|
Useless Mark Grace information
It isn't often you see a guy with 2,406 career hits go to the pitcher's mound, but Mark Grace did it Monday against the Dodgers. That's the most hits of anyone making his mystery-pitcher debut since Wade Boggs headed for the rubber in 1997, with 2,784 hits.
Boggs had the most hits since Jimmie Foxx pitched in nine games in 1945 after passing 2,600 hits. But as best we can tell, only those two and Grace visited their local mound with that many hits since Babe Ruth threw his final pitch in 1933. Ruth had more than 2,700 hits at the time.
But here is Grace's true claim to fame: Of all the position players since 1900 who also pitched, none of them owned that many hits and then gave up a home run. The previous record-holder was Gary Gaetti, who had 2,253 hits when he served up a homer to Marlon Anderson on July 3, 1999.
Oh, and one more thing: It's not unusual for a position player to pitch in a blowout. But you almost never see it in September, when most teams carry at least 15 pitchers. In the 10 seasons we've been keeping track of this stuff, Grace was just the third mystery pitcher to appear in a game in September. The others were Tim Laker for the Indians last year and Gaetti for the 1997 Cardinals.
Miscellaneous useless info
Besides making himself black and blue, our favorite Angels dust storm, David Eckstein, has also made history. He's the first player since 1900 to get drilled with more than 20 pitches in each of the first two seasons of his career. Ouch.
|
Bud The Beatle
|
|
He's never been No. 1 on anybody's charts. He's never plunked a sitar, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show or walked barefoot across Abbey Road.
But our favorite commish, Bud Selig, did become the first commissioner in history to open a press conference after a labor settlement with a Beatles quote (a classic long-and-winding-road citation) to match his '60s haircut. And it got us to thinking:
Why stop there? If the commish had really wanted to prove how hip he was, there were all kinds of Beatles songs and lines he could have quoted over the last year. We've assembled some, and so have some of our users. Click here to see what they had to say.
First, the top 10 Beatles songs the commish could have quoted:
10. Help
9. I'll Cry Instead
8. Misery
7. You Can't Do That
6. Fixing a Hole
5. For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
4. We Can Work It Out
3. Can't Buy Me Love
2. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
1. Tax Man
And now the top 10 lines from Beatles songs he could have crooned:
10. "With every mistake, we must surely be learning."
9. "And it really doesn't matter – if I'm wrong, I'm right."
8. "Life is very short and there's no time, for fussing and fighting my friend."
7. "Indicate precisely what you mean to say – yours sincerely wasting away."
6. "Don't ask me what I want it for, if you don't want to pay some more."
5. "I say high, you say low, you say why, and I say I don't know."
4. "Try to see it my way – only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong."
3. "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away."
2. "How can I even try – I can never win."
1. "Should 5 percent appear too small, be thankful I don't take it all."
|
Kerry Wood tied maybe our favorite record in baseball Monday -- with one of those theoretically mathematically impossible four-strikeout innings. But he out-impossibled just about everybody else to ever do it -- because besides striking out four in an inning, he also recorded another out in the same inning
He got those four strikeouts after Matt Stairs had already grounded out to lead off the inning. And try that one on your Strat-o-matic some time. We dare you.
But the Elias Sports Bureau reports this was not the first four-strikeout inning to feature another out. The last time it happened -- on Sept. 19, 1995 -- the Rockies had two relief pitchers (Darren Holmes and Brian Hickerson) combine on the four strikeouts. But two Padres reached base in the inning on wild pitches. Gotta love this sport.
If it wasn't the official Golden Age of Shortstops before, it is now. A-Rod and Miguel Tejada rank 1-2 in the American League and the big leagues in RBI. But don't go searching the annals to see if that's ever happened before. The Elias Sports Bureau's Kevin Hines reports that since RBI became an official stat in 1920, shortstops have never ranked 1-2 in either league or in the majors in RBI.
For that matter, only two shortstops ever even led their league in RBI, let alone had another shortstop chase them to the wire -- Ernie Banks (1958 and '59) and Vern Stephens (1944, 1949, 1950).
Is Jason Jennings a lock for Rookie of the Year yet? He won his 16th game on Labor Day -- the Rockies' 138th game of the season. And over the last 30 seasons, only two other rookie pitchers ever reached 16 wins that fast. The others, according to Elias: Tom Gordon (16 in the Royals' first 126 games) in 1989 and Tom Browning (16 in the Reds' first 137 games) in 1985.
