Archives for June 2020

As I look “forward” to the late-July start of the 2020 baseball season (although I must admit the recent Covid resurgence and spate of “positives” among players has me worried), I am passing the time by looking “backward” at significant (at least in my view) MLB events from the past. Today’s homage to the past is triggered by a Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim)-Los Angeles Dodger matchup that took place on this date (June 28) in 2008.

The Dodgers’ 1-0 win that day marked the fifth (and most recent) time in MLB history that a team has come away with a victory without the benefit of a single base hit.

Let’s take a look at those contests.

Angels 0 – Dodgers 1 … Dodger Stadium, June 28, 2008

In this game, the Dodgers were no-hit by losing pitcher Jered Weaver (six innings, three walks, six strikeouts, one unearned run) and Jose Arredondo (two perfect frames with three strikeouts). The Dodgers scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth.  CF Matt Kemp led off and reached on an error by Weaver (bobbling a weak ground ball between home plate and the mound). Two pitches later, with 3B Blake DeWitt at the plate, Kemp stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Angels’ catcher Jeff Mathis.  DeWitt, with a 1-1 count, then hit a sacrifice fly to deep right – and that was all the scoring for the day. So, in a sequence of four pitches, the game was lost.

Weaver, of course, was credited with the defeat.  The win went to Dodgers’ starter Chad Billingsley, who went seven innings and gave up three hits and three walks, while fanning seven.  He got relief help from Jonathan Broxton (hold) and Takashi Sato (save).  Side note:  The Angels did not record an “official” MLB no-hitter, since the Dodgers did not bat in the bottom of the ninth (an official no-hitter must go at least nine innings).

Red Sox 1 – Indians 2… Cleveland Stadium, April 12, 1992

While the Indians failed to get a hit over eight innings against Red Sox’ starter Matt Young, they scored in their very first inning – in fact, within the first three hitters.  It started with four-pitch walk to the leadoff hitter, speedy center fielder  Kenny Lofton. Lofton stole second while the number two hitter – Glenallen Hill – was at the plate.  Hill ran the count to 3-2 and, as he went down swinging, Lofton swiped third.  The next hit hitter was 2B Carlos Baerga, who reached first on an error (bad throw) by Red Sox’ SS Luis Rivera, allowing Lofton to score.

The Indians plated an insurance run in the third – and a four-pitch walk again played a role. Indians SS and number-nine hitter Mark Lewis led off and drew a four-pitch walk off  Young. Lofton then walked on five pitches, sending Lewis to second. Hill then grounded to short, forcing Lofton, but reaching first on a fielder’s choice. Hill stole second, while Baerga was at the plate. Then, Lewis scored on a Baerga grounder to short.

The Red Sox came back with a run in the top of the fourth, on a walk and two singles, but it was not enough.

Matt Young took the loss (a complete-game) tossing eight innings of no-hit ball (seven walks and six strikeouts) and giving up two unearned runs. Indians’ starter Charles Nagy got the win – giving up eight hits and one run (four walks, ten whiffs) over seven innings, with help from Brad Arnsberg (hold) and Derek Lilliquist (save). As in the June 28, 2008, Angels-Dodgers game, a no-hitter was not credited, since the Indians did not bat in the bottom of the ninth.  (Personally, I think that rule needs a look.)

Yankees 0 – White Sox 4 … July 1, 1990 at (old) Comiskey Park

In this one, Yankee starter Andy Hawkins and White Sox starter Greg Hibbard were locked in a scoreless pitching duel after seven frames. Hibbard had given up just four hits (no walks, four strikeouts), while Hawkins was working on a no-hitter (three walks, three whiffs). Barry Jones relieved Hubbard in the top of the eight and held New York scoreless.  In the bottom of the inning, Hawkins retired the first two batters on easy pop flies.  Then it all unraveled.  RF Sammy Sosa (hitting in the number-eight spot) reached on error by 3B Mike Blowers and stole second with SS Ozzie Guillen at the plate.  Guillen then walked on a 3-2 pitch and CF Lance Johnson followed with a four-pitch walk. Bases loaded with two out – still no hits.

Robin Ventura then appeared to fly out to left, but the ball hit off of left fielder Jim Leyritz’ glove and rolled away, while all three runners scored.  Next up was DH Ivan Calderon, who flied to right.  This time, the ball popped out of RF Jesse Barfield’s glove and a fourth run scored.  Hawkins got the next batter (LF Dan Pasqua) on a pop up, by the damage was done and the game was gone.

Hawkins took the loss – an eight-inning, complete game (five walks, three hits, four unearned runs), The win went to reliever Barry Jones (who pitched the top of the eighth). Scott Radinsky pitched the ninth for Chicago. Hawkins not only did not get the win, he was not credited with a no-hitter, having pitched just eight innings.

We Interrupt this Post for a Brief Diversion

On this Date (April 22) in 1959, the Chicago White Sox completed what may be the weirdest MLB offensive inning ever – and while it was not a no-hit inning – it was close.  In the seventh inning of a 20-6 road win over the Kansas City A’s, the Chicago White Sox scored 11 runs on just one base hit. In fact, they got only one ball out of the infield.  In that inning:

• The Sox sent 17 batters to the plate, but collected just one hit – and, in fact, got only one ball out of the infield.
• Sox’ hitters stepped into the box with runners in scoring position 14 times.
• Sox hitters batted with the bases loaded 12 times and never got the ball past the pitcher.
• Eight different White Sox’ players drew walks.
• The Sox drew eight bases-loaded walks (and had one bases-loaded hit batsman). and
• White Sox 2B Nellie Fox walked twice with the bases loaded in the inning.

Here’s how it went that inning (per baseball-reference.com):

• 1B Ray Boone is safe on a throwing error by A’s shortstop Joe DeMaestri.
• RF Al Smith attempts to sacrifice Boone to second (score was 8-6 at the time) and reaches safely on an error by A’s third baseman Hal Smith.
• LF Johnny Callison singles to right. Scoring Boone and Smith (with the help of an error by A’s right fielder Roger Maris). Callison ends up on third.
• SS Louis Aparicio walks – steals second (runners now on second and third).
• P Bob Shaw walks (loading the bases).
• PH Earl Torgeson (batting for 3B Sammy Esposito) walks (scoring Callison).
• 2B Nellie Fox walks (scoring Aparicio).
• CF Jim Landis reaches on fielder’s choice – grounding back to pitcher Mark Freeman, who takes the force at home (bases still loaded).
• C Sherman Lollar walks (scoring Torgeson, bases still loaded).
• Ray Boone makes his second plate appearance of the inning and walks (scoring Nellie Fox).
• Al Smith makes his second plate appearance of the inning and walks (scoring Landis).
• Johnny Callison, who had the only hit of the inning in his first plate appearance, is hit by a pitch (scoring Lollar, bases still loaded). Lou Skizas comes in to run for Callison.)
• Louis Aparicio draws his second walk of the inning (scoring Boone, bases still loaded).
• Bob Shaw strikes out.
• PH Bubba Phillips (batting for Torgeson, who batted for Esposito earlier in the inning) walks (scoring Smith, bases still full).
• Nellie Fox draws his second bases loaded walk of the inning (scoring Skizas).
• Jim Landis grounds out pitcher to first to end the inning.

 

Now, back to our regularly scheduled posting – victories without the benefit of a hit.

Tigers 2 – Orioles 1 … April 30, 1967 at Memorial Stadium

This Tigers-Orioles contest was scoreless through seven innings, with the Orioles’ Steve Barber tossing a no-hitter and the Tigers’ Earl Wilson having surrendered just two hits.  Still, it did appear Wilson had the better stuff that day.  He had given up just one walk, while fanning four.  Barber, despite having a no-hitter in the works, had walked five batters and hit two (three strikeouts). In the top of eighth, Barber walked two more (one intentional), but escaped without damage – no-hitter and shutout intact.

In the bottom of the inning, the Orioles finally broke through against Wilson, ironically, without the benefit of a hit – as Wilson seemed to “lose the plate”.  LF Curt Blefary led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second by 2B Woodie Held. Charlie Laue then pinch hit for catcher Andy Etchebarren and was intentionally walked to put the double play on the table. Wilson, still struggling, walked Barber to load the bases and Orioles’ SS Luis Aparicio got him home with a sacrifice fly to right. Barber was now going into the top of the ninth with a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead.  (But, remember, he had already walked seven and hit two batters).  Barber started the inning by walking 1B Norm Cash (who was replaced on the bases by pinch runner Dick Tracewski).  Barber then walked SS Roy Oyler, bringing up Wilson, who sacrificed the pair of runners to second and third.  Barber than got dangerous PH Willie Horton on a foul pop.  He was now just one out away from a no-hit win. Oops! Tracewski came into score on a wild pitch.  Then Barber walked CF Mickey Stanley and Orioles’ manager Hank Bauer brought in Stu Miller, who got the final out of the inning.  Holding a one-run lead, Tiger manager Mayo Smith brought in Fred Gladding, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to save the win for Wilson.

The game, by the way, went in the books as an official (combined) no-hitter – be it a wild one, as Steve Barber walked ten, hit two and threw a wild pitch), while twirling 8 2/3 no-hit innings and losing the game.

Reds 1 – Colt .45s 0 … April 23, 1964

This contest went into the ninth inning tied at zero, with the Reds’ Joe Nuxhall having given up five hits (one walk, four strikeouts) and the Colt .45s’ Ken Johnson working on a brilliant no-hitter (two walks, nine whiffs). In the top of the ninth, errors robbed Johnson of a victory, but not of a complete-game no-hitter. Johnson got Nuxhall on a grounder to third to open the inning. Next 2B Pete Rose attempted to bunt for a hit and reached on a throwing error by Johnson (Rose went to second on the play). Third baseman Chico Ruiz then grounded out, with Rose moving to third. With two-out and the shutout and no-hitter still intact, CF Vada Pinson grounded to second, but reached on an error by Nellie Fox, allowing Rose to score.  Johnson got RF Frank Robinson for the final out of the inning, but the damage was done. Nuxhall, pitched a scoreless ninth and Johnson had a no-hitter (two walks, nine strikeouts) and a loss.

