MORE UNUSUAL BASEBALL RECORDS
HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGE IN ONE SEASON--40 AT-BATS OR MORE
That award goes to Rudy Pemberton who was promoted from the Toledo Mud-Hens to the Boston Red Sox in the closing days of the 1996 season, and in 13 games, smacked 21 hits in 41 at-bats for a .512 batting average. He had 8 doubles, 1 homer, and 10 runs batted in. His on-base percentage was .556. Instead of punching his ticket for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the Red Sox sent him back to the minors in 1997 after 27 games and a .238 average. His major leaguie career ended with a total of 52 games and an excellent .336 lifetime batting average. He signed on to play in Japan with the Seibu Lions, but was slowed by injuries and didn't make it there either. Eventually he drifted to the Mexican League where he achieved some success, leading that league in RBI's.
MOST CONSECUTIVE HITS AT START OF MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER
The forgettable Ted Cox of the 1977 Boston Red Sox got 4 straight hits in his first game. He started out his second game with 2 more hits. Unfortunately, reality set in and he became mortal again. His career consissted of parts of 4 seasons with a lifetime batting average a very ordinary .245.
HIGHEST LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE--MORE THAN 75 AT-BATS, AND IT'S NOT TY COBB
Left handed relief pitcher Terry Forster pitched in 614 games over 16 seasons for several teams in the 1970's and 1980's and in his infrequent trips to the plate batted an incredible .397 over his career. He came to bat 78 times, collecting 31 hits, which included 4 doubles and one triple, but no homers. He drove in 7 runs. Actually, he went hitless in 4 trips in his final season, 1985. His lifetime average at the end of the 1984 season was off the charts at .419 (in 74 at-bats).
Forster hit the only infield double I ever saw. Playing for the Chicago White Sox, he came to the plate in the late innings of a close game, with a runner on first base. The opposing team, anticipating a bunt, had their third baseman charging up toward the plate. Forster faked a bunt and swung away, smashing a line drive off the poor guy's knee. The ball bounced up into the stands for a ground rule double.
As a pitcher, he was fairly successful, with 127 career saves, and he led the American League in saves in 1974 with Chicago. Later in his career, he grew more portly, close to 300 pounds, prompting David Letterman to make fun of him. Forster later appeared on the Letterman Show with his attractive wife to show that even fat guys can get pretty girls.
ONLY 4-TIME BATTING CHAMPION NOT IN THE HALL OF FAME
Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock came to the Chicago Cubs in 1974 in a trade for Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins. He replaced Cubs legendary third baseman Ron Santo. Madlock led the league in batting in 1975 and 1976, and in fact holds the Cubs' franchise record for highest batting average for players with over 400 games (.336). Madlock was then traded by the tight-fisted Cubs owner Phil Wrigley when he asked for more money. He got his nickname for his fiery temper. He was extremely competitive, often sliding hard into second base to break up double plays.
Several themes kept recurring in his career--he feuded with team management, umpires, opposing players and even his own teammates. If he was unhappy, it showed on the field. When he was happy, usually shortly after being traded to a new team, he played like a superstar. He won two additional batting championships with Pittsburgh in 1981 and 1983. Besides his 4 batting titles, he was in the top 5 hitters in 3 other seasons. He was ejected from games 18 times in his career and suspended several times. His lifetime batting average was .305, with more than 2000 hits and 168 homers. In his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, he received only 4% of the sportswriters' votes and was dropped from the ballot. His stats speak for themselves, and I believe he will eventually make the Hall of Fame.
ALL PRISON BASEBALL TEAM
PETE ROSE, who holds many baseball records including 4256 hits, went to the Federal Pen for tax evasion for not reporting the income from signing autographs at card shows. Everybody knows about him, so I won't expound on his career.
DENNIS MCLAIN, like me, from the South Side of Chicago, was the last pitcher to win over 30 games. In 1968, playing for Detroit, he won 31 and lost 6. He lost his last two starts by 2-1 and 1-0 scores. His secret: he drank a case of Pepsi every day.
Detroit Manager Chuck Dressen introduced him to the ponies and he was hooked. Late in the 1967 season, he got his toes broken by mobsters collecting gambling debts. At the time, he gave conflicting stories of how it happened, but the true story surfaced several years later in Sports Illustrated. In any event, he couldn't pitch the rest of that season, and that may have cost Detroit the pennant. After his great 1968 season, he drifted into a life of crime, "befriending" characters like John Gotti Jr. and Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, getting suspended from baseball and doing several terms as a guest of the government for racketeering, gambling, drugs and embezzlement.
