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106-468: As manager Charles Augustus " Kid " Nichols (September 14, 1869 – April 11, 1953) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Boston Beaneaters , St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies from 1890 to 1906. A switch hitter who threw right-handed, he was listed at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and 175 pounds (79 kg). He is a member of
212-573: A .282 batting average, and scored 80 runs and recorded 75 RBIs, both career records. He again led the league in putouts by a shortstop, with 354. Tinker finished in fourth place in the Chalmers Award voting following the season, behind Larry Doyle , Honus Wagner , and Chief Meyers . Murphy named Evers the new manager of the Cubs for the 1913 season. Tinker did not want to play for Evers and met with Murphy and Evers to discuss his transfer to
318-597: A 116–36 win–loss record in the 1906 season, a record for victories that only was matched by the Seattle Mariners in the 2001 season, in which the Mariners played ten more games than the 1906 Cubs. Tinker batted .167 in the 1906 World Series as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Cubs in six games. Prior to the 1907 season, Tinker underwent surgery for appendicitis . Tinker batted only .154 in
424-404: A 2.96 ERA. Nichols's win total was exceeded at the time only by Cy Young and Pud Galvin and is now the seventh highest total in major league history . His 5,067 1 ⁄ 3 innings pitched ranks 11th all-time. He was the youngest pitcher to win 300 games, reaching that milestone at the age of 30. After baseball, Nichols dabbled in the motion picture industry, partnering with Joe Tinker in
530-530: A 2006–07 investigation produced the Mitchell Report , which found that many players had used steroids and other performance-enhancing substances , including at least one player from each team. Each team plays 162 games per season, with Opening Day traditionally held during the first week of April. Six teams in each league then advance to a four-round postseason tournament in October, culminating in
636-548: A 27–19 win–loss record, a 2.23 earned run average (ERA) and 222 strikeouts , beginning a string of 10 consecutive seasons with 20 wins or more. Nichols also had a major league record seven 30-win seasons in this time (1891–1894, 1896–1898) with a career high of 35 in 1892. The Beaneaters won several pennant races during Nichols' tenure, finishing in first place five times between 1891 and 1898. The team had 102 wins per season in 1892 and 1898, which stood as franchise highs until 1998. Baseball-Reference.com calculates that Nichols led
742-659: A Pinch , he referred to Tinker as "the worst man I have to face in the National League." Tinker is perhaps best known for the "Tinker to Evers to Chance" double play combination in the poem " Baseball's Sad Lexicon ", written by the New York Evening Mail newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams in July 1910. The poem was written as a lamentation from the perspective of a New York Giants fan on how
848-600: A batter could foul off any number of pitches with no strikes counted against him; this gave an enormous advantage to the batter. After the 1919 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, baseball was rocked by allegations of a game-fixing scheme known as the Black Sox Scandal . Eight players— "Shoeless" Joe Jackson , Eddie Cicotte , Claude "Lefty" Williams , George "Buck" Weaver , Arnold "Chick" Gandil , Fred McMullin , Charles "Swede" Risberg , and Oscar "Happy" Felsch —intentionally lost
954-559: A broken rib during the season. Tinker tore a muscle in May 1915, ending his season prematurely. With Tinker managing, the Whales won the pennant in 1915. However, the league folded after the 1915 season. Charles Weeghman , the owner of the Whales, purchased the Cubs and consolidated his two Chicago rosters, retaining Tinker as his manager. Due to the high combined salaries of the Cubs and Whales, which included Brown and Roger Bresnahan , Tinker
1060-540: A business that distributed movies to theatres in the midwest. An accomplished bowler , Nichols also opened bowling alleys in the Kansas City area. He won Kansas City's Class A bowling championship at age 64. Nichols was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949 . He was said to have been proud of two things: his Hall of Fame selection and the fact that he had never been replaced in
1166-406: A chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before." With the approval of President Roosevelt, spring training began in 1942 with few repercussions. The war interrupted the careers of stars including Stan Musial , Bob Feller , Ted Williams , and Joe DiMaggio , but baseball clubs continued to field their teams. Branch Rickey, president and general manager of
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#17328015862001272-614: A combined 27–10 record. In 1889, he registered a 39–8 record for the Omaha Omahogs of the Western Association. Nichols signed with the Boston Beaneaters in September 1889 and entered the major leagues in with them in 1890. Due to Nichols's youthful appearance and relative lack of physical heft, Beaneaters' players and fans began calling him "Kid," a nickname which stuck for the rest of his career. Nichols recorded
1378-766: A contract to remain the Reds manager for the 1914 season. However, Herrmann fired Tinker in November, leaving him to seek a contract from another team. Tinker complained that Herrmann did not seek his input on player transactions, while Herrmann charged that Tinker did not accept his authority. Charles Ebbets , owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers , viewed Tinker as a good replacement for the released Bob Fisher , their shortstop in 1913. The Cubs, Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates , and Philadelphia Phillies were also interested in acquiring Tinker. Ebbets secured Tinker's release from
