History UsefulNotes / HistoricalPeopleToKnowInMLB

* '''Brooks Robinson'''[[labelnote:*]]no relation to Jackie; he's white[[/labelnote]] is regarded by pretty much everyone as the best defensive third baseman ever. Known as "The Human Vacuum Cleaner" and "Mr. Hoover" (from the vacuum cleaner brand) for his fielding prowess, the Baltimore Orioles icon was also no slouch as a hitter (though not quite as good as Mike Schmidt below). During his 23-season career, spent entirely in Baltimore, he appeared in 18 straight All-Star Games from 1960 to 1974[[labelnote:*]]from 1959 to 1962, MLB held two [=ASGs=] in each season; Robinson played in both games in 1960, 1961, and 1962[[/labelnote]]; was AL MVP in 1964; helped the O's to World Series wins in 1966 and 1970, being named series MVP in the latter; and won 16 Gold Gloves (all consecutively), at the time a record for any player and still the all-time record for a position player.[[labelnote:*]]Two years later, pitcher Jim Kaat equaled this mark; it's now held by another pitcher, Greg Maddux, with 18.[[/labelnote]] His 23 seasons in Baltimore were the most with a single franchise when he retired in 1977; this record was later equaled by Carl Yastrzemski with the Red Sox. Robinson entered the Hall of Fame at his first chance in 1983.

* '''UsefulNotes/JackieRobinson''' was an African-American who played in 1947 for the Dodgers after African-Americans had been informally banned from the major leagues for 60 years. After this, the other major league teams slowly integrated. So naturally, he's a pretty big deal, especially since he was an excellent player throughout his 10-year career. His number, 42, was retired across Major League Baseball in 1997, the only player to receive that honor, with two exceptions: First, players who wore 42 at the time were allowed to keep wearing it (Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who retired at the end of the 2013 season, was the last player to wear it),[[note]]Rivera, by the way, is considered to have been a fitting man to wear the number last, as a dark-skinned Panamanian who has devoted himself to many good causes, including better integration of Hispanic players into the league. Jackie's widow Rachel, who turned 100 in July 2022, strongly approved of Rivera being the last player to wear her husband's number.[[/note]] and second, every player in the game wears it on April 15, the anniversary of Robinson's Major League debut. The number has become associated with Robinson so much that [[Film/FortyTwo a movie about his life]] simply had the number ''42'' as its title. Contrary to what some might say, Robinson did ''not'' refuse to leave Brooklyn when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. By the end of his career, he had begun to show symptoms of diabetes (and would be diagnosed with the disease mere months after his retirement), and had already planned to retire (to become an executive at the Chock full o'Nuts coffee company) before the rumors that the Dodgers would move came out.[[note]]Robinson was actually ''from'' Southern California, having been raised in Pasadena and attended UCLA before World War II; had he stayed with the Dodgers, he would've probably appreciated the move.[[/note]]

* '''Branch Rickey''', a Hall of Fame executive for multiple teams, arguably had more impact on the game than anyone this side of Babe Ruth. After an undistinguished playing career in professional football and baseball, he eventually found his calling in the front office. After a few mediocre years with the St. Louis Browns (though with a highlight of signing Hall of Famer George Sisler to his first big-league contract), he jumped ship across town to the Cardinals. Rickey started out as manager and president, but gave up the presidency to a new owner. After some mediocre years as manager, he was fired—but the owner wanted him to stay on in the front office. One big reason was that he had invested in several minor-league clubs, soon forging them into an actual farm system that made the Redbirds a National League powerhouse. Landis actually tried to keep Rickey from creating a farm system, releasing well over 100 minor leaguers whose contracts had been controlled by the Cards... but in this, he failed. The Rickey-created farm system continued to thrive, and was [[FollowTheLeader soon copied]] by the rest of MLB; ironically, it ''saved'' the minor leagues by keeping them a necessary part of the game after the dawn of the television age. Rickey remained with the Cardinals through the 1942 season, after which he moved on to become general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Under his tenure, Brooklyn became the first MLB team with a full-time spring training facility; popularized the use of now-common tools such as batting cages, pitching machines, and batting helmets;[[note]]All had been in use prior to Rickey, but he turned them into regular tools.[[/note]] pioneered the use of what would become known in later decades as sabermetrics; and most famously signed Jackie Robinson to break baseball's color line. But he wasn't done. In 1951, he went to the Pirates, helping to build the team that would win the 1960 World Series (though he was long gone by then). Rickey also championed the Continental League, a potential third major league that was planned to launch in 1961 but never got off the ground after MLB offered expansion franchises to several of the league's owners. He came back to the Cardinals for a final front-office stint, but it ended in 1964 after conflict with the ownership, and he died a little more than a year later. Nonetheless, his titanic legacy was intact, and he would enter Cooperstown in 1967.

