Random Trivia

[Utter Chaos]

That does seem a little odd. Wonder why teams in the ninties found it much easier to turn themselves around so quickly. You would think that something happened to allow teams to bounce back so fast. Does anyone have a list of teams that have gone the other way from first 1 year to last the next?I think these are the teams that finished in first one year and last the next.

1914-1915 Philadelphia A's
1981-1982 Cincinnati Reds
1986-1987 California Angels
1992-1993 Oakland A's
1994-1995 Montreal Expos
1996-1997 San Diego Padres (from '96 to '98 then went 1st, last, 1st)
1999-2000 Texas Rangers

[Dodgerfan1]

I think these are the teams that finished in first one year and last the next.

1914-1915 Philadelphia A's
1981-1982 Cincinnati Reds
1986-1987 California Angels
1992-1993 Oakland A's
1994-1995 Montreal Expos
1996-1997 San Diego Padres (from '96 to '98 then went 1st, last, 1st)
1999-2000 Texas Rangers

Wow. I thought it was strange that the teams which finished last one year and first the next all played in the '90s, but this reversed list of first-to-last teams is almost as odd. Of these seven teams, four of them also played in the 1990s....

There had to have been something happening in the '90s that accounts for this bizarre phenomenon. The most obvious explanation to me is parity, but that still doesn't really account for a last-to-first or a first-to-last scenario. Possibly free agency can help create this type of wildly varying success/failure rate.

[Dodgerfan1]

Only twelve pitchers in major league history have pitched at least 3000 innings and come away with an ERA below 3.00. Of those twelve, all but two are HOFers, Wilbur Cooper and Carl Mays. For the record:

Walter Johnson……..5923…..2.17
Pete Alexander……..5189…..2.56
Whitey Ford………....3170…..2.75
Jim Palmer………......3948…..2.86
Tom Seaver………....4782....2.86
Stan Coveleski……..3092.....2.88
Wilbur Cooper……...3480…...2.89
Juan Marichal……....3509…..2.89
Bob Gibson……….....3884…..2.91
Carl Mays…………....3020…...2.92
Don Drysdale….......3432…..2.95
Carl Hubbell………....3589.….2.97

May 1, 2003 was a strange day for pitchers. In a doubleheader in which the Tigers were swept by Baltimore, the first game winner, B.J. Ryan, never threw a pitch. He entered the game in the bottom of the seventh and promptly picked off Detroit’s Omar Infante to end the inning, and his day. Got the win, though. In the second game, Detroit’s Mike Maroth entered the eighth inning with a no-hitter, but still found a way to lose the game.

In 1948, Indians’ owner Bill Veeck had the outfield fences at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium mounted on moveable standards. If a hard-hitting team came to town, he would have the fences discreetly moved back before the game. If the visitors had a lighter hitting team, Veeck would have the fences moved in. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Cleveland won the AL pennant and the World Series that year. When Veeck’s scheme was later revealed, the league passed a rule prohibiting the practice.

Did you know that Branch Rickey was once the president of a major league? Well… almost. In 1959, when it became obvious that the National League had no short-term intentions of replacing the recently-departed Dodgers and Giants in New York, Rickey and NY lawyer William Shea officially announced the formation of a third ‘major league’, dubbed the Continental League. In addition to two new teams in New York, it was slated to field teams in five other cities across the continent, including Denver, Houston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Toronto and Montreal. By 1961, the new league was to expand with three new teams in Atlanta, Buffalo and Dallas/Ft Worth. In an effort to head the new league off at the pass, Major League Baseball announced that it would place three new AL expansion teams in Minneapolis/St. Paul (becoming the Twins), Washington (replacing the ‘old’ Senators, which would be the team moving to Minneapolis/St. Paul) and Los Angeles (the Angels). They further announced plans for the placement of two new NL teams for 1962 in New York (the Mets) and Houston (the Colt 45’s). Shea got what he wanted, a new team in New York. That accomplished, he dropped his plans to form the new Continental League. Of all the proposed sites for new major league teams, only Buffalo has yet to receive one. The conception of the Continental League was directly responsible for the major league expansion of 1961-62.

[Dodgerfan1]

Edit: The list of pitchers above (3000+ IP with less than 3.00 ERA) includes 20th century pitchers only. Obviously, others such as Cy Young, Tim Keefe, etc would be on it, as well.

[rugbyfreak]

Did you know, that in 1925, the Yankees offered to trade Lou Gehrig to the Boston Red Sox
to make up for the Babe Ruth trade blunder from several years before. They declined.

Can you tell us where you get this from? It's very interesting, if true, but I have never heard it in all my years. And it's certainly WAY out of character for the Yankees to feel sorry for another team and offer a budding star to make them feel better!

I'm not necessarily doubting this story, but I need to know some backup for it, if you can.

[Dodgerfan1]

On August 31, 2003 Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ pitcher Jeremi Gonzalez was ejected from the game he had started against the A’s in Oakland, and yet still managed to pitch a complete game! Gonzalez ran into some hard luck in the fifth inning when he apparently struck out Oakland’s Ramon Hernandez with Erubiel Durazo on first base and nobody out. Hernandez had tried in vain to check his swing, but first base umpire Joe Brinkman didn’t see it that way and ruled that the A’s hitter didn’t go around. Hernandez eventually walked. This non-call helped Oakland to a 3-run inning, which gave them a 4-3 lead. Gonzalez was doing a slow burn as he trudged back to the dugout after the inning was finally over. As the game went along and no more runs were being scored, Gonzalez was still visibly frustrated at Brinkman’s call. Finally, after registering the final out of his 8-inning complete game, Gonzalez could no longer contain himself and exploded, and had to be restrained from going after Brinkman. That did not earn him an ejection, however when he got to the dugout, he grabbed a bucket of sunflower seeds and tossed it onto the field, which did earn him the heave-ho. The D-Rays did not score in the top of the ninth, and the game ended in a 4-3 A’s victory. I'm not sure how many pitchers can claim to have been ejected from a complete game they threw, but count Jeremi Gonzalez among those who can!

Since 1900, only six players in major league history have led their respective leagues in both triples and home runs. In the AL, Mickey Mantle led the league with 11 triples and 37 homers in 1955 and in 1978, Boston’s Jim Rice paced the league with 15 triples and 46 jacks. In the NL, Tommy Leach swatted 22 triples and 6 home runs (all inside-the-park, natch) in 1902. Brooklyn’s Harry Lumley collected 18 triples and 9 homers in 1904, Sunny Jim Bottomley had 20 triples and 31 homers in 1928 and in 1955, New York’s Willie Mays tied for the league lead in three-baggers with 13 and led the NL with 51 home runs.

Roger Clemens is the only pitcher in major league history to collect 20 wins in a season without tossing a complete game. He accomplished the ‘feat’ in 2001 with the Yankees.

In 1960, two young female Baltimore nightclub dancers set up and attempted to extort money from AL umpires Ed Runge and Bill McKinley. Runge testified at a magistrate’s hearing that he and McKinley went to a motel in the Maryland suburbs of Washington with two women, Mary Jane Spencer (21) and Helen Ela (24). Runge and McKinley were 50 and 42 years old, respectively. The women had met the umpires while working in a Baltimore nightclub and had been instructed by their employer to try and get the arbiters to go out with them. What took place in the motel was never reported but as it turned out, Miss Spencer was engaged to be married and her fiancée, one Donald E. Anderson, and his ‘business partner’, Robert Waldron, approached the umps and threatened to damage their reputations if they did not cough up $2000 each (not bad pickings for 1960….) The umpires turned the tables on the ‘badger game’ blackmailers by setting up two meetings with Anderson and Waldron in Washington-area restaurants while the police staked out the rendezvous. After they had heard enough to arrest the suspects, the authorities broke up the second meeting and hauled Anderson and Waldron off to the hoosegow, along with co-conspirator Mary Jane Spencer (not sure what, if anything, happened to Helen Ela). Runge and McKinley were questioned and released and went back to the simpler life of calling balls and strikes.

[Dodgerfan1]

Perhaps the most famous case of a player going hitless in at least 20 ABs in a World Series is that of Gil Hodges in the 1952 Series. The record for futility actually belongs to St. Louis’ Dal Maxvill who went 0-22 in the 1968 WS. Here is a list of players who went 0-20 in a single WS. Oddly enough (or perhaps not, given the two teams involved), it happened twice in 1906….

0-22 – Dal Maxvill, St. Louis Cardinals – 1968
0-21 – Jimmy Sheckard, Chicago Cubs – 1906
0-21 – Billy Sullivan, Chicago White Sox, 1906
0-21 – Red Murray, New York Giants – 1911
0-21 – Gil Hodges, Brooklyn Dodgers – 1952

The only two pitchers to start at least 600 games with one franchise are Walter Johnson and Warren Spahn.

Orlando Cepeda was superstitious. Orlando Cepeda was very superstitious. One of his superstitious beliefs was that any bat which had produced an out was worthless. If he got a hit using a certain bat, he would use it his next time up. Once he made an out with it, however, he trashed it forever. Orlando Cepeda collected 2,351 major league hits. Orlando Cepeda used a HELL of a lot of bats!!! Anyone who believes that the major cause of killing trees is not recycling paper should talk to Orlando Cepeda….

Speaking of superstitions, did you know that Gene Mauch never washed his underwear, tee shirt or uniform after a win? You can look it up. (I could find no indication that he actually wore them afterward, only that he didn’t wash them. You can draw your own conclusions….)

After Cleveland manager Tris Speaker signed pitcher Ray “Slim” Caldwell, a notorious boozehound approaching the end of his career, in mid-1919, the hurler rewarded Spoke with a stellar 5-1 mark the rest of the way, with a sparkling 1.71 ERA. For the 1920 season, Speaker had a clause inserted into Caldwell’s contract which specified a strict training regimen: after each game he pitched, Caldwell was required to go out and get roaring drunk! The next day, he was not to report in to the team at all. The following day, he would run laps and the day after that, he would throw BP. He would then pitch the next day and begin the cycle anew. Caldwell won 20 games that season, the only time in his career he ever accomplished that feat.

[Mascott]

Doesn't the record for most lifetime World Series at bats without a hit belong to George Earnshaw? Ironically, he also went 22 at bats without a hit. He fanned in half of his AB.....It's well known that the 1977 Dodgers were the first team with four members connecting for at least 30 homers in the same season. But three of them (Steve Garvey, Ron Cey & Dusty Baker) never hit 30 dingers in any other season. The other member, Reggie Smith, had his only campaign with 30 hr IN THE NL that year. Smith had previously reached the 30 hr plateau with Boston in 1971.....The 1991 Rangers featured three players with 200 or more hits who never achieved that mark in any other season. They were Julio Franco (201 hits), along with Rafael Palmeiro & Ruben Sierra with 203 safeties each.....Speaking of the Rangers, they finished 4th in the AL West 4 straight years from 2000 to '03. They followed that up by ending up in 3rd place in the division for the next 3 years before returning to 4th again in 2007.....The Padres finished 6th in the NL West in each of their first six years of existence from 1969 through '74. They climbed all the way to 4th place in 1975.

[Dodgerfan1]

Doesn't the record for most lifetime World Series at bats without a hit belong to George Earnshaw? Ironically, he also went 22 at bats without a hit.

Mascott, I was talking about the record for hitless ABs in a single WS, not spread out over different Series. My bad for not clarifying. I have corrected the oversight. Thanks!

[Dodgerfan1]

Doesn't the record for most lifetime World Series at bats without a hit belong to George Earnshaw? Ironically, he also went 22 at bats without a hit. He fanned in half of his AB.....It's well known that the 1977 Dodgers were the first team with four members connecting for at least 30 homers in the same season. But three of them (Steve Garvey, Ron Cey & Dusty Baker) never hit 30 dingers in any other season. The other member, Reggie Smith, had his only campaign with 30 hr IN THE NL that year. Smith had previously reached the 30 hr plateau with Boston in 1971.....The 1991 Rangers featured three players with 200 or more hits who never achieved that mark in any other season. They were Julio Franco (201 hits), along with Rafael Palmeiro & Ruben Sierra with 203 safeties each.....Speaking of the Rangers, they finished 4th in the AL West 4 straight years from 2000 to '03. They followed that up by ending up in 3rd place in the division for the next 3 years before returning to 4th again in 2007.....The Padres finished 6th in the NL West in each of their first six years of existence from 1969 through '74. They climbed all the way to 4th place in 1975.

Nice.......!

[Mascott]

I knew you meant that Maxvil holds the record for most ab without a hit in a single World Series. Just wanted to add that Earnshaw went 0 for 22 in his WS career. Thanks for the compliment.

[Old Sweater]

I knew you meant that Maxvil holds the record for most ab without a hit in a single World Series. Just wanted to add that Earnshaw went 0 for 22 in his WS career. Thanks for the compliment.

Is that info from Trivia Guys book?