1484-586: A game by a relief pitcher. In October 1952, the 83-year-old Nichols was admitted to Menorah Hospital in Kansas City to investigate a complaint with his neck. Doctors ordered tests, but Nichols would not submit to them until after the seventh game of the World Series ended. He was later diagnosed with carcinomatosis , cancer that had spread throughout his body. He died on April 11, 1953. Nichols took pride in throwing complete games, stating, "I take pride in two things. My election to baseball's Hall of Fame and
1590-506: A grand jury in Pittsburgh related to cocaine trafficking. The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike from August 12, 1994, to April 25, 1995, caused the cancellation of over 900 games and the forfeit of the entire 1994 postseason. Routinely in the late 1990s and early 2000s, baseball players hit 40 or 50 home runs in a season, a feat that was considered rare even in the 1980s. It later became apparent that at least some of this power surge
1696-658: A little better in subsequent campaigns—but in their eighth season (1969) the Mets became the first of the 1960s expansion teams to play in the postseason, culminating in a World Series title over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. In 1966, the major leagues moved to the "Deep South" when the Braves moved to Atlanta. In 1968, the Kansas City Athletics moved west to become the Oakland Athletics . In 1969,
1802-671: A man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." That year, Robinson won the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate NL and AL Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949). Less than three months later, Larry Doby became the first African-American to break the color barrier in the American League with the Cleveland Indians. The next year, a number of other black players entered
1908-413: A new National Agreement which tied independent contracts to the reserve-clause contracts. The agreement also set up a formal classification system for minor leagues, the forerunner of today's system that was refined by Branch Rickey . Several other early defunct baseball leagues are considered major leagues, and their statistics and records are included with those of the two modern major leagues. In 1969,
2014-587: A number of statistical categories (including four times in fielding percentage). During his decade with the Cubs, they went to the World Series four times, winning in 1907 and 1908. Despite being just an average hitter, batting .268 for his career in an era of high batting averages, Tinker had a good amount of success against fellow Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson, batting .350 against the Hall of Fame pitcher over his career. In Mathewson's 1912 book, Pitching in
2120-431: A one-armed outfielder, got the chance to advance to the major leagues. However, MLB rosters did not include any black players through the end of the war. Black players, many of whom served in the war, were still restricted to playing Negro league baseball . Wartime blackout restrictions , designed to keep outdoor lighting at low levels, caused another problem for baseball. These rules limited traveling and night games to
2226-652: A part-owner and manager for the Columbus Senators before moving to Orlando, Florida , to manage the Orlando Tigers . While in Orlando, Tinker developed a real estate firm, which thrived during the Florida land boom of the 1920s . However, the 1926 Miami hurricane and Great Depression cost Tinker most of his fortune, and he returned to professional baseball in the late 1930s. With the Cubs, Tinker
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#17328015862002332-501: A rebellion by players against the hated "reserve clause", which restricted the free movement of players between clubs. Teams came and went; 1882 was the first season where the league's membership was the same as the preceding season's, and only four franchises survived to see 1900. Competitor leagues formed regularly and also disbanded regularly. The most successful was the American Association (1882–1891), sometimes called
2438-476: A salary dispute. Tinker led the NL with 486 assists in the 1911 season and led all shortstops in putouts with 333. In August 1911, Chance suspended Tinker for the remainder of the season for using profanity, though he was reinstated two days later. Garry Herrmann , the owner of the Reds, identified Tinker as an ideal candidate to become his player-manager for the 1912 season. According to Tinker, shareholders of
2544-543: A single-game MLB attendance record in their first home appearance with 78,672 fans. In 1961, the first Washington Senators franchise moved to Minneapolis–St. Paul to become the Minnesota Twins . Two new teams were added to the American League at the same time: the Los Angeles Angels (who soon moved from downtown L.A. to nearby Anaheim ) and a new Washington Senators franchise. The NL added
2650-492: A successful Baltimore chop, the batter hits the ball forcefully into the ground, causing it to bounce so high that the batter reaches first base before the ball can be fielded and thrown to the first baseman. The adoption of the foul strike rule—in the NL in 1901, in the AL two years later—quickly sent baseball from a high-scoring game to one where scoring runs became a struggle. Before this rule, foul balls were not counted as strikes:
2756-639: A team representing Coffeyville, Kansas , as a third baseman , for the remainder of the year. Tinker started his professional baseball career in 1900, at the age of 19, when Billy Hulen , a teammate of Tinker's with the Coffeyville squad, recommended him to George Tebeau , the manager of the Denver Grizzlies of the Western League . Playing as a second baseman for Denver, Tinker batted .219 in his first 32 games. Tebeau sold Tinker to