Ken Johnson is the only MLB pitcher to throw a complete-game, official  MLB no-hitter and lose.

Primary Resources:  MLB.com; Baseball-Reference.com

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Everyone kind of perceives me as being angry. It’s not anger, it’s motivation.

                                                                  Roger Clemens

This Edition of “Who’s Your Daddy?” focuses on 354-game winner Roger Clemens, long noted as one of the most aggressive competitors in the game.

Who’s You Daddy?  What it’s all about.

Those of you who read Baseball Roundtable regularly are familiar with the “Who’s Your Daddy?” series – presenting lineups of players who performed unexpectedly well against some of baseball’s top pitchers. In the past, BBRT has featured such moundsmen as Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson and Pedro Martinez.  (An explanation of the inspiration behind the Who’s Your Daddy? series can be found the end of this post.)  This post looks at a lineup of hitters who found success against Roger “The Rocket” Clemens/  As always, I would stress that the pitchers included in the Who’s Your Daddy? series are among the “best in the business.” They are selected not because of the players who performed well against them, but rather because success among hitters when they were on the mound was the exception rather than the rule.

Before we get started on Clemens, here are links to the previous editions of this series:

• Nolan Ryan, click here.
• Sandy Koufax, click here. 
• Pedro Martinez, click here.
• Bob Gibson, click here. 
• Randy Johnson, click here. 
• Greg Maddux, click here. 
• Justin Verlander, click here. 
• Bob Feller, click here. 

Coming soon, Max Scherzer.

Now, on to Roger Clemens.

Roger Clemens pitched in 24 MLB seasons (1984-2007 … Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Astros). He was an 11-time All Star and his seven Cy Young Awards are the most earned by any pitcher. In 1986, he went 24-4, 2.48 – leading the league in wins, winning percentage (.857), ERA – capturing the Al Cy Young and Most Valuable Player Awards.

Clemens won 20 or more games in six seasons, leading his league in wins four times. He also led in winning percentage three times, earned run average seven times, strikeouts five times, complete games three times, shutouts six times and innings pitched twice.  Notably, he recorded his leagues’ lowest qualifying ERA for the first time in 1986 (age 23) and for the last time in 2005 (age 42).  He notched 354 career wins (ninth all-time) against 184 losses, put up a 3.12 in 4,916 2/3 innings and fanned 4,672 batters (third all-time).  Over his career, Clemens held hitters to a .229 average and fanned one of every 4.3 batters he faced. In the post-season Clemens went 12-8, 3.75 in 35 games (34 starts), fanning 173 batter in 199 innings.

20-20 … More than a Vision

For most pitchers, fanning 20 batters in nine innings is no more than a “vision.”  Only four pitchers have turned that vision into reality: Roger Clemens, Kerry Woods, Max Scherzer and Randy Johnson. Of those only Roger Clemens has achieved this feat twice.  He was, in fact, both the first and second pitcher to whiff 20 batters in a nine-inning game – and he did it ten years apart (April 29, 1986 and September 18, 1996. Side note: Randy Johnson’s 20 strikeouts came in the first nine-innings of an eleven-inning contest (he was relived after nine frames by Byung-Hyun Kim).  All the others were nine-inning complete games.

So, who could hit Clemens’ stuff? Let’s take a look.  Keeping in mind, these lineup selections are subjective (but informed) choices – open for discussion and debate.  Note:  Unless otherwise noted the stats here are regular-season only. 

Now, the “Who’s Your “Daddy?” lineup versus The Rocket.

Catcher – Mike Piazza … .421 average, 1.105 slugging percentage

Mike Piazza clearly “had Clemens’ number” – and he put up the numbers of his own to prove it.  In eight regular-season games against Clemens, Piazza hit .421 (8-for-19) and drove in ten runs.  Further, five of his eight hits were for extra bases (one double and four home runs). That gave Piazza a 1.105 slugging percentage against The Rocket – the highest among batters with at least ten at bats versus Clemens.   Piazza got on base via hit, walk or hit by pitch at least once in every regular-season game he faced Clemens.  Notably, only 12 players notched at least four regular-season home runs against Clemens. Piazza accomplished the feat in 19 at bats. Everyone else with at least four dingers versus Clemens had at least 56 at bats against him.

Hall of Famer Mike Piazza played 16 MLB seasons (1992-2007 … Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Padres, A’s). He was the 1993 NL Rookie of the Year (.318-35-112 for the Dodgers) and a 12-time All Star.

Looking for the Long Ball

Mike Piazza hit an MLB-record (for catchers) 396 home runs as a backstop.

While he never led his league in any of the key offensive categories, Poazza topped 30 home runs in nine seasons (reaching 40 twice); had six seasons of 100+ RBI; and hit .300 or better nine times  Over his career, Piazza hit .308 (2,127 hits), with 427 home runs, 1,335 RBI, 1,048 runs scored.  His best season was 1997, when he hit .362-40-124 in 152 games for the Dodgers.  He hit .242-6-15 in 32 post-season games.

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Making Contact… or Not – A Couple of Players with Twins Ties

Brian Harper made pretty consistent contact versus The Rocket.  In 23 regular season plate appearances against Clemens, he never struck out (the highest total of PA against Clemens without a whiff of any player).  He also never walked, and collected seven hits (for a .304 average).

On the other side of the coin, Torii Hunter faced Clemens 27 times, fanned 14 and never got a hit (two walks).  His 25 at bats are the most of any player with a .000 average versus Clemens. 

First Base – Jim Thome … Eight home runs and 19 RBI versus Clemens

Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s eight home runs and 19 RBI are the most of any hitter versus Clemens – and his .373 average (Thome was a career .276 hitter) wasn’t bad either (understatement there). Thome had 22 career hits (in 23 games) against Clemens – 15 of which went for extra bases.

Jim Thome played 22 MLB seasons (1991-2012 … Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers, Twins, Orioles). The five-time All Star hit 30 or more home runs 11 times (a high of 52 in 2002). He led the AL in home runs with 47 in 2003 – and hit 190 home runs between 2001 and 2004 (four seasons). Thome also topped 100 RBI in nine seasons, 100 runs scored in eight and drew 100 or more walks nine times.

Walk, Don’t Run

Going into the 2020 season (we hope), Jim Thome leads all of MLB with 13 career walk-off home runs. He also shares the MLB lead with walk-off home runs in extra innings at eight (tied with Frank Robinson and Albert Pujols).

For his career, Thome went .276-612-1,699, with 1,583 runs scored.   His 612 regular-season home runs are eighth all-time.  Side note: His career 2,548 strikeouts are second all-time.  Thome also had 17 post-season home runs (71 games … .211-17-37). His best season was 2002, when he went .304-52-118 for the Indians. He became a free agent after that campaign and signed with the Phillies, where he led the NL in home runs with 47 in 2002.  Side note:  In his first game facing Clemens, (August 13, 1992), Thome played third base and batter eighth. 

Honorable Mention at 1B: Paul Konerko only faced Clement in eight games, but he made the most of them – going 10-for-20 (.500), with two home runs and six RBI; Will Clark went eight-for-20 (.400), with two home runs and six RBI in nine games versus Clemens.

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Where was that pitch?

Greg Vaughn clearly had trouble with Roger Clemens’ heat – fanning 25 times in just 49 plate appearances (45 at bats), putting up a .089 average and driving in just one run in 15 games. Vaughn was a career .242 hitter (15 MLB seasons), who fanned in 21.4 percent of his plate appearances. He went down on strikes in 51 percent of his plate appearances versus Clemens.

Second Base – Lou Whitaker … .338 average. .444 on-base percentage

Lou Whitaker hit a healthy .338 against Roger Clemens and also drew 14 walks (in 24 games). Whitaker reached Clemens for three home runs and drove in eight runs against him. In his final game against Clemens (August 2, 1995), Whitaker reached him for two walks and hit a long home run in three plate appearances.

Lou Whitaker played 19 MLB seasons (1977-95), all with the Tigers. He was the 1978 AL Rookie of the Year (.285-3-58 in 139 games), a five-time All Star and three-time Gold Glover. His best season was 1983, when he hit .320 (206 hits), with 12 home runs, 72 RBI, 94 runs scored and 17 steals.  Over his career, Whitaker hit 20 or more home runs four times, and scored 100+ runs twice.

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

The Tigers’ vaunted double-play combination – Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammel – did pretty well against Clemens: Whitaker hit .338 against him in 65 at bats; Trammel .364 in 66 at bats.

Whitaker was a career .276 hitter (2,369 hits in 2,390 games), with 244 home runs, 1,084 RBI, 1,386 runs scored and 143 stolen bases.

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Third Base – Paul Molitor … 33 hits

Yes, I know Paul Molitor spent most of his career (and made the Hall of Fame) primarily as a DH, but he started five of his first ten games against Clemens at third base (four at DH and one at 2B).

Molitor’s 33 hits against Clemens are the most safeties The Rocket gave up to any hitter. They are also the most hits Molitor had off any pitcher (he also had 33 off Jack Morris). Molitor’s performance against Clemens is dampened a bit by his 18 strikeouts (versus seven walks), but he did put up a .308 batting average.

Molitor played 21 MLB seasons (Brewers, Blue Jays, Twins). He was a seven-time All Star … and hit .306.  His 3,319 base hits rank tenth all-time. He finished with 234 regular-season home runs, 605 doubles, 114 triples, 1,307 RBI, 1,782 runs scored and 504 stolen bases. Molitor led his league in hits three times (topping 200 hits in four seasons); runs scored three times (with five campaigns of 100+); doubles once and triples once. He stole twenty or more bases in 13 seasons, reaching forty or more steals four times.

Three for 300

Paul Molitor and Ichiro Suzuki are the only MLB players to triple for their 3,000^th MLB hit.

Molitor was even more of a force on the big stage, putting up a .368-6-22 line in 29 post-season games – and earnings MVP honors in the 1993 World Series (for Toronto), when he had 12 hits in 24 at bats (.500), two home runs, eight RBI and ten runs scored.

