by John Sexton
16. Walter Johnson (1925 Washington Senators) won twenty games and batted over .400 (.433) in the same season.
17. Sam Crawford (1899–1917, Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers) recorded fifty-one inside-the-park home runs in his career.
18. Joe Sewell (1929 Cleveland Indians) played in 115 consecutive games, covering 437 at-bats, without striking out. In his fourteen-year career, covering more than seven thousand at-bats, Sewell struck out only 114 times.
19. Joel Youngblood (1982 New York Mets and Montreal Expos) is the only player to get a hit for two different teams on the same day. The games were in two different cities (Chicago and Philadelphia).
20. Branch Rickey (1907 New York Highlanders), playing as a catcher, yielded thirteen stolen bases in a game.
Twenty Breakable, But Really Interesting Records
1. The Boston Red Sox scored seventeen runs in a single inning (1953). The National League record is fifteen by the Brooklyn Dodgers (1952). In that May 20, 1952, game against Cincinnati, nineteen consecutive Dodgers reached base in an inning (it was the first inning).
2. The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 22–0 (September 16, 1975), the most runs ever scored in a shutout win. The Cubs also scored 22 runs (in 1979) but lost 23–22 in ten innings to the Philadelphia Phillies, the forty-five runs being the highest total for any game.
3. The San Diego Padres used four different managers in a nine-inning game (August 12, 1984).
4. Phil Niekro (1979 Atlanta Braves) led his league in both wins and losses in the same season (twenty-one wins and twenty losses).
5. Johnny Vander Meer (1938 Cincinnati Reds) is the only pitcher to ever throw no-hitters in consecutive games. (Most pundits would say this belongs among the unbreakable records; Tippy views the achievement as more modest and cites Toronto’s Dave Stieb, who came achingly close—only one out shy of tossing a no-hitter in back-to-back starts—fifty years later. Stieb joins only six other pitchers in the modern era who have pitched one-hitters in consecutive starts.)
6. Harvey Haddix (1959 Pittsburgh Pirates) pitched twelve perfect innings in a single game. The Milwaukee Braves finally got to him in the thirteenth, winning 1–0 with a complete game from their pitcher, Lew Burdette.
7. Jim Barr (1972 San Francisco Giants) retired forty-one consecutive batters over two games.
8. Bill Fischer (1962 Kansas City Athletics) recorded the most consecutive innings without walking a batter: 84 1⁄3.
9. Pitcher Jim Tobin (1942 Boston Braves) hit three home runs in a game.
10. Pitcher Tony Cloninger (1966 Atlanta Braves) hit two grand slams in a game.
11. Rick Wise (1971 Philadelphia Phillies) pitched a no-hitter and also hit two home runs in the same game.
12. Ken Brett (1973 Philadelphia Phillies) hit home runs in four consecutive starts (his only four home runs of the season). He is the only pitcher ever to do it.
13. Cesar Tovar (1965–76 Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees) spoiled five no-hitters by getting the only hit of the game.
14. Ted Williams (1957 Boston Red Sox) reached base sixteen consecutive times (six hits, nine walks, one hit by pitch). Pinky Higgins (1938 Red Sox) and Walt Dropo (1952 Detroit Tigers) had twelve consecutive at-bats with hits.
15. Paul Waner (1927 Pittsburgh Pirates) got an extra-base hit in fourteen consecutive games. Don Mattingly (1986 New York Yankees) holds the American League record at ten.
16. Vern Stephens (1953 Boston Red Sox) had three hits in a single inning.
17. Only two Hall of Fame players (Hoyt Wilhelm of the New York Giants and Earl Averill of the Cleveland Indians) hit homers in their first career at-bat. Over the years, 116 players have done it, twenty-eight on the first pitch. Four have done it with the bases loaded, one (Bill Duggleby) in 1898, and three in the first ten years of this century (Jeremy Hermida in 2005, Kevin Kouzmanoff in 2006, and Daniel Nava in 2010).
18. Roy Cullenbine (1947 Detroit Tigers) earned a base on balls in twenty-two consecutive games.
19. Johnny Gochnaur (1903 Cleveland Indians) recorded ninety-eight fielding errors in a season.
20. Babe Ruth (1926 New York Yankees) is the only player caught stealing to make the last out in a World Series. He was attempting to steal second base.
The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. To find the corresponding locations in the text of this digital version, please use the “search” function on your e-reader. Note that not all terms may be searchable.
