BaseballReference.com oddities

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Fat Bib Fortuna
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In 1978, Jim Rice led the AL in games played, plate appearance, at bats, hits, triples, home runs, RBi, slugging and OPS.

He is the last player to lead either league in triples (15) and HR (46) the same year and one of only four to do it in the post-dead ball era along with

Jim Bottomley, St Louis, 1928 (20 triples, 31 HR)
Willie Mays, NY Giants, 1955, (13 triples, 51 HR)
Mickey Mantle, NY Yankees, 1955 (11 triples, 37 HR)

SquirrellyDan
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Astros fans may remember this, but in 2000 the franchise record for consecutive games with a hit belonged to the unlikely candidate Tony Eusebio. He was a catcher and didn't play everyday, so his streak of 24 games with a hit spanned 51 days and 45 Astros' games. Even had the nickname "The Astros Clipper."
Fat Bib Fortuna
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Before moving to MMP, the Astros had some of the ****tiest team records in MLB history
SquirrellyDan
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MuckRaker96 said:

Before moving to MMP, the Astros had some of the ****tiest team records in MLB history

They had several good years in the 90's, won 102 games in 98, went to the NLCS in 86....a more accurate statement would be they had one of the ****tiest playoff records. (2-9 from 97-99)
JJxvi
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The sheer number of postseason games the franchise has played in now, is actually incredible to think about when viewed from what it felt like around the time the new ballpark opened.

After getting swept by the Braves in 2001, the Astros postseason record was 8-22. Right now, I think it is 54-58.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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SquirrellyDan said:

MuckRaker96 said:

Before moving to MMP, the Astros had some of the ****tiest team records in MLB history

They had several good years in the 90's, won 102 games in 98, went to the NLCS in 86....a more accurate statement would be they had one of the ****tiest playoff records. (2-9 from 97-99)
I'm talking about their single-season records, like home runs, RBiI etc.

For the longest time the team record for HR was 37 and the RBI record was 110.
agsalaska
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I will leave Whitey Ford to someone else, but hats off to Joe Morgan. I cannot remember him as a player but he was a weekly voice on ESPN for a long time. I have no idea how many games I heard him call but it is in the hundreds.

  • Broke into the league at 19 years old in game 155 at Colt Stadium in front of 2,231 fans. A day game that took exactly two hours. I am guessing it was hot. He went 0-1 pinch hitting for the P(RIP NL Pitchers hitting and the Colt 45s-Astros in the NL)
  • Played his first full season two years later in 1965. He came in 2nd in ROY voting, losing to Jim Lefebvre. Very similar stat lines, but Lefebvre was on the World Series Champion Dodgers, and the Colt 45s lost 97 games
  • In that rookie year, the 21 year old Morgan led the NL in Walks with 97. Not sure that has ever been replicated by a 21 year old. Barry Bonds for example was in his 7th full season before reaching that number in a year.
  • In 1976, at 32 years old, Morgan stole 60 bases and was only caught 9 times.
  • In 1975 and 1976 Morgan won back to back MVPs.
  • 5 gold gloves.
  • Something I have paid more attention too lately, Morgan only played one season in the AL, his last. He played in 1984 with the Oakland As and visited most AL parks only once or twice in his entire career. He made one trip to Arlington Stadium for example, a four game set in June(they were swept.)
  • In 2546 career games, he played 2527 at 2b.


RIP Joe Morgan.






agsalaska
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Saw this one today.

Bob Gibson - 1968 BobGibson

34 starts. 28 complete games. 1.12ERA.

Whats most amazing about this season is not the 304.2 innings, the 22 wins, the 9 losses(that seems high), the league leading 268 strikeouts, or the 13 shutouts, but he was pinch hit for six times, and was never taken off the mound!!!

his six non complete games were

Start 1 April 10 vs Atlanta. 7 innings 1 R 0 ER. Pinch hit for in the bottom of the 7th(by Bobby Tolan) even though he was 1 for 2. No decision

Start 2 April 15 at Atlanta. 7 innings 3R all earned. Pinch hit for in the top of the 8th again by Tolan. No decision

Start 7 May 12 Vs Houston. 8 innings 3 R 2 ER. Pinch hit for in the bottom of the 8th by Tim McCarver He lost the game 3-2

Start 9 May 22 vs LAD. 8 innings 1 run but lost the game to fall to 3-4 overall. McCarver again in the bottom of the 8th.