[Mascott]

No, I did not get my info from Trivia Guy's book. I researched these items on my own.

[Macker]

Can you tell us where you get this from? It's very interesting, if true, but I have never heard it in all my years. And it's certainly WAY out of character for the Yankees to feel sorry for another team and offer a budding star to make them feel better!

I'm not necessarily doubting this story, but I need to know some backup for it, if you can.

There was talk of a trade. However, one of those myths that won't go away somehow has the Yankees offering Gehrig out of sympathy over the Ruth deal. That's nonsense. The Sox were trying to take Gehrig, who had done nothing but pinch-hit and play the outfield until he started his streak.

[Mascott]

The Chokeago Cubs lost TEN STRAIGHT postseason series that they participated in. Their streak of fall failures reads as follows; 1910-Lost World Series to the Philadelphia A's in 5 games, 1918-Lost WS to the Boston Red Sox in 6 games, 1929-Lost WS to A's in 5 games, 1932-Got swept in WS by the New York Yankees in 4 straight, 1935-Lost WS to the Detroit Tigers in 6 games, 1938-Again got swept by the Yankees in WS, 1945-Lost WS to Tigers in 7, 1984-Lost NLCS to the San Diego Padres 3 games to 2, 1989-Lost NLCS to the San Francisco Giants 4 games to 1, 1998-Lost NLDS to the Atlanta Braves in 3 straight. The Cubbies finally broke through and took the 2003 NLDS by edging the Braves 3 games to 2. But then they reverted to their old ways and lost to the Florida Marlins in the NLCS. With their loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2007 NLDS, the Cubs have now lost 12 of the last 13 postseason series in which they played. Not included in the list of losses is the Cubs upset loss to their crosstown rival White Sox in the 1906 Classic.

[Dodgerfan1]

Phillies hurler Harry Coveleski, who earned his nickname "The Giant Killer" by defeating the New York Giants three times in the span of a week, thus denying them the 1908 NL pennant, was supposedly mocked out of the National League. According to Fred Snodgrass in Lawrence Ritter's "The Glory of Their Times", Coveleski secretly kept a piece a bologna in his back pocket during games he pitched and would take it out and chew on it now and then. It was apparently an obsession with him, and one that he tried to conceal from the other players. John McGraw, always one to gain any advantage he could whether fair or foul, learned about Coveleski’s habit from a friend of his who used to manage Coveleski in the minors. He also learned that Coveleski was extremely sensitive about it. Sensing a chance for revenge, McGraw instructed his players to tease Coveleski about the bologna. Snodgrass: “We’d stop him and say, ‘Hey, give us a chew of that bologna, will you?’ Well, this so upset this fellow that he couldn’t pitch against us to save his life. He never beat us again. Word got around the league and other clubs started doing the same thing and it chased him right back to the minors – or at least that’s what we Giants always claimed.”

Sidebar: Harry Coveleski, from what I have read, had nasty stuff, and it looked like he was HOF material when he resurfaced in the big leagues in 1914 for the Detroit Tigers. From 1914-16, he won 22, 22 and 21 games, respectively. In 1916, his ERA was 1.97. Then, in 1917, he started only 16 games and had a record of 4-6 although his ERA was a very good 2.61. In 1918, he appeared in only three games, starting and losing one of them. He never pitched in the majors again. I can find no indication that he was injured or was drafted into the war. He just seems to have faded quickly and retired. Anyone have the skinny on this guy? Did he just develop a dead arm or something? Or did the AL finally catch on to the bologna thing and run him out of that league, too?

[Dodgerfan1]

On May 10, 1959, the Phillies’ Jim Hearn pitched 1-1/3 innings of relief against Pittsburgh, allowing 2 earned runs before the game was suspended in the ninth inning due to a Pennsylvania curfew law which, at the time, prohibited baseball from being played after 6PM on Sundays. The Pirates were leading 6-4 at the time. The game was scheduled to be resumed two months later, on July 21, which was the next time the two clubs were slated to meet. Unfortunately for Hearn, he was released by the Phils on May 22 at the age of 38. On July 21, the suspended game was completed as scheduled with the Bucs defeating the Phillies 6-4. Since Hearn was still the pitcher of record, he was saddled with the loss despite the fact that his career had ended a month prior to the completion of the game!

Along the same lines, New York Giants pitcher Jeff Tesreau tossed a no-hitter on Sept 6, 1912 but didn’t know it until long after the game had ended. Starting for NY against the Phillies, Tesreau squared off against the leadoff hitter in the very first inning, Philadelphia’s Dode Paskert. Paskert lifted a weak pop fly between first base and home plate. Neither first baseman Fred Merkle nor catcher Art Wilson could decide which of them would make the play and Merkle, at the last second, took a desperate stab at the ball, only to have it drop on the infield grass and Paskert was safe at first. The Phillies never came close to a hit again, as Tesreau hurled a masterful game on his way to a 3-0 victory. While the Giants were celebrating in the clubhouse after the game, press box reporters were having a spirited debate about whether or not Paskert’s pop fly in the first inning had touched Merkle’s glove. The official scorer, in an unprecedented move, summoned Merkle to ‘testify’ before the angry crowd of reporters. Merkle claimed the ball had, indeed, touched his glove and that he felt he should have caught it. That was good enough for the scorer, who changed the hit to an error and awarded Tesreau a no-hitter. Perhaps Merkle should have been given an assist….

Only three pitchers in major league history started at least 100 games without ever recording a shutout. Leading the pack is Roy Mahaffey with 128, followed closely by Al Nipper with 124. Roger Erickson is third with 117. Honorable mention goes to Bob Miller (1957-1974) and Chris Knapp who both started 99 major league games without tossing a single shutout. (Note: My source is a book published in 2005. It's possible that other pitchers may be added to the list...)

On July 4, 2003, the fans in Minnesota had two reasons to celebrate. Yes, it was Independence Day but it was also Torii Hunter Bobblehead Night. The fireworks began early, however, as Hunter got ejected in the third inning, thus making him the only player ever to be given the gate on his own night! Maybe it should have been called Torii Hunter Bubblehead Night!

[RuthMayBond]

Only three pitchers in major league history started at least 100 games without ever recording a shutout. Leading the pack is Roy Mahaffey with 128, followed closely by Al Nipper with 124. Roger Erickson is third with 117. Honorable mention goes to Bob Miller (1957-1974) and Chris Knapp who both started 99 major league games without tossing a single shutout. (Note: My source is a book published in 2005. It's possible that other pitchers may be added to the list...)

These guys are not post-2005
Kevin Ritz
Shawn Boskie
Allen Watson
Scott Kamienicki
Willie Blair
Jason Bere ...

[Utter Chaos]

Only three pitchers in major league history started at least 100 games without ever recording a shutout. Leading the pack is Roy Mahaffey with 128, followed closely by Al Nipper with 124. Roger Erickson is third with 117. Honorable mention goes to Bob Miller (1957-1974) and Chris Knapp who both started 99 major league games without tossing a single shutout. (Note: My source is a book published in 2005. It's possible that other pitchers may be added to the list...)

Jason Bere 203
Adam Eaton 174
Tony Armas 166
Paul Wilson 153
Willie Blair 139
Scott Kamieniecki 138
Allen Watson 137
Nate Robertson 135
Shawn Boskie 132
Kevin Ritz 130
Gil Heredia 128
Cliff Lee 125
Brian Meadows 122
Dan Haren 121
Casey Fossum 120
Shawn Chacon 119
Masato Yoshii 118
Paul Abbott 112
Bruce Chen 112
Claudio vargas 110
Rob Bell 108
Bryan Rekar 108
Julian Tavarez 108
Jae Weong Seo 102
Justin Thompson 101
Victor Zambrano 100

I suspect your book was originally published before 2005 as many of these pitchers finished their careers by 2005, some as far back on 1998 (Boskie, Ritz).

[Dodgerfan1]

Jason Bere 203
Adam Eaton 174
Tony Armas 166
Paul Wilson 153
Willie Blair 139
Scott Kamieniecki 138
Allen Watson 137
Nate Robertson 135
Shawn Boskie 132
Kevin Ritz 130
Gil Heredia 128
Cliff Lee 125
Brian Meadows 122
Dan Haren 121
Casey Fossum 120
Shawn Chacon 119
Masato Yoshii 118
Paul Abbott 112
Bruce Chen 112
Claudio vargas 110
Rob Bell 108
Bryan Rekar 108
Julian Tavarez 108
Jae Weong Seo 102
Justin Thompson 101
Victor Zambrano 100

I suspect your book was originally published before 2005 as many of these pitchers finished their careers by 2005, some as far back on 1998 (Boskie, Ritz).

Thanks, UC. The book does say it was published in 2005, however it may be a second printing, or even a third?? Anyway, I figured that, what with the extensive use of relief specialists nowadays, there must be more than three now, and so there is! Thanks, as always, for your keeping me honest!! I hate sloppy trivia.... :dismay:

[Dodgerfan1]

These guys are not post-2005
Kevin Ritz
Shawn Boskie
Allen Watson
Scott Kamienicki
Willie Blair
Jason Bere ...

Yep, well, what can I say except sorry about that one? The book is called "The Baseball Maniac's Almanac", copyright 2005 by Bert Sugar. It has always been accurate in the past and I did look up the records of the pitchers I mentioned, just to be sure, but...... oh well. For what it's worth, the category is "MOST CAREER STARTS, NO SHUTOUTS" and is on page 102.

Bad source. Sorry.

[LivnLegend]

Only twelve pitchers in major league history have pitched at least 3000 innings and come away with an ERA below 3.00. Of those twelve, all but two are HOFers, Wilbur Cooper and Carl Mays. For the record:

Walter Johnson……..5923…..2.17
Pete Alexander……..5189…..2.56
Whitey Ford………....3170…..2.75
Jim Palmer………......3948…..2.86
Tom Seaver………....4782....2.86
Stan Coveleski……..3092.....2.88
Wilbur Cooper……...3480…...2.89
Juan Marichal……....3509…..2.89
Bob Gibson……….....3884…..2.91
Carl Mays…………....3020…...2.92
Don Drysdale….......3432…..2.95
Carl Hubbell………....3589.….2.97

Eddie Cicotte?
Eddie Plank?
Chief Bender?
Christy Mathewson?

[Dodgerfan1]

Ever wonder how a star softball pitcher would fare against a lineup of professional hitters? In 1955, the Pacific Coast League saw a spirited three-team pennant race. In the end, the Seattle Rainiers, managed by Fred Hutchinson, took the prize. It was nip-and-tuck down the stretch, however, and Hutchinson was not above using every advantage at his disposal… including utilizing one of the greatest pitchers in softball history. Bob Fesler was known as the “King of the Softball Pitchers”. Although the moniker wasn’t terribly creative, Fesler was something special. He not only had the fastest fastball in the sport, but he had six different varieties of curveball. He made opposing batters in his league look foolish at the plate. He was so overpowering that Hutchinson decided to give him a tryout with the Rainiers, who were in a dogfight for the pennant. In batting practice, Fesler proved quite bewildering to the Seattle batters he faced with his windmill underhand pitching motion. He so impressed Hutchinson that he was named Seattle’s starting pitcher, on August 10, in the first game of a twinbill against the San Francisco Seals. Naturally, the game was heavily hyped by the local media and over 14,000 fans packed Seattle’s Sicks Stadium to cheer on their new pitching phenom. Fesler whiffed the very first Seals batter on three pitches, as the crowd roared their approval. The question of whether a great softball pitcher could not only pitch in this league, but thrive, seemed to be obvious, right? Nope. The strikeout was the highlight of Fesler’s day. He proceeded to give up, in succession, a walk, a wild pitch, a single, a walk, a three-run double and another walk. Hutchinson gave Fesler the hook after pitching just 1/3 of an inning. The Seals scored five times in the first inning en route to a 5-3 victory. Fesler actually got a chance to redeem himself in game two. Hutchinson brought him into the game as a reliever and he struck out two men with the bases loaded. Unfortunately, he also gave up four more walks, three singles and a home run. Not surprisingly, Bob Fesler went back to dominating softball hitters and never again pitched in professional baseball.

One of the most bizarre double plays in baseball history occurred in 1889 in a game between the NL Chicago White Stockings and the visiting Philadelphia Quakers. In the top of the seventh inning, Philadelphia was threatening to score with Bill Hallman on third base and Jack Clements on second with nobody out. The batter, Ben Sanders, smacked a hard line drive that headed directly at Hallman, who was leading off of third base. Hallman froze and the ball struck him on the shoulder. Instead of falling to the ground, however, the ball caromed toward second base where it hit the oncoming Clements. The umpire ruled both men out for being hit by a batted ball. The Quakers argued that only Hallman was out, since the ball was dead once it struck him, but the umpire ruled that since no defensive player had touched the ball, it was still in play, therefore Clements was out, too. Ben Sanders had lined into a double play on which no fielder had so much as touched the ball.

