The Baseball 100

Gwynn hit .309 or better every full season of his career. He hit .351 in his first full season,

in 1920, a 25-year-old Hornsby—a lifetime .310/.370/.440 hitter to that point—hit .370/.431/.559, leading the league in all three splits, and he also led the league in hits, doubles, RBIs, and total bases. Over the next five seasons combined—this is so ridiculous—Hornsby would hit .402. Nobody, not even Ty Cobb, hit .400 over five full seasons.

“Do you throw that fast consistently?” the team’s manager asked. “No, sir,” Paige said. “I do it all the time.”

In 1909, Wagner was far and away the most famous and beloved baseball player in America. As such, when the American Tobacco Company decided to put together its baseball card set, he was the most important player for the company to secure. It’s unclear how the ATC negotiated with players for photo rights. In most cases, they probably didn’t. A few p

His son later said that Bankhead, who was from Alabama and had seen the worst of America’s racism, pitched in mortal fear of hitting a batter and causing a riot. Bankhead pitched in only four games and was sent back to the minors; there would not be another black pitcher in baseball until the legendary Satchel Paige was finally given his chance wit

“Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.” “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?”

(and still only)

A young pitcher, facing Hornsby, complained about a pitch being called a ball. “Son,” umpire Bill Klem said, “when you pitch a strike, Mr. Hornsby will let you know it.”

In 1930, he led the league in wins and saves (though it would be decades before the save became an official statistic).