Start 23 Aug 4 vs Cubs. 11 innings 5 runs 4 earned. They lost 6-5 in 13 innings. Phil Gagliano pinch hit for him

Start 30 Sep 6 vs Giants. First of a double header. 8 innings 3 runes 2 earned. He took the loss in a 3-2 game. Johnny Edwards PH for him.

Thats it. 28 complete games. Four extra innings complete games. Four eight inning complete games, including losing a 1-0 game to Gaylord Perry who threw a no hitter in 1:40 on Sep 17th.

From June 6 to July 30 he started 11 games, completing them all for 99 innings, and allowed three runs.

Wow.


C1NRB
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third coast.. said:

The pitcher that I was so hyped about when I was younger was todd van poppel. My cousin was huuuuuge on him and so I was all in too. That dude completely melted down too if I remember correctly.
His brother Scott is Class of '91 (Whoop!). He was a Redpot. One night at Stack we asked him why his brother wasn't coming to A&M. He said something along the lines of, "He's got a couple of million reasons."
McInnis
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agsalaska said:

Saw this one today.

Bob Gibson - 1968 BobGibson

34 starts. 28 complete games. 1.12ERA.

Whats most amazing about this season is not the 304.2 innings, the 22 wins, the 9 losses(that seems high), the league leading 268 strikeouts, or the 13 shutouts, but he was pinch hit for six times, and was never taken off the mound!!!

his six non complete games were

Start 1 April 10 vs Atlanta. 7 innings 1 R 0 ER. Pinch hit for in the bottom of the 7th(by Bobby Tolan) even though he was 1 for 2. No decision

Start 2 April 15 at Atlanta. 7 innings 3R all earned. Pinch hit for in the top of the 8th again by Tolan. No decision

Start 7 May 12 Vs Houston. 8 innings 3 R 2 ER. Pinch hit for in the bottom of the 8th by Tim McCarver He lost the game 3-2

Start 9 May 22 vs LAD. 8 innings 1 run but lost the game to fall to 3-4 overall. McCarver again in the bottom of the 8th.

Start 23 Aug 4 vs Cubs. 11 innings 5 runs 4 earned. They lost 6-5 in 13 innings. Phil Gagliano pinch hit for him

Start 30 Sep 6 vs Giants. First of a double header. 8 innings 3 runes 2 earned. He took the loss in a 3-2 game. Johnny Edwards PH for him.

Thats it. 28 complete games. Four extra innings complete games. Four eight inning complete games, including losing a 1-0 game to Gaylord Perry who threw a no hitter in 1:40 on Sep 17th.

From June 6 to July 30 he started 11 games, completing them all for 99 innings, and allowed three runs.

Wow.



OK, everyone guess how many complete games Clayton Kershaw has pitched in his career.



Answer: 25.

This is why I think Ryan's record for no-hitters is the most unbreakable career record.
Mr.Ackar07
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Don Sutton has thrown an MLB record 201 quality starts where he didn't earn a win. He was 0-98 with a 2.40 ERA in these games.
McInnis
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Quote:

Saw this one today.

Bob Gibson - 1968 BobGibson

34 starts. 28 complete games. 1.12ERA.

Whats most amazing about this season is not the 304.2 innings, the 22 wins, the 9 losses(that seems high), the league leading 268 strikeouts, or the 13 shutouts, but he was pinch hit for six times, and was never taken off the mound!!!
I learned something nearly as surprising about Gibson yesterday. A friend showed me his baseball card collection from the 60s. I turned over a Gibson card and it said he had played for the Harlem Globtrotters. I had a hard time believing the scowling, intimidating pitcher I remember as a kid had ever clowned around for the Globetrotters. So I looked it up. His roomate was Meadowlark Lemon who said he thought Gibson was good enough to have been able to play in the NBA.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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I've gotten interested with the site's game log to look back on legendary seasons and go through the game by game stuff.

