Austin J. Eich

Rickey Henderson breaks for second. Circa 1990.

11/20/1990: Rickey Henderson takes home American League MVP honors. The 1990 season was one of 11 (most in MLB history) where the Man of Steal stole 40+ bases with an on-base percentage ≥ .400.

There have been just four such seasons recorded in Major League Baseball since 2000.

Yastrzemski connects with the ball at Fenway Park in the 1967 World Series.

11/15/1967: Carl Yastrzemski is named AL MVP. The first Triple Crown winner for Boston since Williams in 1947, Yaz belts 44 homers and drives in 121 while batting .326.

Carl’s 12.5 bWAR in his ‘67 campaign is the fourth-highest single season mark by a position player; Babe Ruth owns the top three.

Albert Pujols admires a batted ball. Circa 2001.

11/12/2001: Albert Pujols is named NL Rookie of the Year. The Machine becomes the second player in MLB history to slash 300/400/600 or better in their first season (min 600 PA) — Ted Williams did so in 1939.

Pujols entered his 2001 rookie campaign with 544 professional plate appearances.

Ted Williams and Yogi Berra exchange pleasantries during a plate appearance at Yankee Stadium.

Seaman Second Class Lawrence Berra served onboard a rocket boat supporting the initial offensive waves of the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Captain Ted Williams flew 39 missions in a F9F Panther jet during the Korean War.

Countrymen first. Competitors second.

A heartfelt thank you to all veterans.

Honus Wagner poses with a bat. Circa 1909.

40 year-old Rickey Henderson on the base paths for the Mets. Circa 1999.

10/11/1909: 35 year-old Honus Wagner steals three bases in Game 3 of the World Series. At the age of 40, Rickey Henderson is the oldest player to accomplish this feat in a postseason game (G2 1999 NLDS).

With Connelly Early (23y,182d) slated to start tomorrow, he’ll be the youngest pitcher to start a postseason game for the Red Sox since Babe Ruth (21y,246d) started game 2 of the 1916 World Series

Christy Mathewson warms up for the NY Giants. Circa 1914.

Clayton Kershaw delivers a pitch at Dodger Stadium. Circa 2016.

9/30/1914: Giants hurler Christy Mathewson finishes his campaign with more wins (24) than walks (23). Clayton Kershaw (12 W/11 BB in 2016) is the last National League pitcher to record such a season (min 10 wins) and the only major league pitcher since 1885 to do so with 150 or more strikeouts.

84 years ago today, Ted Williams would become the last hitter to bat .400 in a season. He would start the day at .39955 and, insistent upon the veracity of the milestone, play both games of a doubleheader. After a 6-8 performance, the renowned .406 became part of baseball lore.

Nolan Ryan stands adjacent to the mound with the electronic scoreboard showing the number 383, acknowledging his record number of strikeouts.

9/27/1973: Nolan Ryan punches out 16 batters in an 11-inning complete game victory against Minnesota. The Ryan Express finishes the season with 383 strikeouts, edging out Sandy Koufax (382; 1965) for most single-season strikeouts in the Modern Era.

Ted Williams is sworn in to the U.S. Naval Reserve on May 22nd, 1942.

9/27/1942: Ted Williams plays his last major league game before three years of military service during World War II. The Splendid Splinter takes home AL Triple Crown honors in ‘42 and leads the majors in runs scored, walks, OPS, and total bases — just to stay in shape.

Clayton Kershaw is the only major league pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900) to record at least 200 wins with fewer than 100 losses.

Expanding the list to those who have 100 or fewer losses (along with 200+ wins) adds Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez.

A complete list of AL/NL pitchers since 1901 — at home — with at least 100 wins, 1500 strikeouts, and an ERA below 2.50:

• Walter Johnson
• Clayton Kershaw

Kershaw will make his final regular season start tonight at Dodger Stadium, where he owns a .736 win percentage over 227 starts.

Photo of Washington hurler Walter Johnson. Circa 1908.

9/7/1908: 20 year-old Walter Johnson blanks the Highlanders in a contest lasting just 100 minutes. It’s the Big Train’s third shutout…over a span of four days. There have been three shutouts recorded by American League pitchers in 2025.

Red Sox hurler Smoky Joe Wood warms up at the ballpark. Circa 1912.

9/6/1912: In a battle of aces, Smoky Joe Wood out-duels Walter Johnson, blanking the Senators 1-0. Wood finished his 1912 campaign with 10 shutouts.

