of the all-time pitching appearances in World Series history.

When the Cubs return to Wrigley Field, the Curse of the Billy Goat would kick in, but for now...

The Seattle Pilots organisation spent just one year in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee and rebranding as the Brewers. With just one year on the books, the Pilots' record brings up some interesting triva.

While several players on the 1969 roster would feature in various All-Star games, only two would wear the Pilots in the celebration of baseball. Don Mincher would return following his 1967 All-Star pick, but for today's classic, let's pick out right fielder Mike Hegan.

Hegan spent fourteen years in The Show, playing for the Yankees, the Pilots (and staying with the organisation to...

Two years after the Dodgers and the Giants moved to California to establish Major League Baseball on the West Coast, the Dodgers found themselves in the World Series.

Following three games in the Los Angeles Colosseum, the Series returns to Cominsky Park with the Dodgers ahead 3-2.

Larry Sherry had already won a game, saved two others, and is now on the mound in Game Six. The White Sox Early Wynn also returns as a starter, but on short rest of only two days, the White Sox are taking a gamble – a curious turn of ph...

Masanori Murakami may only have two lines in his yearly stages, and just 54 Major League games to his credit, but as the first Japanese player in the MLB his place in the history of our Great Game is assured. Coming to the US as an exchange student, when his Japanese team forgot to call him back, he stayed in the San Francisco Giants system.

His MLB debut as a reliever took place on September 1, 1964, and he had a total of 9 games for the Giants. The off-season saw protracted contract negotiations, resolved with Murakami playing one more year...

Some weeks, we pick out a game that is a pivotal moment in a team's history. Other weeks, we have a classic matchup. Maybe it's a game of a storied player early in their career?

Not today. Today, it's just a game of baseball. Admittedly, it's one from nearly ninety years ago, but our game is still our game. Sit back as the Senators (31-45) take on the White Sox (50-33).

You can find the boxscore here:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA193707210.shtml

This game was played on July 21, 1937.<...

The 1969 season is underway, and the Minnesota Twins' Rod Carew is already raking up the hits. After seven games, he's posting .388. That form will continue through the rest of the year, his eventual .322 winning him the AL Batting Trophy for the first of seven times—enough for the title to carry his name from 2016. If you want another 1969 stat, Carew steals home seven times (just one short of Ty Cobb's record of eight).

Carew's career record notably contains 15 consecutive seasons batting over .300, starting in 1969; seven 5-hit games; and an overall .328, and elected to the Hall of Fame in...

The New York Mets put up a strike-less game in the 2024 National League Championship game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's a rare feat, but even rare are both sides forgetting to get any strikes.

That was the case in the pivotal Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Naturally, everything is on the line. We know that starting pitchers Bob Turley and Vern Law will impress, but the journey makes it wonderful. So here's the journey, with Bob Prince and Mel Allen taking you through to the fairytale finish.

You can find the boxscore here:

MLB’s first three years of post-season action saw the Baltimore Orioles appear each year. In 1971, the Oakland Athletic appeared for the first time and would have their own consecutive run of five years, reaching the fall knockout.

The Orioles had come out on top in 1969 and 1970, winning the league pennant and making it to the World Series both years. Standing in front of them are the Athletes, looking to reach the World Series for the first time since the Philadelphia Athletics in 1931.

Your national broadcast callers are Bill O'Donnell and Chuck Thompson.

Yo...

As the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves meet for Game 161 and Game 162 to decide who goes into the 2024 Postseason, it's a chance to look back at some of the tiebreakers in the regular season, and specifically the last significant tiebreaker before the postseason expanded from just the World Series into the knockout format we recognise today.

It's back to 1962 and as the season ends, the Giants and the Dodgers are tied at the top of the National League on 101 wins. With just a single spot in the World Series, the teams faced each other over...

He started in the major with the Pirates, and 21 years later, he retired from the majors, having never left Pittsburgh. But Willie Stargell was more than a one-club baseball player; he was the club. That's why the Pirates called him Pops.

They could also have called him Power. Stargell was one of the big hitters of the sixties and seventies, with a career .282 from 2,232 hits and 475 home runs. That career included two World Series rings and 7 All-Star appearances.

For today's game, we turn to a late-season match-up against the Phillies. The Pirates are at the...

In a decade packed with legends that echo through history, there will be players who rarely grab the historical spotlight. Brooks Robinson might not be the household name of the former, but he's very much a legend.

Starting his major league career in 1955, he played all of his 23 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. In that time, he made third base his own and is arguably one of the greatest third baseman the game has ever seen, with 18 call-ups to the All-Stars, 16 consecutive Gold Gloves, and 2 World Series rings.

To this day, he still holds the...

Brought up into the majors by the Detroit Tigers in 152, Al Kaline spent 22 years playing for the Tigers before becoming the Tiger's color commentator until 2003, before heading into the front office until he died in 2020.

His playing record is impressive, passing the 3000-hit mark just before he retired in 1974. Today, nearly fifty years later, Kaline sits at number 32 in the all-time hits table, with 3007 hits to his name. That record includes eighteen all-star games, ten Gold Gloves, and one World Series ring from 1968.

For today's game, we're going back to the final series of the 1972...

When you win eleven Gold Gloves in eleven years, you know you're one of the best. Keith Hernandez knew he was one of the best. A contact hitter with a career .296, he won two World Series rings, five All-Star appearances, and picked up the NL batting championship award in 1979.

Five years into his career, he cracked the .300 ceiling and never looked back. Yet for this week's game, we will go back to the very first month of his MLB career.

It's September 14th, and Hernandez has been in The Show for three weeks. He was...

