In this issue our cover story looks at the history of "Greenberg Gardens." After playing his whole career in Detroit, in 1947 Hank Greenberg was sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates installed an inner fence in a portion of Forbes Field, reducing the distance down the left field line of the ballpark by 30 feet, with intention of helping Greenberg to hit more home runs. The area between the new fence and the outer wall became known as Greenberg Gardens, and local newspapers kept a tally of how many Garden homers were hit. Greenberg retired after the 1947 season, but the Gardens remained through 1953. ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: "Pitching Against Alzheimer's: A Study of Baseball Reminiscence Programs" by Lou Hernandez, Monte Cely, and Barry Mednick
Reminiscence programs focused on music, singing, cinema, art and crafts have become popular offerings to people living with dementia. The first baseball reminiscence program in the US was the Cardinals Reminiscence League, begun in 2011 as a joint effort by the Alzheimer's Association, St. Louis University, the Veteran's Administration, and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum. Since then, baseball reminiscence programs have been founded in Texas, New York, Connecticut, and elsewhere. This paper summarizes the results of the Baseball Memories Research Study launched under the umbrella of SABR's Baseball Memories Chartered Community, studying the effects of these programs on the quality of life for participants and their caregivers. "The Doomed Pilots of 1969: The Results of Advice Ignored" by Andy McCue
In the early 1960s, Seattle's city fathers were confident their city was an attractive and growing market. In 1961, the city commissioned a Stanford Research Institute study to assess what was needed to gain major league sports, especially baseball. The think tank's study came back cautiously positive. Attracting major league baseball was possible, the report said, if the city could meet three conditions. It would need to provide a major league quality stadium and the team would need to find support from both the political/financial leadership and the fan base. Ultimately, they would founder on all three, sinking the Seattle Pilots franchise barely after it had left the dock. "Were Pitchers More Likely to Throw at Black Batters? 1947-66" by Jerry Nechal
A generally accepted narrative of the early days of baseball integration is that White pitchers deliberately threw at Black batters.