Honorable Mention at 3B: Gary Sheffield, who faced Clemens in five games (three at 3B, one at SS, one at DH), went 11-for-18 against him for a .611 average (nine singles, two doubles). In his first game versus Clemens (June 27, 1989), he went single, single, double, walk.

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Shortstop – Alex Rodriguez …. .377 average in 18 games

Alex Rodriguez collected 20 hits in 18 games off Roger Clemens – for a nifty .377 average.  He had two home runs, six doubles and nine RBI.   Interestingly (at least to BBRT), when Rodriguez first faced Clemens (in A-Rod’s 1994 rookie season), he batted ninth in the lineup.

Rodriguez played 22 MLB seasons (1994-2013, 2015-16 … Mariners, Rangers, Yankees). He was a 14-time All Star, three-time AL Most Valuable Player and a two-time Gold Glover at shortstop.  He won one batting title (as a 20-year-old in 1996, when he hit a career-high .358) – and hit .300 or better in nine seasons. Rodriguez was also a five-time home run leader and topped 50 home runs in three seasons. He hit 30 or more dingers in 14 campaigns. In addition, he led the AL in runs five times (scoring 100 or more runs in 13 consecutive seasons) and RBI twice (driving in 100+ tallies in 14 seasons – 13 consecutively). He also led the league in hits once, doubles once and total bases four times.

Rodriguez retired with a .295 batting average (3,115 hits), 696 home runs (fourth all-time), 2,086 RBI (third all-time), 2,021 runs scored (eighth all-time) and 329 stolen bases (in 405 attempts). He hit .259-13-41 in 76 post-season games.

40-40

Alex Rodriguez is one of only four players to record 40 or more home runs and 40 or more stolen bases in a single season (Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds and Alfonso Soriano are the others).  In 1998, Rodriguez his .310, with 42 home runs and 46 steals.

Honorable Mention at SS: Allen Trammel went .364-2-14 in 20 games against Clemens.

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Outfield – Ken Griffey Jr. … Six home runs and 16 RBI

Ken Griffey Jr. hit .311 in 30 games versus Clemens.  His six home runs off The Rocket are second only to Jim Thome’s eight round trippers and Griffey’s 16 RBI trail only Thome (19), B.J, Surhoff (18) and Gary Gaetti (18). Griffey Jr.’s first five plate appearances against Clemens produced three ground outs, one fly out and one strikeout – a nice round 0-for-5. He then got on base six straight times – walk, single, single, double, walk, walk. In 1994, Griffey Jr. faced Clemens six times in two games and collected five hits (four singles and a home run).

Like Son, Like Father

Ken Griffey, Sr. also touched up Clemens pretty well. While he faced him only 11 times (three games), he recorded five hits (all singles) and two walks (.556 average, .636 on-base percentage).

Ken Griffey Jr. played 22 MLB seasons (1989-2010 … Mariners, Reds, White Sox). The Hall of Famer was a 13-time All Star, ten-time Gold Glover and the 1992 AL Most Valuable Player. He was a four-time home run leader (hitting 40 or more home runs in seven seasons – 56 in a season twice); led the league in RBI once (getting 100 or more RBI in eight seasons); led the league in runs scored once (scoring 100 or more runs in six campaigns);  He also hit .300 or better seven times.  Griffey finished his MLB career with 2,781 hits (.284 average); 630 home runs (seventh all-time), 1,836 RBI, 1,662 runs scored and 184 stolen bases.  His best season was 1997 (Mariners), when he hit .304 and led the league in home runs (56), RBI (147), run scored (125) and total bases (393) – and threw In a Gold Glove to ice the cake.

Some Pretty Good Players, by George

What do Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr., George Brett, and Tom Seaver have in common?

Their first names:  George Herman Ruth; George Kenneth Griffey Sr. and Junior; George Brett; and George Thomas Seaver.

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Outfield – Harold Baines … 32 hits, 17 walks, .402 on-base percentage

Harold Baines came to the plate more times against Clement than any other player (122 plate appearances in 37 games-) He collected the second-most hits against him (32, one behind Paul Molitor) and tied for the most walks (17, tied with Rafael Palmeiro and John Olerud).  That added up to a .305 average and a .402 on-base percentage.

Baines played 22 MLB seasons (1980-2001 … White Sox, Rangers, A’s, Orioles, Indians.)  The Hall of Famer was a five-time All Star. He collected 2,866 hits (.289), 384 home runs and 1,628 RBI. Baines hit 20 or more home runs in 12 seasons, drove in 100+ runs twice and hit .300 or better in eight campaigns.

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Making Them Count

Gary Gaetti hit only .194 against Clemens (13-for-67  in 23 games) – but he made those hits count.  His 18 RBI against Clemens are the second most of any batter.  Gaetti had seven extra base hits against Clements (two doubles, one triple and four home runs). He has one of only six Grand Slam hit off Clemens. 

Outfield – Trot Nixon … .371 average, .476 on-base percentage

Christopher Trotman “Trot” Nixon faced Roger Clemens 42 times in 15 regular-season games and came away with 13 hits (35 at bats) and seven walks (.372 average, .476 OBP). Of his thirteen hits, eight went for extra bases – four doubles, one triple and three home runs (.800 slugging percentage).

Nixon played in 12 MLB seasons (1996, 1998-2008 … Red Sox, Indians, Mets). He hit .274 (995 hits), with 137 home runs, 555 RBI and 579 runs scored. Nixon hit 20 or more home runs in three seasons and scored 100 runs in one campaign. His best season was 2003, with the Red Sox, when he went .306-28-87. Nixon was a solid post-season performer, hitting .283, with six home runs and 25 RBI in 42 games.

Honorable Mention in the OF: Carmello Castillo faced Roger Clements in ten games (1986 and 1991) and hit .385 (10-for-26), with three home runs and five RBI; Dave Winfield went .308-3-13 in 20 games versus Clemens.

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Pitcher – Jon Rauch & Shawn Estes … Only pitchers to go deep versus Clemens

Pitchers, as a whole, didn’t fare well against The Rocket, so I give you the only pitchers to take Clemens yard during his career.

Rauch hit a two-run homer in an Expos’ August 13. 2004, 6-5 win over the Astros. (Clemens got a no-decision, as did Rauch, who pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball.) It is easy to see where Rauch’s power came from – at 6’11, 290 pounds. Rauch pitched 11 MLB seasons (2002, 2004-13 … White Sox, Expos/Nationals, Diamondbacks, Twins, Blue Jays, Mets, Marlins).  He went 43-40, 3.90 with 62 saves. As a hitter, he went 2-for 21 (15 strikeouts) and his home run against Clemens was his only MLB long ball.

Estes hit his dinger against Clemens on June 15, 2002. It came in an 8-0 Mets win over Clemens and the Yankees. It was two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth that gave the Mets a 3-0 lead.  Estes went seven innings (five hits, no runs, one walk, eleven strikeouts) for the victory.  Estes pitched 13 MLB seasons (1995-2006, 2008 … Giants, Mets, Reds, Cubs, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Padres). He went 101-93, 4.71 and was an All Star in 1997, when he went 19-5, 3.18 for the Giants. As a hitter, he went 79-for-498 (.159) with four home runs and 28 RBI.

Primary Resources:  Baseball-Reference.com; Stathead.com; MLB.com; Baseball-Almanac.com

Who’s Your Daddy?  What It’s All About.

On September 24, 2004, in the middle of a tight pennant race, the Yankees handed future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez and the Boston Red Sox a tough 6-4 loss.  Martinez went 7 1/3 innings giving up nine hits and five earned runs.  The game came just five days after (in his previous start) Martinez had lasted just five frames against the Bronx Bombers (eight hits, eight earned runs) in a 16-7 loss.

After that second loss, Martinez candidly commented, “What can I say? I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy.”  Little did he know that his comment – and a Yankee fans’ chant of “Who’s your daddy?” would follow him into future starts in New York (all the way to his final MLB start – against the Yankees for the Phillies – in Game Six of the 2009 World Series.)

The concept of “Who’s your daddy?” became the inspiration for Baseball Roundtable to take a look at the players who “had the number” of some of MLB’s premier pitchers.  Again, you can find links to the previous “editions” of “Who’s Your Daddy?” near the top of this post. 

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Recognizing how so many of us are LONG-ing for baseball, Baseball Roundtable would like to use this post to look at the players and plays from some of the longest games in MLB history – those times when fans got way more than their money’s worth at the ballpark.

There have been only eight MLB games of 23 innings or more and only five of those did not end in a tie.  The Mets were in three of the five and lost all three (one each of 25, 24 and 23 innings). Note: There have been nine MLB games of 22 innings and 46 games of 20 or more innings.

Now, let’s take a look at a few of the longest MLB games ever.

LONGEST GAME BY INNINGS – May 1, 1920 … Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) versus Boston Braves

On May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) and Boston Braves locked up in the longest MLB duel ever – by innings – playing to a 1-1 tie over 26 frames (game called due to darkness).  This one gets a special nod, since it is also the longest game in which a starting pitcher was on the mound for the entire game (in this case, both starters). My, how the game has changed!

Starting pitchers Leon Cadore of Brooklyn and Joe Oeschger of Boston each threw more than 300 pitches (analysts estimate Cadore at 345 and Oeschger at 319) in completing their 26-inning, record-setting starts. Cadore gave up 15 hits and five walks, while fanning seven. Oeschger allowed only nine hits and four walks, while also striking out seven batters.   The Robins scored their lone tally in the fifth – a leadoff walk to number-eight hitter (catcher) Ernie Kreuger, who moved to second on a ground out by Cadore and then scored on a single by 2B Ivy Olson. The Braves countered with a run in the sixth – on a one-out triple by cleanup hitter Walton Cruise (RF) and a two-out single by 3B Tony Boeckel.  That two-inning scoring spree was followed by 20 innings of scoreless ball. Oh, and here’s another sign of how the game has changed, the time of the 26-inning contest was only 3 hours and 50 minutes.

It was a particularly bad day for Braves’ number-two hitter 2B Charlie Pick, who came to the plate 11 times and was responsible for 13 outs – zero-for-eleven, hitting into two double plays. Pick came into the game hitting .324 (12-for-37) and left hitting .250.  Pick was a career .261 hitter over six MLB seasons (367 games).