* Allan '''"Bud" Selig''' was the MLB commissioner, officially and unofficially, from 1992–2014.[[note]]prior to that, he owned the Milwaukee Brewers[[/note]] He made a number of risky changes in Major League Baseball's format which risked alienating the sport's traditionalist fanbase but since have proven very successful, such as interleague play (before 1997, American and National league teams did not play each other except in the World Series), the introduction of the new three-round playoff format, and the institution of "instant replay" review in his final year as commissioner. His most important achievement would probably be the addition of the wild card (and later, the second wild card), which increases overall fan interest by keeping many more teams relevant much later into the season than they normally would be. However, it was also Selig who took most of the blame for the performance-enhancing drug scandals which more or less happened on his watch, and this fact has caused him to be portrayed as inept and bumbling.

* Hall of Fame catcher '''Mike Piazza''', the longtime backstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, is generally considered the best offensive player in the history of his position. Piazza was an extremely late-round draft pick[[note]]He was drafted in the ''62nd'' round, the 1390th player taken in the 1988 draft, making him by a wide margin the latest-drafted player ever to make the Hall of Fame. (Note that the MLB draft now runs for only ''20'' rounds, down from 40 as late as 2020.)[[/note]] -- even that much only, famously, [[{{Nepotism}} a favor to his brother's godfather]], then-Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda -- and had to learn his position on the fly as a professional. His excellent contact rate and opposite field power nonetheless shot him through the Dodgers' system and he debuted in September of 1992, winning rookie of the year honors the next year. His best season came in 1997 with a ridiculous .362/.431/.638 triple slash line, but with his contract due the next season the new Dodgers ownership gave a lowball offer and, on his refusal, dealt him to the then-Florida Marlins in a salary dump. One week later, the notoriously cheap Marlins sent Piazza to the Mets, then in surprise playoff contention, for several prospects. The Piazza-led Mets reached the playoffs in 1999 and 2000 with several near-misses thereafter, while interleague play brought his famous showdowns with then-Yankee Roger Clemens, who by most accounts resorted to [[RageQuit just hitting him when pitching failed to work.]] Late in the 2001 season, Piazza famously hit a dramatic home run to left center in the first major league game played after the September 11 terrorist attacks, remaining the signature hit of his career ([[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut the rest of September did not go so well for his team, alas]]). Although his defensive reputation was a punchline for much of his career as he was historically poor at throwing out base stealers, Piazza's defense has been surprisingly VindicatedByHistory. Repeated studies of pitch framing - catching a pitch specifically to show it as a strike - showed him as one of the best catchers of his era at the skill. He probably would like you to know that [[MemeticMutation he only]] [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday dates women.]]

* Charles Dillon Stengel, better known as '''Casey Stengel''', was one of the great characters of baseball history. He started out in the majors as a right fielder in 1912 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, having a solid but not spectacular career that also included stops with the Boston Braves (twice), Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Giants, learning much from [=McGraw=] while with the Giants. He would also be known for on-field and in-dugout pranks. Stengel then went into managing, first in the minors and then with the Dodgers and Braves, with little success (as noted above, he sent a young Warren Spahn down to the minors while in Boston). He went back to the minors with more success—enough to pique the interest of the Yankees, who hired him shortly after the end of the 1948 season. He immediately led the Yankees to an unprecedented five straight World Series wins, and also became famous for his humorous and sometimes disjointed speech (much like one of his stars in New York, Yogi Berra). Despite 10 pennants and seven World Series wins in 12 years, the Yankees ownership eventually saw him as old and out of touch with the players, and fired the 70-year-old Stengel after the team's loss in the 1960 World Series.[[note]]The team president made it clear that Stengel would have been let go even if the Yankees had won that Series.[[/note]] But he wasn't done yet. In 1962, he became the first manager of the New York Mets, where he was arguably more of an attraction than his players, given that the team was historically bad in its first years.[[note]]He was responsible for the "Amazin' Mets" nickname; one famous quote of his was, "Come out and see my amazin' Mets. I been in this game a hundred years but I see new ways to lose I never knew existed before."[[/note]] He finally retired in 1965 after breaking a hip, entering the Hall of Fame the next year, and spent his last years until his passing in 1975 as an ambassador for the game. The Mets and Yankees both retired his number 37. Also of note: Stengel is the only individual to have worn the uniform of all four teams that played in New York City in the 20th century (Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, Mets).

* '''Walter "Red" Barber''' was a pioneering broadcaster who started out calling Cincinnati Reds games on the radio in 1934 before beginning a legendary stint as the voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939. "The Ol' Redhead", as he called himself, became widely known for his soft Southern accent, detailed play-by-play, and colorful catchphrases such as "sitting in the catbird seat" (out in front), "tearing up the pea patch" (playing well), "in a rhubarb" (having a big argument or fight), and "the bases are F.O.B." ('''f'''ull '''o'''f '''B'''rooklyns, i.e. Dodger runners). In 1954 he went over to the Yankees, where he shared announcing duties with his former rival Mel Allen and (eventually) retired shortstop Phil Rizzuto. After getting fired following the 1966 season -- allegedly for commenting on the air about the team's poor attendance, something management had told him not to do -- Barber never regularly called big-league ball again, although during the '80s he settled into a comfortable niche on Creator/{{NPR}}'s ''Morning Edition'', doing weekly Friday-morning chats with host Bob Edwards until his death in 1992.

