RIP to Dave Giusti, one of the most valuable players on the 1971 World Champion Pirates. He was the team's closer and was nearly unhittable in the postseason. Giusti, a 15-year veteran of the majors, died on January 11 at the age of 86. He played for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros (1962, 1964-68), St. Louis … Continue reading Obituary: Dave Giusti (1939-2026)
By Al Doyle Historically hideous teams usually come along infrequently, but the 43-119 (.265 winning percentage) 2025 Colorado Rockies bumbled and stumbled on the heels of the 41-121 (.253) 2024 Chicago White Sox. As might be expected, the Rockies racked up plenty of unusual and bottom feeder statistics. Colorado scored just 597 runs (3.69 per … Continue reading Weird Stats: A Denver Disaster (The 2025 Rockies)
When you talk about baseball records that will most likely never be broken, you might think about Cy Young’s 511 wins or Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive games played. Al Jurisich’s career isn’t nearly as impressive; he pitched for 4 seasons in the majors and had a win-loss record that’s 7 games under .500. But he, … Continue reading Grave Story: Al Jurisich (1921-1981)
RIP to Jim Willis, who pitched for the Cubs in the early 1950s as part of an 8-year professional career. He died at his home in Boyce, LA, on January 2 at the age of 98. He was the second-oldest living Chicago Cub, after Bobby Shantz, and was one of baseball's last living veterans from … Continue reading Obituary: Jim Willis (1928-2026)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Bill Pleis, 88 (d. October 17): Pleis had a 6-year career as a Minnesota Twins reliever, and his best year came during the pennant-winning 1965 season. In 41 games that year, he had a 4-4 record with 4 saves and a 2.98 ERA in … Continue reading 2025 In Memoriam (Part 4)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Carlos Lezcano, 69 (d. September 6): Carlos Lezcano was a great tennis player in his youth but ultimately turned to baseball, like his cousin Sixto. After losing (or nearly losing, depending on reports) part of a finger, he made the Chicago Cubs roster in … Continue reading 2025 In Memoriam (Part 3)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Mark Esser, 69 (d. May 12): A multi-sport star in Poughkeepsie, NY, Esser was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and signed in 1977. He became a strikeout artist in the minors, though he occasionally had control problems. Esser reached the majors with Chicago … Continue reading 2025 In Memoriam (Part 2)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 It's a little later than usual, but we're kicking off our year in review. As of this writing, there were 107 former major-leaguers who died in 2025. If I wrote a full-length obit about them, I'll link to it. Ed Acosta, 81 (d. September … Continue reading 2025 In Memoriam (Part 1)
By Al Doyle Even in the current high-strikeout, low batting average environment, the idea of coming in below .200 — the dreaded "Mendoza Line" named after weak-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza — is something to be avoided. Defense-first catchers and sure-handed utility infielders might hang around a while, hitting in the .180s or .190s, but other … Continue reading Weird Stats: The Best Sub-.200 Hitter of All Time
Before he ever played professionally, Mike Campbell was a legend in Seattle area ballfields, from Little League up through high school. Then he lived out a dream by becoming a No. 1 Draft pick of his hometown team, the Mariners. It was the start of a 14-year career that included stints on four major-league teams. … Continue reading Obituary: Mike Campbell (1964-2025)
RIP Baseball 