A Tale of Two Cities

Playing for the Brooklyn Robins in Boston (Braves) on May 1, 1920, Charlie Pick is recorded an MLB-record 11 at bats in a game (to date, 17 players share that record) – and went zero-for-eleven.  Pick is the only player to record a hitless 11-at bat day. By contrast, on July 10, 1932 – in Cleveland – as the Philadelphia Athletics topped the Indians 18-17 in 18 innings, Cleveland 2B Johnny Burnett went 9-for-11 (two doubles and seven singles). Burnett’s nine safeties in one game remains the MLB record.

Cadore and Oeschger, by the way, were both off to solid starts in 1920.  Cadore came into the historic game at 2-1, 1.38 (with two complete games in three starts), while Oeschger was even better at 2-1, 0.63 (with three complete games in three starts). At the end of the contest, Cadore’s ERA was 0.87, while Oeschger stood at 0.49. Cadore finished the season at 15-14, 2.61, with 16 complete games in 30 starts. Oeschger went 15-13, 3.46, with 20 complete games in 30 starts.   (That season MLB pitchers put up a 3.46 ERA and completed 57 percent of all starts.) Both Cadore and Oeschger finished under .500 for their careers (Cadore 68-72, 3.14 and Oeschger 82-1666, 3.81.)

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LONGEST GAME (by time)* – May 8, 1984 … Milwaukee Brewers versus Chicago White Sox

This one gets an asterisk – because it was not a “continuous” contest.

MLB’s longest-ever (time-wise) game started on May 8, 1984 and was played at (old) Comiskey, with the hometown White Sox prevailing 7-6 in 25 innings (tied for the second-most MLB innings) – in a record-long eight hours and six minutes of game time.  The game started at 7:30 p.m. and was suspended after 17 innings (at 1:05 a.m.) due to the American League curfew rule then in force.  Play was resume the following day.

Rollie Fingers’ blown save helped send this game into the record books.

There were plenty of chances for this one to end earlier. The game was tied 1-1 going into the top of the ninth, when the Brewers scored twice off White Sox’ reliever Britt Burns to take the lead. (Brewers’ SS Robin Yount led off with a double, stole third after DH Cecil Cooper grounded out and came in to score the go-ahead run on a bad throw by White Sox ‘ C Jim Sundberg.  Then, Brewers’ 1B Ted Simmons singled, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a (LF) Ben Oglivie single.  With a 2-0 lead, the Brewers brought in future Hall of Fame closer Rollie Fingers and the die seemed cast.  Oops! The bottom of the ninth saw the White Sox tie the game with two tallies of their own.  Left fielder Tom Paciorek led off and reached on a two-base error by Brewers’ RF  Charlie Moore. (You’ll find that errors played a role in a number of these super-long games.) Fingers got the next two batters and things were looking pretty good for the Brew Crew.  However, 2B Julio Cruz scored Paciorek with a double to left and CF Rudy Law brought Cruz home with a single.   Carlton Fisk grounded out to end the frame and it was time for some “free baseball” – lots of it.

In 1981, Rollie Fingers, with the Brewers, won the American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Awards.  He is one on only ten pitchers and just three relievers to earn both those honors in the same season.

No one scored between the ninth and the seventeenth innings (when the game was suspended). The goose eggs continued when play resumed, going on until the  until the top of the 21st, when the Brewers put up a three-spot on a three-run homer off Ron Reed by Ben Oglivie (scoring Cecil Cooper and 1B Ted Simmons) – and the game again appeared to be over.   The White Sox, however, scored three of their own in the bottom of the inning. Just like the ChiSox’ rally in the bottom of the ninth, it all started with a fielding error. This time Rudy Law reached on an error by Milwaukee third baseman Randy Ready. Chuck Porter then gave up, in order: a run-scoring single to Carlton Fisk; a single to 1B Marc Hill; a bases-loading walk to Harold Baines (after fanning Dave Stegman); and a two-run single to Paciorek. Porter got the next two hitters, and the game continued its march toward the record books.

Finally, with one out in the bottom of the 25th White Sox’ RF Harold Baines hit a walk-off home run (making it, of course, the latest walk-off long ball ever) against Chuck Porter (starting his eighth inning of relief) to win it for the ChiSox.  A few tidbits:

• White Sox’ CF Rudy Law, C Carlton Fisk and 2B Julio Cruz, as well as Milwaukee DH Cecil Cooper each had an MLB record-tying 11 at bats in the game. They had three, one and two hits, respectively.
• Rudy Law, Carlton Fisk and Harold Baines each had a record-tying 12 plate appearances. Law and Fisk each had one walk, Baines had two free passes.
• Chicago’s Dave Stegman, who came on as a pinch runner for DH Greg Luzinski in the eighth inning and stayed in to play LF, struck out a game-high five times in eight at bats.
• The teams used a combined 14 pitchers (six for the Brewers, eight for the White Sox).
• Two relievers went seven or more innings: losing pitcher Chuck Porter of the Brewers (7 1/3); Juan Agosto of the White Sox (7 innings) – both logged more innings than their team’s starting pitcher.
• The White used four first basemen: Greg Walker (started); Mike Squires replaced Walker in the top of the ninth; Marc Hill (pinch hit for Squires in the 14^th and stayed in at 1B); in the 22^nd inning, Tom Paciorek, who had replaced  Ron Kittle in LF in the top of the fourth inning, moved to 1B, replacing Hill.
• Seven future Hall of Famers played in the game: for the White Sox – catcher Carlton Fisk and winning pitcher Tom Seaver; for the Brewers – starting pitcher Don Sutton, SS Robin Yount. 1B Ted Simmons (who made the Hall as a catcher), RF Harold Baines and closer Rollie Fingers (who blew the save in the ninth).

Tom Terrific for the Win(s)

The winning pitcher in the longest-ever MLB game (by time, not innings) was future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, who pitched the 25th inning for the ChiSox (on May 9). It was Seaver’s only relief appearance of the season (one of just nine in his career) and his only career win in relief (he also had one save and two losses in that role).

Notably, Seaver then started the regularly scheduled May 9 contest and went 8 1/3 innings (three hits, one walk, four earned runs) to pick up a victory as a starter. (White Sox won 5-4).

Outside of Harold Baines’ walk-off home run, White Sox’ LF Tom Paciorek was (arguably) the hitting star of the game, going five-for-nine, with one run and three RBI (no one else had five safeties). LF Ben Oglivie went two-for-ten for the Brewers, but had a home run and four RBI.

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Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

It a long, damp evening for Phillies’ fan on In July 2, 1993.  That’s the day (as it would turn out “days”) the Phillies matched up in a twilight doubleheader that took an MLB record 12 hours and five minutes to complete – and resulted in a not-so-satisfying split.  It all started at 4:35 p.m. July 2 and ended at 4:40 a.m. July 3 – when Phillies’ closer Mitch Williams lined a single to left off future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman to drive in Pete Incaviglia and give the Phillies a 6-5, ten-inning walk-off win. Williams got the latest (or perhaps earliest) pitching victory and walk-off hit in baseball history.  It was, by the way, Williams’ only plate appearances of the 1993 season (in which he appeared in 65 games) and one of only three career hits for Williams (3-for-16 in 360 games over 11 MLB seasons).

Why did it take a record 12 hours and five minutes to complete the twin bill?  The first game of the doubleheader was interrupted three times for rain delays totaling five hours and 54 minutes (there was 2:34 of game play). After a post-game break of 25 minutes, Game Two started at just before 1:30 a.m., went ten innings and, as noted, ended at 4:40 a.m.  The crowd, originally 54,617, was down to about 1,000 hardy fans by the end of the doubleheader. For those that want to know such things, the Padres won the first game 5-2, with Mark Ettles getting the win, Gene Harris getting the save and Fred McGriff popping a two-run home run. Game Two went to the Phillies 6-5 in ten innings, with Williams getting the win (pitching hitless ball in the ninth and tenth), Hoffman the loss and Rickey Jordan launching a three-run homer in the fifth inning.

LONGEST CONTINUOUSLY PLAYED GAME (by innings) THAT PRODUCED A WINNER (lots of “qualifiers” in this one) – September 11, 1974 … St. Louis Cardinals versus New York Mets

The September 11, 1974 Cardinals/Mets tilt is tied for the second-most innings played in an MLB game at 25 frames.  Unlike the Brewers/Mets 25-inning tilt, it was not suspended at any point and, unlike the Robins/ Braves 26-inning tie, this one did produce a winning team.  Therefore, its stands as the longest (by innings) continuously played MLB game that produced a winner.  The Mets estimated about 1,000 of the 13,450 fans in attendance at the start were still in the park when the game ended at 3:13 a.m.

Bake McBride scored from first on a botched pick-off play to end this one.

In this contest, both squads scored in the first inning – the Cardinals’ on a single off Jerry Koosman by 1B Joe Torre (scoring Ted Sizemore) and the Mets on a double by 1B John Milner (off Bob Forsch), scoring LF Cleon Jones. The Mets plated two more runs in the bottom of the fifth as Jones touched Forsch for a two-run homer (after an inning-opening single by 2B Felix Millan). That lead held up until the top of the ninth, with Koosman cruising along with a three-hitter and a two-run lead.

In the ninth, Koosman gave up a single to C Ted Simmons (replaced by pinch runner Larry Herndon) sandwiched between strikeouts of Joe Torre and CF Bake McBride.  Then, just one out away from victory, Koosman surrendered a game-tying home run to 3B Ken Reitz. To make a long story short, neither team scored over the next 15 innings.  Then, in the top of inning number 25, Bake McBride made an unusual game-winning trip around the bases. McBride beat out an infield single to open the inning. Then with Ken Reitz at the plate at the plate, Mets’ pitcher Hank Webb made a wild pick-off throw to first that rolled into foul territory.  By the time, 1B John Milner retrieved the ball, McBride had rounded third.  Milner threw to catcher Ron Hodges and McBride slid safety across the plate  as Hodges dropped the throw. Webb and Hodges were charged with errors on the play, although some observers later said they felt Milner should have handled Webb’s throw and that McBride would have scored even if Hodges had not dropped the  ball.

