Baseball history is riddled with several head-scratching trades of all-stars for also-rans, deals that even decades later are a source of everlasting torture for fans of the team that came out on the losing end.  Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, anyone? On this day in béisbol, May 8, 1966, the San Francisco Giants were guilty of a “What the hell are they thinking?” trade, sending star first baseman Orlando Cepeda to the St. Louis Cardinals for solid but unspectacular starting pitcher Ray Sadecki. While Giants fans were shocked, the team had pretty good reasons for moving Cepeda. Yes, Cepeda was

A decade after The Big Red Machine steamrolled the National League, one of its vital cogs was still making history. On this day in béisbol, May 13, 1985, Tony Perez celebrated an early birthday by becoming the oldest player to hit a grand slam. The Cuban slugger, a day before turning 43, was on his second go-round with the Cincinnati Reds when he stepped up to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 3-3 tie against the Phillies. With the bases full, Perez launched a home run that turned out to be the

He was an unassuming designated hitter on a team loaded with two-way superstars, a late bloomer who let his bat do the talking for him all the way to Cooperstown. But even with sluggers Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Jay Buhner in the lineup, there’s no way the Seattle Mariners would have enjoyed their winning ways in the late 1990s and early 20s without Edgar Martinez. On this day in béisbol, May 18, 1998, Martinez had a homer hat trick, blasting three in a game against the Twins. It was an encore performance worthy of his stature as one

Long before injuries, age and steroids took their toll, the smart money was on Alex Rodriguez being the one player who would legitimately challenge Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record.  On this day in béisbol, Aug. 4, 2007, A-Rod took a huge step towards fulfilling that prophesy when he hit his 500th career homer — and was the youngest player to do so. Rodriguez was 32 years and 8 days old when he reached the milestone as a Yankee, hitting a 3-run homer of Kyle Davies of the Royals in a win at The Stadium. Number 500 came in his

By Robert Dominguez Jorge Soler's 48th and final home run in the Royal’s last game of the 2019 season on Sept. 29 was cause for a double celebration. The first-inning, nearly 400-foot blast against the Minnesota Twins not only sealed his title as American League home run champion (the injured Mike Trout was second with 45), it also gave Soler the single-season record for most homers by a Cuban-born player. The 27-year-old rightfielder/DH passed Rafael Palmiero, who hit 47 homers in both 1999 and 2001 for the Texas Rangers. Make that a triple celebration: Soler’s home run was also the

For anyone who ever wondered why there’s a statue of Roberto Clemente at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, his accomplishments on this day in béisbol, July 17, 1970 proved why he was a once-in-a-generation immortal. In a thrilling 4-3 win against the Cincinnati Reds, the Pirates superstar showed off his five-tool skill set by hitting a single, triple and home run, scoring the tying run and knocking in the winning run. And, oh yeah, he also gunned down the potential winning run at the plate in the ninth inning. The hitting, running and throwing clinic the Hall of Fame right fielder

Any conversation about who is the best Latino pitcher of all time will invariably come down to Hall of Famers Juan Marichal and Pedro Martinez. But there’s another Martinez — Dennis — who deserves some mention, if only because he ended his solid 23-career in 1998 as the winningest Latin American-born pitcher in MLB history with 245 wins, a record he held for 20 years until Bartolo Colon passed him in 2008.  On this day in béisbol, Aug. 9, 1998, the Nicaragua-born Martinez got his 244th major league win in relief to pass Marichal for the top spot among Latino