When you look for the winning pitcher across the 1960s, it's impossible to ignore Juan Marichal. The 'Dominican Dandy' gave the Giants their first no-hitter in San Francisco, the first no-hitter seen in Candlestick Park, the first Latin-american no-hitter in MLB history, and the first Dominican player to enter the Hall of Fame.

He also received one of the highest accolades any player can achieve… in 1975, the Giants immortalized his beloved #27, a testament in part to Marichal’s majestic run of 191 victories during the sixties.

Today's game takes us back to the start of his time...

What is there to say about Willie Mays, who passed away peacefully last night?

Legend.

There's only one game we could choose. There's only one moment we could highlight. It's Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, Mays is in centre field, and in the top of the 8th, Vic Wertz is going to send an impossible-to-catch ball deep to the outfield of the Polo Grounds.

You can find the boxscore here:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NY1/NY1195409290.shtml

This game was played on September 29, 1954.

As the four-time NL batting champion, Bill Madlock has an impressive reputation as a hitter. It's even more impressive when you realise he is one of only three right-handed hitters to lift multiple NL batting titles since 1960. The other two are Roberto Clemente and Tommy Davis.

He finished his playing career over the .300 and 2000 mark, with a .305 batting average and 2,008 hits in total, 3 All-Star appearances, and one World Series Ring from 1979.

For today's classic game, we're going right back to the beginning. It is September 1973, and Madlock debuted in the MLB at the start of...

Frank Robinson could hit the ball hard. He ran the base paths even harder. A formidable player who has been named MVP for both the AL and NL, the triple crown in 1966, 14 All-Star appearances, and 2 World Series rings.

To this day, he holds the record for walk-off hits, with 26 winning moments to his credit.

In the final years of his playing career, he became the player-manager for Cleveland in 1975 and continued managing until he retired in 2006.

Today's broadcast celebrates the life and achievement of Frank Robinson as we turn the clock back to 1972...

It's the opening day of the 1955 season, and leading off for the Cardinals is Wally Moon, who won "Rookie Of The Year" in 1954, memorably hitting a home run during his first At Bat in the Majors. Second in the line-up is Bill Virdon, who would go on to win "Rookie Of The Year" for 1955, giving the Cardinals back-to-back Rookies.

Both would go on to pick up Gold Gloves and World Series Rings, although Moon would eclipse Virdon with three All-Star appearances and three rings, compared to Virdon's two rings. Virdon would head down the managers’ route after re...

Dave McNally is a legend, first as a starting pitcher and finally as an arbitration reliever. He won more than 20 games in four consecutive seasons, was a three-time All-Star, won two World Series rings, and was the AL wins leader in 1970. He was part of the 1971 Orioles rotation that saw himself, Dobson, Palmer, and Cuellar all post 20 or more wins. He left Baltimore as the then greatest Orioles pitcher to date, with an 181-113 record and a 7-4 postseason record. But it was his short stint with the 1975 Expos that made history. Following poor starts after the trade, McNally pulled...

As Baseball evolved during the expansion era, so did the role of the pitcher. Where the norm was once for starters to go for the full nine innings, the use of relief pitchers and the emergence of the closing pitcher took over.

And there is no better example of this new role than Rollie Fingers… and his flamboyant moustache.

He set the franchise record for saves at his three major league clubs (the Athletics, the Padres, and the Brewers), was the first pitcher to reach 300 saves (retiring with 341 saves), and continues to hold the record fo...

Bill James called him “the slowest man who played baseball,” yet his ten years with a batting average over .300 would make him attractive to any team. In his seventeen years, he was the first catcher to earn two NL Batting Awards.

He finished with a career .306, but it was one lapse of concentration in Game 4 of the 1939 World Series he would be remembered for. Taking a hard-hit ball without a protective cup in the tenth inning left him dazed while the World Series winning run stole home.

Rather than the fateful Game 4, let's step back a fe...

There are pitchers who have storied careers, workhorses who can support a team’s offence for many years, and pitchers who shine brightly and burn out in a single season.

Fritz Peterson was a workhorse. He had a winning record in seven of his eleven years in the Majors and posted a career 133-131 record. His time and productivity with the New York Yankees puts him currently in ninth-place in the all-time games started, and tent on innings pitched.

However, it was the year 1970 that truly illuminated his career. With a career-best winning percentage of .645, he...

Legendary manager and player Whitey Herzog died this week at the age of 92. Here at Classic Baseball Radio, we'd like to take a moment to remember a career that caught fire after the playing ended, with one of his last appearances on the diamond.

Herzog made it to the majors, playing for the Washington Senators in 1956. He spent time with the Athletics, Orioles, and Tigers before retiring from on-field duty in 1963.

Only then, with his playing career no longer a hindrance, would Herzog and his bleached near-white hair find the place the Baseball Gods had...

Imagine your playing career saw you selected seven times to play in the All-Star game, led the league in stolen bases, posted four seasons of .300 plus baseball, had a hitting streak of 34 games, and averaged over 100 runs per season throughout your career.

Yet his name is one that never stood out, partly because he's on a Red Sox team with the greatest hitter who ever lived… and his older brother was Joe DiMaggio.

This is the life of Dom DiMaggio, who spent eleven years of his eleven-year career in the Majors with the Boston Red So...

Can you go through an entire season on First Base without having an error charged to you? Unless your name is Steve Garvey, the answer is no. As you might have surmised, Garvey did just that, posting his yet-to-be-equalled feat in 1984 with the San Diego Padres.

With a career .294 on 2599 hits and 272 home runs, Garvey's no slouch. A standout number, though, has to be his 1270 consecutive games played.