The most evenly-matched game in history was played on August 13, 1910 between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Superbas. How evenly-matched was it? Well, the game was called after nine innings because of darkness with the scored knotted 8-8, but that’s just where the eerie similarities begin. Both teams got 13 hits in 38 at-bats. Both teams made two errors in the field. Both recorded 27 outs (natch), both had 12 assists. Each team used ten players, including two pitchers. Each team recorded five strikeouts and three walks. Both catchers were charged with a passed ball, recorded six putouts, had one assist and went 1-4 at the plate. Both second basemen had two hits each and scored two runs. Each shortstop collected two hits. Both right fielders had two hits in five AB and one putout in the field. Each center fielder had five at bats and two putouts. Each first baseman had four at-bats and scored a run. This was a pretty strange game, I’d say.

[Macker]

Bad source. Sorry.

You can say that again. Despite the 2005 copyright, Sugar merely retread's his 1970s trivia book under a different name every few years. There are many inaccuracies. He's been told about some of them, but he rarely updates them.

[Dodgerfan1]

You can say that again. Despite the 2005 copyright, Sugar merely retread's his 1970s trivia book under a different name every few years. There are many inaccuracies. He's been told about some of them, but he rarely updates them.

Yes, I totally believe that! I have stopped using any of his books as a reference. It's too bad because some of his stuff really is interesting, but giving out incorrect trivia is not an option. Thanks for the comments.

[Trivia Guy]

Yes, I totally believe that! I have stopped using any of his books as a reference. It's too bad because some of his stuff really is interesting, but giving out incorrect trivia is not an option. Thanks for the comments.


Last summer I met and attended a game with a guy who said that he was a good friend of Sugar's.

[Dodgerfan1]

Only three teams have ever used as many as six starting pitchers in a World Series, the Dodgers having done it twice. They are as follows:

1947 Brooklyn Dodgers: Ralph Branca, Vic Lombardi, Joe Hatten, Harry Taylor, Rex Barney and Hal Gregg.
1955 Brooklyn Dodgers: Don Newcombe, Billy Loes, Johnny Podres, Carl Erskine, Roger Craig and Karl Spooner.
1971 Pittsburgh Pirates: Dock Ellis, Bob Johnson, Steve Blass, Luke Walker, Nelson Briles and Bob Moose.

In September, 1928, the Boston Braves played four double-headers in four days against the New York Giants at home, and lost every single game! Due to several rainouts earlier in the season, the Braves were forced to play an incredible 14 twinbills in September. From the 10th through the 14th (they mercifully had a day off on the 12th), they had the home field disadvantage, as they lost all eight games at Braves Field. The Braves swept just two of the 14 doubleheaders they played in September, split six and were swept in six. Because of this quirk in their schedule, they lost an amazing 25 games in the month of September alone! I don’t know if that is a record for losses in September (or any month, for that matter), but it has to be awfully close if it isn’t!

Pittsburgh’s Exposition Park was built in 1890 for the Players League entry, the Pittsburgh Burghers. After that league folded, the National League Pirates moved in and called Exposition Park their home until 1909, when Forbes Field was built. There were times they wished they hadn’t. Take, for instance, a 4th of July doubleheader they played against the Brooklyn Superbas in 1902. What happened? In a nutshell, the games were played under flood conditions. More accurately, the games were played IN a flood! Follow me here…. On that day, torrential rains caused the Allegheny River to spill over its banks, causing the sewers to back up, causing massive flooding on the field (Eeeeewwww!!!!). Normally, the games would have been called off but, since it was July 4 and first-place Pittsburgh was hosting second-place Brooklyn, a big holiday crowd was expected and, well… money talks…. When more than 10,000 cranks showed up, there was no doubt the games would have to be played. By game time, the water in the outfield was more than a foot deep… and rising. Because of this, the umpires created a novel ground rule for the doubleheader; any ball hit into the outfield water would be an automatic single, no matter where it landed! In the morning game, the hometown Pirates won 3-0, to the delight of their fans. Both teams had surprisingly little trouble with the flooded outfield. The afternoon game, however, was much more of an adventure. By game time, the water had crept to within 20 feet of second base. By an amazing coincidence, the Superba’s second baseman’s name was Tim Flood. But I digress…. The outfielders would be forced to slosh in knee-deep water.... knee-deep water mixed with sewer water, mind you! The only balls they would be able to catch were ones hit almost directly to them. As luck (or fate) would have it, the Brooklyn right fielder was 5’ 4” Wee Willie Keeler. While the other outfielders may have been knee-deep in water, Keeler was almost waist-deep in the stuff. Good luck in game 2, Willie… While Pittsburgh batters delighted in plopping fly balls into the drink in front of Brooklyn’s outfielders, the Pirate outfielders had a much easier time of it, as their hurler, Jack Chesbro, stuck mostly to his excellent sinker ball, inducing mostly ground balls to the infield. With the hometown heroes leading 4-0 in the ninth inning, the Superbas launched a rally. With two on and two out, Brooklyn shortstop Bill Dahlen blasted the ball high and deep. In what must have looked like a Vaudeville routine, left fielder Ginger Beaumont half-waded, half-swam for the ball before making a desperate lunge (‘plunge’ is probably a more apt description here). He snared the ball just as he disappeared in a huge splash of muddy, crappy water. As he emerged with his glove held high above his head, the ball firmly entrenched within, the umpire signaled the final out of the game. Legend has it that Beaumont grinned and spit the dirty water out of his mouth, but that would be taking absurdities to extremes…. Wouldn’t it??

[bob]

Because of this quirk in their schedule, they lost an amazing 25 games in the month of September alone! I don’t know if that is a record for losses in September (or any month, for that matter), but it has to be awfully close if it isn’t!

The monthly record is 27, "achieved" 6 times, strangely 4 of those times were in September. The pirates in august 1890 and Cleveland Spiders in September 1899 had a shocking 1-27 record! Cleveland also set the consecutive games lost record of 24 during this time and the worst win ratio in a season (20-134 for a glorious .130 record). Immediately following the 24 losses, after a 1 run win they went on a 16 loss streak until the end of the season, for a 1-44 end to the season. The spiders didnt play again.

[Urbanshocker13]

The monthly record is 27, "achieved" 6 times, strangely 4 of those times were in September. The pirates in august 1890 and Cleveland Spiders in September 1899 had a shocking 1-27 record! Cleveland also set the consecutive games lost record of 24 during this time and the worst win ratio in a season (20-134 for a glorious .130 record). Immediately following the 24 losses, after a 1 run win they went on a 16 loss streak until the end of the season, for a 1-44 end to the season. The spiders didnt play again.

If there is a loseing record the 1890 Cleveland Spiders broke it or set it!

[Dodgerfan1]

If there is a loseing record the 1890 Cleveland Spiders broke it or set it!

I hate nitpicking, but I do have a nit to pick here. I assume you are referring to the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who were an abysmal 20-134 on the season, and NOT the 1890 Spiders, who had a won/loss record of 44-88. I'm sure that's what you meant, but just wanted to set the record straight. Hey, typos happen! Don't want someone losing a baseball quiz show some day because they culled the wrong answer from our venerated and revered forum!! :bowdown:

[Dodgerfan1]

The years 1990 and 1991 saw 14 no-hitters tossed in the major leagues, the most in any two consecutive years. Seven no-hitters were thrown in each season. The most in a season was eight in 1884. The most pitchers ever appearing in a no-hitter for a team is six by the Astros in 2003. Only three staffs have allowed ten or more walks in a game while still pitching a no-hitter:

1976: John ‘Blue Moon’ Odom and Francisco Barrios walked 11 A’s en-route to a 2-1 win for the White Sox.

1965: Jim Maloney walked 10 Cubs but allowed none to score, aided by 12 strikeouts. His Reds won 1-0.

1967: Baltimore’s Steve Barber allowed 10 walks, including three in the ninth inning which led directly to two runs and an Orioles loss, as Detroit won 2-1.

Kitty Burke was a huge Cincinnati Reds fan. She was a popular, attractive local nightclub singer around the Cincinnati area who was notable for her bright blonde hair and her brash nature. Kitty was part of an overflow crowd at Crosley Field on the night of July 31, 1935 when her beloved Reds hosted the St. Louis Cardinals. The game was oversold, as 10,000 fans, who had no place to sit, were herded onto the field to watch the game from foul territory. The attraction was more than just a chance to see the defending world champion Cardinals in action. Night baseball was still a major novelty, the first such game having been played just two months earlier in this very same stadium, and the Reds’ owners had no compunction whatever about selling more tickets than there were available seats.

Kitty, who would later admit that she intensely disliked St. Louis’ young slugger Joe Medwick (although she gave no reason why), was part of the crowd watching the game from down on the field, and had worked her way to within a dozen feet of home plate. In the top of the 8th inning, Medwick strolled to the plate. Kitty, with typical cocky demeanor, shouted something at Medwick regarding his inability to hit. Ducky insulted her in response, which angered Kitty. She kept her mouth shut, however, until the bottom of the inning. As the Reds’ Babe Herman headed toward the plate for his regular at-bat, Kitty hollered, “Hey, Babe! Lend me your bat!”

Herman, ever the eccentric, decided to play along and replied, “Go ahead" and handed her his bat. Kitty trudged to the plate, bat in hand, wearing a candy-striped evening dress and high heels. The absurd sight made the crowd roar with laughter. As Kitty neared the plate, she stopped to take a few practice swings before settling into the batter’s box and taking a hunched-over stance from the right side of the plate. Reportedly, she shouted to the St. Louis pitcher, Paul ‘Daffy’ Dean, “Okay you hick! Throw me a pitch!”

The confused Dean stood on the mound, unsure of what he should do next. The crowd, of course, was yelling at him to pitch to the dressed-to-kill batter. The home plate umpire shouted, “Play ball!” Dean, having no choice, lobbed an underhand toss to Miss Burke who swung and tapped a grounder down the first base line, which Dean fielded himself. Instead of throwing the ball to first base, Dean trotted over to the girl, who didn’t bother to run out her hit, and tagged her out. Kitty trotted back into the crowd amidst wild cheering. Cardinal manager Frankie Frisch, never known for his sense of humor, argued with the umpire that the at-bat should count as an out, as if Kitty were pinch-hitting for Herman, but the umpire waved him back to the dugout to the hoots and jeers of the over-capacity crowd. The Reds would later present her with a hometown jersey and named her an honorary member of the team. Kitty occasionally wore the jersey during her act.

Don’t look for Kitty Burke’s name in the record books. It isn’t there. Babe Herman followed the side-show with his regular turn at bat and the name of Kitty Burke has been etched into baseball folklore ever since. One can only imagine what might have happened had Paul's brother, Dizzy, a consumate showman himself, been on the mound.

[geezer]

Speaking of too many walks in a no-hitter, AJ Burnett was one BB away from joining that feat, as he walked 9 batters and a hit by pitch against the Padres in May 2001.

[Dodgerfan1]

Oh, what might have been! For their final game of the 1963 season, Houston Colt 45s manager Harry Craft penciled the name of John Paciorek into the starting lineup, playing right field against the visiting Mets. To say that the rookie responded well would be a gross understatement. Paciorek collected 3 hits in 3 official at-bats, drew 2 walks, scored 4 runs and knocked in 3! Wow, John Paciorek was on his way to big league stardom! The Houston Post predicted big things for the big 6’2”, 200 lb. kid who, amazingly, was still only 18 years old. Then came spring training, 1964. After a lackluster showing, he didn’t make the final cut and was sent back down to the minors. I’m sure you can figure the rest out. He never made it back to the majors, as a chronic back ailment would plague him the rest of his professional career, which finally ended with surgery in 1967. Many players have batted 1.000 in a very brief career, going 1-for-1 or in a few cases, 2-for-2. John Paciorek is the only player ever to finish his major league career with a 1.000 BA with more than 2 at-bats. His younger brother, Tom, would go on to have a solid 18-year major league career.

St. Louis Browns’ coach Jimmy Austin was no longer a player in 1927, and appeared in no games for the team that season. Actually, I should have said no games ‘officially.’ Explanation to follow: In the fifth inning of a game against the visiting Washington Senators, the Nats had Sam Rice on first base and Goose Goslin at the plate. Goslin smashed a line drive past the shortstop and onto the outfield grass, which was still wet from a morning of heavy rain. Browns left fielder Bing Miller ran over, fielded the ball and fired it to third base, hoping to nail Rice who was digging hard. Unfortunately, the ball was wet and Miller’s throw went wild, way over the head of third baseman Frank O’Rourke. The ball caromed off the low wall in front of the box seats and rolled in front of coach Jimmy Austin, who was standing on the steps of the Browns’ dugout. St. Louis pitcher Milt Gaston ran toward the dugout to field the ball as Rice raced around third base and headed for home. Gaston was about 20 feet from the ball and was clearly not going to get to it in time to throw out Rice, when Austin sprung into action. The coach grabbed the ball and fired a perfect strike to catcher Wally Schang, who tagged out the sliding Rice. The umpire signaled Rice out as the Senators’ bench erupted in protest, screaming that the coach had made the throw, not Gaston. The umpire was not about to change his decision, however, and Washington’s pleas fell on deaf ears. Throughout the scene, Austin sat on the Browns’ bench looking as innocent as a baby. No, you won’t find Jimmy Austin’s name on any box score for 1927, but he contributed in his own way, nevertheless.