* '''Albert "Happy" Chandler''' succeeded Landis as commissioner in 1945, following the latter's death. A Kentucky politico[[note]](he served as the state's governor and a U.S. Senator before becoming commissioner, and won a second term as governor after leaving MLB)[[/note]] best known for approving Jackie Robinson's contract with the Dodgers, having made it clear that he would support integration even it cost him his job. He also established MLB's first pension fund. Chandler's support of integration didn't stop with his effective firing as commissioner in 1951; he enforced the integration of Kentucky's public schools in his second stint as the state's governor. Chandler passed away in 1991.

* '''Allan "Bud" Selig''' was the MLB commissioner, officially and unofficially, from 1992–2014.[[note]]prior to that, he owned the Milwaukee Brewers[[/note]] He made a number of risky changes in Major League Baseball's format which risked alienating the sport's traditionalist fanbase but since have proven very successful, such as interleague play (before 1997, American and National league teams did not play each other except in the World Series), the introduction of the new three-round playoff format, and the institution of "instant replay" review in his final year as commissioner. His most important achievement would probably be the addition of the wild card (and later, the second wild card), which increases overall fan interest by keeping many more teams relevant much later into the season than they normally would be. However, it was also Selig who took most of the blame for the performance-enhancing drug scandals which more or less happened on his watch, and this fact has caused him to be portrayed as inept and bumbling.

* '''Earl Weaver''' was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles from 1968-1982 and 1985-1986, during which time he led them to six division titles, four American League Championships, and a World Series Victory in 1970. He was notable for many innovative and unusual tactics, many of which were similar in principle to sabermetrics, which had not yet been invented when he was managing. For example, he hated plays like bunts, base-stealing, and hit-and-runs that he viewed as giving up outs—two of his philosophies were "On offense, your most precious possessions are your 27 outs" and "If you play for one run, that's all you'll get," preferring fighting it out and waiting for big innings to playing small-ball to get maybe one run. He had many other quotable mottos, the most commonly remembered being "Pitching, Defense, and Three-Run Homers." Weaver was also known for his [[ArgumentOfContradictions very animated and drawn-out arguments]] with umpires for which he'd often be ejected.[[note]]These were often actually tactical decisions on Weaver's part. He'd storm out whenever he saw his players get heated to turn umpires' focus onto him so he'd get into trouble and save players from getting ejected; exceptions to these tended to revolve around his ongoing feud with Ron Luciano. Bobby Cox (below) would become even more noted for tactical ejections.[[/note]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6cmqUTPn08 One famous example was caught on tape]] thanks to umpire Bill Haller being mic'd up for a documentary on umpiring. Weaver would often turn the bill of his cap around when he came out to argue so that he could get right in the umpires' faces. His uniform featured a tell-tale budge in the chest thanks to a custom pocket which held his cigarettes. This feature was included on a [[https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/20-events-of-2013-earl-weaver-dies-at-82/ statue erected in his honor]]. Died during a Caribbean cruise on January 19, 2013, the same day that Stan Musial died.

* '''Albert "Happy" Chandler''' succeeded Landis as commissioner. A Kentucky politico[[note]](he served as the state's governor and a U.S. Senator before becoming commissioner, and won a second term as governor after leaving MLB)[[/note]] best known for approving Jackie Robinson's contract with the Dodgers, having made it clear that he would support integration even it cost him his job. He also established MLB's first pension fund. Chandler's support of integration didn't stop with his effective firing as commissioner in 1951; he enforced the integration of Kentucky's public schools in his second stint as the state's governor. Chandler passed away in 1991.

* Albert '''"Happy" Chandler''' succeeded Landis as commissioner. A Kentucky politico[[note]](he served as the state's governor and a U.S. Senator before becoming commissioner, and won a second term as governor after leaving MLB)[[/note]] best known for approving Jackie Robinson's contract with the Dodgers, having made it clear that he would support integration even it cost him his job. He also established MLB's first pension fund. Chandler's support of integration didn't stop with his effective firing as commissioner in 1951; he enforced the integration of Kentucky's public schools in his second stint as the state's governor. Chandler passed away in 1991.

* '''Dennis Eckersley''' was one of the first pitchers to be a closer in the current sense of the word, and more than any other was the one who defined the position as a ninth inning specialist. He was a good but generally unspectacular starter for the first half of his career, highlighted by getting two all-star selections and throwing a no-hitter in 1977. He was switched to being a closer when he joined the Oakland A's in 1987, and had several ridiculous years during the A's dominant run in the late 80s and early 90s. His best year was probably 1990, when he had an ERA of ''0.61'', a ridiculously low ERA (even for a relief pitcher) that would go unmatched until Rays closer Fernando Rodney finished the 2012 season with an ERA of 0.60 (a record that lasted all of 4 years- in 2016, Orioles closer Zach Britton did even better, with an ERA of just 0.54). In 1992, he became one of the few relief pitchers to ever win both the Cy Young and the MVP Award. Though he's a Hall of Famer and generally considered an all-time great, his skills fell off a bit after 1992, and he was never nearly that good again. His most famous moment is probably giving up a walk-off home run to Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. He's also one of only two pitchers with both 20-win and 50-save seasons in his career, the other being fellow Hall of Famer John Smoltz.

