BR Bullpen:Featured Article Archive
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Featured Articles appearing on the main page.
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Tuffy Rhodes
Tuffy Rhodes has been one of the top foreign players in the history of Nippon Pro Baseball. He holds many records for gaijin, including home runs and RBI in a career. He tied the single-season NPB home run record that had been held by Sadaharu Oh for decades. The Japanese reaction to Rhodes' chase generated controversy both in Japan and the United States as he was pitched around by Oh's team. Rhodes was the second foreign player in NPB history to cover the required 10 seasons to no longer be deemed a foreigner. He holds the all-time Japanese record for ejections. Rhodes retired before the 2006 season but returned in 2007 as a productive player for the Orix Buffaloes. In 2007, he set numerous "firsts" for foreign players while extending his records for foreign hitters. Rhodes began his career as a speedster who developed his power stroke while in the high minors. In the US, he tied the record for home runs on Opening Day while he was with the Chicago Cubs.
Recently featured: Chronicle-Telegraph Cup - Martín Dihigo - Lou Limmer
Chronicle-Telegraph Cup
The Chronicle-Telegraph Cup was a postseason trophy series that was played once, in 1900. It was a challenge cup, created by the Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph. The newspaper offered a silver cup to the winner of a best-of-five series between its local club, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who finished second in the National League, and the league's champion, the Brooklyn Superbas. The series was held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Exposition Park in mid-October. The Superbas prevailed in the series,three games to one, to take the cup. The teams were evenly matched in every aspect of their games except fielding, as the Pirates' fourteen errors led to ten unearned runs, dooming the club. The Pirates would go on to win the next three National League pennants and appear in the first modern World Series played in 1903. The Brooklyn club, who had won the last World's Series ten years earlier, would not win another postseason series until 1955. The series would be the last intra-league championship series in Major League Baseball history.
Recently featured: Martín Dihigo - Lou Limmer - Atsuya Furuta
Martín Dihigo
Martín Dihigo (pronounced Mar-TEEN DEE-go) is widely considered the be one of the greatest two-way players in baseball history, along with Babe Ruth, Bob Caruthers and Bullet Rogan. The Matanzas native was the first man to be a member of the Hall of Fame, Salon de la Fama (Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame), and Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame. Dihigo played every position except catcher during his career, which ran from 1922 to 1950. A top hurler who won over 250 wins as a pro, he also won two batting titles. Dihigo hit for power as well and also showed off a fine glove; Ted Page rated his throwing arm from the outfield as being superior to that of Roberto Clemente. At least two fellow Hall-of-Famers said he was the best player they ever saw. He set offensive and pitching records in both Cuba and Mexico. On the mound, these included Mexican League single-season records for ERA and strikeouts, the Cuban Winter League career record for wins. At the plate, his records included the most doubles in a Cuban Winter League game and the first six-hit game in Mexican League history. Throughout his career, he played year-round, spending summers in the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela and the winters in Cuba. He managed championship teams in Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico. Dihigo won four Cuban Winter League MVP awards, the most of any player.
Recently featured: Lou Limmer - Atsuya Furuta - Mike Easler
Lou Limmer
Lou Limmer was a first baseman for 13 years, two in the Major Leagues and eleven in the minors. He won two minor league home run titles, fell one shy in a third year and was in the top 5 seven times. A former American Association Rookie of the Year, Limmer twice led the Caribbean Series in home runs. He hit two historic home runs in the majors - the last by a member of the Philadelphia A's and the only homer by a Jewish batter against a Jewish pitcher with a Jewish catcher. He drove in 1,041 runs in Organized Baseball. He also was once nicknamed the "Babe Ruth" of Batting Practice.
Recently featured: Atsuya Furuta - Mike Easler - 1983 Expos
Atsuya Furuta
Atsuya Furuta is the manager of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. A player on the Japanese team in the 1988 Olympics, he was voted the greatest catcher in Nippon Pro Baseball history in 2000. He was the first person to hit for the cycle in an All-Star Game in Japan. He was the first catcher to win a batting title in the Central League. A two-time Central League MVP, he has also won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award. One of the few players to hit four home runs in a game in NPB, Furuta has battled knee problems for years. He became Japan's first player-manager in three decades when he took over the reigns of the Swallows in 2006.
Recently featured: Mike Easler - 1983 Expos - Charlie Manuel
Mike Easler
Mike Easler was known as "The Hitman" due to his aptitude at the plate, but it took him over a decade before he got a shot at regular action in the major leagues. A two-time batting titlist in AAA, Easler was traded from one organization to another, often for players who would never make the majors. Eventually, he settled into a role with the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming an All-Star. He later went on to success with the Boston Red Sox and Nippon Ham Fighters. When his playing career ended, Easler became a minor league manager, then established himself as a hitting coach at both the minor and major league levels.
Recently featured: 1983 Expos - Charlie Manuel - Josh Gibson
1983 Expos
The 1983 Expos were strong competitors in the 1983 NL, involved in a tight pennant race until mid-September before finishing with a disappointing 82-80 record. The team lost their original bullpen coach, Mel Wright, to cancer. Tim Raines became the first player in 68 years to have 70 stolen bases and 70 RBI in the same season. Al Oliver led the league in doubles and Andre Dawson won both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award while setting a club record for home runs. Other prominent names on the team included Gary Carter, Jeff Reardon and Tim Wallach.