In 1973, Nolan Ryan set the all-time record for strikeouts with 383 and went 21-16 with a 2.87 ERA, 11 complete games, 4 shutouts and 2 no hitters.

Some notes:
Nolan pitched on 2 days rest 4 times and 3 days rest 21 times.

The Angels averaged 3.56 runs per game when he started. 5 times they got shutout, 6 times they scored 1 run, 3 times they scored 2 runs.

Nolan's first three games of the season were all complete game wins in which he struck out 12, 11, and 14.

On May 2, he pitched 12-inning complete game that the Angels won 5-3. He faced 54 batters in that game.

On May 11, he got bombed for 5 earned runs in 1/3 of an inning and got pulled. On May 12, he came in as a reliever and pitched 2 inning to earn a save. On May 15, he pitched his first no-hitter of the year, striking out 12. He pitched again on May 19, a complete-game 4-hitter with 12 more strikeouts.

His second no-hitter came two months to the day after the first one, striking out 17 Tigers. In his next start, 4 days later, he pitched 10-1/3 innings and struck out 13 in a 3-1 loss to the Orioles.

With two starts left in the season, he trailed Koufax's strikeout record total by a count of 382-355. On September 23, the Angels beat the Twins 15-7, he pitched 9 innings, allowed 13 hits, 7 runs, walked 5, and struck out 12 to get to 367.

His last start of the year, he pitched an 11-inning complete game, which the Angels won 5-4, he allowed 10 hits, 3 runs, walked 7, and struck out 16 to get to 383.

He struck out Rich Reese for the last out of the top of the 11th to take the record, and the Angels won the game in the bottom half of the inning.

He struck out Rod Carew 3 times in that game. Carew only had 2 games that season where he struck out more than twice - both against Ryan. Overall, he had just 55 strikeouts in 657 plate appearances - 9 of them came against Nolan in 21 at-bats.
94chem
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agsalaska said:

third coast.. said:

I loved willis as well.

The pitcher that I was so hyped about when I was younger was todd van poppel. My cousin was huuuuuge on him and so I was all in too. That dude completely melted down too if I remember correctly.
Thats why I LOVE baseballreference.com.

So I remember being high on him too, I think because of a futures baseball card. He went to Martin High school too.

He has the most uninteresting page ever. Van Poppel. How does a guy with a 5.58 career ERA pitch in 359 games? Doesn't that seem really high for that much work? 900+ innings. I guess when they moved him to the bullpen he had a couple of good seasons that extended his career. But dang.


I batted against him a couple of times (Lamar). Walked once, beat out an infield chopper once. Got tagged out at the plate by him trying to score on a wild pitch. Van Poppel is an example of how the game has changed. In the late 80's, you didn't see HS kids who could throw 92 - 94. A kid like him today would have to have good control and developed secondary pitches to get drafted that high, since every bullpen in the league has a stable of guys who throw 95+.
94chem,
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough
94chem
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Favorite Nolan Ryan stat. In 1987 he became the first pitcher to lead the league in ERA and strikeouts, but not win the Cy Young. His record that season? 8 - 16.

Also, I just went back and re-watched the Ventura butt-whipping. This happened 2 weeks before Ryan retired. All these years later, I can say my life would be a bit less, if not for the thrill of that moment.
94chem,
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough
Fat Bib Fortuna
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My favorite Nolan Ryan stat, tongue firmly in cheek, is that John McMullen decided to let him walk in free agency after the 1988 season.

Nolan went 16-10
His replacement Jim Clancy went 5-14.
The Astros finished 86-76 and missed the playoffs by 6 games.
You do the math.
Prosperdick
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94chem said:

Favorite Nolan Ryan stat. In 1987 he became the first pitcher to lead the league in ERA and strikeouts, but not win the Cy Young. His record that season? 8 - 16.

