Most common pitcher/batter combos?

[z28jd]

Just for the record on your guesses, Spahn faced Musial 327 times, that was the first one I thought of as I was reading the question. Niekro and Rose 266 times.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I couldn't think of anyone who closely overlapped with Yaz or Aaron on the pitching side or Young or Alexander on the batting side. Ted Williams and Wynn maybe? Or maybe Yaz and Jim Palmer even though he came up a few years later?

[T206Fan]

What about Bob Gibson and Ernie Banks

[oldjudge]

I would guess Johnson/Cobb. Their careers overlapped almost perfectly and, on average, there were less teams in the league than for say Musial/Spahn, who I believe have the modern record.

[Hankphenom]

According to: "Ty Cobb vs. Walter Johnson," Steven H. Heath, Baseball quarterly Review, Fall 1992, Cobb faced Johnson 368 times in 103 games. He had 119 hits in 322 official at bats for a .373 average, including 1 home run, 7 triples, and 19 doubles. Johnson hit Cobb with a pitch just once, in 1910.

"

[jcmtiger]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

According to: "Ty Cobb vs. Walter Johnson," Steven H. Heath, Baseball quarterly Review, Fall 1992, Cobb faced Johnson 368 times in 103 games. He had 119 hits in 322 official at bats for a .373 average, including 1 home run, 7 triples, and 19 doubles. Johnson hit Cobb with a pitch just once, in 1910.

"

Yeh, way to go TY!!!!!

Joe

[Hankphenom]

Cobb relates in his autobiography how he "solved" Johnson after seeing how upset Johnson became after hitting the Tigers' Ossie Vitt in the head in a game in 1915. Who but Cobb would actually crowd and lean in over the plate against the great fastball pitcher? But that's what he did, and rather than hit him or brush him back, the mild-mannered Johnson gave Cobb a steady diet of pitches on the outside, which Cobb feasted on. From 1907 through 1914, Cobb hit better than .222 in only one season against Johnson, and was just 3 for 26 in the years 1913-14. But from 1915 through 1926, Cobb averaged .435, with his worst year at .276.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Cobb relates in his autobiography how he "solved" Johnson after seeing how upset Johnson became after hitting the Tigers' Ossie Vitt in the head in a game in 1915. Who but Cobb would actually crowd and lean in over the plate against the great fastball pitcher? But that's what he did, and rather than hit him or brush him back, the mild-mannered Johnson gave Cobb a steady diet of pitches on the outside, which Cobb feasted on. From 1907 through 1914, Cobb hit better than .222 in only one season against Johnson, and was just 3 for 26 in the years 1913-14. But from 1915 through 1926, Cobb averaged .435, with his worst year at .276.

This is discussed at length in Al Stump's biography Cobb. It is a great read and I highly recommend it. As a younger fan, 26, I really didn't know much about him beforehand (other than that he was a little crazy and disliked).

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

According to: "Ty Cobb vs. Walter Johnson," Steven H. Heath, Baseball quarterly Review, Fall 1992, Cobb faced Johnson 368 times in 103 games. He had 119 hits in 322 official at bats for a .373 average, including 1 home run, 7 triples, and 19 doubles. Johnson hit Cobb with a pitch just once, in 1910.

"

That is pretty amazing...