EVEN MORE UNUSUAL BASEBALL RECORDS
It's time for baseball season again, and more unusual records for stat freaks.
MOST TRIPLE PLAYS HIT INTO IN CAREER
Hall of Fame Third Baseman Brooks Robinson holds this record all by himself. A triple play is one of the rarest plays in baseball. Robinson hit into 4 in his career, eclipsing Hall of Famer George Sisler's previous record of 3. Incidentally, Ty Cobb hit into 2 triple plays, and Babe Ruth hit into 1.
ONLY LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM WITH 2 FUTURE HALL OF FAME STARS
That honor goes to the 1967 version of the Denker Park Giants of Los Angeles in the under 12 league. The team featured slugger Eddie Murray and defensive whiz Ozzie Smith, both switch hitters who both made the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. The team was coached by Earl Brown Jr. who schooled them well in fundamentals. On the same team was Chet Lemon, later an all-star outfielder with the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. Needless to say, the team went undefeated. Murray and Smith went on to star at Locke High School in Los Angeles. Playing together on the junior varsity as freshmen, they regularly beat up on the varsity. Years later, in the majors, Murray banged out over 3,000 hits including more than 500 homers, while Smith pounded out more than 2,700 hits and was the slickest fielding shortstop of his generation.
ONLY PITCHER TO HAVE 58 INNING SCORELESS STREAK ENDED BY WEAKEST HITTER ON OPPOSING TEAM.
In 1968, the LA Dodgers pitching star Don Drysdale set a record (since broken by Orel Hershiser) of 58 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. The streak ended when Philadelphia outfielder Howie Bedell drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. It was his only RBI of the whole season. He had only 3 RBI's in his whole career in 145 at-bats, with a lifetime batting average of .193. Bedell had to do something to get to the Majors in the first place. His claim to fame was that, playing for Louisville in the American Association in 1961, he hit safely in 43straight games, and he holds the record for that minor league which folded in 1997. Unfortunately, that hitting prowess didn't carry over to his major league career.
OLDEST MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYER
The immortal pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige signed on to play for the Kansas City A's. in 1965, at age 59, although he may have been a year or two older (his mother told conflicting stories of his birth). On September 25th, he started the game against the Boston Red Sox. He still had his mojo. He pitched 3 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit (a double by Carl Yastrzemski) and striking out one. Paige, in his heyday in the 1930's and 40's was the best pitcher in the old Negro Leagues and often faced major leaguers in barnstorming games. Joe DiMaggio called him "the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced."
MOST GRAND SLAM HOMERS BY ONE PLAYER IN 1 INNING.
This really happened. St. Louis Cardinals Third Baseman Fernando Tatis hit 2 in the second inning on April 23, 1999 against Los Angeles. Both came off pitcher Chan Ho Park who gave up 11 runs (6 earned) that inning to wipe out a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals won 12-5. The winning pitcher was Jose Jimenez (not the Bill Dana character). Tatis went on to enjoy his best season in an injury plagued career, batting .298 with 34 homers and 107 RBI's, which included 8 in that one inning.
BACK TO BACK HOMERS BY SINGLES HITTERS OFF HALL OF FAME PITCHER NOLAN RYAN.
On August 11, 1990, Ozzie Guillen and Craig Grebeck, the 8th and 9th place hitters in the Chicago White Sox lineup, went deep against Nolan Ryan, who was going for his 301st lifetime victory. It happened in the second inning, giving the Chisox a 4-0 lead which held up for a 5-2 win. Not only was it Grebeck's first major league homer, but it was the only homer of the season for both players. The next time Grebeck came to the plate, Ryan drilled him in the ribs with his first pitch.
FEWEST WALKS IN A FULL SEASON.
Current White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen apparently didn't scare many pitchers in his career. He made the record books on this one also by receiving only 10 bases on balls in 150 games in the 1996 season. He batted 528 times that season. In an earlier season, he walked only 11 times. Old timer Whitey Alperman of Brooklyn went to the plate 442 times in the 1909 season and walked only twice, although he made up for it by being hit by pitches 6 times. Among modern players, Oakland shortstop Rob Picciolo also walked twice in 1980 in 281 plate appearances. In Picciolo's career, spanning 9 seasons, he walked only 25 times.
MOST UNINTENTIONAL WALKS IN CAREER
The speedster Rickey Henderson received 2123 unintentional walks in his career (plus 67 intentional walks and 98 hit by pitches)). Recently admitted to baseball's Hall of Fame, he played 25 years and holds the record for most stolen bases with 1406 (he was caught 335 times and holds that record too). In second place is Babe Ruth with 2062 unintentional walks. Ruth didn't get many intentional walks with Lou Gehrig batting after him. Barry Bonds holds the record for most walks in a career. He received 1842 unintentional walks plus 675 intentional ones.
Finally, here's a football record by a baseball player.
MOST KICKOFF RETURN TOUCHDOWNS IN ONE GAME
Roger Maris, playing for Stanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1951 returned 4 kickoffs for touchdowns in one game. This high school record still stands. Maris was recruited for the gridiron by the football powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners. Maris took the bus to Norman, Oklahoma, but was upset when nobody was there to greet him. He turned around and went back to Fargo and devoted his attention to baseball. Of course, we remember him for breaking Babe Ruth's long standing home run record with 61 homers in 1961. He received no intentional walks that season with slugger Mickey Mantle batting after him.