2862-479: A total of 48 games in 1902 and 1903. After a two-year hiatus from the major leagues, Nichols returned to the 20-win plateau for the 11th and final time in his career in 1904 for a new team, the St. Louis Cardinals . The Philadelphia Phillies picked him up off waivers in 1905, and he finished his career with them in 1906, playing his final game on May 18, 1906. Nichols retired with 362 wins, 208 losses, 1,881 strikeouts and
2968-627: Is famous for being the youngest pitcher to join the 300 win club . Nichols was born on September 14, 1869, in Madison, Wisconsin . His parents were Robert and Christina Nichols. His father had worked as a butcher and owned a grocery store with several locations in Madison. Robert had at least four children from a prior marriage to a woman named Sarah, who died of tuberculosis in 1859. Robert and Christina had several children together. The family moved from Madison to Kansas City, Missouri when Nichols
3074-639: Is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan . Baseball's first all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings , was founded in 1869. The first few decades of professional baseball saw rivalries between leagues, and players often jumped from one team or league to another. These practices were essentially ended by the National Agreement of 1903, in which AL and NL agreed to respect each other's player contracts, including
3180-504: The 1907 World Series , but the Cubs defeated the Detroit Tigers in five games. In the 1908 season, Tinker played all 157 games on the Cubs' schedule. In addition to batting .266, he led the team with 146 hits, six home runs, 14 triples, and a .391 slugging percentage . He also led the league with 570 assists . In the game characterized by Merkle's Boner , Tinker hit an inside-the-park home run against Christy Mathewson of
3286-429: The American Association , with Thomas E. Wilson serving as the principal owner. The duo paid $ 65,000 for 75% ownership of the team. Tinker also served as the team's manager. He allowed Grover Hartley to succeed him as manager in 1919 and chose Bill Clymer to manage the team for the 1920 season, leading Hartley to request a trade. Tinker's wife continued to suffer through poor health, so Tinker sold his interest in
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3392-583: The American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. Formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively, the NL and AL cemented their cooperation with the National Agreement in 1903, making MLB the oldest major professional sports league in the world. They remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the commissioner of baseball . MLB
3498-745: The Baseball Hall of Fame . Nichols played minor league baseball for three teams until 1889, when he signed with the Boston Beaneaters. After making his debut the following season and spending 12 seasons with the Beaneaters, Nichols spent a two-year sojourn in the minor leagues. He was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1904 and subsequently played for the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he finished his career in 1906. He
3604-786: The Boston Braves became the Milwaukee Braves , the St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles , and the Philadelphia Athletics became the Kansas City Athletics . The 1958 Major League Baseball season began to turn Major League Baseball into a nationwide league. Walter O'Malley , owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and "perhaps the most influential owner of baseball's early expansion era," moved his team to Los Angeles, marking
3710-594: The Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds of the National League (NL), Tinker decided on the Cubs when teammate Jack McCarthy told him that he felt mistreated from his time with the Reds. When he purchased Tinker's contract, Cubs manager Frank Selee was seeking a replacement at shortstop for Barry McCormick , who had joined the St. Louis Browns of the rival American League . Tinker won
3816-596: The Great Depression , baseball's popularity had begun a downward turn in the early 1930s. By 1932, only two MLB teams turned a profit. Attendance had fallen, due at least in part to a 10% federal amusement tax added to baseball ticket prices. Baseball owners cut their rosters from 25 men to 23, and even the best players took pay cuts. Team executives were innovative in their attempts to survive, creating night games, broadcasting games live by radio, and rolling out promotions such as free admission for women. Throughout
3922-871: The Great Falls Indians of the Montana State League in June. Great Falls sold Tinker to the Helena Senators , also in the Montana State League, for $ 200 later in the season due to the team's financial insolvency. In 1901, Tinker batted .290 for the Portland Webfoots of the Pacific Northwest League as their third baseman. He led the league with 37 stolen bases . Receiving interest from
4028-682: The Houston Astros and the New York Mets in 1962. The Astros (known as the "Colt .45s" during their first three seasons) became the first southern major league franchise since the Louisville Colonels folded in 1899 and the first franchise to be located along the Gulf Coast . The Mets established a reputation for futility by going 40–120 during their first season of play in the nation's media capital—and by playing only
4134-888: The International League , who were managed by Clymer. Tinker became the manager of the Jersey City Skeeters of the International League after the dismissal of Nick Allen in August. The owner of the Springfield Ponies of the Eastern League attempted to convince Tinker to manage his team in 1931. Tinker assumed managerial duties for the Orlando Gulls in mid-May 1937, succeeding Nelson Leach. However, he resigned
4240-611: The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP). The NABBP existed as an amateur league for 12 years. By 1867, more than 400 clubs were members. Most of the strongest clubs remained those based in the Northeastern United States. For professional baseball 's founding year, MLB uses the year 1869—when the first professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings , was established. A schism developed between professional and amateur ballplayers after
