A Baseball Roundtable Trivia Teaser to celebrate
the opening of Spring Training workouts.
Who is the only player to collect two bases-loaded walks in a single World Series game?
Hint: Sandy Koufax may have considered him a spoiler.
Answer:
The only player to draw two bases-loaded walks in a World Series game is Orioles’ pitcher Jim Palmer, who walked with the sacks full in the fourth and fifth innings, as the Orioles topped the Pirates 11-3 on October 11, 1971. Notably, Palmer walked only three times in 116 1971 regular season plate appearances. Palmer, in fact, never walked more three times in any of his 19 MLB seasons.
For those interested in details the walks were were issued by
- Bruce Kison in the bottom of the fourth. It was a tough inning for the Pirates. Bob Johnson started on the mound and, after an inning-opening ground out by Oriole’s 1B Boog Powell, gave up a single to RF Frank Robinson, hit C Elrod Hendricks with a pitch, walked 3B Brooks Robinson and gave up a two-run single to 2B Davey Johnson. Bruce Kison was brought on in relief and walked SS Mark Belanger to load the sacks and then issued a free pass to Palmer to force in a run.
- Bob Veale in the bottom of the fifth. By the time Palmer batted in the bottom of the fifth, the Orioles had a 7-0 lead and had already collected five hits and a walk in the inning. Veale had come on to replace Bob Moose and immediately walked Belanger to load the bases with one out. Palmer batted next and drew his second bases-loaded walk of the game.
The Orioles drew seven walks and had 14 hits in the contest. Palmer, however, did not exhibit any greater control. He pitched eight innings of three-run ball, but walked eight (and surrendered seven hits).
We’ll take a deeper look at Jim Palmer later in this post (and reveal the story behind the Koufax hint), but first a few more base-loaded free-pass tidbits.
A little more on base-loaded free passes …
- The record for bases-loaded walks in a single game (and a single inning) is eight – all by the White Sox in a 20-6 victory over the Kansas City A’s on April 22, 1959. In the seventh inning of that game, the White Sox drew eight bases-loaded walks, while scoring eleven runs on just one hit. (For a full accounting of the inning, click here.)
- In the above April 22, 1959 White Sox/A’s game, Nellie Fox had a record two bases-loaded walks in a single inning.
- Ellis Burks holds the record for bases-loaded walks in game. On, September 2, 2000 – as his Giants beat the Cubs 13-2 – Burks drew three bases-loaded walks (in the first and second innings off Reuben Quevedo and in the sixth off Felix Heredia). The Giants drew five bases-loaded free passes in the contest.
INTENTIONAL BASES-LOADED WALKS
Only six players have been intentionally walked with the bases loaded (Baseball-Almanac.com):
Abner Dalrymple, Chicago (NL), August 2, 1881
Napoleon Lajoie, Philadelphia (AL), May 23, 1901
Del Bissonette, Brooklyn (NL), May 2, 1928
Bill Nicholson, Chicago (NL) July 23, 1944
Barry Bonds, San Francisco (NL), May 28, 1998
Josh Hamilton, Texas (AL), August 17, 2008
_____________________________________________________________
A FEW JIM PALMER TIDBITS …
- In 1971, Palmer was one of four twenty-game winners on Orioles. Palmer went 20-9. 2.68; Dave McNally went 21-5, 2.89; Pat Dobson went 20-8, 2.90; and Mike Cueller went 20-9, 3.08. The only other MLB team to boast four twenty-game winners was the 1920 White Sox (Red Faber, 23-13, 2.99; Lefty Williams, 22-14, 3.91; Dickey Kerr, 21-9, 3.37; and Eddie Cicotte, 21-10, 3.26).
- On October 6, 1966 – at age 20 – Jim Palmer became the youngest pitcher ever to pitch a World Series complete-game, shutout – topping the Dodgers (and Sandy Koufax) 6-0. Palmer gave up four hits and three walks, while fanning six.
EXPLAINING THE KOUFAX SPOILER HINT …
On October 6, 1966, when Jim Palmer – at age 20 – became the youngest pitcher ever to throw a World Series, complete-game shutout, there was plenty more going on. (As I’ve noted before, in baseball “There is always something.” So often, when looking into one baseball fact or event, even more of interest emerges.)
In this case, Palmer was coming off just his second MLB season (after going 15-10, 3.46 with six complete games in 30 starts and recording 147 strikeouts in 208 1/3 innings). His opponent was 30-year-old Sandy Koufax, about to win his third Cy Young Award – after a season in which he went 27-9, 1.73, with 27 complete games in 41 starts and 317 whiffs in 323 innings. In the regular season, Koufax had led all of MLB in wins, earned run average, games started (tie), complete games, shutouts (tie), innings pitched and strikeouts. What fans didn’t realize at the time – particularly given Koufax’ 1966 performance:
That 1966 match-up against Palmer – which ended in a loss for Koufax –
would be Koufax’ last major league appearance.
Chronic arthritis in his pitching arm would lead Koufax to retire before the 1967 season.
A couple of other interesting bits of trivia from that game:
- Koufax gave up four runs in six innings, but three were unearned – largely the result of Dodgers’ center fielder Willie Davis’ World Series’ record of three errors in one inning (the fifth). It was clearly a bad day for Davis, who also went zero-for-four at the plate and was the victim of two of Palmer’s six strikeouts.
- In addition, Palmer’s shutout was part of a World Series’ record for offensive futility – the Dodgers scored just two run (both in Game One, which they lost 5-2) in the entire World Series. The Dodgers, in fact, did not score after the third inning of Game One – a World Series’ record 33 straight innings without touching the plate. Games Three and Four both went to the Orioles by 1-0 scores.
- Jim Palmer won more games in the 1970’s (186) than any other pitcher.
- Jim Palmer is the only pitcher to win World Series games in three decades – 1960’s-70’s -80’s.
Jim Palmer, a solid all-around athlete – was a high school all-stater in baseball, basketball and football.
- Jim Palmer was a three-time Cy Young Award winner and six-time All Star and four-time Gold Glover.
- Jim Palmer led his league in wins three times (and won 20 or more games in eight seasons); winning percentage twice; innings pitched four times; complete games once; shutouts twice; earned run average twice.
Jim Palmer, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990, finished his career with a 268-152 record, a 2.86 earned run average, 211 complete games, 53 shutouts and 2,212 strikeouts in 3948 innings pitched.
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; Baseball-Almanac.com
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