Surprising baseball facts

[ChiSoxCardboard]

Joel Horlen's ERA in 1964 was 1.88. https://www.baseball-reference.com/p...orlejo01.shtml

Admittedly not especially interesting, though obviously very good, but I just noticed it is listed wrong on the AL ERA Leaders 1965 Topps card. (Not sure why these are sideways, for some reason I consistently have this problem on this forum.)

[molenick]

I was checking out another 19th century Hall of Fame candidate (Jim McCormick) and I noticed that he had won 40 games and lost 40 games in different seasons. Will White and George Bradley (who threw the first National League no-hitter) are the only other players to do this.

[Vintagedeputy]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxCardboard

(Not sure why these are sideways, for some reason I consistently have this problem on this forum.)

I think you’re leaving too much of a wide border around the item you’re trying to show. If you take your photo and crop it closer, you can then use the preview function to see how it’s going to look before you actually post it. Then if needed, you can rotate the photo to its correct orientation.

[Fred]

In the history of the major leagues, there have been 24 perfect games (should be 25).

Two of the perfect games were thrown by Yankees (actually, 4 of the perfectos were thrown by 4 different Yankees).

Don Larsen and David Wells were two Yankees that threw to perfection and both attended the same high school (Pt. Loma High School - San Diego).

[Tomi]

Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays started and finished their careers in the same city but with different teams.

[Wrightfan85]

Originally Posted by Tomi

Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays started and finished their careers in the same city but with different teams.

I just got a 1973 Topps Willie Mays a few weeks back. He was pretty much done by the time he came to Queens but seeing the greatest player ever in a Mets uniform warms my heart. Happy they retired his number finally.

[John1941]

Ted Wingfield, who began his career as a shortstop for the Chattanooga Lookouts, struck out 1 batter in 74.2 innings for the 1927 Red Sox.

Red Barbary was a minor league catcher from 1941 to 1945. His pitching line for the Piedmont League Charlotte Hornets in 1942 was 1-0, 22 innings, 11 hits, 3 runs - and 1 game. The catcher won a 3-2 22 inning game.

Frank Shone won a pitching triple crown in his first full season as a pitcher. As a 31-year-old former PCL catcher, with Albuquerque in the West Texas-New Mexico League, he had a line of 21-7/223/3.85.

In 1942, for Sheboygan of the Wisconsin State League, Roman Wantuck had a 19-6 record, 2.70 ERA, .291 AVG, and hit 16 home runs in 62 games. He started the All-Star game as pitcher, threw 5 shut-out innings, and hit two home runs. He was killed in action in New Guinea June 16, 1944.

Sachio Kinusaga hit 504 home runs in his 23-year-career, all of it spent with the Hiroshima Carp, but never hit more than 31 in a season.

Craft Akard had a 18-1 record in his last pro season.

Katsuya Nomura was a catcher who hit 657 home runs.

In 1944 Roger Wolff was 4-15 with a 4.99 ERA for the Washington Senators. In 1945 he was 20-10 with a 2.12 ERA.

[jsfriedm]

Ted Williams homered in his final at bat...three different times. When he went back to war in 1952, nearing 34 years old, many thought he wouldn't come back and this would be his last at bat. He homered. All through 1954, he told people this was his last season, and he didn't play the first couple of months of 1955 because he was going through a nasty divorce and didn't want his wife getting alimony. He homered in his last at bat of 1954. And then, of course, he homered in his last at bat of 1960.

[Beercan collector]

Tony Gwynn had more four hit games (45)
Than Games with more than one strike out (34)
33 Were 2 strike out games .. he struck out three times only once

[Yoda]

What a shame that Teddy Z is no longer with us. I am sure he could have added many nuggets to this post.

[Mark17]

The Minnesota Twins have been in three World Series. Each time they won Games 1 and 2 (at home,) lost Games 3, 4, and 5 (on the road,) and won Game 6 (at home.)

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Yoda

What a shame that Teddy Z is no longer with us. I am sure he could have added many nuggets to this post.

He would have posted something like this:

What a great thread. Ted Williams's 3 last at bat home runs. How amazing is that? Each one could easily have been the last one. Let me add that if Johnny Vander Meer and Don Larsen never did another thing, throwing back-to-back no hitters and a perfect game in the World Series is more than enough. Can't see anyone topping those anytime soon. Or Joltin' Joe's 56 game hit streak, either.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by Yoda

What a shame that Teddy Z is no longer with us. I am sure he could have added many nuggets to this post.