4346-487: The National Basketball Association (NBA). Baseball games are broadcast on television, radio, and the internet throughout North America and in several other countries. MLB has the highest total season attendance of any sports league in the world; in 2023, it drew more than 70.75 million spectators. MLB also oversees Minor League Baseball , which comprises lower-tier teams affiliated with
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4452-482: The National Register of Historic Places , in 1926. Tinker convinced Reds owner Garry Herrmann to use his stadium in Orlando for their spring training site in 1923. Tinker made up to $ 250,000 in his real estate business. However, his fortunes began to change in 1926, when the stock market receded and the 1926 Miami hurricane damaged significant areas of South Florida . During the Great Depression , he
4558-594: The New York Giants , prior to Fred Merkle 's baserunning gaffe. In the 1908 NL playoff game, which was a replay of the Merkle game, Tinker hit a leadoff triple off of Mathewson in the third inning, which ignited a four-run rally that helped Chicago to clinch the pennant. Tinker then batted .263 as the Cubs defeated the Tigers in the 1908 World Series in five games. Tinker also hit a home run off of Bill Donovan ,
4664-693: The Northwestern League . He made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 1902. Tinker was a member of the Chicago Cubs dynasty that won four pennants and two World Series championships between 1906 and 1910. After playing one season with Cincinnati in 1913, he became one of the first stars to jump to the upstart Federal League in 1914. After leading the Whales to the pennant in 1915, he returned to the Cubs as their player-manager in 1916, his final season in MLB. Tinker returned to minor league baseball as
4770-555: The Texas Rangers . In 1977, baseball expanded again , adding a second Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays , as well as the Seattle Mariners . Subsequently, no new teams were added until the 1990s and no teams moved until 2005. By the late 1960s, the balance between pitching and hitting had swung in favor of the pitchers. In 1968—later nicknamed "the year of the pitcher" —Boston Red Sox player Carl Yastrzemski won
4876-422: The World Series , a best-of-seven championship series between the two league champions first played in 1903. The New York Yankees have the most championships with 27. The reigning champions are the Los Angeles Dodgers , who defeated the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series . MLB is the third-wealthiest professional sports league by revenue in the world after the National Football League (NFL) and
4982-469: The first and second Negro National Leagues (1920–1931 and 1933–1948), the Eastern Colored League (1923–1928), the American Negro League (1929), the East–West League (1932), the Negro Southern League (1932), and the Negro American League (1937–1948). In 2021, baseball reference website Baseball-Reference.com began to include statistics from those seven leagues into their major-league statistics. In May 2024, Major League Baseball announced that it
5088-442: The "beer and whiskey league" for its tolerance of the sale of alcoholic beverages to spectators. For several years, the NL and American Association champions met in a postseason championship series—the first attempt at a World Series . The two leagues merged in 1892 as a single 12-team NL, but the NL dropped four teams after the 1899 season. This led to the formation of the American League in 1901 under AL president Ban Johnson , and
5194-428: The 1870s. In 1876, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (later known as the National League or NL) was established after the NA proved ineffective. The league placed its emphasis on clubs rather than on players. Clubs could now enforce player contracts, preventing players from jumping to higher-paying clubs. Clubs were required to play the full schedule of games instead of forfeiting scheduled games when
5300-402: The 1906 season with a .944 fielding percentage . On September 14, 1905, Tinker and Evers engaged in a fistfight on the field because Evers had taken a cab to the stadium and left his teammates behind in the hotel lobby. They did not speak for years following this event. Tinker led all shortstops in the NL in double plays turned in the 1905 season. Led by Tinker, Evers and Chance, the Cubs had
5406-513: The 1913 season when he gave blood for his wife's blood transfusion . Tinker finished the season with a .317 batting average, .445 slugging percentage, and a .968 fielding percentage, all career highs, in 110 games. However, the Reds as a team struggled, finishing the season with a 64–89 win–loss record. Due to the Reds' struggles, Herrmann challenged Tinker's managerial style and sought his resignation. Tinker refused to resign. In October 1913, Tinker and Herrmann conferred, leading to Tinker signing
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#17328015862005512-557: The 1960s and 1970s, as baseball expanded, NFL football had been surging in popularity, making it economical for many of these cities to build multi-purpose stadiums instead of single-purpose baseball fields. Because of climate and economic issues, many of these facilities had playing surfaces made from artificial turf , as well as the oval designs characteristic of stadiums designed to house both baseball and football. This often resulted in baseball fields with relatively more foul territory than older stadiums. These characteristics changed
5618-406: The 1990s. During the 1980s, baseball experienced a number of significant changes the game had not seen in years. Home runs were on the decline throughout the decade, with players hitting 40 home runs just 13 times and no one hitting more than 50 home runs in a season for the first time since the Dead-ball era (1900–1919). The 1981 Major League Baseball strike from June 12 until July 31 forced
