Washington has had a host of steady third basemen over the years. In 2005 the Nationals drafted and quickly signed Ryan Zimmerman. In 2013 he will be entering his ninth year with the team. During that time he has hit 153 home runs and has a batting average of .287. In his eight seasons, Zimmerman …
Oct 23
A List of Living Members of Mickey Vernon’s Horsehide Club
With the recent passing of Eddie Yost the list of the Living Members of “Mickey Vernon’s Horsehide Club” has been updated. For a donation of $24.95 (the digits represent the number of career hits Mickey Vernon had) to the Mickey Vernon Museum, you can get a copy of the 11″ x 17″ print shown below, along with a …
Oct 23
Henry Moore, Man of Mystery
Moore remains a mystery, his life and death cloaked from our view. Even the dedicated sleuths of the Society for American Baseball Research have been unable to locate him. When I first read the Baseball Encyclopedia many years back I was amazed to discover a rookie who batted .336 in his first season. And that …
Oct 19
The Year I Got to Be 11 Again
I got to be 11, all over again this summer, thanks to the greatest season in Washington Nationals history, and my boy, Mark. Growing up in the suburbs of Washington, baseball was not a huge part of my life. When I was 11, in 1975, I could still remember the Senators and their move to …
Oct 17
It was a Great Run
Notes on the past season. After the game we received an email from our friend Dave, an avid Nationals fan. Dave writing, “They came up short but it was a hell of a run. I’m sad but never really expected it this year. Go Nats 2013.” It was a great run, no doubt about that. …
Oct 16
The Nats win Two! But get credit for one.
The Nats win Two! 1884, the Washington Nationals have lost the first three games in a four game series with the powerful St. Louis Union nine. The St. Louis Club, also called the Maroons, are 83 and 11, the Nationals having remade the team are 39 and 51. Today they hope 23 year old Bill …
Oct 15
William E “Bill” Stearns
Born 26 June 1871, in the District. Stearns went on to play five seasons in the National Association, the predecessor to the National League. Although his major league statistics are marginal, 13-64 with an ERA of 4.28, he was the youngest player in the association in 1871 and played on some bad teams. In 1871 …
Oct 15
Looking back through tear-stained eyes
Let’s face it, for the fans of 29 teams, the end of the baseball season is hard to take. To be sure, it’s harder in some cities than in others. Here in Washington, after watching seven regular seasons mercifully conclude with the reality of a losing team, we got not only our first winning season, …
Oct 13
Retired Pitcher Living in Annapolis Denied Pension & Health Insurance by MLB
My book tells the true story about a group of former big-league ballplayers denied pensions as a result of the failure of both the league and the union to retroactively amend the vesting requirement change that granted instant pension eligibility to ballplayers in 1980. As you may know, prior to that year, ballplayers had to …
Oct 12
A little Washington baseball Deja Vu
Last night the 44,000 fans at Nationals Park witnessed a similar outcome to a must win baseball game as 34,000 Washington fans witnessed eighty eight years and two days earlier. On October 9, 1924 the New York Giants held a three games to two lead over the Washington Senators. Game six was played at Griffith …
