| Brandon Toropov's 50 Greatest Baseball Myths |
| Number |
Myth |
| 1 |
Babe Ruth hit a "called shot" home run in the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. |
| 2 |
Jackie Robinson was the first black major league ballplayer. |
| 3 |
Ty Cobb stroked 4,191 lifetime base hits.
|
| 4 |
Only players get beaned. |
| 5 |
Dizzy Dean won 30 games in 1934. |
| 6 |
Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball in the summer of 1838. |
| 7 |
The Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first professional baseball team. |
| 8 |
Ray Chapman's death led to the abolition of the spitball. |
| 9 |
The first big-league designated hitter in a regular season game came to bat in 1973. |
| 10 |
In 1947, The St. Louis Cardinals seriously considered going on strike rather than face Brooklyn's Jackie Robinson on the playing field.
|
| 11 |
Philadelphia first baseman Al Reach was the first professional baseball player. |
| 12 |
Boston manager Ed Barrow's decision to move Babe Ruth into the outfield was a stroke of genius.
|
| 13 |
The World Champion 1991 Minnesota Twins posted the greatest worst-to-first record of all time. |
| 14 |
Pitcher Rube Waddell dismissed his outfielders during an official Major League game and went on to retire the side.
|
| 15 |
Joe Nuxhall was the youngest player ever to compete in the big leagues. |
| 16 |
Female baseball players have never competed against men on the professional level. |
| 17 |
The Boston Braves were named in honor of the disguised raiders of the Boston Tea Party. |
| 18 |
Babe Ruth was a draft dodger. |
| 19 |
Outfielder Paul Hines pulled an un-assisted triple play. |
| 20 |
Ty Cobb was no home run hitter. |
| 21 |
Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs (as we'd reckon them). |
| 22 |
Chicago outfielder Bill Lange crashed through a fence to make a spectacular grab of a flyball. |
| 23 |
The New York Yankees established the greatest dominance over the competition in the history of organized ball. |
| 24 |
Pitchers don't win batting titles. |
| 25 |
Babe Ruth benefited from a home-field advantage at the "House The Ruth Built" during his historic 1927 season. |
| 26 |
The system of hand signals to signify balls and strikes was the idea of umpire Cy Rigler, who wanted to help out deaf outfielder William Hoy. |
| 27 |
Aaron Stern initiated the first ladies' day in 1886.
|
| 28 |
Night baseball first appeared in the mid-to-late thirties.
|
| 29 |
Duane Kuiper (Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants, 1975-1985) was the worst non-pitching home run hitter of all time. |
| 30 |
The first newspaper story about baseball appeared in 1853. |
| 31 |
Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan invented shin guards in 1907. |
| 32 |
Alexander Cartwright was the first umpire in organized baseball. |
| 33 |
Bucky Dent's home run in the 1978 AL East playoff was the game's death blow to the Boston Red Sox. |
| 34 |
Howard Ehmke pitched a no-hitter on September 7, 1923. |
| 35 |
Bo Jackson was the first player to boast simultaneous careers in both Major League baseball and the National Football League. |
| 36 |
Nobody hit significant numbers of home runs during the pre-Ruth era. |
| 37 |
George Brett won the 1976 American League batting title without divine intervention. |
| 38 |
The 1919 Chicago White Sox won their "Black Sox" nickname from the gambling scandal that enveloped them. |
| 39 |
Bill Buckner's error blew the Red Sox lead in the sixth game of the 1986 World Series. |
| 40 |
Pete Gray was the first handicapped major-leaguer.
|
| 41 |
Ty Cobb won the 1910 American League batting title. |
| 42 |
The professional ban on hiring black players was an informal "gentleman's agreement" that was never committed to writing.
|
| 43 |
Brooklyn Dodger Babe Herman tripled into a triple play. |
| 44 |
The first World Series was played in 1903. |
| 45 |
Lou Boudreau introduced the defensive "shift." |
| 46 |
The "Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance" infield was the premier double play combo of its era. |
| 47 |
The designated hitter rule was the brainchild of Oakland Athletics owner Charles O. Finley. |
| 48 |
Candy Cummings invented the curveball. |
| 49 |
Dave Winfield threw a baseball that killed a sea gull in midflight. |
| 50 |
The 1962 New York Mets were the worst team in the history of Major League Baseball. |