Also, I just went back and re-watched the Ventura butt-whipping. This happened 2 weeks before Ryan retired. All these years later, I can say my life would be a bit less, if not for the thrill of that moment.
I'm surprised too that it was that close to retirement. I distinctly remember recording it, queuing it up on a VCR tape, and putting it on the kitchen table with a note for my dad that read "Press play and enjoy!" I knew he would be up early for work and would get a kick out of it. Good times!
94chem
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Prosperdick said:

94chem said:

Favorite Nolan Ryan stat. In 1987 he became the first pitcher to lead the league in ERA and strikeouts, but not win the Cy Young. His record that season? 8 - 16.

Also, I just went back and re-watched the Ventura butt-whipping. This happened 2 weeks before Ryan retired. All these years later, I can say my life would be a bit less, if not for the thrill of that moment.
I'm surprised too that it was that close to retirement. I distinctly remember recording it, queuing it up on a VCR tape, and putting it on the kitchen table with a note for my dad that read "Press play and enjoy!" I knew he would be up early for work and would get a kick out of it. Good times!


I love Wimpy and wimpier describing it on the CWS broadcast, doing all they can to avoid admitting that Ventura just got his head beaten in by an AARP member. YESSSS!
94chem,
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough
agsalaska
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Speaking of wimpy, I was at his last Game on Oct 4 1987. Rangers and Charlie Hough lost to a Mark Langston led Seattle Mariners team 7-4.

Paciorek hit a check swing home run off the left field foul pole. I was sitting about half way down the left field line and it all happened right in front of me. I always thought that was an amazing thing for someone nicknamed 'wimpy' to accomplish.

I was 10 years old in 1987. And I still think of that every time I see him on TV.
agsalaska
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A tribute to the great Albert Pujols.

For the record I used to hate Albert Pujols with all my passion and fury. I lived in the Heights from 2002-2006 and lived at Minute Made. When he hit the bomb of Lidge my wife and I had gone to a park near I10 and were listening on the radio because it was too intense to watch. When Pujols hit the ball we knew it was gone when the crowd went silent.

Random side note. We are sitting listening at this park in the dark when out of nowhere this tall skinny guy randomly walked up on us. Probably 35 year old black guy with long hair that looked as stressed out as us. He doesnt say anything at all, just a head nod to acknowledge us. We all three listened in silence for about five minutes then BANG!! HR Pujols. That dude walked off cussing about how he knew he shouldn't have stopped and listened and he jinxed Lidge.


Pujols rookie year. After being drafted in the 13th round out of JUCO and only playing one year in the minors, batted .329 with 37 HR and 130RBI. At 21 years old. Amazing

The next year he somehow missed the All star Game before going to 8 straight and winning two WS.



The best hitter I have ever seen. Him and Bonds.
The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you never know if they are genuine. -- Abraham Lincoln.
W
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one surprising thing about Pujols (that I didn't realize)...

in his 21 major league seasons...he has only been an all-star 10 times.

for one of the greatest of all-time...I would have guessed 14 or 15 all-star game appearances.

but it's like he disappeared after being traded to the Angels. Only made the all-star team 1 time with LAAA
W
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watching the Astros the other night...a graphic came up that mentioned Fred Lynn.

so I looked him up...and I had forgotten how good of a career he had...how good his numbers are.

he was a 9-time all-star. Very popular player. Won the 1975 AL MVP. Won a batting title in 1979. Won 4 gold gloves.

career WAR of 50. Then got plagued by injuries.

never got more than 6% on HoF ballots. Fenway Park may have played into that.

Lynn was a career .347 hitter at Fenway. Career .601 slugging % at Fenway.

but if Harold Baines is in the Hall (with his 38 WAR)...then there is hope for Lynn someday
agsalaska
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W said:

one surprising thing about Pujols (that I didn't realize)...

in his 21 major league seasons...he has only been an all-star 10 times.

for one of the greatest of all-time...I would have guessed 14 or 15 all-star game appearances.

but it's like he disappeared after being traded to the Angels. Only made the all-star team 1 time with LAAA
I find that interesting as well.

I want to put it on the 2013 injury, whatever that was, that limited him to 99 games. After that he was never the same, though still a very productive power hitter. Pitchers stopped walking him later in his career as well. Went from a peak of 115 in 09 it fell to 50 in 2015, the last time he was an all star.

He and Mike Trout have eaten up a ton of that payroll in ANA but they could never build around it. I went to a Rangers game there in Anaheim in 2013. Really big cool stadium and had a lot of fun.
The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you never know if they are genuine. -- Abraham Lincoln.
agsalaska
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Julio Franco. That guy played in 108 games at 46 years old in 2005.

He should be in the Hall of Fame just for that alone. He batted .309 in 125 games the year before.

Hell I am 44.
The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you never know if they are genuine. -- Abraham Lincoln.
McInnis
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W said:

...a graphic came up that mentioned Fred Lynn.

so I looked him up...and I had forgotten how good of a career he had...how good his numbers are.

he was a 9-time all-star. Very popular player. Won the 1975 AL MVP. Won a batting title in 1979. Won 4 gold gloves.

career WAR of 50.
He won the MVP that year as a rookie!
W
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it's too bad the mid-to-late 1970's Red Sox could not put together a little better pitching staff.

they had an incredible lineup with Lynn, Yaz, Jim Rice, Dewey Evans, Fisk, George Scott, and others.

by the way...Evans finished his career with 67 WAR
birdman
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John Paciorek - greatest hitter in MLB history. He played in one game for Colt 45s toward end of season. Five plate appearances, 3 hits and two walks. Got in car wreck in off season, plus some typical baseball injuries. Never played another game in majors. His brother Tom Paciorek had a long career in majors and used to be a broadcaster.

Last switch hitter to win MVP in American League? Vida Blue
birdman
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Rogers Hornsby won six consecutive batting titles. He had the highest slugging percentage for all six years. Ridiculous.
AustinAg2K
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Another couple of Nolan Ryan stats. He is also tied for the most one hitters, with 12. That includes 5 no hitters he lost in the ninth, which is also a record.

Another oddity is that he had 7 games where he didn't give up a hit, but only 4 games where he didn't give up a walk.
Mr.Ackar07
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Tied for 11th place in the list of most seasons played in MLB history which includes the likes of Ty Cobb, Phil Niekro, Pete Rose, Omar Vizquel, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Dennis Eckersley, and Carlton Fisk is lifetime backup catcher Rick Dempsey.

He only saw significant action in 8 seasons topping out at 136 games played (averaged 73.5 games per season) on his way to amassing 1,093 hits and a 25.1 WAR.
Trucker 96
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agsalaska said:

Julio Franco. That guy played in 108 games at 46 years old in 2005.

He should be in the Hall of Fame just for that alone. He batted .309 in 125 games the year before.

Hell I am 44.


There have always been questions about his age too. There is a decent chance that in reality he did this at 48 or 49.
agsalaska
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How is Bill Freehan not in the HOF?

How is an 11 time all star catcher who started 1774 games in 15 years and won a world series not in the HOF??

Find me another catcher that comes close to that and they will be in the hall.
The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you never know if they are genuine. -- Abraham Lincoln.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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Benito Santiago: 1987 ROY, 217 caeer home runs, 4x Silver Sluggers, 3x Gold Gloves, 5x All Stars, 34-game hitting streak as a rookie, 2002 NLCS MVP, .987 career fielding percentage, not in the HOF.

Lance Parrish: 324 career home runs, 1,070 career RBI, 1,818 games caught, won the world series, 8x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove Award, 6x Silver Slugger, not in the HOF

Jorge Posada: 1,574 games caught, 275 career homers, 5x all-star, 5x Silver Slugger, 4x world series champion, not in the HOF




The Milkman
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agsalaska
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So Lance Parrish is close but the other two are not.

I am surprised he is not in the HOF either.


I just figured 11 All Star appearances would make you a lock. But I guess not. I am going to look tonight for someone with more All Star Appearances not in the hall.
The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you never know if they are genuine. -- Abraham Lincoln.
 
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