Nunamaker Clears the Bases Himself

Nunamaker Clears the Bases Himself (1914)

Les Nunamaker was a backup catcher on a bad Yankees team, and on an August afternoon in Detroit he did something no big-league catcher had done since 1887. In one inning, he personally retired three Tiger baserunners. Nunamaker threw out better than 40 percent of the runners who tested him over his career, which is probably why Detroit should have quit after the first one. The papers barely mentioned it the next morning. New York lost the game 4-1, which is how baseball usually files its miracles.

Satchel Paige Finally Gets the Ball (1948)

He was officially 42, the oldest rookie in major league history, and he had spent two decades being the best pitcher most of white America was never allowed to watch. Bill Veeck signed him on July 7, his listed birthday, and started him on August 3. A crowd of 72,434 came to Cleveland Stadium, the largest the ballpark had ever held. Paige went seven innings, struck out six, beat Washington 5-3, and pushed Cleveland into a four-way tie for first. He finished 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA. Cleveland won the World Series.

Two Teams Trade Their Managers (1960)

Frank Lane of Cleveland and Bill DeWitt of Detroit had already wrecked two rosters that summer. Then they traded each other's managers. Joe Gordon went to the Tigers, Jimmy Dykes came to the Indians, and for one game, while the two men were physically changing cities, coaches Jo-Jo White and Billy Hitchcock filled the chairs. It remains the only manager-for-manager trade in baseball history. Neither club moved an inch in the standings.

The Bugs Beat the Blue Jays (2001)

In the third inning at SkyDome, thousands of aphids poured into the ballpark. Kelvim Escobar felt something in his mouth and decided not to investigate. Jeff Frye pulled on a dust mask. Home plate umpire Tim Welke, out of ideas, asked Toronto to close the retractable roof over a game already in progress. It worked. Toronto won 10-1.