5724-435: The American League batting title with an average of just .301, the lowest in the history of Major League Baseball. Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain won 31 games, making him the only pitcher to win 30 games in a season since Dizzy Dean in 1934. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson achieved an equally remarkable feat by allowing an ERA of just 1.12. Following these pitching performances, in December 1968
5830-420: The American and National Leagues both added two expansion franchises . The American League added the Seattle Pilots (who became the Milwaukee Brewers after one disastrous season in Seattle) and the Kansas City Royals . The NL added the first Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos , as well as the San Diego Padres . In 1972, the second Washington Senators moved to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to become
5936-409: The Brooklyn Dodgers, began making efforts to introduce a black baseball player to the previously all-white professional baseball leagues in the mid-1940s. He selected Jackie Robinson from a list of promising Negro league players. After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to any racial antagonism directed at him, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $ 600 a month. In what
6042-472: The Columbus team after the 1920 season and moved to Orlando, Florida . Tinker became owner and manager of the Orlando Tigers of the Florida State League . The team became known as the "Tinker Tigers" and won the league's championship. Tinker also scouted for the Reds. Tinker's wife committed suicide on Christmas Day , 1923, with a revolver during an apparent nervous breakdown . He remarried in 1926, to Mary Ross Eddington of Orlando. Jack Hendricks of
6148-711: The Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning the Negro league teams that they had followed exclusively. Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspaper writers and white major league players. Manager Leo Durocher informed his team, "I don't care if he is yellow or black or has stripes like a fucking zebra. I'm his manager and I say he plays." After a strike threat by some players, NL President Ford C. Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. Robinson received significant encouragement from several major-league players, including Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese who said, "You can hate
6254-513: The Great Depression, no MLB teams moved or folded. The onset of World War II created a shortage of professional baseball players, as more than 500 men left MLB teams to serve in the military. Many of them played on service baseball teams that entertained military personnel in the US or in the Pacific. MLB teams of this time largely consisted of young men, older players, and those with a military classification of 4F , indicating mental, physical, or moral unsuitability for service. Men like Pete Gray ,
6360-415: The MLB Playing Rules Committee voted to reduce the strike zone from knees to shoulders to top of knees to armpits and lower the pitcher's mound from 15 to 10 inches, beginning in the 1969 season. In 1973, the American League, which had been suffering from much lower attendance than the National League, sought to increase scoring even further by initiating the designated hitter (DH) rule. Throughout
6466-420: The Reds approached Tinker about his interest in the job, and he then met with Charles W. Murphy , the Cubs' owner, and Chance, then serving as the Cubs' manager. They forbade him from taking the role with Cincinnati, which left Tinker unhappy. Herrmann began to listen to entreaties from his players, who wanted to retain Clark Griffith as manager, but decided to hire Hank O'Day . In the 1912 season, Tinker had
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#17328015862006572-406: The Reds for $ 15,000, with another $ 10,000 to be paid to Tinker. The teams also agreed to swap players, with Earl Yingling and Herbie Moran going to Cincinnati and Dick Egan joining Brooklyn. Ebbets entered contract negotiations with Tinker. However, Tinker never received the $ 10,000 promised to him by Ebbets. He insisted on a $ 10,000 salary for the 1914 season, higher than the $ 5,000 Brooklyn
6678-412: The Reds served as Tinker's best man . He married his third wife, Susanna Margaret Chabot, in 1942. Tinker ended his involvement in professional baseball, focusing instead on his real estate ventures during the Florida land boom of the 1920s . He developed a successful real estate firm, buying and selling land in Orange County and Seminole County . He purchased the Longwood Hotel , now listed on
6784-399: The Reds. Murphy was unhappy with Tinker's high salary demands, which led him to agree to trade Tinker to the Cincinnati Reds in December 1912. The Reds received Tinker, Harry Chapman and Grover Lowdermilk in exchange for Red Corriden , Bert Humphries , Pete Knisely , Mike Mitchell , and Art Phelan . He signed a contract for an undisclosed salary. Tinker missed several weeks during
6890-607: The Special Baseball Records Committee of Major League Baseball officially recognized six major leagues: the National League, American League, American Association, Union Association (1884), Players' League (1890), and Federal League (1914–1915). The status of the National Association as a major league has been a point of dispute among baseball researchers; while its statistics are not recognized by Major League Baseball, its statistics are included with those of other major leagues by some baseball reference websites, such as Retrosheet . Some researchers, including Nate Silver , dispute