A few tidbits:

• The teams used a combined 50 players – 13 pitchers.
• The Cardinals’ Claude Osteen pitched 9 1/3 innings in relief.
• Mets’ 1B John Milner and 2B Felix Milan each had an MLB record-tying  12 plate appearances.
• Mets’ OF Dave Schneck (who played RF and CF) had an MLB single-game record-tying 11 at bats.
• There were 12 pinch hitters and two pinch runners used.
• The winning pitcher was the Cardinals’ Sonny Siebert (2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball) and the losing hurler was Hank Webb (one run, one inning)– who appeared in only three games in 1974 and went 0-2, 7.20.

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THE LONGEST CONTINUOUSLY PLAYED NATIONAL LEAGUE GAME (by time) – May 31, 1964 … San Francisco Giants versus New York Mets

BBRT give special recognition (by time) to the longest MLB game ever in terms of continual play.  The San Francisco Giants topped the New York Mets 8-6 in 23 innings on May 31, 1964 – and took seven hours and 23 minutes  to do it.  Not only that, it was the second game of a doubleheader. It is the longest National League game (by time), MLB’s second-longest game (by time) and the longest continually played (by time) game. Remember, that Brewers/White Sox 25-inning, eight hours-plus game was suspended after the 17^th frame.   

Gaylord Perry ten scoreless innings in relief (seven hits. one walk, nine whiffs).

This one looked to be over early, as the Giants led 2-0 after just three batters had faced starter Bill Wakefield. LF Harvey Kuenn led off with a walk, RF Jesus Alou stroked a run-scoring double and CF Willie Mays hit a run-scoring single. San Francisco added four more runs on six singles in the top of the third to take a 6-1 lead. (Mets’ C Chris Cannizarro drove in CF Jim Hickman with a two-out single off Giants’ starter Bobby Bolin in the second).  The Mets added two runs in the fifth off Bolin (on a one-out single by RF Joe Christopher, a run-scoring triple by 1B Ed Kranepool and a two-out run-scoring single by 3B Charley Smith). They tied it in the seventh (Bolin was still in the game) on a three-run homer by Christopher (scoring SS Roy McMillan and LF Frank Thomas). That ended the scoring until the top of the 23^rd inning, when the Giants launched a two-out rally against Galen Cisco: SS Jim Davenport, triple; 3B Cap Peterson, intentional walk; PH Del Crandall, run scoring double; RF Jesus Alou run-scoring single. Bob Hendley took the mound for the Giants in the bottom of the inning and  retired the Mets in order (two strikeouts and a fly ball) to save the game for Gaylord Perry, who had tossed ten scoreless frames in relief.

Some tidbits:

• Each team used six pitchers in the contest.
• There were ten pinch hitters and one pinch runner used.
• Tom Sturdivant and Larry Bearnarth of the Mets pitched in both games of the doubleheader – with Bearnarth throwing seven scoreless innings in the second game after giving up one run in two innings in Game One.
• Galen Cisco, who took the loss for the Mets, pitched nine innings in relief (giving up two runs on five hits).
• Gaylord Perry got the win for the Giants, tossing ten scoreless innings in relief (seven hits, one walk, nine strikeouts). That season Perry started 19 games and relieved in 25.
• Gil Garrido, Jim Davenport and Willie Mays all spent some time at SS for the Giants during the game.
• The list of pinch hitters used by the Giants was pretty impressive: Duke Snider; Willie McCovey; Matty Alou; Del Crandall; Cap Peterson. Mets’ pinch hitters were not as well known: Jesse Gonder; George Altman; Dick Smith; Hawk Taylor; John Stephenson.
• Five future Hall of Famers played in the game for the Giants – Gaylord Perry, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey and Duke Snider.

The first game went just nine innings and two hours and 29 minutes. It does mean fans got nine hours and 52 minutes of baseball (not including the break between games) for the price of one ticket – which, by the way, is the longest MLB double header ever in terms of game time.

Oh, So Close … and Yet So Far

Bob Hendley, who picked up the save in the Giants May 31, 1964, 23-inning win over the Mets, was involved in another historic MLB game.  On September 9, 1965, he took part in the MLB game that featured the fewest combined base hits ever.  Hendley, with the Cubs at the time, started against the Dodgers and Sandy Koufax. Koufax went into the game with a 21-7, 2.20 record on the season; while Hendley was 2-2, with an 8.22 earned run average.

Hendley, however, was on top his game that day. After eight innings, he had given up just one hit and one walk (versus three strikeouts). The only hit had been a harmless double by Dodgers’ LF Lou Johnson in the bottom of the seventh. Hendley had allowed just one run (unearned) in eight frames – and even that wasn’t his fault.  The pesky Johnson had led off the fifth with a walk; moved to second on a sacrifice by RF Ron Fairly; stole third; and then scored as Cubs’ catcher Chris Krug made a wild throw past third baseman Ron Santo.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough. Koufax, threw a perfect game – striking out 14 Cubs.  It was the last of Koufax’ four career no-hitters (one each in 1962-63-64-65) and his only perfect game.  For Hendley, it was a well-pitched loss and a piece of the record for playing/pitching in the MLB game with the fewest combined hits – ONE.

Hendley, by the way, went 48-52, 3.97 in a seven-year MLB career (Braves, Giants, Cubs, Mets), while Koufax went to the Hall of Fame with a 165-87, 2.76 record, three Cy Young Awards and one MVP Award. 

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THE LONGEST SHUTOUT – April 15, 1968 … Houston Astros versus New York Mets

Of course, 1968 is known as The Year of the Pitcher and there were signs that this was to be the case as early as April 15. That’s when the Houston Astros topped the Mets (in Houston) 1-0 in the longest shutout in MLB ever.  The two teams traded goose eggs for 23 innings until – in the bottom of the 24^th frame – Houston broke the scoring ice. Like so many of these long games, an error played a role in the outcome. In the bottom of the 24th, Astros ‘ RF Norm Miller opened with a single to right off Les Rohr; Rohr then balked Miller to second; LF Jimmy Wynn was given an intentional pass; 1B Rusty Staub grounded to the right side, with the runners moving up to second and third;  PH John Bateman (hitting for Hal King, who had caught all 24 innings) drew an intentional walk (to load the bases) ; and, finally, 3B Bob Aspromonte reached on an error by SS Al Weiss, allowing the winning run to score.

Some tidbits:

• Over 24 innings, each team collected 11 hits in 79 at bats, each team had only one extra base hit (both doubles).
• The starting pitchers set the tone. Mets’ starter Tom Seaver threw ten, two-hit shutout innings, while Astros’ starter Don Wilson tossed zeroes for nine frames (five hits).
• The Mets used eight pitchers, the Astros five.
• Wade Blasingame got the win with four innings of one-hit relief; Les Rohr took the loss, giving up one run in 2 1/3 innings.
• There were six intentional walks in the game.
• Jim Ray pitched seven innings of relief for the Astros, giving up just two hits and a walk, while fanning 11.
• Eight pinch hitters and one pinch runner were used in the contest.
• Both catchers (Hal King or the Astros and Jerry Grote of the Mets went the distance behind the plate.)

A CHANGE OF PACE –  SHORTEST (NINE INNING) GAME EVER –

On September 28, 1919, the Phillies took on the Giants in New York, with Philadelphia’s Lee Meadows (12 wins and 19 losses) taking on New York’s Jesse Barnes (24-9).  The outcome was as expected, Giants 6 – Phillies 1. The game featured a total of 18 hits and three walks.  None of this is surprising.  What is surprising, however, is that it took just 51 minutes to play the entire nine innings.  Now, THAT is pace of game.

Primary Resources: Baseball-almanac.com; baseball-reference.com; MLB.com; “Let’s Play Two – Until 4:40 in the Morning,” Los Angeles Times, July 4, 1993 (from the wire services); “September 11, 1974: Cardinals Prevail over Mets in 25 innings at Shea Stadium,” by Ken Duffy and Rory Costello, Society for American Baseball Research. 

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I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT

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Member: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

With our national pastime on hiatus, I find myself recalling and/or researching unique plays, players and teams in baseball history. You know, like the Twins being the only team to turn two triple players in one game (both classic groundball 5-4-3  triple killings); the White Sox once scoring 11 runs in one inning on just one hit; or Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer being the only player to draw two bases-loaded walks in a World Series game (links to those stories at the end of this post).

Alex McColll

Those who read Baseball Roundtable regularly know I have a keen interest in players who had brief, but for some reason notable, MLB careers.  In fact, that is why, each year, BBRT presents the John Paciorek Award.  (More on that later in this post.) Recently, I came across the tale of Alex “Red” McColl, a player who truly played for love of the game – pitching his way through nearly two-decades in the minor leagues before making his major league debut. Let me share his story.

On September 6, 1933, the Washington Senators hosted the Chicago White Sox.   The Senators came into the game in first place, with an 86-45 record and a comfortable 9½-game lead over the second-place Yankees. Starting for the White Sox was Jake Miller, in his ninth (and final) MLB season, with a 5-5 record and a 5.05 earned run average on the season.  Starting for the Senators was rookie right-hander Alex “Red” McColl – making his first-ever major league start.  And, he made the most of it.

McColl went the distance in the game, giving up just one run on four hits (five walks and four strikeouts), as the Senators prevailed 3-1. Not only did McColl get the mound victory and a complete game in his first MLB start, he had a hand in all three Senators’ runs. In the bottom of the second inning, the switch-hitting McColl laced two-run double (scoring Senators’ 1B Joe Kuhel and 3B Ossie Bluege) to left-center off Miller – and two batters later he came around on a double by LF Heinie Manush to complete Washington s scoring for the day. Quite a momentous first start for the rookie.

