P is for Plank The arm of the A’s; When he tangled with Matty Games lasted for days.          – Lineup for Yesterday by Ogden Nash   Though he was known as Gettysburg Eddie, his real name was Edward Stewart Plank. He was a hero to many, but not because he had fought and survived on Gettysburg’s battlefield. Gettysburg Eddie fought on a different battlefield. He held a mound of earth surrounded by a diamond-shaped field. He held it week after week, year after year, and he did it by hurling a baseball. Gettysburg Eddie was the first left-handed pitcher in baseball history to win 200 games and then the first to win 300 games. Even today, he has the third-most wins among left-handed pitchers—326—and ranks 11th among all pitchers. Plank was born on August 31, 1875, on his family’s farm north Read more…