[Dodgerfan1]

One of the oddest plays ever occurred on August 1, 1985 in a game between the Cardinals and the host Cubs. In the top of the first inning, Cubs starter Scott Sanderson surrendered a single to leadoff hitter Vince Coleman and Willie McGee followed with a walk. With Tommy Herr at the plate, the Cards attempted a double steal. Cub catcher Jody Davis fired to third base but was too late to get the speedy Coleman, with McGee taking second on the throw. Unfortunately for Coleman, his momentum carried him far past the third base bag and into foul territory. As third baseman Ron Cey approached him to apply the tag, Coleman, realizing he couldn’t get back to third base safely, lit out for home. Cey fired the ball to Davis and the rundown was on. After a few tosses between home plate and third base, Coleman realized that no one was covering the plate, so he took off at full steam and crossed the plate easily. While all this was taking place, McGee had managed to scamper safely into third base. After a fairly lengthy conference via phone between the official scorekeeper and an NL statistician, it was ruled that, since no fielding errors had occurred, both Coleman and McGee had stolen two bases! In other words, FOUR bases had been stolen on ONE pitch! I’m not sure if that has happened before or since, but it’s one record that would be awfully hard to beat!

Home run records are the most glamorous of all records. Even obscure players like Dale Long, Bob Neiman and Keith McDonald are well-known for the home run records they hold. So why is it then that so few people have ever heard of Dino Restelli? In 1949, Pittsburgh promoted Restelli from the minors and inserted him into their lineup. In his first ten games, Restelli hit eight home runs. No player in history has ever hit as many homers in their first ten major league games. A record to be proud of, surely. Unfortunately, Restelli only hit four more homers over the rest of the season (62 games) and hit just one in 38 at-bats the following season, finishing 1950 with a dismal .184 batting average. Dino was gone for good after that. He’s not a household name, but for a brief moment, he shone like none other and still owns a record to this day that very few people seem to know about.

A couple of days ago, I gave you John Paciorek – the only player to finish a major league career with a 1.000 batting average with more than 2 at-bats (he was 3 for 3 lifetime). Well, meet Ray Jansen. Jansen has the distinction of being the major league player with the most hits in a one-game career. Playing in his first (and last) game in 1910 as a member of the St. Louis Browns, Jansen collected four singles in five times at bat, finishing his ‘career’ with an .800 BA. He kicked around the minors for a few years before finally hanging it up. Still, one would have thought that some other big league team would have given Jansen a shot after his phenomenal debut.

[bob]

Cey fired the ball to Davis and the rundown was on. After a few tosses between home plate and third base, Coleman realized that no one was covering the plate, so he took off at full steam and crossed the plate easily.
Maybe im missing something here. He was caught in a rundown between 3rd and home and then apparently Coleman manages to get passed the catcher and home easily. What happened? Coleman was quick, but surely it would take a fielders error in that position for coleman to get past the catcher and home safely.

[Dodgerfan1]

Maybe im missing something here. He was caught in a rundown between 3rd and home and then apparently Coleman manages to get passed the catcher and home easily. What happened? Coleman was quick, but surely it would take a fielders error in that position for coleman to get past the catcher and home safely.

Apparently, either the Cub first baseman, Leon Durham, or the pitcher, Sanderson, neglected to cover home. That's not an error, evidently. Just a lapse in execution. Here is what Retrosheet has to say about the play:

CARDINALS 1ST: Coleman singled; McGee walked [Coleman to
second]; Coleman stole third and McGee stole second; Coleman
stole home and McGee stole third; previous two double steals
really all one continuous lay on which 4 SB were awarded.
Chicago Tribune reports that play started as double steal, but
Coleman overslid 3rd base. He leaped up and started for home. 'I
knew I couldn't get back to the bag', Coleman said. 'I was still
in no-man's land. So my reaction was to go to the next base.'
The Cubs had him caught in a rundown, but he got out of the
hotbox when either pitcer Scott Sanderson or first baseman Leon
Durham left home plate unprotected. After conferring by phone
with Seymouur Siwoff, the National League's chief statistician,
[official score] [Randy] Minkoff awared each runner two stolen
bases. 'He told me the rule book doesn't specifically cover that
situation,' Minkoff said. 'He said you've seen one of the most
unusual plays in baseball'; Herr struck out; Clark singled
[McGee scored]; Porter flied out to center; Pendleton walked
[Clark to second]; Van Slyke flied out to right; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E,
2 LOB. Cardinals 2, Cubs 0.

[Dodgerfan1]

Don Mattingly was selected in the 19th round of baseball’s amateur draft in 1979. Incredibly, three players who were drafted ahead of him later became stars in the NFL, two of whom became gridiron legends. Even more amazingly, those two gridiron legends were both selected by the same team! What’s more, all three were quarterbacks. John Elway was drafted by the Kansas City Royals right out of high school, prior to his years at Stanford. He was a very promising third baseman who would have been competing for time with George Brett who, at the time, commented, “I hope this guy plays football.” Little did Brett know that John did fool around a little with the pigskin. By an amazing coincidence, in 1979 the Royals also drafted out of high school a talented ballplayer named Dan Marino, who also elected to play college football rather than pro baseball. Another player who would go on to football stardom was Jay Schroeder, who was selected in the first round of that same ’79 amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. What was it about 1979 that made guys want to play football? Oh, and there was a yet a FOURTH player who was selected in the 1979 amateur draft who would go on to play football instead! Yes, he was also a quarterback. Rick Leach was the 13th pick in the 1st round, being selected by the Detroit Tigers. Leach, of course, had a stellar college career with the University of Michigan, in both baseball and football, and was also drafted in ’79 by the Denver Broncos. His pro career wasn’t very successful, but still, whodathunk that these four football players would all be selected in the same amateur draft ahead of Don Mattingly??

Scott Rolen came up to the majors as a Phillies rookie in 1996. He was having an average year, batting .254 on Sept 7 when he was drilled in the forearm by a Steve Trachsel fastball. The forearm was shattered and sadly ended Rolen’s season. Sadly? Maybe not…. At the time of Rolen’s ill-fated at-bat, he had 130 ABs for the season, which is exactly the maximum number of ABs a player can have before officially losing his rookie status. As it happened, he had a fine year in 1997, hitting .283 with 21 homers, 92 RBIs and 93 runs scored. Since he missed by a single at-bat the previous year of qualifying as an ‘official’ rookie, 1997 was considered his true rookie season and, as such, he was able to come away with the coveted Rookie of the Year Award. After receiving the honor, Rolen said, “This would be a good time to thank Steve Trachsel, who was a big part of this. At the time, I wasn’t really happy with him. Now, I might give him a call and thank him.”

Jesse Orosco is the only hurler to pitch for over 20 years and win less than 100 games. (Note: the source is dated 2005. I did not find anyone else since that time who has duplicated this.)

[Utter Chaos]

Jesse Orosco is the only hurler to pitch for over 20 years and win less than 100 games. (Note: the source is dated 2005. I did not find anyone else since that time who has duplicated this.)

John Franco (21 years, 90 wins) also did it.
Jose Mesa (19 years, 80 wins) and Mike Stanton (19 years, 68 wins) could join them in 2008.

[Dodgerfan1]

John Franco (21 years, 90 wins) also did it.
Jose Mesa (19 years, 80 wins) and Mike Stanton (19 years, 68 wins) could join them in 2008.

Thanks, UC. That's the kind of help I was looking for.

DF1

[Dodgerfan1]

Ever hear of Fred Johnson? No, not your neighbor, Fred Johnson or your co-worker, Fred Johnson. I mean Fred Johnson, the right-handed pitcher who won 257 games in his career. Granted, with a name like that he could have used a colorful nickname, although he did throw a slow slider he called his ‘butterfly ball’. His major league career began in 1922 with the New York Giants and ended in 1939 with the St. Louis Browns, 18 years later. That Fred Johnson. What’s that? You still haven’t heard of him, despite the 257 victories? I guess that’s not really too surprising, seeing as how 252 of those wins came in the minors. In 1922, Johnson was called up from the minors and given a shot at the big time, but found it impossible to break into a starting rotation which featured the likes of Artie Nehf, Jack Bentley, Jess Barnes and Rosy Ryan. He did appear in three games in 1923 and won two of them, including a victory over HOFer Burleigh Grimes, but he was hit pretty hard in the games he did pitch (he was a classic junkballer in the Stu Miller/Jamie Moyer mold) and consistently walked more batters than he struck out. John McGraw had him consigned to their minor league affiliate for 1924. Incredibly, considering the need for decent pitching in the majors in the ‘20s and ‘30s, Johnson languished in the minors for 14 full seasons until, in 1938, at the age of 44, he was called upon to pitch for the lowly St. Louis Browns, who were desperate for any kind of pitching, even lousy pitching. Johnson appeared in 17 games that year, winning three and losing seven. In 1939, he appeared in only five games and was back in the minors again. Amazingly, he continued to pitch until finally retiring in 1941 at the age of 47! Johnson does hold one major league record. He went 15 years between wins! Oh yeah… that Fred Johnson….

In 1904, something occurred that has never been duplicated since the ‘modern’ era began in 1900. A single pitcher won more games than an entire team. Jack Chesbro won 41 games for the New York Highlanders, while the horrific Washington Senators could manage a paltry 38 wins all year. This has never happened since, and it’s safe to assume will never happen again.

The longest single-game relief outing in major league history is 18 1/3 innings, or the equivalent of over two full games, by a very colorful character with a very colorful nickname. On June 17, 1915, the Cubs’ ‘Zip’ Zabel entered the game with two out in the very first inning and went the distance from there to record a 4-3, 19-inning victory over Brooklyn. Of course, his Christian name wasn’t exactly blasé, either – George Washington Zabel.

On August 3, 1994, the Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs took part in a very bizarre baseball ‘first’. In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Cubs sent reliever Dave Otto to the mound and in the 9th, Florida sent in their closer, Robb Nen. How is this bizarre, you ask? Well, if you know what a palindrome is, you’ll understand when I say this was the first time two opposing teams each used a 'palandromic' pitcher. Hey, this thread is called ‘Random Trivia’, and I think you’ll agree, it doesn’t get much more trivial than this! Oh…. And if you don’t know what a palindrome is, you could look it up (with apologies to The Old Perfessor).

[Mattingly]

I'm not sure if it deserves its own thread, but when did MLB start playing college teams in spring training or other exhibition games? Was any particular team credited for creating this ongoing trend?

Thanks. :)

[Dodgerfan1]

**I have to insert an asterisk after this one, as I have found no corroboration to an article I read in one of my many source books. According to the book, the first designated hitter appeared in 1939, and was against the rules at the time. The exception was made in a game between the White Sox and Indians. Chicago pitcher Bill ‘Bullfrog’ Dietrich had been toiling all afternoon in a very hot summer sun and was fading fast. Ostensibly, Sox manager Jimmy Dykes approached Cleveland manager Oscar Vitt and asked him if it was all right if a pinch hitter batted for Dietrich’s spot but that Dietrich could stay in the game as pitcher. For whatever reason, Vitt apparently allowed the unusual request and the head umpire didn't object. The pinch hitter was used and Dietrich remained in the game. I usually would not post this type of uncorroborated trivia, however I found it quite interesting and also wondered if anyone else may be able to confirm or debunk this one.**

The worst hitting performance in a single major league game is a toss up between two players. Both players played for the same team. In the same game. On May 1, 1920, two pitchers who would otherwise do absolutely nothing important in the majors, Brooklyn’s Joe Oeschger and Boston’s Leon Cadore, both pitched complete games over 26 innings, in a game that nobody won. It was called because of darkness with the score knotted at 1-1. Okay, most of us knew that already. What you may not have known is that the two most unproductive days at the plate in history also occurred in that game. Braves’ 2nd baseman Charlie Pick and 3rd baseman Tony Boeckel both went 0-11. Rarely can it be said that a hitter is mired in a slump following just one hitless game, but….

Pete Rose had 14,053 official at-bats in the major leagues, 4,256 of which were hits. Of those hits, 160 were home runs. Of those, Rose had just one; count it, one grand slam. It was hit near the beginning of his illustrious career off Philadelphia’s Dallas Green on July 18, 1964.

Who says experience is so important? The New York Yankees squared off against the Anaheim Angels in the 2002 AL Division Series. Going into that series, the Yanks had 20 players with post-season experience. The Angels had one. Kevin Appier had pitched for Oakland in the 2000 ALDS. Of course, Anaheim won the series three games to one.