* '''Harry Kalas''' started out as an announcer for the Houston Astros in the 1960s. In 1971, he became an announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he remained until his passing in April of 2009. Kalas's deep, baritone voice was well known not only among Phillies fans but also to the rest of of the country due to his voiceover work for NFL Films, after the passing of their original voiceover artist John Facenda. Kalas was known for his signature home run call ("Swing, and a long drive, this ball is... ''outta'' here!"). He was the 2002 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Game.

* '''Harry Kalas''' started out as an announcer for the Houston Astros in the 1960s. In 1971, he became an announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he remained until his passing in April of 2009. Kalas's deep, baritone voice was well known not only among Phillies fans but also to the rest of of the country due to his voiceover work for NFL Films, after the passing of original voiceover artist John Facenda. Kalas was known for his memorable home run calls, and had the catch phrase "Swing... and a long drive, this ball is... outta here!" when calling a home run. He was the 2002 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Game.

* '''Harry Kalas''' started out as an announcer for the Houston Astros in the 1960s. In 1971, he became the announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he remained until his passing in April of 2009. Kalas's deep, baritone voice was well known not only among Phillies fans, but also to the rest of of the country due to his voiceover work for NFL Films, after the passing of original voiceover artist John Facenda. Kalas was known for his memorable home run calls, and had the catch phrase "Swing... and a long drive, this ball is... outta here!" when calling a home run. He was the 2002 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Game.

* '''George Steinbrenner''' was the longtime owner of the New York Yankees. His deep pockets were historically an asset to the team; his meddling nature and tendency to fire managers was not. He was suspended from the game twice - in 1974 after he was convicted of illegally contributing to Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, and again in 1990 for hiring a small-time gambler to dig up dirt on Yankees star Dave Winfield. Steinbrenner passed away in 2010; during his time as owner of the Yankees, he would famously add in a rule that players who either played for or wish to sign with the Yankees would be forced to cut their long hair and facial hair to keep the Yankees tradition of looking professional and wholesome stemming from his history in the United States Air Force (he would however allow them to grow mustaches and would reimburse Oscar Gamble for having his iconic afro cut due to his deal with Afro Sheen[[note]](he agreed on having his iconic afro cut on the condition that Yankees scoreboards would display the afro whenever he scored and allowing Topps continuing to print his collectable Yankees cards that included his afro)[[/note]] and Goose Gossage who agreed to have his iconic goatee shaved on the condition he kept his long mustache), the team won seven World Series championships. In his final years, he had passed the reins to his children; his son Hank had run day-to-day operations in 2007 and 2008, but was replaced by younger son Hal, who's run the team ever since. Both sons (now only Hal, since Hank died in 2020) have turned out much like their father. A fictionalized version of George Steinbrenner was George Costanza's boss on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''.

* '''George Steinbrenner''' was the longtime owner of the New York Yankees. His deep pockets were historically an asset to the team; his meddling nature and tendency to fire managers was not. He was suspended from the game twice - in 1974 after he was convicted of illegally contributing to Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, and again in 1990 for hiring a small-time gambler to dig up dirt on Yankees star Dave Winfield. Steinbrenner passed away in 2010; during his time as owner of the Yankees, he would famously add in a rule that players who either played for or wish to sign with the Yankees would be forced to cut their long hair and facial hair to keep the Yankees tradition of looking professional and wholesome stemming from his military history (he would however allow them to grow mustaches due Reggie Jackson refusing to cut his mustache [[note]](he agreed on having his iconic afro cut when he was traded from Oakland to New York on the condition that Topps continues to print his collectable Yankees cards that included his afro)[[/note]] and Goose Goosage who agreed to have his iconic goatee shaved on the condition he kept his long mustache), the team won seven World Series championships. In his final years, he had passed the reins to his children; his son Hank had run day-to-day operations in 2007 and 2008, but was replaced by younger son Hal, who's run the team ever since. Both sons (now only Hal, since Hank died in 2020) have turned out much like their father. A fictionalized version of George Steinbrenner was George Costanza's boss on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''.

* '''George Steinbrenner''' was the longtime owner of the New York Yankees. His deep pockets were historically an asset to the team; his meddling nature and tendency to fire managers was not. He was suspended from the game twice - in 1974 after he was convicted of illegally contributing to Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, and again in 1990 for hiring a small-time gambler to dig up dirt on Yankees star Dave Winfield. Steinbrenner passed away in 2010; during his time as owner of the Yankees, the team won seven World Series championships. In his final years, he had passed the reins to his children; his son Hank had run day-to-day operations in 2007 and 2008, but was replaced by younger son Hal, who's run the team ever since. Both sons (now only Hal, since Hank died in 2020) have turned out much like their father. A fictionalized version of George Steinbrenner was George Costanza's boss on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''.

