Touching All the Bases (eBook)

Thomas D. Phillips lectures on baseball history to a wide variety of audiences. His writings about baseball have appeared in Elysian Fields Quarterly: The Baseball Review, Spitball: The Baseball Literary Journal, and other publications.

IntroductionChapter One: In the Beginning1. The Diamond, the Team, and the RulesChapter Two: Firsts2. First All-Salaried Professional Team3. The Pioneers4. First World Series5. First Night Game6. First Farm System7. First Radio and Television Broadcasts8. First Designated Hitter … and the DH’s AncestorChapter Three: The Most Famous Plays9. Bill Wambsganss: Unassisted Triple Play10. Willie Mays: “The Catch”11. Bobby Thomson: “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”12. Enos Slaughter: “The Mad Dash”13. Gabby Hartnett: “The Homer in the Gloamin’” 14. Jeter’s Miracle15. Bill Mazeroski: Seventh Game Walk Off Home run16. Kirk Gibson: The Unbelievable Home run17. Babe Ruth: “The Called Shot”18. Bucky Dent: The Unprintable Middle Name19. Al Gionfriddo: The Catch That Frustrated DiMaggioChapter Four: The Most Famous Misplays20. Mickey Owen: The Dropped Third Strike21. Fred Snodgrass: “The $30,000 Muff”22. Fred Merkle’s Bonehead Play23. Bill Buckner’s ErrorChapter Five: Streaks and Sustained Excellence24. DiMaggio’s Hitting Streak25. Ted Williams: Consecutive Games/Times on Base26. Johnny Vander Meer: Two Consecutive No-Hitters27. Orel Hershiser: 59 Consecutive Scoreless Innings Pitched28. Eric Gagne: 84 Consecutive Saves29. Charles Radbourn: 60 Victories in a Season (Or Maybe Only 59)30. Carl Hubbell: 24 Consecutive Pitching Victories31. Home runs in Eight Consecutive Games32. New York Yankees: Five Consecutive World Championships33. Longest Winning Streak34. At the Top of Their Games … For Years and Years Chapter Six: Streaks and Sustained (Lack of) Excellence35. Zero for 201136. Longest Losing Streak37. Anthony Young: 27 Consecutive Losses38. The Worst TeamChapter Seven: Highs and Lows39. First Pitch Grand Slam40. First Game No-Hitter41. Home runs on First Two At-Bats42. Two Grand Slams in One Inning43. Three Hits in One Inning44. Twelve RBIs in a Game45. Twelve Hits in a Row46. Seven for Seven47. Three Swings Seven Outs, and Other Bad TimesChapter Eight: Special Games48. The Long and the Short49. The Most Innings50. Seventeen Runs in One Inning51. The Most Runs Scored52. Twelve Perfect Innings53. Double No-Hitter54. The Most Unusual No-Hitter – Or Was It a 26-Out Perfect Game?55. Larsen’s Perfect Game56. The Pine Tar Game57. The Bloody SockChapter Nine: Moments to Remember58. The Garbled Phone Calls Game: “Can You Hear Me Now?”59. The Fan in Aisle 4, Row 8, Seat 11360. Jeter Hits a Home run – Or Maybe Not61. Stirnweiss’s Batting Title62. Ted Williams: .406 on the Last Day63. September 28, 2011: Hours and Hours of Excitement64. Moments that Transcend the GameChapter Ten: Hall of Fame65. Babe Ruth66. Walter Johnson67. Ty Cobb68. Honus Wagner69. Christy MathewsonChapter Eleven: All-Star Game70. The Windblown Balk71. Carl Hubbell: 5Ks in a Row72. The Eephus Pitch73. The CollisionChapter Twelve: The Most Famous Teams74. “Murderer’s Row”75. The “Big Red Machine”76. The “Miracle Braves”77 The “Hitless Wonders”Chapter Thirteen: Franchises and Leagues78. Major League Franchises79. Other Major Leagues80. The Negro LeaguesChapter Fourteen: Elysian Fields81. The Ball ParksChapter Fifteen: The Equipment82. The Baseball83. The Baseball Bat84. Gloves and Mitts85. Uniforms and Associated GearChapter Sixteen: Computing the Stats86 The Major Stats: What the Numbers Mean87. The Stories the Numbers TellChapter Seventeen: The Awards88. Honors BestowedChapter Eighteen: The Black Sox Scandal89. “Say It Ain’t So, Joe”Chapter Nineteen: The Steroids Era90. The Doping DilemmaChapter Twenty: The Impact of World War II91. Ted Williams: Left Fielder, Boston Red Sox92. Bob Feller: Pitcher, Cleveland Indians93. Warren Spahn: Pitcher, Boston/Milwaukee Braves94. Pete Gray: The One-Armed Ballplayer95. The Women’s LeagueChapter Twenty-One: The Legacy of Jackie Robinson96. JackieChapter Twenty-Two: Pitching97. Pitching: From Past to Present – Tracing the ChangesChapter Twenty-Three: The Reserve Clause98. Management vs. LaborChapter Twenty-Four: Running the Business99. Front Office Operations: Rosters, Waivers, Options, Free AgencyChapter Twenty-Five: Baseball in Song, Verse, and Show Business100. Baseball in the Arts and on ScreenChapter Twenty-Six: Nicknames101. Dr. Strangeglove and other LabelsAppendixesAppendix 1: Spring Training SitesAppendix 2: World Series ResultsAppendix 3: Unassisted Triple PlaysAppendix 4: Perfect Games Appendix 5: Hall of Fame MembershipAppendix 6: Major League Ball Parks Appendix 7: Batting ChampionsAppendix 8: Home run ChampionsAppendix 9: Triple Crown WinnersAppendix 10: MVP Award WinnersAppendix 11: Cy Young Award WinnersAppendix 12: Rookies of the YearAppendix 13: Gold Glove Record HoldersAppendix 14: Silver Slugger Record HoldersAppendix 15: Commissioners of BaseballAppendix 16: Labor DisputesAppendix 17: Casey at the Bat and a Sampling of SequelsAppendix 18: NicknamesNotesBibliographyIndexAbout the Author