Then again, neither Gordon nor Browning wound up as Rookie of the Year. Gordon won just once more and lost out to Orioles closer Gregg Olson. Browning won 20, but finished second to Vince Coleman.
From our Home Runs Are Overrated Dept.: The Angels and Diamondbacks both could make the playoffs without a 30-homer man. That hasn't happened in the 2000s so far.
But since the rocketball era began in 1993, nine of the previous 24 teams to get to the postseason (and four of the previous five World Series winners) got there without a 30-homer guy. Here are all those teams, with their home-run leader, courtesy of Elias (players who hit 30 with two teams didn't count):
1993 Phillies (Daulton, Incaviglia 24 each)
1995 Braves (McGriff 27)
1995 Reds (Gant 29)
1995 Yankees (O'Neill 22)
1997 Marlins (Alou 23)
1997 Braves (Klesko 24)
1998 Yankees (T. Martinez 28)
1999 Yankees (T. Martinez 28)
1999 Red Sox (O'Leary 28)
We know two players who are heavily in favor of that unbalanced schedule -- Glendon Rusch and Paul Wilson.
In Milwaukee, Rusch owns four wins against the Cubs -- and four against the rest of the sport. But meanwhile in Tampa Bay, Wilson has outdone him. Four of his six wins this year have come against the Orioles. He's 2-9 against all those other teams.
Last starter to win four games against any team in one year and no more than four against everyone else, according to Elias' Kevin Hines: Jim Clancy in 1989. He went 4-1 against the Padres, 2-12 in his starts against everybody else (and 6-13 altogether as a starter).
The Padres have already broken their own big-league record for most players used in a season, with 57. And they've wiped out the record for most pitchers used, with 36. They've also had 22 different pitchers win a game this year -- two more than the old major-league record of 20.
But they've only used 16 different starting pitchers. So they've got some work to do if they want to break that record -- because it's 24, set by Squiz Pillion and the 1915 A's.
Last team to use more than 16 starters, according to Elias: the 1996 Pirates.
There was so much wildness in that 19-1 Dodgers-Diamondbacks wipeout Monday, it was hard to keep track of it all. But Dodgers rookie Wilkin Ruan became the first player in six years to get the first two hits of his career in the same inning. Last man to do it, according to Elias: Greg Norton, for the White Sox, on Aug. 19, 1996. Amazingly, Ruan wasn't even the only man on his own team to do it. Chad Kreuter also got his first two hits in the same inning, on Sept. 14, 1988.
And one more thing: The Diamondbacks gave up as many runs that night as Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling once allowed combined in the entire month of May in 2001.
We're pretty certain that Joaquin Benoit's seven-inning save for Texas on Tuesday probably should have been scored as a win instead of a save. But whatever, it produced the first seven-inning save in history. So a great note is a note. It was a little different kind of outing for Benoit than some relievers we know. Arizona left-hander Mike Myers has one save in his last seven innings, too -- over his last 16 appearances.
All was Wells that ended Wells last Sunday in Toronto. In a game started by David Wells, Vernon Wells got four hits.
And we're not sure if those labor negotiators did the right thing. But that night, baseball did the Wright thing -- because Jaret Wright, Jamey Wright and Danny Wright all started a game for somebody.
You can't measure the greatness of Greg Maddux's career simply by wins and losses. Loyal reader Lee Sinins, of baseball-encyclopedia.com, reports that Maddux is about to finish off his 11th straight season with an ERA at least one run lower than his league average. He's at 2.71, versus the league ERA of 4.12.
That's more than just the longest streak of any active pitcher. It's the greatest streak of its kind of all time. The longest, heading into this season:
10 Greg Maddux 1992-01
6 Walter Johnson 1910-15
6 Lefty Grove 1928-33
6 Carl Hubbell 1929-34
6 Red Ruffing 1935-40
6 Kevin Brown 1995-00
5 Cy Young 1892-96
5 Christy Mathewson 1909-13
5 Lefty Grove 1935-39
5 Sandy Koufax 1962-66
5 John Smoltz 1995-99
5 Randy Johnson 1997-01
5 Mike Mussina 1997-01
The Big Unit, obviously, is poised to move into a tie for second with his sixth in a row. Pedro Martinez also would be working on his sixth in a row, but he didn't pitch enough innings last year to qualify.