Let's rewind the clock to 1973. It's September 28th, and the Dodgers have sewn up the division and are in a dead rubber with the San Diego Padres...

899 games pitched, all in relief, with a lifetime 99-76 record; the delightfully named Sparky Lyle was an era-defining relief pitcher.

Take his 1977 Cy Young award, the first AL reliever to do so, twice picking up the AL saves record, and three all-star appearances. Then you have his back-to-back World Series in 77 and 78, plus writing the book on the 78 season ('The Bronx Zoo'). Lyle has the numbers, the prestige, and the passion to lay claim to being one of the most important relievers in the history of the game.

He found his grove with the Boston...

Apart from the occasional “one and done” years, the only team to have a winning record over .500 in every year they played is the Milwaukee Braves.

There were losing years under the Boston Braves and Atlanta Braves banners, but the thirteen years in Milwaukee stand apart not just in this franchise but in every franchise. From the pennant-winning streak between 53 and 59, through record-breaking appearances, to a World Series win in 1957, this is a storied part of the team's history.

Let's pick up one of those stories for today's game. It's May 1957; not only have the Brav...

Johnny Bench was the acknowledged leader of the Big Red Machine, the Cincinnati Reds’ era-defining team that won six divisional titles, four pennants, and two World Series.

A master of both offence and defence, Bench held the record for home runs by a catcher for over thirty years, along with two years leading the National League for home runs and three years leading with RBIs. Alongside those awards sit ten Golden Gloves, 100 games or more behind the plate for 13 straight years

Bench is arguably Baseball's greatest catcher.

Let's celebrate that with a trip to...

He's probably the greatest first basemen of all time, with a career .273, 2,583 hits, 1,305 runs, and 1,636 RBI; he was called up to the All-Star game fourteen times, and was the ninth player to reach 500 home runs.

Yet Ernie Banks never won a World Series ring.

Why? The simple answer is that he started his Major League career with the Chicago Cubs, played with them for eighteen years, and retired as a Cub. His one-club career earned him the nickname “Mr. Cub,” which he wore with pride and a smile. Unfortunately, the Cubs’ record over a nearly two-de...

Who’s the best pitcher baseball ever seen? There are a lot of names to cosndier. Who's the best left-handed pitcher baseball ever seen? That list is a lot shorter, and near the top - perhaps at the very top - is Lefty Grove.

There’s no louder-than-life personality to help us remember him by; there’s no stunning images on early TV coverage, nor are there mythical stories to pass on. As the image of baseball moved on in the fifties, the exploits of Grove and many of his compatriots faded from sight.

Yet Grove...

If you're looking for the greatest baseball dynasty, you have to consider the Alou brothers. Three exceptional ball players—Felipe, Matty and Jesús—hold a joint first as the first 'three brothers on one team' when they all played for the Giants against the Mets on September 10, 1963.

Between them, they gather World Series rings, All-Star appearances, and batting championships before moving into the back offices of various clubs and influencing countless up-and-coming players, including Felipe's son Luis (who would go on to manage the New York Mets in 2019).

It's Felipe Alou we're going to highl...

Eleven years after becoming the first expansion team in the American League, the Washington Senators left the capital, headed to Texas, and became the Rangers.

It wasn't an easy start, with 100 losses picked up in both 72 and 73. The Rangers would bounce back with 74 and 75's records above .500. Titles would take a little longer, with the franchise not picking up a league title until 1996, a first pennant in 2010, and a first World Series victory in 2023.

For this week's broadcast, we're returning to that turbulent 1972. Coming off the All-Star break, The Rangers are on the road and...

For the 1961 season, the Washington Senators moved out of the capital to play ball in Minnesota as the Twins. Marque names such as Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison, and Jim Perry helped the team make its mark in its new home. Four years later, the Twins would win the AL pennant and bring it to Minnesota for the first time.

As for Washington, the city would not be left without a baseball team. Immediately replacing the Washington Senators in 1961 were… the Washington Senators. The team with an old name was one of two AL expansion teams, and success di...

A gentleman in demeanour but a superman when slugging. That was Harmon Killebrew, Idaho's greatest home-run hitter and a legend at the plate. He was a 13-times All-Star, a 6-time AL home-run leader, a 3x AL RBI leader, and the 1969 MVP.

When he retired, he was fifth in the all-time Home Run record, and his 573 bombs are still enough to hold twelfth place today. He could easily reach the edge of the yard, notably being the first of only four players to ever bat over the left field roof of Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

The...

He was the the first Caribbean and the first  Latin-American player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame; he hit .317 over 17 years with exactly 3000 hits in a career cut short in a tragic plane crash. He was selected for 15 All-Star games, won 12 Gold Gloves as an outfielder, and led the NL batting tables for four years. On top of that, he undertook countless opportunities to work with charities, always looking to make a difference in people’s lives. When the MLB renamed its trophy to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the indi...

The Cleveland Indians were the team to beat in 1954, and frankly, nobody in the American League that year showed anything like the form needed to offer a consistent challenge. With a record of 111-43, the Indians walked away with the pennant and a record of .721—a record in the shorter 154-game seasons. They were the clear favorites going into the 1954 World Series, so it was a shock to lose two on the road to the New York Giants. With Game 3 in Cleveland, it was time to regain control from the Giants and get back on track to win the World Se...

Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood may not be one of the first names that come to mind when you ask about notable pitchers, but he left his mark in the books. Take the 1968 season, where he set the record for games pitched (88). He held the AL record for starting games for four years running, with a record 49 games started in 1972.  And in 1972 he set a record that stands to this day. 376 and two-thirds innings pitched in a single season. Let's skip over the other record he still holds, namely the most hits allowed in a single season, with 381 in the 1973 campaign. Today's g...