So ,why did this game catch BBRT’s eye?  Well, as I noted earlier, McColl truly exemplified playing for the love of the game. The rookie was called up to the majors after going 14-11, 3.36 for the Chattanooga (Single-A) Lookouts that season. More important, the Senators’ rookie was 39-years-old and in his 18^th minor-league campaign (never pitching above Double A).   At the time, McColl already had more than 240 minor-league victories (including four seasons of 20 or more wins) under his belt. (He had gone 21-8, 3.05 at Chattanooga in 1932.)

In a September 25, 1933, Associate Press story (Asbury Park Press), McColl’s rise to the majors was described in a reporter’s recounting of a September 1933 call from Clark Griffith (owner of the Washington Senators) to Joseph Engel (President of the Chattanooga Lookouts).

“Griffith called Engel by telephone a few week ago and said “Send me a pitcher.” Engel want down to the station and bought Alex McColl a ticket to Washington.

“Now, Mr. McColl is 39-year-old, which is considered aged as pitchers go, and has never seen the inside of a big league ballpark except as a spectator. The wise boys grieved and said old Joe was slipping, but Alex has done right well with the Senators and is likely to see some World Series service.”

McColl, as predicted, did see World Series service. He topped of his less-than-meteoric rise to the big leagues by pitching two scoreless (perfect) frames against the Giants in Game Two of the 1933 World Series (October 4). So, after nearly two decades in the minor leagues, McColl found himself not only in the big leagues, but on the mound in the Fall Classic.  Well worth the effort and wait, I’d say.

McColl spent time the big leagues in 1934, finishing the season at 3-4, 3.86, in 42 appearances (two starts) for the Senators. The forty-year-old made his final major league appearance on September 29, 1934. His career major-league record was 4-4, 3.70, with 46 appearances (three starts), two complete games, two saves, 112 innings pitched, 36 walks and 29 strikeouts,

But wait, remember I said McColl played for the love of the game. He may have been in his forties and his major league career may have been behind him, but McColl wasn’t done yet.,  In 1935, he was back at Chattanooga, where he went 21-12, 3.50, tossing 258 innings in 41 appearances. McColl would, in fact, continue his professional pitching career through 1941 (age 47) – never again pitching above A-Level and serving as a player-manager in each of his final four seasons.

McColl’s final professional season saw him as a player-manager with the independent Class D Warren Buckeyes in the Pennsylvania Association, where he was the club’s “ace” going 12-6, 3.22 and putting a final 137 innings on his resilient right arm. (He managed the team to a 46-62 record.)   He also batted .264 on the season. Notably, at the time, the average player age in the Pennsylvania was 22-years-old.

Baseball-Reference.com credits McColl with 332 minor-league wins (262 losses), a 3.42 earned run average and 5,262 minor-league innings pitched.

Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; “Hardball History: 1941 Buckeyes were Warren’s most recent team,” Warren Times Observer, April 6, 2020, by Josh Cotton; “McColl Makes Major League Pitching Debut: Aging Rookie Turns in Victory for Washington Over Chisox, ” San Bernardino Sun, September 7, 1933. 

John Paciorek Award

If you are interested in a look at some other players with brief, but significant career achievements, you may want to check out Baseball Roundtable’s John Paciorek Award honorees.

2014 – Brian Scott Dallimore

In his first start (not his first game) for the 2004 Giants, Dallimore had two singles, a Grand Slam (his first MLB hit and only MLB home run), a walk and a hit by pitch.  For the full JPA take on Dallimore’s 27- game MLB career, click here.

2015 – Roy Gleason

Gleason played in just eight MLB games, had a double in his only MLB at bat – but also earned a World Series ring (1963) and a Purple Heart. Ultimately, he was the only ballplayer with MLB experience to serve on the front lines in Vietnam. For the full JPA take on Gleason, click here.

2016 – John Allen Miller

Miller played just 32 MLB games (during the 1966 and 1969), taking the field (at 1B/LF/3B/2B) for the Yankees and Dodgers. Miller collected ten hits in 61 MLB at bats (.164 average) and hit just two home runs – but he made those long balls count.  Miller made his MLB debut with the Yankees on September 11, 1966 and hit a two-run homer in his first big league at bat – making him (surprisingly) the first Yankee ever to homer in his first MLB at bat.  Miller’s final at bat came as a Dodger (September 23, 1969) and he stroked a solo home run.  That narrow “body of work” made Miller one of just two players in MLB history to homer in their first and final official appearances in a major league batter’s box. For more on Miller, click here.

2017 – Chris Saenz

RHP Chris Seanz’ big day came on April 24, 2004 – when he was called up from Double A Huntsville (where he was 1-1, 3.86) to make a spot start against the Saint Louis Cardinals, whose powerful lineup included the likes of Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds and Reggie Sanders.   The rookie went six innings, giving up just two hits, three walks and no runs, while fanning seven. There was some speculation (primarily among sportswriters and fans) that Saenz’ performance might earn him another start or two, but two days after his debut, he was on his way back to Huntsville.  Unfortunately, his minor league season included a September elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery and he never returned to the majors. Statistics before 1900 can be sketchy, but baseball-reference.com shows that Saenz is the only pitcher to complete a one-game MLB career of at least five innings pitched, without giving up a single run (earned or unearned). For more details on this JPA honoree, click here.

2018 – Keith McDonald

Keith McDonald’s MLB career (Cardinals 2000-2001) covered just eight games and 11 plate appearances (nine at bats) and three hits – but he made them count.  All of McDonald’s safeties were home runs – making him the only MLB player with more than one career hit who can look back on major league career in which his every hit was a home run.  McDonald is also one of only two players – and the only National Leaguer – to homer in his first two major league plate appearances.  For the full story, click here.

2019 – Harley Hisner

Harley Hisner’s MLB tenure encompassed the day of September 30, 1951. That’s when the 24-year-old righty faced the New York Yankees – and a lineup that included five future Hall of Famers: Mickey Mantle in RF; Joe DiMaggio in CF; Phil Rizzuto at SS; Johnny Mize at 1B; and Yogi Berra behind the plate. In is very first MLB inning, Hisner faced five batters, four of them future Hall of Famers, and gave up two singles and no runs.  His place in history? One of those singles was Joe DiMaggio’s last MLB safety. He faced Mickey Mantle four times in the game – walking him once, fanning him twice and getting him to hit into a double play.   For more on Harley Hisner and his ongoing involvement in and love of the game (he went on to earn the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association Colin Lister Award for “dedication to the game of baseball and its historic legacy,” click here.

2020 – Bert Shepard

Pitcher Bert Shepard had four minor-league seasons on his resume, when World War II and military service interrupted his baseball career. He became a P-38 Lightning (fighter) pilot and logged more than thirty combat missions before being shot down, being taken prisoner and losing his right leg below the knee.  After being released a part of a prisoner exchange, Shepard came back to the states with a desire to get back into baseball. To make a long story short, Shepard eventually became the only one-legged pitcher in MLB history.  For the full story on Shepard, click here. 

Finally, regarding those earlier events used as examples, here are the links.

Twins’ two triple plays in one game (and more triple play tidbits), click here. 

White Sox’ Eleven-run, one-hit inning, click here.

Jim Palmer’s two bases-loaded walks in one World Series’ game (and more on Palmer), click here. 

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Member: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Ted Williams was the greatest hitter I ever saw, but (Joe) DiMaggio was the greatest all-around player.

                                                     Hall of Famer Bob Feller

Bob Feller was speaking from experience when he lauded the skills of fellow Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio.  DiMaggio and Williams are pretty much one and two in every career offensive category versus Feller.  In fact, if you look at a lineup of hitters who put up the “best numbers” against Feller, you will find a host of Hall of Famers – not just Williams and DiMaggio in the outfield, but Johnny Mize at first base and Bobby Doerr at second.  Yes, that’s right, it’s time for the next edition in Baseball Roundtable’s “Who’s Your Daddy?”  series – this time focusing on Bob Feller.

Those of you who read Baseball Roundtable regularly are familiar with the “Who’s Your Daddy?” series – presenting lineups of players who performed unexpectedly well against some of baseball’s top pitchers. In the past, BBRT has featured such moundsmen as Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson and Pedro Martinez.  (An explanation of the inspiration behind the Who’s Your Daddy? series can be found the end of this post.)  This post looks at a lineup of hitters who found success against Hall of Famer Bob Feller.  As always, I would stress that the pitchers included in the Who’s Your Daddy? series are among the “best in the business.” They are selected not because of the players who performed well against them, but rather because success among hitters when they were on the mound was the exception rather than the rule.

Before we get started on Bob Feller, here are links to the previous editions of this series:

• Nolan Ryan, click here.
• Sandy Koufax, click here. 
• Pedro Martinez, click here.
• Bob Gibson, click here. 
• Randy Johnson, click here. 
• Greg Maddux, click here. 
• Justin Verlander, click here. 

Among those planned for the future are Roger Clemens and Max Scherzer.

Now, on to Bob Feller.

It wasn’t until you hit against him (Bob Feller) that you knew how fast he really was, until you saw, with your own eyes, that ball jumping at you.

                                                                                 Hall of Famer Ted Lyons

Bob Feller – whose fastball (justifiably) earned him the nicknames Rapid Robert, Bullet Bob and The Heater from Van Meter – could “bring it” at an early age.  At the age of 11, he could already throw harder than most of the high school boys in his home town- and, at times, actually pitched against them. His father saw such potential in young “Bobby” that, in 1931, he built a ballpark on the family farm to give local players a place to play – and, of course, to showcase Bobby’s hardball skills and potential. (Bob Feller was 12 at time.)

Without going into a lot of detail on Feller’s American Legion, high school, amateur and semi-pro exploits, suffice it to say that (in 1935) Feller signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians at the age of 16 and was pitching in the big leagues by age 17 … before he graduated from high school.  On September 13 of the 1936 season, rookie Feller (remember, he was just 17-years-old) fanned 17 hitters in a complete-game, 5-2 Indians’ win over the Philadelphia Athletics. The significance of that game?  It gave the teenager from Iowa the American League record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game and a share of the major league record (tying Dizzy Dean). (Both records have since been topped.) One has to wonder if the fear factor came into play.  While Feller only gave up two hits and two runs in that game, he also walked nine and hit one batter.  Command, apparently, was not yet his forte. Feller finished that first season with a 5-3 record – 14 MLB appearances, eight starts, five complete games, a 3.34 earned run average, 76 strikeouts, 47 walks and four hit batsmen in 62 innings. Between the end of his first MLB season and Spring Training in 1937, Feller finished high school.  How impressive was the youthful phenom?  Feller was featured on the cover of April 19, 1937 issue Time Magazine.  

