Wally Pipp was a first baseman for the New York Yankees. On a nondescript day in 1925, he decided to ask for a day off – some say due to a headache.
It would be the last time that Wally Pipp would start at 1B for the Yankees. The resulting starter at 1B in that game was Lou Gehrig, who would go on to make 2,130 consecutive starts, a record that stood until Cal Ripken famously broke it in 1995.
The Pittsburgh Pirates may have a similar scenario playing out in the dwindling months of the 2015 baseball season.