John,

Ted and I often spoke over email about how underappreciated Johnny Mize was as a ballplayer. To channel the spirit of Ted, and give an interesting Johnny Mize fact:

Mize played for the Great Lakes Naval Station baseball team, during the war where he hit .475, and smacked 17 homers in 51 games. He played with other notable major leaguers including Dom DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Sam Chapman, Johnny Lipon, and Pee Wee Reese. It's considered to be one of the best World War II teams ever assembled.

Ted and I also spoke a lot about Joe Page, former relief pitcher for the New York Yankees, who held the record for most victories as a reliever, until it was broken by Luis Arroyo. Page was very versatile and was a bit ahead of his time. One of the first "closers" out there!

- James

[Spike]

Three players hit a homer in their only PA for a franchise

* Les "Buster" Narum (BAL) May 3, 1963
* Jamie Quirk (CLE) Sept 27, 1984
* Gustavo Chacin (HOU) May 31, 2010

[TexasLeaguer]

In 1903, Joe McGinnity started and completed both games of a double-header three times in one month, winning all 6 games.

[Eric72]

As a pitcher, A.G. Spalding won over 250 games.

In a six year stretch.

By the time he was barely 26 years old.


He also has the highest all-time career win/loss percentage in baseball history.

[Mungo Hungo]

Originally Posted by Spike

Three players hit a homer in their only PA for a franchise

* Les "Buster" Narum (BAL) May 3, 1963
* Jamie Quirk (CLE) Sept 27, 1984
* Gustavo Chacin (HOU) May 31, 2010

Narum and Chacin were taken out for pinch hitters at what would have been their next at bat.

Quirk was the only player to hit a walk off HR in his only PA for a franchise. He beat the Twins with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

That HR was enormously important for a team he had played for as recently as two years earlier and would play for again the following year (the Royals), as the Royals and Twins were in a tight AL West pennant race. His former and future teammates had asked him just a few days earlier to help them out if he got the chance.

[Lobo Aullando]

I had to look it up on Baseball Reference, not that I don't believe folks, it's just cool to see the line. But something else caught my eye.

He only had four PAs that year, and an average of .333... and an OBP of .250. A sac fly on 7/21 batted in the game-winning run for the White Sox (not the Indians, even). I suppose there's a good one for "lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Edited to add, it was a White Sox victory over the Indians, to boot.

Originally Posted by Mungo Hungo

Quirk was the only player to hit a walk off HR in his only PA for a franchise. He beat the Twins with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

That HR was enormously important for a team he had played for as recently as two years earlier and would play for again the following year (the Royals), as the Royals and Twins were in a tight AL West pennant race. His former and future teammates had asked him just a few days earlier to help them out if he got the chance.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

How about combining sports and cards? Reggie Smith hit 314 Home runs in his career. His rookie card is #314. I've never found another similar player.

[molenick]

When I was a kid learning about baseball history, I thought it was cool that several records matched the years they were set in: Alexander's 16 shutouts in 1916, Hornsby's .424 in 1924*, Maris's 61 in 1961.

* When I was learning about baseball stats, this was considered to be the highest single season average. This was before the Macmillan Encyclopedia which adjusted Lajoie's 1901 average from .422 to .426 (if I remember correctly) and which brought more recognition to 19th century statistics, which sometimes were excluded (people would say Hornsby had the "modern record" and Duffy was more of a footnote).

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by molenick

When I was a kid learning about baseball history, I thought it was cool that several records matched the years they were set in: Alexander's 16 shutouts in 1916, Hornsby's .424 in 1924*, Maris's 61 in 1961.

* When I was learning about baseball stats, this was considered to be the highest single season average. This was before the Macmillan Encyclopedia which adjusted Lajoie's 1901 average from .422 to .426 (if I remember correctly) and which brought more recognition to 19th century statistics, which sometimes were excluded (people would say Hornsby had the "modern record" and Duffy was more of a footnote).

Finally! Somebody else who did this!

I remember having a list of several besides the three you mentioned but the only one coming to mind right now is:

Lefty Grove, 31 wins in 1931

[bbcard1]

Johnny Cooney played for parts of three decades and had more than 3000 at bats. He hit two home runs in his career. They were on consecutive nights.

[paul]

How could Wilton Guerrero be 3 1/2 months older than his brother Vlad? Did his mother get pregnant when she already was pregnant? I thought that was impossible.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by paul

How could Wilton Guerrero be 3 1/2 months older than his brother Vlad? Did his mother get pregnant when she already was pregnant? I thought that was impossible.

Papa was a rollin' stone...

[G1911]

Originally Posted by paul

How could Wilton Guerrero be 3 1/2 months older than his brother Vlad? Did his mother get pregnant when she already was pregnant? I thought that was impossible.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/n...nd-birthdates/

Presumably it’s a result from the brothers lying about birth dates to seem younger and more attractive to MLB, and is not true.