Bob Feller is one of only two pitchers to give up home runs to both Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle. The other is Randy Gumpert.

The Yankees once score a run after the third out in an inning had been recorded, and it wasn’t by virtue of a mistake or miscount by the umpires. It counted and was perfectly legal. How did this happen? I’ll give you a clue. The only way the Milwaukee Brewers could have possibly prevented the run was if they had recorded a FOURTH out in the inning! Still stumped? You rules buffs, read on.

It was the bottom of the 8th inning in New York with the Yankees leading the Brewers 4-1. There was one out and the Yanks had Mike Pagliarulo on third base and Bob Geren on first. NY manager Dallas Green ordered the hitter, Wayne Tolleson, to attempt a suicide squeeze. Pagliarulo broke for the plate as Milwaukee’s Jay Aldrich delivered the pitch. Tolleson popped it up. Pags was literally standing on home plate by the time Aldrich caught the ball for the second out. Aldrich then fired the ball over to first base to double off Geren for the third out. End of inning. Or was it?? No! Pagliarulo’s run counted. Here is the official ruling:

Doubling a runner off base is not a continuous-action double play, which would have ended the inning. Since Pags had scored before the third out was recorded, the run counted. Had Aldrich threw the ball to third base instead of first, Pagliarulo would have been doubled off, thus eliminating his run. But…. there was still a way the Brewers could have prevented the run from scoring even AFTER the third out was recorded and the run had apparently already counted. Since Pags had obviously left third base before the ball was hit, Milwaukee could have appealed the play at third base as an illegal tag-up on a fly ball and recorded a FOURTH out, which would have been perfectly legal, and negated the run!! As it stood, Tolleson wound up getting credit for an RBI sac fly on a bunted infield pop-out double play ball!! Tolleson had four official at-bats in the game, so I'm assuming that AB counted officially, even though it was officially a sacrifice fly. Can this happen?? I'm assuming so, by looking at the box score. Confused yet? Boy, howdy!

Since the Brewers did not appeal the play, and simply trotted back to the dugout, the run was allowed to stand. It wasn’t until the Brewers had sent a man to the plate in the ninth that manager Tom Trebelhorn noticed the scoreboard now showed the Yankees ahead 5-1. He went out to complain to home plate umpire Larry Barnett, who then had to explain the complicated rule, much to Trebelhorn’s dismay. Barnett would later explain that the play was covered under rule 7.10d, what the umpires call the ‘Fourth out rule.’ Dallas Green would later comment, “I’ve been in this game for 33 years and I’ve never, ever, ever seen a play like that.”

For the record, here is Retrosheet’s description of the inning:

YANKEES 8TH: Barfield was called out on strikes; Pagliarulo was
hit by a pitch; Geren singled to right [Pagliarulo to third]; On
a bunt Tolleson hit into a double play [Geren out at first
(pitcher to first), Pagliarulo scored (RBI)]; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0
LOB. Brewers 1, Yankees 5.

[soberdennis]

quick relief pitching records:

most strikeouts in a season by a reliever:

AL: 181 - Dick Radatz in 1964
NL: 151 - Goose Gossage in 1957

Most consecutive appearances by a reliever:

AL: 13 - Dale Mohoric in 1986
NL: 13 - Mike Marshall in 1974

Most innings pitched by a reliever:

AL: 168 1/3 - Bob Stanley in 1982
NL: 208 1/3 - Mike Marshall in 1974

Most games finished in a year by a reliever:

AL: 84 - Mike Marshall in 1979
NL: 83 - Mike Marshall in 1974
I am surprised that noone caught this. Gossage was born in 1951, making him 6 years old in 1957.

Acouple of interesting trivia facts.

Casey Stengel wore the uniforms of the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, Yankees, and Mets in his illustrious career. Correct me if I am wrong. But I believe he is the only man to serve on all four New York teams while they were in New York.

Nolan Ryan played his entire career for the 4 expansion teams of the 1961-62 expansion.

[stejay]

I am surprised that noone caught this. Gossage was born in 1951, making him 6 years old in 1957.

Acouple of interesting trivia facts.

Casey Stengel wore the uniforms of the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, Yankees, and Mets in his illustrious career. Correct me if I am wrong. But I believe he is the only man to serve on all four New York teams while they were in New York.

Nolan Ryan played his entire career for the 4 expansion teams of the 1961-62 expansion.

Actually he wore 5 NY teams- the Dodgers, the Robins, the Giants, the Yankees, and the Mets. The Dodgers were called the Robins from 1914-1931

[stejay]

Actually he wore 5 NY teams- the Dodgers, the Robins, the Giants, the Yankees, and the Mets. The Dodgers were called the Robins from 1914-1931
Here is the proof-
http://thedefeatists.typepad.com/apoplectic/images/2007/11/11/stengel.jpg
http://www.covehurst.net/ddyte/brooklyn/oldpix/dodgers_stengel.jpg
http://www.nndb.com/people/038/000085780/stengel-1-sized.jpg
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/images/casey%20stengel.jpg

[soberdennis]

Here is the proof-
http://thedefeatists.typepad.com/apoplectic/images/2007/11/11/stengel.jpg
http://www.covehurst.net/ddyte/brooklyn/oldpix/dodgers_stengel.jpg
http://www.nndb.com/people/038/000085780/stengel-1-sized.jpg
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/images/casey%20stengel.jpg
But I think you'd agree that they were really the Dodgers.

[stejay]

But I think you'd agree that they were really the Dodgers.

Yeah, but not technically though. It's like saying that the LA Dodgers are really the Brooklyn Dodgers, which is darn right offensive.

[Utter Chaos]

Yeah, but not technically though. It's like saying that the LA Dodgers are really the Brooklyn Dodgers, which is darn right offensive.
So you would also say that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Tampa Bay Rays are different? :confused:

[Dodgerfan1]

Yeah, but not technically though. It's like saying that the LA Dodgers are really the Brooklyn Dodgers, which is darn right offensive.

Offensive to you. "LA Dodgers" music to my ears. I still like Brooklyn Dodgers lore too.

[RuthMayBond]

So you would also say that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Tampa Bay Rays are different? :confused:Yeah and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County not Los Angeles County aren't the Angels :yawn::rolleyes:

[RuthMayBond]

**The Yankees once score a run after the third out in an inning had been recorded, and it wasn’t by virtue of a mistake or miscount by the umpires.

Pags was literally standing on home plate by the time Aldrich caught the ball for the second out. These seem contradictory :confused:

[soberdennis]

Rogers Hornsby has the single season record for highest batting average for three different teams. Cardinals, Braves, Cubs.

[Trivia Guy]

Rogers Hornsby has the single season record for highest batting average for three different teams. Cardinals, Braves, Cubs.

Hornsby also briefly held the New York Giants record with his .361 average in 1927 (his only year with the Giants) until his mark was surpassed by Bill Terry’s .372 in 1929.

[geezer]

And John Olerud has the single season record for highest batting average for two different teams as well, the Blue Jays and Mets.

[Dodgerfan1]

These seem contradictory :confused:

I sure hope that didn't confuse you too much.

[RuthMayBond]

I sure hope that didn't confuse you too much.If the guy was standing on home BEFORE the second out was caught, how was the run scored AFTER THREE outs?

[Dodgerfan1]

If the guy was standing on home BEFORE the second out was caught, how was the run scored AFTER THREE outs?

I know, I know... I still hope it didn't confuse you too much....

[RuthMayBond]

I know, I know... I still hope it didn't confuse you too much....Maybe I'm not the only one confused :think:

[soberdennis]

Hornsby also briefly held the New York Giants record with his .361 average in 1927 (his only year with the Giants) until his mark was surpassed by Bill Terry’s .372 in 1929.
That record of Terry's lasted a whole one year, when he broke his own record by hitting .401 in 1930. That is the Giants' record that still stands.
BTW, I almost added that piece of trivia myself. Thank you for mentioning it.

[soberdennis]

The first WS homerun hit in Yankee Stadium was hit by a Giant named Casey Stengel. It was an inside the Parker.

[RuthMayBond]

The first WS homerun hit in Yankee Stadium was hit by a Giant named Casey Stengel. It was an inside the Parker.The awesome thing is that video of the entire play is available :bowdown:

[Trivia Guy]

The awesome thing is that video of the entire play is available :bowdown:


Really? I didn't know that. Where can you find it?

[RuthMayBond]

Really? I didn't know that. Where can you find it?I think the video is called 100 years of the World Series

[soberdennis]

The first game at Yankee Stadium was against the Red Sox. Ruth hit a homer in a 4-1 win.
The first game at the renovated Yankee Stadium was against the White Sox. Again it was a win, 5-4. Pat Kelly of the Pale Hose hit the only homer.

[Old Sweater]

2000—In a 13-7 win over Kansas City, Minnesota’s Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones and Matt LeCroy hit consecutive home runs. The Royals’ Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Mike Sweeney repeated the feat, marking the first time in major league history that both teams hit three consecutive home runs in the same game.


From today in baseball.

[Dodgerfan1]

What's the connection between the following players?

Jeff Bagwell, Jose Canseco, John Kruk, Jeff Torborg, Lou Piniella, Matt Williams, Billy Gardner, Bo Belinski, Don Blasingame, Joe Pepitone, Ted Williams, Benji Gil, David Justice, Tony Alvarez and Aaron Boone.

Good luck!

[Utter Chaos]

Heard this one on the radio this morning.

The Mets lost the last home opener ever in Shea stadium on 4/8/08. Jamie Moyer of the Phillies, the winning pitcher, is the only currently active pitcher that is older than Shea Stadium.

Note: Randy Johnson would also qualify but he's currently on the DL

[Dodgerfan1]

Since no one has attempted to answer my trivia question it’s obvious no one cares, so I will withdraw it. Here’s some more random trivia for ya…..

On May 24, 1947, Brooklyn’s Carl Furillo did something that had never been done before and has never been done since. He hit a pinch-hit homer in the first inning.

The New York Yankees have had only two players in their illustrious history who have hit 30 home runs and stole 30 bases in the same season. Alfonso Soriano did it twice. In 2002, he hit 39 HRs and stole 41 bases and in 2003, he smacked 38 homers and swiped 35 bases. In 1975, Bobby Bonds belted 32 HRs and stole 30 bags. Incidentally, for those who care (and those who don't, frankly), the charter member of the 30-30 club was Ken Williams who went 39/37 in 1922.

In a game in 1916, the Chicago Cubs faced the Phillies at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl. Groundskeeper Sam Payne had a locker against the wall in right center field in which he kept his tools. Prior to the game, Payne had used cement to fill some cracks at the base of the fence. He then put the bucket of wet cement inside his locker but neglected to close the locker door. This went unnoticed until the fifth inning when Chicago’s Cy Williams whacked a long line drive past Phillies’ center fielder Dode Paskert. Amazingly, the ball bounced twice before disappearing inside the tool locker. Paskert ran to the locker and began a frantic search for the ball. He began tossing aside its contents: shovel, buckets, tools, etc, in a futile attempt at finding the ball. Finally, with all other options exhausted, he plunged his hand into the still wet cement, fished around and came up with the ball. Paskert wheeled around and threw the heavily plastered ball toward the infield. The ball was so heavy it didn’t even reach the cutoff man. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Williams had already circled the bases for an inside-the-locker home run.

On June 13, 1973, in a game between the Braves and the visiting Pirates, Pittsburgh hurler Dock Ellis surrendered a walk to a batter he never even faced. What’s more, the batter who walked is not the batter who stepped to the plate to face Ellis! This bizarre turn of events occurred when the Braves’ Sonny Jackson came to bat against Ellis in the bottom of the 4th inning. Ellis had given up four consecutive singles, leading to two runs, before finally recording the first out of the inning. Now, with Jackson at the plate, he threw two pitches that weren’t even close to being strikes, and manager Bill Virdon had seen enough. He replaced Ellis with lefty Ramon Hernandez. Braves manager Eddie Mathews countered by replacing Jackson with the right-handed hitting Dick Dietz. With the count already 2-0 to Dietz and first base open, Virdon ordered Hernandez to intentionally walk him. That’s the way it happened – but that’s not the way it was scored. According to the rules, a pitcher who delivers the first two balls to a batter, and then is replaced, is charged with the walk, so Ellis was charged with allowing the base on balls to Dietz. Contrary to the pitching rule stated above, the rule for a batter is completely the opposite. That is, the batter who receives the last two balls is given credit for drawing the walk! So, Dock Ellis was charged with intentionally walking a batter he never even faced. How misleading some statistics can be!

[RuthMayBond]

Since no one has attempted to answer my trivia question it’s obvious no one cares, so I will withdraw it. For all I know, it's an excellent question, and I'd love to see the answer

[Dodgerfan1]

For all I know, it's an excellent question, and I'd love to see the answer

Okay RMB, the answer is posted below. It really is an inconsequential question, catering mostly to my predilection towards unusual baseball trivia. It will probably disappoint you but, for what it's worth, here it is....