FERRIS FAIN, an outstanding defensive first baseman, played for the Philadelphia A's and Chicago White Sox between 1947-55. He won consecutive batting championships in 1951 and 1952 but he remained largely anonymous except for frequent fights and temper outbursts. In 1954, with the Sox, he missed half the season when he broke his hand in a barroom brawl. Fain was a good hitter, drew many walks and rarely struck out. His lifetime on-base percentage wsa .424 which is 13th best of all time. The 12 players ahead of him are all in the Hall of Fame or will be soon. They include such greats as Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb. Fain's average placed him ahead of other legends like Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial and Shoeless Joe Jackson. The reason Fain is largely unknown is that he hit very few homers--only 48 in his 9 year career. In later life, he merited several years of Federal time for drug trafficking and running a marijuana farm.
ORLANDO CEPEDA, the only Hall of Famer in this group, did time for drugs. Among his hitting credentials was that he hit over .300 with over 30 homers for the first 4 years of his career. Late in his career, he was traded by Oakland to Atlanta for the aforementioned Dennis McLain.
THE WORST PITCHER EVER TO THROW TWO NO-HITTERS AND A ONE-HITTER IN THE SAME SEASON--5 WINS AND 19 LOSSES
This award goes to Virgil "Fire" Trucks, a powerful right handed pitcher with the Detroit Tigers in the 1940's and 1950's. He had some outstanding seasons in the
1940's. He was released from the Navy 2 weeks prior to the 1945 World Series. He started Game 2 against the Chicago Cubs and pitched a complete game victory, 4-1. The Cubs haven't been back since, but that's another story. By 1952, the Tigers, along with the Cubs of that time, had gone straight downhill--they couldn't hit or catch the ball, and their pitchers got no run support.
Trucks pitched a no-hitter in May, 1952, against the Washington Senators in front of only 2000 fans (there was a parade for Gen. MacArthur that day in Detroit). They won 1-0 on a homer by Vic Wertz in the bottom of the ninth inning. Several weeks later, also against Washington, Trucks gave up a single to leadoff hitter Eddie Yost and then retired the next 27 hitters. Detroit won 1-0 again. Then in August, in New York against the World Champion Yankees, he pitched another no-hitter in another 1-0 victory. He also pitched a 2-hitter that season. In his 5 victories, he allowed only 9 hits combined. In his 19 losses, he yielded a whole bunch of hits. Despite his miserable won-loss record, his earned run average was a respectable 3.97.
Incidentally, his nephew, Butch Trucks founded the Allman Brothers Band.
That's all for now.
KENNETH SUSKIN
6/4/08
That award goes to Rudy Pemberton who was promoted from the Toledo Mud-Hens to the Boston Red Sox in the closing days of the 1996 season, and in 13 games, smacked 21 hits in 41 at-bats for a .512 batting average. He had 8 doubles, 1 homer, and 10 runs batted in. His on-base percentage was .556. Instead of punching his ticket for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the Red Sox sent him back to the minors in 1997 after 27 games and a .238 average. His major leaguie career ended with a total of 52 games and an excellent .336 lifetime batting average. He signed on to play in Japan with the Seibu Lions, but was slowed by injuries and didn't make it there either. Eventually he drifted to the Mexican League where he achieved some success, leading that league in RBI's.
MOST CONSECUTIVE HITS AT START OF MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER
The forgettable Ted Cox of the 1977 Boston Red Sox got 4 straight hits in his first game. He started out his second game with 2 more hits. Unfortunately, reality set in and he became mortal again. His career consissted of parts of 4 seasons with a lifetime batting average a very ordinary .245.
HIGHEST LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE--MORE THAN 75 AT-BATS, AND IT'S NOT TY COBB
Left handed relief pitcher Terry Forster pitched in 614 games over 16 seasons for several teams in the 1970's and 1980's and in his infrequent trips to the plate batted an incredible .397 over his career. He came to bat 78 times, collecting 31 hits, which included 4 doubles and one triple, but no homers. He drove in 7 runs. Actually, he went hitless in 4 trips in his final season, 1985. His lifetime average at the end of the 1984 season was off the charts at .419 (in 74 at-bats).
Forster hit the only infield double I ever saw. Playing for the Chicago White Sox, he came to the plate in the late innings of a close game, with a runner on first base. The opposing team, anticipating a bunt, had their third baseman charging up toward the plate. Forster faked a bunt and swung away, smashing a line drive off the poor guy's knee. The ball bounced up into the stands for a ground rule double.
As a pitcher, he was fairly successful, with 127 career saves, and he led the American League in saves in 1974 with Chicago. Later in his career, he grew more portly, close to 300 pounds, prompting David Letterman to make fun of him. Forster later appeared on the Letterman Show with his attractive wife to show that even fat guys can get pretty girls.