* '''Ken Griffey''' (Jr.) was one of the best (arguably ''the'' best) players of TheNineties. Well-marketed (even having his own series of baseball games made by Creator/{{Nintendo}} for the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] and the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64) and excelling in all facets of the game, he led the previously pathetic Seattle Mariners out of obscurity and enjoyed tremendous popularity. He's also the first of two players in history (Tim Raines Jr. joining him in 2001) to play on the same team with his father (of the same name), who was a successful if not Hall-of-Fame caliber outfielder. After many good years with the Mariners, he requested a move to his hometown Cincinnati Reds,[[note]]While he was actually born in Donora, Pennsylvania—Stan Musial's hometown—Junior grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from high school there. Incidentally, he was born on Musial's 49th birthday—Bill James once joked that Griffey was the "[[OverlyNarrowSuperlative second-best left-handed hitting outfielder ever born on November 21st in Donora, Pennsylvania]]."[[/note]] where he would mostly spend the next nine years and last years of baseball injuring his hamstring. Still, he became the 6th player to hit 600 home runs (and, some argue, the first since Hank Aaron to do so legitimately, since the 4th and 5th [Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, respectively- see below] were both linked to performance-enhancing drugs). Elected to the Hall of Fame at his first chance in 2016, getting what was then the highest percentage of votes ever from the writers. He was also the first #1 draft pick inducted into the Hall of Fame. Still, many fans consider there to be an element of WhatCouldHaveBeen to his career, because for years he seemed destined to break Aaron's all-time home run record, and if not for constant injuries nagging him for those seasons on the Reds he may well have done so. (His time in Seattle may have been part of the problem—the Kingdome, where the M's then played, was infamous for its concrete-hard artificial turf.) May have had the most beautiful swing in history during his prime. Most recently, he became a part-owner of the M's in 2021. One darker and lesser-known fact about Junior is that he has on occasion been an advocate for suicide/depression awareness, himself having attempted suicide (and nearly succeeding) early in his minor league career.

* '''Jaime Jarrín''' was the most famous baseball broadcaster you never heard of... unless you spoke Spanish. Born in Ecuador, he came to the US shortly before his 20th birthday having never seen a baseball game. He soon rose to become news and sports director for a Spanish-language station in Los Angeles, just in time for the Dodgers to arrive in 1958 and his station to pick up the team's Spanish radio rights. Jarrín joined the Spanish broadcast team the next year, became the lead Spanish announcer in 1973, and remained with the Dodgers until retiring in 2022 after 64 seasons. Like his late English-language counterpart Scully, he's a Ford C. Frick Award recipient. He was [[LikeFatherLikeSon paired with his son Jorge]] in the broadcast booth for several years, but Jorge decided to retire following the 2020 season. (That's right, ''his career outlasted that of his own kid''.)

* '''Jaime Jarrín''' was the most famous baseball broadcaster you never heard of... unless you spoke Spanish. Born in Ecuador, he came to the US shortly before his 20th birthday having never seen a baseball game. He soon rose to become news and sports director for a Spanish-language station in Los Angeles, just in time for the Dodgers to arrive in 1958 and his station to pick up the team's Spanish radio rights. Jarrín joined the Spanish broadcast team the next year, became the lead Spanish announcer in 1973, and remained with the Dodgers until retiring in 2022 after 64 seasons. Like his late English-language counterpart Scully, he's a Ford C. Frick Award recipient. He was [[LikeFatherLikeSon paired with his son Jorge]] in the broadcast booth for several years, but Jorge decided to retire after the 2020 season. (That's right, ''his career outlasted that of his own kid''.)

* '''Satchel Paige''' is widely considered one of the greatest pitchers ever. Unfortunately, he was also black, which meant he couldn't play in the Majors until 1948, when he was in his 40s ([[VagueAge probably]]). He was still pretty good at this age, though, considering his team was the first integrated team to win the World Series. Was coaxed out of retirement to pitch one game at 59 (not a misprint), went three scoreless innings. One of the two biggest stars of the Negro Leagues, Paige was known for being extremely cocky, though he almost never failed to back it up. On barnstorming tours, he would have his infielders sit down behind him and then he would strike out the side. Supposedly, Paige once intentionally walked the bases loaded in a playoff game (records of Negro League games are somewhat sketchy) just to set up a confrontation with the other big star of the Negro Leagues, slugger Josh Gibson, and responded by striking Gibson out to clinch the championship. He expressed resentment at the time that Jackie Robinson was the one chosen to break the Majors' color line and not himself, though he later conceded that Robinson was probably the right choice. Well-known for pithy sayings, the most famous being "Don't look back, something might be gaining on you."

* '''Happy Chandler'''[[note]]given name Albert[[/note]] succeeded Landis as commissioner. A Kentucky politico[[note]](he served as the state's governor and a U.S. Senator before becoming commissioner, and won a second term as governor after leaving MLB)[[/note]] best known for approving Jackie Robinson's contract with the Dodgers, having made it clear that he would support integration even it cost him his job. He also established MLB's first pension fund. Chandler's support of integration didn't stop with his effective firing as commissioner in 1951; he enforced the integration of Kentucky's public schools in his second stint as the state's governor. Chandler passed away in 1991.

