Inside Pitch

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson stood in for his historic first at-bat in the major leagues. The opposing pitcher? Johnny Sain of the Boston Braves. Frankie Baumholtz was the batter when Stan Musial made his debut-as a pitcher. Most baseball fans remember Eddie Gaedel, a 3-foot, 6-inch midget who played a game for the St. Louis Browns. But few remember Jim Delsing, the man who was sent in to pinch run for Gaedel. Sain, Baumholtz, Delsing and 43 other former major leaguers remember...
More Description

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson stood in for his historic first at-bat in the major leagues. The opposing pitcher? Johnny Sain of the Boston Braves. Frankie Baumholtz was the batter when Stan Musial made his debut-as a pitcher. Most baseball fans remember Eddie Gaedel, a 3-foot, 6-inch midget who played a game for the St. Louis Browns. But few remember Jim Delsing, the man who was sent in to pinch run for Gaedel. Sain, Baumholtz, Delsing and 43 other former major leaguers remember their unique places in baseball history here. Some of the events were historic, such as Ron Blomberg's walk on April 6, 1973, the first time a designated hitter had come to bat in the majors. Some, such as Jim Mason's homer in his only World Series at-bat, are mere oddities. And a few feats were simply bizarre, including Stu Miller's non-pitch in the 1961 All-Star game when the wind literally blew him off the mound in mid-windup.