Eddie Plank Deserved Better

Eddie Plank Deserved Better (1912)

With second place on the line at Shibe Park, Eddie Plank gave up four runs in the first two innings. Then he shut the door for 16 straight. The problem was Walter Johnson, who came on to start the 10th and matched him zero for zero. In the 19th, Eddie Collins tried a throw he had almost no chance of making, it bounced away at first, and Johnson himself scored the winning run. Two Hall of Famers, four hours of baseball, and the man with 16 zeros took the loss.

One At-Bat, Twenty-Three Years (1936)

On the last day of the season, Johnny Mize got tossed and the Cardinals sent in a first baseman named Walter Alston. He handled two chances and booted one. Cubs ace Lon Warneke struck him out on three pitches. That was his whole playing career. Eighteen years later he took over the Dodgers, managed them for 23 seasons in two cities, won four World Series, and made the Hall of Fame.

Sent Off, Never Ejected (1951)

Brooklyn's big summer lead over the Giants was nearly gone when umpire Frank Dascoli called Boston's Bob Addis safe at home in the eighth. Roy Campanella slammed his mitt and was ejected. When the griping kept coming from the dugout, Dascoli sent the whole Brooklyn bench to the clubhouse. One of the men marching out was Bill Sharman, a late-season call-up and future Basketball Hall of Famer. Legend says he's the only player ever ejected without playing. He wasn't ejected at all, just exiled, and he never did get into a big-league game.

The Kids Take the Field (1963)

Crowds at Colt Stadium were thin, so the second-year Colt .45s showed their fans the future: a starting lineup made entirely of rookies. None was older than 21, and the pitcher, Jay Dahl, was 17. The Mets won 10-3. But look at the names. Joe Morgan played second and went on to Cooperstown, while Rusty Staub, Jimmy Wynn, and Jerry Grote all lasted more than a decade.