One more from Sinins, whose sabermetric baseball encyclopedia is a must for any devoted numbers cruncher: Barry Bonds just became the first man in 55 years to have consecutive 150-walk seasons. The other was that Ted Williams guy, in 1946-47. The only other player to walk 150 times twice in his whole career was Babe Ruth (1920 and 1923). Not a shabby group.
Yes, that was the mysterious Andy Van Hekken throwing a shutout for the Tigers on Tuesday in the first start of his career. He was the first Tiger to do that since Schoolboy Rowe on April 15, 1933, and the first AL starter for any team to debut with a shutout since Mike Norris on April 10, 1975.
Booth Newspapers' Danny Knobler reports that, in case you were wondering, Jack Morris didn't throw a shutout for the Tigers until his 38th start, all-time franchise shutout leader Mickey Lolich didn't throw one until his 20th start, and Jeff Weaver didn't throw one until his 98th start.
Among non-Tiger greats, Randy Johnson didn't throw his first until his 43rd start, John Smoltz didn't throw one until his 48th start and Kevin Brown didn't throw one until his 47th start.
It's a good thing Van Hekken twirled that shutout, too. While the Mets were doing all the headline-grabbing, the Tigers had lost nine in a row at home until Van Hekken stopped the bleeding.
Let's see now. Do we want the good news on the Diamondbacks or the bad news? Start with the good news: The East Valley Tribune's Ed Price reports that with Curt Schilling's next win (No. 22), he would be the first pitcher to win 22 in back-to-back seasons since Jim Palmer in 1975-76 -- and the first NL pitcher since Ferguson Jenkins in 1970-71. Looonnng time ago, folks.
Schilling and Johnson also will be the first teammates to win 20 in two straight seasons since Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally all did it in 1970-71 -- and the first in the NL since Warren Spahn and Lew Burdette in 1958-59. Loooonnnnggger time ago, folks.
Oh, and they'll also be the first teammates to finish 1-2 in their league in strikeouts in back-to-back seasons since George Earnshaw and Lefty Grove, for the 1930-31 A's. Realllllyyyyy lonnnnnggggg time ago.
But now for the bad news: Schilling somehow walked four in one start Saturday. Since he's been a Diamondback, he's had three whole months where he's walked four or fewer.
Schilling's loss Saturday to the Giants was his first on the day after a Diamondbacks loss since the 2001 All-Star break. It was also his first to an NL West team since July 26, 2001 -- another loss to the Giants. He went 13-0 in between.
And this would seem impossible for a team with this kind of starting pitching -- but going into their game Wednesday, the Diamondbacks had gone eight straight games without a win from a starting pitcher for the first time since Aug. 21-29, 2000 (Schilling's fourth week in Arizona). And they'd allowed their opponent to score first in eight straight games.
Can we stop referring to Minute Maid Field (the former Enron) as some kind of Coors Clone? Loyal reader Chuck Pool wonders why, if it's so tough to pitch there, the Astros already have thrown nine shutouts at home?
Wade Miller and Roy Oswalt are 60-20 (.750) the last two years. The only teammates with a better winning percentage, according to Astros p.r. whiz Warren Miller, are Johnson and Schilling (83-22, .790).
As John Smoltz closes in on his 50th save, his career gets more and more Eckersley-esque. The Braves are 41-0 in the last 41 games in which Smoltz has pitched. According to Elias, that's the longest streak by any team with any pitcher since the A's won 52 Eck appearances in a row in 1992.
Another Elias gem: Last Wednesday (Aug. 28), six different pitchers started a game with at least 15 wins -- Mike Mussina, Pedro Martinez, Barry Zito, Roy Oswalt, Jason Jennings and Jarrod Washburn. It was the first time six 15-game winners had started on any day before September since Aug. 31, 1973.
It's a funny game. The New York Post's ever-astute Joel Sherman reports that in back-to-back Yankees games last week, they faced left-handed changeup specialists Kenny Rogers and Casey Fossum. Against Rogers, they sent 31 men to the plate and none struck out. The next night, the first five Yankees to bat against Fossum all struck out. Go figure.
The Sultan's Corner
We just hope Joe Crede appreciates what he did last Tuesday. According to the Sultan of Swat Stats, SABR's David Vincent, the White Sox rookie was only the second player ever to hit a game-ending grand slam in the 10th inning of a game he'd tied with another homer just the inning before. The other was Seattle's Jim Presley, against the Angels, on April 9, 1986.