It would be hard for any pitcher to stand out with Sandy Koufax as a teammate. Don Drysdale made it look easy.  The left-handed Koufax and the right-handed Drysdale are arguably the best pairing in Los Angeles sporting history, no matter the sport.  Drysdale's lifetime ERA of 2.95 curiously matches his World Series ERA on a 3-3 record. Putting aside the first and last years of his 14-year career, he had more than ten wins per season, with 49 shutouts to his name. And he's sixth on the all-time 'Home runs by pitchers' table. Drysdale spent his entire time in the majors wit...

Minnie Miñoso earned his legendary status countless times. He was the first Afro-Latino in the Majors, the first black player for the White Sox, and one of the first Latin Americans in the All-Star Game. He picked up three Gold Gloves, batted eight seasons over .300, and was the second player to appear in major league games in five different decades. Of course the White Sox retired #9. Our broadcast today goes back to 1953, and Miñoso is on course to post a .313 for the year. The White Sox have 42 wins so far and welcome the Browns, with just 27 wins, to Co...

Let's take another game to appreciate the legendary Nolan Ryan. A Hall of Famer who played in the major leagues for 27 years, Ryan laid claim to be one of the greatest pitchers of all time. A lifetime .526 record, a record 5714 strikeouts, a record seven career no-hitters, a joint-record 12 one-hitters, and appearances in four separate decades. Yet he never won a Cy Young Award… perhaps another record he holds (most career walks by a pitcher, at 2795) played a part in that. His career took off when the California Angels picked him regularly as a starting pitcher after the Mets traded him in...

Bob Brice has a pitching career anyone would be proud of. His 1964 season was probably the pinnacle; with nine complete games, four shoutouts, an ERA of 2.76, and one immaculate inning. Like many pitchers, Bruce's speed tailed off and his ERA climbed in his final years, not helped with a lengthy period on the 1966 IL with an eye infection in his final year with the Astros, but there are still moments worth noting. One such is when he and the Astros welcomed the New York Mets to the Astrodome. Not only is Bruce is about to pitch a complete game, but...

Pitchers have it easy with their triple crown. Batters find it more of a challenge. Only 18 have achieved it, and only 12 in the live-ball era. Miguel Cabrera managed it in 2012, but you have to go back to 1967 to find the next. And there you'll find Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz racked up 44 home runs, 121 runs batted in, while batting .326. More than enough to take the Triple Crown, along with the MVP, an All-Star appearance, and a Golden Glove. Yastrzemski and the Red Sox in 1967 lived "The Impossible Dream." From a ninth place finish in the AL in 1966, the team lifted the AL...

Jim Perry made three appearances on the All-Star stage, won the Cy Young Award, lead the AL twice for wins, and in 2023 is 84th on the all-time wins list with 215 successful appearances. Yet you probably know him as the older brother of Gaylord Perry. Curiously, the two pitching brothers only met once. July 3, 1973 with Gaylord pitching for the Twins and Jim for the Tigers. Gaylord was charged with the 5-4 loss, and I'm pretty sure that Jim brought this up over Thanksgiving dinner for many years. Unfortunately, we don't have that game. Instead we're going back a few years to 1970...

Gaylord Perry won the Cy Young in both the American and National Leagues, had five seasons with over 20 wins, was the third pitcher to rack up 3,000 strikeouts, joined the 300 win-club in 1982, and many more achievements. As the 2023 season ends, Perry is ranked 17th in the all time winners list. Yet Gaylord Perry is remembered for one pitch in his arsenal, the spitball. A pitch with a wicked level of drop while offering a huge amount of control to break inside or out in the hands of a skilled pitcher. And the skill was not getting caught pitching this banned ball. ...

Three managers have taken three teams to three World Series wins. As Bruce Bochy joins this exclusive club in 2023, let's take a moment to look back at this incredibly rare achievement. Bruce Bochy led the 1998 Padres to the World Series, then winning three World Series for the Giants in 2010, 2012, and 2014; and rounding out the triple with the 2023 Rangers. The first triple manager was Bill McKechnie; winning the World Series in 19225 with the Pirates and 1940 with the Reds. His third appearance, this time on the losing side, was with the 1928 Cardinals. And now to the final manager, Dick Williams. In his...

St Louis' 'Gashouse Gang' are back in the World Series. Following victories in 1926 and 1931, and their fifth National League pennant in nine years, they are very much the favourites to earn their rings. Facing them are the Detroit Tigers who are coming off a massive 101-53 season (that .656 record is a mark the club has never beaten to this day). It's no surprise that the two teams would push each other to a World Series Game 7. Yet the 1934 Fall Classic has something even more unique. It is the only MLB game in history when the Commissioner of Baseball exercised their...

No matter how you reach the Fall Classic, dreams are made at the World Series. Once in a while, the players create something legendary. That's the case with the 1962 World Series. Let's set the scene. The Giants have won their first National League Pennant since moving to San Francisco, although they needed a three game play-off series against the LA Dodgers. The Yankees have won five of the last ten World Series, including a win in the previous year. This World Series has been heavily disrupted. Thanks to the NL play-off the first game was pushed back 24 hours. Rain in...

Starting out as a pitcher in the minors, injury pushed Stan Musial to first base. In a Majors career that spanned twenty-three years and three world Series rings, Musial established himself as one of the greatest hitters of all time. You want numbers? How about a career average of .331 over 3660 hits, 1951 RBIs, and 475 home runs. In 1949 he was on course to win a Triple Crown in the National League, falling short by one home run… that he had a home run in a game subsequently rained off robbed him not only of the crown, but robbed the record books of th...