* '''Bart Giamatti'''[[note]]More formally A. Bartlett Giamatti. If you're not a baseball fan but the name still sounds vaguely familiar, he's the father of actors Creator/{{Paul|Giamatti}} and Creator/MarcusGiamatti.[[/note]] — the commissioner who brought Pete Rose down. An English professor at [[UsefulNotes/IvyLeague Yale University]] who went on to become the school's president, he had long been a die-hard baseball fan. When he was first rumored to be a candidate for the Yale presidency, he said, "The only thing I ever wanted to be president of was the American League." After leaving Yale, he instead became president of the ''National League'', where he focused on improving the fan experience and pushing for teams to hire more minorities in key roles. Giamatti became commissioner in April 1989, in the midst of the Rose investigation.[[note]]The gambling investigation wasn't Giamatti's first dealings with Rose. As NL president in 1988, he suspended Rose for 30 days for shoving an umpire.[[/note]] It wound up getting enough on Rose that Giamatti persuaded him to accept a lifetime ban from the game. Only five months after becoming commissioner and eight days after banning Rose, Giamatti died of a massive heart attack at his vacation home on Martha's Vineyard.

[[/folder]]

* '''Jerry Remy''' was a television color commentator for the Boston Red Sox from 1988 until just before his death in 2021. A former All-Star second baseman for the Red Sox and a native New Englander, Remy's local ties and his warm, jocular commentary style endeared him to Red Sox fans, who elected him the president of the team's fan club in 2007. He is best known outside of New England for giving Red Sox star David Ortiz his "Big Papi" nickname, and for a 2007 incident where Remy and his broadcasting partner Don Orsillo laughed themselves silly over a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufSQMXLO95w fan throwing a slice of pizza]] at another fan who tried to grab a foul ball. After twice beating lung cancer, he stepped away from the booth in the middle of the 2021 season after being diagnosed a third time. He threw out the first pitch of the AL Wild Card series later that year, but died just a few weeks later.

* '''Joe Buck''' served as the primary play-by-play commentator for Fox Sports' national television coverage of both MLB baseball and NFL football from the mid-1990s (1994 for the NFL, 1996 for MLB) through 2021, after which he moved over to ESPN to become their new play-by-play voice for ''Series/MondayNightFootball''. As Fox has held the exclusive TV rights to the World Series since 2000, this means that Buck is probably the one sportscaster whom most every baseball fan has heard, having covered every World Series in the 21st century through 2021 (as well as in 1996 and 1998). He's not always been the most well-liked broadcaster, however, with fans of both baseball and football criticizing him for his seeming lack of excitement during big moments and for what they perceive as bias in favor of certain teams (leaning into this, Buck's Twitter bio once started with [[DeadpanSnarker "I love all teams EXCEPT yours"]]). The son of longtime Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck (who also spent a number of years calling MLB and NFL games for a national audience on CBS radio and TV), Joe has proved that broadcasting runs in his family. His often-used catchphrase of "We'll see you tomorrow night",[[note]]originally uttered by Jack in response to Kirby Puckett's walk-off homer in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series[[/note]] in response to a Game 6 outcome forcing a Game 7 to decide a seven-game series, was a regular feature of October play.

* '''Joe Buck''' served as the primary play-by-play commentator for Fox Sports' national television coverage of both MLB baseball and NFL football from the mid-1990s (1994 for the NFL, 1996 for MLB) through 2021, after which he moved over to ESPN to become their new play-by-play voice for ''Series/MondayNightFootball''. As Fox has held the exclusive TV rights to the World Series since 2000, this means that Buck is probably the one sportscaster whom most every baseball fan has heard, having covered every World Series in the 21st century through 2021 (as well as in 1996 and 1998). He's not always been the most well-liked broadcaster, however, with fans of both baseball and football criticizing him for his seeming lack of excitement during big moments and for what they perceive as bias in favor of certain teams (leaning into this, Buck's Twitter bio once started with [[DeadpanSnarker "I love all teams EXCEPT yours"]]). The son of longtime Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck (who also spent a number of years calling MLB and NFL games for a national audience on CBS radio and TV), Joe has proved that broadcasting runs in his family. His often-used catchphrase of "We'll see you tomorrow night",[[note]]originally uttered by Jack in response to Kirby Puckett's walk-off homer in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series[[/note]] in response to a Game 6 outcome forcing the final deciding game of a seven-game series, was a regular feature of October play.

* '''Joe Buck''' served as the primary commentator for Fox Sports' national television coverage of both MLB baseball and NFL football from the mid-1990s (1994 for the NFL, 1996 for MLB) through 2021, after which he moved over to ESPN to become their new play-by-play voice for ''Series/MondayNightFootball''. As Fox has held the exclusive TV rights to the World Series since 2000, this means that Buck is probably the one sportscaster whom most every baseball fan has heard, having covered every World Series in the 21st century through 2021 (as well as in 1996 and 1998). He's not always been the most well-liked broadcaster, however, with fans of both baseball and football criticizing him for his seeming lack of excitement in big moments and for what they perceive as bias in favor of certain teams (leaning into this, Buck's twitter bio starts with [[DeadpanSnarker "I love all teams EXCEPT yours"]]). The son of longtime Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck (who also spent a number of years calling MLB and NFL games for a national audience on CBS radio and TV), Joe has proved that broadcasting runs in his family. His often-used catchphrase of "We'll see you tomorrow night",[[note]]originally uttered by Jack in response to Kirby Puckett's walk-off homer in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series[[/note]] in response to a Game 6 outcome forcing the final deciding game of a seven-game series, was a regular feature of October play.

