“In these days when a slugger remains simply a slugger, it is hard to recall that men like Pie Traynor used to make themselves into crafty baserunners and bunters, even when they could already hit and field with the best!”

On November 11, 1898, Harold Joseph “Pie” Traynor, a Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman, was born in Framingham, MA. Traynor’s lifetime batting average was .320, with 2,416 hits, 58 home runs and 1,273 RBIs. Known as “Pie” because of his childhood affection for the pastry.

“The longer Kennesaw Mountain Landis remained in the game, the plainer it became that he was on the side of the ballplayer. Whenever a ballplayer had to plead his cause before Landis, he knew one thing for sure: the judge would give him a square deal.”

On November 12, 1920, Kennesaw Mountain Landis was elected as the first commissioner of Major League Baseball. Lionized for cleaning up after the Black Sox Scandal, he is also criticized for enabling segregation in the MLB. (pictured with Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel).

“Muddy Ruel. That suave and soft-spoken, almost regally mannered young man was once one of the best catchers in baseball. He’s dead now, and who even recalls his wonderful skills?”

On November 13, 1963, Herold Dominic “Muddy” Ruel, Walter Johnson’s favorite catcher, died of a heart attack. He referred to catcher’s gear as “tools of ignorance,” noting the irony of being both dumb and smart enough to be a catcher.

“It wasn’t that Babe Ruth hit longer home runs than Hank Greenberg, Jimmie Foxx, or Rogers Hornsby. Lots of Ruth’s homers were little cupcake dunkers. It was because Ruth could hit ‘em so far and so often and over a long period of years, that he was the home run hitter he was.”

Babe Ruth led the AL in home runs 12 times. Some say he hit home runs better, higher, and farther than anyone else, with more theatrical timing.

"[SCHOOLBOY by Waite Hoyt with Tim Manners] is well written and covers Hoyt’s baseball life more or less from start to finish. . .The book brings back a flood of summer memories," writes Daniel M. Linnenberg for NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture. Read the full review: bit.ly/4iicYVt

Tim Manners, Co-Author of "Schoolboy," commemorates the accomplishments of Waite “Schoolboy” Hoyt, the talented starting pitcher who helped lead the 1927 Yankees to a World Series victory. This weekend: Sat. 7am on @mynjpbs; 7:30am on @thirteenwnet Sun. 11am on @mynjpbs

Great fun and a huge honor to be invited by the legendary Steve Adubato, PhD to talk about my book, “Schoolboy," on PBS! #Yankees thirteen.org/programs/one-o…

"What’s instructional about Waite Hoyt’s memoir is it reminds us that this is how life actually works. Life itself is iterative, full of fits and starts, full of strange pathways to success," writes the Agency Review. bit.ly/4bzQ8GB

News and Reviews feat. Tim Manners Waite Hoyt Jerry Grillo Sonja Trom Eayrs Chris Haft and more! wp.me/p4J9AE-glL

(Credit: Michael Lawson)

Happy first book birthday to SCHOOLBOY by Waite Hoyt and Tim Manners! SCHOOLBOY is the never-before-published memoir of Waite Hoyt, Hall of Fame pitcher for the New York Yankees in their first dynasty decade. unpblog.com/2025/04/15/hap…

On May 14, “Flower Sellers,” an original Diego Rivera the Mexican master gifted to Yankees ace Waite Hoyt will go on the block at Sotheby’s: sothebys.com/en/buy/auction…

Painting Diego Rivera gifted to Hall of Fame pitcher Waite Hoyt for Dodgers tickets sells for nearly $200,000 nytimes.com/athletic/63576…

On Tuesday, the NY Times interviewed me about a painting that Diego Rivera gave to Schoolboy Waite Hoyt as a “thank you” for Dodgers tickets in 1932. The painting sold yesterday at Sotheby’s for nearly $200K. Read all about it! nytimes.com/athletic/63576…

Our interview with Tim Manners, author of the Waite Hoyt biography called Schoolboy, The Untold Journey of a Yankees Hero youtu.be/2zU7YEhfDpc?si…

SCHOOLBOY is the never-before-published memoir of Waite Hoyt, Hall of Fame pitcher for the New York Yankees in their first dynasty decade. Tim Manners joins Baseball and BBQ to discuss Hoyt's life: bit.ly/41anRmb