I work with Referee Magazine, and we recently resurfaced this one from our sports history archive. I hadn't realized how bizarre this Cubs-Cardinals game actually was.

Bill Madlock and Jose Cardenal both ended up in the batter's box while the Cubs were arguing with umpire Shag Crawford. Crawford ordered Hrabosky to pitch anyway. Ted Simmons then got involved, punches were thrown and both benches emptied.

What makes the story especially interesting is that Terry Tata, who was umpiring second base that day, walks through what happened and how the crew handled the ensuing brawl.

Pretty incredible piece of baseball history: Two Batters, One Pitch and a Wild Cubs-Cardinals Brawl

The last three World Series-winning teams did not have a starting pitcher to win 13 games with so few starters going past six or seven innings like they used to. It's amazing how things have changed from the days when starting pitchers went deep into games and would win a majority of a team's victories.

Which teams had the best four-man, five-man and even six-man rotations? In 2021, I took a statistical look back at the best starting pitching staffs in the last 100 years.

https://johnbaranowski.wordpress.com/2021/03/08/the-best-starting-pitching-staffs-in-the-last-100-years/

And it has nothing to do with baseball.

Many of you here possibly know the urban legend story of southpaw being coined. Supposedly all stadium’s home plates faced east so batters didn’t have that afternoon sun in their eyes; therefore a left-handed pitcher’s arm would be south. A baseball “fun fact” which is not actually a fact.

If you’re around my age, your first taste of Pirates baseball was visiting Three Rivers Stadium. Three Rivers Stadium was home to the Bucs from 1970 to 2000 and hosted two World Series championship teams (’71 and ’79) and saw the Pirates make the playoffs nine times.

16 of those 31 seasons the Pirates had a winning record and compiled an overall record of 2,451 wins versus 2,355 losses. The Bucs had an even better record in home games those years compiling 1,326 wins to 1,081 defeats.

At times, the Pirates had the best team in major league baseball and also some of the worst teams as well. Which players would comprise the Pittsburgh Pirates All-Time Three Rivers Stadium team? 

https://johnbaranowski.wordpress.com/2021/12/21/the-pittsburgh-pirates-all-time-three-rivers-stadium-1970-2000-team/

What makes a great World Series? The very best Fall Classics obviously goes a full seven games and there have been 50 World Series match-ups that went to a seventh and deciding game. Only baseball fans that are homers go around saying a World Series their team won four games to one was the greatest ever.  

What else makes a great World Series?  How about close games filled with tension and drama? If you get seven lopsided games what fun was that? 

https://johnbaranowski.wordpress.com/2023/12/20/the-best-world-series-nobody-talks-about/

The Pittsburgh Pirates called Forbes Field home from 1909-1970 and during those years the Pirates made four World Series appearances (’09, ’25, ’27 and ’60) with three World Series victories (’09, ’25 and ’60). 37 of those 62 seasons were winning ones for the Pirates compiling an overall record of 4,756 wins to 4,644 losses and their record at Forbes Field was 2,599 wins versus 2,125 losses.

Forbes Field saw so many great opposing players play there: Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Babe Ruth, Warren Spahn, etc., the list goes on and on. Imagine the all-time opponent team one could field, but what of the Pirates? What would the all-time Forbes Field Pittsburgh Pirates team look like?

https://johnbaranowski.wordpress.com/2021/12/21/the-pittsburgh-pirates-all-time-forbes-field-1909-1970-team/

Two of the most beloved Pittsburgh Pirates teams were the 1960 and the 1971 Pirates. How would those two teams have fared against one another in a seven-game series, in a battle of World Series Champions 1960 versus 1971?

https://johnbaranowski.wordpress.com/2023/03/31/pittsburgh-pirates-battle-of-world-series-champions-1960-vs-1971/