The New Yorks Mets have just won the World Series, in no small part to star pitcher Tom Seaver. The expansion franchise starts the new season with every intention of continuing that winning form, as does Seaver. How dominant? Only twenty pitchers have struck out 18 or more batters in a regular 9-innings game. As the Mets welcome the San Diego Padres, Seaver is about to become part of that exclusive club in an utterly commanding performance. 9 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and 19 strikeouts. Taking you through a memorable mets game are the classic trio of Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson and...

The Designated Hitter rule was adopted by the American League in 1973. Nearly fifty years later, and with much debate that has started to quieten down, the National League followed. In that time leagues at every level around the world introduced the pitcher's replacement bat.

Somebody had to be first though. And the first was the New York Yankees' Ron "Boomer" Blomberg. It was April 6th, 1973, the wind blowing out to right field, and Blomberg faces Luis Tiant… five pitches later, Boomer walks to first base. All designated, no hits, but on base. That'll do nicely.

We...

Ted Simmons was one of the MLB's greatest catchers.  Two games with the St Louis Cardinals in 1968 started his career in the game, but after a year in AAA his natural debut came in 1970. When he retired after 21 years in the majors, he held the catcher records for 2,472 career hits (with 483 doubles), ranked second for RBIs with 1389 runs, and 10th for home runs with 248 out of the park. Throw in seven years batting over .300, and catching two no-hitters with the Cardinals, and you get an idea of how much confidence he gave to his pitchers. We're going to pick up hi...

With MLB's changes to the 2023 season has seen a resurgence in aggressive base running and stolen bases. It's not yet back to the levels seen in the seventies and eighties, but a new dimension has returned to the diamond.

Which leads us to the Athletics' Bert Campaneris. 

In the eight years between 1965 and 1972, Campaneris led the American League in Stolen Bases for six of those years. When he retired, he was seventh in career steals with 649 and is currently sitting 14th in the all-time table.

Let’s not forget the records he holds at...

Going in to the 1961 season, the single-season record for home runs was 60, held by Babe Ruth. Leaving the 1961 season, that record was earned by Roger Maris and his 61 Bronx Bombs. Except some argued that 1961's longer season meant it shouldn't be seen as a record.

Baseball Commisioner Ford Frick announced that the record was for 154 games, not 162, so it should be shown seperately with a distinctive mark, such as an asterisk. Let's be clear, that's a load of baloney. This record stood in the American League until Aaron Judge's 2022 season, clearly showing just how legendary Maris' mark...

Duke Snider was, arguably, the first poster-boy for the Dodgers following their move to Los Angeles, but his legendary status (and seven consecutive All-Star appearances) was earned while the team was based in Brooklyn. During his career, this Center Fielder was named to the National League All-Star team eight times, appeared in six World Series, won the Fall Classic in both 1955 and 1959, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980. What put him there? How about a high-water mark of 1031 runs batted in during the 1950s? Hitting four home runs in two different World Series? Or the record for...

The Knuckleball… a pitch that is turbulent, unpredictable, and rarely mastered. One player who did was Phil Niekro. With 318 career victories he currently sits 16th on the All-time Winners list, the highest of any knuckleball pitcher.

Of course the knuckelball is a fickle mistress. Niekro may have had three 20-win seasons, but he also had two 20-loss seasons as well; and to top it all off he is the sole MLB pitcher to pick up 20 wins and 20 losses in a single season, throwing 21-20 for the Atlanta Braves in 1979.

With 24 seasons under his belt, there's a...

For many, Bob Feller is the fastest pitcher the baseball world has ever seen, with a reported 107 mph pitch once leaving his hand. And if Ted Williams says that's true, who is going to argue with that>

In an interrupted career, Feller posted a lifetime ERA of 3.25 on 266 wins from 570 games, including 44 shutouts, 12 one-hitters, and three no-hitters. On retirement, he was the number three all-time strikeout pitcher (with just Cy Young and Walter Johnson ahead of him).

Those records could well have been higher, but Feller volunteered for military service following Pearl Harbour, reaching the...

For 1.944 games, Eddie Mathews played Third Base for the Braves; first the Boston Braves, then the Milwaukee Braves, and then the Atlanta Braves. Travelling for the team as it moved cities in the fifties and sixties. 

And he posted an impressive record; 12 All-Star appearances, two World Series victories, and nine consecutive season with thirty or more home runs. He retired with 512 homers, putting him sixth on the all-time home run record table… today he still sits in an impressive 23rd place.

Mathews is rightly regarded as one of the greatest third basemen of all time.

Bill Singer picked up the first ever save for the Dodgers in their game against the Reds on April 7th 1969. Four more pitchers joined Singer on April 8th; the Red Sox's Juan Pizarro, the Expos' Carroll Sembera, the Pirates' Chuck Hartenstein, and the Pilots' Jack Aker.

It's to the Seattle Pilots' game we head to this week. Not only is it one of the first games to have a saving pitchers, it's also the very first game for the Pilots in their one and only season.

To keep the league numbers balanced, the team's introduction was...

Games can be important because of the players, of firsts, of society, or more. Today's classic baseball radio broadcast features an important first for umpiring that reflects society.

In 1966 Emmett Ashford became the first African American umpire in the major league. Having umpired since the late 1930s  (by virtue of being the volunteer when another umpire failed to turn up to a game), he made a name for himself with his flamboyant style as he worked up through the league.