But that's not all. Crede was only the fifth player ever to hit a game-ending grand slam in a game in which he'd also hit a game-tying home run at any point in that game. Here are the others, according to the Sultan:
4/22/1980 Barry Foote, Cubs, off Cardinals, 8th, 9th (tie, win)
4/8/1986 Jim Presley, Mariners, off Angels, 9th, 10th (tie, win)
5/9/2000 Damian Miller, Diamondbacks, off Dodgers, 2nd, 12th (tie, win)
6/28/2001 Javy Lopez, Braves, off Mets, 7th, 10th (tie, win)
In Minnesota, Jacque Jones is up to 10 leadoff home runs this year -- making him just the third player ever to lead off 10 games with a home run in the same season. The surprise is: Neither of the other two would happen to be Mr. Rickey Henderson. Mr. Rickey's best in any season is nine. Here are the leaders in this category, according to the Sultan:
Brady Anderson, 1996 Orioles, 12
Bobby Bonds, 1973 Giants, 11
Jacque Jones, 2002 Twins, 10*
Rickey Henderson, 1986 Yankees, 9
Craig Biggio, 2001 Astros, 8
Barry Bonds, 1988 Pirates, 8
Kal Daniels, 1987 Reds, 8
Rickey Henderson, 1993 A's-Blue Jays, 8
Rick Monday, 1976 Cubs, 8
Chuck Knoblauch, 1999 Yankees, 8
Alfonso Soriano, 2002 Yankees, 8*
(* season not over)
On Aug. 4, Russell Branyan hit three home runs in a game for the Reds. It was 26 days later when he hit his next home run, last Friday against the Brewers. But the Sultan reports that Branyan would have had to go another seven weeks to tie the record for most days between home runs following a three-homer game (same season). Here's the top five in this prestigious category:
Ramon Mejias May 4, 1958 through Aug. 17, 1958 (105 days)
Jim Tobin May 13, 1942 through Aug. 4, 1942 (83 days)
Dale Murphy May 18, 1979 through July 22, 1979 (65 days)
Frank Shugart May 10, 1894 through July 10, 1894 (61 days)
Edgar Martinez July 6, 1996 through Aug. 30, 1996 (55 days)
The Royals' two veteran starting pitchers, Paul Byrd and Jeff Suppan, may have mirror-image records (15-10 for Byrd, 8-15 for Suppan) -- but they have one similarity: They've both watched a whole bunch of hitters work on their home run trots. They've already become the first Royals teammates to give up 30 homers apiece. If they get to 35, they would become only the fourth set of teammates to give up 35 or more each. The others, courtesy of the Sultan:
Bert Blyleven 50 Frank Viola 37, 1986 Twins (total: 87)
Bobby Jones 37 Kevin Jarvis 37, 2001 Padres (74)
Kevin Tapani 35 Jon Lieber 36, 2000 Cubs (71)
And the near-misses, including one Byrd will find familiar:
Don Sutton 38 Mike Witt 34, 1987 Angels (72)
Jim Bunning 37 Paul Foytack 34, 1959 Tigers (71)
Bill Monbouquette 34 Earl Wilson 37, 1964 Red Sox (71)
Chad Ogea 36 Paul Byrd 34, 1999 Phillies (70)
Finally, if there was no such person as the Sultan, we'd have to invent him for games like this: Odalis Perez wins a 1-0 game and hits a home run to drive in the only run. Here's the Sultan's complete list of pitchers who have pulled off this sensational feat since 1900:
8/3/1906 Tom Hughes, Senators, off Fred Glade, Browns (10th inning)
8/13/1932 Red Ruffing,Yankees, off Tommy Thomas, Senators (10th inning)
5/21/1938 Spud Chandler, Yankees, Thornton Lee, White Sox
5/1/1959 Early Wynn, White Sox, off Tom Brewer, Red Sox
4/18/1962 Milt Pappas, Orioles, off Bill Stafford, Yankees
8/6/1962 Johnny Klippstein, Reds, off Don McMahon, Colt-45s (13th inning)
5/5/1965 Jim Bunning, Phillies, off Warren Spahn, Mets
9/16/1971 Juan Pizarro, Cubs, off Tom Seaver, Mets
6/17/1983 Bob Welch, Dodgers, off Mario Soto, Reds
8/28/2002 Odalis Perez, Dodgers, off Rick Helling, Diamondbacks
Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
| |
|