6996-440: The Whales) in the Federal League, Tinker served as player-manager. In his role, he signed other major league players to the Federal League, though he could not lure American League pitchers Walter Johnson from the Washington Senators or Smoky Joe Wood from the Boston Red Sox . The Whales drew more fans than the Cubs in those two seasons. The Whales finished in second place in 1914, with Tinker batting .259 despite suffering
7102-486: The World Series in exchange for a ring worth $ 100,000 ($ 1,712,780.35 in 2022 dollars). Despite being acquitted, all were permanently banned from Major League Baseball. Baseball's popularity increased in the 1920s and 1930s. The 1920 season was notable for the death of Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians . Chapman, who was struck in the head by a pitch and died a few hours later, became the only MLB player to die of an on-field injury. Both leagues quickly began to require
7208-474: The cancellation of 713 total games and resulted in a split-season format. In 1985, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb 's all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, and in 1989 Rose received a lifetime ban from baseball as a result of betting on baseball games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds . Rose was the first person to receive a lifetime ban from baseball since 1943. 1985 also saw the Pittsburgh drug trials which involved players who were called to testify before
7314-403: The center field fence, and the Huntington Avenue Grounds of the Boston Red Sox , which was 635 feet (194 m) to the center field fence, thus home runs were rare, and "small ball" tactics such as singles , bunts , stolen bases , and the hit-and-run play dominated the strategies of the time. Hitting methods like the Baltimore chop were used to increase the number of infield singles. On
7420-443: The club was no longer in the running for the league championship, which happened frequently under the NA. A concerted effort was made to curb gambling on games, which was leaving the validity of results in doubt. The first game in the NL—on Saturday, April 22, 1876 (at Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia )—is often pointed to as the beginning of MLB. The early years of the NL were tumultuous, with threats from rival leagues and
7526-573: The condition of the baseball itself. The baseball used American rather than the modern Australian wool yarn and was not wound as tightly, affecting the distance that it would travel. More significantly, balls were kept in play until they were mangled, soft and sometimes lopsided. During this era, a baseball cost three dollars, equal to $ 52.72 today (in inflation-adjusted USD ), and owners were reluctant to purchase new balls. Fans were expected to throw back fouls and (rare) home runs. Baseballs also became stained with tobacco juice, grass, and mud, and sometimes
7632-432: The contentious reserve clause . The period before 1920 was the dead-ball era , when home runs were rarely hit. Professional baseball was rocked by the Black Sox Scandal , a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series . Baseball survived the scandal, albeit with major changes in its governance as the relatively weak National Commission was replaced with a powerful commissioner of baseball with near-unlimited authority over
7738-420: The fact I never was removed from a game for a relief hurler." Major League Baseball Major League Baseball ( MLB ) is a professional baseball league and the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada . One of the "Big Four" major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada , MLB comprises 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and
7844-472: The first home run hit in a World Series following the 1905 rules agreement. In 1909, Tinker, who earned $ 1,500, demanded a $ 2,500 salary. He accepted a $ 200 raise. The Cubs reached the 1910 World Series , and though Tinker batted .333 in the series, the Cubs lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in five games. Following the 1910 season, Tinker threatened to quit the Cubs and play baseball in Australia over
7950-591: The first major league franchise on the West Coast. O'Malley also helped persuade the rival New York Giants to move west to become the San Francisco Giants. Giants owner Horace Stoneham had been contemplating a move to Minnesota amid slumping attendance at the aging Polo Grounds ballpark when O'Malley invited him to meet San Francisco Mayor George Christopher in New York. After Stoneham
8056-585: The founding of the Cincinnati club. The NABBP split into an amateur organization and a professional organization. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , often known as the National Association (NA), was formed in 1871. Its amateur counterpart disappeared after only a few years. The modern Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves franchises trace their histories back to the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in
8162-429: The hole " between the corner and middle infielders. Starting pitchers were no longer expected to throw complete games ; it was enough for a starter to pitch 6–7 innings and turn the game over to the team's closer , a position which grew in importance over these decades. As stolen bases increased, home run totals dropped. After Willie Mays hit 52 home runs in 1965, only one player ( George Foster ) reached that mark until
8268-484: The job during spring training . As a rookie in 1902, Tinker batted .261, but also led NL shortstops with 72 errors . Johnny Evers , also a rookie, played second base for the Cubs. With Frank Chance , the team's first baseman , the trio first played together on September 13, 1902, and collaborated on their first double play on September 15. In the 1903 season, Tinker's batting average improved to .291, and he also contributed 70 RBIs. Tinker led all NL shortstops in
8374-468: The juice of licorice, which some players would chew for the purpose of discoloring the ball. Also, pitchers could manipulate the ball through the use of the spitball (In 1921, use of this pitch was restricted to a few pitchers with a grandfather clause ). Additionally, many ballparks had large dimensions, such as the West Side Grounds of the Chicago Cubs, which was 560 feet (170 m) to