ONLY 4-TIME BATTING CHAMPION NOT IN THE HALL OF FAME
Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock came to the Chicago Cubs in 1974 in a trade for Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins. He replaced Cubs legendary third baseman Ron Santo. Madlock led the league in batting in 1975 and 1976, and in fact holds the Cubs' franchise record for highest batting average for players with over 400 games (.336). Madlock was then traded by the tight-fisted Cubs owner Phil Wrigley when he asked for more money. He got his nickname for his fiery temper. He was extremely competitive, often sliding hard into second base to break up double plays.
Several themes kept recurring in his career--he feuded with team management, umpires, opposing players and even his own teammates. If he was unhappy, it showed on the field. When he was happy, usually shortly after being traded to a new team, he played like a superstar. He won two additional batting championships with Pittsburgh in 1981 and 1983. Besides his 4 batting titles, he was in the top 5 hitters in 3 other seasons. He was ejected from games 18 times in his career and suspended several times. His lifetime batting average was .305, with more than 2000 hits and 168 homers. In his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, he received only 4% of the sportswriters' votes and was dropped from the ballot. His stats speak for themselves, and I believe he will eventually make the Hall of Fame.
ALL PRISON BASEBALL TEAM
PETE ROSE, who holds many baseball records including 4256 hits, went to the Federal Pen for tax evasion for not reporting the income from signing autographs at card shows. Everybody knows about him, so I won't expound on his career.
DENNIS MCLAIN, like me, from the South Side of Chicago, was the last pitcher to win over 30 games. In 1968, playing for Detroit, he won 31 and lost 6. He lost his last two starts by 2-1 and 1-0 scores. His secret: he drank a case of Pepsi every day.
Detroit Manager Chuck Dressen introduced him to the ponies and he was hooked. Late in the 1967 season, he got his toes broken by mobsters collecting gambling debts. At the time, he gave conflicting stories of how it happened, but the true story surfaced several years later in Sports Illustrated. In any event, he couldn't pitch the rest of that season, and that may have cost Detroit the pennant. After his great 1968 season, he drifted into a life of crime, "befriending" characters like John Gotti Jr. and Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, getting suspended from baseball and doing several terms as a guest of the government for racketeering, gambling, drugs and embezzlement.
FERRIS FAIN, an outstanding defensive first baseman, played for the Philadelphia A's and Chicago White Sox between 1947-55. He won consecutive batting championships in 1951 and 1952 but he remained largely anonymous except for frequent fights and temper outbursts. In 1954, with the Sox, he missed half the season when he broke his hand in a barroom brawl. Fain was a good hitter, drew many walks and rarely struck out. His lifetime on-base percentage wsa .424 which is 13th best of all time. The 12 players ahead of him are all in the Hall of Fame or will be soon. They include such greats as Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb. Fain's average placed him ahead of other legends like Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial and Shoeless Joe Jackson. The reason Fain is largely unknown is that he hit very few homers--only 48 in his 9 year career. In later life, he merited several years of Federal time for drug trafficking and running a marijuana farm.
ORLANDO CEPEDA, the only Hall of Famer in this group, did time for drugs. Among his hitting credentials was that he hit over .300 with over 30 homers for the first 4 years of his career. Late in his career, he was traded by Oakland to Atlanta for the aforementioned Dennis McLain.
THE WORST PITCHER EVER TO THROW TWO NO-HITTERS AND A ONE-HITTER IN THE SAME SEASON--5 WINS AND 19 LOSSES
This award goes to Virgil "Fire" Trucks, a powerful right handed pitcher with the Detroit Tigers in the 1940's and 1950's. He had some outstanding seasons in the
1940's. He was released from the Navy 2 weeks prior to the 1945 World Series. He started Game 2 against the Chicago Cubs and pitched a complete game victory, 4-1. The Cubs haven't been back since, but that's another story. By 1952, the Tigers, along with the Cubs of that time, had gone straight downhill--they couldn't hit or catch the ball, and their pitchers got no run support.
Trucks pitched a no-hitter in May, 1952, against the Washington Senators in front of only 2000 fans (there was a parade for Gen. MacArthur that day in Detroit). They won 1-0 on a homer by Vic Wertz in the bottom of the ninth inning. Several weeks later, also against Washington, Trucks gave up a single to leadoff hitter Eddie Yost and then retired the next 27 hitters. Detroit won 1-0 again. Then in August, in New York against the World Champion Yankees, he pitched another no-hitter in another 1-0 victory. He also pitched a 2-hitter that season. In his 5 victories, he allowed only 9 hits combined. In his 19 losses, he yielded a whole bunch of hits. Despite his miserable won-loss record, his earned run average was a respectable 3.97.
Incidentally, his nephew, Butch Trucks founded the Allman Brothers Band.
That's all for now.
KENNETH SUSKIN
6/4/08
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