He made his debut on April 11, 1966. After a little bit of a search in our ar...

Jim Palmer won a World Series ring in the sixties. Jim Palmer won a World Series ring in the seventies. Jim Palmer won a World Series ring in the eighties… and Jim Palmer is the only pitcher win rings in three different decades.

It's also worth flagging up his six All-Star appearances, three Cy Young awards, a no-hitter in 1969, his career ERA of 2.856, plus the simple to say but hard to comprehend fact that nobody ever hit a Grand Slam from a Palmer pitch in the  majors. And all that while being loyal and sticking with the Balt...

When someone picks up awards for Rookie fo the Year, Most Valuable Player, and the Cy Young Award during their career, you know they are something special. And yes, pitcher Don Newcombe was something special.

For today's classic game, let's go back to one of the many firsts that Newcombe had in his career, namely becoming the first black pitcher to start a game in the World Series. It's October 5th, and Newcombe is going to throw one of the memorable pitcher duels in the Fall Classic, as he faces the Yankees’ Allie Reynolds.

Red Ba...

A key pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the late fifties and early sixties, Bob Friend still holds the Pirates' career records for innings pitched (3480), strikeouts (1682), and batters faced (14,644). 

The four-time All Star played with Pittsburgh for fifteen years, but the last year of his MLB career saw him play in New York… adding  delightful footnote. He played the first half of the season with the New York Yankees, and the second half of the season with the New York Mets. Truly a friend of the Big Apple. 

For today's classic game, the Houston Astros are vi...

Warren Spahn has finished out the 1958 season with 22 wins. That's an important stat, as it marks him out as the first left-handed pitcher to have nine 'twenty win seasons' in the Majors. He will eventually record 363 wins in his career.

It should come as no surprise that the best left-handed pitcher each year wins The Warren Spahn Award.

His 22 wins in the 1958 season have brought the Milwaukee Braves to the World Series. Facing the New York Yankees, both teams have a 92-62 record from the season. Spahn is set to pitch the opening game.

Founded by the American Actor Gene Autry, the Los Angeles Angles was one of the the first expansion clubs (the other being Washington). The first year they played at the Los Angeles Wrigley Field - home of the previous LA Angels who had played in the PCL league. Four years as tennants of the Dogers followed, before Angel Stadium was opened.

The team may not be as storied or as rewarded as the original teams (for example, the Angles are one for one in World Series apperances, the sole apperance and victory coming in 2002), but the their...

Milt Pappas made the All-Star Game three times, had a 10-year streak over .500 wins, an eleven year streak of double digit wins, pitched for 209 wins in his career… and never managed more than 17 wins in a season.

That might feel about right for a pitcher in 2023, but back in 1972 Pappas was the epitomy of a long, slow burn into the history books. 

June 17th 1972 saw the Los Angeles Dodgers are visting Wrigley Field, and Pappas is on the mound for the Cubs. We join the game during the top of the first innings. Pappas has str...

As the MLB works to bring the stolen base back into the game, let's remember one of the great power hitters who combined the hits with the speed.

 Bobby Bonds was the first player have two season with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, setting the record of five thirty-thirty seasons… a record that has never been beaten, although he now shares the five season ticket with his son Barry Bonds. By the end of his career - a career that saw him play for eight different teams before returning to the Giants as a coach in 1993. - he...

With the news that the Athletic are set to leave Oakland for the shiny bright lights of Las Vegas, it's worth remembering just how often the club has moved around.

Way back in 1901, a new Philadelphia team was founded, and it joined the nascent American League, winning the Pennant six times and the World Series three times in the first twelve years. Their next period of dominace was during the Great Depression, with three Pennans and two more World Series. But that was the last glory for the Athletic in Philadephia as a lack of finance and...

If you wanted someone who could hit for power in the expansion era, you wanted Orlando Cepeda. The so-called 'Baby Bull' would be in contention for the leading batting, home run, RBI, slugging, and total bases awards every year for his first five years. He would alos be the first Puerto Rican All-Star, taking to the field in 1959.

His first nine years saw him play first base for the San Francisco Giants (at the same time as Willie McCovey was also staking his claim to the same position). At the time he was second in the Giants...

Elston Howard was the first African American player on the New York Yankees roster, he was the first black player to win the American League MVP award, and he held the fielding percentage record as a catcher (a career .993) for seven years.

He also invented the batter's donut.

The now ubiquitous warm-up aid debuted in 1955 - with the St Louis Cardians the first to invest in it. Unfortunatly a lack of funds meant Howard and his partners struggled to combat copycat manufacturers.

The Yankees retired Howards' #32 jersey in 1984 in honor of his playing...

Ron Hunt can rightly be described as loving the ball more than any batter in the 1971 season, when he became the first batter to be hit by fifty pitches in a single year. It wasn't an aberration either; in the last seven years of his twelve year career he led the Hit By Pitch counter in the National League. 

His all-time count of 243 HBPs was the record in the live-ball era, and would not be overtaken for sixteen years.

We join Ron Hunt as he leads off for the Expos as the Dodgers visit Canada f...

It's Father's Day, and Jim Bunning steps up on the mound to start the first game of a double-header for the Phillies and the Mets in Shea Stadium. He's going to throw 89 pitches that will burn his name into the history books.

He'll be number seven in an incredibly exclusive club that has only 23 members. He'll be the first National League pitcher to join the club since 1880. 

This is Jim Bunning's Perfect Game. 

Matt Murphy, Lindsay Nelson, and Ralph Cainer on Mets Radio call the game.

You can find the boxscore he...