Each of them was married to a beauty queen.

Bagwell’s former wife Shaune was a beauty queen. She even has her own website : www.shaunebagwell.com

Canseco’s ex-wife Esther Haddad was Miss Miami when they married in Oct 1988.

Kruk and Torborg are each married to former Miss New Jerseys: Mrs Kruk, (Melissa McLaughlin, Miss NJ 1999) and Mrs Torborg (Suzie Barber, Miss NJ 1960).

Piniella, a native of Tampa, married Anita Garcia, Miss Tampa 1962.

Matt Williams’ ex-wife Michelle Johnson was 1982’s International Model of the Year.

Billy Gardner’s wife, the former Barbara Camaroli, was a Miss Connecticut.

Belinski’s first wife, Jo Collins, was Playboy’s Miss December 1964. She was Playboy’s Playmate of the Year for 1965.

Blasingame’s wife wife, Sara, daughter of Walker Cooper, was Miss Missouri 1957.

Pepitone’s wife, Steevie Deeker, was a Playboy Bunny.

Ted Williams’ first wife, Delores Wettach, was a Miss Vermont.

Before coming to Texas, Benji Gil’s wife, Carly Jarmon, was Miss Teen Texas and also Miss Teen Hurst-Euless-Bedford (say what??). She was the first Miss Teen Texas to become Miss Texas.

Justice was married to Oscar-winner Halle Berry. She won the Miss Teen All-American Pageant in 1985. She was also runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant and won the evening gown competition at the 1986 Miss World contest.

Tony Alvarez is married to Astrid Carolina Herrera of Venezuela, Miss World 1984.

Aaron Boone’s wife, Laura Cover, was Playboy’s Miss October 1998.

Special mention: Former major leaguer Casey Close, later an agent for many players, married Gretchen Carlson, Miss America 1989.

[RuthMayBond]

Okay RMB, the answer is posted below. It really is an inconsequential question, catering mostly to my predilection towards unusual baseball trivia. It will probably disappoint you but, for what it's worth, here it is....

Each of them was married to a beauty queen.Disappointing yeah, yet interesting

<Special mention: Former major leaguer Casey Close, later an agent for many players, married Gretchen Carlson, Miss America 1989.>

I remember when she did news in Cleveland

[Dodgerfan1]

What do Lew Whistler, Jimmy Burke and Bob Brenly all have in common? They jointly hold the record for the most errors committed in a single inning with four. All three were third baseman, as it happens. What’s more, all three of them committed four errors in the 4th inning of their respective games! Whistler set the record with his shoddy fielding in 1891. He never played third again after that game. Burke duplicated the unenviable record in 1901. It took another 85 years for the ‘milestone’ to be once again reached, but San Francisco’s Bob Brenly was up to the task. In his defense, he was more or less a fish out of water when it happened. Brenly, normally a sure-handed catcher, was inserted by manager Roger Craig at third base for a game against the Atlanta Braves, a position Brenly admits he was uncomfortable at, although he did play 45 games at that position in ’86. On one play, Brenly booted the ball for one error, then threw it wildly to first base, giving him two errors on the same play. He came very close to breaking the record when a line drive hit by Charlie Puleo deflected off his glove and went into left field. The ball was only head-high and Brenly humbly admitted later that he should have caught it easily, but fortunately for him, it was ruled a base hit. This would have been a particularly galling day for Brenly had he not redeemed himself at the plate, going 3-5 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI, with two solo home runs including a walk-off dinger in the bottom of the ninth to help turn a 4-0 deficit into a 7-6 Giants victory. From goat to hero. Bob Brenly giveth….

Many fans are aware that on September 1, 1971 the Pittsburgh Pirates were the first team to ever field an all non-white lineup. Can you name their starting nine that day? Here it is:

2B: Rennie Stennett
CF: Gene Clines
RF: Roberto Clemente
LF: Willie Stargell
C: Manny Sanguillen
3B: Dave Cash
1B: Al Oliver
SS: Jackie Hernandez
P: Dock Ellis


Four major league players have the distinction of hitting home runs in November. The 2001 season was put on hiatus following the World Trade Center slaughter on Sept 11, pushing the playoffs back a week. Game 4 of the WS started on Oct 31, but by the time Derek Jeter stepped to the plate in the 10th inning, it was after midnight, Nov 1, The Yankee Stadium message board flashed: ATTENTION FANS: WELCOME TO NOVEMBER BASEBALL! Jeter hit a walk-off homer for the first ever hit in November. The next day (or the same day, actually) homers were hit by Steve Finley, Rod Barajas and Scott Brosius. It’s doubtful anyone really cares, but it is unusual trivia, so there you are….

If there was ever a category created for ‘Sneakiest Home Run Ever Hit’, Stuffy McInnis would probably be at the top of the list. He belted a home run off a warmup pitch – and it counted. A bit of background: In 1911, AL president Ban Johnson, feeling that the games were getting too long and that fans were getting bored during the down times, decreed that pitchers could no longer throw warmup pitches between innings once the batter had reached the plate. As in modern times, a batter would stroll up to the plate and wait for the pitcher to finish his warmup tosses before stepping in. The new rule would effectively force the pitcher to stop warming up as soon as the batter approached the plate and play ball. The rule was very unpopular and, as it was rarely enforced, most players just forgot about it. Athletics first baseman Stuffy McInnis was not one of those players. McInnis was leading off the 8th inning with the A’s leading Boston 6-3 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds on July 27. As the Red Sox players were just leaving the dugout to take the field, the first player to reach his position was pitcher Ed Karger. He threw a warmup toss to catcher Les Nunamaker, who had just crouched behind the plate. McInnis stood a few feet away, pretending that he wasn’t paying any attention. He crept toward the plate, unnoticed by either pitcher or catcher and, when Karger wound up for his second warmup toss, McInnis jumped into the batter’s box and smacked the lobbed ball into center field. The ball wasn’t hit very hard, but there was nobody in the outfield yet, as the players were still strolling out to their positions. In fact, it was later noted that two Philadelphia players, Bris Lord and Eddie Collins, had not yet even reached the A’s dugout when McInnis hit the ball. The Red Sox players stood frozen as the ball rolled toward the fence. Boston’s center fielder, Tris Speaker, made no attempt to chase the ball, as he assumed the cause was an errant throw from the infield. Left fielder Duffy Lewis lazily jogged after the ball while McInnis dashed around the bases. He touched home plate before Lewis even reached the ball. Of course, Boston screamed bloody hell, but the umpires allowed the homer to stand, citing the new ‘Johnson rule’ which said that no warmup tosses could be thrown once a batter reached the plate. Therefore, the pitch was not considered a warmup toss, but a legitimate pitch. I would think nowadays the homer would not stand, as the umpire had not yet shouted ‘Play ball!’, however this one did. It didn’t alter the outcome of the game, as the A’s won it 7-3. but it did force Ban Johnson’s hand. The controversy led to his abandoning of the short-lived rule.

[soberdennis]

What do Lew Whistler, Jimmy Burke and Bob Brenly all have in common? They jointly hold the record for the most errors committed in a single inning with four. All three were third baseman, as it happens. What’s more, all three of them committed four errors in the 4th inning of their respective games! Whistler set the record with his shoddy fielding in 1891. He never played third again after that game. Burke duplicated the unenviable record in 1901. It took another 85 years for the ‘milestone’ to be once again reached, but San Francisco’s Bob Brenly was up to the task. In his defense, he was more or less a fish out of water when it happened. Brenly, normally a sure-handed catcher, was inserted by manager Roger Craig at third base for a game against the Atlanta Braves, a position Brenly admits he was uncomfortable at, although he did play 45 games at that position in ’86. On one play, Brenly booted the ball for one error, then threw it wildly to first base, giving him two errors on the same play. He came very close to breaking the record when a line drive hit by Charlie Puleo deflected off his glove and went into left field. The ball was only head-high and Brenly humbly admitted later that he should have caught it easily, but fortunately for him, it was ruled a base hit. This would have been a particularly galling day for Brenly had he not redeemed himself at the plate, going 3-5 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI, with two solo home runs including a walk-off dinger in the bottom of the ninth to help turn a 4-0 deficit into a 7-6 Giants victory. From goat to hero. Bob Brenly giveth….

Many fans are aware that on September 1, 1971 the Pittsburgh Pirates were the first team to ever field an all non-white lineup. Can you name their starting nine that day? Here it is:

2B: Rennie Stennett
CF: Gene Clines
RF: Roberto Clemente
LF: Willie Stargell
C: Manny Sanguillen
3B: Dave Cash
1B: Al Oliver
SS: Jackie Hernandez
P: Dock Ellis


Four major league players have the distinction of hitting home runs in November. The 2001 season was put on hiatus following the World Trade Center slaughter on Sept 11, pushing the playoffs back a week. Game 4 of the WS started on Oct 31, but by the time Derek Jeter stepped to the plate in the 10th inning, it was after midnight, Nov 1, The Yankee Stadium message board flashed: ATTENTION FANS: WELCOME TO NOVEMBER BASEBALL! Jeter hit a walk-off homer for the first ever hit in November. The next day (or the same day, actually) homers were hit by Steve Finley, Rod Barajas and Scott Brosius. It’s doubtful anyone really cares, but it is unusual trivia, so there you are….

If there was ever a category created for ‘Sneakiest Home Run Ever Hit’, Stuffy McInnis would probably be at the top of the list. He belted a home run off a warmup pitch – and it counted. A bit of background: In 1911, AL president Ban Johnson, feeling that the games were getting too long and that fans were getting bored during the down times, decreed that pitchers could no longer throw warmup pitches between innings once the batter had reached the plate. As in modern times, a batter would stroll up to the plate and wait for the pitcher to finish his warmup tosses before stepping in. The new rule would effectively force the pitcher to stop warming up as soon as the batter approached the plate and play ball. The rule was very unpopular and, as it was rarely enforced, most players just forgot about it. Athletics first baseman Stuffy McInnis was not one of those players. McInnis was leading off the 8th inning with the A’s leading Boston 6-3 at Fenway on July 27. As the Red Sox players were just leaving the dugout to take the field, the first player to reach his position was pitcher Ed Karger. He threw a warmup toss to catcher Les Nunamaker, who had just crouched behind the plate. McInnis stood a few feet away, pretending that he wasn’t paying any attention. He crept toward the plate, unnoticed by either pitcher or catcher and, when Karger wound up for his second warmup toss, McInnis jumped into the batter’s box and smacked the lobbed ball in center field. The ball wasn’t hit very hard, but there was nobody in the outfield yet, as the players were still strolling out to their positions. In fact, it was later noted that two Philadelphia players, Bris Lord and Eddie Collins, had not yet even reached the A’s dugout when McInnis hit the ball. The Red Sox players stood frozen as the ball rolled toward the fence. Boston’s center fielder, Tris Speaker, made no attempt to chase the ball, as he assumed the cause was an errant throw from the infield. Left fielder Duffy Lewis lazily jogged after the ball while McInnis dashed around the bases. He touched home plate before Lewis even reached the ball. Of course, Boston screamed bloody hell, but the umpires allowed the homer to stand, citing the new ‘Johnson rule’ which said that no warmup tosses could be thrown once a batter reached the plate. Therefore, the pitch was not considered a wamrup toss, but a legitimate pitch. I would think nowadays the homer would not stand, as the umpire had not yet shouted ‘Play ball!’, however this one did. It didn’t alter the outcome of the game, as the A’s won it 7-3. but it did force Ban Johnson’s hand. The controversy led to his abandoning of the short-lived rule.
That is hilarious.

[Dodgerfan1]

On September 27, 1963, the Houston Colt 45s became the first, and thus far only, team ever to field an entire team of rookies. With 9th place in the NL secured, regardless of what others teams did, manager Harry Craft decided to experiment with the all-rookie lineup in a game against the lowly New York Mets. The experiment failed miserably, as the Mets defeated Houston 10-3. The lineup is nonetheless intriguing, in that it featured several players who would later become stars and one who would become a tragic footnote. The starting pitcher for the Colts was Jay Dahl, a 17-year old southpaw who had been called up for the September stretch. Dahl was bombed for five earned runs (seven in all) in less than three innings before Craft mercifully yanked him. Sadly, it would be the only game he ever pitched in the major leagues. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1965 at the age of 19, thus earning the distinction of being the only player with major league experience to die in his teens. Here is the starting lineup for the Colt 45s on Sept 27, 1963:

SS: Sonny Jackson
2B: Joe Morgan
CF: Jim Wynn
1B: Rusty Staub
RF: Aaron Pointer
LF: Brock Davis
3B: Glenn Vaughan
C: Jerry Grote
P: Jay Dahl

From April 20, 1983 to May 12, 1998, San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium never saw a single rainout. Not one. 15 years of rainless games!

Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan hold the record for teammates hitting the most back-to-back homers to lead off a game. They did it three times, twice in 1969 (April 7 and Aug 17) and once in 1970 (June 28).

