One of my hobbies is baseball history. Here's a question for you. What were the New York Yankees called before they were the Yankees? And who were they before then?

Back before anyone ever heard of Babe Ruth, the Yankees were called the New York Highlanders, and before that, they were the Baltimore Orioles.

One of the early stars of the New York Highlanders was a pitcher named Happy Jack Chesbro. His specialty was the spitball, and it was legal at the time. He holds the record for most wins in a season, having gone 41-12 for the New York Highlanders in 1904. This record doesn't count the 19th Century, because back then there were a number of pitchers who won more than 41 games a year. Those were the days before the 5-man rotation, and one pitcher could start a whole lot of games.

You would think that Happy Jack was happy about his 1904 season and his 41 victories. You would be wrong. Happy Jack was the goat of the Yankees after that 1904 fiasco of a season.

The problem was that he was pitching on the final day of the season against the arch rival Boston Pilgrims (the Red Sox, of course), the pennant was on the line, it was the 9th inning, the score was tied, a Pilgrim was on third base, and Happy Jack threw a wild pitch, allowing the winning run to score and allowing the hated Boston Pilgrims to win the pennant. He was ridiculed and disgraced for his horrible performance of 1904, worse than Bill Buckner. 41 wins my foot - what have you done for me lately?

It reminds me a little of Chen Ming Wang, ace of the Yankee staff in 2007, then sucks in the post season. But Wang didn't have that big moment, that very visible wild pitch in the 9th that makes him look like the guy who single handedly blew the pennant.