* '''Manny Ramirez''', over the course of his career, had been one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball, but also one of the sport's most unpredictable characters. His frequent mental lapses, both on and off the field, have cost his teams a game or two and have been referred to as "Manny being Manny". Most controversially, in the latter part of his career, he acquired a reputation for playing outstanding baseball his first few months with a new team, but at some point thereafter wearing out his welcome and resorting to childish outbursts and lackadaisical play until he's shipped off somewhere else. He twice tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs; after the second test, he chose to retire rather than face a 100-game suspension. [[TenMinuteRetirement Or not.]] He requested a reinstatement, and signed with yet another team (the Athletics), then another one (the Rangers), then joined the Cubs' AAA team in 2014 as a player/coach to mentor some of the Cubs' top prospects (and maybe have some chance of getting back to the Major Leagues, where he hasn't played since his 100-game suspension/retirement). He spent 2015 as a hitting consultant for the Cubs. He attempted yet another comeback attempt, with the Kochi Fighting Dogs of the Shikoku Island League Plus, an independent Japanese league, and ''still'' isn't willing to hang up his spikes, having signed a one-year deal in August 2020 to serve as a player-coach with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League.

* '''Stan "The Man" Musial''' played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals and is considered not only the greatest Cardinal of all time, but also one of the greatest men ever to play the game. Not just as a player, but as a person. He was a 3-time MVP, 3-time World Series Champion, 24-time All-Star, and had a .331 lifetime batting average, 3,630 hits[[labelnote:*]]In one of the most remarkable statistical oddities in MLB history, Musial had exactly the same number of hits at home and away (1,815).[[/labelnote]], 475 home runs, and 1,951 [=RBIs=], but he also gave away more autographs than any other player and became an iconic civic figure in the city of St. Louis. He was so nice and kind--he cheered up everyone he met (from sick children in hospitals to ordinary adults) and aged into a CoolOldGuy with a harmonica. A proud son of Polish (father) and Rusyn[[note]]an ethnic group in the Carpathian region, whose historic homeland straddles Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. They're largely [[UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity Eastern Catholics]] and speak a language that is nigh-indistinguishable from (western dialects of) Ukrainian. The most famous Rusyn person in history is probably Creator/AndyWarhol.[[/note]] (mother) immigrants, he made trips to Poland to help popularize baseball there, and became good friends with [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John Paul II]] in the process; they eventually named a stadium after him and gave him Poland's highest civilian honor. He was just about the best and least-controversial example of a SacredCow there ever was. Hank Aaron has said of him, "I didn't just like Stan Musial. I wanted to ''be'' like him." Even Ty Cobb said that Stan was the closest there'd be to a perfect player. Oh, and he once found out on a family trip that he had [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff fans in Australia and Tahiti]]. Stan the Man ranks among the greatest of the greats, but he's not often talked about because he was never a Yankee or a Dodger. In fact, sportswriter Jayson Stark wrote in 2007, "I can't think of any all-time great in any sport who gets left out of more who's-the-greatest conversations than Stan Musial." But when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969, then-Commissioner Ford Frick said, "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight." Those words were etched into The Man's statue at Busch Stadium, which has been covered in flowers and memorabilia since he passed away on January 19, 2013, at age 92. Before his death, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S.'s highest civilian honor, from President UsefulNotes/BarackObama in December 2011, thanks to a grassroots petition campaign conducted by members of Cardinal Nation.[[note]]Fun fact: During Musial's high school days in Pennsylvania, one of his baseball and basketball teammates was Buddy Griffey, father and grandfather of the baseball-playing Ken Griffeys. Musial and his white basketball teammates once threatened to forfeit a major tournament because a hotel restaurant wouldn't seat Buddy in the main dining room.[[/note]]