Among active MLB pitchers, only Clayton Kershaw (15) has more career shutouts.

Photo of Luis Tiant. Circa 1972.

9/4/1972: Luis Tiant records his fourth consecutive shutout, with the Red Sox blanking the Brewers 2-0. In 2025, no major league team has more than two player shutouts.

Portrait of Connie Mack. Circa 1894.

9/3/1894: Connie Mack records his first major league managerial win; he would notch 3730 more before calling it a career. For perspective, the Tall Tactician’s career as a manager began the year before Babe Ruth was born and ended when Dusty Baker was one year old.

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Captain Ted Williams stands next to a K-13 Air Base sign during the Korean War.

Ted Williams was born on this day in 1918. His prolific numbers would earn him a Hall of Fame nod, yet the most significant number cannot be found on Baseball Reference.

39: the number of combat missions flown in Korea.

Ball player. Soldier. Hero. Ted was all of these things.

Greetings from the Friendly Confines!

8/15/1916: Squaring off against Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth blanks the Nationals — one of 16 shutouts he’ll record before turning 23.

Since 1920, just four AL/NL pitchers have 16 or more such shutouts:

* Bert Blyleven (18)
* Bob Feller (16)
* Fernando Valenzuela (16)
* Dwight Gooden (16)

Portrait of Boston pitcher Kid Nichols.

8/13/1901: Pitching in his twelfth season, Boston hurler Kid Nichols records the third of seven complete games with 10 or more innings pitched.

23 of the 30 major league teams have recorded seven or fewer complete (player) games since 2021.

Jim Rice and Ted Williams share a moment of laughter. The legacy in left continues…

8/11/1979: Jim Rice belts his 30th dinger and, by season’s end, will have recorded his third campaign with at least 30 HR, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored.

Along with Ted Williams, Jim Ed is the only other batter in Red Sox franchise history to have three such seasons before turning 27.

8/10/1988: The Dodgers release pitcher Don Sutton, who finishes his career with 756 major league starts.

A pitcher making their MLB debut in 2026 could record 30 starts every year through the 2050 season and not eclipse Sutton’s total. In 2024, five teams did not feature a pitcher with 30+ starts.

Grover Alexander warms up before a game. Circa 1916.

8/9/1916: Grover Cleveland Alexander blanks Cincinnati — one of 11 shutouts in Old Pete’s 1916 campaign without issuing a walk (most such shutouts in a single season in AL/NL history).

For the 2025 major league season, there have been a total of 10 player shutouts (irrespective of walks).

Satchel Paige donning a Miami Marlins jersey. Circa 1956.

Orange Bowl retrofitted to accommodate a baseball game. Circa 1956.

8/7/1956: 50 year-old Satchel Paige collects five strikeouts and the win over seven and two-thirds innings of work for the Miami Marlins (International League). Over 55,000 fans descend upon the Orange Bowl to witness the game that evening, the proceeds for which went to charity.

Walter Johnson T206 baseball card (portrait).

8/7/1907: 19 year-old Washington hurler Walter Johnson records his first major league victory, a complete game. The Big Train would log 332 complete games before turning 30 (a span of 381 starts).

The Chicago Cubs have recorded 332 complete (player) games since 1980 (a span of 7175 starts).

Box score from the August 6th, 1971 major league game between the Padres (visitor) and Astros (home) — San Diego was victorious by a final score of 4-3.

8/6/1971: Nickel Beer Night is held at the Astrodome. Fittingly, Miller closes it out.

Willie Mays waves to the crowd in Cooperstown.

8/5/1979: Willie Mays is immortalized at Cooperstown. The Say Hey Kid was left off of 23 ballots during the voting process.

Blasphemy.

Box score from a major league game between the Athletics and White Sox on August 4th, 1910. Source: Baseball Reference.

8/4/1910: Jack Coombs and Ed Walsh duel for 16 scoreless innings, ending in a tie game. The marathon lasts a total of three hours and 28 minutes — 48 minutes longer than an average MLB game in 2025, but just 17 minutes longer than the average MLB game in 2021.

Lefty Grove demonstrates a pitch grip.

8/3/1933: 33 year-old Lefty Grove authors a shutout as the Athletics best the Yankees 7-0. The Hall of Fame southpaw recorded a total of 17 shutouts at the age of 33 or older (a span of 218 starts).

Since 2015, Philadelphia leads the majors with 17 player shutouts (a span of 1627 starts).