Ted Williams sits alongside the likes of Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron in the pantheon of baseball hitters.

He spent his entire time in the Majors with the Boston Red Sox. Over 19 years he averaged .344/.482/.634. He was the last player to average over .400 in a single season, and to this day that .482 on base percentage is highest of all time.

It's 1960, and Ted Williams is in his last season. Naturally the Boston Red Soxs have put him in the three-hole as the team faces Ralph Terry of the New York Yankees.

...

The New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game together on 8th September, 1957. 22,376 crowded into the Polo Grounds to say goodbye to the rival teams. 

Of course the Giants and the Dodgers weren't leaving baseball, they were both heading out to California to establish Major League Baseball on the West Coast where they play to this day. But this would be it for the classic New York rivalry. We head into the final game of a three game series. The Dodgers have already taken the Series with two wins; can the Giants avoid the s...

Thanks to the expansion teams, 1969 saw the AL and NL both split into two divisions. That resulted in the first divisional championship games ahead of the World Series. In the National League the Atlanta Braves picked up the first NL West pennant, and faced an unexpected opponent in the NLCS.

For the first seven years of the Mets, this expansion team never climbed higher than ninth place, and in five of the seven years lost more than 100 games each season. 1969 was the eighth year of the Mets, and they went on a tear that saw a 100-62...

The world had other things on its mind during 1944, but baseball was there when America needed to take a break from the horrors of war. It wasn't pretty baseball; the fittest men were on the front lines, others were pulling double and trip shifts in factories, and that left a depleted pool of players.

But it was baseball nonetheless, and it added another line to the history of the game, with the only World Series appearance of the St Louis Browns; in part due to an older roster who were ineligible for the draft and some strong...

Legendary catcher and broadcaster Tim McCarver died this weekend, aged 81. Here at Classic Baseball Radio, we'd like to take a moment to remember his career with one of his earliest appearances as Catcher for the St Louis Cardinals.

As a player, he won two World Series, appeared in two All-Star games, and is a member of the Cardinals' Hall of Fame. He is one of just 31 players to have played in four different decades of baseball in a career spanning 41 years. In total had a batting average of .271, 97 home runs, and 645 RBIs.

As a broadcaster...

1968 is known as 'The Year Of The Pitcher', and no other pitcher stood out more than the Detroit Tigers' Denny McLain. With a winning record for the last three years, his achievement in the '68 season would become one of the greatest pitching performances in history. Because the wins just kept coming.

It's September 14th, and the Tigers welcome the Oakland Athletic to Detroit. McLain is first up at the mound, sitting on a 29-5 record. The last pitcher to hit 30 wins was Dizzy Dean of the 1934 St Louis Cardinal.

We join Ernie Harwell and...

It's the 1952 World Series with the Yankees and Dodgers taking it to Game 7. On the Yankees line-up is a certain Mickey Mantle, and his 1952 season is one for the record books. This was the year of the Topps Mickey Mantle Baseball Card… the most expensive baseball card in the world

Although Topps' cards debuted in 1951, that year saw a pack more akin to playing cards. 1952 saw the cards we know and love; the picture, the text, and the candy. 407 players, in three sets, but it was Mantle's card which (ahem) came out on top, with a recent au...

You expect to see the big names in any All-Star Game. But in 1971, the two rosters between them featured 21 players who would eventually reach the Hall Of Fame. Of the 16 position players, 10 would reach Cooperstown.

Willie Mays opens up the batting; Roberto Clemente makes his last All-Star appearance; Hank Aaron reaches the fence for the first time in the Summer Classic; heck, even Pete Rose pops up. If you want to watch out for something special, count off how many home runs are hit, and how many are hit by future Hall of Fame'es. You'll never listen...

Who can steal bases? Luis Aparicio can steal bases. With nine consecutive years as the American League leader in stolen bases between 1956 and 1964, and over 500 in his career, Aparicio is one of the legendary base runners. And that's before you look at his record number career hits as a shortstop… only beaten by the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter in 2009.

Is it any wonder the Chicago White Sox retired his #11?

In today's classic, we join the 1960 White Sox as they welcome, of course, the Yankees to Comiskey Park. The White Sox, 17-10, are leading the Am...

After 61 years, the Pittsburgh Pirates said goodbye to Forbes Field in the middle of the season before moving to Three Rivers Park. Built in 1909 it was the home not only of the Pirates, but also the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, and the University of Pittsburgh's Pitt Panthers.

We join Bob Prince, Nellie King, and Gene Osborn on KDKA for the second game in the double-header. The Pirates took the first game 3-2, can they close out their time at Forbes Field with a final victory?

You can find the boxscore here.

This game was...

As the regular season of 1962 comes to a close, the New York Mets have already claimed a daunting record… the most losses in a season.

Having passed the Athletics 1916 record of 117 losses on September 23rd, the Mets headed to Wrigley Field for the final game of the season with a record of 40-119 (plus one tied game). Could the players find a bit of honor to close out the debut season with a win, or would they reach the talismanic mark of 120 losses?

Bob Murphy, supported by Ralph Kiner and Lindsey Nelson, calls the game on...

Satchell Paige spent over forty years playing baseball at various levels, but his mark in history is a simple one… he was the first African-American to pitch in the American League, and the seventh player to integrate into the majors. He did that when he was 42, and he remains the oldest debutant in either league.

He was also the first African-American to pitch in a World Series, and it's that game we join today. It's Game 5 of the World Series, and Paige's Cleveland Indians are up against the Boston Braves. Bob Feller is the starting pitcher, defending a...