And you thought 13 was an unlucky number? The number 15 was a jinx to the Detroit Tigers between 1948 and 1950! First, relief pitcher Johnny Gorsica fell victim to its evil powers. After going 2-0 in 1947, Gorsica was given uniform #15 for the 1948 season. Almost immediately, he developed arm problems in spring training and was released. Gorsica never pitched in the majors again. The next Tiger to be given the cursed number was hurler Art Houtteman, almost immediately upon Gorsica’s release. Houtteman was coming off a nice 7-2 season and was looking forward to a fine 1948 performance. Instead, it turned into a nightmare. He lost his first eight decisions and by June, he was desperately looking for any sucker… errrr… player to swap unis with. One such player was Dizzy Trout, who told him, “That number’s no good around here!” Houtteman found his pigeon in third sacker George Kell, who laughed at the jinx, saying he didn’t believe in curses or bad luck. Now, proudly wearing Kell’s old #21, Houtteman went out and won his very next start, although he would still finish with a dismal 2-16 record. Kell, now wearing the dreaded #15, didn’t know it but he was living on borrowed time. A line drive off the bat of Joe DiMaggio smashed Kell’s jaw and sidelined him for the final month of the season. Kell, now a believer in the ‘curse of #15’, refused to wear it ever again. “Too much tough luck goes with it,” he said. “I don’t want any part of it.”

At spring training the next year, Houtteman took pity on Kell and gave him back his old #21 and put in a request for a new number. He was horror-stricken to discover he had been issued the #15 again! He put up such a fuss that the team finally relented and gave him a different number, however new uniforms were not going to be ready for another two weeks, so he was forced to wear #15 temporarily. A mere nine days later, Houtteman found himself in a Florida hospital with a fractured skull after his convertible and a trailer-truck had a near-fatal collision on the freeway. Houtteman was very fortunate to return to the mound in a couple of months with a new uniform number, but, naturally, he blamed the #15 for his misfortune, and the Tigers for giving it to him despite his protests. Detroit first baseman Paul Campbell, a five year vet, was the next player stupid enough to wear the by now notorious number 15. Luckily for Campbell, he didn’t have it long; he was sold to a minor league club a few days later and never returned to the show. Team trainer Jack Homel decided to end the ‘curse of #15’ once and for all, and packed the accursed uniform away in an old trunk and threw away the key. By the time #15 was worn again by a Detroit player years later, its evil powers had vanished! Perhaps it wasn’t the number after all… perhaps it was the uniform itself!!

[RuthMayBond]

On September 27, 1963, the Houston Colt 45s became the first, and thus far only, team ever to field an entire team of rookies. The Indians did this in 2003 (maybe not the pitcher)

[Dodgerfan1]

The Indians did this in 2003 (maybe not the pitcher)

RMB, my research shows that on July 10, 2003, Cleveland started seven rookies in a 3-2 win over the Yankees, but I can find no evidence of them starting all rookies. I may be overlooking something. Also, are you counting DH? If you have any articles or the date of the game, please advise. The article stating that they started seven rookies is here:

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2003/07/11/sports/sports01.txt

[Utter Chaos]

On September 27, 1963, the Houston Colt 45s became the first, and thus far only, team ever to field an entire team of rookies. With 9th place in the NL secured, regardless of what others teams did, manager Harry Craft decided to experiment with the all-rookie lineup in a game against the lowly New York Mets. The experiment failed miserably, as the Mets defeated Houston 10-3. The lineup is nonetheless intriguing, in that it featured several players who would later become stars and one who would become a tragic footnote. The starting pitcher for the Colts was Jay Dahl, a 17-year old southpaw who had been called up for the September stretch. Dahl was bombed for five earned runs (seven in all) in less than three innings before Craft mercifully yanked him. Sadly, it would be the only game he ever pitched in the major leagues. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1965 at the age of 19, thus earning the distinction of being the only player with major league experience to die in his teens. Here is the starting lineup for the Colt 45s on Sept 27, 1963:

SS: Sonny Jackson
2B: Joe Morgan
CF: Jim Wynn
1B: Rusty Staub
RF: Aaron Pointer
LF: Brock Davis
3B: Glenn Vaughan
C: Jerry Grote
P: Jay Dahl

Should be noted that Mr. Pointer (http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Aaron_Pointer) later became known for two reasons not related to baseball. His sisters (Ruth, June, Anita, and Bonnie aka The Pointer Sisters) were very successful in the music industry and Aaron went on to become a Head Linesman in the NFL from 1978 to 2003.

[Dodgerfan1]

Should be noted that Mr. Pointer (http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Aaron_Pointer) later became known for two reasons not related to baseball. His sisters (Ruth, June, Anita, and Bonnie aka The Pointer Sisters) were very successful in the music industry and Aaron went on to become a Head Linesman in the NFL from 1978 to 2003.

Now that's some great trivia, UC. I had no idea....

[RuthMayBond]

RMB, my research shows that on July 10, 2003, Cleveland started seven rookies in a 3-2 win over the Yankees, but I can find no evidence of them starting all rookies. I may be overlooking something. Also, are you counting DH? If you have any articles or the date of the game, please advise. The article stating that they started seven rookies is here:

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2003/07/11/sports/sports01.txtI got bad info again :grouchy:grouchy:grouchy:grouchy

[Dodgerfan1]

Only once in big league history has two future HOFers hit back-to-back home runs twice in the same game. On August 13, 1932, in the first game of a doubleheader, the New York Giants’ Bill Terry and Mel Ott both homered in the fourth inning and again in the ninth. All four homers were coughed up by Brooklyn pitcher Sloppy Thurston, who tied a post-1900 major league record by allowing six Giant home runs in the game. It’s doubtful he would have even stayed in the game long enough to tie the record had Brooklyn not scored 18 runs for him, all of which came in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Incidentally, Thurston was one of the better hitting pitchers in baseball. He hit .270 lifetime, batting over .300 in five of the nine years he played, including three triples in 1924.

The above home run feat was also accomplished by the Anaheim Angels on April 21, 2000 (albeit not by future HOFers), but with a twist. Not only did Mo Vaughn and Tim Salmon hit back-to-back homers twice in the game (yep… the fourth and ninth innings again), but Troy Glaus also homered in both of those innings, marking the first time in major league history that the same three players all hit home runs in an inning twice in the same game (although only Vaughn and Salmon went back-to-back).

On September 27, 1951, umpire Frank Dascoli cleared the Brooklyn Dodger bench following some heated remarks made by the players regarding Dascoli’s eyesight, his veracity and his mother. The mass exodus was perpetuated by an angry dispute over a very questionable call made by Dascoli that went against Brooklyn. Unfortunately for one late-season call-up, Bill Sharman, he happened to be on the Dodger bench when Dascoli ordered the entire team to hit the showers. As a result, Sharman, who would go on to stardom as a member of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, as well as a successful NBA coaching career, became the only player in history to be ejected from a major league game without ever appearing in one.

In 1915, George Burns (no, not THAT George Burns, nor the NY Giants’ George Burns who played during the same time) of the Detroit Tigers hit one of the most bizarre foul balls ever witnessed. In August of that year, the Tigers were battling the Boston Red Sox for the American League pennant. The two teams squared off late in the month with a mere game separating them. In the seventh inning, Burns came to bat in a scoreless game. He worked the count to 3-2 and, as so often happens on that count, fouled the next pitch back into the grandstand. There was the usual scurrying of fans to retrieve the ball. On the next pitch, Burns walked but before he reached first base, there was a loud commotion in the stands where he had fouled off the previous pitch. A middle-aged man began hopping around with smoke emanating from the pocket of his sport coat. An alert soda vendor raced over to the fan and poured a soft drink into the man’s pocket, dousing the fire that had started when Burns’ foul ball had hit the fan and struck a box of matches in such a way as to ignite one of them. When the fan was later interviewed by a reporter, he quipped, “It figures this would happen on a ball hit by a player named Burns.”

[OleMissCub]

Who has the most career home runs without having played in a single all star game (old timers excluded)?

[Dodgerfan1]

The first name that jumps to my mind is Kirk Gibson who had 255 HRs and never was selected to an All-Star team, however it seems to me there should be someone with more than that who had a long, steady career who never played in an ASG.

This also brings up the point of whether your man never MADE an AS team or whether he did but simply never PLAYED in an AS game.

[OleMissCub]

The first name that jumps to my mind is Kirk Gibson who had 255 HRs and never was selected to an All-Star team, however it seems to me there should be someone with more than that who had a long, steady career who never played in an ASG.

This also brings up the point of whether your man never MADE an AS team or whether he did but simply never PLAYED in an AS game.

It's not Gibson. This man has never MADE an AS team.

[RuthMayBond]

It's not Gibson. This man has never MADE an AS team.Sometimes the books don't give that distinction. I'll throw may hat into the ring with Eric Karros?

[Trivia Guy]

Who has the most career home runs without having played in a single all star game (old timers excluded)?

How about Rick Dempsey? I know he played from 1969 to 1992 without making an All-Star team. But he hit just 96 homers.

[Dodgerfan1]

It's not Gibson. This man has never MADE an AS team.

Gibson never made any AS teams either. I was just trying to make a distinction. In this case, it would have to be someone with more than 255 HRs. Eric Karros is an excellent guess by RMB. 284 lifetime homers and nary a sniff of an AS Game.

[OleMissCub]

Sometimes the books don't give that distinction. I'll throw may hat into the ring with Eric Karros?

Eric Karros is actually the next man down on the all time list who was never an all-star. Great guess!

[Macker]

On September 27, 1951, umpire Frank Dascoli cleared the Brooklyn Dodger bench . . . As a result, Sharman, who would go on to stardom as a member of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, as well as a successful NBA coaching career, became the only player in history to be ejected from a major league game without ever appearing in one.

Sharman was not ejected. When the umpire clears the bench, the members of the bench move to the clubhouse where they can be inserted into the game if needed. This is an old trivia nugget made popular by the interesting, though inaccurate, triva books of Bert Sugar.

[Dodgerfan1]

Sharman was not ejected. When the umpire clears the bench, the members of the bench move to the clubhouse where they can be inserted into the game if needed. This is an old trivia nugget made popular by the interesting, though inaccurate, triva books of Bert Sugar.

Macker, if you say this is so, I will defer to you. I did not get this piece of trivia from a Bert Sugar book and it is mentioned online on several different websites that he was ejected. Do you have a link or a reference source I can search through to corroborate the fact that Sharman did not actually get ejected?

[Macker]

I don't have a specific reference handy, but as I recall, only Campanella and Lavagetto were ejected.

You hardly see it these days, but a cleared bench is just a cleared bench. All members are eligible to be inserted into the game as subs. They just have to stay out of sight until called into the game.

[Seels]

It's Tim Salmon, I can't believe he never made an all star game. Him and Edmonds were the players I can even remember from the 90's Angels teams.

[OleMissCub]

It's Tim Salmon, I can't believe he never made an all star game. Him and Edmonds were the players I can even remember from the 90's Angels teams.

Horray for Baseball-Reference!

[bob]

Willie McCovey holds the record for most triples in their ML debut with 2 (jointly held by 3 others). This means he hit 4.3% of all his career triples in his opening game, despite it only accounting for 0.048% of his career AB's.

[gojays]

If Roy Halladay still leads the majors in complete games at the end of the year(he has 5 so far), it will be the third time in his career he has led the majors in complete games('03, '07, '08.) The last time any pitcher did this was when Fergie Jenkins led the majors in '67, '70, '71 and '74.

[ReignInBlood]

I posted this on a thread here on the Trivia forum but didn't get any answer.

Who is the player with the most winning seasons with different teams?

and

Who is the player with the most playoff appearances with different teams?

[inthecards21]

What player appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot in the 1960's, then got a hit in the 1970's??

[Trivia Guy]

I posted this on a thread here on the Trivia forum but didn't get any answer.


Who is the player with the most playoff appearances with different teams?

I'm not sure if this is the most, but Kenny Lofton would be a good guess. He appeared in the playoffs with Indians, Braves, Giants, Cubs, Yankees, and Dodgers.

[RuthMayBond]

What player appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot in the 1960's, then got a hit in the 1970's??Minoso????

[Utter Chaos]

I'm not sure if this is the most, but Kenny Lofton would be a good guess. He appeared in the playoffs with Indians, Braves, Giants, Cubs, Yankees, and Dodgers.Looks like David Wells also has 6. (Toronto, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Yankees, Boston, and San Diego)

[inthecards21]

Ruthmaybond is right!!!

[RuthMayBond]

Ruthmaybond is right!!!:faint::disbelief::crazy:shrug:

[dgarza]

Ruthmaybond is right!!!
Well, he's correct.
But I'm still not convinced if he's quite right...