Aaron, Hank, 148
Abel, Allen, 149
Abrams, Cal, 131, 132
Adam (biblical), 147
adversity, 130, 141. See also blessings and curses
African-Americans in baseball, 95, 135–36, 189, 194. See also specific players
Alexander, Grover Cleveland, 205–6
All Things Shining (Dreyfus and Kelly), 33, 177
Allbright, Nat, 188, 189
Allen, Richie, 128–29
Alomar, Roberto, 31–32
Alou, Moises, 140
ambiguity, 61–63
Ambrose, Saint, 91
American exceptionalism, 179
Amoros, Sandy, 109–10, 112, 123, 211
Ananias (biblical), 90
Anderson, Dave, 41
Anson, Cap, 158
anthropomorphism, 10, 34–35
anti-Semitism, 180–81
Aquinas, Thomas, 37–38
ariya, 148
Arizona Diamondbacks, 80, 120–23, 192
Arjuna, 56–57, 112
Armstrong, Karen, 10, 34, 38
Armstrong, Louis, 217
Ashburn, Richie, 87, 173
assimilation of immigrants, 25–26, 178–79, 189
Atlanta Braves
1991 World Series, 113–16, 207
1996 World Series, 191–92
1999 World Series, 126–27
and historic baseballs, 173
and MVP Awards, 43
and Opening Day, 29
and the seventh-inning stretch, 170, 171
atonement, 158
Augustine, 56, 91
Avery, Steve, 115
Awliya, 147
axis mundi, 21, 202
Bacon, Francis, 216–17
Baines, Harold, 206
Baker, Frank “Home Run,” 118
Balanchine, George, 89–90
ball stories, 171–74
Baltimore Orioles, 74, 111, 142, 169
Banks, Ernie, 43
Barber, Red, 78, 187
Barrow, Ed, 134, 189
Bartman, Steve, 23–24, 140
Barzun, Jacques, 179
Baseball as a Road to God (course), 5–7
Baseball Hall of Fame
1914 Philadelphia Athletics, 118
and Blackmun’s list of baseball legends, 194
and Clemente’s death, 183
election and induction into, 148
and Frazee’s trades, 134
and historic baseballs, 172
and nostalgic elements of baseball, 199
original inductees, 26
and perspective in baseball, 219
and race issues in baseball, 136
Baseball Hall of Fame
and sacred times in baseball, 30
and saints of baseball, 145–46, 148–49, 157–58, 162
and Schilling’s sock, 13
and the seventh-inning stretch, 166–67
and trivia, 68, 72
Bauer, Hank, 2, 111
Bayes, Nora, 168
Beckett, Josh, 137
“Beer Barrel Polka,” 169
Bell, Jay, 122
Bellah, Robert, 176–77
Beltran, Carlos, 63
Bench, Johnny, 199
Bender, Charles Albert “Chief,” 118
Benevolent and Loyal Order of Honorable Ancient Red Sox Die Hard Sufferers (BLOHARDS), 137–38
Berra, Yogi
1955 W
orld Series, 15, 109–10, 211
1956 World Series, 112
1960 World Series, 27
as Met manager, 36
MVP Award, 43
and the seventh-inning stretch, 169
Berry, Thomas, 217
Bhagavad Gita, 57, 112
Bible, 57, 61, 90, 92. See also specific books of the Bible
Big Inning, Iowa, 202
Billy Goat Tavern, 139
Bird, Harriet (fictional), 160–61
Black Betsy, 147
Black Sheep Squadron, 182
Black Sox scandal, 142–43, 158–62
Blackmun, Harry, 192–94
blessings and curses, 126–43
and the Atlanta Braves, 126–27
and the Boston Red Sox, 12–13, 130, 132–38
and the Brooklyn Dodgers, 130–32
and the Chicago Cubs, 139–42
and the Chicago White Sox, 142–43
and faith, 7
and Gil Hodges, 131–32
and the Milwaukee Brewers, 142
and natural talent, 127–29
and the Philadelphia Phillies, 142
Bohr, Niels, 27
Bonds, Barry, 163
Boone, Aaron, 38–39, 44, 47, 52, 135, 140, 192, 209
Boston Beaneaters, 116
Boston Braves, 116–18
Boston Doves, 116
The Boston Globe, 135
Boston Red Capes, 116
Boston Red Sox
1918 World Series, 197
1967 season, 53–67
1978 playoffs, 214
2003 playoffs, 38–39
2004 playoffs and World Series, xiii–xiv, 12–14, 136–38
and conversion experiences, 81, 83, 86, 89, 93, 96–97
and the Curse of the Bambino, 12–13, 130, 132–38
and faith, 44
and historic baseballs, 172–73
Impossible Dream season, 54, 89
and nostalgic elements of baseball, 198
and the seventh-inning stretch, 171
signing of Babe Ruth, 118
Boston Red Stockings, 116
Boston Rustlers, 116
Boswell, Thomas, 29
Brailoiu, Constantin, 103–4
Branca, Ralph, 101, 131, 132
Brennan, William, 190–91
Brickhouse, Jack, 143
Bridges, Rocky, 164
British Museum, 60
Brock, Darryl, 156–57
Broder, David, 141
Brooklyn Dodgers
1951 playoffs, 105
1952 World Series, 131–32
1955 World Series, xi–xii, 1–2, 15–16, 73, 109–10, 215–16
1956 World Series, 110–12
and communal elements of baseball, 187–89
