Touch Base is a newsletter for all the players and families playing baseball or softball in one of the Washington Nationals Team UP leagues. Each month we share an interesting baseball story or two, spotlight a Nationals player, highlight a Team UP player or league, and offer tips.
With summer winding down, many leagues are starting their fall seasons. Fall ball is a great time to get back on the field, sharpen your baseball skills and have fun with teammates.
If you haven’t already, please sign up at nationals.com/TeamUPStayInTouch if you would like to receive the Team UP Touch Base newsletter or other Team UP information directly from the Nationals. Finally, please let us know what content you’d like to see in Team UP Touch Base by sending an email to Sade Means at [email protected].
The Washington Nationals are proud to support youth baseball and softball programs throughout the Washington D.C. region. Youth baseball and softball teams are crowned champions across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia each year. The Nationals recognize the hard work, perseverance, and dedication these young athletes devote to the game and celebrate the great accomplishment of being named a champion. We are proud to highlight Team UP Leagues who won state championships this year.
"Midsummer Classic" is another name for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game. The top players from each league, the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) face off in this game. Fans select the starting lineups for the All-Star Game and the remaining players are chosen by players, coaches, and the All-Star Game managers. The game is played every year in July.
On July 6, 1933, the Chicago White Sox hosted the first-ever All-Star Game. Since then, the only years when there was not an All-Star Game were 1945 (due to travel limitations during World War II) and 2020 (due to the coronavirus pandemic).
In July 2018, Washington, DC, and Nationals Park hosted the 89th Major League Baseball All-Star Game. That was the fifth time MLB held the All-Star Game in the nation's capital. Here is a little bit about the 1937 and 1956 All-Star Games played in the Nation’s Capital.
JULY 7, 1937
On July 7, 1937, Griffith Stadium hosted the 1937 Midsummer Classic, the fifth Major League Baseball All-Star Game. This All-Star Game was historic because it was the first to be played in front of a current President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. With the 8-3 victory, the American League improved its record to 4-1 through the first five games.
Two runs were scored in the bottom of the third by the American League, and the National League scored one run in the top of the fourth to make the score 2-1. After the National League scored in the top of the inning, the American League scored three runs in the bottom of the inning. Twenty-one future Hall of Famers played in the game.
JULY 10, 1956
The 1956 All-Star Game returned to Griffith Stadium for a second time. The National League defeated the American League 7-3, their sixth win in seven years.
The game’s highlights were home runs by four of the greatest players ever to play the game: Willie Mays and Stan Musial for the NL and Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle for the AL. After the NL built a 5-0 lead, Williams and Mantle hit back-to-back homers for the AL in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it a 5-3 game, but that was as close as the AL would get. The game featured 18 future Hall of Famers.
The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball’s Negro Leagues. In fact, they are considered the most prominent baseball team to ever play in the Negro National League. The team operated in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1920 to 1955. The name came from an earlier semi-pro team in Kansas City that played during the 1910s. That semi-pro team reportedly was named after its sponsor, the Monarch Printing Company, which took its name in part from the Monarch butterfly.
The Monarchs steadily grew in popularity over the 1920s. The owner, J.L. Wilkinson, purchased a portable lighting system that was trucked from game to game. The lights, first used in 1930, allowed the Monarchs and their opponents to play night games, which led to greater success and popularity. Often the Cincinnati Reds get credit for the first night game in professional baseball in 1935. That is incorrect. The Monarchs’ first night game took place five years earlier.
The Monarchs had many of the most talented players including Charles Wilber “Bullet Joe” Rogan, future Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks, and Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige. In 1945, the Monarchs shortstop was none other than Jackie Robinson, who broke the Major League Baseball color barrier in 1947 when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Monarchs’ club had more players play in MLB than any other Negro League baseball team. First baseman and manager Buck O’Neil also became the first black coach in the Major Leagues (Chicago Cubs, 1962). He also served as a Negro Leagues ambassador and was instrumental in establishing the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
During their time in Kansas City, the Monarchs won a Negro League record 10 league pennants (in both the Negro National and Negro American Leagues). The team had only one losing season during their entire 45 years with the Negro Leagues. They were also the Negro Leagues’ first “world champions” defeating Hilldale Athletic Club in the organization’s inaugural World Series in 1924.
BORN: July 7, 1906, in Mobile, Alabama
DIED: June 8, 1982, in Kansas City, Missouri
NICKNAME: Satchel — he earned his nickname, Satchel, when he was a young boy carrying bags (and satchels) at railroad stations for passengers.
POSITION: Pitcher
PLAYED NEGRO LEAGUE YEARS: 1926–1947
Years Played in MLB: 1948-1966
Satchel Paige was born in Mobile, Alabama, on July 7, 1906. He was the seventh of 12 children. According to Paige, his mother sent him to earn money carrying luggage for business people at the train station. He was frustrated with how little it paid, so he got creative and fixed a pole so it would take several bags at once to help earn more money faster. His co-workers told him, "You look like a walking satchel tree." His unique nickname was born.
A run-in with the law (petty theft and truancy) got Paige in reform school at age 12. His stay at the Industrial School for Negro Children in Mount Meigs, Alabama, may have been a blessing in disguise. His school's coach identified and nurtured his baseball talent, along with large hands and feet on his long, slender physique (he would grow to be 6'4").
With African American players barred from MLB, Paige began his professional career in 1926 in the Negro Southern League. His record with the Birmingham Black Barons stood out, and he moved quickly through the ranks of the Negro National League teams. He became a top-rated player with fans because of his mighty arm.
In 1948, at 42, Paige made his Major League debut for the Cleveland Indians. Paige was the first Black pitcher to play in the American League and the seventh Black player in Major League Baseball. In 1971, Paige became the first former Negro League star elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Paige ended up playing 40 years of professional baseball.
Born: July 20, 1998 (Valencia, Venezuela)
Position: Catcher
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