[RuthMayBond]

Well, he's correct.
But I'm still not convinced if he's quite right...That's just you . . .
. . . and six billion people . . .
. . . just on YOUR planet :rofl:

[ReignInBlood]

Looks like David Wells also has 6. (Toronto, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Yankees, Boston, and San Diego)

Yes David Wells and Kenny Lofton are the right answers.

[chitownkid21]

Barry Bonds is the only player in MLB history to hit 500 career homeruns and have 500 career stolen bases

[chitownkid21]

Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the only father-son tandem in MLB history to hit back to back home runs in a game

No player has ever hit the center field scoreboard in Wrigley Field, though Roberto Clemente came close once but was wide right and another player once was wide left but I don't remember his name.

The Philadelphia Phillies are the only team in MLB history with 10,000 franchise losses.

The only two with 10,000 franchise wins are the Giants and Cubs.

The only two franchises who started in the National Association in 1871 and then moved onto the National League in 1876 that are still around today are the Chicago White Stockings (Chicago Cubs) and the Boston Red Stockings (Atlanta Braves)

Josh Gibson of the Negro Leagues crushed not only Babe Ruth's record at the time but also Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds' future records by hitting 921 combined homeruns in the Negro Leagues and later for a few years in MLB about 800 of which and definitely more than Barry Bonds' 762 were in the Negro Leagues.

[RuthMayBond]

No player has ever hit the center field scoreboard in Wrigley Field, though Roberto Clemente came close once but was wide right and another player once was wide left but I don't remember his name.No one ever reached the CF bleachers at Municipal Stadium

<The Philadelphia Phillies are the only team in MLB history with 10,000 franchise losses.>

I was there after they lost 9,999 but they won that day

<Josh Gibson of the Negro Leagues crushed not only Babe Ruth's record at the time but also Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds' future records by hitting 921 combined homeruns in the Negro Leagues and later for a few years in MLB about 800 of which and definitely more than Barry Bonds' 762 were in the Negro Leagues.>

What is this all about? :confused:

[Dodgerfan1]

On the record, only three major league hitters were intentionally walked with the bases loaded in the 20th century. The first was Napoleon Lajoie who was given an intentional pass with the bases jammed on May 23, 1901. The Athletics were trailing the White Stockings (officially shortened to ‘White Sox’ in 1904) 11-7 when Philadelphia's Lajoie stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 9th inning. Nap was the most feared hitter in the league that year, having finished the season with a remarkable .426 (some say .422) average. Chicago manager Clark Griffith inserted himself into the game as pitcher and proceeded to give Lajoie four wide ones to force in a run. The move paid off when Griffith retired the next three A's in order to preserve the win.

The next recorded bases-loaded intentional walk was ordered by Mel Ott of the NY Giants on July 23, 1944. During the second game of a doubleheader, the Giants held a 10-7 lead in the 8th inning when the Cubs' Bill 'Swish' Nicholson, arguably the strongest man in the game at that time, came to bat with the bases juiced and two out. Nicholson, who had hit three homers in the first game (and would wind up with six for the series), was enjoying a torrid hot streak at the plate prompting Ott's unusual strategy. The move worked, as NY eventually won 12-10.

The third and final recorded instance of a batter receiving an intentional walk with the bases loaded happened on May 28, 1998. The Arizona Diamondbacks were leading the SF Giants 8-6 with two out in the 9th inning, but the Giants had the bases loaded and slugger Barry Bonds at the plate. D-Backs' manager Buck Showalter barely hesitated, ordering Bonds be walked to force in a run, making the score 8-7. The next batter, Brent Mayne, flied out to right field to preserve the win for Arizona.

Historically, the strategy has been a good one when put into practice.

A possible fourth instance of a bases-loaded intentional walk has generally been pooh-poohed by most baseball historians. Legend has it that Hub Pruett once walked Babe Ruth with the bases full in a game in 1923, but no evidence can be found for this. Besides, Pruett’s only claim to fame is that he was remarkably successful in getting Ruth out consistently, usually via strikeout.

Another widely dispelled legend of a batter being intentionally walked with the bases jammed involves Cardinal slugger Joe Medwick. Ducky had an amazing year in 1937, winning the NL Triple Crown. It has been rumored that, in a game against the NY Giants, Medwick was given a free pass with the bases loaded. Years later, a writer, having heard the story, contacted Harry Danning, who was the Giants’ catcher that game. Danning replied, “If you were (then-Giants’ manager Bill) Terry, would you walk Medwick to force in a run to pitch to Mize?”

Ironically, Ruth should have been the fourth batter to receive an intentional pass with the bases loaded, but for his own impatience. On July 26, 1926, Cleveland’s Joe Shanti attempted to throw the Babe four wide ones with two outs and the bases loaded in the 6th inning of a game against the Yanks. After Shanti had lobbed three balls way outside the strike zone, Ruth, who was itching to drive the ball somewhere, couldn’t resist stepping across the plate and taking a mighty cut at what would have been ball four. Ruth fouled off the pitch, however home plate umpire Brick Owens called the Babe out for stepping out of the batter’s box!

In the very early days of the game, it was considered 'Bush League' or cowardly to intentionally walk a hitter. The first intentional walk (not with the bases loaded) is widely acknowledged to have occurred in an 1896 game between the New York Giants and Chicago Colts (they would not be referred to as ‘Cubs’ until 1902). Giants’ captain Kid Gleason ordered pitcher Jouett Meekin to walk Chicago slugger Jimmy Ryan to get to light-hitting George Decker. Meekin walked Ryan, as ordered, and struck out Decker to end the game.

[chitownkid21]

my bad that was kind of a bad way to put it Josh Gibson hit over 800 homeruns in the Negro Leagues and then later went onto play in the major leagues when they started allowing blacks to play and hit a few homeruns there too but didn't play long in MLB because he was pretty old by then and finished with a total combined homerun count of 921

[Dodgerfan1]

my bad that was kind of a bad way to put it Josh Gibson hit over 800 homeruns in the Negro Leagues and then later went onto play in the major leagues when they started allowing blacks to play and hit a few homeruns there too but didn't play long in MLB because he was pretty old by then and finished with a total combined homerun count of 921

You are joking, right? At least I hope you are. I would think everyone who knows who Josh Gibson was knows that he never played so much as an inning in the major leagues. Besides, Gibson died on January 20, 1947, which was before Jackie Robinson ever played a game in the majors.

[chitownkid21]

really? wow i must be getting bad info then because i knew who he was and everything but i thought he was one of the first blacks in MLB alright my bad no need to get uptight about it now lol

[Dodgerfan1]

really? wow i must be getting bad info then because i knew who he was and everything but i thought he was one of the first blacks in MLB alright my bad no need to get uptight about it now lol

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound condescending. It's all good....

[GrahamC]

In 1948 Ernie Harwell became the only announcer in baseball history to be traded for a player when the Brooklyn Dodgers' general manager, Branch Rickey, traded catcher Cliff Dapper to the minor-league Atlanta Crackers in exchange for breaking Harwell's broadcasting contract with the Crackers. (Harwell was brought to Brooklyn to substitute for regular Dodger announcer Red Barber, who was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer.)

[GrahamC]

Some more random trivia:

1956 was the first season in the major leagues without a player/manager.

In 1964 Chet Trail becomes the only non-major league player to appear on a 25 man World Series roster, when he is called up by the New York Yankees.

On the 13th of April 1970, the Oakland Athletics use gold-coloured bases during their opening home game of the season, a 2-1 win over the Brewers. The Rules Committee subsequently bans this innovation.

In Game 5 of the 1903 World Series, the Boston Americans hit 5 ground-rule triples due to the crowd spilling out onto the edges of the field.

[Dodgerfan1]

The record for most lifetime inside-the-park home runs is 51 by Wahoo Sam Crawford.

Can you name the player who was once traded to another team for a dinner? It was Dave Winfield. Really. Dave Winfield. On the day of the trade deadline in 1994, Winfield was traded by Minnesota to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later. Two weeks later, the players' strike began. Since it lasted for the rest of the season, big Dave never even got a chance to put on a Cleveland uniform, much less appear in any games for them that year. At the conclusion of the season, Winfield became a free agent, however the Twins had still not been given compensation for his 'services', such as they were (or were NOT, as the case may be), and demanded recompense. To keep their end of the deal, a group of executives from the Twins and Indians went out to dinner at a swanky restaurant in Cleveland, with the Indians' execs picking up the tab. End of deal. Dave Winfield had literally been traded from Minnesota to Cleveland for a dinner. I hope it was at least filet mignon!

Epilogue: Winfield signed a one-year deal with Cleveland for the 1995 season, his last in the majors. He hit just .191 in 115 ABs. Perhaps a plate of hamburgers would have been a better deal than filet mignon, after all.

Baseball historians hit the books during a game between the Giants and Mets on May 29, 1996, when SF's William Van Landingham took the mound against NY's Jason Isringhausen. Their quest was to see if they could find any game in major league history in which the combined last names of the starting pitchers equalled, or surpassed, the 25 letters comprising those of the two starters that day. Their research turned up nothing. A new 'record' had been set.

In his rookie season of 1955, Sandy Koufax had 12 plate appearances and struck out every single time.

Ty Cobb once cheated in an old-timers game. Well, maybe not actually 'cheated', but an incident in the 1947 Old-Timers Game in Yankee Stadium showed just how competitive Cobb was, even in a friendly game that had no consequences whatsoever. Cobb came up to bat with ex-Yankee Benny Bengough behind the plate. He cautioned Bengough that he hadn't swung a bat in almost 20 years and that perhaps Benny might be best served to take a step back in the catcher's box in order to avoid a wild backswing. Bengough decided that was good advice and moved back a step. On the very first pitch Cobb, having thus achieved his devious purpose, deadened a beautiful bunt right in front of home plate. Bengough was unable to pounce on the ball in time to get Cobb at first because of Cobb's ruse. Oh Ty, Ty, what are we going to do with you...?

Myth-buster: There is nothing in the major league rulebook prohibiting a batter from carrying his bat with him after he hits the ball. (NOTE: I read this recently and found no evidence that it is either true or untrue. I know we have several rules experts within our ranks here at BBF. Can this be refuted or corroborated?)

[RuthMayBond]

Myth-buster: There is nothing in the major league rulebook prohibiting a batter from carrying his bat with him after he hits the ball. There's something almost as prohibitive.
It's called a manager

[Macker]

There is nothing in the major league rulebook prohibiting a batter from carrying his bat with him after he hits the ball. Can this be refuted or corroborated?)

It's true. Joe Morgan did it in the 1970 All-Star Game.

[Mattingly]

Gary Sheffield just became the first NY Met to hit his 500th HR, according to the TV station.

[RedsoxMetsFan123]

Did you know that Babe Ruth wore the #3 because he batted third? Also, did you know that the Yankees played at Shea during the 74-75 seasons?

[aubear]

To me, I find Tony Mullane to be the most amazing athlete ever to play the game. As the only player to ever throw both right handed and left handed, he is extremely unique. Being primarily a pitcher just makes his uniqueness even more impressive.
I think that Bert Campaneris was also able to throw with both arms. If my memory is correct, Oakland planned to have him play all 9 positions the last game of the season. In the 10th inning, he planned to throw left handed but all the hitters he was due to face batted right handed so he didn't.
Hoping that some of you with a better memory than mine can recollect this event.

[RuthMayBond]

To me, I find Tony Mullane to be the most amazing athlete ever to play the game. As the only player to ever throw both right handed and left handed, he is extremely unique. Being primarily a pitcher just makes his uniqueness even more impressive.
This is not exactly true

[9RoyHobbsRF]

1) Who was the first player to homer over the roof at the Polo Grounds?

2) Name the only three players to homer into the CF Bleachers at the Polo Grounds.

[9RoyHobbsRF]

1) who was the first player to homer into the top deck at Shea Stadium?

[Trivia Guy]

1) Who was the first player to homer over the roof at the Polo Grounds?

2) Name the only three players to homer into the CF Bleachers at the Polo Grounds.

Hank Aaron, Lou Brock, Joe Adcock

[9RoyHobbsRF]

Hank Aaron, Lou Brock, Joe Adcock

you are correct and it is somewhat amazing that I believe Aaron and Brock did it on consecutive days

[josh24]

1) who was the first player to homer into the top deck at Shea Stadium?

Tommy Agee, the 1st and the only.

[9RoyHobbsRF]

wow the only? did not know that

[GrahamC]

When Forbes Field in Pittsburgh was demolished to make way for the University of Pittsburgh, the original location of home plate was to be found in a women's restroom at Posvar Hall. The home plate is preserved under lucite in the open area of Posvar Hall, so that all visitors could view it.

[bob]

No player has ever won the on-base triple crown of H, BB and HBP.

The famous slugging '61 Yankees, even with Mantle/Maris drawing 126/94 walks respectively had the second lowest number of walks in the AL.

[RuthMayBond]

No player has ever won the on-base triple crown of H, BB and HBP.

Stick it out there, Mr. Ashburn! :banghead: