MLB History

Mickey Mantle had a terrible season in 1959. He batted .285, with 31 home runs, 75 RBI, and a.517 slugging average.

Most players would not consider that too bad, but Mantle was not most players.

Yankees general manager George Weiss wanted to slash Mantle's $75,000 salary by $15,000.

From his home in Dallas, Mantle agreed that his 1959 season "wasn't so good," but he felt the New York Yankees "cut my salary too much."

Dear Mr. Deford,

Last week, you wrote an article for SI.com lamenting what you described as the "stultifying sluggishness" that is presently plaguing Major League Baseball.  The article bemoaned the "dreadful strategy" of hitters allowing themselves to see as many pitches as possible in order to tire out the pitcher. 

Baseball is a sport that transcends time. It is one of the few activities in America that a Civil War veteran, if he was miraculously raised from the dead, would understand.

And the uniforms have changed a bit, but are still generally recognizable. The socks and stirrups get a little longer or shorter depending on the era, and the clothes are not as baggy now since they are made out of super-duper high tech sweat absorbent space age materials now, but the overall look is the same.

Some uniforms have stood the test of time. The Dodgers, with their classic script, comes to mind.

Nothing is better for a struggling Houston Astros team than a trip to St. Louis? That doesn't make any sense. St. Louis is in first place in the NL Central. Houston? They aren't in first place, or second, or third or fourth. Nope, they proudly reside in fifth place, one game back of the powerful Pittsburgh Pirates.

And this is after a three game sweep of the Cardinals.  

Astros baseball! After two eight game losing streaks, a third place finish isn't impossible, just improbable! I think that would be a great slogan for the rest of the season.   

The National League had Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson, and Maury Wills.

The American League had nobody for 13 years.

After the 1963 season, the American League finally had Elston Howard. The New York Yankees' catcher was the first black player to become the American League's Most Valuable Player.

With Josh Beckett sidelined for yet another start due to back issues, it’s time to take a look at 10 current pitchers in the majors whose backs SHOULD be hurting them.

Carrying the load for a MLB team can be a burden, and aces such as right-handers Zack Greinke (Kansas City Royals) and Roy Oswalt (Houston Astros) know that all too well.

Today, we’re going to quickly glance at 10 guys who are doing everything in their power to carry the team, but in most cases it’s to no avail.

And with the Astros leading the charge from the cellar, we’ll begin today’s slideshow

Believe it or not, the Astros have won four games in a row; and three of those victories have come against the first-place Cardinals as Houston swept St.

Exactly what does "cheating" mean?

One dictionary definition is: "to act dishonestly; practice fraud." That sounds good .

A second definition is: "to violate rules deliberately, as in a game." That sounds good too.

In 1951, the New York Giants won the National League Pennant, overcoming the Brooklyn Dodgers' 13.5 game lead.

There is no rivalry in sports more storied than the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox—or so ESPN tells me, constantly—and with that type of long-term, history-laden rivalry comes some serious battle lines, right?

Literally hundreds of books have been written on the subject.

A lot of people today forget how the game was in the early 1990’s. The Cubs and Braves thanks to WGN and TBS respectively rivaled the Yankee’s in popularity. The Atlanta Braves held an advantage over the Cubs at the time because the Braves were the better team. In my home town every kid was a Braves fan, with a few Cubs fans scattered about.