Recently featured: Charlie Manuel - Josh Gibson - 1903 World Series
Charlie Manuel
Charlie Manuel has spent over 40 years in professional baseball. He won one minor league batting title and hit well at several stops, but failed to produce in limited opportunities in the major leagues. Going on to Japan, he won two home run titles in the Pacific League. His personality made him a larger-than-life character in the world of Japanese baseball. He was involved in one famous beanball incident, hit a key home run in the 1979 Japan Series and became the second American to be named MVP of the Pacific League. He later became a successful hitting coach. He managed the division-champion 2001 Indians and has managed the Philadelphia Phillies to second-place finishes in back-to-back seasons.
Recently featured: Josh Gibson - 1903 World Series - Shigeo Nagashima
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson is considered one of the greatest hitters of the Negro Leagues. A catcher, he spent much of his career with the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords and counted Buck Leonard and Satchel Paige among his teammates. He was inducted into the Mexico's Salón de la Fama in 1971 and into the American Hall of Fame in 1972 by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. Gibson is widely considered among the very best power hitters in baseball history, but never played in Major League Baseball as racial segregation excluded African-Americans from playing in the leagues during his lifetime. He won 12 home run titles not counting the winter leagues and also led his leagues in batting average, doubles, triples, RBI and slugging. While there are many who argue he was the greatest Negro Leaguer, catcher, or hitter in baseball history; there are also counter-arguments for each claim.
Recently featured: 1903 World Series - Shigeo Nagashima - Baltimore Orioles (IL)
1903 World Series
The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series played. It was played in October 1903 between the league champions of the American and the National Leagues. The Boston Americans (AL) defeated the favoured Pittsburgh Pirates (NL), 5 games to 3. The Americans were led to victory by pitchers Bill Dinneen and Cy Young. Pittsburgh pitcher Deacon Phillippe threw five complete games and was the winner in each of his team's victories. The series was the result of the peace pact signed in January 1903 in Cincinnati, OH between the presidents of the two leagues - Ban Johnson for the American League and Harry Pulliam for the National League - that ended two years of bickering, contract jumping and name-calling that was hurting both leagues' attendance. As a result, the National League, established in 1876, recognized the newly-formed American League, which had played its first season in 1901, as an equal.
Recently featured: Shigeo Nagashima - Baltimore Orioles (IL) – Charlie Metro
Shigeo Nagashima
Considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of Nippon Pro Baseball, Shigeo Nagashima was the star third baseman for the Yomiuri Giants from 1958 to 1974. He is unquestionably the most popular player in the history of Japanese baseball. Nagashima's legacy is closely intertwined with that of long-time teammate Sadaharu Oh as the "ON" attack led Yomiuri to a record nine straight Japan Series victories. While considered a great natural athlete, Nagashima was renowned for his practices - he got a house by the river so he could run every day there and he built a room in his home to practice his swings in constantly. He combined God-given talent with an excellent work ethic. He is also the father of Kazushige Nagashima.
Recently featured: Baltimore Orioles (IL) – Charlie Metro
Baltimore Orioles (IL)
The Baltimore Orioles (IL) were a team in the International League that played in Baltimore, MD. The club played from 1903 through 1914 and 1916 through 1953. The team joined the Eastern League in 1903 after the city lost its American League franchise to New York City. Due to Federal League pressure in 1915, the Orioles left Baltimore for Richmond, VA. After the collapse of the Federal League, the International League's Jersey City franchise moved to Baltimore and took on the Orioles name. In the early 1920s, under the direction of Jack Dunn, the team won seven consecutive league championships (1919 to 1925) and three Little World Series becoming the greatest minor league dynasty of all-time. For the next, thirty years the team remained a respectable member of the International League. The team ceased being an independent club in 1942 and the franchise ended in 1954 after the St. Louis Browns moved to the city and adopted the team's name. The club produced such stars as Babe Ruth and Lefty Grove and numerous other prominent baseball personages passed through as players or managers over the decades.
Recently featured: Charlie Metro
Charlie Metro
Charlie Metro is a former Major League outfielder, coach, manager, and scout. He was involved in baseball in various capacities for 47 years, and while he epitomizes the old-school baseball man, who has done everything in his career and knows every facet of the game, he was also an innovator and the author of a very entertaining autobiography. He was born Charles Moreskonich in Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania in 1919. His father's, first name, Metro, became his nickname, "Little Metro", and eventually his baseball last name because it would fit more easily in the boxscores. He was signed in 1937 by the St. Louis Browns, he made his Major League debut six years later and stayed in the big leagues there for three years. Metro managed the Denver Bears in to the American Association playoffs in 1960 and 1961. He later managed in the Major Leagues as a member of the Chicago Cubs’ "College of Coaches" in 1962 and with the Kansas City Royals in 1970 after having been the team's director of player procurement since their founding a year earlier. Metro retired from baseball in 1984.
Recently featured: none