Bob Feller originally signed with the Cleveland Indians for one dollar and an autographed baseball.

Feller went on to pitch 18 MLB seasons (1936-41 & 1945-56, missing three seasons and most of a fourth to military service), all with the Indians.  The Hall of Famer was an eight-time All Star, led the AL in wins six times, strikeouts seven times (also walks four times), complete games three times, games started five times, innings pitched five times, shutouts four times, and earned run average once.  He also pitched three no-hitters, including the (to date) only Opening Day no-hitter ever – a 1-0 win over the White Sox (in Chicago) on April 16, 1940.

Picking Right Up Where He Left Off …

Bob Feller was the first major leaguer to enlist in the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor, joining the U.S. Navy on December 9, 1941; where he ultimately led a gunnery crew in combat aboard the battleship USS Alabama.

Feller had led the American League in strikeouts in each of the four seasons before he enlisted (1938-41). He returned to baseball in time to pitch nine games for the Indians in 1945 and then led the league in strikeouts in his first three full seasons (1946-48) back from military service.  In the six full seasons surrounding his military service (the last three before his enlistment and the first three full seasons after his return), Feller average 22 wins, a 2.81 earned run average, 38 starts, 26 complete games, five shutouts, 318 1/3 innings pitched and 246 strikeouts per campaign.  Just think about what he might have done with those four lost seasons. 

Feller finished his career with a 266-162, 3.25 record. with 279 complete games (484 starts) and 2,581 strikeouts in 3,827 innings pitched His best season was probably 1946, when he led the league in wins (26); games pitched (48); games started (42); complete games (36); shutouts (10); innings pitched 371 1/3; and strikeouts (358).

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Now, let’s get on to the Bob Feller “Who’s Your Daddy?” lineup.  First, a few “leaders” versus Rapid Robert.

Note on chart;  Baseball-Reference indicates game logs from before 1970 may be incomplete.  In this chart, four game logs is missing from Rudy York’s totals.  In this post, I note when game logs for a specific player are incomplete. 

Now, the Bob Feller “Who’s Your Daddy?” lineup.

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Catcher – Aaron Robinson … Four home runs and 15 RBI in 27 games

An All Star Between a Pair of Hall of Famers

Aaron Robinson was an All Star behind the plate for the vaunted New York Yankees (briefly) between a pair of Hall of Famers – Bill Dickey who handled New York catching from 1925 to mid-1946 (minus two seasons lost to military service) and  Yogi Berra who split catching duties with Robinson in 1947, took over the duties in 1948 and went on to  become an 18-time All Star with the Bronx Bombers. In between the two HOFers was Aaron Robinson, who had a cup of coffee (one game) in 1943, started 92 games at catcher as a rookie in 1946 and another 67 in his All Star 1947 season – before Berra emerged as a force and Robinson was traded to the White Sox (along with two other players) for Eddie Lopat.  For trivia buffs, in 1946, Robinson’s .297 average led all Yankee regulars (and that group included such players as Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Tommy Henrich, Charlie Keller and Joe Gordon). 

In Aaron Robinson’s first-ever at bat against Bob Feller (September 9, 1945), he popped a two-run home run.  In his second at bat (same game), he delivered an RBI triple.  He then added a strikeout and a walk. As Cleveland and Feller topped the Yankees 10-3, Robinson was credited with all three New York RBI. Robinson went on to hit .288, with four homers and 15 RBI in 27 career games against Rapid Robert – including a two-homer, six-RBI game as the Yankees topped Feller’s Indians 9-1 on July 11, 1946.

Robinson played in eight major-league seasons and 609 games (1943 … just one game … and 1945-51). He was a 30-year-old rookie for the Yankees in 1945 (after two years in military service) and played for the Yankees, Tigers, Red Sox and White Sox over his career. He was an All Star in 1947 and finished with a career .261 average, 61 home runs and 272 RBI. He was known as a fine defensive catcher and finished in the top five in the AL in runners caught stealing in 1946, 1948 and 1949. His 19 hits, four home runs and 15 RBI versus Bob Feller were the most he had off any pitcher.

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First Base – Johnny Mize … .407 against Feller

Yankee first baseman Johnny Mize’s first at bat against Bob Feller resulted in  a two-run home run that opened the scoring in an August 25, 1949 Yankees’ win (6-3) over Feller and the Indians. It was Mize’s 316^th major league home run, but his first long ball as a Yankee (he had been sold, by the Giants, to the Yankees three days earlier for $40,000). He went on to do pretty well against Feller, hitting .307 with four home runs and six RBI against him in eight games (1949-52).

Making Contact … Powerful Contact

In 1947,  New York Giant Johnny Mize became the first (and still only) major leaguer to hit 50 or more home runs in a season, while striking out fewer than 50 times. He went .302-51-138, with 74 walks and 42 whiffs.  

Mize played 15 major league seasons (1936-42 & 1946-53, missing three seasons for military service).  He played for the Cardinals, Giants and Yankees). Mize hit .312 over his career (2,011 hits in 1,884 games), with 359 home runs and 1,337 RBI. Mize was a ten-time All Star and led his league in home runs four times (high of 51 in 1947), RBI three times, batting average once, runs scored once, doubles once, triples once and total bases three times. He topped 100 runs scored in five seasons, had 100+ RBI eight times and hit over .300 in nine campaigns.

The Career that Almost Wasn’t

Mize was a star in the minor leagues (Cardinals’ system) in the early 1930’s, but, in 1934, suffered a serious health issue (spurs on his pelvic bone) that limited him to 90 games. Still, he hit .339-17-66 that season. 

The Cardinals perhaps didn’t like what they saw; but, whatever the reason, they sold Mize to the Reds for $55,000 in the spring of 1935. However, Mize continued to be in such pain that the Reds nullified the trade, sending him back to Saint Louis. Although he tried to play through the pain, Mize lasted only 65 minor-league games before – at the age of 22 – he went on the voluntary retired list, thinking his major league dreams (and baseball career) were over.  That winter Mize took a chance on surgery, made an unexpectedly strong recovery and found himself not just back in baseball in 1936, but in the big leagues – hitting .329-19-93 as a Cardinals’ rookie.  The rest, as they say, is history.  The fact that Mize’s “early retirement” didn’t take led him to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Second Base – Bobby Doerr … Nine home runs and 34 RBI, heady company

Bobby Doerr had the second-most regular-season hits (53, tied with Ted Williams), second-most RBI (34, tied with Ted Williams) and third-most doubles (10) against Bob Feller – while hitting a healthy .327 against him. His best campaign against Rapid Robert was 1950, when Doerr went six-for-eleven (.545) against Feller, with a double, triple, two home runs and five RBI in six games.  On June 13 or that season, as Doerr ‘s Red Sox topped Feller Indians’  8-1, Doerr faced Feller four times and delivered two home runs, a triple and a walk.

Note:  One game (log) is missing from Bobby Doerr’s totals versus Feller.

Doerr played 14 MLB seasons (1937-44 & 1946-51), all for the Red Sox. The Hall of Famer put up a .288 career average (2,042 hits in 1,865 games) with 223 home runs, 1,247 RBI and 1,094 runs scored.  He was a nine-time All Star, who topped 100 runs scored once, hit ten or more triples in four seasons, 20+ home runs three times and drove in 100+ runs in six campaigns. Doerr was known as a tireless worker, clutch hitter, a steady fielder and, as Ted William termed it, “the silent captain of the Red Sox.”

I’ll Have One of Each, Please …

Bobby Doerr hit for the cycle twice in his career – May 17, 1944 and May 13, 1947 – both at Fenway Park. 

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Third Base – Hank Majeski … .346 in 28 contests

Hank Majeski hit .346 against Bob Feller, driving in 15 runs in 28 games.  In the six seasons in which he faced Feller, Majeski hit .400 or higher in three – the best being 1952, when he went four-for-eight (.,500), with one home run and five RBI in three games.

Majeski’s 15 RBI versus Feller ties for the most he had against any pitcher (he also had 15 against Virgil Trucks) and his 28 hits are the most he had against any pitcher.

Handling the Hot Corner

Hank Majeski achieved a record (since broken) fielding percentage for third basemen of .988 in 1947. He led AL third sackers in fielding percentage in both 1947 and 1948.

Majeski, known for his slick fielding at the hot corner, played 13 MLB seasons (1939-41 & 1946-55, missing three seasons due to military service). He suited up for the Bees (Braves), Yankees, Athletics, White Sox, Indians and Orioles. He was a .279 career hitter (956 hits in 1,069 games), with 57 home runs and 501 RBI. Majeski hit .300 or better in three MLB seasons. In 1948, he reached his career highs in average (.310), home runs (12), RBI (120), runs scored (88) doubles (41) and hits (183). Majeski played in 100 or more games in just six of 13 MLB seasons.

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SS – Pete Runnels … .372 average, .471 on-base percentage

Pete Runnels hit a nifty .372 versus Feller, with 16 hits in 43 at bats in 18 games. It should be noted that the bulk of those 18 games came in the waning years of Feller’s career (1951-56), when Feller went a combined 58-39, 3,81 and did not make a single All Star team. Still, Feller did lead the AL in wins, with 22 in 1951 and Runnels did go four-for-seven against him that campaign.

Pete Runnels played 14 MLB seasons (1951-64 … Senators, Red Sox, Astros). He was a true utility player, starting 618 games a 2B, 542 at 1B, 439 at SS, and 49 at 3B.  Runnels was an All Star in three seasons, as well as a two-time batting champion.

Gotta Like Boston

With the Red Sox from 1958-61, Runnels hit .320 (hitting .314 or better in all five seasons) – and won a pair of AL Batting championships.  Over his MLB career, Runnels hit .332 at Fenway Park and .278 outside of Fenway.