8480-620: The major league clubs, and the MLB Draft League , a hybrid amateur-professional showcase league. MLB and the World Baseball Softball Confederation jointly manage the international World Baseball Classic tournament. In the 1860s, aided by soldiers playing the game in camp during the Civil War , "New York"-style baseball expanded into a national game and spawned baseball's first governing body,
8586-658: The major leagues. Satchel Paige was signed by the Indians and the Dodgers added star catcher Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe , who was later the first winner of the Cy Young Award for his outstanding pitching. MLB banned the signing of women to contracts in 1952, but that ban was lifted in 1992. There have been no female MLB players since then. From 1903 to 1952, the major leagues consisted of two eight-team leagues whose 16 teams were located in ten cities, all in
8692-524: The major-league status of the Union Association by pointing out that franchises came and went and that the St. Louis club was deliberately "stacked"; the St. Louis club was owned by the league's president and it was the only club that was close to major-league caliber. In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced its recognition of seven leagues within Negro league baseball as major leagues:
8798-471: The nature of professional baseball, putting a higher premium on speed and defense over home-run hitting power since the fields were often too big for teams to expect to hit many home runs and foul balls hit in the air could more easily be caught for outs. Teams began to be built around pitching—particularly their bullpens—and speed on the basepaths. Artificial surfaces meant balls traveled quicker and bounced higher, so it became easier to hit ground balls " in
8904-527: The northeastern and mid-western United States: New York City had three teams and Boston , Chicago, Philadelphia , and St. Louis each had two teams. St. Louis was the southernmost and westernmost city with a major league team. The longest possible road trip, from Boston to St. Louis, took about 24 hours by railroad. After a half-century of stability, starting in the 1950s, teams began to move out of cities with multiple teams into cities that had not had them before. From 1953 to 1955, three teams moved to new cities:
9010-409: The other had been invited. However, in 1929, Tinker joined with Evers in signing a 10-week contract to perform a theatrical skit on baseball in different cities across the United States. Tinker had serious health problems in his later life. Complications of diabetes mellitus and Bright's disease left Tinker near death in 1936, when his physician believed he had 24 hours to live, and 1944, when he
9116-519: The point that the 1942 season was nearly canceled. On January 14, 1942, MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis wrote to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt , pleading for the continuation of baseball during the war. Roosevelt responded, "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have
9222-518: The position in July of that year, as the team was unable to pay his salary. During World War II, Tinker worked at Orlando Air Force Base as a boiler inspector. According to some tellings, Tinker and Evers did not speak to one another again following their fight for 33 years, until they were asked to participate in the radio broadcast of the 1938 World Series , played between the Cubs and the New York Yankees . Neither Tinker nor Evers knew
9328-542: The reserve clause, led to the organization of the Major League Baseball Players Association to collectively bargain with the owners, which in turn led to the introduction of free agency in baseball. Modern stadiums with artificial turf surfaces began to change the game in the 1970s and 1980s. Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s. In the mid-2000s, media reports disclosed the use of anabolic steroids among MLB players;
9434-533: The resulting bidding war for players led to widespread contract-breaking and legal disputes. The war between the AL and NL caused shock waves throughout the baseball world. At a meeting at the Leland Hotel in Chicago in 1901, the other baseball leagues negotiated a plan to maintain their independence. A new National Association was formed to oversee these minor leagues. After 1902, the NL, AL, and NA signed
9540-571: The sport. MLB rose in popularity in the decade following the Black Sox Scandal, and unlike major leagues in other sports it endured the Great Depression and World War II without any of its teams folding. Shortly after the war, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier . Some teams moved to different cities in the 1950s and 1960s. The AL and NL added eight clubs in the 1960s: two in 1961, two in 1962, and four in 1969. Player discontent with established labor practices, especially
9646-558: The team in wins above replacement in 1890 and 1892 through 1898. Nichols had his first losing season in 1900, when he went 13–16. He improved to 19–16 the following year. After the 1901 season, Nichols purchased an interest in a minor league franchise in Kansas City, the Kansas City Blue Stockings . He left the Beaneaters to manage and pitch for the Kansas City Blue Stockings, where he won
9752-425: The team is consistently defeated by the Chicago Cubs. Tinker was also noted as a fighter. In addition to fighting Evers, Tinker defeated Egan in a fight after a game and fought Rabbit Maranville during a game. In 1908, he was arrested for assault when he got into a fight with a fan at a saloon he owned. He was acquitted of the charge. In December 1916, Tinker became part-owner of the Columbus Senators of