KENNETH SUSKIN
MOST TRIPLE PLAYS HIT INTO IN CAREER
Hall of Fame Third Baseman Brooks Robinson holds this record all by himself. A triple play is one of the rarest plays in baseball. Robinson hit into 4 in his career, eclipsing Hall of Famer George Sisler's previous record of 3. Incidentally, Ty Cobb hit into 2 triple plays, and Babe Ruth hit into 1.
ONLY LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM WITH 2 FUTURE HALL OF FAME STARS
That honor goes to the 1967 version of the Denker Park Giants of Los Angeles in the under 12 league. The team featured slugger Eddie Murray and defensive whiz Ozzie Smith, both switch hitters who both made the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. The team was coached by Earl Brown Jr. who schooled them well in fundamentals. On the same team was Chet Lemon, later an all-star outfielder with the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. Needless to say, the team went undefeated. Murray and Smith went on to star at Locke High School in Los Angeles. Playing together on the junior varsity as freshmen, they regularly beat up on the varsity. Years later, in the majors, Murray banged out over 3,000 hits including more than 500 homers, while Smith pounded out more than 2,700 hits and was the slickest fielding shortstop of his generation.
ONLY PITCHER TO HAVE 58 INNING SCORELESS STREAK ENDED BY WEAKEST HITTER ON OPPOSING TEAM.
In 1968, the LA Dodgers pitching star Don Drysdale set a record (since broken by Orel Hershiser) of 58 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. The streak ended when Philadelphia outfielder Howie Bedell drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. It was his only RBI of the whole season. He had only 3 RBI's in his whole career in 145 at-bats, with a lifetime batting average of .193. Bedell had to do something to get to the Majors in the first place. His claim to fame was that, playing for Louisville in the American Association in 1961, he hit safely in 43straight games, and he holds the record for that minor league which folded in 1997. Unfortunately, that hitting prowess didn't carry over to his major league career.
OLDEST MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYER
The immortal pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige signed on to play for the Kansas City A's. in 1965, at age 59, although he may have been a year or two older (his mother told conflicting stories of his birth). On September 25th, he started the game against the Boston Red Sox. He still had his mojo. He pitched 3 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit (a double by Carl Yastrzemski) and striking out one. Paige, in his heyday in the 1930's and 40's was the best pitcher in the old Negro Leagues and often faced major leaguers in barnstorming games. Joe DiMaggio called him "the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced."
MOST GRAND SLAM HOMERS BY ONE PLAYER IN 1 INNING.
This really happened. St. Louis Cardinals Third Baseman Fernando Tatis hit 2 in the second inning on April 23, 1999 against Los Angeles. Both came off pitcher Chan Ho Park who gave up 11 runs (6 earned) that inning to wipe out a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals won 12-5. The winning pitcher was Jose Jimenez (not the Bill Dana character). Tatis went on to enjoy his best season in an injury plagued career, batting .298 with 34 homers and 107 RBI's, which included 8 in that one inning.
BACK TO BACK HOMERS BY SINGLES HITTERS OFF HALL OF FAME PITCHER NOLAN RYAN.
On August 11, 1990, Ozzie Guillen and Craig Grebeck, the 8th and 9th place hitters in the Chicago White Sox lineup, went deep against Nolan Ryan, who was going for his 301st lifetime victory. It happened in the second inning, giving the Chisox a 4-0 lead which held up for a 5-2 win. Not only was it Grebeck's first major league homer, but it was the only homer of the season for both players. The next time Grebeck came to the plate, Ryan drilled him in the ribs with his first pitch.
FEWEST WALKS IN A FULL SEASON.
Current White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen apparently didn't scare many pitchers in his career. He made the record books on this one also by receiving only 10 bases on balls in 150 games in the 1996 season. He batted 528 times that season. In an earlier season, he walked only 11 times. Old timer Whitey Alperman of Brooklyn went to the plate 442 times in the 1909 season and walked only twice, although he made up for it by being hit by pitches 6 times. Among modern players, Oakland shortstop Rob Picciolo also walked twice in 1980 in 281 plate appearances. In Picciolo's career, spanning 9 seasons, he walked only 25 times.
MOST UNINTENTIONAL WALKS IN CAREER
The speedster Rickey Henderson received 2123 unintentional walks in his career (plus 67 intentional walks and 98 hit by pitches)). Recently admitted to baseball's Hall of Fame, he played 25 years and holds the record for most stolen bases with 1406 (he was caught 335 times and holds that record too). In second place is Babe Ruth with 2062 unintentional walks. Ruth didn't get many intentional walks with Lou Gehrig batting after him. Barry Bonds holds the record for most walks in a career. He received 1842 unintentional walks plus 675 intentional ones.
Finally, here's a football record by a baseball player.
MOST KICKOFF RETURN TOUCHDOWNS IN ONE GAME
Roger Maris, playing for Stanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1951 returned 4 kickoffs for touchdowns in one game. This high school record still stands. Maris was recruited for the gridiron by the football powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners. Maris took the bus to Norman, Oklahoma, but was upset when nobody was there to greet him. He turned around and went back to Fargo and devoted his attention to baseball. Of course, we remember him for breaking Babe Ruth's long standing home run record with 61 homers in 1961. He received no intentional walks that season with slugger Mickey Mantle batting after him.
KENNETH SUSKIN
Labels: BASEBALL
posted by kensuskinreport at
7:52 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home