Table of Content

  • May 11, 1919: The Big Train’s 12-inning, 2-hit, shutout ends in a tie

    June 5, 2020: The Yankees were expecting a huge crowd at the Polo Grounds on May 11, 1919, for the first American League game to be played on a Sunday in New York. After all, the Giants had played to a full house in the same stadium the week before for the first Sunday game… Read more

  • Sept. 7, 2005: Zim’s first start turns into a milestone for Dontrelle Willis

    June 1, 2020: The Washington Nationals had seen their 2005 season go south after a 50-31 start kept them in first place in the N.L. East as late as July 25. About to send John Halama, a reclamation project, to face 23-year-old Dontrelle Willis on the Wednesday night after Labor Day, the Nats were five… Read more

  • The effect of playing time lost to crises

    May 9, 2020 (revised Jan. 29, 2021): The Covid-19 pandemic caused the 2020 season to be reduced to 60 games, the first time since the labor contract turmoil of 1994 and 1995 that fewer than 162 games have been played. Prior to that, the 1981 season was cut short by a player strike, and teams… Read more

  • Ray Morgan, Nats’ Deadball-era second baseman

    May 1, 2020: Getting caught stealing forever links Ray Morgan to Babe Ruth and Ernie Shore. Getting out of jail—a month into a year’s sentence—when Clark Griffith showed up in court with a scouting job offer—is another reason Morgan has a place in the game’s lore. Morgan played second base for the Washington Senators in… Read more

  • In 1-0 games, Walter Johnson won 38, lost 26

    April 20, 2020: In his Hall-of-Fame career, Walter Johnson pitched in 64 games that ended 1-0. He won 38 of them. Johnson came in as a reliever in two of the 1-0 games (he lost both) and he didn’t complete three others. In no fewer than 10 of his 26 losses, the lone run he… Read more

  • Ryan Zimmerman’s 11 walk-off home runs

    April 4, 2020: When Ryan Zimmerman won the first game at Nationals Park with a walk-off home run in 2008, it was the fourth time Zim had hit a game-ending homer. His total now stands at 11, the last coming on August 22, 2018, against the Phillies. The 11 game-ending home runs tie Zimmerman for… Read more