and conversion experiences, 77–78, 82–84, 89, 93, 96–97
and curses, 130–32
and doubt, 73, 74
and faith, 47
and miracles of baseball, 100–101, 106, 109–10
and saints and sinners of baseball, 149
Brooklyn Eagle, 215
Brosius, Scott, 121, 192
Brown, Jarvis, 116
Brown, Joe E., 150–51
Brown, Mordecai Peter Centennial “Three Fingers,” 204
Browning, Robert, 56
Buck, Jack, 207
Buck, Joe, 207
Buckner, Bill, 135, 172
Buddhism, 51, 124, 211
Bull Durham (1988), 8
Burger, Warren, 190, 193
Burleson, Rick, 135
Bush, Jeb, 140
Cahan, Abe, 179–80
California Angels, 32–33
Calvin, John, 143
Camden Yards, 32
Campanella, Roy, xiii, 85, 194
canonization, 157
Canseco, Jose, 173
Caray, Harry (Harry Christopher Carabina), 23, 111, 168
Carr, Wynona, 210
Carter, Joe, 32, 208
The Case for God (Armstrong), 10
“the Catch,” 106–7
Catholicism, 2, 34, 45, 48, 55, 73, 149
The Celebrant (Greenberg), 18–19, 154–55
Chicago Cubs
1918 World Series, 197
2003 playoffs, 23–24
and conversion experiences, 79–81
and curses, 130, 139–41
and the Iowa Baseball Confederacy, 201–5
and MVP Awards, 43
and The Natural, 160
and nostalgic elements of baseball, 197
and the seventh-inning stretch, 168–69
and Veeck, 22
Chicago Stadium, 139
Chicago Whales, 22
Chicago White Sox, 137, 149, 158–60
Christianity, 28, 90–95, 125
Christopher, Saint, xii
The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis), 92
Chuang-tzu, 18
Cincinnati Red Stockings, 166
Cincinnati Reds
1973 playoffs, 37
1977 World Series, 79
and the Black Sox scandal, 159
and historic baseballs, 173
and MVP Awards, 43
and nostalgic elements of baseball, 198–99
and Opening Day, 29
civil religion, 176–82
Civil War, 178
Clarke, Gideon (fictional), 202, 203–4
Clarke, Matthew (fictional), 201
Clemens, Roger, 121–22, 192
Clemente, Roberto, 70–71, 183
Clendenon, Donn, 74
Cleveland Indians, 95, 106–9, 198
clock-maker theory, 44
Cobb, Ty, 24–26, 150–54, 157–58, 193, 216
Cochrane, Mickey, 150
Cohan, George M., 168
Cohen, Stanley, 200
coincidences, 43–44, 99–100
College of Cardinals, 144
College of Coaches, 140
Collins, Eddie, 118, 136
Columbanus, Saint, 125
Combs, Earle, 206
Comerica Park, 152
Comiskey Park, 168–69
A Common Faith (Dewey), 181–82
communal elements of baseball, 175–95
assimilation of immigrants, 25–26, 178–79
baseball as civil religion, 177–82
Dodgers fandom, 187–89
and Field of Dreams, 186–87
and free agency, 192–95
playing catch, 185–87
public service of baseball players, 182–83
and significant moments in baseball, 216
St. Louis fandom, 183–85
Yankees fandom, 189–92
concupiscence, 122–23
Conigliaro, Tony, 54
Connie Mack Stadium, 87, 173
conversion, 77–97
and the Boston Red Sox, xiii, 81, 83, 86, 89, 93, 96–97
and the Brooklyn Dodgers, 77–78, 82–84, 89–90, 93, 96–97
and the Chicago Cubs, 79–81
faith and doubt’s role in, 216
and the New York Mets, 85
and the New York Yankees, xiii, 47–49, 77, 79–81
and the Philadelphia Phillies, 87
Sexton on, xii–xiii
Tillich on, 93–94
Cooperstown, New York, 145, 178
Coover, Robert, 65–67
Coppola, Francis Ford, 101
Cosell, Howard, 190
Counsell, Craig, 122
Coveleski, Harry, 194
Coveleski, Stan, 194
Cox, Bobby, 114–15, 126
Cozart, Zack, 173
Crawford, Carl, 137
Crawford, Regular Rob, 85
Cronin, Joe, 136
Crosby, Bing, 27
Cuba, 156–57
cultural assimilation, 179–81
curses. See blessings and curses
cyclical time, 28
Daily Mirror, 77
Damon, Johnny, 149–50
Dar
cy, Pat, 208
Dark, Alvin, 106
data, 64–67. See also sabermetrics; statistics
Davis, Chili, 114
Davis, Clive, 115
Davis, George “Iron,” 117–18
Davis, Mike, 40–41
deadball era, 151
deception, 58–59
“Deep in the Heart of Texas,” 169
Deism, 123
DeLillo, Don, 101–2
Denkinger, Don, 63
Dent, Bucky, 88
Denver, John, 170
desegregation of baseball, 135–36, 158, 194
Detroit Free Press, 180
Detroit Tigers
1934 World Series, 180–81
1968 World Series, 49–50
1988 World Series, 39
and blown calls, 62
and Cobb, 152
and Forbes Field, 24–25
and MVP Awards, 43
Deus Absconditus, 125
Dewey, John, 181–82
dhamma, 148
Dickey, R. A., 62
Didier, Mel, 41
dilemma, 96
DiMaggio, Joe
and hitting records, 65, 190