Pete Runnels retired with a .291 career average (1,854 hits in 1,799 games), 49 home runs, 630 RBI and 876 runs scored. As a member of the 1962 Red Sox, he had his best season, with career highs in average (.326), home runs (10), RBI (60) and hits 183). That November, he was traded from the BoSox to the Houston Colt .45s for outfielder, Roman Mejias.

Not so Fast There, Buddy

Pete Runnels was thrown out in his first 16 MLB stealing attempts and was 37-for-88 in steal attempts for his MLB career.

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Outfield – Joe DiMaggio … Most hits, home runs and RBI versus Feller.

In 58 contests against Feller, Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio hit a robust .342 and collected the most home runs (11) and RBI (46) of any hitter versus Rapid Robert. In the 12 seasons in which he faced Feller, DiMaggio hit .333 or higher against him seven times. In 1948, DiMaggio hit .450 against Feller (9-for-20), with four home runs and ten RBI in six games.

Joe DiMaggio played 13 MLB seasons (1936-42 & 1946-51, missing three seasons due to military service); all with the Yankees.  He hit .325 (2,214 hits in 1,736 games), topping .300 in 11 seasons. DiMaggio was an All Star in all 13 seasons and a three-time American League Most Valuable Player. He was a two-time batting champion (a high of .381 in 1939) and led the AL in runs once, triples once, home runs twice, RBI twice and total bases three times. He hit 30 or more home runs in seven seasons, drove in 100+ runs in nine campaigns and scored 100 or more runs seven times. In 51 World Series games, DiMaggio his .271, with eight home runs and 30 RBI.

A Couple of Not-So-Bad Endorsements

(Joe) DiMaggio was the greatest all-around player I ever saw.  His career cannot be summed up in numbers and awards. 

                                                              Hall of Famer Ted Williams

There was never a day when I was as good as Joe DiMaggio at his best. Joe was the best, the very best, I ever saw.

                                                              Hall of Famer Stan Musial

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Outfield – Ted Williams … Number Two on the Bob Feller hit parade

Hall of Famer Ted Williams, who averaged .344 against Feller (in 57 games), delivered the second-most home runs (10), the second-most RBI (34), the second-most triples (4), and the second-most base hits against Bullet Bob. Notably, he was second to Joe DiMaggio in all those categories (tied for second with Bobby Doerr in hits and RBI). Williams also had the second-most career walks against Feller (38, two behind Tommy Henrich).  Williams did have the most doubles against Feller at 13.  In 13 seasons against Feller, Williams hit .333 or higher in nine – although Feller did hold the Splendid Splinter hitless in five games in 1947 (0-for-8, with seven walks – three  intentional).

That’s about average

Ted Williams’ career average was .344 – as was his average versus Bob Feller.  Ever wonder what pitcher might have had Teddy Ballgame’s number? William was o-for-6 in the regular season against Murry Dickson (his most at bats without a hit against any pitcher), but did draw three walks against him.  Williams was also just 1-for-5, with one walk versus Dickson in the post season. Dickson, by the way, finished an 18-season MLB career with a 172-181, 3.66 line – and three times led the NL in losses (1952-54). Perhaps even more dominant over Williams was Jack Harshman. The southpaw held Williams to a .156 average (five hits – four singles and a double – in 32 at bats over 13 games), no RBIs, three walks and seven strikeouts.  For his career, Williams fanned once in every 13.8 plate appearances. Against Harshman, it was once every 5.0. Harshman played eight MLB seasons, going 69-75, 3.50.

Ted Williams played 19 seasons with the Red Sox (1939-42 & 1946-60, missing three full seasons and most of a fourth for military service),  He compiled a .344 career average (2,644 hits in 2,292 games), with 521 home runs, 1,839 RBI and 1,798 runs scored. He was an All Star in 17 seasons and the AL Most Valuable Player twice. He was a Triple Crown winner in 1942 and 1947, as well as a six-time batting champion.  He led the AL in home runs four times (hitting 30 or more dingers eight times), RBI four times (topping 100 in nine seasons), runs scored six times (topping 100 nine times), doubles twice, walks eight times and total bases six times. In his 19 MLB seasons, he only hit under.300 once (.254 in 103 games in 1959).

Save a Spot on the Paths for Me

Ted Williams’ career major league on-base percentage of .482 is the highest all time.

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Outfield – Tommy Henrich … Eight home runs and forty walks

Tommy Henrich drew more walks (40) versus Bob Feller than any other player. In addition, his eight career long balls against Feller trailed only Joe DiMaggio, Ted William and Bobby Doerr. Henrich’s “eye” is evidence by the fact that, in his first 12 plate appearances against Feller, he drew five walks (he also had two singles). Henrich also fanned only 14 times versus Feller in 188 plate appearances.

Tommy Henrich played 11 MLB seasons (1937-42 & 1946-50, missing three years due to military service), all for the Yankees. He was an All Star five times and led his league in runs scored once and triples twice. Over his career, Henrich topped 100  runs scored in four seasons, hit 30 or more doubles three times, 20+ home runs four times and drove in 100 runs in one campaign.  He finished his career with a .282 average (1,297 hits in 1,284 games), 183 home runs, 795 RBI and 901 run scored.

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Pitcher – Schoolboy Rowe … Hit .353 versus Rapid Robert

Schoolboy Rowe hit a solid .353 versus Bob Feller in eight games (6-for-17), with a triple and two RBI – and only one strikeout in 18 plate appearances. (By comparison, batting against Rowe, Feller went 1-for-15, with one double, no RBI, one walk and five whiffs.)

That Rowe should hit fairly well against Feller is no surprise. Rowe was an accomplished hitter (for a pitcher), with a .263 career average (239-for-909), 18 home runs and 153 RBI. He did, in fact, have 99 career appearances as a pinch hitter – hitting .286 (26-for-91), with three doubles, two home runs, 22 RBI and eight walks.  On the mound, Rowe pitched in 15 MLB seasons (1933-43 & 1946-49 … Tigers, Phillies, Dodgers … losing two years to military service). The three-time All Star went 158-101, 3.87, with 278 starts, 104 relief appearances (22 saves), 137 complete games, 22 shutouts and 913 strikeouts in 2,219 1/3 innings pitched. His best season was 1934, when he went 24-8, 3.45 for the Tigers. In games in which Feller and Rowe both took the mound, Feller was 3-3, 3.50, with two no decisions, while Rowe was 3-3, 3.64, with two no decisions.

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A Couple of Honorable Mentions

BBRT would like to add a couple Honorable Mentions to this lineup … both outfielders.

Bruce Campbell hit a nice round .400 (12-for-30 versus Bob Feller in 11 regular-season games.  He also drew ten walks (two intentional) for a .550 on-base percentage.  For his career (13 seasons, 1930-42, White Sox, Browns, Indians, Tigers, Senators), Campbell put up a .290-106-766 line (1,382 hits in 1,360 games). His best season was 1933, when he went .277-16-106 for the Browns. Note: One game (log) is missing from Campbell’s total versus Feller.

Jackie Jensen hit .388 (19-for-49), with one home run, 13 RBI, five walks and only one whiff against Feller in 21 games.  Jensen played 11 MLB seasons (1950-59, 1962 … Yankees, Senators, Red Sox), putting up a .279-199-929 line. He was a three-time All Star and led the AL in RBI three times, triples once and stolen bases once. He was the 1958 AL Most Valuable Player (despite the fact that his Red Sox finished third), when he hit.286, with 35 home runs and a league-leading 122 RBI.  Jensen’s career was cut sort – he retired at age 34 – due to an intense fear of flying.

For Trivia Buffs

While dedicated trivia fans should get this one, you may solicit a few wrong guesses from some of your baseball-centric friends.

What future Hall of Famer batted second and played center field in Bob Feller’s second major league no-hitter (a 1-0 Indians’ win over the Yankees) on April 30, 1946?

Answer: Bob Lemon, who made the Hall of Fame not as a position player, but as a pitcher – on the basis of a 207-128, 3.23 record, seven seasons of 20 or more wins and seven All Star selections.  Lemon signed with the Indians as a 17-year-old (1937) – out of Woodrow Wilson high School (Long Beach, California), where he played infield and pitched.  Between 1938 and 1941, he played in 447 minor-league games (playing OF, SS and 3B, with just two games on the mound), averaging .293.  He earned late season call up in 1941 (as a third b baseman). In 1942, he was back in the minors (with the Indians’ Baltimore International League farm club), where he hit .268-21-80). Then military service intervened and he spend a great deal of time starring on teams at Naval bases in California and Hawaii – showing off his skills as both a position player/hitter and pitcher.  In 1946, out of the military, Lemon made the Indians out of Spring training – and while he didn’t displace incumbent third baseman  Ken Keltner, manager Lou Boudreau moved Lemon to  centerfield to get his bat in the lineup. Major league pitching, however, proved a challenge for Lemon and he was moved to mound – where he pitched his way into the Hall of Fame.

Primary Resources:  Baseball-Reference.com; MLB.com; Baseball-Almanac.com; Bob Feller, by C.Paul Rogers III, Society for American Baseball Research.

Who’s Your Daddy?  What It’s All About.

On September 24, 2004, in the middle of a tight pennant race, the Yankees handed future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez and the Boston Red Sox a tough 6-4 loss.  Martinez went 7 1/3 innings giving up nine hits and five earned runs.  The game came just five days after (in his previous start) Martinez had lasted just five frames against the Bronx Bombers (eight hits, eight earned runs) in a 16-7 loss.

After that second loss, Martinez candidly commented, “What can I say? I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy.”  Little did he know that his comment – and a Yankee fans’ chant of “Who’s your daddy?” would follow him into future starts in New York (all the way to his final MLB start – against the Yankees for the Phillies – in Game Six of the 2009 World Series.)

The concept of “Who’s your daddy?” became the inspiration for Baseball Roundtable to take a look at the players who “had the number” of some of MLB’s premier pitchers.  Again, you can find links to the previous “editions” of “Who’s Your Daddy?” near the top of this post. 

Primary Resources:  Baseball-Reference.com; MLB.com; Baseball-Almanac.com

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