* '''Stan "The Man" Musial''' played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals and is considered not only the greatest Cardinal of all time, but also one of the greatest men ever to play the game. Not just as a player, but as a person. He was a 3-time MVP, 3-time World Series Champion, 24-time All-Star, and had a .331 lifetime batting average, 3,630 hits[[labelnote:*]]In one of the most remarkable statistical oddities in MLB history, Musial had exactly the same number of hits at home and away (1,815).[[/labelnote]], 475 home runs, and 1,951 [=RBIs=], but he also gave away more autographs than any other player and became an iconic civic figure in the city of St. Louis. He was so nice and kind--he cheered up everyone he met (from sick children in hospitals to ordinary adults) and aged into a CoolOldGuy with a harmonica. A proud son of Polish (father) and Rusyn[[note]]an ethnic group in the Carpathian region, whose historic homeland straddles Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. They're largely [[UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity Eastern Catholics]] and speak a language that is nigh-indistinguishable from (western dialects of) Ukrainian. The most famous Rusyn person in history is probably UsefulNotes/AndyWarhol.[[/note]] (mother) immigrants, he made trips to Poland to help popularize baseball there, and became good friends with [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John Paul II]] in the process; they eventually named a stadium after him and gave him Poland's highest civilian honor. He was just about the best and least-controversial example of a SacredCow there ever was. Hank Aaron has said of him, "I didn't just like Stan Musial. I wanted to ''be'' like him." Even Ty Cobb said that Stan was the closest there'd be to a perfect player. Oh, and he once found out on a family trip that he had [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff fans in Australia and Tahiti]]. Stan the Man ranks among the greatest of the greats, but he's not often talked about because he was never a Yankee or a Dodger. In fact, sportswriter Jayson Stark wrote in 2007, "I can't think of any all-time great in any sport who gets left out of more who's-the-greatest conversations than Stan Musial." But when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969, then-Commissioner Ford Frick said, "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight." Those words were etched into The Man's statue at Busch Stadium, which has been covered in flowers and memorabilia since he passed away on January 19, 2013, at age 92. Before his death, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S.'s highest civilian honor, from President UsefulNotes/BarackObama in December 2011, thanks to a grassroots petition campaign conducted by members of Cardinal Nation.[[note]]Fun fact: During Musial's high school days in Pennsylvania, one of his baseball and basketball teammates was Buddy Griffey, father and grandfather of the baseball-playing Ken Griffeys. Musial and his white basketball teammates once threatened to forfeit a major tournament because a hotel restaurant wouldn't seat Buddy in the main dining room.[[/note]]

* '''Stan "The Man" Musial''' played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals and is considered not only the greatest Cardinal of all time, but also one of the greatest men ever to play the game. Not just as a player, but as a person. He was a 3-time MVP, 3-time World Series Champion, 24-time All-Star, and had a .331 lifetime batting average, 3,630 hits[[labelnote:*]]In one of the most remarkable statistical oddities in MLB history, Musial had exactly the same number of hits at home and away (1,815).[[/labelnote]], 475 home runs, and 1,951 [=RBIs=], but he also gave away more autographs than any other player and became an iconic civic figure in the city of St. Louis. He was so nice and kind--he cheered up everyone he met (from sick children in hospitals to ordinary adults) and aged into a CoolOldGuy with a harmonica. A proud son of Polish (father) and Rusyn[[note]]an ethnic group in the Carpathian region, whose historic homeland straddles Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine[[/note]] (mother) immigrants, he made trips to Poland to help popularize baseball there, and became good friends with [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John Paul II]] in the process; they eventually named a stadium after him and gave him Poland's highest civilian honor. He was just about the best and least-controversial example of a SacredCow there ever was. Hank Aaron has said of him, "I didn't just like Stan Musial. I wanted to ''be'' like him." Even Ty Cobb said that Stan was the closest there'd be to a perfect player. Oh, and he once found out on a family trip that he had [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff fans in Australia and Tahiti]]. Stan the Man ranks among the greatest of the greats, but he's not often talked about because he was never a Yankee or a Dodger. In fact, sportswriter Jayson Stark wrote in 2007, "I can't think of any all-time great in any sport who gets left out of more who's-the-greatest conversations than Stan Musial." But when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969, then-Commissioner Ford Frick said, "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight." Those words were etched into The Man's statue at Busch Stadium, which has been covered in flowers and memorabilia since he passed away on January 19, 2013, at age 92. Before his death, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S.'s highest civilian honor, from President UsefulNotes/BarackObama in December 2011, thanks to a grassroots petition campaign conducted by members of Cardinal Nation.[[note]]Fun fact: During Musial's high school days in Pennsylvania, one of his baseball and basketball teammates was Buddy Griffey, father and grandfather of the baseball-playing Ken Griffeys. Musial and his white basketball teammates once threatened to forfeit a major tournament because a hotel restaurant wouldn't seat Buddy in the main dining room.[[/note]]

* '''Curt Flood''' was a defensive center fielder who played for the St. Louis Cardinals. However, when he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1969, he vehemently did not want to go there, so he refused to report, then wrote a letter to MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn requesting to be made a free agent, in circumvention of the league's Reserve Clause (which said that the team that a player played for keeps his rights, meaning that he could not sign with another team even after his contract expired). When Kuhn refused, Flood sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act for the right to be a free agent. His case went to the Supreme Court, where Flood was denied the right (in an opinion penned by baseball aficionado Justice Harry Blackmun, which opened with a [[AuthorFilibuster seven-page essay on how awesome baseball is]] and how many great players had been screwed by the Reserve Clause, but went on to say, in effect, "MLB has gotten some special exceptions under the Sherman Act in the past that apply to the Reserve Clause, and we're not in a position to change them at this time; sorry."[[labelnote:*]]When presented with Blackmun's opinion, Chief Justice Warren Burger noted, "[[DeadpanSnarker I concur in all but Part I.]]"[[/labelnote]]) Flood's rather ill-advised comparison of the Reserve Clause to slavery probably didn't help. However, Flood's action strengthened the Major League Baseball Players Association such that the reserve clause would be struck down in 1975, creating the "free agency" era in Major League Baseball.