9858-454: The use of new, white baseballs whenever a ball became scuffed or dirty, helping bring the "dead-ball" era to an end. The following year, the New York Yankees made their first World Series appearance. By the end of the 1930s, the team had appeared in 11 World Series, winning eight of them. Yankees slugger Babe Ruth had set the single-season home run record in 1927, hitting 60 home runs; breaking his own record of 29 home runs. Afflicted by
9964-399: Was "absorbing the available Negro Leagues numbers into the official historical record." The period between 1900 and 1919 is commonly referred to as the "dead-ball era". Games of this era tended to be low-scoring and were often dominated by pitchers, such as Walter Johnson , Cy Young , Christy Mathewson , Mordecai Brown , and Grover Cleveland Alexander . The term also accurately describes
10070-613: Was a child. While his siblings worked in the family butcher shop, Nichols pursued baseball. Before he turned 18 years old, Nichols had debuted in the minor leagues with the 1887 Kansas City Cowboys of the Western League , earning an 18–12 win–loss record that season. He spent 1888 between the Kansas City Blues of the Western Association and Memphis of the Southern League , finishing the year with
10176-498: Was a part of a great double-play combination with teammates Johnny Evers and Frank Chance that was immortalized as "Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance" in the poem " Baseball's Sad Lexicon ". However, Evers and Tinker feuded off the field. Tinker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946, the same year as Evers and Chance. He has also been honored by the Florida State League and the city of Orlando. Tinker
10282-903: Was a result of players using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs . In 1993, the National League added the Florida Marlins in Miami and the Colorado Rockies in Denver . In 1998, the Brewers switched leagues by joining the National League, and two new teams were added: the National League's Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix and the American League's Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Tampa Bay . Joe Tinker As manager Joseph Bert Tinker (July 27, 1880 – July 27, 1948)
10388-843: Was an American professional baseball player and manager . He played from 1902 through 1916 for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chicago Whales of the Federal League . Born in Muscotah, Kansas , Tinker began playing semi-professional baseball in Kansas in the late 19th century, first in Kansas City , then in Parsons . He began his professional career in 1900 in minor league baseball , initially in Denver then with Portland in
10494-412: Was born in Muscotah, Kansas . His twin sister died at a young age. When Tinker was two, his family moved to Kansas City, Kansas . There, he began to play baseball for his school's team when he was 14 years old. He played in semi-professional baseball for Hagen's Tailors in 1898, winning the city championship. In 1899, he played for a team based in Parsons, Kansas , until it disbanded. He then joined
10600-640: Was buried in Greenwood Cemetery and survived by his four children. Tinker was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. Evers and Chance were inducted that same year. Local leaders in Orlando held a testimonial dinner in his honor in 1947. Tinker Field , a former stadium once in the shadow of Camping World Stadium (previously known as the Citrus Bowl), and the Tinker Building , Tinker's office in Orlando, are on
10706-534: Was forced to liquidate most of his real estate holdings. Tinker owned a billiard parlor during the Depression. He opened one of Orlando's first bars after the end of Prohibition . He also returned to baseball. Tinker scouted the Philadelphia Athletics ' hitters for the Cubs prior to the 1929 World Series . During the 1930 season, Tinker returned to baseball as a coach for the Buffalo Bisons of
10812-547: Was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s, joining the Dodgers' farm club, the Montreal Royals , for the 1946 season. The following year, the Dodgers called up Robinson to the major leagues. On April 15, 1947, Robinson made his major league debut at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators, including more than 14,000 black patrons. Black baseball fans began flocking to see
10918-449: Was persuaded to move to California, Time magazine put O'Malley on its cover. MLB Commissioner Ford C. Frick had opposed the meeting, but the dual moves proved successful for both franchises—and for MLB. Had the Dodgers moved out west alone, the St. Louis Cardinals —1,600 mi (2,575 km) away —would have been the closest NL team. Instead, the joint move made West Coast road trips economical for visiting teams. The Dodgers set
11024-428: Was placed in an oxygen tent . However, he returned to health and scouted minor league players for the Boston Braves in 1946. Tinker developed an infection relating to diabetes that in 1947 required the amputation of a toe and persisted until his left leg above the knee was amputated as well. Tinker died at Orange Memorial Hospital in Orlando on July 27, 1948, his 68th birthday, of complications from diabetes. He
11130-402: Was tasked with releasing extraneous players from their contracts. He served as the player-manager of the Cubs for the 1916 season. Tinker was the starting shortstop for the Chicago Cubs from 1902 to 1912. He was a speedy runner, stealing an average of 28 bases a season and even stealing home twice in one game on July 28, 1910. He also excelled at fielding, often leading the National League in
11236-557: Was willing to pay. Tinker was willing to accept a three-year contract if it paid $ 7,500 per season. Tinker decided to jump to the Federal League rather than sign with Brooklyn, signing a three-year contract worth $ 36,000. He was considered the first "star" player to jump to the Federal League, though he signed with the Federal League the same day as Mordecai Brown . Joining the Chicago Federals (later known as
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