The Baltimore Orioles won the 1970 World Series, but the 1971 campaign would match a pitching record that stands to this day. The four starting pitchers Pat Dobson (20-8), Dave McNally (21–5), Mike Cuellar (20–9), and Jim Palmer (20–10) all posted 20 or more wins. The only other team in the history of the majors to have four pitchers on 20-plus wins in a season are the 1920 White Sox.

We join the Orioles for the second game in a double-header with the California Angels. The teams would meet throughout the year, eventually contesting the ALCS. As Pat Dobson takes to the mound, the Oriole...

1968 is known as ‘The Year Of The Pitcher’, and there was no finer pitcher than Bob Gibson of the St Louis Cardinals. Since then, no pitcher has come close to matching his ERA of 1.12.

The Cardinals were not just one pitcher though, and the whole team worked together to top the American League and take on the Detroit Tigers in the World Series (1968 was the last year before the playoff system was introduced). The Cardinals had home-field advantage for Game 1, and they put Bob Gibson on the mound. On the biggest baseball stage in the world, Gibson is a...

1965 would be the last year that the Braves would play in Milwaukee. The plan had been to say goodbye to the city and move to Atlanta at the end of the 1964 season, but their stadium lease saw them play out one more year. The Braves maintained an impressive win record throughout their time in Milwaukee with two pennants and one World Series, and never once posting a losing record.

We join the second game of a double-header against the New York Mets at Milwaukee County Stadium, the stadium that kept them in place for that final year.<...

The 1933 Chicago World’s Fair saw what was planned to be a one-off "All Stars" exhibition game, with two rosters selected by the fans of each league. Following its success, including a significant charitable donation from ticket sales, the Midsummer Classic returned in 1934.

Stepping up to the plate for the American League are five bona fide legends, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin. Facing them on the mound for the National League was Cal Hubbell and his classic screwball. Pitching in his home field, Hubbell is about to set a strikeout streak th...

It’s Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Pitching for the Yankees is Don Larsen. Following four walks and four unearned runs given up in Game 2 before the end of the second inning, there was little indication that Larsen was about to throw the only perfect game in World Series history. 

Bob Wolff and Bob Neal call the game for MBS Radio, and as is tradition, never mention the no-hitter is on, let alone a perfect game… although Wolff might drop a few hints. See if you can spot them.

The box score can be found here...

The 1965 season saw the opening of the Houston Astrodome, and the first Major League Baseball games to be played indoors. For Opening Day, the Yankees were invited to the Astros for an exhibition game to open the Dome.

With recordings available for both team broadcasts we can contrast two different legends behind the microphone. In this episode, our second visit to this game, we can hear the Astros Radio broadcast of the exhibition, with Harry Kalas, Loel Passe, and Gene Elston.

This game was played on April 9th, 1965.

The 1965 season saw the opening of the Houston Astrodome, and the first Major League Baseball games to be played indoors. For Opening Day, the Yankees were invited to the Astros for an exhibition game to open the Dome.

With recordings available for both team broadcasts we can contrast two different legends behind the microphone. In this episode, the Yankee’s broadcasting team of Red Barber, Phil Rizzuto, Jerry Coleman and Joe Garagiola, for WCBS.

This game was played on April 9th, 1965.

1971 was the last year of the Washington Senators, with the team moving to Arlington to become the Texas Rangers. It’s the Senators' third game as they welcome the New York Yankees to RGK Stadium for a four-game series.

The box score can be found here.

This game was played on April 9th, 1971.

Following a four-game series with a single day of rest, the Red Sox once more took to the field at Comiskey Park and faced the White Sox in a double-header.  With both teams chasing the New York Yankees for the pennant, this series was vital in setting up the Bronx Bombers’ challenger in the back half of the 1936 season.

The box score can be found here.

This is the second game of the double header played on August 2 1936.

Following a four-game series with a single day of rest, the Red Sox once more took to the field at Comiskey Park and faced the White Sox in a double-header.  With both teams chasing the New York Yankees for the pennant, this series was vital in setting up the Bronx Bombers’ challenger in the back half of the 1936 season.

The box score can be found here.

This is the first game of the double header played on August 2 1936.

For the opening half of the 1969 season - the first season with the AL and NL having two divisions in each league - the Cubs were on .700, but would eventually fall to .568 and lose to the Mets’ .617 following a collapse in the back half. We join the Mets on the road to the Cubs as the season starts to turn its way

The box score can be found here (link).

This game was played on July 14 1969.

A regular season game with a pair of young Dodgers legends; Sandy Koufax, barely two years into his career, takes the mound, while up in the radio booth you have a 29-year-old Vin Scully calling the first three innings. 

You can find the box score here (Link).

This game was played on June 4 1957.

The Giants and Dodgers met in a special three-game playoff to decide the National League pennant in 1951. This is Game 3, the deciding game, and it would echo throughout baseball history. This game was played on October 3 1951.

The American League Pennant came down to the final day in 1949 The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox were deadlocked on 96 wins… and that final day saw the Yankees take on the Red Sox in a nerve-wracking title decider at Fenway Park. This game was played on October 2 1949.

The 1973 NLCS saw the defending National League champions Cincinnati Reds take on the New York Mets who struggled into the postseason with just 82 wins… and the Mets took the LCS to a deciding game at Shea Stadium. This game was played on October 10 1973.

The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, With a three game lead going in to Game 4, could the Dodgers sweep the Yankees to lift the World Series Pennant? This game was played on Sunday October 6 1963.

The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Game 3 saw the teams move to Dodger Stadium, with the Dodgers taking a two-game lead over the Yankees to their home field for the game on Saturday, October 5 1963.